Lose 7lbs/3kg per month! The February edition!

[cricketmum84]

Hey all my lovely losers and welcome to the February thread.

Jan thread (part 2) here Lose 7lbs/3kg per month - The January Thread Part 2! http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/weightlosss_chat/3807159-lose-7lbs-3kg-per-month-the-january-thread-part-2

All are welcome to join in whether you are a long-standing poster, newbie, lurker or watcher. All we ask for is the positivity we have seen every month so far.

There's a really lovely mix of people and lots of different diets, methods, recipes, hints and tips and an overwhelming amount on positivity and support from you all!

Looking forward to the first day of February! I'll be back in the morning to post starting stats!

I'm 0.6lbs up today which isn't surprising since I ate so much yesterday.
@SconNotScone enjoy your Wagamama's. I opted for the raisukaree and it was over 1200 cals. I didn't even consider calories when I was ordering because I'd only had a salad for lunch so figured one main course wouldn't be too high. famous last words But I did enjoy it and DS enjoyed his ramen. We had a lovely night. Order the katsu! You don't need to eat it all but you'll enjoy it more than having the ramen and wishing it was katsu.
DH has booked a table at an Italian restaurant for tonight so I'm probably going to eat very little today in preparation. I might even try to fit in a yoga session at home today too.
@JontyDoggle37 how are you getting on?

Well done for all the losses. Even a small loss is good going!
I haven't lost anything, but I'm in great shape. I had an hour to kill, so I swam a mile. I feel pretty good about myself at the moment. I keep admiring my sexy thighs in the mirror.
I'm just going to try to minimise the damage for the next week while I stay with my feeder relative. Enjoy half term everyone!

Good afternoon all, no change today. I seem to be eating the same things and I'm getting a bit bored. I think I will spend time over the weekend googling recipe ideas to see if I can mix it up a little.

@KedsAndTubeSocks very good for you! That’s an amazing feeling! I remember when I used to have amazingly toned arms and him shoulders, striving to get there! Sometimes how we look and feel is more important than the numbers.

@JessJonesJumps I think I made a really sensible choice in the end - yaki soba, which meant that for around the same cals as a katsu curry, I could also get some chicken gyoza! Perfect!

@SconNotScone a loss is a loss, well done you!! If you're going to yearn for the chicken katsu curry at Wagamama, maybe you would consider sharing one with a friend instead of having a whole one?

@cricketmum84 I really do think it's completely random. I try not to take it to heart too much as long as the overall trend is in the right direction!

Evening all. Yippee it's the weekend at last. Well done everybody on all the losses. It was my day off today so I was out at the pub with g/f. They're getting used to me now, so, happy to make me a ham or cheese salad even though it's not on the menu. JD and diet coke. Dinner tonight, another salad - this time egg mayo and a few little cubes of cheese. @Tryingtwo I'm getting bored too. I'm not a massive fan of hot food so would happily eat salad every day with no problem at all. The trouble is what to have with it. What I'd really like is a big fat chunk of French stick but that won't be happening any time soon or in fact ever at this rate! I'm sticking to fish - salmon or tuna, nice ham and/or eggs and occasionally cheese. I love quiche but obviously pastry is off limits so I have Floozy Flan aka crustless quiche. The other meal I've been enjoying is a stir fry. I'm interested in any suggestions as I'm going to need a rethink soon. I might even buy a Keto recipe book although I know there are a lot of recipes online. Some of them seem such a faff that I hardly think it's worth it just for one. It's odd really because I'll happily cook quite elaborate meals for DH and anyone else that comes along just can't be bothered really for myself. Anyway, otherwise quite happy here plodding along.

I've actually had an ok day although I am having a hot cross bun now (it's within points as I had no lunch).

B: boiled egg on wholewheat toast with Tabasco sauce
L: work work work and water
D: Cook Food microwave meal... a halloumi pasta dish. Broccoli, green beans. Apple.
S: hot cross bun of loveliness

7k steps and not enough water drunk. Also, I don't actually think I am getting quite enough veg on this diet so I need to think about having something with breakfast.

Buuuut.... the scales keep going down, tiny bit by tiny bit, and I finally feel in control again. The last time I lost weight successfully was before I had children, but unfortunately since having them it's all come back (plus a little extra). It's so nice to feel like I can still manage to eat healthily when I want to.

Can you have chickpeas, @recklessgran? I recently bought a (relatively) ridiculously expensive jar of chickpeas and was blown away by how delicious and tender they were. I will definitely be having them in my salads.

I often have tofu, which you can steam and put a little soy sauce and ginger on (and Tabasco sauce, if you are me).

I eat lots of salads too. I could do with some more suggestions of what to have with them. I usually have: tuna & avocado, boiled egg & anchovies, I had prawns today, ham if I can't find anything else nice. Trying not to have cheese as I'd just eat too much of it!

Apart from the protein options for salads, I also really like adding chopped up dill pickles (watch out for sugar! the Haimisha ones have no added sugar) or adding capers. I also really love mixing miso and lemon juice as a dressing!

If you chop red onions into thin slices and run boiling water over them while they are in a sieve/strainer, then pop them into some vinegar in a jar, they are delicious too after about an hour. I keep them in the fridge and use them on top of salads.

And finally, loads of basil/coriander/mint!

Met up with an old friend last night who is having some troubles, and ended up drinking 2 small wines and not a small amount of crisps. So cross with myself and annoyed at the scales being 1/2 a kilo up this morning. Today is going to have to be very low calorie and it looks like my body is not the type to cope with such a significant snaccident!
In happier news I have just started my day in my new size down clothes 🎉

Morning my lovelies! Still carrying that extra pound this morning :(

OMAD day today as is my usual on a weekend, there has been a thread on MN discussing the ploughmans lunch and it's made me want one so much! So plan for tonight is mixed leaves, cherry tomatoes, a warm crusty roll, cheese, a few different pickles, quorn ham and an apple. Really looking forward to it! Just need to go easy on the cheese.

@ploughingthrough whoop new smaller clothes!! It's such a great feeling 🎊

@MotherOfDragonite the red onion thing sounds good! I'm about to complete my veg order for Monday so will add red onions in :)

@KedsAndTubeSocks do you like cottage cheese? I used to have a big scoop of fat free cottage cheese with a good sprinkle of black pepper on salads. And anything pickled 😝

@recklessgran yes I do the same! Quite happily make a hearty tasty meal for DH and DC but then when it comes to making my portion I just CBA! I've ended up just skipping dinner a few times this week. I'm thinking about making up a big bowl of salad f cling filming it so I can just grab a plate and pop some quorn ham on it and a grilled pitta so it's no effort!

Not checked in for a few days. Not loosing but still shrinking. My time will come I am sure.

Hi @cricketmum84 this is roughly what I do, but without the sugar (you could put a drop of agave nectar or balsamic vinegar if you wanted a sweeter flavour): www.rachelcooks.com/2017/06/12/how-to-pickle-red-onions-in-five-minutes/

I use apple cider vinegar. You can also put other things in like star anise, peppercorns, bay leaf etc.

Bad day yesterday. My friend brought round a banana cake and I ate loads, then had lots of pizza for dinner. Too scared to get on the scales this morning. Won't be eating much today. On the plus side, I did manage a half mile walk, longest I've done since my op. I'll try a bit further today, even though its stormy.

Good salad ideas Mother & cricketmum but I really couldn't eat cottage cheese! I also put in loads of capers, olives & pickles to make it more tasty. The red onion idea sounds lovely. Lots of red onions are too oniony for me!

Good morning all, cricketmum84 your dinner sounds delicious. Congrats ploughingthrough smaller clothes, I bet you feel and look fab. recklessgran I'd forgotten about floozy flan! I had intended to make a mushroom version - I'll scroll through January's thread and note down the recipe this time.
I've had a whoosh. From 13st 1lb to 12st 12.6lbs. It's takeaway night though so I hope I can at least stay in the 12's after the weekend.

Ecci glad you're feeling well enough to walk 0.5 mile. I envy you the pizza, that and buttered crusty bread/toast are the things I miss the most. Anyway it sounds like you're planning to be back on track today so that is what counts.

15 st 4lbs this morning. Had a day off from mithering about what I was eating and as a consequence ate more than I needed to. But realised I don't actually like that full feeling. Not sure if anyone else experiences this but I have come to realise that I 100 % use food as a reward. I don't like overeating or feeling full because I want to leave another opportunity or reason to eat in the day. Sounds ridiculous as I write this.
On the plus side yesterday I walked to the doctor's and back and did 15k on the exercise bike.
New target is 15st 1lb by the end of the month. That would mean hitting the 4st loss marker. Fingers crossed

I'm not officially weighing in (except for once a week) but encouraging small drops on the scales when I do sneak a peek in between and it does look like I might go down to the next stone level when I weigh in next. Won't say what as I still find it so embarrassing! Even after losing 7lb, I've never been so heavy!

B: boiled egg on toast with Tabasco sauce
L: vegetable soup
D: PIZZA EXPRESS, HELP!
S: banana, nectarine

Yeah, so we're unexpectedly meeting friends at Pizza Express. What's vegetarian and good? I've got my eye on a leggera pizza as a default option, but what's the nicest, or are there other good alternatives?

Down 0.8lbs from yesterday. Italian last night was great but luckily was teeny tiny portions. I had a goat's cheese starter then sea bass main.
We're supposed to be out for dinner again tonight but we've not confirmed all the details so may just stay in instead.

Mother iirc, they do a superfood salad. Don't know if it's nice; I usually have the nicoise and it's okay.

Afternoon all. @MotherofDragonite well done for staying on task - you've made a brilliant start. Your actual weight really doesn't matter here - we don't own any judgey pants and I for one think you're doing great. Thanks for the chickpea suggestion, I do like them but sadly too carby for me as I'm on the Keto diet. I've been out today and done a massive food shop so now the fridge is full of lovely things that I am allowed to eat. I'm hoping to get a bit more variety now.
@cricketmum84 I hope you enjoy your ploughmans - I read that thread too and would LOVE to have one - especially the crusty bread part. I was pleased to read that they are widely available in Yorkshire so I'm earmarking that as a definite treat ready for a little trip DH and I are making in May. We are having a long weekend break staying on a farm near Pickering. DD's bought us a steam railway journey with afternoon tea for Christmas so we're looking forward to that. I'm hoping I'm going to be proper slim by then.
@Tryingtwo well done for getting into the 12's - I can't wait. I make the Floozy flan with peppers and red onions as well as the cherry tomatoes but give the cheese a swerve as I love it too so trying not to overdo it as need to keep my calories down - old and inactive here.
@Onesmallstep67 I'm in awe of you and anyone else who manages a loss like that. I'll be happy with another stone taking me to about 12stone. I look good at about 11st 10lbs but haven't been there for donkeys years.
My Tu clothes arrived and I am so ridiculously pleased with them. I can fit nicely into the 14's and DH actually said I looked nice when I tried them on to show him. That is high praise indeed coming from him. He is a darling really but has no clue whatsoever about how sensitive us girls are about our weight. Remember Ikeagate when he was threatened with going under the patio? Well, maybe he has learnt from that. Have a lovely evening everyone.

Thank you @tryingtwo. Very impressed with your loss. I was 13st 7.4 last time I weighed a few days ago. Can't wait to get to the 12s.

Day one - half a lemon drizzle cake and some cranachan. It's not going to end well!