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.

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?

I hear you! I have that complaint writ large - it takes me months to lose a couple of stones, and weeks to put them back on. When it comes to the days, though, it's important not to let what look like huge gains in a day or two derail you. A lot of that will be bloat/water retention due to higher carbs, and it'll soon come off with a few low calorie days which are also likely to be low carb days. So a couple of days off the wagon really don't do as much harm as first appears. It's not getting back on the wagon that is the real problem. I say this as someone who has failed to clamber back many, many times.

Great stuff, @notevenamum1 and congratulations on being overweight!

126.4 kg same as last week. I'm very happy with that as the first half of this week was a disaster. Looks like I managed to rein it in just in time.

Maintenance week has been illuminating and difficult in ways I had not anticipated.

My plan was/is to eat healthily but just up the kcals to my maintenance, which several calculators tells me is around 2500-2700kcal per day. What I've discovered is that it is harder than I thought, to eat that much whilst still trying to eat nutritious foods and keep up tracking.

So far, I have "only" managed an average of about 2100kcals a day and the result is that I have lost 1lb while doing it.

That suggests to me that one of the keys to maintaining my weight loss, when I get there, is to keep prioritising nutritional food value and to keep tracking, without worrying so much about how much I eat.

I can totally see how this practice time is going to be valuable for the end result - that's what it feels like, like a rehearsal for 'real' maintainance. I will continue into next week and then think about how often I repeat this exercise, as I work my way down the pounds.

Start weight: 276.8lbs [gulp]
Current weight: 234.5lbs
Weight lost this week: 2lbs (but the first lb was on Monday so is because of last week's deficit)
Total weight lost: 42.3lb

1. Body Fat

@WobbleWhenIRun I was just dropping in to say something similar about maintenance fortnight. It's not as straightforward as I thought. My intentions were to increase my calorie intake slightly during the week by eating larger portions especially for my evening meal while keeping meals balanced and healthy, and having some controlled snacking at weekends. I've not really done that. I've increased to within about 100-200 calories of TDEE during the week but courtesy of snacks, not larger portions. I've controlled my weekday snacking very well - by keeping to snacks I don't like very much and therefore don't find addictive. Rich tea biscuits give me a bit of a sugar hit but without making me want to eat the whole packet!

Today I went off the rails very slightly. I bought a box of Jaffa biscuits which I knew even as I bought it was a mistake, but I told myself I'd be able to stop at 2 or 3 as a mid-afternoon snack. It was a box of 18 in two separate bags of 9 each. Having opened one of the bags I ate all 9. The good news is I didn't go straight onto the second bag - it's still unopened in the cupboard. And I think I'm still within shouting distance of TDEE so all should be well. Tomorrow I'm going out to lunch with a friend while we still can, and I was hoping to have a few extra calories to 'spend' but Jaffagate means I don't.

I've started reading Jenni Murray's book Fat Cow Fat Chance which I came across last week. I'm enjoying it so far - I'm still in the part where she tells the story of her relationship with food. Her childhood experiences were very different from mine, but I can relate to some of the things that happened to her in adulthood. It's very interesting, though the message so far seems to be that once you've been very overweight/obese you're unlikely to keep the weight off and diets are going to be a struggle and ultimately unsuccessful. I think in the second part of the book she goes into the science more, which I'm looking forward to.

There is no way I could have stopped at 2-3 jaffas. TBH I think you've done well to stop at one packet.

My experience this week has caused me to reflect on how I could have overeaten to the point of being so overweight before, if I am struggling to up the cals now.

I think it must have been a combination of...

• portion sizes: tracking everything makes me confront whether or not I am eating a single portion. For example, I had some pasta yesterday and measured out a 75g portion which was more than enough pasta for me. Old me would have just cooked as much as she thought she needed - which would have easily been 150g +

• evening snacking: in this week I have still avoided almost all evening snacking (bar some dark choc squares or a bowl of blueberries etc). I know evening snacking could be my downfall. Old me would have easily polished off a BIG bar of choc most nights.

Which suggsts that long term success may require tracking and a strong limit on evening snacking.

Interestingly, what I have been eating (2100kcals per day - approx) is also roughly what I would need to eat to maintain my goal weight in the end. I think this week may have illustrated how I can live well on thoce cals. I have eaten delish food, including plenty of treats - just portion controlled and tracked.

I haven't hit as high as my TDEE (yet ) but the lessons of this week feel valuable.

I weighted this morningvat 83.3 kg, which is a loss of 1.8 kg from last week. Though it really is 0.9 kg per week. Again weigh stuck to me around my period.
I am now 13 stones and 1.6 pounds.
I am paying the price of my overexcitement with rowing this Friday LOL. I did a full hour, almost 10 km, stopping only once. But now I can feel my arms and shoulders! It will take a few days to clear up, but hopefully it will make me stronger!

Well done @FatCatThinCat!
It is a great result for such a bad week!
How are you feeling? Have you been going out? Do not stay at home, it is the worst you can do. I saw this with my grandmother, she stopped going out when she was still quite young

2500 cal sounds like a lot! I cannot imagine eating that much! Even doubling portions. I struggled to finish a jacked potatoe the other day

I miss jaffa cakes. Now that is a proper weakness of mine
Well done to you both for doing it. It is helping me a lot to learn what you have gone through in the process and to plan what I would do when I get there!

FatCat so sorry about your parking badge. That sounds massively unfair. Is there no way of making a new application? Now that it's been extended to invisible disabilities, I would have thought it's easier, not harder, to get one.
Good to hear everyone else is doing ok this week (bar the odd Jaffa cake incident ). The only way I can stop myself from eating crap is by not buying it - if I have sweet stuff in the house, it'll call me!

Copying noteven's stats update:

Starting weight: 14st 7
Starting bmi: 30 (obese)
Current weight: 12st 1.2
Current bmi: 26.5 (overweight)

Total loss: 33.8 lbs

I don't know how many weeks I'm at though; I started on 29/6 so it's been about 3 1/2 months.
Lost 1.8lbs from last Sunday so I'm happy about that. Hoping to crack the 11st border next week!

Thanks for all the info @WobbleWhenIRun. I think I need to restart with c25k.. Its a struggle with a very attached 8 month old who wont go to anyone else n other chores... But need to do this.

Thanks for the warm welcome @MushMonster
Went for a snail paced jog today. Weighing day tomorrow. Is there any way possible to share a document , I am wondering if it will be easier to share a spreadsheet with previous, current n ideal weight... only if its not too much for everyone..

My weight in pounds last week was 13.25
Ideal weight is 10 stones....

Weighing day for me today.

SW- 13.25 stones or 84.2 kgs (BMI 27.4)
CW( week 1)- 13.149 stones or 83.5 kgs (BMI 27.2)

FatCat so sorry about your parking badge. That sounds massively unfair. Is there no way of making a new application? Now that it's been extended to invisible disabilities, I would have thought it's easier, not harder, to get one.

I'm not in the UK. It appears that here they are going backwards. The new rules don't even include needing extra space apparently. If you can go 100 m with or without medical aids on your own then you don't get one. So wheelchair users aren't entitled to them anymore if they can propel themselves. Madness.

Well done on all the losses.

Just spotted your post @FatCatThinCat about staying the same weight despite your awful week. Well done - that's quite some achievement, I think.

One more day of maintenance fortnight to go. I think I've consumed the right amount of calories more or less, but not as healthily as I'd planned. Instead of bigger portions and no snacks on weekdays I've ended up snacking during the day, which has meant keeping my evening meal at diet portion size so as to stay within TDEE. Not the most balanced way to eat and I'm a bit disappointed in myself.

Well done on everyone’s losses! Sounds like it is going really well @MushMonster @SansaClegane very inspiring!

@FatCatThinCat also amazing for you to have stayed the same despite all the stress.

Really interesting to hear about the maintainer fortnights.

I worry that I would not struggle one bit to stay within my maintenance cals

Another 1.5lbs off this week which was a pleasant surprise.

I had a colposcopy this morning following an abnormal smear result and they took a biopsy which was so painful been in bed all day feeling sorry for myself and had a pain au chocolate. Have a few days of no exercise so really need to not fall off the wagon by pity eating and feeling sorry for myself. Why is being a woman so hard?

On the plus side I got all dressed up for the appointment and put my jeans on! Been in gym leggings since this all started so actually wearing them and them feeling lose was a real nice motivator.
Starting weight: 14st 2lbs
Starting bmi: 30 (obese)
Current weight: 12st 11.4lbs
Current bmi: 27.1 (overweight)

Total loss: 18.6lbs

Well done notevenamum1 it's hard to keep on it when things aren't going well.

Well done on your weight loss @notevenamum1... I hope it so goes well n you fell better soon... good that u could still manage to loose right...

0.8 kg loss for me this week. I've started counting points now as when I checked mid week I was still the same. Winging it has come to an end I think.

Week 22

Start weight: 276.8lbs [gulp]
Current weight: 232.8lbs
Weight lost this week: 1.7lbs (which has surpised me)
Total weight lost: 44lb

1. Run 1 mile without stopping
2. Get through a holiday and Christmas in December without going backwards - staying the same is fine (holiday cancelled)
3. Weigh < 230lbs
4. BMI < 34
5. 50lbs lost

One day of maintenance left and this week has been illuminating. I still have 'struggled' to get as high as TDEE, except on two days: the day we had one of our dogs pts (Wed) and the day after. Grief and sadness had me reaching for all the old comforts. White carbs (Oh pasta, my pasta!) and ice cream = easily ate my TDEE but did not go over.

Even though throughout the fortnight, I have not been eating a smuch as TDEE, I have eaten more and have noticed a gradual reduction in interest in doing the exercise. I skipped a run at the end of last week (the first one in 4 months) and haven't done any yoga this week - despite doing it twice a week until now.

This has all brought into focus how easy it would be to slip back. Grief and stress, in particular. I am going to need to find better ways to cope with them (not food) if this is going to work long term.

Hmm.

Anyway, one last day and I am looking forward to getting back to normal business on Monday.

Well done @notevenamum1 and @FatCatThinCat - really good losses, despite your personal struggles.

All we need to do right now, is keep going

Weighing day today

Weight

SW- 13.25 stones or 84.2 kgs (BMI 27.4)(week 1)- 13.149 st/83.5 kgs (BMI 27.2)
CW- Week 2 - 12.94st/ 82.2 kgs (BMI 26.7)
Overweight

2 kgs lost in 2 weeks.

Hi @wobbleWhenIRun sorry about your loss. It must have been so distressing but a pat on your back on restricting yourself on only pasta and icecream. Amazing that you still managed to run.. I won't have been able.. sending virtual hugs your way..