Anyone fancy joining in, using the 6 weeks Summer hols to make new habits to lose weight and be healthier?

[CharleyDavidson]

I've read that it takes about 21 days to make a new habit. So I'm using the time off work with the kids to tackle a few areas and make some new, healthier habits.

I'm going to up my water intake by starting the morning with a glass of water and by keeping a bottle of water by the bed for sipping on. (Has to be a bottle or the cat will help himself to my water!)

I've joined the local fitness place. It's not a gym, but it does host lots of fitness classes and I've taken advantage of their half price offer for the first month.

And I've got a food diary to start being more mindful of what I'm putting in my gob. I have good food habits when it comes to work lunches, but I won't have any of those til Sept. I need to make good habits when eating at home too. Like portion control and not going back for seconds. Like including fruit and veg more. And not finishing every meal I eat with a sweet something afterwards.

I'm a big fan of...

No breakfast. Not due to the dieting, I just haven't eaten it in years because I'm just not hungry first thing usually. I will have something if I wake up hungry so it's not set-in-stone. But breakfast is usually something that only happens in the holidays, and then it's brunch rather than another meal.

Lunch is usually salad with some protein, and some fruit. Occasionally a cereal bar although I'm trying to break the habit of having something sweet after eating something savoury. Pleased I managed that today.

Dinner is 'normal' food. Nothing is banned, but high cal foods are limited.

I usually keep a little something in reserve for some cereal (or a small chocolate or two at this time of year as I have several boxes of them from children at school) if I get hungry in the evening as we eat relatively early compared to some.

I'm also trying to not eat after a certain amount of time at night, which is when I might actually wake up hungry enough to want breakfast the next day.

Meals for next 3 days planned. And put into the 'notes' section of nutracheck.

Coming in on cals again today - but really hungry now! Should go to bed I suppose to avoid sabotaging self.

Thin Day is upon us tomorrow ... How is everyone doing?

Not been doing much exercise myself (still recovering from cold/hacking cough) but been doing okay on the food front - I seem to have lost my taste for processed food which I hope will be a lasting change!

Today's good news is that 2 separate colleagues have told me I am looking thinner .. I am down a stone so I guess it's now visible! Looking forward to a positive weigh in tomorrow :)

Charley - sounds like you are doing well! I don't mind being (a little bit) hungry at bedtime ... Means have definitely not over eaten!!

Doing ok here so fat. I nearly put my thin Thursday result on today before remembering it's only Wednesday and I've got another day to go.

Today was mcdonalds as we were put shopping and I treated the kids as I never take them In term times. We've got past always thinking about having an ice cream for dessert, which is good. I def can't eat as much as I used to.

I don't mind being hungry at bed time. In fact I get a weird satisfaction that I haven't snacked in the evening of im hungry when I go to bed.

It is homemade mini pizzas on Warburton thins for tea.... With lots of veg piled on top.

I started the day with a very bouncy dance fit class which I can only do ad I'm on holiday, and tonight is my usual zumba class so I'm going to that too.

Pass.... how great when people ask whether you've lost weight. That's what I hope will happen when I go back to work/school in September.

I'm sure they will!

Meeting friends tonight so will probably be pizza which I am not too happy about ... Your sound healthier Charley!!

Doing ok here so fat
Talk about freudian slips.... obv meant so far.

Morning All! Thin Day has arrived - I am down 1.5 pounds since last week, although (as I weigh most days) most of that was on thu/fri last week

I think a fair loss given not much exercising this week due to my cough (and I went out for a curry last night - wasn't too greasy though). Am going to focus on sticking to plan - this weekend should be pretty easy compared to last.

How is everyone else doing?

Well done, pass.
I'm down 1.6 lb. My scales wavered at a lower weight briefly, then settled on that. Lots of exercise here but not being too strict with what I eat and nutracheck has me on higher cals than I've been on with mfp before. That's fine if it means I stick to it.

How was the weekend?

I managed a short gym visit on Sat, jog on Sunday, ate very lightly on Saturday, but made up for it with a roast dinner and some wine tonight ;) - part of my plan to eat a bit more one meal a week

Weight going down nicely: actually seem to have dropped 3-4 pounds this week (didn't lose much week before so that must be the explanation!)

Monday - new week ahead :)

I've had a good weekend, food wise. But I don't seem to have lost much. Just creeping down the scales in tiny amounts. But down is still good. I obviously entertained the idea that in 6 weeks I'd be going back to work and everyone would notice I'd lost weight, but not sure that will happen. Especially as we are away for a week in Menorca is 3 weeks. Hey Ho,

Sometimes the scale stays the same for a while and then it all drops off!!

I think that hunger has finally hit me this week so not expecting a very thin day tomorrow ! How are you getting on Charley?

I'm definitely improving my fitness with all the visits to the (it's not a gym) fitness centre and all the dance fit/zumba classes I'm doing.

I've lost half a pound this week so far and am not expecting that to be different by tomorrow.

I did make a mistake today. I was v busy doing this that and the other and missed my breakfast, as usual. And then missed my lunch. I felt hungry occasionally, but not at any time I could grab something to eat easily.

So the two salmon fillets that were going to do a salad each for lunch and for dinner (they needed using up) were both eaten for my tea. Then I went to my evening zumba class.

And I've got the munchies! I've had some tortilla chips with mozarella, but not that many, and have a plate of toast and jam next to me.

I have, however, had someone at my dance fit place asking if I've lost any weight. THe scales haven't moved that much, but I can see a difference in myself. There are full length mirrors in the room so no avoiding it! I put weight on my waist last of all, and had put a fair bit on. And that's the bit that I'm losing.

Spurred on by that, I tried on my cropped small sized 16 jeans. I could get both pairs on and even managed to do one up, which I couldn't do before the end of term.

How are you getting on non-scales wise.

That sounds great on the jeans!!

Non- scale wise, getting into some of my clothes I haven't been able to wear for months, getting comments/compliments too ... Just worried as I seem to have zombie levels of hunger!!

Charley - I will weigh in tomorrow am and report back :)

A definite half off this week. Slightly disappointed but better than sts.

I can understand! Have you been doing okay and body slow to respond or genuinely less this week?

In my case - I had a weird blip last weekend when I lost 4 pounds overnight. Weight is up since then, but down two pounds vs last thu/fri so calling it an okay week - would have loved to continue to lose from that low point! Going to stick at it this weekend. I leave on holiday on August 24 so that's the next thing looming ...

I have been ok. Nutracheck gives you green ticks to show if you are under your calorie goal or have exceeded your exercise goal. I have green ticks everywhere, apart from one day where I was 20 cals over.

I've done 7 different exercise classes too.

So yes, I'm disappointed. Especially as this morning showed a GAIN! Sigh.

I am sure it will come off again though and is a blip. I've also had a blip the other week where I mysteriously lost several pounds and then gained half back. Weird. And it wasn't my scales as I weighed several times and moved them to different positions too. :)

I have no plans to break my focus though and have a good week ahead planned.

I'm also away soon - 2 weeks Monday. So am going to have 2 weeks of back to basics where I aim to be above the 1200 min that MFP would give you but below the 1400 that nutracheck gives. And I am going to weigh everything that's not veg or salad.

I need to meal plan next too.

Good luck for the week ahead.

Charley - you are doing everything right, so I am sure it will come off!

Your focus has inspired me to get to the gym!!

Hurrah! I've done an induction in a local gym and visited the one in the local hotel to think about joining. But going on a treadmill doesn't do it for me. And I have my own exercise bike at home from when I was using it for physio after my hip operation.

I have done a zumba class for the last 6 years, run by an instructor who also trains others to be instructors. So she's good.

So when I looked for a different zumba I could do on my one day off a week, I found the local dance/fitness centre. They aren't a gym, but they have 3 studios. One set up for spinning and two for dancing/fitness classes. In the afternoons they teach kids ballet and tap etc. But in the day and the evenings they do dance fit, ballet sculpt, ballestics, clubbercise, different zumbas and body pump etc.

Because I'm off for the 6 weeks I'm hitting lots of them to make the membership I took out worthwhile, and to find classes I enjoy that I can carry on with when I'm back at work.

At the moment I'm doing...

Mon - nothing. The zumba class they did there was rubbish as the lady was new and not v organised.
Tues - clubbercise (so much fun) 8pm
Wed - dance fit 9.30am and my standard zumba class 7pm
Thurs - Zumba toning 9.30 am, dance fit 7.30pm
Fri - Zumba gold (a bit easy but it's the only class I could find on my day off) 9.30am and clubbercise 7.15pm.

It's a lot more exercise than I normally do but I'm having a lot of fun doing it.

I have read that you damage your muscles in tiny ways when you exercise and then your body retains water while repairing those muscles, so hopefully that is the reason I don't seem to be losing much.

There's supposed to be a 'whoosh' effect if you take a break from exercising, so hopefully I will see a whoosh on Mon if I'm not doing anything between now and Tues.

That's a lot of exercise! Hopefully you will get a woosh soon :)

I got my woosh! Over the weekend of not exercising I lost the Wright I put on mysteriously and an extra 1,5 lb. That'll do.

How are you getting on pass?

Bugger. Managed to put all the weight I slowly lost over the 4 and a half weeks back on while away on holiday. I blame my friend's influence. If we'd not been away with friends we'd not have eaten out for every meal. And I'd not have had any alcoholic drinks. Never mind ordering one or two with dinner as well as the complimentary cocktails and the shots that came with your bill at the end of the evening meal.

It was very enjoyable though, and inevitable, so it's now (after a post-holiday takeaway) back to it. One more day of school hols (and opticians appts and other little jobs) and then I'm back to work on two training days.

I've bought a new diet diary for accountability, logged in and recordede my weight gain on nutracheck to carry on with using that and will be back to my salads for lunches.