Anyone else want to make a real effort from tomorrow - 4 weeks of exercise and eating well?

[amiboverd]

I have been trying on and off to lose weight for the past year but now planning to really exercise 3 times a week if I can and cut down on the sugary crap I eat. A but part of it is the habit of wanting something sweet after dinner when I don't even really want it.

@amiboverd I also want to spend less time on my phone! Definitely trying to take a whole approach to improving my health, including mental health & I don't think the constant scrolling on my phone is helping.

@EnglishRose1320 100%. I am going to put my phone down in 5 mins and then not look at it but I have been feeling low for a few weeks and I think my diet and some of my habits may not be helping.

Exercise definitely helps my mental health so I need to find them for that!

Well done on losing a stone. That's great. I've managed about 6lbs. I'm struggling to get back on the straight and narrow after my birthday last week. Still exercising well.

Sorry to hear you are feeling low. Keep up the exercise - it definitely helps. Today, I ran for 28 minutes and then swam in the sea for 12 minutes with a friend. Felt very alive!

6lb is great @BaffledOnceAgain !

I'm definitely doing better with eating. Need to fit in some exercise this weekend!

How is everyone doing? My exercise level is still high. My eating hasn't gone back to my pre-birthday levels, but could be worse.

@BaffledOnceAgain I think I'm about where you are! Been doing Caroline Girvan's daily advent calendar workouts and a weekly run so happy with that. My eating was going quite well until someone dropped off some Cadburys Heroes at work on Monday. I find if I go "off piste" in the afternoon with eating I just carry on like that for the rest of the day. Trying to rein it in again from today.

Like a few others have mentioned, I really need to stop wasting hours on my phone every evening. I can literally feel my head and brain whirring with it. At first it's really relaxing but an hour and a half later, far less so.

Hi @BaffledOnceAgain

Last time I weighed myself I had lost 1.5lb which I was happy with as I haven't been doing much exercise but I am sort of in the middle with eating. I'm still eating things I shouldn't but I'm trying to balance that with good days so not quite F**K if it's Christmas!

@Anjelika The phone thing definitely makes a difference for me when I can get on top of it

How's everyone doing over the festive period @amiboverd ? I'm just about managing to keep up with exercise but any idea of portion control has gone out the window!

Happy new year!

Time for me to get on the scales today and get back on the wagon. I've exercised lots over Christmas due to staying in a hotel for two nights with a gym and pool and doing the Park Run twice (plus an extra run). Yesterday, I set a new PB unexpectedly (given that the teens kept me up until after 3am!) and recorded official time if 28.07 for the 5k (and under 28 minutes on my watch because I started it when I reached the actual start line). However, my eating has been ridiculous. I have a football match on Sunday!

Anyone else joining me on the getting back on the wagon plan? I usually leave it way too late and give myself more to do then in the process.

I make a point, even if I don't have time to do a full workout, of doing the following:

• a few stretches
• a dozen or so push-ups
• the Bowflex 3-minute plank
• 3 or 4 abs exercises
• 3 or 4 leg/thigh/glutes exercises

15-25 minutes altogether. This way I don't get rusty and don't get out of the habit of exercising.

Well done on keeping up with the exercise @EnglishRose1320 and @BaffledOnceAgain and on the PB!

I like that idea @PaminaMozart I am wanting to do a daily abs / arms / legs challenge so that I'm working out those areas.

@BaffledOnceAgain I definitely want to get back on the bandwagon today. I may try to finish early and do a bit of exercise before my DC finishes nursery today although I have not been very productive on my first day back at work so not exactly ahead of myself!

I want to eat better and exercise. I need to plan the exercise so I'll do it.

I did 15 mins of exercise - some squats, arms and abs exercises and felt such a difference after so feel motivated by that to try to do it again every day.

Morning eveyrone

I just weighed myself and it seems I have put on nearly 3lb since I last weighed myself on 8 December

I suppose it's not loads but had taken me over the 10 st mark which I haven't been for a while. At least it's not an extra 6lb on top of that which is how I first read it 😂 I'm on my period so I can blame that for a bit of weight retention but this has actually motivated me to do better!

I'm not sleeping well at the moment either and I'm not sure if that is impacting on even if indirectly because I'm probably not making great food choices as a result.

I have set myself a new goal which is to lose half a stone from where I am today as looking back at my weight trends on my weight app I can see I haven't actually been below 9 stone 9lb for a while. I was smaller when I was younger so maybe I need to reset my expectations but also if I get to 9 stone 7 then I can always set a lower goal.

Could it be vicious circle? Maybe you are not sleeping well because you are eating the wrong foods and/or drink alcohol? You might sleep better if you eat fewer carbs and sugar and unhealthy fats. Also, at what time do you consume the last meal or snack? I generally sleep much better if I don't eat anything at least 3-4 hours before bedtime.

I have set myself a new goal which is to lose half a stone

In your shoes I'd focus on getting into a routine of healthy eating and exercising rather than losing weight. The latter will follow, and you are less likely to put the weight back on.

I am wanting to do a daily abs / arms / legs challenge so that I'm working out those areas.

Try these - I've been doing them for years and they are excellent:

Plus Growingannanas for a bit of cardio:

So I did the dreaded post Christmas weigh in, held off as long as I could & I've managed to put 4lbs back on, was hoping it would only be 2 or 3, but it's not terrible.

Now I need to try and get back to healthy eating, but this cold weather & getting used to Christmas snacks is just making me crave carbs!

@PaminaMozart No I'm not sleeping well largely because I have young children 😂

I don't think it's so much the food affecting the sleep and I hardly drink alcohol at all so that's not the issue. Being tired does make it harder for me to stick to being healthy but I can't use it as a excuse.

I can't each much earlier because of the time I go to bed but honestly the sleep is not my concern in that sense.

Thanks for the YouTube links. I'm doing the blogilates challenges. I recommend giving her a look if you haven't come across her.

@EnglishRose1320 Hopefully you lose those extra pounds easily! I must admit my subsequent two weighs were not as bad as the first.

I have signed up to a trial of Noom but don't think I'll keep it. I do like the food diary but I can do that without paying £20 a month or whatever it costs!

Hello

How is everyone doing?

The +3lb weigh must have been a blip or I lost most of it pretty quickly.

I did a workout this morning and I'm trying really hard not to eat chocolate today but I really want to.

I've found seeing old Britney videos motivates me. She had an amazing body and I feel inspired when I see her dance with her toned abs!

Well, two days after I last posted, an old lady drove into my legs. Fortunately, she was driving very slowly, but I still had to take a week off exercise and ate lots of comfort chocolate!!

I exercised well last week and ate relatively healthily, and then played a full 90 minute football game yesterday so today I can barely walk. I guess I hadn't sprinted since December 17th!

Eright wise, I have stayed off the scales, but will be on it in the morning. Working hard to go to bed earlier as that is my worst habit.

@BaffledOnceAgain ouch! Glad she was going slowly, sorry that happened. Well done for getting back on with the exercise, think I'd have needed longer to recover!

My exercise is going well & I'm steadily increasing the weights I lift. My diet is slowly getting back into a routine again & I managed to lose 2lbs last week, just half a lbs off my pre christmas weight- a little slower than I wanted, but at least it's in the right direction

@amiboverd I find it so much harder to avoid chocolate when the weather is cold! I'm trying to really appreciate the chocolate & treats I do have, because sometimes I crave them so much that I just scoff then & then they are totally wasted calories.

oh glad you're ok @BaffledOnceAgain !

you are doing well

@amiboverd I usually am a chocoholic and I love a hot chocolate at home but I have managed to avoid them this week and I have limited myself to a few pieces of dark chocolate every day apart from Monday when I had a brownie.

I like the M&S dark chocolate discs as they are individually wrapped and so I can usually just have a a couple of I want something sweet after dinner although today I had 4!

How are you all doing?

I'm still struggling with my eating. I am trying to get back a lower car diet which was working in November, but I'm constantly ravenous and being hungry makes me feel unwell. (I get low blood sugar and migraines.) I'm finding it really hard to reduce my calorie intake enough to lose the weight I've regained.

@BaffledOnceAgain , pretty much the same, was in a good routine calorie deficit wise from September- November, went out the window for December & have spent all of January trying to get back on track but feel hungry constantly. I have a couple of good days, then some days where I just want to graze all day long.

Luckily I'm still doing okay weight wise, and my body fat percentage is going down- so the exercise must be doing something. But the weight loss is tiny & I'm having the odd week where I gain as well. So definitely not the consistent approach I was managing before Christmas.

I've got a week away next week, and I'm really looking forward to it, buy worried I'll be right back to the super hungry post Christmas days again when I get back.