20lbs lighter by Christmas Day, anyone?

[notagiraffe]

Hi
Got weighed at weekend in one of those places where you can't shift your toes around on the scale to lose half a stone. Bit of a shock. Does anyone want to join me to be 20lb lighter by Christmas?

That's only 2lb a week. We can do it.

Height: 5'4"
Start weight on 21st October: 159lb
Goal Weight on Christmas Day: 139lb

Food Plan: no sugar or processed foods, lots of water, lots of veg and lean protein. Alcohol free on weekdays

Exercise Plan: Daily Shred plus what I already do (fitness class and walks)

Anyone want to join in and add plans, tips, motivators, anything at all to get us there by Christmas Day?

PeteCampbell.. I think you're doing really well just ditching the coke and chocolate!

I'm finding dieting really difficult. It's a bit pathetic because all it is for me at the moment, is waiting for proper meal times and eating something decent instead of eating crap all day long.
I've already had porridge, banana and yoghurt this morning and really want to have some tea and biscuits. I am not hungry at all. In fact I'm very full but still want biscuits!
It's ridiculous.

I definitely need to replace it with something. Maybe reading? I never eat while I'm reading. Really, I should replace it with housework and exercise :)

Thanks Funky, I know what you mean about boredom eating.

Sometimes I eat even though I'm not hungry because I don't feel full up.

Don't do housework though. Drink a pint of water and go for a walk. Anything but housework.

Wish - you need something to distract yourself and break the craving. Don't stick your hand in the biscuit tin because you'll just feel crappy afterwards and wish you hadn't. Stick some loud music on and dance around your living room for 10 mins :-D

Hi,

Hang in there. Even if there's no weight loss one week, or we slide off course into a juicy kebab, stick with it. We WILL be 20lbs lighter by Christmas day.

Kato - time of the month can play havoc with weight. So does time of day. Always weigh in the morning before breakfast? that way you're not weighing the five cups of coffee you had before you got dressed.

Thanks nota I did, first thing in a v light nightie following ahem ablutions!

I've got a Mirena but don't have a period as such but lots of cramps etc, but I'm going to the gp on Monday to starting the process of getting it removed so we can start ttc number 2!!!

I am down 1 lb.

I know it might be a fluctuation, yadda, yadda, but it's better to be fluctuating downwards rather than upwards! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!

I was bad last night and had wine, but I wont have it tonight. I'm seriously thinking about giving up alcohol in order to shift these lbs in time for Christmas parties! Yahoo!

I have incorporated my wine into my total for today on MFP (I might go over today as a result, but it should even out over the weekend).

The Hairy Bikers' Diet Cookbooks are my new bibles. I made the Lo-cal Chicken Tikka Masala the other night and it was utterly divine

joni thanks for the tip.

Scales showed I was down a whopping 3lb today. But my scales are mischievous and make stuff up as they go along, so I'm going to rely on proper medical scales at Boots or docs.

Hi, can I join in? I'll be a week behind already but I need something to motivate me! I did the shred in August, got lots of muscle tone and lost inches, which was great, but my weight remained the same and I've since been on holiday and am feeling flabby! I would love to lose a stone and a half and would ideally be 10 stone but I'll aim for something less intimidating!

I'm 5'7" and 12 st 5 lb. so aiming for 11 stone (gulp!)

I'm a poor sleeper and I know that's meant to have a negative effect on weight loss. I don't have an awful diet, I don't add sugar, I don't have surgary drinks, I drink a lot of water, I tend to eat home cooked things and very rarely eat fast food. I don't binge but I do have a few biscuits a day. I think mostly I struggle most with portion size so that will what I have to focus on. I will add a mile or two walking and return to the shred daily.

Are we weighing in Mondays ?

Hi everyone! Despite joining earlier in the week today has beeny first 'good' day! I'm still hoping for 20lbs by Xmas so as an extra incentive I'm going to put £1 in a pot if I can go all day without snacking and an extra £2 for each 1lb I lose. Any money can be spent on slimmer clothes in the sales. I'm desperate for new clothes so I'm hoping this will spur me on. I'm also going to ban myself from buying anything new til xmas.

Right, the kids are watching a film and have got the treat tin out so I'm off for a long shower and face mask - avoid temptation!! Keep up the good work1

Can I join? Will be a week behind but so need this kick! Have lost a lot of weight previously but I'm currently 2 stone heavier than I would like. 20lbs off by Christmas would be fantastic.

Height: 5ft 7inches
Weight: 13 stones 7lbs
By Christmas: 12 stones 1lb

Good luck everyone.

bishbosch, yes, weigh in is on a Monday to try and encourage us not to go too far off course over the weekend. Though I did have a glass of wine tonight - first this week. And I did finish DS2's veggie curry. but though I'm over MFP's 1200 cals today, I'm still under 2000 so shouldn't have actually gained today.

Mrs Bob, that's a great idea. Putting the money towards new clothes will be an incentive.

Haggis, we only started on Monday, so you're only four days behind. You'll be fine.

Thanks giraffe , will stay focused over the weekend

Thanks Giraffe. I'll start in the morning and weigh in on Monday with the rest of you.

I'm going to have to be strict over the weekend , I had a blow out day on Wednesday , and friends round for dinner last night ( too much wine , cheese etc )

Haven't managed any excercise either , I can go to the gym , but I hate running ( fat and 53 & running is not a good combination ) so I need a work out to reduce my bum and tummy .

I'm trying some positive thinking , visualising my long slim legs and flat tummy .

I'm going out tonight. Will try not to go to over the top.

Chlorinella, what sort of exercise do you enjoy? Don't run if you hate it, you won't stick at it! Can your gym do a programme for you? Otherwise I can give you some ideas of workouts to do. For example, doing hill training on a treadmill at a brisk walking pace can be just as effective as running.

Friends round for takeaway tonight, must be really good all day to compensate!

This is the first time in ages that I have got to day 5 and actually stuck within a calorie limit!

Quite pleased with myself for using mfp to chart my food but really hoping I can do it this time!

Bought myself a magazine yesterday which seems to have loads of celebs in it that have put on weight, so in my head I'm thinking that if by summer they can look amazing then so too can I!!

Saying that, out tonight but straight back
On the wagon tomorrow.

Good luck everyone for the weekend!

I'm going shopping in a bit and am going to get that Hairy Dieters book. It will help me to meal plan too.
I'm getting better at sticking to meal times for eating only. just to achieve that will do me so much good so I'm not constantly eating all day long. I have had a couple of lapses but its definitely an improvement. I want to feel hungry for meals and not just eat because its a meal time for everyone else. I'm so ashamed at how I've become.
Weekends are definitely harder for me so I'm going to try to distract myself as much as I can.
I like the shower and face mask idea.
I'm also going to try some clothes on that I want to get into. I've got some lovely dresses that I've not been able to wear in a while.

Oh crap this is it my danger time when I just want to eat. Every single bloody day at this time I feel like I'm starving and will eat anything.

Trying to think of distraction techniques to keep me away from food. Think its time to scrub the toilet or something!

Ok. Weighed in today naked at 13.13. I am usually between 11-11.5 and so quite a bit to lose.

I can't do low carb or low calorie as I'm breastfeeding and my supply just isn't that great. So I'm going with portion control and less junk food. Even if I can knock off a stone before Christmas and the inevitable family photographs it would be absolutely wonderful.

Hi haggis - did you hang in there? Massive drinks of water help (I know, I know, but we want to be 20lbs lighter!) If not, then make something very protein heavy but low fat - couple of scrambled eggs with black pepper are around 200 cals and will stop you feeling really hungry.

Bigwelly - what I've been doing is making far more veg to go with dinner - three or four instead of one or two. use smaller plates and fill them up with veg, then there's not so much room for carbs or anything rich and fatty. If you're bf-ing, would doing something like that help set up healthy patterns for eating?

Also, I find that a protein breakfast with no sugar at all is the best way to start the day - scrambled eggs or a bowl of natural yoghurt lead to no cravings, whereas if I sprinkle muesli on the yoghurt, cravings kick in.
It's sugar. It's the devil. It's a class A drug of the food world.

Youre right about the sugar notagiraffe. I think I'm going to try to give it up b going cold turkey. Its the only way for me I think. Otherwise I'm going to continue craving them.

I bought the hairy dieters cookbook and it looks really good. I also bought some oil to start oil cleansing my skin and bought a deep conditioning treatment for my hair. If I could lose a stone too, I'd be transformed :)