Anyone keen for a 6 week challenge?

[NoNameNellie]

I do well with shorter goals and am hoping to focus on shifting some weight and being more active.

Anyone else care to join and see how much weight we can shift (sensibly!) in the next 6 weeks?

People are welcome to join anytime, I personally will be counting from Monday 7th until March 22nd. I was hit pretty hard by lockdown and am the biggest I’ve ever been... I’ve already managed to shift a little bit of weight, now looking to tackle my long term eating habits and sedentary lifestyle in the coming period.

I’ll be sticking to the following :

1. No snacking.
2. 5 fruit/veg per day, protein source at every meal.
3. Trying to hit 10,000 steps a day.

Other than that, I’m not following any diet in particular, I’m trying to change my habits for the long haul. And of course, being comfortable in summer will be an added bonus!

In these 6 weeks, I’m hoping to shift 8-9 pounds, as well as losing a couple of inches off my belly and bum.

Any takers?

Thanks @PurpleDaisies very wise advice 😊 I’m looking forward to it being over and checking out my true weight. Well done to all the losers and planners, welcome to all the joiners and hugs to plateauers ❤️

Have skipped breakfasts this week in a move towards 16/8
Not ready for 5:2 yet!

Have walked or cycled for 3-4 hours every day this week.

Coffee & fresh squeezed orange & lemon juice to build my immune system this morning.

Off for a bike ride now.

My starting weight was 14st 2lbs
Will weigh in again on Monday.

Happy weekend everyone!

I’ve had another sneaky weigh and I’m down again this week too. I’m not sure how given what I’ve eaten-the exercise must have cancelled out the excesses!

Does everyone gain during their period & if so, when does the gain/retention start and go away?!

I need to start keeping an eye on this as can imagine it getting me deflated down the line.

I might try with a 2 week meal plan & see how that goes! It's hard when I'm generally eating different stuff from everyone else

Well done 👏

@buckeejit

Does everyone gain during their period & if so, when does the gain/retention start and go away?!

I need to start keeping an eye on this as can imagine it getting me deflated down the line.

I might try with a 2 week meal plan & see how that goes! It's hard when I'm generally eating different stuff from everyone else

Today is Day 1 for me. I'm up a whole kg from yesterday morning. I bloat up like a balloon, retain so much water.

Come Monday's weigh in it might throw my figure off. I'll weigh myself but the Monday after is the one I'll be watching.

@buckeejit I'm normally bloated right before and then for the first 2-3 days. Such a pain, isn't it...

I don’t wish to be crude but I get really bloated and it sends my stomach crazy, I stuck to plan so the period is the only reason I would be up from one day to the next 🤞🏻

Stuck to calories today and feeling pleased.

Breakfast: Skinny Cappuccino from Nero after picking up my click and collect order from the Farmer's Market
Lunch: 2 egg omelette filled with mushrooms, garlic, flat leaf parsley and a tiny bit of Grana Padano cheese. Blueberry yoghurt.
Dinner: Small portion of homemade beef chilli, salad, avocado.

Went for a walk this morning but the weather was awful so only did 2 miles.

Am now watching Covid Arms comedy night online with a gin and slimline tonic. It is Saturday night after all!

Wow @ElvenDreamer, I will definitely look into long term meal planning, six weeks is awesome!! I just find it so dull any top tips?!

I do need to do a big shop at some point this week, will try to have my planning done by then. I've had an awful couple of days, went off plan yesterday and then couldn't stop myself ; lessons learned are that anything more than a small treat sends me spinning off course, and that I need to have exercise/ activities planned and ready to go, or I won't do them. Oh and that meal planning would help!

@ClaraTheImpossibleGirl I just find a time on a weekend where I can sit surrounded by a ton of recipe books, I hate both planning and cooking but I do enjoy looking at lovely colourful recipe books so I have a lot 🤣 Because it's 6 weekly O then don't have to do it again for ages, hurrah! I then work out my main meals which I have a vague format for eg veggie twice a week, chicken once, fish once or twice, maybe a meat. (I don't plan weekends, husband is in charge on weekends and always cooks meat lol) then just flick through the books, making sure to include some old favourites and to try new things as I like variety and write them in my plan including the book name and page number for ease when it comes to making weekly shopping lists and of course the actual cooking day. I grow alot of my own veg so I do try to think ahead to what is coming ready so it can be included. I also jot down a couple of ideas for light meals and breakfasts but these aren't a daily plan, more an oh I'll make sure we have a pancake breakfast at some point this week and I'll make a couple of servings of whatever salad I've found that looks tasty for me.
When I'm done I scan the whole thing through to make sure I haven't accidentally got 3 meals in a row that are all served with rice or whatever, make some swaps of days if needed, then stick it on the fridge and I'm good to go! This is what I currently have up. (Excuse weird numbering of weeks, that's due to being used to tying it in with school menu!)

Hi all,

Sunday check in. 2lbs down from last Sunday. It's been half term this week and I have been a bit up and down with my diet and exercise. Lost motivation on Monday and Tuesday but managed to pull myself together and regain focus. I seem to have got the mindset for tracking and eating sensibly but just can't motivate myself to exercise! Previously I have booked gym sessions but it's just not an option at the moment. I know I should be doing some online sessions and getting out for longer walks but I just avoid it day after day!

Sunday 7th - 13st 12lbs
Sunday 14th - 13st 10.5
Sunday 21st - 13st 8.5lbs

@ElvenDreamer room for a big one at your house?! That menu looks fab, much more adventurous than our house where we've one or 2 Fussy folk!

I have done a spreadsheet of all the meals & a sort of Venn diagram of who likes what. There's not much crossover! Need to get dd eating more veg & eggs! Going to attempt the next week's plan. Might even stretch it to a fortnight.

I took my period on Friday & weigh in is Monday. Looks like it's adding maybe 1lb+. Hopeful for Monday week's weigh in if it will take a bit more off. I could eat all the things today so will read for an hour & hope the feeling passes!

@ElvenDreamer oh wow! That’s next level!

I normally just plan for the week - at the very least it tends to limit the easy carbs meals that I go to when I don’t have a lot of time or haven’t managed to organise the groceries. I also get to try new things, which is another one of my pitfalls!

@JemimaMuddledUp Nice work! I need to tighten up my diet - too many crisp snacks and a little too much drinking means the scales haven’t really moved for me

@clto2021 that’s a good steady loss!

Feeling really down on myself today!
I did really well the first week and lost a few lbs then went and spoilt it all last week with too many carbs, takeaways and little (no) exercise.
Mostly emotional eating but really no excuse. How can I stop myself from doing this? Weighed myself this morning and have put on all the weight I lost in the first week. Stomach feels heavy and swollen and generally feel rubbish. Need to stop this emotional eating. Does anyone have any tips please?

Sorry you're having a blue day @Lostsoul231 Don't be so hard on yourself - never eating carbs or sweets from now until forever is not realistic. You're allowed to have them, the key is to learn moderation.

I find it very helpful to remind myself that I'm "allowed" to have these thing, that seems to take away some of the immediate urge once it's no longer the forbidden fruit.

I'm by no means an expert, but here are some of the things that I do when I really want to limit the crap that I eat :

• Meal plan : Probably the biggest key to success for me. If I don't plan ahead and have food in the house, I'll go straight for the takeaways, supermarket pizza, pasta carbonara, potatoes...

• Don't keep any snacks in the house. I actually live in a country with very little snack culture and the day is not at all structured for it, which helps.

• Before I buy anything/snack, I ask myself if I'm really hungry - the answer is almost always no. Then I remind myself that I just don't need it.

• Replace emotional eating with another activity. For me, it can be as simple as hoovering or tidying away something. By the time I'm done, the urge has passed or I've forgotten about it.

Doing these things is not so much will power, but more an effort to be more conscious of my actions. Do I really need this? Is it going to make me feel good? I remind myself that I often eat these things and then it never tastes as good as I imagine and then I feel crap about it. I remind myself that I don't need it.

@NoNameNellie

Sorry you're having a blue day *@Lostsoul231* Don't be so hard on yourself - never eating carbs or sweets from now until forever is not realistic. You're allowed to have them, the key is to learn moderation.

I find it very helpful to remind myself that I'm "allowed" to have these thing, that seems to take away some of the immediate urge once it's no longer the forbidden fruit.

I'm by no means an expert, but here are some of the things that I do when I really want to limit the crap that I eat :

• Meal plan : Probably the biggest key to success for me. If I don't plan ahead and have food in the house, I'll go straight for the takeaways, supermarket pizza, pasta carbonara, potatoes...

• Don't keep any snacks in the house. I actually live in a country with very little snack culture and the day is not at all structured for it, which helps.

• Before I buy anything/snack, I ask myself if I'm really hungry - the answer is almost always no. Then I remind myself that I just don't need it.

• Replace emotional eating with another activity. For me, it can be as simple as hoovering or tidying away something. By the time I'm done, the urge has passed or I've forgotten about it.

Doing these things is not so much will power, but more an effort to be more conscious of my actions. Do I really need this? Is it going to make me feel good? I remind myself that I often eat these things and then it never tastes as good as I imagine and then I feel crap about it. I remind myself that I don't need it.

Lots of great advice there ☺️ Also just start again, don’t worry about self flagellation and don’t think all is lost, if you dropped your phone and scratched the screen you wouldn’t think oh well may as well stamp all over it as the damage is done.

I’ve been drinking a herbal tea called Glow when I’ve been having cravings today as it has a slight sweetness to it but no calories. I was sorting through my summer clothes thinking of better days today and looking forward to fitting in to them comfortably.

If you want any help with meal planning @lostsoul231 just say. I love it, I batch cook and cook for vegetarians and meat eaters. It's helping me stay focused too.

Tonight is my dinner with DH. Can't wait for the kids to get to bed so I can have a slimline g&t!!!!

P1-P3 back at school tomorrow 🎉🥳🎉🥳🎉
I'm going to get all of my steps spring cleaning the house. I've got a slot at the tip booked ready.

Wow, @ElvenDreamer – I am feeling inspired to improve my meal planning, although I don’t think I’ll get to six weeks!

Great advice from @NoNameNellie. I’m getting better at recognising when I’m eating for reasons other than genuine hunger, and also that being a bit peckish isn’t the same as having a hunger that needs to be sated immediately.

I didn’t post yesterday due to the outages at the times I tried, but I wanted to mention that I dry brushed after my run and my skin felt all tingly (in a good way) for the rest of the day.

It appears that I’ve lost another 2 lb, but I’m not convinced about that staying off. For one thing, I am heading into premenstrual territory so water retention will become more of an issue over the next few days. Also, we’re having a roast this evening. However, I have stuck to my goals of getting over 10k steps per day, and having no booze or crisps. And I really wanted a glass of wine last night…

@Fembot123

I’ve been drinking a herbal tea called Glow when I’ve been having cravings today as it has a slight sweetness to it but no calories. I was sorting through my summer clothes thinking of better days today and looking forward to fitting in to them comfortably.

Anyone remember the thread on Weight Loss where the OP wanted to lose 10lb in a week and they started drinking that tea that makes you poo?

God no 😂 I’ve got IBS already so that tea would make me shit myself

@Fembot123

God no 😂 I’ve got IBS already so that tea would make me shit myself

It's hilarious, they try pretty much every fad diet going. Eggs and wine diet! 🤣

It’s my weigh day tomorrow at the end of week 2. I’d be happy with 1.5lb to take me to 6lbs but I’ve got my period and feel bloated so we’ll see!
Really going to up my exercise next week and have signed up to cycle 300 miles over March

Weigh in today. I was 81.3kg last week and 81.4 this week, so a very slight weight gain. I'm blaming the pancake my children made me. How could I say no?
Back on it though. Been on a 30 mile bike ride today.

Well done everyone on the losses.