July Jumping Down the Scales

[Octopus37]

Hi, here is a new thread, Excuse the ultra unoriginal title. Weighed in at 9st0.5, this morning, aim (as it has been for every month since March) is to get under 9st. Cannot believe we are in the second half of this year.

Absolutely ignore that warning. That's to much imo (I use Lose it). Would you allow yourself a 'high cal' day and enjoy it and just maintain? I'm on my high cal day today as we have visitors for lunch.
B: berries and natural yoghurt
L: all of the food!
D: eggs or ratatouille or... Pizza.
I have 8.5k steps done and we're in the water for the afternoon.

Morning. Have been very lethargic and inactive and have not eaten well for a couple of days but the scales have been very forgiving.

Must try and get myself out of slug mode today and to eat healthily. Had another really long sleep last night. Maybe a bit under the weather having spent a couple of days in school this week plenty of bugs to catch aside from covid and my immune system is probably out of practice.

Morning, yesterday wasn't great. I stopped counting but reckon total day was probably around 1600. No real exercise though.

Today we'll go for a good walk and here's the plan meal wise:
B: Yoghurt, honey on toast
L: Garlic mushrooms and prawns on Ciabatta
D: Boursin leek chicken
S: Fibre one cake bar, mini Reese's piece, cake (i'll be relieved when the cake is finished, it's hard to take small enough portions!)

Afternoon!

B bacon sandwich
L salad
D roasted tomatoes, orange, almond and rice. It's from the Hugh FW Much More Veg book.

Just got back from a 10k walk in the country - I live in the Cotswolds so easily done. Now to veg for rest of day!

That sounds like a fun day @Heygirlheyboy. Are you near the sea?
I'll probably end up going to 1700 which is the aim of I want to loose 1lb a week. In practice I usually go completely over (to about 2000 or more) a couple of times a week, so try to keep it under 1500 on a 'normal' day. Feeling like I've had too many high calorie days this month and I'd like to start shifting the next half stone rather than hovering around 13 stone which is what I'm doing now.
My son is learning to cook and made a roast lamb today. It was very nice & we had it just with garlicky greens. MFP giving me another day warning for that!
Would you recommend the much more veg book @HoneysuckIejasmine? We eat far too much meat as a family.

I would! It's got some pretty "wacky" ideas in it as well as the more normal veggie versions of meat dishes.

I have to say I am insanely jealous of many of you. I'm a good 4 stone heavier than you and yet if I eat more than 1200 cals a day I gain weight. My metabolism is rubbish

Have you got a Fitbit honey? I’ve found it helpful for boosting my metabolism by seeing how small changes impact it. Just getting up and moving regularly and raising your heart rate. Also have you had your thyroid tested and do you have pcos? 1200 is incredibly low for tdee.

1200 tdee at 17stone would be crazy.

I am finding JS formula good. Your weight in pounds X 10/11 for 4/5 days and your weight by 12x13 for 2/3 days. Not overly restrictive and you can factor in treats etc. Go 10 and 12 if you're older he says.

Iggle yes I'm 10 min spin from the sea. Wetsuits and all today. Tired and could eat a horse but 15k steps and over 2000cal burn on fitbit so not worrying.
L: 2 slices bacon, 3 sausages, 1 buttermilk pancake with berries
D: ratatouille will be plenty I'd say.
S: 99 ice-cream, apple crumble and cream!
Believe it or not I'm still only at around 1500, will tot up properly on tracker.

So jealous @Heygirlheyboy! I come from near the North sea and I miss it! We're going up to visit my parents next week and I don't care how cold & rainy it is, I'm going in!
@HoneysuckIejasmine sorry to hear that about the 1200 calories. My husband and his family are like that with weight. He finds a paleo approach and doing weights helps. Don't know if that appeals to you. He's built like a navvie so it works.
Managed to stay under 1500 I think
B. Buttery sourdough toast with marmalade and gallons of coffee 450
L. Roast lamb, garlicky veg 660
D. Blueberry crumble and a scoop of ice cream, pot of tea 360
Some guessing there, but hopefully not catastrophic.

I'm 14 stone something (find out tomorrow) Badger

I do have hypothyroidism, but I am medicated for it. Maybe I need to get my bloods tested again. It's been a while but it's not really a priority at the moment.

Admittedly I've not tried the inbetween figures, but when I ate 1500 a day I gained two pounds in a week.

It's ok most of the time but I found myself salivating over someone's lunch the other day (a bagel) and thinking that I'd rarely have sufficient cals available to eat a bagel as part of a meal.

My mum's a firm size 14 despite regular gym use and good diet so I am definitely fighting genes too, as well as my endocrine system 😂😂

Don't know if this is relevant but i'm aware that when you increase your calories, you 'gain' weight but not really. Firstly, you've physically got more food inside you so you're going to weigh more, same as you would if you stood on the scales holding a plate of food. And secondly, you eat proportionately more carbs, you retain more water. It's not fat that you gained that week.

Interesting, I hadn't thought of it like that. I just saw the gain on the scales and dropped back again. Maybe I'll allow myself a few higher days now and then.

Yeah I might 'know' that intellectually, but it's hard to hold onto those facts when you're on the scales panicking about ruining your progress.

It's worth a week? And take pics and measurements maybe. In Ireland we have a programme called operation transformation. This year there was a woman who didn't eat all of her set meals and snacks one week ie under calorie and she didn't massively lose. Dietitian told her she needed more. She did what she was told and lost weight...?! There's definitely somehing in it.

What is JS?

JS stands for Jordan Syatt, a YouTube weight/exercise guy

There's such a lot of conflicting information about metabolism and metabolic damage, that it's hard knowing what to believe.... But, I've got underactive thyroid and used to feel that my metabolism was really sluggish. I remember feeling like I'd never be able to lose weight. Exercising more but also eating more has made a massive difference to me - it's an odd one as the calorie deficit is probably about the same, yet the effect on my metabolism seems to be very different. I don't count calories most of the time, but definitely eat more on the days I exercise, so would say that I more or less always eat my exercise calories. I did count calories lat week and know that I lost weight eating 1500-2000 a day.
I've also found that intermittent fasting seems to have a positive effect on my metabolism. I 'm having a fast day today. But, then I will eat more tomorrow, so I still think that I'll be in the 1500-2000 range overall.
What I'm trying to say is that I do think there are ways to increase your metabolism. But it does take a bit of trial and error, working out what fits, what is sustainable etc...

That's really interesting Hounds.

I’ve bought a Fitbit back at the end of April and have lost nearly a stone! Still got a way to go but I’m so pleased. I remember the last time I felt comfortable was about 13 stone, which I know is a lot for some people but I felt attractive and was about a size 14 (16 atm) so that’s my goal.

I’d like to lose another couple of pound by the end of July, just doing 10,000 steps a day and not eating takeaway and chocolate, eating smaller portions and being more mindful about grazing, and also actually making the time to eat proper meals instead of forgetting getting starving and grabbing whatever’s closest!

Todays plan

Tea
Shakahuka for breakfast
Some kind of salad for lunch
Beef kofte and pitta and salad for dinner

X

I know I sound like an idiot, but what are the pros and cons of a Fitbit and which model would people recommend? I am losing weight and going for a daily walk, but would like to know whether I am doing enough steps each day. The choice is bewildering and I’m not sure where to start!

Hounds thanks for that, lots to ponder there.

Katherine I have a Charge 2. Very old, battered, second hand, screen has a crack but it still works. I have toyed with getting a newer model but honestly, meh. It counts steps, elevation gain and measures HR. I'm not sure what else I need it to do. I don't want a GPS enabled one. Having said that, it doesn't sync to the app any more so there's probably lots I could do with the data.

Well done isadora!

Katherine I was the same so I went for the basic Charge 3. It covers steps, calories, sleep, heart rate, different activities, alarms etc. It doesn't take calls or texts or go into other apps. Suits me perfectly.

I am 9, 6.75... A gain of 0.75 in 6 days despite being well under each day.. A week ago I was dropping a half pound every few days. Who knows. Will keep at it.

1200 a day may suck but it does work! 4lbs down this week. On the plus side that's a big loss so I could hopefully afford to have more and still lose... When I get totally fatigued by 1200 I'll have some more. Although, going to see my parents at weekend for first time since March so may end up having a BBQ or the like.

B mushroom omelette
L Greek salad
D butternut squash and bean mole