Countdown to Christmas

[ItRainsItPours]

All welcome!

Supportive thread for setting goals including self care and fasting, and chat in between!

@Clearingaspace please stay on thread, your story is a good reminder to us all that the hard work starts after the weight loss. I think with the batch cooking, if you eat something you are not used to it might give you digestive issues. I guess the way to go is build up slowly? Is there anything you do eat regularly that you could bulk up gradually. Examples would be spaghetti bolognaise, chilli con carne, tomato pasta sauce, curry, lasagna, cottage/shepherds pie etc. Everyone who eats my batch cooks says they are delicious, even my teen/tween children who can be fussy but I have been cooking this way for over 20 years.

I eat nuts everyday but I do weight them, they are a high protein way of filling yourself up but unbelievably calorie dense. This is why I only have honey roasted peanuts at Christmas.

@Clearingaspace we must have something similar in our personalities because I've also stayed away from this thread at times where I don't have good news.

Please stay 😊 we can continually re-adjust our expectations. I've decided this week that my new, achievable goal is to not gain more weight between now and Christmas. When there's a lot going on, and things are not going as we might ideally wish, we can change tack and make the adjustments we need.

Just so you know, my conversations with myself today and yesterday have been VERY odd: the grown up says things like "you know, you don't have to eat any more biscuits if you don't want to - I think you're already feeling a little bit sick" and the reply comes, "I know, but I can't help it, it's what I know, I have to do it" and it's quite flailing and helpless.

But some sense of kindness and nourishment must be seeping around the edges, because (as well as the chocolate and nonsense) I did enjoy some tasty soup for lunch today and I've got a nutritious dinner too.

Even if it's baby steps, we can still make those steps take us closer to where we want to be.

I think it’s best to enjoy Christmas but try to keep it to a small number of days. I know if I stuff myself from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day then I am ready to start getting out for some walks and not eating quite so much after that. I might try to keep up some fasting too as that helps minimise the damage 🫣

Maybe strong or spicy cheese would be good, super tasty but a small amount is enough. Whereas cheesy biscuits... I can't stop.

Chocolate covered brazils are similar, I love them but can only manage a few.

So foods with a built-in "stop" switch?

I can't take much alcohol these days and it's the same for a lot of my friends.

Christmas is an interesting one. I think I'm not going to worry about it on Christmas Day and then at least keep to my fasting schedule for the rest of the time. I know that when I've had a complete blowout before I have felt awful afterwards. I had a weekend full of pizza, wine, crisps, chocolate, takeaways etc a month ago and then was up in the night with a bad stomach. I think my body wasn't used to the extreme switch and it was genuinely not worth it.

I can stay away from sweet stuff really easily but cheese, salted nuts etc are my downfall. I will probably allow myself to enjoy some but have them as one of my meals rather than having lunch, then dinner, then a cheeseboard 🤣.

Thank you all so much for the support ❤️

@HarpQuartet my baby step will be the same for now. I was pretty tempted to open more wine this evening - just finished a bottle that’s been in the fridge a few days - but talked myself out of it. I think I will call it a day with decaf coffee.

Sorry you have had a stressful week, but great that you have got through it so well @EmbraceTheBeans . Must also be a relief to have had the lightbulb moment of weighing butter and nuts pay off so well!

I feel like I am maybe getting back onto the straight and narrow. I was reading a book (free on Amazon) which describes how we have an inbuilt mechanism to store fat for times of scarcity and that at times our ‘lizard brain’ takes over - I do genuinely feel like I have been lost in lizard brain for the past month or so and just on a mission to store fat! I genuinely couldn’t seem to stop myself. I look a lot podgier all of a sudden, but maybe the lizard is satisfied for now and I can get back down.

Oh dear have I killed the thread.

dh and I have listened to a couple of radio interviews recently about monjaro and I really identified with the cancelling out of food noise being something I would benefit from. Dh says he is happy for us to pay for something like that if I would find it helpful - I think I want to try avoiding paying for something like that for now but maybe if I keep gaining I will look into it. In the meantime I have seen there are supplements like berberine which can have a similar effect so might look into that. Hope all well

@Clearingaspace you haven't killed the thread! And @EmbraceTheBeans I'm sorry, that sounds tough.

I've been plodding on with the fasting but haven't lost any weight for a couple of weeks so have hit a bit of a plateau. I would have liked to lose a bit more as it's half term next week and we're away on holiday. I feel like I need a bit of a concerted effort before Christmas!

One thing that is helping is we need to really tighten our belts financially for the next six months as our house needs some expensive repairs to the roof and a few other necessary bits so although that is a pain, we at least won't be eating out as much and will be having very cheap and simple food at home. Beans on toast tonight! I had a bowl of fruit and fibre for lunch with added pumpkin and sesame seeds. I see lots of vegetable curries and cheap casseroles over autumn and winter which is no hardship really. DDs had porridge for breakfast so the aim is cheap but nutritious food for a while and we'll see if that has any impact on my scales.

@EmbraceTheBeans hello! Do definitely look into hrt and have a conversation with the GP. I hope it works for you.

Hrt hasn’t made a huge difference for me but has helpedwith aches and pains. my Gp said I could try other types of hrt potentially. One other thing is that testosterone apparently can help with brain fog but apparently GPs will only prescribe for women saying their need is linked to low libido as there hasn’t been sufficient testing for menopause. Strange to me that libido is a more pressing concern than brain fog and low mood etc … I had a sunset walk last night and that did lift my mood a tiny bit. I hope you find some things that work -l we all need to get back to our self care! Talking of which, I wonder how @loveyouradvice is?

Just to add @EmbraceTheBeans well done on not giving into those quick dopamine fixes. That’s a massive win - my inability to do that is why I keep regaining so much weight.

@GameOfJones good luck with your frugal healthy eating - I love beans on toast! My dd is also going through a porridge phase, perfect on a cold morning

I don’t think it’s ever too late for HRT, they will have to snatch it from my cold dead hands 🤣
Other thing to think about at this time of year is vitamin d.
I would definitely take weight loss medication if the GP prescribed it but I am too nervous to take something bought over the internet. My bmi was over the required level earlier in the year but you need another risk factor and luckily I am otherwise well.
I am trundling on, life is busy and I’m not losing weight but happy to be maintaining at the moment. The local council gym has all kinds of discounts for memberships and when I go to swim it is very empty in there. I guess this is not the ideal time of year for weight loss and exercise. It is probably more about limiting the damage.

@EmbraceTheBeans wow that is a huge loss - amazing! Great to read your update. Fantastic to be so close to your healthy weight.

@ItRainsItPours interesting point about buying weight loss meds off the internet- I’m not sure if I could do that either. My bmi is 33 but I don’t have any health issues like diabetes or hypertension - so not sure I would be allowed it via GP.

Anyone still hanging on in there? I managed to lose a couple of lbs in October but I can see a long list of eating out opportunities ahead. I hope to maintains until January comes and everyone is fed up of feasting.

Hiya, sort of hanging in there, up and down (weight and mood!) but more or less maintaining, which is also my plan for the moment. I've got a big Life Deadline (re-training) until just before Christmas and haven't got capacity to think of much else.

@EmbraceTheBeans my sugar cravings seem to have disappeared too. I still want crisps, cheese and chips but am limiting those. I do not crave anything sweet at all and have completely gone off cakes and biscuits. Which I'm taking as a positive step!

I'm hanging in there as well. My weight seems to be going up and down the same few lbs so has pretty much been the same since the start of October. But I've still got a long way to go, so I'm trying to rally a bit. Poached eggs on sourdough for lunch today after the gym and then for dinner I'm having daal with cauliflower rice. I'm also planning for OMAD two days a week when I'm in the office.

I'm also doing more weights at the gym and less cardio. I'm still getting on the exercise bike but going more slowly at a much higher resistance. Like others I'm focusing on building some muscle.

Hi everyone so glad to hear from you all and that people are hanging on and maintaining.

I haven’t weighed because I keep forgetting to put recharged batteries in my scale. I stood on them straight out of bed and half asleep the last two mornings in a row expecting them to suddenly work, but I will do it today! I am getting a bit more back in the fasting zone and skipped dinner last night. I do want to actively start losing weight before a family event at the end of the month. I am frustrated that I can’t be as motivated to consistency by actual health rather than brief spurts for short term events though! @GameOfJones i will try to join you with at least one omad this week and will aim for 2.