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.

Well done @notevenamum1 and @FatCatThinCat on your weight loss..

Well done to all the losses and jeep going!
I have not weighted this Sunday because I have a week off! I am not sure when I will get another one, so I have glued my butt to the bed and sofa since Friday
Not very good for weightloss, but I do need a rest, and feel like I had one so I can get back to work re-energised.
I am in Wales, so they are closing down gyms on Friday for 14 days (as far as I know). I will be going the rest of the week. And trying to keep active at home for those 14 days. That will be a challenge! We got yoga matts with the exercises(I have not done much yoga), and will watch some videos. Fitness videos online. I got weights at home. And I may try running, because I do not have a bike at home.

Keep going!

@Shopholicn I did not know you have a baby! It is very difficult to do anything else with a baby. I really admire you for doing it!

Sorry about your dog WobblewhenI run

And how are you doing FatCatThinCat? Are you managing ok with the parking?

I'm managing fine because I haven't been anywhere yet. Thanks covid!

@mushMonster thanks.
wow you live in beautiful Wales.. bliss . I Love your idea of a weekend in front of telly
Enjoy your runs n yoga.

Belated condolences about your dog, @WobbleWhenIRun. And well done on further losses @notevenamum1 and @ShopoholicIn.

I finished reading Jenni Murray's book Fat Cow Fat Chance last week. It was a gripping read. The middle section covers what happens hormonally when you lose weight, and it explained a lot for me, in particular why my diets end with me feeling uncontrollably ravenous, as though I've got a monster inside me that needs to eat and eat and eat.

In the final section she writes about why she decided to have surgery. It made me feel a bit worried, tbh, because she was basically saying (as were the medics advising her) that once you're too far down the road of significant weight gain and loss, it's impossible to keep weight off by willpower alone, and without surgical intervention it's always going to be a losing battle.

So I hope I'm not too far gone for it to work because a) I'm terrified about having surgery, b) I wouldn't fit the NHS criteria as my BMI even at my largest is too low, and I don't have a spare £11,000 which is what Jenni paid to have it done privately, and c) the lifelong restrictions around food sound awful.

But it's worth a read, I think, and I recommend it.

Just read my last paragraph back - it's a bit ambiguous! What I meant was I hope I'm not too far gone for my current weight loss and maintenance strategy to work in keeping my weight manageable long-term.

Thanks everyone for your sympathies.

Back to normal old dieting again this week, which is actually quite nice. Feels more like taking action than maintenance did.

I looked up that book when you mentioned it before @morningtoncrescent62 but confess I am too nervous to hear a message I don't want to hear (that she felt surgery is the only way). I have a LOT of respect for anyone going the surgical route, but it's not something I ever want to consider.

Wll done everyone for keeping on trying - even if/when you have tough weeks.

I am not sure if I mentioned it before, but I am listening to the Half Sized me podcast and find that really interesting.

It's run by someone who lost 170lbs (without surgery) and has kept it off with a real focus on what it takes to succeed long term, not just lose the weight but keep it off.

I find it a really inspiring listen so thought I'd mention it.

@WobbleWhenIRun

I am not sure if I mentioned it before, but I am listening to the Half Sized me podcast and find that really interesting.

It's run by someone who lost 170lbs (without surgery) and has kept it off with a real focus on what it takes to succeed long term, not just lose the weight but keep it off.

I find it a really inspiring listen so thought I'd mention it.

Thanks, @WobbleWhenIRun. I've just looked up the podcast and the first episode coming up sounds like my sort of thing - "Why restricting treats and deserts hurts weight loss". I've bookmarked it for later as I'm about to go into a family zoom. I need inspiration. Like you, I don't want to have to seriously consider surgery.

If you get into it, there's loads of back episodes to listen to. About 5 years worth!

Back to normal old dieting again this week, which is actually quite nice. Feels more like taking action than maintenance did.

@WobbleWhenIRun I've been thinking about you saying that, since I read it earlier today. I've also been feeling a bit relieved about being back to regular dieting. And I've just had a bit of a light bulb revelation about why that is. When I'm on plan, it feels like my choices are taken away - I'm either on the wagon, with very clear rules from which no deviation is possible - or I'm off. When I was doing maintenance fortnight, food choices opened up in front of me, and I'm crap at managing food choices. I've got many decades experience of being crap at managing food choices, so it makes me anxious, and the anxiety become a problem. There's something about choice being removed that relieves the pressure. This tells me that the thing I need to work on is not just making sensible food choices most of the time, but dealing with the pressure of needing to make them.

So, in the interests of this being about learning lifelong habits, I think I've decided to do another maintenance fortnight in November (unless my end-of-October weigh-in throws up any deeply unpleasant surprises). But assuming all's well, I'm going to try it again, but see if I can work on some rules for myself, to cut down the element of choice since that's the thing I realise I've always found difficult and stressful. I haven't yet decided what the rules will be, but there's plenty of time to come up with them!

@morningtoncrescent62 that's such a coincidence, you talking about rules. Yesterday I read a science-backed article looking at commonalities between people who succesfully maintained weight loss. Unfortunately, I cannot find the article again to link for you but the gist was that one of the things that united successful maintainers was rules. That it didn't matter WHAT the rules were, so long as they suited that person and they had them.

For e.g. some people kept to their diet cals on weekdays but just relaxed at weekend and holidays; some had a rule of no desserts except on Sat and Sun; some had the rule of not eating anything else after dinner; some only ate carbs on holidays; some ate only fruit until dinnertime etc.

It seemed like the presence of rules was the important bit.Not what they actually were.

I agree with you, though. Learning how to keep weight off, is the key for me. I have lost 45lbs now and still have 50+ to go. However, I know that if I didn't lose another pound but kept the 45lbs off, I would still be way better off than before. Whatever I do, I need to keep focus on not going backwards, even if that comes at the expense of going forwards.

That's a bit spooky @WobbleWhenIRun - almost like you thought-transferred to me while you were reading! I thought I'd had such a flash of independent insight there. I'll ponder some rules for next maintenance fortnight.

I feel the same as you about keeping the weight off. I've lost three and a half stone, and another stone and a half would take me down into the healthy weight range, so that's what's in my sights. But to be honest if I could stay where I am now I'd be happy.

Oh my, I've obviously been in denial. Just calculated I need to lose 4.5 stone.. I'm returning to SW next Thursday, given myself a bit of a shock

It's interesting what you say about choices morningtoncrescent62 that's the same issue I have. That's why I use the weightwatchers weekly menu plans as they tell me exactly what I'm having for each meal. I print them off and rotate them. I have a panic attack if I have to step outside of them, eg eating out. I need that structure.

As for surgery, I was offered it years ago when I first moved to Sweden. It's much more widely available over here for people who want/need it. I turned it down as I felt it was treating the symptom not the problem and I'd end up in a worse position. Took 10 years to find out I was right. Surgery wouldn't have fixed my sleep apnea so I'd still overeat and I'd just feel sick more often.

@FatCatThinCat I can stick to very rigid rules for months while I'm dieting. But as the time goes on I find myself getting increasingly obsessed with the rules, though, and increasingly panicky if I have to step outside them - to the point of (when it was possible!) turning down invitations to eat out, or go to the pub after work, or anything like that. And at some point it becomes unsustainable, and I go to the opposite extreme of uncontrolled and uncontrollable eating. I've not managed to find a midway point where I have rules that are firm enough to stop me eating anything and everything, but allow me some degree of leeway to enjoy food and enjoy relaxing around eating-and-drinking-based social occasions. I think that's a thing for me to work on, and I'm going to approach maintenance fortnights as an opportunity to experiment and find out what kinds of self-regulation will work. It feels really good to be doing this instead of just dieting until I can't keep it up any longer.

Morningtoncrescent62 I could have written that myself. This time I hoping to get to my target weight, which I've never done before, nowhere near. But now the sleep apnea is controlled I feel it's possible. I believe weightwatchers has new 'rules' when you get to target to help maintain. So that will be interesting.

My big stumbling block will be coming out of covid. I've been staying home as I'm high risk but once it's safe how will I manage Saturday's out with the family? Stopping for lunch, museum tearooms, local amazing bakery/cafe, the annual 4 day international food festival? I'll need to come up with some rules for this.

0.8 kg for me this week. That's good.

0.8 kg for me this week. That's good.

That's very good! Well done!

Well done! 0.8 kg is a great loss!
I am going back to my regime tomorrow.
I am positive I put weight on during my holiday week. Getting leave has become quite difficult this year. And we just were told we are going into a breaker, so I have rested like never before in my life! Because I know there will be not much rest for me the rest of the year. I have the feeling I will not get much leave at all for the rest of this year.
I am going to weigh in a few minutes and will report back.
I am quite scared!

So I am sticking to my positives for morale.
I bought a dress online for Christmas or New Year. It arrived yesterday. And I fit in it! Yet it will be a good motivation to get smoother hips area to make it look perfect. So plenty of exercise on chore and hips for me.