LOSE IT! December 2020

[TheRealHousewife]

Hello & Welcome

Roughly 4 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. In October/November I didn’t really lose but did maintain. I’m hoping to see a loss this month which would 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

MFP

Intermittent Fasting

Mindful Eating

Drink Water

Meal Planning

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 😬

Hi,

Can I join?

I’ve had a difficult few years, I cared for my daughter through severe anorexia (eating with her 6x a day..), lost my mum, then had thyroid issues which are largely sorted now, just one more blood test to check my levels. Daughter is now stable and understands that I now need to focus on my own health - I’ve been previously to worried about triggering her to think about me.

It’s be easy to put it off til after Christmas but if I do I’ll have a bigger problem to tackle. So Fitbit is on, mfp is downloaded and set up.

Current weight 111kg (I know!...)
Target 1 - 100kg
Fitbit target 9,000 steps
MFP calorie target 1560

My main problem is snacking - I also don’t drink enough water and my sleep is rubbish (thank you perimenopause!) Oh and I like gin but only at weekends.

My week one aims are to get used to tracking everything, and not ‘forgetting’ to track things I go over, to increase my water intake every day and to hit my step target every day. I’m not going to stress too much if I go over calories a bit, I want to establish a better routine initially. If I get to the evening and I’m short on steps, I’ve pulled my old Reebok step out of the garage and made an 80’s playlist - so no excuses.

I know I’m in it for the long haul, but I can’t keep putting it off....

Hello, i just did a big post on the old thread 🤦

Place marking here too so I don't lose you :)

A Warm Welcome @HostessTrolley and nice to ‘see’ you @Galvantula ... welcome back 😊. I’ll pop over and read your post.

Sounds like you’ve had a tough time of it @HostessTrolley. You are so right that if you make a start now it will be so much easier than leaving it until after the festive period. Sounds like you have a plan too which is always a step in the right direction.

I'd like to join this thread, if that's okay.

Weight crept up during lockdown, and then another stone has been added through the stress of some difficult circumstances.
The difficult circumstances remain but I'd love to take control of my eating. Since half term I've managed to lose half a stone through 16:8 and then this last week, also adding in 5:2.
I'd like to lose another half a stone before Christmas, and then have another stone to lose after wards.

Am currently 12st 13

Am on the fast day today of 5:2 - can't wait for my dinner! I weigh myself on a Friday

Hi @HolaVida welcome. Sorry to hear about difficult circumstances, hopefully they’ll soon resolve. Usually we have a great bunch of ladies who contribute to these threads. Fabulous support, a listening ear and hand holds if needed. Roll on Dinner time😬

Thanks for the welcome @TheRealHousewife - I’m hoping that by being able to follow others peoples progress and join in a bit I’ll feel a bit more motivated and accountable.

Things were pretty tough with daughter, she’s 5’7” and was 35kg at one point. She’s now at med school and doing a lot better. She’s all loved up.... I want to be here to take her wedding dress shopping and meet any grandchildren, so I need to make my own health a priority

Hi Everyone 😊
Welcome newbies!!

December is my favourite month 😁
And I'm especially excited this year because I'm getting married 🎉

I'm actually going to try maintain my weight this month so that my dress fits nicely but I hope it's OK I follow along this thread as well- I want to keep momentum up, stay in control and still within my calories. I can otherwise see myself going mad with the quality street and undoing the last two months work!!

Hope everyone is keeping well!
🎄 🎄 🎄

I'd like to join for a bit of accountability please. Very stressed at work and eating everything in sight to make myself feel better.
Plan is to use myfitnesspal to track calories. I'm already pretty active and average 20,000 steps a day (despite having a 9-5 desk job), so its really my eating I need to get on top of!!
No particular goal by Xmas, I'll be happy with anything! Current weight is 168lbs.

I posted on November but need to get on here for tomorrow as November fell off my TIO.

Welcome @HostessTrolley. It just came to me, if you start now by Christmas Day your mind set will have changed and you'll be able to enjoy a few bits of treats.

I'm sorry about your mum and I hope your daughter continues to improve.

Welcome @HolaVida.

Exciting @CescaNicole! When I was getting married it was one of the very few times I could control my eating as I couldn't face the embarrassment of not fitting into my dress. DH said the other day maybe it will fit me again .

Welcome @Katiepants27. Stress at work is rotten but remind yourself you need to look after yourself, not sabotage your health and therefore let whoever and whatever is stressing you, win. You can do this.

Hi, I’d like to join please? I decided to try to get a handle on my fitness / weight back in Oct. I’ve done a lot of diets over the years but I really need to break the ‘feast / famine’ regime as it’s just making me fatter.

So I have been doing a PT session once a week and am on my 9th (and final) week of Couch 2 5k. Foodwise I’m determined that nothing is off limits but I’m really trying not to snack and also get my portion sizes down.

Starting weight beginning of Oct: 16.7
Today’s weight: 15.4

I’m worried that Xmas is going to derail me so really want to post here for accountability. I’m not even looking to lose much this month, just don’t want to go backwards.

Good luck everyone

Just repeating from November thread.

Whooo hoohoSunshinecake you are where I was 3 years ago and I WILL be by this time next year! I'm going for 12 stone something by the end of this year- slowly, slowly, creeping tiger.

Salt cravings not going too well!!! I came in from work and HAD to have salty smoked salmon and boiled eggs with lots of salt! Least I'm staying low cal (we'll ignore the small pack of onion rings I just had, but at least it's not chocolate!).

Hi to all the new joiners. I'm only here 5 weeks- slow weight loss of 8lbs but that's the way my loss goes. This is a long term thing for me so I'm glad of new pals to get me through. Feeling the Christmas spirit between the Christmas bargains thread and all the lovely, positive peeps on here.

Happy 1st of December everyone. I'd love to join you all to get in the frame of mind for the festivities 😁

So a bit about me, I lost 7st following SW then realised that it wasn't helping me with binge/bulimic episodes as I need the portion control. I gave up on that and regained 3st but have shifted 7lbs since May without much effort. I need to work on it now as self-esteem is through the floor!

As you can probably tell, I have Insomnia and tend to snack more than I should for a pick me up through the day which needs to stop so like @HostessTrolley my first aim is to get into a healthier routine.

I've downloaded MFP and set it to 1500cals, step counter is set to 10k and I'm going to get back into the exercise habit 3x per week online.

Current weight: 13st 3.8lbs but will also be counting NSV's at every opportunity!

Also - does anyone want to buddy up on MFP? Might help to have some proper accountability :)

Hello :)

I'm starting December at 98.6kgs, down 4.4kgs since November 1. This may be enormous to a lot of you but it's the first time I've had a two figure weight in years. Started this year at about 138kg so it's been a long slow haul.

Calorie counting seems to work for me, about 1200 a day.

Good luck everyone as we enter the season of excess!!

PinGwyn I’m definitely trying to focus on NSV so that I don’t become too obsessed with the numbers and then pack it all in if I have a bad week on the scales (done that WAAAYYYY too many times ).

So far, NSVs:
My pants are becoming a lot looser around my tummy (problem area)!
My feet/ankles are definitely happier to be supporting less weight
My lower back does not ache during long dog walks. This had been getting much worse.

Onwards and downwards all!

Hi all, just put my closing post on the November thread.

I'm starting December at 190lb. Smaller goal this month as need to be realistic about Xmas week, so hoping for a 5lb loss.

Welcome Pingwyn I'm 13 st 4 so we're twins! Pre kids I was 9st but that was 16 years ago. I sat at 10 ish for years and was really happy there but a 3rd, late baby at 40 buggered that up royally! I'm on the determined road now. Huge congrats for a 7 stone loss, you can do this again.

Hi Mull brilliant that you're in 2 figures- that's really significant!

Can I ask what NSVs are?

Advent Calendar chocolate is calorie-free right? 😬

So just been looking at my tracker, I find it amazing and shocking still to see that I'm in the 13stone bracket. It feels so weird to me that I weigh less now than when I met my husband 20 years ago when I was 16 years old.

I'm currently 190lb, will log it on the tracker tomorrow on my weekly Wednesday weigh, which puts me at 13stone 8lb. My target for December is to lose 5lb, which I think is realistic but I'd really love to get to 12st13 which would need a 9lb loss.

Can I join? Weighed in at 11 3.2 which is a steady increase and given I am very short into the obese range. Given it’s December I’m aiming to be 11 stone by the end of the month. I need to stop snacking and actually move a bit-wfh has made me practically immobile

Good Morning & Happy 1st December 🎄🥳🎉

You’re welcome @HostessTrolley 😊

Congrats 👰🏼 @CescaNicole ... what date? How exciting!

Welcome @Katiepants27 ... 20,000 daily steps is impressive 👍

Welcome @Mull, you’ve made a good start so far! Keep going, you can do it!

@Puffalicious 8lbs is solid progress for 5 weeks. You are doing great! ⭐️

@PinGwyn welcome from a fellow insomniac! I totally empathise and understand how being sleep deprived can sabotage our healthy eating habits! Currently I have a few pistachios and a magnesium supplement. I dont have everyday and take each alternatively so as not to become accustomed. I feel it helps a bit. Keeping blood sugars balanced also helps.

@Elle200. Welcome and a massive well done on your progress! 👏👍⭐️ The ladies here are great and supportive! You’ll fit right in!

A warm welcome @Onthebrink67. It’s such much harder to keep active when working from home. Do you set a timer to get up at least every 45 minutes. Stretch legs, get circulation going and get some steps in.

@FatGirlShrinking you are doing so well. Well done! Your 5lb target for December seems realistic & doable 👍

Let’s have an awesome December and take the opportunity to see in 2021 feeling happier, healthy & fitter. After the 21st the nights start to draw out to which is something to look forward too.

@Puffalicious NSV are Non Scale Victories. It could be anything positive related to your weight loss that isn’t the number on the scales. My biggest one (forgot it on my list earlier) is my mental health and the improvement in it I have felt from tackling my weight. Good luck to you!

Hi all

Thank you for my medal on November's thread @TheRealHousewife. I feel thin! I know I'm not and if I did my BMI I assume would still say I am overweight but I'll take any positive.

Especially today. Very emotional. DD has had trouble sleeping for years and she hasn't gone to school today as hasn't slept for two nights. I am struggling to get any proper help for her and even though she is finally under the sleep clinic they had to cancel her due to Covid and nothing is happening at the moment. School seems to be offering support but then taking it away and I have spent all day on the phone to the surgery, hospital and school. Thank goodness for the lovely GP receptionist who took pity on me and got me an appointment tomorrow. Still can't get an answer at the hospital and have emailed school.

I am about to have lunch then will take the dog out and just hope the day gets better.

Happy afternoon everyone and well done for all your efforts.

Thanks TheRealHousewife I just need to keep chipping away at it.

CescaNicole how ridiculously exciting- details please!

Thanks Mull that's a brilliant idea, never heard of that. My first NSV is feeling less bloated and my stomach looking little flatter!

@CescaNicole I have a hot chocolate advent calendar this year, DH and DD put it together for me so every day I have a different flavoured low cal hot chocolate drink like Options or Highlights.