The significant shifters 2016 part 2 (all welcome)

[LentilStew]

New thread, ladies

Wow. The encouragement is really amazing on here. I luffs you all. I'm currently being beaten up by a sleepy 5 month old. I'll be back...

Thank you all so much . I really feel the support/empathy and encouragement from you all.

The hill image is a very good one, thanks fly . I will keep trying to find a way up it even when the going gets tough, one step at a time and yes, updown I'm focussing in on strategies for when these moments of self sabotage hit - distraction, drinking more water, reminding myself of why I want to be lighter and fitter.

In my fifites too stop and the stakes feel so much higher now. Don't want to compromise my health any longer. The self sabotage thing is I think a deep one, maybe something about if you fail and are at rock bottom there's nothing to risk if you see what I mean. Also maybe a fear of feeling empty, though that's a weird one cos when I don't overeat it can feel great to get back in touch with a proper accurate sense of hunger.

Anyway, enough of the navel-gazing, here's to a very supportive community of significant shifters. I hope we will all be celebrating at the end of the year....

Fantastic support on this thread! I loved fly's hill analogy! :)

Clearskies, I've been where you are now - start off well and then somehow loose it. I think I start wavering with the motivation, and then it's all or nothing.

I'm not feeling it so much this time, and I think it's because I'm doing 5:2. I can't do self-denial for very long, but on 5:2, I can be strict on my fast days by telling myself that I can have a treat tomorrow. Ironically, the fact that I'm "allowed" treats on the non-fast days somehow makes me want them less! I highly recommend it if anyone is interested. There is a very supportive thread on here too. :)

My news of the day is that I had a sneaky mid week weigh-in, because my period will be starting soon and I know that will mess up the scales. I've now lost over a stone since 4th January and my bmi is now under 40 again. Still way too high, obviously, but I'm happy to have hit a little milestone. :)

The hill analogy is super, thanks, fly!
I've blown it this week. Not massive binging but around 1800 calls a day rather than 1200 and tonight I had 2 glasses of Prosecco at a friend's house alongside some chip and dip stuff. My weight loss has been slow the last couple of weeks despite going to the gym 6 nights out of 7 and burning off between 300 and 400 cals a session. Still only losing a pound or so a week. It's demoralising and I know that's why I've been more slack this week and I've fallen into a 'what's the point mode!' Need a quick boost. If I could consistently lose 2 or 3lbs a week I'd be happy but all this effort for 1lb feels a bit rubbish!

Every lb helps, Lentil. Another step up the hill!

I know but I want to be moving up the hill at more than a snail's pace!

DH has suggested that I'm not eating enough for the amount of exercise but I don't know if this is a myth or whether eating 1400 good cals a day would make me lose a bit more. I'm certainly toning my legs but weight loss is very slow.
If anyone has any ideas on how to boost my fat burning performance then let me know.

Lentil it's important to remember that it takes 3500 to make 1lb of fat so to consistently lose 2-3lbs a week you'd need a daily deficit of 1000-1500 calories.

It would not be healthy to do that for a sustained period as taking in the right nutrients would be a real struggle.

If you have butter/spread in the house look at what 1lb (454g) looks like. To shift the equivalent of 1-2 packs per week is much more achievable and better for you in the long run.

You can do this - but if you don't mind me asking, how accurately are you weighing/measuring/recording your food? I'm asking because I know all too well it is to slip into thinking you know what the portions 'look' like, but in reality more is on the plate than you really think.

That's a good question toe about portion size. Last night as I dished out sausage casserole I purposely only put half of what I would usually put out on my plate and told myself that I could have another portion after I'd finished this one. It didn't look much on the plate and I felt that I would definitely have the other part afterwards.

Needless to say, I was full after the first portion. DH will have the remainder for lunch today .

I'm glad the hill things strikes a chord. I'm just a tiny way up the hill, walking across it now, just staying at the same level. I'm not losing weight so I'm not climbing it but I'm doing the right things so I'm moving- just on the level.

I'm getting a bit fed up with it tbh. Lentil a pound a week is truly a good thing. Don't be dispirited. I lost three and a half stone a year or two ago and it took me nearly 18 months. I pretty much averaged .6 of a pound. Rubbish. Except that it wasn't rubbish because it all added up to 3 and a half stone less of me and that felt good

Now I've put most of it back on and so need to do it all again. And I'd be happy with a pound a week!

Anyway I'm plodding on round my hill. Looking up at the top where thinner me is, in expensive jeans, looking good. She's waving at me to come on up and I will get there. Just need to find the up path

Some of you have been storming up the up path. You'll probably have to do a bit of just going along on the level at some point. We all will. But as long as we make some progress upwards at some point all is well

So back in the real world if anyone has ideas about how I can get losing I'd appreciate it! I'm calorie counting on mfp eating well, possibly snacking a little too much and probably need to exercise more but I'm in the office 11 hours a day, an hour travelling each way so there's not much time. I walk part of that so walk about 3 miles a day but probably need something more vigorous

What can I do ?

Literally everything I eat is recorded on MFP. Everything! No cheating! I've cut portion size quite dramatically and I'm not having too many carbs at all really. No bread, no butter, no cheese, no pasta. Sticking to rice, with reduced portions, slimming work chips and jacket potato. Using lean Turkey mince to make shep pie, having tuna salad, grilled chick breast and SW chips and salad. Haven't managed to cut out sugar as I'm having 1 or 2 highlights hot choc drinks at 40cals each a day and I know they have sugar. Only drink those, one cup of tea and lots of water each day. No coffee or fizzy drinks. Oh and reduced sugar baked beans on jack pot also still have some sugar.

Some nights I'm doing 2hours quite intensive workout at the gym and it is toning me but the weight loss still seems elusive.
So to sum up Im sticking to 1200 cals a day sometimes below, (other than last night) and most days I'm totting up 300-400 cal workouts. Before this my calorie intake was closer to 2500-3000 a day and I was not exercising. I just don't know.

So I may have consumed 1200 cals and burned off 400 at the gym, netting me 800. How am I not losing weight on that?

Sorry for grumpy posts. thank you all for trying to help. I just wish I knew what I was going wrong?

Lentil the scales probably aren't moving because you will be turning fat it into muscle. I bet you are losing inches though. Maybe if you didn't go the the gym for a week and stuck to your calories you'd see your weight drop. I've stuck to my calories, done no extra exercise and lost 8lb since the 4th. It's more important for me to see the scales move so I will worry about toning once the weight has dropped, I know that if I go to the gym I probably won't see much movement and I will get disheartened.

Maybe. My clothes are looser definitely and my bottom is definitely toning although still a long way from toned!
I may try and cut back on the gym next week and see if that makes a difference. Thank you

I bet that's what it is, see 1lb of muscle is a lot smaller that 1lb of fat, that's why your your clothes are loser but weights not changed. You are shrinking without the scales moving.

Also checking back over your posts haven't you lost something like 7 or 8 pounds in January? - doesn't really seem like doing anything wrong. I think your expectations are quite high and that can challenge motivation - if you're getting fitter, and losing around a pound a week, that's really not 'doing something wrong'

Be proud!

Thank you, mustbethin, and Flyright, I need to just stop whinging and get on with stuff. I shouldn't weigh myself midweek esp during my period either as that gives a false reading. I just want the scales to say 12 something instead of 13 something and my motivation will return, I'm sure.
Right, thanks for the kick up the bum ladies. I'm going to try an visualise my Christmas dress again. Maybe it's at the top of the hill!

I'm as impatient as you Flyright. You sound like you're doing everything right, so just keep at it. The Christmas Dress patiently waiting and you've 11 months to get there.

So the weekend is almost upon us. This is the time I struggle. I LOVE wine but I haven't drank for almost 3 weeks. This is miraculous for me! The reason is because any time I've tried to be healthy in the past, I always gain weight over the weekend with the wine and munchies during drinking. Just trying to drink on nights out and not 2 or 3 bottles a week sitting in front of the telly. That's not healthy for my liver either. I've got my little Farmfoods chicken curry and noodles. It tastes like a Chinese Takeaway but less fat/cals and I'll add in lots of veg. My husband will probably get a real takeaway but I'm going for a bath when he's eating his. Must avoid the temptation!

I liked the poster earlier who said they put half of the portion on the plate and said they'd get it after if they were still hungry. I'm going to try doing that too, instead of just putting it all on there. Good tip!

Sounds like you started off at a similar weight to me Lentil I was 13st 7? I lost 6lb in 8 days then 1lb a week since. I reached 12st 13 on Monday. Still hovering though, hope to be 12st 12 by this coming Monday. I weigh myself every day even though I know it's not supposed to be the best but it keeps me motivated, if I get on the scales one morning and I've gone up 1lb (like I did the other wk) even though I have stayed withing calories I know that it can only be bloat and not fat and will be gone in a day or two then I feel happy when I see it disappear whereas if I weighed myself weekly and the day I weighed myself if gone up by 1-2lb I'd freak out coz then I'd have to wait a whole week to see whether I'd lost it and more. I just like to keep track of it daily.

That is an interesting take on daily weighing Must, hadn't thought of it like that before.

Well done on weight loss and BMI going down Broken and to anyone who's losing a pound a week, that is actually brilliant and much more likely to be sustained and built on as the weeks go by than some extreme diet.

And yes, Must muscle weighs much more than fat , which is where using a tape measure can be encouraging. I've started that last week - bust, waist, hips, thighs.

Don't lose heart, message to self, lentil and anyone else who has been struggling this week. It's a long path for each of us up our personal 'hills'.

I've been feeling loads better since confessing on here the other day to struggling and all the inspirational encouraging posts since.

Am drinking more water, increasing the walking, trying to eat slowly, chew more, cut portion size a bit more, finish eating before feeling overfull, not eat after 7ish and NOT GRAZE while cooking, clearing up in the kitchen etc!

Good look for the weekend everyone - keep hold of that vision of what you want to achieve

Clearskies I deffo feel better about weighing every day. I first weighed myself on the Sunday before started my diet so the 3rd and I was 13st 7 my usual weight. Didn't weigh myself until the Tuesday 5th and I'd ballooned to 13st 10 even though I'd been within my calories on the Monday. Got back on the scales Wednesday the 6th and was 13st 6 So had lost 3lb bloat plus another 1lb. Just goes to show weight varies day to day so I just like to keep on top of it and not freak out if the scales go up when I know I've been good.

Hope the weekend is going well for you all.

There was something on TV in the week about weighing every day and then using the average figure as a good way of tracking the numbers falling week by week so if daily weighing works to keep you motivated then why not?

I'm doing well today with moving - I'll have done 13000 steps by bed time thanks to a day out looking for curtains, a brisk walk to the local shops when I realised we'd run out of milk, and a trip to IKEA where I did over 2000 stops just trying to get out of the place

Looking forward to Mondays results - see you all then.

Bunch of studies suggest those who do weight themselves daily lose more weight and most importantly, maintain their loss.

I watched the tv programme too, and the article above makes sense to me. I weigh myself every day. Today I was 3lbs heavier than yesterday. I stuck to 1200 cals and walked 3 miles and have done so most days so I know it's not accurate I think the averaging thing makes sense. I'm certainly not going to get disheartened with this 3lbs (although it had better disappear in the next couple of days)! Good luck with the rest of the weekend folks. I've not drunk any alcohol again this weekend. Feeling angelic.

Impressed at the not drinking. I've had probably 400 - 450 cals tonight in wine and dark chocolate and I don't feel I've had loads of either. It just adds up.

If I could do without both I might actually get on with losing some weight. It's this kind of unnecessary additional calories every day that is stopping me. So I need to stop it. Just eat my meals. How hard can it be?