Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, you can't have any - you're a Slenderista! Join us to lose 7lbs of February flab

[BitOutOfPractice]

Welcome to the new Valentine's edition of the best thread on MN™ where we encourage and support each other to lose 7lbs in a month (though that happens so rarely maybe we need to change our USP!)

Link to the January thread here

Everyone welcome, new and old

It sounds like you need a reset, keepon. It's one thing to keep on keeping on, but keeping on with something that is not working for you (and then mentally beating yourself up for it still not to be working) is getting you really down, and then because you are feeling down you are more likely to go off plan.

I know I have posted links to this website before, because it really resonated with me and my emotional eating. It talks about willpower and fake food and the emotional side of eating. It also recommends a 'reset' period of eating lovely tasty food to nourish mind and body.
www.eatlikeanormalperson.com

The cooking thing I can sympathise with. My DCs wont eat anything other than beige food so I make dinner for them then eat later myself. I can second what Hairspray says about batch cooking - I also use my slow cooker for chicken curry, pulled pork, soup and then I have multiple meals for the week for minimum effort.

I am envious of your focus and activity, Feezles and JudgeJudy, I am sloth-like at the moment.

Hi Keepon, you sound a little depressed beyond the lows of the weight, diet, loss journey. Fellow depressed person here. Please focus on looking after yourself, taking care of yourself, you are lovely and deserve care.

Oh keepon, being stressed and feeling depressed doesn't make you selfish. The most important thing you can do for yourself is to take care of yourself, as Ofthread says. And it absolutely isn't selfish to do this, you can't look after all the things you have to do as a parent and partner if you don't. It's like a car - if you don't look after it, it breaks down. for you.

keep not all depression requires AD’s but if it helped you would it be a terrible thing? I don’t want to pry but you seem so overwhelmed at the moment and I think the desire to lose weight is a symptom but not the actual issue. If I remember rightly you’re not very overweight are you? Restricting food can feel incredibly punishing, and it’s like a way of punishing yourself. Then of course cause we’re human, it’s really to hard to stick to, so we slip and then we beat ourselves up. Totally counterproductive and soul destroying.
The best thing you can do for your family is to look after your health, mental/physical- the whole package. I think it’d do you good to have a chat with your gp if you can face it

Are you in the UK Koko? You can self refer for counselling in some places if you can't face going direct to the GP - I don't have the link to hand but google nhs self refer counselling. It may provide a starting point. There's usually a waiting list but perhaps it will help you feel like you're doing something positive?

Sorry your down koko, I did a counceling session a couple if weeks ago. I was really sceptical but DH talked me into it and I ended up finding it really helpful. I did mine through gosh as dc2 is having a tough time and is under them. I'm now trying to find something local to go again. I'd really recommend giving it a go.

I have a question about water. I'm trying to get to my 2litre target. With a few glasses and a few pints teas I'm struggling and spending half the day on the loo! Can I count fruit and chamomile teas, then I can drop my regular tea and still keep warm.

Mega fail today, my neighbour gave me a giant chocolate brownie, delishous but about a million calories.

I'm always of the opinion that fluid is fluid, no matter what the form, Hoop - unless there is something that massive bumps the calories, like alcohol, full fat coke or it being a smoothie. So I count my tea and sugar free squash too. I know others wouldn't. Personally, (and especially with fruit tea, which has no calories or caffeine), I would count it if it helps you to do so.

Koko sorry to hear you are having a rough time and thoughts from me

I agree with Feezles Hoop, I think herbal teas are fine! They're just water infused with essence of leaf if you think about it. Coffee etc. is different because it causes a blood sugar spike, but something like chamomile tea I think is pretty innocuous.

Aimed for a mega fast today but I didn't manage it, only managed an ordinary fast. I think I'll try again on Thurs, to try and counter the Valentine's yumminess, and also not to look too bovine at the wedding we're going to on Saturday...

This weather is really starting to get to me. I'm so ready for it to cheer up a bit.

Emily Skye day 2 - fail! I attempted the workout but there was quite a lot I couldn't do because I could feel it stressing my achilles. What I did still felt tough though. Ah well - every little helps, it's all calories burned, right?? And I did a sneaky night time weigh, which was (just) below 13st - first time I've seen that at night in a looong time!

All helps freezles well done on sun 13 and in the evening. Excellent to get past a marker like that.

Hi Keepon, I take ADs, it not something to be feared but totally a decision between you and your doctor. They are not mind altering and they don't change your personality or who you are. You are managing to be up and about and thinking of the future and who you might be in it, that is hugely positive in itself.

I'm not weighing in again for a while. Today I have done a spin session, a yoga class + a 25 min vinyasa yoga video at home. Came home and had toast, poached eggs, spinach and smoked salmon after yoga. I can see the error of my ways.

10.3 so hoping for easy on easy off?

So might see an actuall loss this week? Please gods of the scales 😭😭😭

Morning! I fell off the thread during my week of night shift madness but I am back.

I weighed myself this morning and I'm miraculously STS. 2lbs down from the start of January, but a good 6lbs up from before Christmas. I need to get back on track, I'm currently 13lbs away from the bottom of my target range. Aiming for 1200 calories today.

KOKO I'm sorry you're having a tough time. Ofthread is right though, ADs aren't something to be feared, used in the right way they really do help a lot of people, and besides they aren't the only option.

I’d say it’ll melt off you hair, lots of water to flush out the lovely food bloat from the weekend (you lucky duck! Nice catch your dp😉)
Scales is dropping down here too, really happy with it at the minute. Last day of chocolate & crisps for 6 weeks, kinda looking forward to not having them. I can stick to it fairly easy so as long as I don’t replace them with ice cream & peanuts I’ll get a pound a week off easy (sez she!)

Hi everyone, may I join? I'm low carbing (also on the LC bootcamp thread) and find it great to read about others successes and setbacks

Morning, last day of the Feb half term here (well, for me, anyway). Going to get back on it like a car bonnet - making celeriac soup later, it's supposed to be delicious so I am looking forward to it. And I have a Tom Kerridge lasagne for the next couple of nights so minimum effort required.

Hi Mimosa and you are welcome to join in - I am low-carbing too, I have done it for years. I was on the bootcamp thread but fell off a bit a lot.

Still staying the same here. See, this is what happens after a great first month!! 😭
Hoping to get one or two lbs lower by the end of Feb, then I'll aim for the full seven in March. Important thing is not to put any back on! Staying at my mums for ten days at the end of the month while DH is away, so god knows how I'm gonna manage that. Think I might take loads of freezer meals with me...

Having to avoid pancakes already!

Am thinking of giving up sugar for lent with one weekend pass for my birthday next week, I already don't have it in the week so it would just be extending it over the weekends too....

I gave up drinking for lent last year and really should do it this year.... but I won't

Ah, Lent - I'm not very good at giving things up, so it always makes me glad to be an atheist. Doesn't help much with the dieting though.

PonyGirl - ooh, please let us know how you get on with the lasagne. We've done a couple of the TK recipes and they have been great! We're having the southern style chicken on Saturday when my parents are here, hoping they don't notice its diet food😀

Don’t give up drink last, that’s just torturous! No need to lose the plot😉
I’m not particularly religious feezles, (lapsed catholic) but I do use this period to practise my self control. And on a very shallow note it’s often the lead up to a few days in the sun at Easter
Not feeling hungry between breakfast and lunch the last few days, it’s great, I’m normally chewing my arm off but a hot cuppa is working well. Hats off to the low carbers, I just can’t do that consistently- I go loopy

I'm always in awe of low carbers.... in my defence I really can't run properly on low carb