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.

Hi all, hope you're all having a good weekend.

I'm really not focussed on my diet today and kind of wondering if I've come to the the end of the line with it. I'm at my goal weight (there about) and although I'm enjoying taking control of my eating, and would kind of like to see how I look with another few lbs gone I'm struggling to keep the same level of focus. It's hard to track calories when eating 'normally' so I'm thinking I might just have a week where I eat sensibly but don't track... i don't know. I have recorded my meals in MFP every day for 76 days so the prospect of stopping feels very weird!

I have been focused on exercise - have run 5k and done 3 HIIT work outs so far this week. Pleased this is becoming a habit as my whole reason for dieting was to be healthier.

Just rambling because posting here has also become a nice habit

Well done @Virgo1958 3lbs is amazing!
Hi @SnowyMouse I've done similar and also got on a bit of a plateau/ CBA thing recently.
Today's food
B. Skyr yogurt and nuts coffee
L. Cheese and salsa toastie with a big pile of spinach
D. Steak and chips with green beans
S. Mr whippy ice-cream 3 bottles of peroni
Total 1850
10, 000 steps

Well over what I intended calorie wise but I went to the pub for the first time in over 4 months!! Very exciting 😀 and it should still have been a slight deficit

@Octopus37

Well done Heygirl. Sounds as if everyone is doing well. HoneyBadger hope you enjoy your night. Know what you mean about not wanting to wreck things, but think the mental benefits gained from being able to socialise again are worth it. Just off to meet a friend at the park near our new house, who I haven't seen since before lockdown, its amazing what is exciting these days.

Still catching up but yes. I got totally overexcited about going to a garden centre to buy compost for my parents recently

Hangover keep rambling. Honestly we all know that in some ways losing it is the easy bit. I’ve certainly achieved wonderful weight loss several times. It wouldn’t have needed to be lost several times if I’d given maintenance (surely the ultimate goal for all of us) as much attention as losing.

Stall, pause, have a break, whatever. But perhaps sadly I think maintaining a healthy weight takes focus.

Stay with us lol

No takeaway, plenty of drinks and really want to go make myself a sandwich now. Kids wide awake in ds’s room and friend sparko on sofa. Wish I was a lightweight. Would save me a fortune in calories

Well I ate so much yesterday that it physically hurt, but that's what restraint the rest of the last four months week is for.

Hangover - I was speaking to my SIL who has always been great at controlling her weight and found out that she uses MFP 3 days a week so that she can be more relaxed other days. I thought that was interesting.

Wow @TheHoneyBadger you were very disciplined not to have takeaway. Hope you enjoyed the drinks. Wouldn't life be more fun if booze didn't contain calories 😁

You're right, maintaining is definitely hard. I've got quite a 'fuck it' personality so can easily go from very focussed and disciplined to going completely the other way.

@Monstera that's a really good idea! I read the JS article @Heygirlheyboy shared and he says about having 3 higher cal days and 4 low cal days based on your current weight. For me that would be 1400 for the lower & 1600-1800 for the higher. I really like the sound of that and would stop the mindset of 'i've ruined it now, may as well have a Chinese for tea'

How are you finding maintenance Monstera? Are you still wanting to lose?

Welcome Snowy and Virgo

Yep - I think that maintenance is definitely the hardest part as, for most people, it does mean some sort of constant vigilance. Which is pretty tedious. But, I honestly don't think that many adults are effortlessly slim. All the slim people I know well enough to know their eating/exercise habits have to put varying degrees of constant effort into it.
That's a great article Hey . I think being extra 'good' Monday to Thursday and then allowing myself extras at the weekend is perhaps the way forward for me.
Also, just catching up and I think that lots of people are noticing that children have put on a bit of weight during lockdown - I think it's been pretty inevitable as their activity levels have been so limited. I think the best approach with children is probably to just increase activity as a family and 'forget' to buy the more tasty snacks very often. That's what I've been doing anyway. the good news is that because children are still growing, it's surely possible to just keep things steady and encourage them to grow into their current weight? It's a shame that I can't just grow another foot and take the same approach!
I hope that everyone is having a good Sunday so far.

Maintenance I think has been going ok. I'm not looking to lose anymore (although I haven't been brave enough to weigh myself this morning). I increased to 1400 cals and went up a couple of lbs then went down 3lbs. It has been a bit confusing but I felt confident that I could continue sloooowly increasing calories. After my massive meal yesterday, i'll continue at 1400 this week and see where I am.

I've lost 2 pounds so happy with that - not a massive amount, but if I can keep doing that I will manage to get to somewhere near my target of 10 stone (now 11.6).
I've felt that my clothes are not so tight either so that's another plus.
Onwards and upwards

Two pounds is great! Well done everyone. I'm going to trust in JS and have a nice 1750cal day today. Over half my steps done. Enjoy your Sundays!

Well done rara.

Avoiding the scales again. Had a sandwich late last night and still no sodding period. Had a scary thought that maybe when your periods stop you just remain in your pre menstrual state for the rest of your life

Anyway I’m not menopausal just late and definitely not pregnant.

Late lunch at parents this afternoon so will hold off on calories till then. Will be walking there and back at least

well done on reaching your goal weight, hangover. and Monstera! Good job rara!

Well done Virgo and Rara on your losses, that's fab. SnowyMouse a stone is absolutely amazing. I weighed 9st0.5 this morning, but quite pleased with that cause I'm not managing to eat very healthily at the moment.

😨 to that idea @TheHoneyBadger! I have been very PMT ish the last few days too and honestly, if I never was I would never get my kids (& OH) to clean up after their bloody selves.
Well done @RaraRachael 2lbs is great!!
I've had a good day calorie wise today so feeling very smug
B. Skyr yogurt, nuts, coffee
L. Bean burger, salad, iced coffee
D. Pasta, roast veg, tomato sauce with parmesan cheese
S. Twister, halo top ice cream
Total 1200 calories, 10,000 steps walked.

Thanks octopus.
I'm doing ok calorie-wise:
B: porridge
L: tomato soup
S: duck gyoza
T:mango
S: smoked salmon with lemon juice and black pepper

Thank you Snowy.
Back to it today. I felt horribly bloated all day. We at least did go for a slow 10 mile walk and fell asleep outside in the beautiful weather.

B: Yoghurt, honey on toast
L: Pesto Prawns and fake spaghetti
D: Huevos rotos
S: Chocolate cake (small portion this time), Mr. Whippy ice cream

@Igglepigglesgrubbyblanket and @UpOnDown Both of your dinners sound amazing.
UpOnDown - did you make the gyoza or buy them? Was it filling/satisfying?

Hi. Bad week. I am resetting as of tomorrow, with a journal and meals planned in advance. Also got HFW's Much More Veg that I've wanted for a while - loads of new veggie ideas. No necessarily low cal as he loves his nuts and oils, but I can adapt them. Quite looking forward to it.

I bought a new non stick pan to help reduce cooking oil, it's totally worth it if I have to get a new one more frequently than I have been actually 'cos I basically just fried potatoes with no fat.

Love seeing the food and the tips and just generally checking in to see how everyone is going. What is fake spaghetti?? Is it courgette maybe? I think a few days of tracking for maintenance sounds good to stay conscious but not ott.

I have had my high cal day, as per Jordan's instruction. Isn't it funny how I felt almost forced to eat extra and also how uncomfortable I felt going 'over' on my tracker app!
B: ONO coffee
L: Bacon, cabbage, boiled new potatoes and white sauce with icecream and small flake for dessert. Just following orders
T: scrambled egg and soda bread, sugar free, homemade biscuit
S: 4/5 strawberries
1600, not as high as 'supposed' to be but fine. Got my 10k steps in and will keep up the targets for that and calorie burn this week.

I can't go over intentionally, I have to change the target so I can meet it.

Fake Spaghetti. Otherwise known as Shiratake noodles or Konjac noodles. Not cheap but I was impressed. I tried barenaked noodles before which are supposedly the same but didn't like them, strange smell that I couldn't wash out or cover up.

Oh must look into those Monster. Thank you.

My app is linked up with weight and target etc so didn't bother changing allowance but should even out (ish) over the week. I'll be more strategic in my high cal day next time as I don't even particularly like icecream but the dinner was delicious!

I got on the scales this morning and found that they haven't moved despite my binge on Saturday. Surprising, good news.

Ooh great! Nice start to the week.

I am annoyed that at 11pm last night my fitbit cals said 2066 and now on the app it says 1088 for Sunday.

Morning all. I was down 1.2 lbs this morning to 132.4 lbs which I am really pleased with. I had been feeling a bit leaner so it's nice to see it on the scale.

I have been much stricter about tracking EVERYTHING rather than giving up at 6pm, plus we drank a lot less this last week and I aimed to go under my usual 1500 cals by 1-200 cals mid week to keep some spare for the weekend. I also actually tracked at the weekend for the first time ever!

All in all it was a bit of slog but it worked so, with just over 2 weeks till my holiday (hopefully!!) I am going to keep going with the stricter approach. I am also training hard and do have some muscle soreness and I feel a bit sluggish, today is a rest day but I am going to get out for a brisk walk later.

Have a good week everyone!!

That's great every - at least the slog was worth it!
I'm going to track everything this week too! You all know how much I loathe counting calories, but I feel like I need to see some proper progress as have just been basically arsing about for months now! I've tracked everything today already and I'll be on 1506. I've also restarted using my weights. They made a huge difference to me before, but then I didn't really have time alongside homeschooling and everything else and then got out of the habit of using them.
I hope that everyone else is having a good start to the week.