LOSE IT! January 2021

[TheRealHousewife]

HELLO, WELCOME & HAPPY NEW YEAR! Actually that doesn’t read right with all the C19 malarkey. Strange & unprecedented times. Nonetheless, 2021 marks a fresh start and and an opportunity for renewal. This thread is for those of us who enjoy healthy eating, exercising and feeling motivated to reach (or maintain) a healthy weight/bmi. The founding members of these threads are inspirational and supportive in equal measure. I’m sure @SunshineCake & @FatGirlShrinking won’t mind me holding them up as our Poster Girls. They both did absolutely fantastic in 2020! ⭐️👏🥇

They have both demonstrated that 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 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 December I maintained; I’m hoping to see a loss this January 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 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 these threads. We are in this together.

Useful Links

Getting Back On Track

How To Lose Weight

The Fast Diet

Mediterranean Diet

MFP

Intermittent Fasting

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 😊

....whilst wishing it was mature cheddar....

@TheRealHousewife ooh boiled egg and cottage cheese mixed sounds nice, never thought to combine those.

I like cottage cheese with a side of the little silver skin pickled onions. Something about the combination of vinegary and creamy works for me.

Today was weigh day. We can't have scales at home (DH has ED) so it was in the post room at work.
SW: 168.9 lbs
CW: 163.6 lbs
TW: 137 lbs
I've been very strict with the calorie counting and also been on some long(ish) walks. The beginning is always the easiest but this does mean I've also lost my Christmas weight and a little bit more. Am trying to focus on positives so I don't turn to wine and chocolate to get me through homeschooling DCs. 31 March is a long way away...

@Puffalicious today I made mushroom soup! Coincidentally we had mushrooms in the fridge looking a bit ropey, so I decided it was a sign.

It looked really awful at one point - it was pretty much mushrooms swimming in a sea of very brown veg stock. But I continued, and after blending it doesn't look as bad and is really tasty.

I'm now waiting for my partner to come home and try it. He's either going to be really annoyed that I've used all of the mushrooms or will appreciate the effort.

@AuldFox nothing wrong with 3tbs of cottage cheese 😬 which I’d guess is about 100g = 109 calories and protein loaded. However Thursdays for me are a ‘fast 800’ day so keep my cals (sometimes estimated) around 800. My lunch in total was about 350. I’ll have about 450 for my evening meal.

@HalfShrunkMoreToGo what is really nice is tinned salmon (drained), cottage cheese, chopped boiled egg. I used to call that my protein mix and have after training.

@HalfSizeMe I love mushroom soup. If I’m making a decent batch I use a Kallo mushroom stock cube too, really intensifies the flavour for hardly any cals.

@CordeliaScott great progress 👍

Anyways my new recipe book The Fast 800 Easy has arrived so going to peruse that.

Have fun ...

halfsizeme Brilliant stuff. If DH moans at all tell him to make his own and you eat the entire batch!

I'm struggling today guys. Rushing this morning to get the kids set up for homeschool before joining an online all-day meeting. So breakfast ended up being a couple of slices of granary toast with marmite instead of my planned omelette. Then a tiny lunch of rice noodles with stir fried duck and veg. Tasty but child size! Mid afternoon snack 0f protein shake and dinner of coq au vin with small portion of oven chips. And I am still feeling very hungry . Its all because of the toast! If I have carbs for breakfast it sets me up to be hungry all day. We're isolating at home because dh has covid amd a kind friend dropped off some sweet treats - they're calling me now! What can I have to stave off hunger so I don't cave and inhale the baked goods!

I’ve eaten a bowl of porridge (drizzle of honey or maple syrup) to avoid eating cake, yes it’s not calorie free but better nutritional value and I can’t binge on it.

@LarryUnderwood we've all been there. One of my top tips is to pre prepare if mornings are often like that.

You can make egg muffins by just adding beaten egg and whatever veg you like into a greased muffin pan and baking in the oven till they're set. They freeze well and then you can microwave defrost from frozen.

I also try to hard boil half a dozen eggs at the weekend, then they're good in the fridge for 3 days so I just leave them in the shells, grab and peel when needed.

Otherwise just chop you're veg the night before and keep in the fridge so you can fry up a quick omelette in the morning in 5 minutes because it's just a matter of throwing it in the pan rather than having to do all the set up.

The other thing I learned when I got Gestational Diabetes was to always pair a carb with a protein, so if you do have toast, have cheese spread or peanut butter on it rather than marmite. The protein helps to break down the carbs better so you don't have the sugar spike which makes you hungry, also protein fills you up for longer.

@HalfShrunkMoreToGo thank you. I know you're right, this week is just hell with DH having covid and the kids starting homeschool, and I'm in a new job and its just all a bit overwhelming this week. I just don't have it in me to be more organised right now! And we can't go to the shops as we have to isolate so I've just got what I have in, and have managed to get a delivery from amazon tomorrow of basics. Gah! I am going to have some chopped up carrots and a bit of peanut butter now because of I don't I will end up scaring the doughnuts. And if I go over my calories its fine, at least it will have been on something relatively healthy and sustaining.

@AuldFox just seem your message, actually that's what I'll have. Something warm and comforting, but filling so it doesn't need to be a lot. Thanks!

@TheRealHousewife where do you get the mushroom stock cubes from? I've not seen those. Please don't say Holland and Barrett. I just did an order and didn't see them .

Jeans are feeling a bit more comfortable post Christmas today 😀

Feel good about my food choices today. I had my usual breakfast of multi seed toast with honey. Lunch was scrambled eggs on toast and dinner was Char Sui pork burgers from Pinch of Nom. I had some red grapes and a few pistachios as a snack and went for a long walk today. I’m in under my 1200 calories tonight.

@LarryUnderwood we’ve all been there. Your days food doesn’t sound too bad under the circumstances. I totally agree about carbs revving up appetite! So frustrating. It’s so difficult when you’re a busy person will conflicting demands. I second @HalfShrunkMoreToGo and recommend prepared hard boiled eggs in fridge as a stand by. Hope you’re ok.

@SunshineCake Most supermarkets stock Kallo stock cubes and most of them are gluten free. I have beef, tomato, chicken, veg, Unami, mushroom etc. Really handy to have in.

@Katrinawaves that loose Jean feel is great! Great days menu too. Well done!

Day 5
SW:151
CW: 146.25
GW: 132
If previous experience is anything to go by that's the last of the easy weigh and the next 14.25lbs will be a slog.
I haven't had tuna in ages and really fancy some today with some red onion and pepper so that will be lunch - only two bags of the Christmas satsumas to go!
Onwards and inwards

Thanks @TheRealHousewife. I have GF stock cubes but haven't seen the mushroom ones. If they are in the normal bit I would have missed them.

OK weigh in 1.
SW 165lbs
CW 161.4lbs
GW 133lbs

Weight this morning is finally back to my pre-Xmas low of 184lb but I've also started my period so that gonna likely mess with the week. Need to see some continuation of downward progress this week so going to be vigilant and make sure I stay within my limits, I've also realised I've stopped drinking lots of water so my bottle is full and I'll be sipping on that all day.

Weigh in today, it’s not been a great week, my willpower has failed in the face of temptation a few times but still a loss!
SW: 73.3kg
CW: 72.6kg
GW: 58kg

Can I join please? This thread seems lovely and friendly and I’m in it for the long haul this time 😂

I have PCOS and an addiction to sugar. My BMI is overweight and I need to get it back down to healthy ahead of TTC later this year. I’m coming off the pill for the first time in ten years so who knows what that will do to my hormones and waist line but we shall see! I have given up sugar and am eating lower carbs, no white carbs and lots of veg. I walk daily, and normally swim three times a week but obviously that’s off at the minute so I am doing a trampoline exercise class every other day. Well, that’s my aim 😂

Yesterday I ate:
B: Courgette and chocolate protein shake, sounds hideous but was delicious and a portion of veg before 10am 😂
L: Scrambled egg with some bacon, tomatoes and cucumber. A carrot and apple muffin (made with wholemeal flour and no added sugar, just fruit sugar)
Snack: full fat babybel
T: Barbecue chicken, sweet potato air fryer fries and half a plate of brocolli. I tried to eat some Raspberries and Greek yoghurt for dessert but it was horrible, far too sour, so I ended up picking out the raspberries 😂

Hoping for an on plan day today, going to exercise soon and then see what I feel like eating. It’s hard to get your steps in when it’s this cold and working from home I think, just feel like hibernating on the sofa! Hope everyone has a good day.

@SkeletonSkins I've heard of courgette chocolate cake and that's supposed to be nice, so your protein shake probably works in the same way

Good Morning Everyone

Misty murky here today. No snow as forecast. Do any of you have snow?

@132orbust good progress 👍. I agree weight loss does slow but keep at it ... you’ll be pleased you did 😬

@LarryUnderwood great start! 👍👏

You’re still making progress @lemontova 👍

A warm welcome @SkeletonSkins PCOS does dampen down progress as you know. Your best defence would be to tame your sugar addiction 😬. Kick the sugar beast to the curb ... he isn’t your friend. Your plan sounds great!

Welcome @SkeletonSkins. Keep trying with the yogurt. You will soon get used to the less sweet taste and it will do you good and encourage you to have more fruit.

Had a pretty quick run today but my app is refusing to tell me my stats. I did look and at times I was running at 5 min 37 so happy with that.

I've got home made chicken, sweetcorn, mushroom and potato soup simmering on the hob and dh and I will share a small baguette to go with it. Already got my satsuma prepped for when my fast ends.

Thanks for the warm welcome, yes sugar is definitely on the sin list and I’ve not eaten anything with added sugar since Monday - may not seem long but it’s 100x longer than I’ve ever had before!

Done a workout this morning and had the courgette protein shake. Veggie soup for lunch with some cooked chicken added. Does anyone add any nuts or seeds to soup? Looking for recommendations to fill me up without bread.

Going to have omelettes for tea with veg I think.

Thanks @TheRealHousewife I most certainly will keep at it.
Went out for another walk at lunch and will be doing my mile with Lesley Sansone at 5.30.