LOSE IT! April 2021

[TheRealHousewife]

Hello & Welcome 😊 WOW 😯 April came around so fast. The sunny Spring weather and easing of Lockdown brings so much joy and promise for the coming year.

This thread is for those of us who enjoy healthy eating, exercising and feeling motivated to reach (or maintain) a healthy weight/bmi. The members of these threads are inspirational, supportive and happy to share their progress (the ups and the downs).

We all know 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.

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 light 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.

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 😊

Useful Links

Useful Tips For Lockdown Weight Loss

Free Recipes

Free NHS 12 Week Plan

MFP

How drinking more water helps you lose weight

You've got this @Puffalicious. You've got closer to two stone loss than I have so well done.

As for the tiger bread. What have I told you? If you are having something, have it. Savour it. Enjoy it. Own it. Don't stress. But if it makes you feel better or more in control, have a slightly smaller portion than normally.

Thanks Sunshine i just psychologically need to get to 2 stone as then I'm in my last stone to lose! But it's a gorgeous day and I'm feeling positive thanks to all you folks on here. You know, it really, really does help. I do think I'd have given up by now if it wasn't for the chat/ tips/ sounding board/ advice/ listening/ positivity and downright inspiring stuff on here.

On the up side 6 people, yes 6, told me yesterday I looked like I'd lost lots of weight. Must have been the dress I was wearing and the fact we're all back at school after not seeing each other for months.

You'll be fine @Puffalicious! Look at how well you've done so far.

I had someone tell me I looked like I had lost loads of weight. Was interesting how I said thank you to her but when her husband demonstrated how my size had shrunk last week I felt he was out of order [yuk].

2/77 (day 2 of 77 day plan)

Hi everyone, yesterday went well. I am not counting calories but concentrating on only putting low carb real food in my mouth. Also doing what I think is 16:8, I have lunch at midday, dinner at 7 and no eating after 8 pm. I think that’s right.

Lunch today is leaves and coleslaw
Dinner is mackerel, courgettes, roast peppers and English asparagus (v expensive but I am not buying wine).
Snacks nuts
Puffalicious I gain 3 lbs just before my period starts, every single month (I am 54 in a few days, when will it stop!). If you are due that might explain the gain. It drops off again a week later.

Have a good day everyone.

@Puffalicious it's so annoying when your body seems to get stuck around a particular weight and the lbs go off and on and off again ... I seem to have certain weights I always get stuck at for some reason.

But you will break through the barrier! And once you're through it you'll get the steady downwards movement once more. You've done so well so far.

Wow, 6 people told you you looked like you’d lost weight @Puffalicious?! That’s a lot of positive reinforcement! I’m sure you’ll soon start to see the numbers of the scales go down, but totally understand the frustration. You’re so close to that 2 stone mark, you will get there! 💪

Remember, I lost the same half a stone about six times but it has stayed off for over six months. We'll ignore the fact I'm on my third attempt at losing the next half stone .

Thank you all, see what I mean about the positivity and encouragement?!

You're right arbadacarba I got stuck at 1 stone and it's happening again . Just need to stick with it.

weibsa I usually gain during my TOTM not before, but I'm peri-memopausal so could be the reason for most things (getting irritated at random noises, for example! Walked around shops today muttering 'Do you need to be so loud?' ).

Positivity in that I caught myself in a mirror whilst out shopping and I look like myself again. This whole journey started last Oct on holiday when I caught myself in a mirror and nearly died. So, I'm holding on to that.

Thanks everyone.

@SunshineCake

Remember, I lost the same half a stone about six times but it has stayed off for over six months. We'll ignore the fact I'm on my third attempt at losing the next half stone .

Totes ignoring that Sunshine

.

Well done to everyone on their weight loss/ maintaining . I was thinking today the lesser spoken about things benefits of losing weight - for me it is that I used to get heartburn every night and have to sleep on my back or take something to keep it controlled but since correcting my diet this isn’t an issue - I can side sleep as much as I want pain free! Does anyone have any others?

Amazing sittingonabench heart burn is pants.

Mine is not being so self conscious during, erm, marital relations . Not that DH minds whatever size I am , but I do!

@Puffalicious yes I agree with that one too - I love the body confident ideals but it’s certainly easier to be in the mood if you’re feeling better in yourself . Yes heartburn is crap and the stealer of my precious sleep!

My back pain has eased from when I fell down the stairs, twice, years ago. It then came back but has eased again.

Not feeling worthless, useless, disgusting.

Clothes looking better.

Can run.

Easy to bend down and pick up my dog's ball on the odd occasion she lets me have it.

Oh yes clothes look sooooo much better.

You were never worthless, useless, disgusting Sunshine, you were just a slightly bigger version of you.

Thank you @Puffalicious. I thought I was anyway due to my parents not wanting me etc and the visual sight of my body was horrible.

Then this morning I couldn't stop looking at my little legs . It is still a surprise to see how small they are. I know it is all relative as I wouldn't get into a size smaller jeans, but they are officially 5.5" smaller around the thigh .

Heartburn much better for me too - I was on proton-pump inhibitors but they'd stopped working. Since losing weight and eating better I hardly get it at all.

Cutting my toenails is much easier without so much flab in the way!

Yesterday did not go quite as well, craved carbs and had a lot of rice cakes, could have been worse.

Going to have a veggie day today, will have beans or lentils for protein.

Puffalicious Liz Earle’s book The Good Menopause Guide is 99p on kindle Amazon. It is pretty good though I must admit sometimes it can be depressing, reading about hormones plummeting etc.

Off for my walk now. I will start c25k when I have lost 7 lbs of tummy fat. Have a good day everyone.

I am so tired. I have been running and walked the dog and am now trapped under the cat . She will have to move soon as it is lunch time for the dog now.

I probably won't go and collect my new clothes as I want to go with dh and he is painting so other than picking up dd from school I'm staying in. I'll do today's jobs tomorrow when I am less tired.

Have a good day everyone and keep up the good work. Have extra water and try and walk 100 extra steps or do an extra two minutes of exercise.

I did 20k steps yesterday, so think I’ll pass on adding an extra 100 steps to that I’m planning to go on the exercise bike later though and will give that some extra effort 💪

Sounds like you had a pretty intense run Sunshine. Hope you’ve recovered a bit by now!

I don’t know how anyone can manage to do low carb @Wiebsa. It sounds pretty tough to me, but I’m a lactose intolerant vegetarian so am perhaps not the ideal candidate for that kind of diet anyway. I hope you can make it work for you!

I hope no one was thinking I was bossy. Just trying to encourage.

I walked the dog again this afternoon and my feet are so achy and I'm shattered. Roll on Sunday for my lie in.

Thanks for that tip Wiebsa ill check it out. Peri right now but forewarned is always good.

Your leg loss is shambling Sunshine . I hope you're not too knackered. Some days we just need to take a step back and chill.

Finished work for the week and sitting in the sun in the garden with a magazine- small pleasures!

Shambling ?. I don't know what means but once I do I'll use it all the time.

Dh made dinner. Yum. I've just had three galaxy cookies I've been thinking about for three days. Nice but not amazing so happy to not have more.

Have you heard if the Readly app, @Puffalicious? It's about £8 and one can read all the magazines on the screen. Great value if you buy at least two magazines a month and a greener option.

I didn’t think you were bossy @SunshineCake! In fact, your words reminded me to crank up the resistance on my exercise bike, as I realised I’ve been doing the same program on the same intensity for weeks now. It turned into quite a challenging workout, but it will no doubt have done me good 🥵

Well done @Crazzzycat! 🚴