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!

@Cricketmum84 - not sure about the first few days I'm 8 weeks in and still suffering in the [ahem] rear department if that's what you mean. Greek yoghurt and raspberries or a handful of nuts seems to help me but no amount of veg - even cabbage or broccoli has the desired effect. Annoying and frustrating. My doc reckons there's not so much waste on Keto. Apologies for TMI!

I was doing so well today and then I had to open some wine to make risotto and it's all been downhill more wine, prosecco, chocolate since then ... I might not weigh until Mon

@recklessgran it's actually the opposite at the moment 😳. I wonder if my body just isn't used to so much protein as my diet was almost vegan before with a lot of carbs!

@JessJonesJumps oops! Never mind it's just one night and we all need a bit of a treat sometimes. I'm sure you can pull it back over the weekend!

We chose Indian in the end, I ordered a mushroom and spinach pathia. It was one of the small foil trays and I had just over half with the green vegetable "rice" from the freezer. I have had a couple of G&Ts too.

Had an ok day. Having been largely sticking within my daily points (and today was no exception) but find that I do it by not eating much during the day so that I can have a little treat to snack on in the evening... not sure if that's a problem or not.

I guess I'll see how this week goes!

Had a weirdly unhealthy sounding dinner of potato & onion Spanish omelette, baked beans and salad. But small portions and well within points.

@cricketmum84 that sounds lovely! How do you make/freeze the green vegetable 'rice'? It sounds useful.

@MotherOfDragonite I don't 😉 it's from Iceland. 4 single serve portions for £1.50 and takes 3 minutes in the microwave. It's broccoli, cauliflower, courgette and kale and makes a really lovely alternative to rice. Even if my husband does say it Smells like a nursing home.

Thanks for the warm welcome @cricketmum84 Scale has been purchased, my motivation is top notch!

My battle plan is to reduce my calorie intake by at least 400 calories a day by eating a low carb diet.
I can’t join the gym just yet, but I’m going to start walking and then maybe jogging daily.
Also planning on getting an indoor cycling bike.

Any other suggestions? What’s for breakfast?

Good morning and happy Saturday!! My favourite day of the week :) and my lovely DHs birthday today! Must avoid the chocolate cake...

Don't really have enough of a plan in place for today. Maybe carrots and hummous at lunchtime. DH and DC are having pizza, wedges and chicken goujons for birthday tea but I've got no idea what to do for me? I'm a bit omeletted out. I suppose I could do a cottage cheese salad but it's not exactly filling me with excitement!

Sounds like a good plan @LotusInspired! Low carb is working very well for me at the moment. I'm rubbish at eating breakfast though, I've been on holiday from work this week and been good having things like grilled asparagus with poached eggs, omelette, fruit and alpro yoghurt. But once I'm back at work I always end up skipping it.

I might make a batch of breakfast egg muffins on Monday night and then freeze in bags of 2. I can microwave them on a morning for a quick low carb breakfast :)

Have a lovely Saturday everyone!

Blimey, damage limitation must have worked as I am another lb down from last week. I have not had a great week but I have had some control compared to what I was like last year. Small amount of choc rather than whole bar etc.

Well done everyone. If you have a bad day don't give up that's the most important thing xx

I really like idea of low carb but it is so so hard.

Morning all and Happy Birthday to @Cricketmum84's DH. Hope you all have a lovely day.
@Skejuly well done on your loss. Have you tried low carbing before? I know it's not for some people but I have to say that I'm shocked by how easy I'm finding it as a WOE. Nobody could have been more addicted to bread than I was before I started this and I don't even think about it now. It's almost like my carb switch has been turned off.
Plans for today. Got to get some shopping for DM this morning and this afternoon going to DD1's bungalow to do a bit of clearing out/spring cleaning. Bless her heart, she has no clue and lives in a bit of a muddle. [For those who don't know, she's got a very rare genetic syndrome with numerous medical problems and LD's - I'm not an interfering mum!] We're going on a whole family holiday to Greece in May half-term so I need to go through her wardrobe with her whilst I'm there as she phoned last night to say that she's going to need "lots of new things" and seemed a bit worried about the plane although she's flown on numerous occasions before so I think some reassurance is needed.
I don't have a food plan yet for today but sausages and a pork chop in the fridge need using so it will be one of those with lots of veg for me.
I'll have greek yoghurt and berries at lunch time and of course keep drinking the water. DH wants liver [yuk] so I'll stick that in the slow cooker for him - he prefers it casseroled rather than fried and he can have it with mash and green veg.
Hope everyone had a good day.

Happy birthday cricket DH.
We have some new bedroom furniture coming today so I'm going to be sorting clothes, happily moving stuff round the bedroom for the rest of the day and dealing with the big questions like should the drawers go at the bottom of the bed as seen in a nice hotel we stayed in or should they go in the open wardrobe space or against the other wall
If the snow stays off, I might plant some new flowers in the garden too.
(Notice I'm saying nothing about food because I've already eaten half a slice of french toast and half a packet of drumstick squashies - I'm hoping if I keep busy with house 'stuff' I won't be able to eat as much)

15st 5lbs this morning so technically + 1 for my February starting weight. No surprise as I had a real snack frenzy last night. I'm wondering if I have hit a bit of a wall in terms of motivation at the moment. I've been losing weight /watching what I eat since April last year and the constant mental effort of avoiding over eating is feeling a bit draining at the moment. It might be the lack of routine with it being half term and I haven't been the best at stocking up on the right kinds of food in the house. Think I will ease up over the weekend and try to be good without being strict. Then kick in with my walking/cycling regime next week or certainly by Wednesday ( start of Lent ) I seem to respond to challenges like doing something every day for a set period. Plus as the weather gets better and the days lengthen out it'll be easier to fit more exercise /walking in.

@Skyejuly that's great! Yes low carbing is hard! I'm really craving bread at the moment but definitely going to try the cheesy cauliflower bread recipe at some point next week. I think if you are just low carbing rather than full on keto then you can afford to indulge and have something carby if you are really struggling.

@recklessgran gosh I'm always worried about the plane no matter how many times I've flown. I'm such a nervous flier that it ends up spoiling the whole holiday build up for me. It takes wine, gin, kalms and rescue remedy to get me on without panicking!!

@JessJonesJumps hope your day is going as planned :)

@Onesmallstep67 I go through phases of being fed up of it all too. Keep the end goal in mind and try to imagine how you will feel when you hit that final figure on the scales, what clothes you will be buying and how you will look. I find that can help keep me on track sometimes.

Finally decided on low carb party food for tonight. Going for a plate with a mix of carrot batons, quorn ham, piccalilli, cottage cheese, guacamole, hummous and baby plum tomatoes.

Tonight's little party plate. Desperately trying to not want the garlic dough balls or pizzas!!

cricket that looks lovely!
I have eaten so much rubbish today including ice cream and M&Ms. Neither re-arranging the furniture; baking or doing the garden helped. I think I'll have to write this weekend off and start again on Monday.

Back from my holiday. Weighed 64.5kg on 1 Feb and 63.8kg when I went away on 9 Feb. Scales say 64kg today but I think that might be artificially low due to dehydration - I can definitely feel that I have gained 1-2kg from my 3 large meals a day.
I’ve got some Ben and Jerry’s to finish off (my welcome back treat) but am going to try to stick to my 1400 - 1500 calorie limit with lots of fruit, veg and exercise.
P.S. Sri Lanka is highly recommended!

Hope everyone’s doing OK.

Glad low carb is working for you @cricketmum84. Respect to you for vegetarian low-carbing - I couldn’t do it.

@JessJonesJumps - you could write off the whole weekend but you could also start again now if you wanted - no time like the present! Good luck either way.

@Onesmallstep67 - I also go in phases of being less motivated. I think it’s just part of long-term dieting. You are doing amazingly to have kept going since April. The new exercise regime sounds good. I find it can help to treat myself to some posh fruit or other low-calorie treats.

@recklessgran your holiday in May sounds lovely.

@everyone else KOKO!

I've just caught up with everyone's posts, I don't think I read or posted yesterday. I really went wild with too many snacks yes. I literally said F it and stuffed my face. I was stressed and just wanted to snack snack snack. Today I just didn't know what to eat. I just felt worried about making more mistakes. Argh! So I stuck to weetbix for breakfast and lunch. If I didn't have to think about food and someone just prepared it for me I'd be in heaven!

I've looked up some soup recipes that I'm keen to try out this week. I think I've been eating too much cheese just recently.

Welcome home @Egghead68 you've done amazingly on your holiday - sounds like minimal damage and glad that you loved Sri Lanka - we have friends that go there and absolutely love it too.
@Onesmallstep67 I'm sorry you're struggling and I really admire you for doing this for so long. Are you just bored perhaps? Are there some new foods/meals you could introduce to alleviate the boredom? Sorry, no expert just trying to imagine what might help me in the same situation. I always feel a bit better after I've been shopping and have a few different choices in the fridge.
I'm thrilled to report that AT LAST I have made it to the 12's. 12st 13.25lbs this morning. I definitely haven't been there for at least 10 years and I'm so chuffed. Hope I can maintain that today as tomorrow is my weigh day although I will struggle to make 7lbs loss for February. I need to make it to 12st11lbs for that but I'll take it if I can stay in the 12 stones for the rest of the week.
My food plan for yesterday went out of the window so had a tuna mayo salad for lunch, chicken salad for dinner and a handful of pecan nuts for an evening treat. Today it's definitely pork chop and vegetables for me. Doing a roast for DH and eldest DGS who is coming for dinner.

Wow @recklessgran, congratulations! You've done so well to go down to the 12s!

Good for you for keeping going and coming back here, @Onesmallstep67! You say that it's a motivation issue. What motivated you to start this journey? Is there some way that you can remind yourself of why it mattered to you to start with?

Nice salad platter @cricketmum84

I had a bit of a dud day yesterday -- ate all the wrong things at lunch as I was hungry in between two exhausting playdates. Managed to stay roughly within my points (ok, used up a few weekly points but that's ok) but am back up 0.5lb this morning.

I suspect I won't lose so much this week (weigh in is on Wednesday) but I'm also ok with that -- it's a bad time of month, it's been half term, and I am also going to a family celebration today. Staying the same or just losing a little bit would still be an achievement compared to what I would have done otherwise!

Happy Sunday! I managed to avoid pizza and dough balls and chocolate cake yesterday so imagine my disappointment when the scales hadn't moved today! I almost feel like the scales should be aware of what food was on the table yesterday and award me an extra loss just for will power 😂

Plan for today is a little bit of laziness, had a little extra sleep this morning which was nice and both DC are still in bed. May need to do a bit of work this afternoon but would love to just cosy up with a book if possible!

I'll have some carrot batons and hummous about 1. Dinner is No Bull mushroom steak with a little mashed celeriac and cauliflower and tenderstem broccoli.

@Egghead68 welcome home, hope the weather isn't too much of a shock for you! 1-2kg gain from a holiday is really minimal, not bad at all!

@DownUdderer don't worry we all have those bad days! The important thing is you are back on it now. I would also love a personal chef 😂 DH is pretty good although he does keep trying to sneak carbs on my plate. He is the king of "oh no! I made too many chips!"

@recklessgran whoop for hitting the 12's! Excellent work!

Enjoy the celebration @MotherOfDragonite!

Happy Sunday all!

I’ve not had a good few days; I caught whatever was going round work on Thursday and just felt grotty for two days. Went to bed as soon as I got home from work Thursday and a Friday which meant I missed two exercise sessions and a lot of walking. Ate reasonably well at or below maintenance but not surprised to see no change on the scales today (I only weigh Sunday morning).

Feeling a lot better now and got a PT session booked for this afternoon so onwards and upwards!

Hope everybody has a peaceful Sunday 😊

Thanks @recklessgran and congratulations on hitting the 12s.

I am eating all the snacks today (after living off rice and curry for 2 weeks). Trying not to go over 2000 calories as damage limitation.