Awesome April

[Octopus37]

Thought I would start a new thread. Hoping that April will be a better month for all of us, especially with places opening up again and hopefully continued better weather.

Weighed in at 9st4 this morning. I'm not setting a weight goal this month, instead I'll be focusing on trying to improve my fitness and general well being. Hoping that a bit of weight loss might follow.

I got my beef stew in the slow cooker at 12 so that will be there for 'breakfast' when I get there. I have actually broken my fast with a g&t though.

I'm aware that fasting is easy for me and that most people would feel sick or ill by now and wouldn't have a drink on an empty stomach. I think I'm weird or I've just always eaten like this on and off and therefore my body is good at switching to fat burning for energy.

Most times when I put on weight in the past, prior to surgery and this avalanche of fat, were when I was seeing someone who insisted on eating meals regularly and I went along with it.

I never ate breakfast as a child - the thought of it used to make me feel ill. If I stay in a hotel with breakfast included I'm too mean to miss it but leave it till as late as I'm allowed and I feel like going back to bed afterwards as eating zaps my energy.

I'm always ravenous when I eat breakfast early. Much less so if I do 16:8.

Checking in and logging in for the day! I survived despite horrendous sleep.
B: berries and yoghurt with Chia seeds, low fat milk cappuccino
L:two oranges, banana, handful almonds
S: apple
D meatballs and spaghetti. No idea of cals, think will start to count again next week. Water going well, will need to drink another 3 glasses before bed. Well done everyone on today's efforts. Honeybadger, you seem to lead a lovely lifestyle of G&Ts in the afternoon, pity we can't have a weight loss thread meet up

I really need to go out for a walk but have had a really busy day plus I'm still feeling really rotten with my sinuses. I'm going to attempt yoga instead. Not sure I'll manage not to have a snack either but have v few calories left.

Single, only 1 child (who is now 14 so not too needy) and work part time.
So yes - fairly chill I guess Just sad to be stuck in the UK for so long, throwing money into a black hole of extortionate rent!

I go to bed really early and finish work by 3-3.30 so my afternoon is probably the equivalent of your 7.30pm or something.

And I've been awake since 4am for some crazy reason unknown to me.

Oh and a liver of steel it would seem I always fear that bit of the blood test results and it always comes back great. I'll literally pour a normal shot of gin with like half a litre of slimline tonic though so don't actually consume that much. I'm awful in a pub or when chatting though because I like to be constantly sipping so wine is a terrible idea.

I've just booked a pub meal for Friday, I was so excited to be able to, the first place I tried didn't have availability until May! Not great calories wise but life's too short in the grand scheme of things.

I agree Nutella. I'm going tmrw.

Are you excited?

Oh I'm a long way from that - Ireland - currently tucked up and have hit all targets, yay! Going to have a midweek weigh as I'm going to really try hard now in next few weeks to get sub 9st again...

On target for food and drink today. The halloumi and beetroot with baby salad on a burger roll was delicious and is something I'll do again. I'd forgotten how much I like halloumi. I know it's not the healthiest of things but it's one way to get me to eat salad. A great big grilled mushroom would be good too and I bet not many calories in it but would add a lot of texture and meatiness as it were. I found a pack of rice cakes in the pantry and I have those on days when I have pizza or pasta for dinner. I can't say they are particularly tasty but peanut butter and blueberry jam and they aren't too bad.

What do you all have for lunch that doesn't take much effort to make? I want to get away from bread but love carbs. I don't like anything heavy at lunch and wouldn't do a jacket potato for instance. Or soup. Those are dinner things to me.

That halloumi thing sounds delicious but quite calorific. What's your daily allowance?
Yes I'm really looking to going out with DH and DS. I'm probably going to have sweet chilli squid followed by crispy beef salad. No really diet friendly items on the menu. And a large glass of wine. Will wear ski socks and take blankets

Ono or boiled eggs for lunch?

I’ve had a freaky whoosh and am at 13:9.6. 9 was not a number I was expecting to see today!

May the scales be ever in our favour

Wohooh Honeybadger!! That's amazing!!

Another half pound down for me so I'm very pleased that a little effort is paying off.
Goals: 3L water, food after 7pm , skin, teeth. Have a good day all!

Hmm I'm a die hard, soup for lunch every day kinda girl. I guess if I wasn't to have that I would have, what Jordan Syatt would call, a big ass salad. Maybe yoghurt, overnight oats is a good suggestion.
I love halloumi but can rarely afford the calories.

Random thought of the day but my DH told me that the Queen calls Windsor castle home and that's where she'll do her own cooking. So I woke up wondering what she likes to cook and if she uses recipes from any particular celebrity chefs. The idea that she might use a Jamie Oliver or Gordon Ramsey recipe really tickles me.

Glad it's paying off HeyGirl - well done.

Sorry, Sandringham is where she cooks for herself. I can't imagine she bothers dieting.

My dinner was 678 calories in total. The halloumi is the 30% less fat version and I only had two slices.
@Interviewedundercaution my allowance is 1500. It used to be 1250 but I found it too restrictive long term as with a 30 year history of an eating disorder I have to be careful about being too restrictive.

62.7kg this morning so a nice drop.

Well done Honey!

Well done @TheHoneyBadger and @HeyGirlHeyBoy. @AprilFoolaround, I also struggle with lunch ideas, dont like eggs, also try to stay away from too much bread. Also find soup doesn't work unless I'm at home, I tend to be out and about working with no room in my bag, so at the moment its either a bought salad (handy as can check the calories but not always that economical) or some sort of protein bar. I have in the past been a big fan of Greggs, but trying to limit that habit. Think I managed about 1,500 cals yesterday, but over 16,000 steps walking. 9st4 dead on this morning. Got my Dad coming down today so really need to stay focused.

I don't eat eggs, meat or fish so my lunch options are a little more limited. I wish I did like eggs but they make me feel sick unless they are in cake but even then I can't eat it if I can taste the eggs.

I'm viewing this as a long term plan rather than a diet which is another reason for not being overly restrictive. My tdee maintenance is over 2000 calories so I still have a 500 calorie deficit on 1500 a day. I tend to work on an average of that over the week and eat normal meals but watch the portion sizes. It seems to work for me and I'm very against proper diets as they don't work long term and are generally miserable. Food should be a joy.

I am a soup/salad/omelette person however for convenience and due to lack of prep the last few days I've had fruit and nuts for lunch crazy how that can be enough.. Today it's soda bread and roast chicken leftovers. You're doing super with your steps octopus!! Hope things go well with your dad. My head is starting to clear from the sugar fog of recent times and that alone should be motivation enough to stay away from it. There's an interesting thread here on a book about basically eating from scratch, avoiding wheat and sugar and otherwise eating plenty and how that brings you to your 'natural weight' without any restriction outside of that. And it allows for some moderation. An interesting read last night, and what I would think is the 'right way' anyway ie avoiding fruit/veg as carbs seems bananas (!) to me!

I've been on 1000 cals since Saturday and the scales havent moved (I'm a daily weigher). V disappointing. In the past they would have. I do feel leaner though. Was going to increase cals after 2 weeks but was expecting a good loss the first week. Woe is me. Won't be weighing till Saturday now after my meal out tonight.

Well done April. Your regime sounds sensible but I wouldn't lose on 1500 cals (post menopausal hag, I am).

Ouch that's gotta hurt. Why so low a calorie goal? When I started calorie counting, the scales didn't shift for a month which was v frustrating. I don't think you can expect change in such a linear way tbh.