It's the Countdown to Christmas

[Helgathehairy]

115 days to go

Here we go!

[PinkSquash]

I may have to have a name change now.

Today was a total fail although I did walk 1.6 miles to school and back. Have eaten junk and drunk lots of tea. Will aim for a glass of water before bed (which will be late).

Tomorrow is another day

[Helgathehairy]

110 days to go

[lucyintheskywithdinos]

helga yes, that is pretty standard behaviour from him. He is awful to all adults but lovely to children. It's very strange.

lairy I'm impressed you are even thinking about this! I didn't get my act back together until my 3rd was ermmmm...2!

Day of fun ahead for me. I'm drinking coffee while the DDs paint, then making pancakes for breakfast (super healthy ones, made with chickpea flour so they are extra protein packed!) and then the DDs will get picked up at 12 and I will be off duty for 24 blissful hours!

Happy Saturday all!

[OrangeyTulips]

going well with water drinking, hooves decallousing, facepack etc. not great on diet yet. will bring ds swimming on Sunday.

[Helgathehairy]

Not doing too well this morning. Haven't even showered yet. Walked the dog earlier and was going to shower when I got back but now DD has fallen asleep I can't risk going in to get my clothes.

[lisam78]

Not doing well today either...DH away golfing (grrrr) until Sunday night, and he left a box of chocolates for me (he knows I am on a diet, this was purely a gesture because he feels bad leaving me at home with the kids for three nights, as he should!).

Anyway, terrible nights sleep as both kids ended up in bed next to me. Missed my exercise class this morning as I didn't have a babysitter, and there are now only three chocolates left in the box (

Someone stop me!

[enormouse]

Hi can I join? Had a bit of a rough summer with pnd after DS2 and exam stress and have slowly been improving my lifestyle. I'm on ads, eating healthily and am about half way through c25k. So I'm ready to work on how I look now. I like to think I was pretty well dressed and stylish but in the haze of pnd I just wore old pjs and dps tops. I looked awful and came up in stress induced ezcema.

Today's been a good day though.
I've had hot water with lemon, been for a run and had a nice breakfast and have showered. I've had my eyebrows waxed and my hair cut. DSes aren't keen on it and DS1 keeps bringing me hats to put on. maybe it does look shit and the 2 year old is right. It looks a bit dawn o'porter but less big.

[EdithDickie]

Hi all, welcome enormouse.

Pretty good here. Ran this morning. I have lost 2 more lbs and am 6 lbs off my target. I seem to have a slight bit of muscle in my arms?! Been a while since I saw that! Am adding tricep dips to my press ups to hopefully get the bingo wings vaguely under control.

Daily body lotion is so nice, my legs and feet feel so much better.

Thank you for the motivation

[blondiebonce]

Hope everyone's Saturday isn't too bad!

lisam78 prime guilt trip material when he gets back for getting some time to yourself whilst he babysits!

enormouse - can empathise x remember they're little boys though and I'm sure it looks lovely! Probably just because it's different to what they're used to :)


Better day than others, today- was up and dressed by 9.30...awake before the 7 week old who slept through the night Not complaining, obv. Face done, day off from make up and contacts, went on 3 mile walk with mum, her dog and my babe :) eating ok +some Jaffa cakes. But they're orangey so I'm going to be stubborn and say they're ok.

[blondiebonce]

Well done Edith!

[cherryhealey]

Need to lose 4 pounds

Get back to walking- fast walking not dawdling

Facial oil and neck cream every night

Exfoliate scrub twice a week

Clear polish on fingernails and do toes every week.

Phillip Kingsley elasticizer once a week

More water more veg

No wine tues wed thurs and bed by 10

Plan wardrobe better no more impulse buys more quality less quantity clothes.

Body butter every night

Spa tone and cod liver oil every morning

[Helgathehairy]

Sorry for being MIA today. Been out doing stuff. Not a great day - hardly anything done. Oh well - will try to be better tomorrow.

[TeaAddict235]

wow cherry, are you really going to body butter every single day?

I had a mediocre day, not much water drunk, veg in Bolognese, but did manage a hair wash and deep condition this morn. I think that I need to detangle more often, but I just don't have the time nor patience each week.

Didn't manage to do any gardening as DS is sick, so no sport today.

[Helgathehairy]

[Helgathehairy]

109 days to go

[Helgathehairy]

Determined to have a better day today!

[MrsMinton]

Me too Helga. I always have good intentions but....

So today I am going to go and take my vitamins now, drink two more glasses of water to get near my target and go to bed early. Three little changes.

Hope you have a good day

[VixStarr]

This is a great thread. I did have the beginning of September in mind anyway to make a few changes. I am six months pregnant but really need to control what I am eating and plus i am fed up of looking like a frump. There's no excuse for some of the stuff that I don't do/do.

So I want to do the following diet wise:

1. Eat porridge or say scrambled eggs on toast rather than crappy sugary cereal.
   
   
2. Have one cup of tea a day only - not eight and then complain that i can't sleep at night as i am so wired.
   
   
3. Not eat crisps/biscuits/chocolate - but as an incentive make myself nice hot chocolate in the evening.
   
   
4. Actually eat the healthy meals that i provide for the rest of my family and not sneak eat rubbish carby meals while they aren't looking. So basically eat fruit and veg.
   
   
5. Drink Water
   
   Beauty regime
   
   
6. Moisturize as am prone to horrific stretchmarks in the mornings
   
   
7. Oil on problem areas in the evening
   
   
8. Exfoliate
   
   
9. Use my clarasonic twice a day and tone and actually put that really expensive face cream by sister kindly gave me.
   
   Exercise
   
   
10. to go for a twenty min waddle twice a week. Might help me to sleep better and avoid sitting in the evening and just eating.
    
    I am okay on the beauty stuff apart from 9) but really need to concentrate on the first five. I feel awful and hate feeling sluggish and i know that 80 per cent of that is not the baby but how i am treating my body. My only saving grace is that I don't drive so at least i am getting some exercise. Hopefully doing preschool run /baby and toddler groups will get me back to a proper routine and give me the structure I need to get back on track.
    
    Good luck everyone.

[VixStarr]

Clearly I need a new brain for Christmas.

[VixStarr]

I obviously am not prone to stretchmarks in the mornings but rather meant to say from previous pregnancies am prone to stretchmarks.

[Helgathehairy]

vix welcome! I was wondering about the stretch marks in the morning!

Well I'm showered, had my detox tea, vitamins and have started on the water. So already doing better than yesterday.

[SingingSilver]

Can I jump in? I really need a bit of an overhaul!

List
1 - Aim for 3 litres of water a day - drink a 1.5l mineral water bottle then refill from filter jug.
2 - Edit make-up and toiletries. I have way too much (from BeautyVlogger infatuation) and have to sift through lots of things I won't use to find the things I love,
3 - Colour my hair every 8 weeks, instead of just putting it up in a ponytail so the greys don't show!
4 - Gradually ease into low carbing - make meal plans.
5 - Light exercise (I have a low thyroid and things like the Shred are considered anti-thyroid and counter-productive, so light cycling, walking and maybe look into yoga?)
6 - Try to get some fresh air every day, especially while we still have some sun!
7 - Physio for my neck because the home stretches aren't working anymore.
8 - Deal with body hair, instead of wondering if today will be the day you get into an accident and doctors see your hair legs...
9 - Start using a serum under night cream
10 - Start bringing my bedtimes back to a reasonable hour. I'm frequently up past 2am lately and it's starting to show on my skin.

Does that seem like a good general list?

I have recommendations for supplements if anyone is interested! 10 years as a hypothyroid patient has meant I've tried a lot of them! My favourite ranges are Nature's Best and Lamberts, but Jarrows and Solgar are good too. Apparently the three things most British women are likely to be under range in are D3, iron and B12. B12 is a miracle worker if you are tired, it gives a proper energy boost, and it's impossible to overdose on it.

A good B12 protocol to start with would be something like Jarrows B12 5000mcg. Let the tablet dissolve under your tongue. They taste quite nice. I used to take 3 a day, but now I just take 1 every other day. Swansons is a good brand too, and cheaper.

I use Healthy Origins D3 supplements, they are wonderful, no filler rubbish in them. 1000IU is a maintenance dose, so I started out by taking 5000 a day, then down to 1000 in summer. I also take 2 Solgar folic acid supplements a day to help with the conversion of the D3 and B12.

I take a Solgar Gentle Iron tablet every day or use a Spatone sachet (iron is something you don't want to take a lot of, or you end up with other problems!) and help its absorption with a Boots Vitamin C effervescent tablet dissolved in water.

The only thing I'd pop into a Holland & Barrett for at present are hydrolyzed collagen tablets - fantastic for the skin and hair, but I have to break them in half because they are huge! They are in a blue bottle, and I only buy them in the penny sale because they're expensive.

And I also love the turmeric tablets you can buy from Lamberts or Nature's Best. I take one a day. It's been proven that they help brain health more than fish oils (well in some studies, I'm sure there are others that could dispute that!) but they do help people with Parkinsons. Curcumin is a very healing spice and the tablets have a high potency of it. It's my little insurance policy!

Sorry for the essay! I noticed some people asking about supplements on the other thread, so I thought I'd share what I know

[SingingSilver]

*Also you should keep the iron away from other supplements. This is something I don't like about multi-tablets, often you have things bundled up together that will block each other. Iron and calcium definitely need to be kept hours apart.

[lucyintheskywithdinos]

Afternoon everyone!

I'm still on track, was out last night but drank sensibly and ate sensibly too. Did stay up until 4am with my boyfriend but as I was 'exercising' I'm sure that counts as a good thing!

Took the DDs to a bike event earlier, lots of fun silly active stuff done today.

I also stayed on budget when shopping with my sister and also bought everything I needed! Wearing lovely new teal trousers today!

[EdithDickie]

Well done Lucy! I'm terrible at staying sensible when there is drinking involved! Teal trousers sound lovely!

Not brilliant but not bad day for me today. I had a bit of cake and some sangria. But swam in the sea and did some shuttle runs on the beach (while dd shouted encouragement at me!)

The exercise thing is going well. Definitely feeling stronger in my arms and fitter generally

Keep going everyone!