Starting 1st March - who is with me?!

[MrsCherryBakewell]

I'm 5.7 and 13 stone at the moment which is the heaviest I've ever been. None of my clothes fit me properly and I feel awful.

I want to loose 20lb before the end of May when it gets warmer and we have to see people face to face again rather than trying to find a flattering angle on zoom!

I've tried weight watchers, slimming world, calorie counting and nothing has worked for me because I start a diet on a Monday and have given up by Friday.

I know if I don't do this now I'm going to feel even more depressed come summer when none of my lovely summer clothes fit.

So I'm starting tomorrow and will calorie count, 1,600 a day which is about right for my height and won't make me hangry all day. I'm going to weigh in on a Monday morning. I think I am going to need some support because lovely food and drink is pretty much what has got me through the last year! But if I can loose 20lb before summer it will be worth the sacrifice.

Is anyone with me?!

Todays intake:
banana
tomato and basil soup, 2 bits of toast with a chicken slice and leaves
a latte
Piripiri mackerel, salad, potatoes, wee bit of mayo.
yoghurt

@theremarkablerocket I am also a creature of habit so the same things will appear over and over!
@Starsandglitter I am a massive sugar addict and its the main thing I want to cut. I am v v all or nothing with it too!

Another struggle to hit 10k steps today - will have to walk around my flat before bed!

My end of day eating isnt far from my planned day eating

Breakfast- huel bar and coffee
Lunch - huel savory mix and a brunch bar with juice (melon, spinach, kale and apple)
Snack - some galaxy choc (about 5 squares) and a coffee
Dinner - granola pot with some kefir

Picky bits of boyfriends plate- couple mouthfuls of chopped mango and rice

Not amazing eating a bit carb heavy. I'd estimate around 1400?

Need to actually start counting

Sounds like everyone is doing well ☺️ I’m trying to think of lots of positive things that will come from losing weight like wearing nice clothes and having more energy to motivate me.

Glad that some of you are with me on the sugar, I think it gets easier the longer you go without but the first few days of cutting it out are always really hard. @JustSaying101 I’d be the same with the haribo!! I just can’t keep it in the house. I’m trying to have fruit after my lunch or snack to help as well. Hope your day has been better today @TheDaydreamBelievers yep all or nothing for me too

@sasasazz wow well done on losing 5 stone! That’s amazing. How do you find doing 18:6. I’m trying 14:8 but I think I’d struggle having a smaller window to eat in. I’m so ready for breakfast by 10 especially if we’re all up early! X

My issue with 18:6 or 14:8 is we end up eating so late all the time! Like 730 or 8pm. So I'd only get to start eating at 12 earliest? Tbf it's what I did today so maybe it would be okay? would just mean cutting the yoghurt after dinner

Can I join please? At the weekend I weighed 12st 6 and I'm only 5'2 so not good. Heaviest I've ever been. Drinking more and comfort eating over the last year, on top of being a bit overweight already.

I want to get down to 10st eventually but that's a loss of 2.5 stone, so will take a while....

I'm also suffering with a major back problem so can't exercise.

Am planning to kick-start with a low carb diet til Easter and then see how I'm doing.

Today's food: 2 teas, 1 coffee
lunch: prawns in garlic, coriander, load of salad leaves, olive oil dressing.
dinner: roast pork shoulder with soy sauce, big pile of broccoli.

kitty,penelope i seem to be similar height and weight to you both, nice to know I'm not on my own.

Yesterday went quite well I think -

Breakfast - porridge with banana (a drastic change!)
Lunch - small flatbread with hummus, 1.5 falafels, tomato, cucumber, red cabbage, jalapeños. An apple.
Dinner - kale, white bean, tomato and halloumi bake with a pita bread. 12ish mini eggs.
Snacks - half a pita.

Managed to avoid the kids' leftovers (cottage pie and I don't eat meat) for once. Half an hour yoga and a 4K run.

Sugar after dinner is definitely my downfall at the moment! Just can't resist when DH gets out the mini eggs...

Morning. Well done everyone so far!

Again writing my plan for day then checking in to see if I actually kept to it.

Breakfast- coffee and huel bar.

Lunch - huel savoury mix, orange, yoghurt.

Juice (melon, juice, apple, pear, spinach and kale)

Dinner- cod, spinach, butternut squash and chick pea curry -(no rice)

I did really well (for me) yesterday until DH handed me a large glass of wine. We've had a chat, and he's promised to support me. (And not pour me wine during the week).
So yesterday went...
Breakfast... Eggs
Lunch... Vegetable couscous
Dinner... Fish, small bit of rice, vegetables
Wine and chocolate in the evening.
Exercise... 15 mins of Just Dance.

Morning weigh in... 15st6 (from 15.8 on Monday)
The plus side of being fat is the numbers go down quicker...

Weighed in at 10 3 this morning, have been hovering around 10 4-5 for about 2 weeks so this is very welcome, even if it doesn't last long!

Yesterday I said no to the (ginormous, delicious) pastries we get on Wednesdays as a treat. I had a tiny nibble of the kids but that was 400 calories saved.

I have been busy making Welsh cakes and bara brith with the kids this week and have had some but tried not to binge. My ankle is in agony so I haven't been able to walk or do any cardio style exercise. Thanks for the tip on the Just Dance videos, when it's better I will definitely try those, and will look up the other exercise platform too.

The Heinz Salad spray dressing sounds right up my street, going to see if I can add it to my delivery this week.

Yesterday's food

Breakfast: porridge with semi skimmed milk, banana and sweet freedom choc shot drizzle
Snack: Cadbury brunch bar, nibble of kids pastries
Lunch: Leftover pinch of nom macaroni
Snacks: plum, satsuma, orange, thin slice of HM bara brith with flora light (I had 7 hours between lunch and dinner!!)
Dinner: quinoa, halloumi (half a pack), salad with Mary Berry reduced fat dressing
0% fat yoghurt with drizzle of sweet freedom caramel syrup

Drinks: 5 cups of roibush no milk, one decaf coffee with semi skimmed milk. I need to keep my liquid intake high as I think that's my main issue with weight loss.

Exercise: none

Princessing: I'm trying to make myself feel better about myself now rather than think weight loss is the answer to all my problems. So in the last few days I've dyed my hair, started a new skin routine with The Ordinary, and started a minimal beauty routine (BB cream, mascara, tinted lip balm). I look a lot better already.

@endingintiers

I like the term princessing. Think I've subconsciously been doing the same. Better skin care routine, doing my hair nicer. Think it helps with the weight loss as when I feel happier with my appearance I like the feeling so it motivates me to keep improving and better myself so that feeling increases

Ok so I've worked out the shorthand I think!

SW 12st 6
CW 12st
TW1 11st
TW2 10st
prob will have a pause after getting to TW1 to try and stabilise on a less severe low carb diet. It always comes of faster at first too.... But a good start! Do I have some wine Sat night, which I love, but will prob pause weight loss over the weekend based on past experience? Guess it depends how much.

Morning all, love how positive everyone is just now! We need to remember to read these posts back on the not-so positive days!

I had a good day yesterday with a 35 min cardio session (it said beginners, ha... I hurt today but in a good way :o) + 13624 steps.

At work today so all planned and ready to go -

B: egg wrap (the egg is the wrap rather than bread) with ham, cheese and spinach filling
L: Toast and beans
D: Mushroom and pepper fritatta with salad

Just the walking for exercise today, aiming for 10k.

Does anyone know why My Fitness Pal defaults to 1200 calories as a goal? I was going to aim for 1500 a day, but now wondering whether that's too much? 1200 doesn't seem very generous though!

@cartwheelsteel

Theres a few websites where you can work out your bmr and tdee, I forget exactly what they both stand for but bmr is basically the amount of calories your body needs completely at rest (like in a coma) and tdee is how many calories you need for your activities through the day.

I'm quite tall and naturally quite bulky, when sedentary I can get away with about 2000 calories before i gain weight and when active its around 2500. But for someone of a smaller build they might gain on 1700 or 1800 instead.

So basically if you are very small build 1200 is ok, but for most I would say it is quite low.

Saying that I'm trying to average 1200 but i just want to see weight fall off then I'll go to a more healthy sustainable 1700/1800 calories

@Starsandglitter

Sounds like everyone is doing well ☺️ I’m trying to think of lots of positive things that will come from losing weight like wearing nice clothes and having more energy to motivate me.

Glad that some of you are with me on the sugar, I think it gets easier the longer you go without but the first few days of cutting it out are always really hard. @JustSaying101 I’d be the same with the haribo!! I just can’t keep it in the house. I’m trying to have fruit after my lunch or snack to help as well. Hope your day has been better today @TheDaydreamBelievers yep all or nothing for me too

@sasasazz wow well done on losing 5 stone! That’s amazing. How do you find doing 18:6. I’m trying 14:8 but I think I’d struggle having a smaller window to eat in. I’m so ready for breakfast by 10 especially if we’re all up early! X

Hunger eases off when you're not eating carbs a lot so fasting is easier. 18:6 is quite straightforward for me now and I've also done some extended fasts(20:4, 24, 36, 72, 5days, 7days). However, this is easy only after being keto for a while and then you won't struggle as much as if you eat a lot of refined carbs.

To be honest I enjoyed fasting a lot more when I had a lot of fat to lose - it gets trickier the closer you get to your goal weight and then you'll need to up the dietary fat intake as there is less body-fat to be used. I'm also building muscle so I can't fast as much and need to eat adequate protein to gain strength.

Try bulletproof coffee for breakfast - this keeps me going till lunch when I do 18:6! X

@Mreggsworth thanks so much that's really helpful. I'm pretty sedentary, well, apart from running round the house after 2 small kids, but I don't get chance to exercise beyond a walk on my own every couple of days. When I go out with the kids the walks are pretty short and at the pace of a snail so not particularly helpful.

Will google and calculate what it looks like for me (am hoping it's not 1,200 otherwise I'm going to be very very hungry!!!)

@cartwheelsteel

Its probably more active than you think. I used one of those step count things once and did over 10,000 steps in one day and what was just from cooking a large meal (lots of backwards and forwarding across the kitchen), doing the house work and a 2 minute walk to the corner shop. So I imagine chasing after toddlers would put you in the 'moderately active' bracket

I don't think 1200 is sustainable for most people though unless they are a very small build.

@colouringindoors You’re definitely not on your own in this. I’m just sick of buying things that cover me/my belly up, rather than clothes I like. I’m doing the 16:8, plus low carb, plus no wine other than at the weekend. I’m weighing myself daily as I find it keeps me on track.

@TheDaydreamBelievers yea I think that’s tricky if you eat later. We tend to eat dinner about 5.30/6 so I just try not to eat anything in the evening and then it’s just a later breakfast, I don’t think I could hold out til 12! But it’s good for me as if I had breakfast at 7.30 or whenever, I’d inevitably end up snacking more all morning. @sasasazz that’s interesting to know, thank you. I’m not sure I could give up carbs

Whoever mentioned 1200 calories, that does seem very low! I haven’t been counting calories but I think it’s got to be sustainable. @endingintiers love the princess ing! I need to do this I think as I feel rubbish at the moment but like you say, definitely can’t blame it all on my weight!

Today hasn’t been great for me, I had chocolate at lunch time. It just needs to be gone from the house and I need to avoid shopping at the wrong times. But dinner was healthy and I’m not having anything else tonight, new day tomorrow too x

@cartwheelsteel totally with you on the walks with two small children! Exhausting but not from doing lots of exercise unfortunately!

@kittybee thanks v much. I'm also weighing daily, like you say, helps with motivation...

I am wondering if the low carb thing is affecting my mood. My mental health isn't great, in part cos I'm in chronic pain, but this week has def been worse. But I think it could be worth it for a short time. As long as I don't get too depressed and just think f*ck it one night!

@cartwheelsteel My Fitness pal has been often criticised for that. Its too low and difficult to stick to.

I've eaten a bit more today but still largely healthy! Which is my main goal.

latte
banana
Leon vegan sweet potato katsu curry
grapes
another latte (oops - trying to stick to one)
Kind bar
Pasta with loads of veggies and feta
OJ

This wasnt a low cal day - probably close to 2000kcal, but a healthy one.

@colouringindoors I’m sorry to hear you’re in pain, can’t be easy. One of my customers is evangelical about low carb and persuaded me to try it. She’s convinced it’s the reason her legs/shoulders/back no longer hurt. I’m not sure about the effects on mood, but I’m hoping that any initial mood dips should even out over time. Possibly it’ll have a positive effect in time. Certainly if I eventually become comfortable in my own skin that will have a good effect on my mood.

Thanks for the explanations about my fitness pal everyone. 1,200 does seem too low to be realistic for me long term. I don't want a quick fix but am more interested in changing habits long-term so will adjust it up to 1500. That seems do-able for me, slow and steady and all that.

Today was a good day food-wise (I think at least?).

Mushroom omelette for breakfast
Tuna salad roll for lunch
Veggie bean chilli for dinner with a pretty minuscule amount of rice, but some salad on the side.
Managed to resist the fairy cakes made with the kids (though I did lick the spoon from the mix...can't resist that!)

I can't quite manage the 16:8 thing but 14:10 is working out fine as I eat dinner ridiculously early with the kids anyway.

Despite managing to go out for a 40 minute walk this evening and barely sitting down all day I didn't get to 10,000 steps, but did manage 9,000 so not too bad.

I'm absolutely bloody starving this evening, so very much looking forward to adding a snack or two into the mix tomorrow!