Slow but sensible weight loss

[slowandsteady]

Hi 😊

Up until last March, I had spent almost 20 years on a diet. My weight had gone up and down so many times over the years following different plans. However, last March when the Slimming World group I was a member of went to zoom classes I decided to stop. I decided to stop dieting and to work on improving my relationship with food.

Almost 12 months later my weight is pretty much exactly where it was then. I am really happy about this as to me it means that my relationship with food is so much better. I don't binge or restrict. I don't avoid certain foods because they're 'bad'. I am now far more aware of my health and have started exercising from time to time, just because I feel like it.

But...I do want to be smaller, fitter, leaner, healthier. I want to achieve this without counting points or syns, categorising foods, fasting, massively restricting calories or avoiding certain food groups. Obviously I do need to burn more calories than I consume to achieve this but I want to do it in a way that is sustainable. Slow and steady.

I have decided to set up calories at 1700 per day. 12 months ago I would never have thought it would be possible to lose weight eating 1700 calories (I'm only 5ft3") but I now know that it's possible. As long as I burn more than that.

So, I thought I'd keep a note of how I get on here. My personal rules are:

1. Eat an average of 1700 ish calories per day over a week (some days could be 1500, others 1900),
2. Burn at least 2000 calories a day,
3. Sit down and eat the same evening meal as my family every night,
4. Exercise if and when I feel like it,
5. Don't restrict food. If I've reached my calorie goal but would really like something else then go for it (sensibly),
6. Take daily vitamins,
7. Drink a sensible amount of fluids.

I know weight loss won't be fast, but I just want it to be sustainable.

If anyone would like to join in, please feel free (but please no serious restricting, slimming clubs or fasting.....if they work for you then that's amazing.....they don't for me).

I've just seen this thread. I have been following a very similar approach to you, OP, in that I have not been sticking to a rigid diet, I have just been moving more and eating a bit less. I still have treats quite often, and eat what I fancy, I'm just more mindful about what I'm putting into my body and I'm doing a lot more exercise than I did before. There are no banned foods, but I do eat far more vegetables than I did, and more whole grains too. I'm also doing 16:8 fasting on weekdays, which I find really easy to stick to. The way I see it, this is not a short term diet, it's a long term change in my relationship with food, so it has to be sustainable.

I've been doing this since last March and I have lost over 3 stone so far. Recently hit a bit of a plateau, but the scales are starting to shift again now. I average around 1700 calories a day, and feel that I can eat quite well on that. I have also been doing the beginners' daily shred this month, and am on week 6 of C25K. I go for lots of long, lovely walks on my rest days.

I'm not bothered how long it takes for the weight to come off (I still have a lot more to lose! ) because my main focus is on getting healthier rather than losing weight, and I can see my progress in so many different ways - like the fact that I can now walk up a really steep hill without having to stop! The weight will keep dropping, and I just have to work on having a healthier relationship with food and more respect for my body so that I actually think about what I'm doing.

Good luck to you on your journey, OP. I think your approach will serve you well!

Just checking in, another 1lb down but the scales were flickering between 12st 9 and 10..they finally settled on the 12st 9 but i suspect im kidding myself 😂

@AlexaShutUp congrats on your 3 stone loss!!

@AlexaShutUp it sounds as if you really have it worked out. You have lost over 3 stone which is amazing and all whilst not dieting but making long term lifestyle choices. Amazing!

@Covidconfusion89 well done on the 1lbs loss. If that's where it settled, that's where it was supposed to be. That's a really healthy amount to lose! Brilliant!

We have freezer junk on a Friday night for dinner but even with that I've managed to stay below 1700 (it's pizza night tomorrow night so pretty sure it won't be the case then!).

B: all bran fibre crunch with the last of the strawberries and blueberries (forgot to add the chia seeds 🤦‍♀️
L: jacket potato, beans and cheese with a mini salad (food shopping tomorrow)
S: one of the homemade biscuits from yesterday
D: southern fried breaded chicken steak, a few chips and peas
S: g&t and jelly beans

Today's calories consumed: 1470
Calories burned: 2055

Exercise: Les Mills Barre class (my legs are reminding me about it tonight...ouch!).

Food shopping this morning so once again have a house full of fruit and veg. Though that doesn't mean I ate any today! I find that I eat differently on a Saturday. I think it's everyone being home, no work or school and just more relaxed.

Today I have had:

B: trek bar (was in a rush to go shopping as weather wasn't great and thought the road would be flooded later.......it was!
S: fibre now bar
L: crackers, cheese, salad bits, etc.
S: a piece of rocky road
D: 3/4 ristorante pizza
S: a glass of wine with some jelly beans

Calories consumed today: 1810
Calories burned: 2028

Exercise: rest day

Today I have eaten...
B: all bran fibre crunch berry burst with berries and chia seeds
L: lamb steak, mashed potatoes, veg, mint sauce and gravy
S: homemade chocolate sponge and white sauce (small-ish portion)
D: chicken fajita and veg rice bowl
S: chocolate

Exercise: Les Mills Sh'bam workout followed by a 10 minute abs one

Calories consumed: 1640
Calories burned: 2021

I'm going to weigh in the morning to see if things have moved since last Monday. Fingers crossed! Though I'm not in a huge caloric deficit each day so if there is a loss it won't be massive.

Last Monday I weighed 12st3. This morning I weigh 12st1.75. That's a loss of 1.25 lbs making my total loss in 3 weeks, 3.25 lbs. Slightly over a pound a week which is perfect.

Thats brilliant Slow, and you don't sound like you're depriving yourself.

I've just seen that my wedding can go ahead at end of July so Ive got extra incentive to lose now!

That's so exciting @Angbunnyboo I bet you're really pleased!

Today has been another good day. As well as weighing in this morning I also measured and since the start of February I have lost 1.5" from my waist, 1.5" from my chest and 1" from my hips. My waist is probably a good dress size if not 2 smaller than my hips so losing more from my hips would be ideal

Back to today...
B: protein bagel, scrambled eggs and a bowl of berries
L: the same chicken fajita rice dish I had last night (I made 3 portions)
S: cashew nuts and a protein now bar
D: pasta pesto with salad and a piece of garlic bread
S: jelly beans

Calories consumed: 1582
Calories burned: 2215
Exercise: Les Mills BodyCombat and a walk with the children.

Once of my children is starting back in school tomorrow (we're in Wales) so I'm hoping to walk the school run in the morning and afternoon so will easily get my steps up!

Today I have had:
B: 2 x poached eggs on toast with chia seeds sprinkled over
S: Trek bar
L: the same rice bowl as the last 2 days!
S: Fibre Now bar
D: chicken fajitas
S: jam doughnut (yum!)

Today I have consumed 1775 calories (the doughnut was almost 300! Worth it though!!)
I have burned: 2152
Exercise: 15 min Les Mills Tai Chi session (really enjoyed it) and 2 walks (2 school runs!)

I have worked all day today and find those days more difficult when it comes to moving enough and not being tempted by snacking!

Today I have had...
B: all bran clusters, berries and chia seeds
S: cashew nuts
L: tin of soup, cheese and a fibre now bar
S: cookie
D: homemade curry and rice with 2 poppadoms and half a naan
S: an M&S covered digestive I found in the cupboard!

I have eaten 1644 calories today and have burned off 2004 (only just met my target of 2000!!).
Exercise: Les Mills sh'bam

I was shattered last night so fell asleep before I could update this!

B: protein bagel with scrambled eggs and chia seeds
L: lamb kebab with roasted veg (butternut squash, courgette and tenderstem). Followed by some roasted peanuts
S: viennese whirl
D: pasta bolognese
S: creme egg

Calories consumed: 1305
Calories burned: 2120
Exercise: Les Mills barre class and a walk

Happy Friday!

Today I've had...

B: all bran clusters, strawberries, blueberries and chia seeds
S: trek bar
L: pitta pizza and carrot sticks
D: potato waffles, chargrilled chicken and peas (freezer junk night)
S: small-ish cake and a g&t

Calories consumed: 1414
Calories burned: 2160
Exercise: Les Mills Bodyattack and a walk

Tomorrow we're having a Chinese takeaway so I'll probably be way over my 1700 but will also have estimated a lot of calories! I'm really looking forward to the Chinese though!!

Me again! Another 1lb down. Also trying to do a brisk short walk every day and will hopefully be increasing this to a jog 😂

@slowandsteady you seemed to have nailed this whilst not depriving yourself!

@slowandsteady your take away sounds amazing... We have one probably once a week but i try to make a "healthier" choice. Really fancy just pigging out though!!

@Covidconfusion89 another 1lb off is amazing! Well done.

I don't know how many calories I ate yesterday (or today as we finished the Chinese for lunch 🙈😂) but I'm pretty sure it will be less that what I burned. I ate/drunk just over 800 calories plus the Chinese and burned just over 2220.

Anyway, I haven't binged or snacked lots this weekend and still stuck to my goal of burning over 2000 calories a day so I'm happy.

I'm going to weigh tomorrow. Hopefully it will be a loss but after eating more salt than usual, who knows? It'll have been a whole month since starting this way of eating so will be interesting to see exactly how this month has gone.

I'm really pleased that during February I lost 4.5lbs. I started at 12st 5lbs and I am now 12st 0.5lb. I know it's not a huge or quick loss, but it's been easy. I've watched calories but eaten pretty much what I want. I also measured a week or so into February and since then I have lost 1.5" from my waist, 3" from my hips and 1" from my chest. I am really happy with that. I've also been wearing jeans that I was avoiding for being a bjt snug without needing to open the button before the end of the day 🙈

Today I have had:
B: all bran cluster, berries and chia seeds
S: cashew nuts
L: a roast chicken and branston sandwich on seeded bread, crudites and a few cheese savouries
D: cawl (I'm Welsh so a must on St David's Day), cheese and crusty bread
S: jelly beans

Calories eaten: 1608
Calories burned: 2344 (very good day for me!)
Exercise: walked the school run twice and out for a short run. I feel as if I haven't stopped today and been on my feet a lot so that'll be why it's so high.

@slowandsteady well done!! If we continue at this pace it will all up by the end of the year!!

I'm being slow posting this week but I thought I'd just update on calories in/out to keep a track rather than a full menu each day as I'm sure it's pretty clear what I eat 😂

Monday: 1608/2345
Tuesday: 1665/2074
Wednesday: 1576/2103

@Covidconfusion89 thank you 😊 Definitely! All these smaller amounts add up.

Weigh in today and I have maintained this week. It's been my husband's birthday so we had a chippy dinner, there's been cake and lots of pastries for breakfast so I'm really happy with a maintain. I ate the birthday foods but didn't use that as an excuse to overeat for a whole weekend. I definitely would have done that if following a Slimming plan, and would have gained a couple of pounds and felt completely fed up!

I didn't calorie count Friday through to Sunday but still made sure I burned off over 2050 calories a day (not sure if I mentioned I increased this from 2000 at the start of March).

My week has roughly gone like this:
Monday: 1607/2345
Tuesday: 1665/2074
Wednesday: 1576/2103
Thursday: 1684/2139
Friday: ?/2061
Saturday: ?/2091
Sunday: ?/2072

Well done a maintain is still a success! I thought I had maintained but when i weighed the following day I was down 1lb. Definitely a theme here for me!!

@Covidconfusion89

Well done a maintain is still a success! I thought I had maintained but when i weighed the following day I was down 1lb. Definitely a theme here for me!!

Snap! When I stepped on the scales this morning I was down another pound. I'm not sure Monday is the best day for me to weigh as I eat differently at the weekend which seems to throw my body a little!

Well done on the pound loss 😊