Any fatties want to join me getting slim

[LimeJ]

Oh dear, I'm so tubby. I can't hide it any longer. I need help and support from other fatties who will understand 😭

Starting tomorrow, no more excuses. Please join me.

Never @ShopoholicIn - come right on in, and welcome!

Welcome, @ShopoholicIn - this is a very friendly and supportive thread.

@FatCatThinCat I'm not thinking of this maintenance fortnight as an opportunity to slide back into bad habits, but to practice healthy though not unduly restrictive eating. It's a thing I simply don't know how to do. I've yo-yo dieted since the age of 9, which is nearly 50 years ago!! My lifelong pattern is to diet down to around the middle of the healthy weight range for my height (about 9 stone) through exerting iron will power. Then my body and brain seem to snap, and I eat massively and compulsively till I'm back at 15 stone, where I stay for five or six years until I can steel myself to go through the whole sorry business again.

I'm not convinced myself that maintenance fortnights along the way will do the trick, but I'm willing to give it a try, because doing the same thing repeatedly doesn't work. And if it came to it, I'd rather stay the weight I am now - just over 11 and a half stone - than carry on yo-yo-ing. Even though it's in the overweight range for me, I'm sure it's healthier than what I've been doing up till now.

Well done @fibeee and @FatCatThinCat!
0.8 kg is a great loss, especially if you had the luxury of cake! (Distant memory for me )
And fibeee with a little one to look after is so hard! A maintenance is a great score indeed, especially when you so tired and sleep deprived.
We do have a new addition! Welcome @ShopoholicIn!
My weighting day is tomorrow morning. I have not peeked this week, so it will be a full surprise!

I hear you. I've been up and down my whole adult life. I don't know what normal is either. I not even sure I know what hungry and full are either. I think that's why I get on so well with weightwatchers daily menus as they tell me exactly how much I should eat. I have no ability to judge that for myself anymore.

On the rest or maintenance weeks, I vmcan see that working once you have lost several stones. Losing weight is harder as your weight is lower. And 100% agree that towards the end of it a gentler approach is needed. So you keep the weight you got with the hard work. Try to go lower slowly. But avoid to gain any, I see that as more important indeed.
I still have another 2 stones to loose till I get to the weight range the two of you are, so I am not taking any breaks yet.

Fatcat are you learning from the WW meals? Getting the hand of a healthy portion? Good food combinations? I bet you you are indeed and I bet you you can by now put a meal together to match theirs.
I think I am getting the hand of healthy portions. And I have been using an app to check the nutrition in each meal, so trying to get a food plan that get all the needed nutrients in. I am learning a lot! I never knew how many calories a cracker can have! And same with many other meals.

Yes I am learning from them. I'm trying new things that I've never had before, some I've never even heard of. There's so much out there that is delicious and healthy. I think though that the healthiest part for me is the routine, 3 meals and 1 snack a day, at a fixed time, instead of chaotic eating, eating nothing for a whole day and then gorging on rubbish food.

I'm helped hugely by the fact my family love me being a weightwatchers as they eat the same as me and love WW recipes. Also my husband earns enough to cover the increase in shopping as they often use quite expensive ingredients. At least that's what they're like in Sweden. So today we had blueberry and banana porridge for breakfast, chillied cod with coleslaw and tortilla chips for lunch (last night's dinner), a nice icecream as our Saturday treat mid afternoon snack, and we'll be having carrot soup and pumpernickel bread for tea.

Yummy! So you are in Sweden? What is pumpernickel bread? I will have to google

I found it. I have tried, and it made me really sick, I had quite a reaction to it

I didn't like the stuff available in the UK either. But in Sweden it's not a specialist item, there's a huge choice of varieties in the regular supermarket., Some of it is vile but the Danish ryebread one is really nice.

Like some of you, I have spent my whole life losing weight or gaining weight. I once maintained for about a year - but that was living abroad where my life was quite restricted and access to food not as easy as it is here.

The way I see it, I know I can lose weight as I have done so often in the past. What I have never, ever managed to do is maintain a constant weight. That is a skill I do not have, so am willing to try the maintenance weeks to see if I can learn it along the way.

I don't know if it'll work, or not, or make things worse or easier. But have to try something different because what I have done before, doesn't work for me.

Stayed the same this week which is no surprise given some of my food choices. When I think what could have been, if I had not made said bad choices, it is hard not to feel upset with myself but I know that a negative mindset like that just leads to full-blown over eating, sometimes for weeks before I get back on the wagon.

So instead I'm trying to focus on the positives like how much more active I've been generally this week and if I keep that up next week, combined with healthy eating I should see a loss next Sunday.

As you say @WobbleWhenIRun it's about doing things differently this time. Obviously what I've done in the past doesn't work. So in this case I have to accept I'm not perfect and move on instead of slipping backwards. I'm not going to let a box of fudge and some biscuits get the better of me!

1.5lbs lost this week, which has meant I can tick off a couple of goals before starting my fortnight...

1. 40lbs lost - DONE
2. BMI

Congratulations on this week's loss and your two very significant milestones reached, @WobbleWhenIRun. @Grimmauldface, staying the same sounds like a good result - if you'd given in after the fudge and biscuits, you'd doubtless be looking at a massive gain.

I had an extra course with my evening meal last night - soup. And I had some boiled sweets in the afternoon. That takes me to around TDEE, which is on course for a maintenance fortnight. I have some plain digestives in the cupboard for controlled snacking but I haven't opened them yet.

Thank you Grimmauld, I survived the first two exams ok, but I've got another one tomorrow morning

Weigh in - 12st 3lbs today so 3 pounds down from last week. I guess that evens out the not-so-much loss the week before. I can't believe I'm so close to the 11st border; for me that's such a big step, as it'll mean the healthy BMI range is in reach.
Welcome shopaholic do you want to weigh in with us?
Righ, I'll best get back to my revision hope everyone has a good week.

Well done to the losses! Good work!
It is a mantain for me this week. I am back to a slow pace, but still on the wagon. Still watching food, though I had some choc (just a bit) to console me of my lack of loss this week.
Still going to the gym, I am doing well with that. It has been raining here, so I have walked less. I got myself wellies and warm socks today to keep on the walks.

Thanks @WobbleWhenIRun, @SansaClegane, @morningtoncrescent62

I would love to loose 3 stones... seems like a daunting task.

Current starts:-

1. Weight 84.2
2. BMI 27.4

Love your targets @WobbleWhenIRun of running 1 mile without stopping... I am somehow still unable to restart running.. but I need to make this my target too.. Thanks lovelies, hope to loose a kg this well at least. Thanks everyone.

Stats*

Week*

It's a target that's taking a long time to reach because I am doing my own, super slow, version of couch to 5k.

I have always starting running too fast in the past. And too much, too soon. So it hurt. I started to dread it. So I stopped.

This time I am determined to do everything differently, including this. The first week I ran I did literally 15 seconds of slow jog, then walked for 3 mins x 5 repetiions. The following week I did 30 seconds jog, 3 mins walk x 5. I have built up so slowly - increasing jogging, reducing walking and only doing enough repetitions so that the whole session is under 20 mins.

The result has been that it's never been too much, never hurt, never been unpleasant and I am really getting into it. This week I am running 4 mins, walking 1.5 mins x 3 repetitions.

It'll take a few more weeks to get to a 10 mins jogging - which will be about a mile. But that's fine, I'll get there. Wobbling all the way

I'm really struggling this week. My mood has nosedived and I feel constantly close to tears and reaching for sweet stuff. I don't know what's going on. I lost my appeal for reinstatement of my disabled parking badge as the rules have changed and now it doesn't matter how much pain your in, only if you can walk 100 m. So now I feel even more pressured to lose weight as I'll be housebound if I don't. I'm terrified Plus the weather has suddenly got gloomy.

FatCatThinCat I am really sorry to hear that, the rule changes sound wrong and cruel to me.

I think when life is really tough like that, there is no wrong in focussing on all round health rather than just weight loss specifically. As in, not trying to exist on a calorie deficit but eating a bit more and trying to make sure you get relaxation and sleep and self-care in as well.

If that means minimising weight 'damage' or trying to just to hold steady with weight until you feel a bit stronger again, than that is still a success.

Are there other things that you also find comforting that you could perhaps lean on a bit more? e.g. even if watching an old comfy movie means you eat 3/4 packet of biscuits, rather than the whole packet then it might help.

@FatCatThinCat I'm so sorry to hear that. You've said it was an appeal, so does that mean it's the end of the road for the decision on your parking permit? I can imagine why it's sent you into a downward spiral.

Being coerced into feeling you need to lose weight isn't right and must be making it more difficult. And I agree, the weather turning more horrible, and the nights drawing in, isn't good for optimism. I agree with @WobbleWhenIRun. Do as much damage limitation as you can, and try not to give yourself a hard time when you're miserable.

FatCatThinCat take easy these days and do a lot of selfcare. Flowers, film, book, hot bath, candles.... anything you like, a few chocs are a godsend too.
Regarding the parking issue itself can you go out at quiet times so you get a place closer? Early in the day or near close time, the car parks here are almost empty.
I do hope you can sort it
Do not give up ok? Just a bump on the way but we will keep going together

Yes this is the end of the line for appeals. I've had a badge for 25 years as I have hypermobility in my hips and an unstable pelvis. I was thin when I got my first one so am in a worse position now as the extra weight doesn't help. The rule change is inhumane. I use either a walking frame or occasionally a wheelchair and during the assessment was in so much pain I was crying. But none of that is relevant any more.

I'm feeling a bit better now. Hopefully I can get a grip for the rest of the week and undo the damage I've done. One thing that strikes me though, if I stick to eating healthily I can lose around 1 kg a week, 1.5 kg max. But if I fall off the wagon I can put on 2 or 3 kg a DAY. How is that fair?

Well done everyone for doing so well! I am really keen to hear how the maintenance fortnights go.

Sorry you’ve been feeling low @FatCatThinCat it’s a challenging time for everyone but sounds like you’ve really been screwed over by these rule changes. Agree with what everyone else has said about self care and just being kind to yourself until you feel better.

Big weight loss for me of 2lbs. I can now see my weight loss has a trend of a small loss of 0-0.5lbs one week and a larger loss of 1.5-2lbs the next week. Averaging 1-1.5lbs lost per week.

This is week 11 for me. Glad it’s working but dear lord it’s taking its sweet time

Starting weight: 14st 2lbs
Starting bmi: 30 (obese)
Current weight: 12st 12.8lbs
Current bmi: 27.4 (overweight)

Total loss: 17lbs

Nice to get into a new weight bracket though!