Healthy habits, healthy mind

[Nuffaluff]

I have wanted to lose a bit of weight for a while now and tone up, but I’ve been finding it very hard, so I’ve decided to try something new and wondered if anyone would like to join me.
It’s not a diet as such, because I want the focus to be more on being kind to myself and treating myself right.
Here’s my problem with diets: people lose weight and put it all back on when they go back to normal
They are relentless - they get boring, so you give up
It feels like you are punishing yourself
They get too competitive. People feel bad if they have more weight to lose than someone else, or they feel guilty if they slip up.
So, I’m going to try creating healthy habits for myself. I’m going to do a maximum of four new habits at a time to start with. When something truly becomes a habit, then that becomes something I ‘just do’. I will stick to each habit for a week, starting on Saturday (as weekends are hardest). Here are some examples of habits I have thought of:

• having one meal of carbs a day
• having three alcohol free days per week
• going for an early morning run or walk every day
• keeping a diary every day
• do something ‘self care’ every day, e.g. paint nails

I will do it for a week at first. I I like it/ think it’s easy enough, I’ll keep that habit and add a new one. Otherwise I’ll swap it out for another one. So, if one week I try fasting until lunch, then I get fed up with that, the next week I’ll try one snack a day only. As you can see, the emphasis is on health and happiness, rather than beating myself up. I’ll record it in bullet journal style.

Photo didn’t post.

Here are my targets for this week, bullet journal style.

@Galaxxy
It sounds like you’re really good at mindful eating!
Generally I just stuff things in my mouth and barely even notice I’m eating them. I want to change that.
Anybody got any ideas about would you do if you went to Wagamama or somewhere like that?
We might be having some rare child free time on Monday and might eat out to help out.
My natural inclination is to have the exact thing I want and eat it all!
I’m wondering whether to go without breakfast and then have whatever I like. Or should I go for a lower calorie option but I might not like it as much?

@Dashel That is a great weight loss, well done.
I hope I’ll do as well as you.

Thanks for the tips @Sairafina.
How are everyone’s sleep routines going?

A good tip I have for eating out is to ask for a takeaway box at the same time your food arrives and immediately put at least 1/3 of the meal in to take home with you. Then you can order what you want, enjoy every bite and have some leftovers for the next day to enjoy again! Portion sizes at restaurants are usually much larger than we actually need, and having been brought up to 'clear my plate', removing 1/3 of the food from it is immensely helpful!

Periods are the bane of any woman’s diet. I started mine yesterday, my jeans suddenly got really tight as the bloat set in and all I wanted was chocolate and junk food. I caved and had a 70 calorie packet of sweet popcorn but I think that’s a win as normally it would be half a packet of chocolate biscuits.

I also weigh a pound more today than I did yesterday but I’m hoping that is just the bloat as I have been really good. Although I only did 10k steps yesterday and will again today as I feel so yucky. But 10k is better than 3 or 4K.

I went out for a curry two weeks ago and I fasted until dinner. Failing that I bet there will be an online menu for chain restaurants and pick healthy choices after checking calories before you go and/or try and park away from the restaurant and go for a nice romantic walk before and after maybe?

I have still abstained from alcohol and I think I’m doing pretty well generally. The house is really clean due to me getting steps in cleaning and I am making relatively more of an effort with my appearance. I put mascara on as well yesterday and today.

I sleep really well now but getting there was really hard work and my sleep routine is so important. I need good sleep and lots of it

sairafina.
That is a brilliant idea. The udon noodles I love are perfectly healthy, there’s just about a third too much. I might take my own Tupperware with me.

dashel
I’d say a 70 calorie bag of popcorn is definitely a win.
Yesterday I ate about 20 skittles instead of mindlessly shovelling half the family pack in. Much better.
I’m thinking about not weighing myself until the day after my period now as I always go up. I’m also thinking I might not manage 15000 steps.

I think whilst it’s bad to completely return to our old ways for periods, it’s definitely allowable to have some respite If we feel crappy. Tonight I’m having poached eggs and Oven chips with peas as it’s my favourite. However the chips will be weighed and there is no fresh white bread and butter to go with it followed by a Gu pudding or slice of lemon tart with wine. So although not the healthiest dinner it’s not horrendous calorie wise.

I think weight wise it’s natural to fluctuate a bit, sometimes we retain water or are due a whoosh (fat calls being depleted can fill up on water before they are out of fat) but as long as if you plot the measurements on a graph and it’s going downhill then it’s ok 👍

I’ve had a good couple of days with my new targets.
I’ve kept my step count up, water drinking and I’ve had an alcohol free night tonight.
No yoga or weights today as we’ve had a busy day out at the zoo.
I went to bed at 10 pm last night and got a massive 8 and a half hours sleep according to Fitbit!! Weirdly though Fitbit gave me a sleep score that was ‘good’ rather than ‘excellent’. I’ll be interested to see if I manage to score ‘excellent’ tonight with no alcohol at all.

The best thing has been the mindful eating. I’ve actually really enjoyed it! I’ve been eating slowly , chewing my food properly and thinking carefully about the choices I make.
At every meal I’ve been full, but never stuffed full. I’ve also been ‘delaying, not denying’, so thinking ‘well, I’m hungry, so I could have lunch now, but I’ll have a glass of water instead and eat lunch an hour later.’ I like it better than calorie counting. It’s less about depriving myself and more about nourishing my body and soul. Very positive for me mentally.
I reckon I’m on track to maintain my weight by the end of my period, or lose weight. I’m not bothered which though. I’m being kind to myself.
I expect when my period really kicks in I will need some chocolate!! But I shall get a small bar of posh chocolate and eat it slooooowwwly.

Well done @Nuffaluff it sounds like everything is going really well and very positively.

I am still hugely bloated and put on another pound this morning. On Friday I was 11st 1.8lb and now I’m 11st 3.6lb 😤😭

I am desperately hoping that this all goes away sound. I was. Bit more carby yesterday but nothing too bad calorie wise so I’m hoping it’s just water I’m holding into.

I went for a quick walk early this morning, it’s cold but sunny here. On 5k steps so far and want to get back up to 15k rather than the 10/11k I had been doing. DH is away tonight so I think I will do a Body Balance class before bed. It’s so good for head and body and helps me sleep.

Just want to say that I love this thread, thanks so much for setting up such a positive one OP! ☺️ I too am trying to make healthier habits, starting with drinking more water and being more active. So far I have noticed a huge improvement in my skin.

Happy Monday everyone and here's to a happy and productive week!

It’s a good news bad news kind of day here.

It’s very windy and is raining hard with the forecast looking grim all day which makes getting my steps harder. However I did a 30 min pump class online and a 20 min Joe Wickes HIIT class and am now eating some overnight oats, so no 16:8 today but I believe it’s ok to do exercise fasted but you need to eat afterwards so you don’t burn muscles instead of fat.

I did loose one of my bloat pounds this morning and hopefully the other will come of soon. I also managed my 15k steps yesterday and gave the house a good clean, so I’m feeling quite positive. Looking after myself does make me feel good.

I think the not drinking as well makes a massive difference too, I put out our glass recycling yesterday and it has the been the first time in months I wasn’t embarrassed by it. There were two bottles of wine but they were already opened before the last collection two weeks ago and DH finished them off.

I'm pregnant at the moment so my targets are less around losing weight and more about creating the healthiest environment for my baby to grow in.

It is perfectly fine to exercise at the same level as before falling pregnant so I'm still going to the gym 5x a week and putting in at least 15miles on the cross trainer, 2x weight sessions and 2x yoga. Yesterday was 2.5 miles and a back session, later this morning will be 4 miles.

As part of a healthy diet, I'm trying to eat at least 30 different fruits/vegetables/nuts/legumes per week to get a variety of nutrients. Yesterday I had almonds, spinach, tomatoes, cauliflower, peanuts and avocado so I'll be looking to add to that list today.

For those managing 15k steps a day how do you do it? Do you make sure you get a good long walk in or is it just lots of movement through the day. I'm struggling to get past 2k some days now wfh. I know it's very bad to be so sedentary but can't get myself motivated to move!

Great thread btw!

I am also working from home and today is really tough as it’s been heavily raining all day, I went out managed 1000 steps and got soaked walking back.

Normally I go for a 25 minute walk before work, a 15 minute walk at lunch and again after work. I also use a bathroom downstairs if I’m working upstairs and try to get up and stretch my legs by walking around the house as much as I can. I do as much as housework as I can and try to spend some time in the garden after work. I might also do an exercise class prior to work.

My period has done for me the past couple of days - they’re heavy and really take it out of me the first few days- but I’m not going to feel bad about it.
My sleep has been good, but I have no energy, so I’ve been eating too much and not necessarily good choices either. Delicious choices though!
I have been exercising, but not as much as normal. Did my first body pump for six months last night. Hard work.
I’m going to start again tomorrow and not drink any alcohol tonight.
I think I often give up during my period, but not this time!!! I think feeling bad about ‘failing’ is what makes me give up usually.
I’m going to visit the gym as soon as I wake up tomorrow and have a small breakfast. I’ll eat mindfully tomorrow and do some yoga too.

@Dashel It sounds like you’re doing brilliantly. I’m going to reread your post tomorrow as inspiration!
@Bertyb7 I’m so glad you’re enjoying the thread. The water drinking is amazing isn’t it? I know we all know what we’re supposed to do, but it does take an effort of will to just do it doesn’t it? I’ve been drinking lots of water for a week and a half now and my cheeks feel so soft. I didn’t even get my premenstrual chin spot this month!
@Sairafina Those healthy foods sound tasty. I’m popping to town tomorrow so I might do a mindful food shop and buy some things to nourish me.
@Shepherdspyreads Thing is, I’ve always been a very energetic person. I love exercise so I enjoy gym classes, runs, brisk walks, etc. I’m slightly addicted to that dizzy feeling I get when I step off the treadmill (endorphins). If I didn’t feel so crap today, I would go for a walk later to get my steps up to 15000.
My difficult thing is eating. I’ve always eaten too much. I have a high metabolism so I used to get away with it, but no longer at 43! I cannot do faddy diets where I have to deny myself and I do binge eat quite a bit. I love sugar. I love a beer a day. That’s my tricky barrier to being healthy.
A tip I have for getting the steps in is to get up early and go out for a walk/ run. Walk fast and get slightly out of breath. I can do 7000 before DH and the kids are even out of bed.
Walk while you’re doing something else. When I’m cleaning my teeth and doing my makeup I do about 500 steps pacing round my room (probably drives my poor family mad though).

I want to join! I bought the sarahs day ebooks and it says all the exercises for monday and I did one of them but I thought that was a good start. I'm going to work my way up gradually. Other things is to remember to use the stretchy band exercises my physio gave me every day if I can and try to cook more fresh food and cut down on things like bread and crackers. All habits i formed when pregnant and newly post partum and tired.

Thanks - it's great that you love exercise. I've always been very still, do enjoy running and walking though. I think I will try and do a walk before & after work when I would previously have been commuting.

Congratulations @Nuffaluff it is really hard keeping on track with a heavy period. It’s a good excuse to loose focus and to give up.

@Shepherdspyreads charge your phone and take your earphones and listen to some music on your walk or a podcast or whatever, it just keeps the interest there if you are walking purely for steps.

@Welikebeingcosy welcome aboard more people means more inspiration.

DH has had to stay away for the first time since before lockdown. This is the second and last night of his being away and I’m actually quite proud of myself as I have caved and had chips or binged on food whilst he has been away so that’s really good and I’m proud of that.

I fell short of my steps today with 11k but with the exercise I’m ok with that. I’m glad I’m not the only one doing pump. I know it’s supposed to be brilliant at changing your body but for that to happen I need to be consistent so that would be a great healthy habit to keep up.

Sleep well everyone

I slept terribly last night 😂. Therefore, the only thing I managed yesterday was no alcohol!
It’s a new day today. I’m mindfully eating a crumpet so it’s a good start.
I’m back at work next week so I will need a plan for that.
@Shepherdspyreads I was thinking, maybe you could set yourself a manageable goal of say, 5000 steps a day, and aim to increase by 1000 a week to get to 10000 gradually.
@welikebeingcosy join us - this is the best thing I’ve ever tried.

Another great thing for steps is the sweatcoin app if you dont mind having your phone in your pocket all day. It gives you prizes for steps. Granted you have to so 3 years of 20k steps to get the big prizes of holidays and not all your steps get registered on it, but worth it for the incentive.