The ‘No Specific Diet’ Weightloss thread.

[Bookaholic73]

Is anyone planning on losing weight in 2021, but without following any specific diet?

I’ve tried low carb, plant based, GI diets, sugar free...the list goes on.

But i know that for me, I just need to eat better and move more. I can’t imagine the rest of my life without rice/chocolate etc, and if my weightloss is going to be sustainable, it can’t exclude any food groups.

So my plan is to just eat less unhealthy foods, and eat more veggies.
I’m starting today, but am aware that others may want to wait till new year, that’s fine.

Anyone else want to join me?

Well I'm hoping it's muscle @Wejustdontknow, but then I think perhaps I'm kidding myself

It can be really hard to start eating again in a particular way once you fall off the wagon! I'm trying to remind myself of all the reasons I want to be thin, rather than scoffing all the Kettle Chips that DP has 'helpfully' bought

I think we all just need a little bit of time "off the wagon" from time to time, so long as we don't stay off it for too long. I got back from my holiday last night, and this morning I weigh more than I did on the Friday weigh-in 2 weeks ago (21st) so I need to get myself back on-track. Holiday was fantastic though and it was great to just relax and not worry about weighing my portions or calculating my calories.

I did manage a bit of running whilst I was away so at least I don't feel out-of-practice there.

However it doesn't bother me too much that my weight-loss chart has ups as well as downs. If over the course of 2 weeks it goes up by a pound then down by 1.5 pounds then that is still a downward trend. We just need to make sure that our times off the wagon are few enough, and far-enough-between, that we can counteract the effects.

Just to clarify the (21st) above refers to 21st May date not 21 stone!

I know I'm late to the thread. I'm going to read the full thread later for tips on helping me loose a few pounds.
I was going to start in January but unfortunately I was diagnosed with breast cancer in December which was caught early.
I've had 2 operations and a long course of radiotherapy.
I'm now in the right mind to address my weight.
In January I weighed 195lbs. At 5ft 1 that's not good.
Today I weigh 190lbs. I have a few days away in September so that is my goal to look and feel better.

I'm back from a week's holiday too and have put on a little weight (back at 14 May weight). I didn't check portions but just tried not to eat loads. We also walked loads each day and did lots of running around with frisbees and balls at the beach. My daughter swam in the sea (North sea) but I wasn't brave enough to join her even though I'm sure the shivering would have burnt off loads of calories.

I twisted my ankle towards the end and I'm not sure when I should start c25k again. It's very bruised looking, a bit swollen and stiff. It doesn't hurt to walk on (on the last day, we walked 20 km, much of it through the sea as I hoped the cold water would help with the swelling) but it doesn't feel as strong as it ought to. Any other c25k runners got any advice about getting started again after injury? I was wondering whether to go back to week 4 so that the running is only in short intervals.

Glad you enjoyed your holiday @KihoBebiluPute and that you're not at 21 stone I think you're right in that we all need a break from time to time; I've been trying to eat sensibly and not go mad over half term, but frankly it's tricky when also looking after small DC full time!

I think the advice for C25K is not to run if you have an injury @sittinghere but you may get more help on the Exercise board. Could you perhaps alternate walking and fast walking if your ankle isn't up to running? Sounds like you had a great holiday anyway and 20km is impressive!! And I don't think I'd have braved the sea swimming either

Welcome @Fredaisfreezing - you are doing amazingly to be here and thinking about making some changes! I hope you are recovered after your cancer treatment?

Well everyone, I'll weigh in again tomorrow morning and hope that those pesky 2lb have disappeared preferably with an extra pound or two to make up for my disappointment and then I really need to concentrate on getting into a party frock for mid-July. I have a wedding to attend and I think I'll be on the guest list even if Boris doesn't extend it from 30 guests. I haven't fitted in a party frock for about six years... drastic action may be needed!!

Well, half a pound has gone but the rest are stubbornly staying!! No idea what more I can do - the DC are still off school so I'll give it some thought tomorrow. In the meantime I'll eat chocolate and sulk try not to get too wound up about it...

Welcome to the thread @Fredaisfreezing it sounds like you have had a tough time but congratulations on completing your radiotherapy and I hope you are feeling well.
@sittinghere glad you had a nice holiday and sorry about the ankle, I do couch to5k but always stay at week one as I seem to get shin splints when I try and go further, I would definitely agree with going back to an easier week at first to see how you get on
@ClaraTheImpossibleGirl I know oh so well how frustrating it is when the weight just doesn’t seem to be shifting, I would say enjoy the week with your kids and then come up with a plan for when they are back at school.
@KihoBebiluPute your absolutely right, a bit of time off the wagon can sometimes help to refocus and make it easier to start again and as long as the overall trend is down that’s all that matters

I am back in plan today, kids are back at school so I have done a run and a 10 minute killer abs workout this morning.
Weight on the scales today is 10 stone 11lb which is much better than expected today. 11lb to get to my first target of 10 stone then I can assess and see if I feel I want to lose a little more or maintain 🙂

I had a really good day yesterday, I ran 6km and ate less than 1400 calories. Today I have run 12.5km and have also been very restrained with food so far. Hoping that if I can keep this up all week I might be back to 70kg by Friday weigh-in.

Hi everyone,

Hope everybody is doing okay. Well I have totally not been doing well this last few weeks. I do so well and then for some reason decide to self sabotage. It is a nightmare. I understand there is a need to allow yourself a few treats and not be so severely strict but I do think I go a little too far.

Anyway I hadn't been able to weigh myself as the batteries in the scales died, and when I bought some more I haven't really dared step on.

I did by myself an exercise bike last Wednesday. I did 5 mins on it then to try it out. Managed 5 and 10 min blasts Thursday burned off 200 calories, Friday 100 Calories and today did just over 1 hour and 230 calories. I did have a short break in between and it is quite literally a pain in the backside as the seat is so uncomfortable 😂 so have to stop so 0ften to get as comfy as I can. Going to try and keep that up every day. I also have a stepper so do some mixing up.

@ClaraTheImpossibleGirl, that does sound very frustrating, whatever the scales say you are getting healthier. You must be!

I am going to try and keep coming on here at least once a week if not more to keep myself motivated.

I remember the uncomfortable exercise bikes at the gym @LeftyLou I've heard that the Peloton bikes are good but they are £££! And we don't really have space for one at home, sadly. Glad to hear that you are back on the wagon again though!

Well done on the running and careful eating @KihoBebiluPute

I did a week 3 C25K run today @Wejustdontknow - I was up to week 4 but thought I'd go back after a week off - plus it's so flipping hot today! Arrived home with a tomato face again, of course; I did a short weights workout this morning too.

I'm still sulking about the scales not moving and trying not to eat my body weight in Maltesers but hopefully will come up with a plan for actually shifting some pounds soon. If anyone has an ideas for a 30 day challenge (it's just over that till the wedding I'm attending) feel free to send them on!

@Fredaisfreezing, welcome on board. Wishing you a full recovery

I cannot get over how much those Peloton bikes and exercise classes are! Also the advert puts me off a little

This bike I bought was £99 99 so I am trying to get my use out of it haha.

Does anybody know, because I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to exercise. How often you should do weight training/ resistance exercise per week? Can I do it together with the bike? Or is it best to do on separate days?

@ClaraTheImpossibleGirl, thankyou I am feel much better getting back on track. a 30 day challenge does sound good. Might do one myself, will have to have a think.

Hi @LeftyLou - yes, those Peloton bikes can be eye-wateringly expensive!! I would say though that people who enjoy it often become complete converts, so obviously if you're going to use it a lot then it's worth the money unlike DP's gym membership when he never goes to the gym

AFAIK weight training is usually done 2 or 3 times per week, but of course that may be to fit in more with people's schedules than because it's the optimal timing! I don't think there's any reason you couldn't do it on a biking day unless one or the other makes you completely exhausted. Maybe you could post on the Exercise board for more advice, or do you have any gym-going friends IRL who could help?

Still sulking here and trying to recover my motivation. How annoying that all this exercise has not paid off on the scales!

Welcome to the thread @Fredaisfreezing and well done for making a great start under traumatic conditions.

A thirty day challenge sounds like an excellent idea @ClaraTheImpossibleGirl - I tend to stick to 5 day challenges because my weekends tend to be too chaotic to stick to anything but I could do a series of 5 day challenges over 6 weeks that were United in some way.

I had mixed results in the 5 days since returning from holiday. I had a really good first couple of days but then let is slide a bit. I know I would have got even better results if I had managed to keep it up for 5 days. "It" just being to eat a lot less than I want to and to move a lot more than I really feel like.

Friday weigh-in:
8th Jan 77.6kg (12st 3lb)
15th Jan 76.5kg (12st ½lb)
22nd Jan 76.5kg (12st ½lb)
29th Jan 76.2kg (12st 0lb)
5th Feb 75.1kg (11st 11½lb)
12th Feb 74.9kg (11st 11lb)
19th Feb 74.5kg (11st 10¼lb)
26th Feb 73.6kg (11st 8¼lb)
5th Mar 73.3kg (11st 7½lb)
12th Mar 74.4kg (11st 10lb)
19th Mar 73.0kg (11st 7lb)
26th Mar 72.1kg (11st 5lb)
2nd Apr 72.3kg (11st 5½lb)
9th Apr 72.2kg (11st 5¼lb)
16th Apr 72.2kg (11st 5¼lb)
23rd Apr 71.5kg (11st 3½lb)
30th Apr 70.8kg (11st 2lb)
7th May 70.8kg (11st 2lb)
14th May 70.0kg (11st ¼lb)
21st May 70.5kg (11st 1½lb)
28th May 69.7kg (10st 13¾lb)
4th Jun ?? 70.7kg (11st 1¾lb)
11th Jun 70.1kg (11st ½lb)

Not quite as good as I hoped but not too bad.

Running for the week 38km.

Mini target for next week is to be under the 69.7 that I was pre-holiday. Long term target is to get to 62kg at which point I will be firmly in the middle of the "healthy weight" BMI and will plan to maintain there indefinitely.

Try not to be too disheartened @ClaraTheImpossibleGirl. Even though that is very easy to say. I have been on the scales every day this week and seen it drop only for today it to go back up slightly.

It's hard sometimes because I could easily put on 2 lbs in a week without even trying but losing it? Nah not going to happen 🤣
Just got to keep reminding ourselves it will happen and we just need to keep going think I will stick to weighing myself only once a week.

Hope you had a great holiday @KihoBebiluPute that is a great loss for it. Good luck with your targets for next week.

My personal target is to keep going with the bike and think I am going to push myself to burn between 300-400 calories per day Monday to Friday over the course of the day. On average this week not including today (Friday) I have burned on average 203 calories per day which I am happy with but think I can push myself a little more.

I am also going to take my measurements and do them again in a month's time.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Well done on the running @KihoBebiluPute - 38km in this heat is great! And any challenges gratefully received

Yes, 2lb can go on with no problems at all @LeftyLou I'm just so fed up with it not going off! I'm exhausted today as I did w3r3 of C25K and then have been moving furniture (for cleaning purposes, not for fun!). I haven't eaten much but even so, don't think I'll have lost anything by Monday. How annoying!!

Well done everyone, it is very disheartening when the scales don’t go the direction we want them to and I agree it’s so easy to make them go up 😞

30/3 11 stone 6lbs
2/4 11 stone 4lbs -2lbs
9/4 11 stone 2lbs -2lbs
16/4 11 stone 4lbs +2lbs
23/4 11 stone 1lb -3lbs
30/4 10 stone 13lb -2lbs
7/5 11 stone +1lb
14/5 10 stone 13lb -1lb
21/5 10 stone 12lb -1lb
28/5 no weigh in due to holiday
11/6 10 stone 11lb -1lb

I was slightly lighter earlier in the week but as I hadn’t been on the Friday weigh ins have just gone with my last official weigh in to say I’m fown 1lb
I always start the week so we’ll but by every week on thursday/Friday I find myself buying cookies and I can’t help but eat the whole packet then I feel so mad with myself as I don’t actually need to restrict myself that much and still lose a little, I think it’s because I’m so active at work, so if I tried a little harder I could easily shed the weight and then focus on maintaining. 11lb to go and if I really go for it I could do that in just a few weeks. I will try my best to be good and not eat anything except my specific meal plan for the next week.
Good luck everyone x

Hello all. Welcome @Fredaisfreezing

9 April 12 st 10 (heaviest ever)
16 April 12 st 8
23 April 12 st 6.5
30 April 12 st 6
7 May 12 st 3.5
14 May 12 st 3.5
21 May 12 st 2
28 May 12 st 2
3 June holiday - no weigh-in
10 June 12 st 0.75

I'm really pleased with that as I felt as if I was stuck at 12 stone 2 forever.

I did manage to run two days ago but it made my ankle worse, and made me very beetroot coloured (first run since the weather got hot). I think I'll have to rest for a bit more before trying again and wait for my ankle to be closer to completely better, so I can only do the eat-less part of my eat-less-move-more plan unless I can think of some exercise that doesn't use my feet.

Well done on your pound off @Wejustdontknow!! I managed to resist cookies today but it was tough...!

I think I may have inherited the 2lb you lost @sittinghere what a shame about your ankle though! I know Jillian Michaels suggests upper body weights (or even just exercises like rapid punches) for anyone with lower body issues, would that be an option?

@ClaraTheImpossibleGirl Thanks for the suggestion. I did try punching my son's mini punching bag for a bit. Not sure how much of work out that really was though!

If you have any hand weights @sittinghere that might be better - or a kettlebell workout? Joe Wicks has some free ones on YouTube. Speaking of Joe, I did one of his HIIT workouts last night and grumbled to myself that I hadn't felt it much, then woke up in the night going "ouch! ouch! ouch!" every time I moved

How is everyone doing on this fine Monday?

Well I have certainly started off on the wrong foot, this week. Three packets of crisps today. That is almost 400 calories just in them why do I do it to myself? I know its boredom but I do really need to stop with that. One is surely enough! Not only that I bought myself some 83 calorie crisps to help keep me on track and I choose the more calorific ones of course!

The upside to this is I have done 20 mins of bike and 20 mins of stepper. This probably won't do much compared to my calorie intake but before I could have eaten those crisps on top of meals and no exercise at all.

Anyway tomorrow is a new day and I am more than determined!

Good news on the exercise @LeftyLou although slightly less good news about the crisps I can completely see how it'd be really easy to eat a few bags in one go - it's not like one bag fills you up! This is why I don't eat crisps TBH, I could easily eat a bag of Kettle Chips in one sitting...

I'd lost 2lb this morning, pleased with that. TBH it's the same 2lb that I've been trying to lose for 6 weeks but it feels like it's gone 'properly' now! I'm disappointed that it's taken me this long - I haven't had any major blowouts and I've been exercising consistently - but am hopeful that I can lose a bit more by next week. I did w4r1 of C25K today and am determined to keep going after the wedding announcement today - I have a party frock to fit into in a few weeks

Not great here 😬 I always start the week so well and by Thursday my determination just seems to disappear and I spend 3 days eating junk. My problem is that I’m not massively overweight and do look slim so although I want to lose around another stone I could easily stay the size I am and not be too unhappy. My main problem is my stomach, that’s where I carry all the weight and I just want it to be toned and flat but it won’t if I keep eating a whole packet of triple choc cookies each day.
I have had a good day today with some granola and fruit for breakfast then a ham salad sandwich for lunch. I’m making lasagna for tea but plan to have a smaller portion with lots of veg on the side. I’m feeling very up and down at the minute so going to try setting smaller goals rather than striving for loads of exercise and a perfect diet so this week the aim is to buy no junk food after work each day so I stick to my meal plan 🤞next week I will start adding some exercise back in small doses and see if I can stick to what I set

Hope the rest of your day went well @Wejustdontknow!

The family wedding I was aiming for has been moved back, so I have an extra 5 weeks to get party frock ready. I've tried the frock on and the additional time may be needed