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?

I'm so pleased to see this thread continuing despite me being absolutely rubbish at keeping things updated. I've had good days and I've had not so good days. However, I am overall still 2lbs down from where I started which is around the weight loss I was hoping for! I had a few low days (I suffer and since being off work for 6-8 weeks last Autumn things have been on the whole really good, but I basically had a 'breakdown' day (not sure how else to describe it) last Thursday so had quite a few not great days leading up to it, an absolutely awful Thursday and then things are starting to improve again now thankfully. I think I caught it a lot earlier than last time, and managed to use techniques that work for me to come out of it quicker,

Anyways, totally off track.....my eating wasn't great during this, but wasn't as bad as it can be so that's a positive. Rather than stress myself out, this week I am eating what I want but trying to make good choices on the whole and then I'm roughly adding up the calories at the end of the day. Yesterday I ate 1,942 which I'm happy with as I knew it would be more than usual for a Monday. I made a macaroni cheese, served it with garlic bread, had a mini bottle of wine and then a small chocolate cake. Today my total was 1,594.

I'm trying to make my life easier with portion control. I mentioned the mini bottle of wine, as the price of alcohol increased in Wales at the beginning of March (I think it was) the price of the large bottles have increased but the price of the small bottles is the same (shows how much more per ml they were to start with) so I'm buying them at the moment. I also bought the Moser Roth Aldi chocolate last week and they are individually wrapped inside (and so tasty....just had a salted caramel one!). It takes away that small amount of temptation.

@lmfaoo I love the salt and vinegar rice cakes, I've always got a couple of packs in the cupboard (in case I finish one way before a food shop day 😂).

Sounds like I need to listen to the James Smith podcast and have a look at his book!

Hi @basinhaircut and welcome! It sounds like you have a great plan 😊

Sorry to hear you have been struggling @ginandchocs. Things are tough enough at the moment without dealing with things like that so well done for minimising it as best you could. Be kind to yourself

@lmfaoo Loose trousers is a good sign!

Yesterday was good. Stuck to my plan and within calories. Had rice crispies for breakfast, lunch was chicken breast, butternut squash, a small amount of rice, feta, lettuce and balsamic, dinner was cheese and tomato risotto with spinach and cucumber. Glass of milk before bed.

Today’s dinner is a biggie (calorie-wise) so I can’t snack at all but that’s fine as long as I stay busy!

Gin two pounds off fantastic, small sustainable changes!
*
Basin I got a bit cocky this morning and tried on my new size 12 motivation jeans but they are much too tight so I'm sort of between sizes at the moment. I tend to loose weight around waist but not my hips which is so frustrating! I've set myself a goal to be wearing my size 12 jeans comfortably* by the 1st of August. That's plenty of time to gradually trim down so fingers crossed I can manage it!

Massive bold fail there!

How has today gone for you both? @lmfaoo I am exactly the same in that I lose weight from my waist but not my hips. If my whole body was the same clothes size as my waist it would be amazing 😂

Today has been another good day. I had a couple of crumpets for breakfast, a jacket potato with spicy mixed beans, cheese, chicken and a salad for lunch, a solero type lolly this afternoon and then one of the Hello Fresh meals this evening followed by a chocolate mousse for pudding/evening snack. This all comes in at around 1,676 calories.

I ordered the James Smith kindle book last night. After seeing you both mention it I headed over to Amazon and the reviews were pretty amazing. I haven't had much of a chance to read today, but what I had read so far really makes sense and it's where I feel my brain was going with all this. I'll hopefully learn a few things from his book!

So I have now lost 5IIbs. Im 11stone 0.6 and I want to be 10 stone. Had a semi fast day yesterday- got down to 1000 cal intake. It seemed ok so will try for that again today.

Morning!

Yesterday was good. Managed not to snack and enjoyed my high cal dinner of chickpea burger with chips.

Didn’t manage my 10k steps as I slept in then work was crazy busy but did an hour’s weight training in the evening which will hopefully make up for it.

Just woke up so might weigh myself. I know it’s only been 3 days but the temptation is strong!

@Casino218 how you keep to 1000kcals, what did you eat?

Well done casino! I started out at just over 11 stone and am also aiming for 10 stone (I might reassess when I get there but at 5"7 I think it will be about right.

Glad your enjoying the book gin I had a good day yesterday. Dinner was a lasagne that I had previously made and frozen in a single portion and I was shocked at the size of it, it was huge and normally I would have eaten it all without a second thought but yesterday I scooped off a third and replaced it with veggies and it was plenty. I finished yesterday on 14,000 steps but I haven't been doing any other form of exercise as I'm out of the house for 12 hours on a work day and just don't have the energy when I get home!

I can honestly say I haven't gone to bed hungry once which is great! Here's to another good day!

@Casino218 Well done on losing 5lbs. That's great. How often do you plan on eating 1000kcals per day? I wouldn't enjoy that at all personally and would much prefer lose weight slower but eat more of what I want. We're all different though, and if it works for you then that's great!

@BasinHaircut The chickpea burger and chips sounds lovely! I'm awful at weighing myself and do it far too often. It's a hanit I should break, but I am aware that weight fluctuates all the time so don't panic when I see gains!

@lmfaoo well done on the lasagne. It's so easy to fill our plates without even thinking about it and overeating. Portion control is important but takes a while to learn I think. I'm not feeling hungry at all either, it's great! Gone are the 'diet' days for me!

@ginandchocs I didn't really plan but as I have cut out sugar altogether ( apart from fruit) I find I don't crave things and I'm less hungry so it just sort of happens that way rather than me planning it.

Ahhh Aunt Flow has hit me like a train today! Having horrible cramps all morning and feeling rubbish. It's my day off today so I'm going to go for a long walk and see if that helps. I would usually reach for the chocolate but I actually don't want any.

Oh no! Poor you!

I’ve been baking all day (gifts for other people) but have managed to not eat any of the cakes, brownies and biscuits I’ve knocked up, don’t know how I’m managing it!

I’m on track so far today and have dinner planned out.

Oh no @lmfaoo I hope you'll be feeling better tomorrow. Great that you've not wanted to reach for the chocolate though!

@basinhaircut well done on the baking (and not eating any of it).

My day has gone pretty well. Scrambled egg on toast for breakfast. For lunch I had soup with a pitta bread and some cheese, then an ice lolly this afternoon. Dinner was pasta bolognese followed by strawberries for dessert. I have also had one of the Aldi chocolates and some red wine this evening. In total I have had 1,838 calories today.

Morning everyone! I felt much better after going for a walk yesterday and manage 11,000 steps by the end of the day.

So today is 2 weeks from my first weigh in and I've lost 3.5lbs! I know some of that will be water weight and I'm expecting it to slow down now but it's very motivating.

I hope you all have a great day!

@lmfaoo that's a brilliant loss 😁

I hope everyone has a great day!

Nice one @lmfaoo! Even if water weight, it’s such a nice feeling isn’t it? IME you can feel those first few pounds too. Good idea to keep telling yourself not to be disheartened if I’m 2 week’s times again you are only another pound down. Loss is loss and as long it is keeps coming off it’s working, especially if whatever you are doing you can stick with.

@ginandchocs you have just made me fancy a big bowl of soup! I might make a chicken noodle soup one day next week, now the weather has turned again that sounds perfect!

I’m meeting a friend for a walk this morning (and offloading the last bit of baking) which I’m looking forward to, I’ve taken the day off work and am going to swing by my sister’s too for a socially distanced visit. Haven’t seen her since end of Feb, or my nephew that was born in Jan!

Last night’s dinner was a disaster. It was a Thai style noodle dish and I used too much lime and it was so disappointing. Edible, but disappointing. At least it was filling though So I didn’t feel the need to snack afterwards, even though we ate early.

Need to take myself a little packed lunch out today but haven’t got much in as it’s almost shopping day. Can probably manage to rustle up a cheese and pickle sandwich but that’s about it!

Hi

Can I join?

I'm aiming for 1660 calories mon- fri and then 2000 on the weekend days. Hoping to loose roughly a lb a week. I have an extra stone I need to shift and could do with fitting in a size 10 again as that's the size all my clothes are! I currently weigh 10st 6. I'd really like to be 10st before August. And then loose the rest of it before the end of the year.
I'm also doing 16:8 a little bit so usually don't eat breakfast on weekdays.

Today I've had-
B: 2 coffees with milk - 46 calories
L: 2 chipolata sausages, slice of ham, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, spinach and 2 crustless mini quiches - 333 calories.

I've read through all this thread today and really enjoyed it. Going to look up the book recommendation are audible too!

Welcome @cornflakecrispie!

Did you use MFP to work out your calories? I only ask because I am 2 stone heavier than you and I need to eat around 1600-1700 calories per day to lose fat so your calories might be a bit high. Although we are all different and you might know that it works for you. If so just ignore me!

Well, today I walked almost 7 miles with my friend! We are out for 2 hours and walking into the wind half of that time so must have burnt some calories!

I have only had weetabix and milk, plus a coffee with 2 sugars for breakfast, and a cheese and pickle sandwich for lunch and 2 teas.

I am absolutely famished now so having an early dinner in about half an hour. Having smoked salmon, pesto and cream cheese stirred into spaghetti, plus asparagus.

I have an online yoga class later too, then I might have an early night. Knackered!

Today will have been a successful day and it was lovely to see some friends and family.

Hi Basin, I am using mfp. I can't remember the details I put in exactly but that was the calorie figure it came out with. I do feel as though I've already lost weight so far this week but I'll see for sure when I weigh in Monday. If I've not lost anything I could reduce my calories a bit further, although hoping I don't have to as I'm still hungry eating 1660 a day! I am really quite active though so hoping that makes a difference too. Your tea sounds absolutely delicious btw, have you got a recipe?? We're have a duck leg, small amount of rice and veggies for tea.

@cornflakecrispie ah yes I put into MFP that I’m lightly active and it gives me 1650kcals so if you are more active you will need more.

Not a recipe as such as it’s something I made up but I just boil some pasta (100g each for me and DH and 40g for DS), chop up a pack of smoked salmon (120g pack for 3 of us) and once pasta is done drain (save a bit of water) and chuck in the salmon and stir together to steam it a bit then stir in a couple of heaped teaspoons of pesto and about 100g of cream cheese (can also use quark to save calories but cream cheese is nicer) and add back a bit of water if needed to loosen. Goes really well with asparagus. It come out at 650kcals for 100g pasta so not low cal but feels a bit naughtier than 650 as it’s quite creamy. So quick to knock up too.

Evening all! Welcome cornflakes!

You guys are all so good at counting calories! I have a rough idea of most things but I really do not have the patience to track everything!

Today's food has been: porridge, banana, tuna salad, yoghurt and granola, small cupcake, salmon with brown rice, peas and sweetcorn and an ice cream cone

As you can see I have the same breakfast, snack, lunch and pudding pretty much everyday lol! Checking out with 17,000 steps today.

I'm relaxing the calorie limit a bit today and going to allow 2000 calories. I felt like I've really eased myself into this week and I'm pleased I've stuck to it so far. I definitely have more energy even though I'm hungrier than usual.

Hows everyone's day going so far?

Hi all.

Sounds like we are all having a good week. Just visited the in-laws (garden visit cut short by the rain!) and they had made a cake so I felt obliged to have a piece although FIL was really good at cutting me a thin slice though. Absolutely no idea on the calories but I’m going to log 150 and not worry about it.

Hey everyone,

I've just come back from a walk, hit 13,000 steps and the Fitbit is off and I might get in my pjs soon! I love the colder weather feels so cosy!

Basin
I know what you mean, the cupcake I had yesterday was made by and offered by a toddler so I couldn't say no but I actually didn't want it! It was tiny though. To be honest though I find it much easier to abstain then to only have a small amount so it's good practice to only have a smaller slice because that's what we should be eating really! A small slice of cake is fine, it's when you get a 'slice' from Costa which are huge and add up to about 600cals! Everything in moderation.

I'm really trying not to look at this as a diet and I can't have this and I can't have that. I can have anything I want but a sensible portion and just be mindful of what I consume over the day as a whole.

Yes to having more energy cornflakes, it's great isn't it!

What's everyone having for dinner, I need to finish the salmon (DP hates it) but don't want rice again so need to have a think!

I’ve had 1875 kcals today so am about 225 over my max 1650. 150 of those are the cake which is disappointing but hey ho. Over the week so far I had about 130 ‘spare’ according to MFP so if I finished tomorrow with 95 leftover I’d have come out even for the week. But even if not I’d have gone over by 95 kcals for the entire week so not going to beat myself up about it.

Dinner was vegan chilli, potato wedges, cheese and half an avocado. I’m stuffed and it was delicious.

Today I’ve also made a pasta sauce out of all of the leftover veg in the fridge, and a Caribbean black bean curry. Shopping delivery tomorrow so making sure everything gets used up.

No walking at all today unfortunately So will make sure I am more active tomorrow. At the very least I need to get some (a lot of) cleaning done.