Does anyone want to lose weight as a snail's pace?

[ginandchocs]

I'd say most people want to lose weight quickly. I certainly do. But it just doesn't work. Or, it does initially, but then it all goes back on and some.

I've decided to try a different method. I'm aiming to lose weight slowly. Maybe a couple of pounds a month. If I achieved that, I would lose almost 2 stones in a year but in a way that would be sustainable.

I'm going to do this using myfitnesspal. I'm setting my calorie goal for the week to be relatively near to what I usually burn without exercise (obviously a little lower otherwise I wouldn't lose anything!). I'm splitting the calories unevenly throughout the week though as I always tend to eat that bit more at the weekend (I end up falling off the wagon and giving up another diet - hopefully by having a greater calorie allowance would allow for this). Any exercise I do would then increase the weight loss (by a tiny amount) and would obviously make me healthier. I will not eat the extra calories.

The calories I've allotted myself may need to be tweaked if they're too high and I'm not losing at all. Time will tell. This may be a bit mad, but if it works then great. I would have to eat around this amount of calories to maintain my weight if I had lost anyway so I'm hoping this brings with it lifelong good habits.

My calories will be:
Monday to Thursday - 1675
Friday - 2000
Saturday and Sunday - 2250

Some days I may be over, others under. I'm not going to eat for the sake of it nor will I say no to something because I don't have the calories left for it. However, I want my weekly calories to be 13,200 or less. As I said, though, these calories may change if the numbers aren't right. It's a bit trial and error.

Anyone else fancy a slow weight loss journey that will hopefully create new habits, and allow me to maintain forever more?

Here's to a good day for everyone :)

Who here wings it a bit and logs calories after and who plans and writes it all down first?

I'm a morning pepper. I'll decide what main thing am having for tea ( mostly something "normal") then work the rest around it. I'm avoiding bread and pasta as it really disagrees with me although I luffs it. Have also noted that I've not had heartburn since starting this. I wonder if the two are connected? I was having to take gaviscon daily.

@ginandchocs that sounds awful, you have my sympathy. I have Crohn's disease, diagnosed a few years ago and thankfully now well controlled. Digestive issues are not pleasant and not fun! Hopefully it will settle down soon.

@30not13 I am a real planner, I plan dinners and lunches for the week...I don't count the calorie advance but try to plan mainly healthy veg rich meals. If we are having homemade pizza or burgers at the weekend I will eat it but be careful with the amount of cheese, only eat half the burger bun etc

hitting 1199cals today, still stuffed and my eating window is now closed anyway.

Thank you for all the messages. Things are thankfully improving. That was not a fun few days!! @Ottiva I'm sorry to hear you have Crohns but it's great to hear it's well controlled.

@basinhaircut you sound similar to how I am. My mental health has been very up and down over the past 12 months after not really suffering before (not to the extent of the past year) so I do think it plays a big hand in it.

Digestive issues are so common yet so miserable!! However, just to make things so much better 🙈 I'm due on this weekend. I did overeat on jelly beans yesterday, and this generally happens the few days before. I'm planning to be far more in control over the next few days though as I avoided any overeating with it last month so I 100% know I can do it!!

I hope everyone has a good day.

Morning everyone!

Glad you're feeling a bit better @ginandchocs 

@30not13 I just wing it, but I've got a rotation of meals I eat so I know they will all fit into my day

This is week no.5 for me and I'm 7lbs down so really pleased about that milestone! Realised last night that the diet and exercise is becoming more natural to me now, more of a lifestyle which is always the intended goal I think

Hope you all have a good day!

Well done @MrsEHB half a stone is great! I'm nervous to weigh in tomorrow morning after last weekend but what will be will be!

Today I've had

B - porridge
L - tuna salad, yoghurt and granola + a bite of the toddlers cheese on toast
S - Diet Coke
T - zucchini pesto with cherry tomatoes and mozzarella pearls and an ice cream

Steps - 10,000

@30not13 I do a bit of both.

I know how many calories all of my breakfasts are and I’ll choose a lower cal one if I know I’m having a higher calorie dinner for example. But I will also tweak my dinner if I eat a bit more earlier in the day than I should have.

I try and log as I go along and plan around whatever is going to be the highest cal meal but sometimes it’s damage control instead!

@30not13 I don't really count calories but I make sure I know the calorie content of most things so I'm not consuming too much. For example tonight's meal I haven't counted the calories of the courgette, pesto or tomatoes but I weighed out the mozzarella so I don't go overboard on that and know the calories.

I do however plan my days food in advance. DP always says 'failure to prepare is preparing to fail' and that's so true for me when it comes to loosing weight. I think that's why I struggled this weekend. I was at my friends house so could plan my own meals and sort of lost track of everything. This is something I definitely need to work on!

@30not13 I mix between 3 different ways. I started by planning my days out the night before so I knew I was eating the right amount of calories. I then switched that to adding up my calories after eating which I found gave me more flexibility and I moved away from the diet mindset of I have 1750 calories to eat so I must eat them all but no more. I am now winging it a bit but tracking my weight so I can see if that's not working and I need to go back to tracking a little.

I generally eat whatever meals I want and try to be careful with snacks. I snack most days but just try to not go overboard.

@MrsEHB half a stone down is amazing!! Well done 😊

This weekend is not going to be great food-wise though. Tonight we had chip shop chips, though I did only eat half a portion as I can never eat a whole one! Tomorrow night we're going out for food and Saturday night is takeaway night (I think it'll be more fast food than a decent takeaway though). I'm going to have a glass of wine tomorrow night but will be alcohol free for the rest of the weekend. It'll be interesting to see how my stomach reacts to heavier, fattier foods but without much alcohol thrown in.

Week 8 weigh in:

Morning all, I've lost half a pound! Very happy with that my current weight is 140.25lbs so hopefully I can loose 0.25lbs next week which will take me to my first goal of 140lbs.

Hope everyone has a good day, final push before the weekend!

go you!

I’ve weighed myself this morning and appear to be almost 3lb heavier than I was on Wednesday morning. We did have pizza last night (the whole household has finished for the summer other than me - one day to go!) but even so. 3lb?!

Ah well, will see what it looks like in a couple of days and maybe go for a long walk!

@PotteringAlong I imagine that must be water retention or something? It won't be 3lbs of fat after two days surely! I always weigh more on a Monday after the weekend but I only count my official Friday weigh in!

Probably. I’ve never been on a diet before so this is all a bit new to me! Even I cannot eat that much pizza!

Will drink lots and see what happens

1377 calories yesterday but I really struggled for the first time really with hunger in the morning. I really had to occupy myself to get over the waves.

Haircut today do guaranteed weight loss this week haha

1239 today. I was going to have a couple of gins as I have upto 1760 but I've hurt my back so not tonight

@lmfaoo brilliant! Well done 😊

@PotteringAlong that will definitely be something along the lines of water retention so will shift over a few days.

I ate out last night for the first time in months and months and really enjoyed it. I went for fish (monkfish tail), new potatoes and tenderstem broccoli and it was absolutely gorgeous! Unfortunately we then stopped at the Co-op on the way home and I picked up and then ate chocolate orange minis and crisps whilst watching Love Actually.

I had 2 large glasses of pinot grigio last night and my stomach is definitely complaining this morning and a little overnight. I've noted my symptoms on the notes section of my phone so I know how I'm likely to feel after that, and can make a decision about whether it's worth it whenever I want a drink. I'm planning an alcohol free weekend for the rest of the weekend now.

We've got a fast food night planned tonight (planned before last night's meal was) but I'm not sure whether I'll go for something like that or have a look for something when I go shopping later that will be lighter. Not fancying anything heavy at all at the moment, but that may change once my stomach has settled down again.

@lmfaoo well done that's fab!

@PotteringAlong I had something similar when I had a bottle of wine a couple of weekends ago. The scales added 2lbs on me and it took about a week for the scales to shift. But I knew I was sticking to my diet apart from that night and come the next week the 2lbs came off and some more. So don't be disheartened if it takes a few days for the scales to go down.

Evening all. I’ve not had a ‘good’ weekend but I’ve had a good weekend IYSWIM .

Although after drinking a couple of beers and multiple gins yesterday my bowels have also been playing up today (sorry, TMI!). But on a plus note it seems to have helped scale-wise! Does remind me why I try not to drink too often though, it’s just not worth it.

Haven’t eaten too much to be fair and probably won’t have any dinner tonight as breakfast was at midday, lunch at 4 so maybe a slice of toast later but that will be it. Back on it tomorrow big time. I’ve stalled the past couple of weeks, as we start to get a bit more social again, but I’d really like to start seeing that next half a stone come off. No rush, but just continue in the right direction.

@basinhaircut I completely sympathise! I'm pleased you've enjoyed the weekend though!!

If anyone is free to come and wire my jaw shut I'd be very grateful 😂 I have totally let totm win this month and have eaten everything in sight and far more. Not great, but not a disaster.

I don't think I'm going to weigh in tomorrow but give myself a few days for my weight to settle down and for me to pick back up some healthy habits. I may even calorie count this week to make sure I'm going along the right tracks! We'll see how I get on tomorrow. I hope everyone else had a great weekend 😊

Evening all, my weekend has been ok. I was at a garden party yesterday and enjoyed the buffet! I wasnt counting anything but I was being mindful of what I was eating rather than continually grazing plus it was lunch and dinner so I don't think it was too bad! I've not had any alcohol this weekend and have managed 11k steps both days so I'm feeling good. Today I have been pretty much on plan bar nibbling away at the cheesy pasta I was making DP! That's a habit I need to stop! Ready for a week of being fairly strict as I want the scales to move on friday.

Morning everyone. Feeling a bit 'meh' this week, it's my TOTM so the scales have popped an extra lb or so on me, I know I haven't gained weight (my weekend wasn't great but I certainly don't think I've done any damage) but I still find it frustrating not seeing progress for a few days. My last weigh before the weekend was 10st 5.6lb, which is roughly the weight I usually get to when I diet and then stop and put it back on! So I think I also have that worry aswell. On the plus side, I have 4 more shifts at work before I'm off for 2 weeks.

I'm feeling a bit meh too @MrsEHB

I have a huge mouth ulcer which has been bothering me for the last few days and I'm just feeling exhausted and it's only Tuesday! Also my fit bit is on the blink and has been deleting my steps throughout the day which is really annoying! Think I might have to buy a new one when I get paid!

I know what you mean about the worry of putting the weight back on, I have been thinking about that too. I don't think it helps that most of my clothes are a little bit too big now so look baggy and unflattering and I don't have the money for a whole new wardrobe! I'd also like to loose a bit more weight and hopefully settle at a size 10 so I need to wait a bit and see where I feel comfortable before buying lots of clothes.

How is everyone else feeling? Everyone has done so well let's try and keep the motivation up!!

I’m feeling a bit meh too. Wednesday weigh in and weight on this week. I don’t actually look at the little number my scales gives me but, although I’m thinking 1lb on its probably more like .5lb.

It’s my own fault, I’ve not massively followed it this week and drunk too much wine and eaten biscuits but even so.

I’m away at my mums and my sisters next week so it will kind of go out the window next week too.

Ah well, onwards and upwards.

@PotteringAlong ah that's disappointing! I read something the other day about how if you forgot to brush your teeth one night you would wake up the next morning and still brush them. You wouldn't think 'oh I've ruined my teeth now so I'll just let them rot' and the same applies to changing your diet. It really resonated with me not to throw in the towel if I have a bad week! Hopefully that lb will shift next week when it's not your TOTM.

I saw a man with one leg riding a bicycle today and I found it strangely motivating. It just goes to show where there's a will there's a way! My food has been a bit random today:

Porridge
Leek and potato soup with cheese
Yoghurt and granola
Apple and 5 strawberries
3/4 orange
Apple with peanut butter and honey
Ice cream

Steps: 10,000

I have eating lots of fruit and had nothing in for dinner so I've sort of given up now. I'm feeling really tiered so I'm going to get an early night