LOSE IT! November 2020

[TheRealHousewife]

Hello & Welcome

Roughly 8 weeks to Christmas 🎄. We all know it’s been a strange unsettling year. Unprecedented. Nonetheless we all deserve to feel the best we can, be the best we can and strive to be as fit and healthy as possible. Not only will you look great in your finery, you’ll be (to a degree) improving your immune system and your ability to fight infection should you get one. In addition, if we eat right, get outside, move more your mental health will heap the rewards. Better mental health = better choices. It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

Me personally? In the main it’s been a way of life for nearly 3 years and I’ve lost over 40lbs. I had a bit of blip at the start of C19. After all my hard work I just started eating with impunity. Before I knew it I was10lbs up in a few short weeks! I needed to get back on it and COVID proof myself 😬 I calorie count, log via MFP app, Intermittent fast, eat-low carb Mediterranean style aka Fast800 Plan and try to stay well hydrated. Due to some unfortunate circumstances in October I didn’t really lose but did maintain. I’m hoping November will see me firmly in the healthy BMI bracket.

There are so many enjoyable lifestyle options out there without the need to resort to extreme measures. Whatever way you choose, it needs to be enjoyable & sustainable for the long term. This is a long term commitment rather than a quick fix. I also rarely drink alcohol and keep sugar to a minimum. I exercise by doing walking vids & strength sessions with lite weighs.

As no one size fits all members need to follow their own way of eating. Nonetheless this thread aims to offer guidance, support and a bit of hand holding.

There is no shaming, competition or harsh words to be found on this thread. We are in this together.

Useful Links

How to lose weight

The Fast Diet

Mediterranean Diet

My Fitness Pal

Intermittent Fasting

Mindful Eating

Meal Planning

Drink Water

Nutrition & Mental Health

Jump right in! If you’re not too shy, post a bit about yourself 😊. How do you plan to do it? What do you want to achieve? What excites you about your future self? Together, we can create a whole new you!

You’ll be glad you got on board this time next month 😀.

I'm sorry you had a difficult relationship with your mum @cloudofdreams .

Hi all,

Mind if I join?, I’ve been reading and getting inspiration from you all. I am trying to lose the many stone of weight I gained while pregnant (DD is now 5months).

My nov start weight was 13st 5lb so hoping to lose 7lb in November.

@SunshineCake, sorry about the stressful letter. Your husband sounds sensible burning it and making you a crisp sandwich. A night off fRom dieting sounds very well deserved!

SunshineCake

I'm just checking in, it's that one week of the month where I'm bloated and I won't let myself on the scales, I'm giving in to carb cravings and "oh hell, just a glass ".
I've made a giant pot of chicken and vegetable soup and portioned it out so that at least I can always be 'good' at lunch time, but that seems to be the limit of my motivation right now.

I'm really struggling with work at the minute, it's making me feel quite ill if I'm honest. My stomach has been churning, sleep is hard to come by as I just lay there running through all the things I have to do and can't switch my brain off. I feel panicky all the time.

I worked 6-10 last night and again tonight just trying to chip away at my to do list, I'll never get that time back and it barely made a dent.

Only eaten 772 cals today which I know isn't good for me but it's hard to eat when I feel sick.

Anyone dealt with workplace stress and found a good way to get through it? I feel like calling in sick but the work will be there waiting for me with even less time to do it when I get back so it won't solve anything.

Hi @LH1987 welcome to the group!

@BlowThisForEggAndSoldiers good idea on the batch cooking soup, I've never been very consistent with batch cooking, I do it for a week or so then lose interest.

@FatGirlShrinking Sounds like you are burning out. Do you have an occupational health department at your work place? If yes, it might be worth getting in touch with them to see what they suggest. If not, maybe have a chat with your GP.

I tend not to eat too if the work is crazy, so I fully empathise.
Sending you all the energy and strength.

@LH1987 hello 👋 what's your plan of attack to get to your goal?

I've done well last few days, no biscuits consumed.

How often do you weigh yourselves? I am going to designate Saturday as my weigh in day and see how that goes..

Hi everyone
May I join too, please? Reading through and inspired by all your support and then saw LH1987 joining and thought i would jump in too. I started 2 days ago and already feeling better.

I'm on a similar support thread to stop drinking for good and its been so helpful that I thought this too will give me some accountability. 3 months dry today so time to tackle the weight and my health in other ways too.

I am another tallish one - 5'9. And i would like to lose the 2st (sorry for the old money) that I lost a few years ago and put back on in the last year.

I've been trying intuitive eating to get rid of the diet mentality but turns out I'm crap at that.

What worked for me before was MFP, weighing daily to keep track and lots of walking. So I'm going to return to that.

I don't want to lose too fast this time as i can get obsessed (i had an ED when younger) so I have a fairly decent amount of calories in a day - 1610. Which MFP says i will lose 1lb a week with. I'm going to try to be happy with that. It will happen quicker if I don't eat my exercise points, i imagine.

I'm going for lots of lovely veg with every meal which worked really well as a mentality before.

Feeling positive and ready to do this!

Sorry everyone I missed this will catch up. Did 10k on my exercise bike yesterday!

Thanks @Mc3209 no occupational health but I have a call with the director of my dept today so going to try again to tell them that the workload and his expectations are too crazy and see what happens. I've worked at this place 13 years and only ever had minimal sick, maybe a day or 2 a year except for a week when I had hand surgery and a week when I had eye surgery so I'm reluctant to take sick leave but honestly feel like I'm cracking. My new boss is a complete tool and is making everything so hard.

Just weighed and so far I'm 3lb down on last wednesdays weight so 194lb today or 13st12lb.

Hard to believe I was 229lb /16st 5 at the beginning of August only 3 and a half months ago.

Good Morning Campers

It’s a right old foggy morning here again ... half expect Charles Dickens to appear through the mist 😬

Another brand new week! I’m resolutely stuck weight weight ... can’t get lower and bouncing around several lbs. I’m not going to sweat it. I will try to increase my activity to see if that helps.

Hope you’re feeling somewhat more settled @SunshineCake

Welcome @Breathmiller @LH1987 @Mc3209 It’s a good supportive place here 😊

@Puffalicious Put it behind you and carry on 👍. One day can’t do much damage.

@FatGirlShrinking it sounds like you’re in a difficult situation. Stress is such an energy and wellbeing zapper. Is your stress work load or colleague related? Can you talk to anyone in real life? Can you take any annual leave? It’s important to break the cycle of stressing, not sleeping, not looking after yourself (nutrition) as it becomes a self perpetuating cycle. Try to manage your stress, don’t let it manage you. Here’s a couple of links that might help. If you are employed rather than self employed your employer has a duty of care to support you too.

Stress at work
Tackling work place stress
Feeling Stressed

Have a great day everyone, whatever you’re doing.

Thanks @TheRealHousewife new boss, he's been promoted from my level to director and he's very pleased with himself and trying to make his mark by doing everything all at once, unfortunately he's not actually doing anything just delegating it all down to me and my colleague who are having to work 15 hr days to even scratch the surface. He's making big sweeping promises and deadlines internally and externally which will make us look rubbish if we don't hit them. He's also email mad so every day I get dozens of emails of lists and actions and demands. I can't keep on top of the lists he's sending let alone do the actions.

Just to top it off today school has closed for deep clean due to a staff member being contacted and asked to self isolate so have a 6 yo here while I'm trying to work. Feel like I'm going to throw up.

Thanks TheRealHousewife

I am on a good start. Weighed myself today and 2lbs down. In 2 days! I know it wont always be that easy but I'm enjoying it for now.

Looking forward to getting to know you all a bit better.

Sorry you're having a hard time at the moment fatGirlShrinking

@FatGirlShrinking from what you describe the work expectations are totally unrealistic ... are you brave enough to calmly speak to the nob sorry I mean the boss and explain what you’ve written here. Try to get him to agree to curtail emails to a couple a day and only if urgent. Tell him you will only visit your inbox once or twice a day as you’re working in between. It’s as if by bombarding you he feels he’s dealt with work but he’s only causing you stress and anxiety by his inefficient methods and delegating down the chain.

I don’t think he’s heard of SMART working = Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant & Time-bound.

Good start @Breathmiller ... remember it’s a way of life and not just a destination 👍. With the odd treat chucked in 😬

therealhousewife
Yes, that's my thought process now. I'm fed up at ripe old age of 50 of yoyo dieting. Feast or famine.
I haven't felt deprived this weekend at all. In fact, quite the opposite, lots of lovely healthy delicious food. I even had a roast dinner yesterday followed by apple pie. Just made healthier choices and made sure it all came within my calorie intake for the day.
Walking to school in the morning and back in the afternoon gets me a good couple of walks a day. So I'm making sure I keep to that on my none working days.

Hello everyone

@Foreverlexicon, you are not forgotten. I hope you are okay.

Being good at one meal is a great place to start @BlowThisForEggAndSoldiers. Your soup sounds lovely. I made one with sweetcorn, mussels and scallops with at the weekend and it is lovely on a cold day.

It must be so hard @FatGirlShrinking but you must try and eat or if you really can't you can get veg smoothie packs as well we fruit which will give you your vitamins. Is there anyone to talk to at work to sort out the issues? Maybe ask MrNewBoss how he expects you to get all this extra work done when the day is still the same length?!

Welcome @Breathmiller. You've come to a great place and your plan sounds sensible.

Well done on your cycling @Nosuchthingastoomuchcheese! 🚲

I squeezed in a run before the school run and dog walking this morning and was shocked to see the scales register a loss. First one sin about ten days and it is a loss of 1.4lbs. Total loss since I started running is 19.8lbs and I am thinking 8 might actually drop to the next stone by the end of November . If I lose another 2.4lbs I will have lost three stone since October 2018.

Read your post @Breathmiller and thought about my school run. Realised I couldn't walk it so thought I would walk instead to get petrol....think I need some rest .

Have a good afternoon everyone. I'm waiting on the hospital calling. Have received a letter cancelling an appointment for DS2 I didn't even know had been made for him and they have returned the referral. So much for the NHS being open for everyone.

Hi all, thanks for the welcome.

@Mc3209, so far my plan is to try to be at least 700 calories negative a day and not use only getting 4 hours of sleep as an excuse to drink a cappuccino and eat two bacon sandwiches in the morning! I am going to try c25k as well and see where I get to. So far in Nov, ive lost 3lb so I am hoping to get another 4lb off at least!

@FatGirlShrinking, I think you need to be clear with the director, what you realistically can do in your working hours. If he’s new, he is starting as he means to continue and it is easier to nip it in the bud now. It’s difficult to say no, particularly if your are a people pleaser, but if you don’t you will end up sick and then no one will do the work.

If it were me, I would tell him, I was really excited by his vision and all the new projects but it is not sustainable or realistic in the time scales and he needs to prioritise. I have been in this exact situation BTW! Good luck 😉

Unfortunately conversation didn't go well.

He asked of I was, I said I was telling quite stressed by the workload at the moment

Then he interrupted me, asking if I was blaming him for that, went into a rant about how I wanted his job so this was just a way to gang up on him, I was probably in on it with others in the team and it was bullying.

The whole conversation basically went like that with him ranting and me trying to talk and getting cut off for an hour 😢

Oh my god! So unprofessional! Sounds like he has bitten off more than he can chew.

I would raise this in writing with a more senior member of staff, you will get nowhere with him. Don’t do anything today though, wait till you have a clearer head tomorrow.

He sounds like a terrible people manager ! Sorry you have to deal with this.

I would talk to him again tomorrow and if he is still being an idiot go above him. That is so unprofessional.

What's up with all these bosses, mine threw his toys out of the pram today and told me cancel a pre booked much awaited doctors appointment so that I could join a nothing call.😡

Also what's up with my stupid body, my tummy area was always my problem area,I put on a nice dress today to show the doctor😂 and it hung off my stomach with loads of room there but wouldn't go over my thighs and ass,jesz a girl can't catch a break these days.

Just a quick pop in

@FatGirlShrinking you need to go above his head or put it in writing so he can't interrupt you and then go above him. He's clearly in over his head!

Oh no @SunshineCake hope you can sort stuff and glad the letter has been burnt!

Hospital admin rang. DS doesn't need an appointment as his blood results are normal...great that the GP is being thorough but my goodness could have done without the days of worry!

Hi, you guys are v. Inspiring! I am down a stone since start Sept with mixture of low carb and IF. Have another 4 stone to lose to get me to 11 stone.

That is brilliant @slightlybonkers. Well done!

Hi @slightlybonkers, that’s brilliant . What is IF?!