13 weeks countdown til summer holidays begin, I want to wear shorts this year!!

[twoandahalftimesthree]

For years I managed to maintain my weight but since I turned 40 and had a injury which prevented me doing my usual exercise the weight has slowly crept on. I was just over 11st on my 40th but two and a bit years later I am at least 12 st 8 (just come back from a week on holiday where I really overindulged, I will weigh in accurately tomorrow morning!) The last time I was this heavy I was pregnant!
Earlier this year I did 5 weeks very strict (no sugar, low carbs, no wine, no gluten). In the first week I lost 6 lbs and then no further loss for the following 4 weeks! I never strayed from my restrictions, ate a huge amount of non starchy veg so I didn't feel hungry but it was a big commitment and after a month of no loss I fell off the wagon.

Predictably, i have now put back on those 6 lbs and added another 3 for good measure!
I had an operation to repair my injury 3 weeks ago and now feel recovered enough to start back with my exercise which I feel may have been the missing ingredient from my last weight loss attempt (i hope so, cos otherwise wtf?!)
I have just worked out there are 13 weeks until the schools break up for summer holidays so that seems like a reasonable time frame with a specific end point. If I lost 1.5 lbs a week for 13 weeks that is almost a stone and a half which would bring me down to very nearly my comfort zone weight wise.
I am now committing to exercising for 20 mins everyday (at least on average) and going back to my low carb, low sugar WoE.
I have just got to do it!!!! If there's anybody who'd like to buddy up and join me here that would be great.

Thanks guys.
I seem to do better when i am at work. The hunger is tamed with gallons of tea, peppermint tea or water. If i have a banana and babybel about 3pm it sees me through till dinner.
This is it. Big line drawn under past couple of months and away I go!

Looking forward to the journey.

Hi cabin

My downfall was wine too, I had been using it as a crutch. I haven't missed it at all, and realised the 'craving' at 6ish, was just thirst, so now start drinking more tea/water around 5. Your plan looks good, try having a big glass of water before you leave work - can you do a detour that doesn't take you past the shop on your way home?

I drive purposly to the shopso i premeditated.
Anyway.......so far today; tea plus splash of milk x 4 at work, gluten free single cheese and onion quiche, boiled rice and a tomato. So first food at 12.30pm and dinner will be 250cal ping meal with extra brocolli and peas. Only pepperment and sleep tea after dinner tonight.

Hope everyones having a good day!

Fasted successfully til 6.30pm today, no time for formal exercise but on my feet all day long so must have done plenty of steps!
Slightly slipped with some chocolate that dh gave me but at least I didn't eat the whole bar...

I have opened my 2nd bottle of wine and to be 10st 7lb for family party 3/6 i need to lose 4.6lbs per week

It's so hard! I found that when I stopped losing weight and I was really honest with myself it was because I hadn't been 'quite' so strict. And it doesn't take much difference of an evening to make the following morning's scales give you a smile or just make you feel awful. Not a great way to start the day.

And then I found this guy Penrose. Not a nutritionalist, but if you read it you'll see what i mean when i say it's just very practical and relatable. So I am trying it and it works for me. And I'm drinking sauvignon blanc tonight and I know I can let go a bit tomorrow and I'm still 2 pounds down on last Friday. Sorry for the rant but, well hey it's Friday.

But from my progress I can definitely say this is possible, but it's not about cutting bits and pieces here and there. You just do it. then have a pie. Then do it again. And the lovely thing is, you have to have the pie otherwise you'd give up. It's all in his blog so take it away. Good luck

Hi Cabin , I was the exact same with anti depressants, weight just gradually sneaked on .
I weighed in at 9 stone 6 so that's the half stone mark . Pleased with it but bloody hell I think especially when you are smaller in height you have to count absolutely everything. I think my metabolism is rubbish .

How was eveyones day? I have managed to only eat between 12.30pm & 8pm nothing else tonight. Planning a bath, mani/pedi, sleepy tea and then bed. Off tomorrow so housework catch up then plan next weeks lunches and dinners then go and buy what I need. I am planning no alcohol next week.
Yes I agree that the shorter you are the more you have to battle. BUT I am determined this is it. I will be 3st lighter before this year is out. I plan on booking a holiday abroad and not being covered up and mortified to go in pool.
Phew that is a lot of plans

I have been so ill over the last few days so haven't been posting. The good thing (every cloud etc) is that I hardly ate for a few days. The bad thing is that I'm permenantly starving and only feel like eating simple carbs.
I'm going to make a tomato soup for lunch and we have roast chicken for dinner but I really don't fancy it. Maybe I'll have a baked potato with something.

I'm short too so I know the struggle

I'm tapering off now - lost another pound, seems to be 1 every 3 days, which is what I expected it to settle at.

Only had my kefir today so far. DD cooked carbonara last night (I had an omelette). Loads left over, and it is calling to me, but I am resolute in avoiding the carbs! Plus I know it won't be as nice as if it were fresh.

Hope you feel better soon Livelife

cabin did you manage to avoid the vino last night?

No alcohol was had last night. And i stuck within the 8hr eating window.
Had tea only this morning until 9.30am(i was up at 6am) and then had porridge with banana. No food after 5.30pm so we are having a rather unusually early sunday dinner.
Feeling very optimistic

Well done cabin.

I was reading, and then fell asleep for an hour, so still haven't eaten. Just warming up some lentil soup, will walk the dog then have a BIG salad with tuna and egg to try and get my veg in for the day.

I'm down to 9/4 woo hoo . Although due to being out dancing last night and then ended up in a and e as my daughter who was also out with her friends fell and cut her chin . Waiting till 8.30 am to get seen and 4 stitches later I only feel like cups of tea today .
I felt way better getting ready last night than when we started this on April 17 .
We all seem totally in the zone ... the shorts will be on !
Well done cabin .. very strong to avoid the wine
Hope you feel better soon live life
123 , 1lb off every 3 days is amazing

Hi all - everyone seems to be doing well with the losses. Xotic hope your daughter is ok. I'm sticking well to the 12-8pm window but opened a bottle of rose I was given last night so having a glass a night as a treat. Today had a fruit smoothie at 12pm, a date/nut bar thing in the afternoon , 5 brazil nuts, and a salmon salad for tea. Then after littl'un goes to bed I'll have my glass of wine :-)

Xotic you are doing fab. Poor daughter, and a trip to a&e on a Sat night is the worse!

May I think you are allowed a glass if you are that good.

Anyone that likes salmon this is a good recipe. It's from the Hairy Dieters book, they say it is 254 calories, so I don't know who is right, but low still. I don't think it tastes like a diet dinner, and have it just with pak choi and broccoli, find it quite filling. Plus everyone in my family loves it.

Morning all, weighed in at 11/7 so thats 5lbs off since friday. As it was weekend no official steps were recorded as only wear fitbit when working so should defo see good loss come Friday.
Looking at 2018 holidays defo spurred me on, lose enough weight to feel comfortable attending fitness classes then tone tone tone

123 - salmon recipe looks good, might have to try it. One glass turned into 2 - I am not very good at willpower. But that means just one left for tonight then bottle is finished . Got up at 4.30am to do my yoga dvd, had bath, now to get kids up and start manic day! Just a coffee for me first thing, and will take a salad to work for 12pm. Have a good week everyone

Just weighed in and gone back up to 12st 7!!!!! I started at 12st 8, did ok and was 12st 2 at end April, since then I've just gone up and up. Gahhh!

Wtf is going on here? I did fall off the wagon last weekend but since then I have fasted til 6pm most days. For the whole time I have not had not one drop of alcohol, I've reduced right down on the carbs, stayed 90% paleo, had only a handful of treats (e.g. Fun size eat natural bar last night, 100g choc Thursday night).
I've done lots of exercise too. Intense yoga class and sauna on Thursday, I was on my feet all day Friday at work 9am-7pm, Saturday gym workout and sauna, then three hours shopping walking, yesterday intense yoga class and sauna.
All this effort for three weeks and one measly pound off!?!
I used to be able to fast until 6pm then eat whatever I liked after 6pm and at weekends and still lose weight. Why has this got so much harder?
This is how all my weight loss attempts have gone since I turned 40 two years ago. It's like someone has turned a switch, I never had this problem before. I'm going to stick at it, but I guess I'll have to get a lot, lot stricter...

two

I wonder if you are exercising too much, and not eating enough, or at the right times around exercising? Are you drinking loads of water (not diet drinks)? I know it's boring, but maybe keep a food diary.

I lost another lb this morning so down a stone to 11 now. But I am only eating fresh, and have had NO treats at all apart from my 2 alcohol blips. My only exercise is 10 - 15000 brisk walking steps a day.

My theory was that exercise was the missing ingredient and why recent weight loss attempts had failed (i couldn't exercise properly for the last 12 months due to injury) so that's why I am trying hard with that now.
I am drinking absolutely loads, and I only drink herbal tea or water so no hidden calories or junk there.
I should be getting enough calories in total, I make sure I have a good portion of protein every day and for healthy fats I have avocado and coconut milk in my kefir smoothie every day- dh says maybe the smoothie is the issue but I was drinking that when I was losing the weight initially so I don't see how it can be. Plus, the smoothie stops me craving sweet things in the evenings so I would say it's saving me lots of calories.
I am cooking from scratch and eating only real food too but I will def take up your suggestion of a food diary, it's the only way to see if there's something I can tweak to help. If I can't find a culprit I'm seriously wondering if I should go to get my hormone levels tested as this last two years have been so different to my previous experiences of losing weight. Before this I'd kept my weight pretty stable for 10 years. It seems like there's a pattern where I can lose weight for two weeks of the month but am putting on weight for the other two so literally just yo-yo-ing but getting no where. I'm just looking at my happyscale logbook and the pattern is there month after month.

Two that's so annoying but it may be taking time for your body to get used to it.
Do you know how many cals you're taking in? It definitely does get harder after 40.

I'm still not well and keep eating. I've got some kind of stomach bug so I'm hoping that the food Im eating isn't 'staying'. It certainly feels like it's going through v quickly. I'm trying to keep my fluids up too.

Just done a(very) rough estimate on your smoothie taking 1/2 an avo, 1/2 tin coconut milk and 200ml kefir, and its only about 300 cals. Do you put lots of fruit in it? Otherwise, can't see its bad. I think the blood test might be a good idea.

Poor you Livelife hope you feel better soon.

I just put a cup of blueberries in my smoothie so not massively high in sugar. I calculate about 450 cals for the whole thing. Last time I had this issue I cut it out completely thinking that had caused the plateau (even though I'd lost weight in the first two weeks while drinking it every day) but three weeks without it and eating v carefully and I still lost nothing.
I've put the last three days in my fitness pal; 1600 cals, 1400 cals, 1900 cals. My basal metabolic rate is 1960 cals so all should be fine. In that time I've put on 2 lbs. I know it's far from strictly linear but all the same it does seem weird. I was hoping to go down cos I thought the previous few days random gain could be due to water retention.

Thanks 123

Twoandhalf give 1400 cals a day a go for a week. I can't remember your stats but if you're not very tall then that should be fine for a weight loss.

live life, I'm 5'7 so 1960 cals is my bmr/maintenance. I will try 1400 tracking carefully but I reckon I have had definitely no more than that on fast days. These last three days have been indulgent and I've still been under my BMR.