The significant shifters 2016 part 2 (all welcome)

[LentilStew]

New thread, ladies

[SaoirseLikeInertia]

Dudes! Just copped on that this thread is here. Having a real carby day today, but within my cals. Tomorrow I will be more virtuous

[FattyNinjaOwl]

Hi everyone. How are we all?
So far I've lost a stone! I'm so happy. I may actually be comfortable and happy with my weight (although I will probably still be slightly overweight) by the time my birthday comes round in august if I keep this up. My children will have a fun mum who can run about and play. Just in time for having two toddlers! (DS2 turns 1 in august, DD doesn't turn 3 until December!)

[Brokenbiscuit]

Well done Fatty, a stone is fantastic! :)

Well done limetime and fohamy as well, and everyone else who has lost! We're all doing so well!

Hang in there anyone who is struggling, and remember, if you mess up one day, just start afresh the next. It took us more than a day to become overweight, and it will take us more than a day to get back to a normal way of eating.

Stopfaffing, your rash sounds horrible, but as you say, it's a good reminder of the downsides of carrying excess weight. I'm sure that other people won't be able to smell it, but hope the cream has done some good. Well done to you and your cats for keeping up the C25k in spite of your challenges. It's something I'd really like to do one day but I'm too embarrassed about how big I am to go out running in public just yet. All in good time....

[stopfaffing]

I have applied the cream a few times since I got it and this morning a definite improvement; the rash is reduced and there is no smell now. I didn't do my walk round the block this morning as it is pelting down, but did vibro. I may get time later this afternoon to go for a walk after work, weather permitting.

Broken that's why I go out at 6am , I see no one at all at that time of the morning.

[Brokenbiscuit]

The trouble where I live, Stop, is that there are too many super-fit joggers! I guarantee if I went out at 6ish, I would meet loads!

Never mind, when I'm a bit smaller, I'll pluck up the courage!

[Clearskies99]

Hope it clears up soon Stop and the osteopath can help.... One positive angle on your rash might be that it was triggered by all the extra exercise you are doing and therefore sweating more.

Well done to all who are losing so much and let's stick with it even if our weight loss is slow or not happening yet.

One day I hope to jog again in daylight but sticking to walking and swimming for now and some yoga.

[FattyNinjaOwl]

I don't think I've ever jogged. I'm too embarrassed now. I've never needed to lose weight before. I've always been a healthy weight (or underweight) 2 years of immobility changed that pretty damn quickly! So this is all new to me.
stop glad the rash seems to be clearing up and hope the osteo can help you. I really need to get on at my GP again and get him pestering the hospital to find my physio notes.

[LentilStew]

Well done on all the loses!
Stopfaffing, I had exactly the same type of rash Just after giving birth underneath my boobs. They were enormous as I was feeding (42g ) and sweat just gathered however often I washed and tried to keep dry. It was awful, really itchy but really painful too. GP prescribed something called betnovate N which is steroid cream with anti fungal in it. The difference in just a day was fantastic. GP said it was normally prescribed for persistent athletes foot but same fungal issue I guess.

[LentilStew]

Has anyone tried the diet pill, Alli to help lose weight? I was talking to someone earlier who has lost 4stone overall and she said it really helped. I don't like the idea of diet pills in general messing with metabolism etc but she said this sticks to the fat and you poo it out. Is it that stuff from the diet programme? If so, his bowels seemed out of control so that would put me off that. But she did look great.

[stopfaffing]

Lentil it is not a good idea.

I was prescribed this some years ago (it was called something else) and it works by giving you diarrhoea-type symptoms if you eat too much fat . Fortunately I had an allergic reaction to it so didn't continue.

[mrshyde27]

I'm finding loosing weight really hard..great to find a thread on here. I'm managing about one to two pound a week. Does it get harder as you get older? I've got three stone to loose, seems like an impossible task right now.

[MustBeThin]

That's a good healthy weight loss mrshyde27 I used to get stressed about not seeing the scales move in a week or only dropping by 1lb, I didn't realise that was what was supposed to happen, I wanted faster results. Now I'd be happy to lose 1-2lb a week. I've lost 8lb since the 4th Jan, 6lb in the first week (always loose more at first) and then
1 each week.

[LentilStew]

Thanks, Stopfaffing, I watched the first programme on iplayer last night and it was the same stuff the Dr was trialing on himself. It did not look at all pleasant. He didn't seem able to leave the loo all night! I think I'd rather be fat than incontinent! 😆

[stopfaffing]

Well, we'll, well. Just at garage getting work done on car and sitting in lounge area with wifi . Got a cappuccino from coffee machine and all the cups are set with saucers, spoons, and wee biscuits. I've only gone and eaten one, without thinking . It was unwrapped and in my mouth before I realised. I could have removed it, I suppose , but decided to carry on. It's the first sugary thing I've had since starting on 4th January will I explode?

[ToeTouching]

It's all gone quiet - did stop explode after consuming a ?

Hope you've all had a good day - it's nearly half way through another week!

I got up at stupid o'Clock to go for a walk with DH and half way round the heavens opened. We must have looked like 2 drowned rats. Nice to start the day properly after a nice warm shower, basking in the smug glow that getting soaking wet and out of breath offset 3/4 bowl of porridge

[SaoirseLikeInertia]

Morning!
The weeks are flying by, yet it seems to be taking AGES to get skinny... if that makes sense
Going out for dinner with DH tomorrow night, so will be saving most of my cals tomorrow for that (and will be definitely going over them!)
I don't find it too hard to stay under my cals, but very difficult to keep carbs down- I don't eat meat/egg/dairy so a lot of the stuff I eat is carby.
I think I'll continue to concentrate on cal totals for another couple of weeks, and then see if I need to shake up the carbs a bit.

[onitlikeacarbonnet]

Hiya!
Thought I'd lost you all. Glad to have found you.

I've just been on the spread sheet updating myself and a few others from the fb group.

I noticed there's a few who obviously haven't updated or maybe can't (I can't on my phone).
Is there anyone on this thread who needs updating? Happy to do it.
If you pm me your:
Name (whatever you are/want to be on ss)
Starting weight, wk 1, wk 2, wk 3.
In pounds please so I don't have to calculate it

My own update is a stone off since the 4th. Hoping this week will be a good one as its looking promising so far.
And my jeans are falling down

[updownnconfused]

Hi, Can I join you all? I have, well, had 6 stone to lose a fortnight ago. I've lost 7lbs during the last 2 weeks. So ONLY 5 1/2 stone to go. I've lost and gained 2 stone almost every year for the last 7 years! Not a good relationship with food.

There's been a few moments recently which I'd call wake up calls 1. Dreading a girlie weekend away because I'd look fat and have nothing to wear 2. My friend saying she looked awful and didn't want her photo taken; however when I volunteered to stand next to her she was delighted and thanked me... that can't be good can it? 3. Someone asking if I was pregnant 4. Realising I'm much bigger than my neighbour (who I was always slimmer than) 5. Stepping on the scales 6. looking at photos of me. 7. Turning 40 and being fat 8. Worrying about my health 9. People walking past me all the time because they don't recognise me (I moved back to my home town a few years ago). 10. Just being generally unhappy about the way I looked (awful) and felt (sluggish and depressed).

So, here I am. I'm sticking to 1200 cals, walking a lot and only eating between 12noon and 7pm. Oh and cutting way back on the wine!

[Clearskies99]

Welcome updown sounds like you're off to a good start.

Time for some honesty here with self and all of you guys- hitting a crisis point here. In an all too familiar pattern of late, that is I start off really well for a few weeks of getting into better habits with food and exercise, start to lose some weight, then a few weeks in, it all starts to slip....... I start wanting to eat more, I lose focus/will power/ belief I can achieve this and start giving up..and eating more. Not good. There's so much to lose, and so much to gain if I can keep on track

That's where I'm at now and I'm trying to find a way back to keeping on with the positive path I'd started. Don't know if it's self-sabotage? Sometimes it also feels like physiologically my body goes 'hey hang on a minute lost 1/2 a stone here, need to stop this, get back to the status quo'.

Does any of this sound familiar to anyone? I really want to change this pattern and it should be so simple, eat less and exercise more.

GGRRRR cross with self... and frustrated.

[flyright]

Hang on in there, don't let the status quo win!

Try thinking about it as a hill you're climbing. You're at the point now where you're up a bit and it's getting harder and the summit is a long way off. So you have to really grit your teeth, put your head down and aim for something a bit nearer. The big rock up ahead, (half a stone off ) rather than the daunting summit. You can't stand still, there's nowhere to sit, so just put your head down and keep on going.

All the lovely women on this thread are on the hill at various points to pull you up a few feet or give you a shove if you stop. It is a big hill, and it will take us all a long time, but look behind you - you've started the journey and you're not going to turn back and waste all that effort getting this far.

Meet you at the big rock. I'm trudging really, really slowly at the moment. Practically stopped. But I'm not stopping, I'm going up the hill. Slowly or quickly doesnt matter. Moving forward does.

[updownnconfused]

I empathise Clearskys - my weight fluctuates by couple of stones a year. I think psychologically I never see a change in myself when I lose weight and therefore don't see the benefits. Even when I've been down to 10 stone (thin for me) I can't really SEE it. I know the clothes sizes are smaller but I feel the same. Throw in my need to comfort eat and medicate with food and a husband who also loves food... I can't put my finger on it, but I do exactly as you do and at the moment I'm fearing that time when I start to slip over the edge.

Ask yourself, when are your weak moments when you want to overindulge? Is it the evening; mid afternoons? Whenever it is, can you do something to distract yourself? They say drinking water helps or maybe eat a small piece of fruit? For me, I eat too much in the evenings and weekends. I'm cutting out breakfast and only eating a big lunch and dinner and no snacks at all. I'm finding I prefer the larger lunch/dinners and don't want to snack. I know this goes against the 3 meals a day advice, but I've been reading a lot on intermittent fasting and like the health benefits.

Do you have any support? Anyone who can encourage you when you're feeling like this in real life? Could you look through photos of yourself looking lovely and use them for inspiration? On the flip side, stick a horrible photo of yourself on the fridge?

It's so frustrating when you can feel the change in your motivation. I'm on myfitnesspal if you want to friend me. Don't give in, think of your health if you can't think of your vanity.

[updownnconfused]

Lovely inspirational words flyright. I could actually visualise myself on that hill :-)

[flyright]

Glad it helped. Updown talks a lot of sense too. We all struggle at various time and just have to find the mental tricks to keep our heads in the game.

[ToeTouching]

Fabulous words of encouragement here.

I hear what's being said about self sabotage and falling into old ways. Im still really focussed (just got in from a 40 min walk) but am nervous of falling of the wagon before reaching goal.

I've done it 4 times in the past and each time a significant event has tripped me up and I haven't gone back to 'the plan'.

That's why I pledged to start the first Monday in January to get a full clear year, no big holiday, special birthdays, operations planned so by next Christmas I'm determined to be a knockout at the work's party.

I've got 110-120 lbs to lose so know it may even take a bit longer than a year but this time I want to actually reach my goal- I'm getting to old to carry this sack of potatoes around with me.

I'm really into watching the American version of Extreme Weight Loss on YouTube and saw a brilliant episode this week where a nurse had lost 140lbs. She was given the reward of a trip to the Grand Canyon but they made her hike down it wearing 140lbs of weighted vests to really hammer home how much she'd been carrying. She took it off at the bottom and practically sprinted back up.

But once she'd hit target and was approved for skin removal surgery she went home to prepare and in 3 weeks gained over 30lbs!

She then couldn't have the surgery and had to recommit and work hard for another 3 months to get back to goal and requalify for the surgery.

It was a fantastic example of why this lifestyle has to be forever - not just until we've hit that magic number.

Come on you losers - run, waddle or trudge up the hill with me.

[stopfaffing]

Hi Toe, no I didn't explode . In fact, someone brought in a couple of delicious home made cakes today (birthday) and I had a mouthful sized piece (seriously) to try rather than a piece. It was nice, and I was so relieved that I didn't immediately feel like falling on it and scoffing the lot .

onit Woohoo, it is great when you jeans start to fall down !

updown you've come to the right place for support, welcome. It totally get what you mean about not seeing a change in yourself when you lose and gain weight. I'm the same. Its weird. I have been a size 12 once you know (after doing a VLCD) and couldn't really deal with it. I still felt 'the same' iyswim.

clearskies
"I lose focus/will power/ belief I can achieve this and start giving up"
Oh yes, that happens to me too but not this time . Seriously, it is horrible when it all goes wrong because it is like falling down a black hole all the way down, down, down to the bottom and facing having to climb all the way back up again. i.e. impossible . The more I try to stop it happening, the more it happens!

Self-sabotage? Yes, I often wonder that too. Is it to do with us feeling that we are not worth it? Is it being afraid of failure? Heaven knows, I am familiar with failure . Or afraid of success (really deep .

Whatever it is, it stops us achieving what we want to achieve.

This time I am thinking in terms not of losing weight but of improving my health. I am in my fifties now and feeling the effects of carrying an extra 7 stone considerably more than I did 20-30 years ago. It cannot go on. If I want to become a disgraceful old woman who causes equal embarrassment and mirth to my grown up children, well into my 90's, I need to be in tip top condition. So that's my motivation.

Can you find a motivation that does not include your appearance or weight loss only? Something else that you can really focus on when the going gets tough.