Optimistic October

[Octopus37]

Says she, thought I would start a new thread. After yesterday's triumph, I ended up eating rubbish yesterday (lack of time and planning) and weight out for a Toby (bar snacks) last night to get my Dad out of the house to give DS1 space. Weigh 9st2 this morning, but confident that I didn't eat the 8,000 calories needed to gain over 2 pounds. Aim for the end of October is 8st13.5 (rather than .75 which was my new low yesterday), the sky is the limit

Welcome SistemaAddict! Let us know any wisdom you have. Another metric unit user :-) Your starting point is my goal! I hope you're shorter than me.

Well done HangoverStruggles and TheHoneyBadger! HangoverStruggles, 1600 is my calorie budget when dieting, and the lowest I can manage without eating my arm off. This is why the numbers are going down slowly. I'm a wimp, but I want it to be slow and sustainable.

I hope you have a restful half term HoneyBadger.

Octopus the Hairy Bikers have a pasty recipe using their potato pastry which is less fattening. (Thank you Hangover for reminding me about that book). Here are the pics.

Kakiweewee Well done re running! Amazing considering you weren't even able to walk recently. I've never particularly enjoyed running, but it does get easier surprisingly quickly if you keep doing it. At the moment I'm avoiding running because of stress incontinence due to
a weak pelvic floor, and I've been told not to do running or anything else which puts stress on it until it's stronger. That's ok for me though because I love cycling.

Potato pastry

64.7 this morning, which is slightly better than yesterday but still worrying because it's a bigger and more sustained spike upwards than last pre-period week. Just a week ago I was 63.7! I need to see what happens when my period arrives and revisit my plan. I've been aiming for 1600 per day which is generous for some but challenging for me. Rather than attempting to reduce it I am going to be stricter about sticking to it because there are still too many days when I go over.

Any ideas for getting exercise in while I have the kids for half term? They are 3 and 6 so walking or cycling with them is very slow. I can do my exercise at home in the evenings when they're in bed, but Joe Wicks has a lot of things like star jumps which I'm avoiding due to a weak pelvic floor.

@Monochrome4

Probably shouldn't be running, but I needed to do something to kick start my stalled weightloss. I've a grade 3/4 cystocele, but I just put my pessary in and wear a pad. It doesn't feel uncomfortable, and I'm listening to my body. I'd stop if it felt bad.

The only thing that would fix it is surgery now, and I don't get that until I've lost eight stone total.

I'd love to try cycling myself, do you live in a town or country? I'm town centre myself, so the traffic puts me off.

I was on the last thread under a different name but had to change as I was outed elsewhere.

I don't have any wisdom. My rule was no eating after 6 pm following a 16:8 approach. It's been chaos here for the past month and I've not stuck to anything at all and have eaten a fair bit of chocolate. I'm veggie and 5'3"

I switch between metric and imperial. I weigh in kg then translate as my disordered thinking copes better that way. My goal
Is 9st 4lb I think.

@Kakiweewee I don't have the same condition as you, so please don't take the fact that I'm avoiding running as a sign you should be. Just follow the medical advice that you have been given.

I'm in a town just outside London (which narrows it down a lot!) and it's actually really good for cycling. Previously I lived in London, zone 2 and I cycled all over London. The CycleStreets website and app is good for working out routes avoiding busy roads. A lot of towns have cycle clubs or even council-run services which take people out in groups to teach them the quiet routes and also get them used to roads if unavoidable. Actually I think towns are safer for cycling than the countryside. The worst possible roads for cycling are wiggly country roads with a 60 limit.

Hello everyone!
Just weight myself at 63 kg which is my goal. Yay!
Is it weird that I want to loose a bit more?
Actual bmi is 23.7 which is in the higher band of healthy.
I will stay counting calories for now as I want to see how does fluctuate. I might try to get to 60kg having in mind that I will put weight during Christmas.
Let's see

Congratulations Lalanbaba! By all means lose a bit more if you are inspired and it's within a healthy BMI.

I think the other thing is to start thinking about a post-diet strategy for keeping it off. It's something that's been worrying me, although I've got a while yet before I need to think about it. I don't want to keep counting calories, but equally I am going to have to keep an eye on things so as not to end up where I started. Maybe working out my maintenance calories and contining to count calories for a while to check until I have the confidence to trust my appetite, plus continuing to weigh myself regularly indefinitely. Does anyone here have wisdom to share on this?

Congratulations Lalanbaba! It might be an idea to overshoot your goal to allow for fluctuation.

@Monochrome4 I don't have much wisdom i'm afraid! But I did a decent job (pre-holiday!) by continuing to count calories and gradually increasing up to maintenance. I decided to eat slightly less in the week so I could have take aways/restaurant meals etc on the weekends and that seemed to be working for me. Counting calories in the week is not a chore anymore because I know the calorie counts for my breakfasts/lunches/and most of my dinners too so that's sorted really. I'm still logging for my peace of mind but I feel like I could not if i didn't want to.

Congratulations lala. Maybe try and maintain for a month and then see how you feel/what you're prepared to do or not do and how happy you are eating/exercising to this weight.

I think sustainable is important.

Well done lala!

61.6 this morning, clothed in pjs. The scales were brought downstairs for weighing the cat and I'm not getting naked in the kitchen I'll take them back up later. I only did 17,300 steps yesterday.

It's soup and crumble weather today so I might make both. We've got a walk planned this morning as need to deliver some things to my mum. That's a 3 mile walk.

Morning, i'm 1lb down this morning happily. 3 more to go to return to my lowest. Still stuck inside self-isolating but each adjustment has made my indoor bicycle arrangement more comfortable.

Morning!

HoneyBadger What were you doing up at 4am?

Morning Sistema. I've been using baby scales to weigh the cat because he was over 6kg at July's vet visit. The vet suggested switching to wet food and now he's 5.2! Still a little podgy but a big improvement, and his fur looks better for it too.

Well done Marmite. Glad to know that the bike feels more comfortable inside. Let's hope it passes the test when you're allowed out.

64.0 this morning. Down from an upward spike of 65 2 days ago, and back to where I was a week ago. I just hope that mid-week was an upward spike rather than today being a downward spike! When I get back below 64 I'll have more confidence that I'm losing weight.

First attempt at ONO. I got the quantities wrong - too many oats and not enough yoghurt. It was very solid and I had to add milk. I have to have it again tomorrow as I made double. I wonder if it freezes?

p.s. I didn't buy baby scales specially. Our youngest is 3, we just hadn't got rid of them yet and they turned out to be useful for the cat.

Sorry Lalanbaba, where was the drumroll with that announcement?! Well done!!

I'm down in the dumps here, teacher, half-term, only to be informed I'm a close contact of a positive case so need to be tested and I'm restricted for 14 days. No walks, runs etc.. Unfortunately that meant I drowned my sorrows in crappy food. But I can't go to the shop so that should stop me!

Sistema I was wondering where you'd got to

Have a good Saturday all.

She's not our cat but dd worries that she's underweight. She's just little and fine boned and featured. She thinks she's ours though

I'm amazed I've not gained half a stone over the past month of not bothering about what I eat and numerous self isolations meaning no exercise/school runs. Although it's been stress and drama after drama so that's probably burnt the calories I've eaten and I've tended to eat toast for a lot of meals as too tired and cba to make myself anything.

Oh how awful heygirl!

13st9.8 this morning.

Ds and I did a near all nighters talking and playing games and taking the dog out in the dark. We were a little high from making it to half term

Congratulations Lala. Had a very snacky day food wise yesterday and went out for a drink with my DH. Unfortunately had a bad evening with DS1, he had a big argument with DS2, which basically means our plan to start going out on our own for an hour/hour and a half a week, isnt going to be possible DS1 has always had a tendency to lose his shit, we had some school refusal a coupe of years ago, some anxiety, had to get some professional help for him. He ended up throwing his phone (didn't break luckily), when DH had spent a whole day in the Apple shop getting it fixed for him a couple of weeks ago. Was then threatening to go out of the house (10.30 at night), says its cause of my Dad staying (in the home now), but think thats just an excuse cause h didn't have to move room or anything and just stayed out of the way. Says we never have have time for him, going to be a long day

Thanks everyone!
That was 10% of my body weight lost since 1st of August. First goal was 65 to be in the healthy bmi. Need those mini goals rather than an ideal number far far away.
I have to figure out how many calories I need now with the new job (can be pretty physical at times) are fitbits good for calculations on exercise?
I've gone from sedentary calories to moving the body a lot and I have upped the calories I get but I am not sure about quantities.
I don't think I have been under 60 kg since teenage years so not planning to go under that but I want to see how I feel close to it and if my body stabilises there
B: porridge with banana. Tea
L: lamb shawarma with pickle cabbage, carrots, yogurt tahine dressing and salad bits
D: oven baked fish, potato wedges, roasted squash

Right I didn't have the mental energy to make a real goal at the start of October but now I do and I still have a week to go.

My goal is to be just plain overweight rather than obese by November.

Great weight Honeybadger, and well done for having mental energy so soon after the end of term and an all-nighter.

Lalanbaba your menu sounds mmmmmmm. I love all mediterranean food.

HeyGirlHeyBoy Have you got a test booked? Fingers crossed for a negative test asap so that you can get back out. (But maybe not to the sweet shop).

I took the kids to Yo Sushi. They have changed the system due to Covid so you don't take random plates from the conveyor belt, and I think it's much better. You order everything from the table using the app on your phone, then it arrives on the conveyor belt. You have a light which goes amber when something is on its way and green when it gets to you. The belt stops when it reaches you and you have 7 seconds to take it. For a mum with a 6-year-old and a 3-year-old it's possibly the most excitement we've had since March. But the great thing for dieting is that the menu has all the calorie counts on so you can calculate exactly how much to eat in advance and you don't have all the plates going past tempting you to have more and more.

Ooh sushi sounds nice.

DS is desperate for an end of term takeaway. Managed to stall him last night as I was so happy with my weight being down and not feeling hungry so I didn't want to spoil it.

I also managed to avoid celebratory beer and have lower calorie alcohol instead.

Trying to think of a way I could indulge his want of a takeaway without going mad on calories myself

It's hard isn't it... would he settle for a 'fake away'? Making your curry or pizza etc? Or a microwave version so you can at least know the calorie count? What kind of take away is on the cards?

I am looking forward to dinner. Hungry!

Morning! I'm another lb down which is 1lb off pre holiday weight, in marginally over a week and 2lbs off my lowest! Get in!

Heygirl, sorry I missed that yesterday, bless you. Hope you are ok. Have you got to get a test done? Monochorme/Heygirl, thanks very much for putting that potato pastry recipe up, I will try it over half term. I dont mind marmite, thats quick work. Went out for drinks and food sitting outside with my bestie last night, was wet but fun (just realised how that sounds), 9st1 this morning. Have a good Sunday all