Defeated by fatness no more

[BreathingDeep]

Happy Monday!

Following my thread last week about how I, and so many of us, are feeling like we're defeated by our weight, here's a support thread for those of us who don't want stop ourselves from living the lives we want any more.

There were some amazing stories shared and so much honesty about how this is a struggle for so many of us. Here's the thread for anyone wanting to read:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4225173-Defeated-by-my-fatness-am-I-alone

I know that I am sick of feeling ashamed of myself. Sick of hiding away. Sick of feeling that I'm judged for my weight. Sick of feeling that I'm letting myself and my family down. Sick of feeling that my inside doesn't match the outside. Sick of living in the same few outfits because everything else is too tight or looks terrible. Sick of seeking solace in food that doesn't nourish me. Sick of treating myself badly.

If you feel the same, come and join us! Everyone will have their own journey, their own approach and that's fine - please, no criticism or judgement of anyone's plan. The main aim is that we all take steps, every single day, to make ourselves feel better about ourselves.

For me, that means today will include drinking water, taking a long lunch and having a dog walk with a friend (this NEVER happens because work always comes first) and sticking with my Cambridge plan.

How about you?

I've stayed the same this week, happy enough with that as I enjoyed plenty of wine, dinner and cheesecake last night!! 0.5lbs is good @Roussette, just need to keep chipping away at it!!

Well done everyone, mini losses and STS are victories as far as I am concerned seeing as we have not long come out of lockdown and are heading into a Bank holiday weekend. After a rather mixed week I'm about +1.5lbs from last Friday but went out for a curry with DP last night so not unexpected. As we all know this isn't about just losing weight but rather finding a way to eat, drink and lives our lives that works going forward. I'm rarely hungry, I eat because for me food is something I enjoy.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone. Next mini target for me is Tuesday and aiming for my lowest May weight to start June with.

I've got to 182lbs!

Exactly 50lbs down from mid January.

I genuinely didn't think I'd get this far in the entire year, never mind 5 months.

Wow @AnnieJ1985, that's incredible! I can't remember if you've said before but what are you doing to lose weight? Are you following a particular diet?

I couldn't agree more @Onesmallstep67. This is never going to be a completely linear process and I imagine some weeks I'll be up and some down. I think in the past I've just been too quick to throw in the towel when I feel like I'm not making progress (or not making progress quickly enough) but I feel much more determined this time.

@AnnieJ1985, that's an absolutely fantastic achievement you must be totally delighted. It'd be great to hear where you think you have made the biggest changes.

@sylv165

I am not following a set plan as such, but I am plantbased (always think that sounds a bit wanky, but maybe less wanky than vegan?)

I went vegan in 2015 but started eating a lot of dairy/egg again over time. I've not had any meat since back then, though. Mainly for medical reasons (I have MS, studies/theories link symptoms/progression to animal proteins and processed diet). When I was v strict in 2015 my MS improved but I didn't lose much weight. I was still eating junk! Being off meat definitely suits me though, I don't miss it at all.

Anyway, since Jan I have been making all my meals from scratch, cut out snacking (unless fruit or nuts) and have been 100% plantbased again. I allow myself the odd takeaway from a vegan thai place near me. I don't use any oils in my home cooking or any pre-packed ingredients. I eat a HEAP of potatoes - which makes me laugh as most diets I read about seem to be so anti-spud ☺ I've been off the booze too, but that is more to get the weight off, I don't see that lasting. If I am not hungry, I don't eat - so I often skip breakfast - I unintentionally do 16:8, probably 4 days a week.

I don't really think about food now, I am never starving. I honestly used to count down to my next feed of crisps and fried stuff.

I was pushing into a 22 at Christmas. I can get into a 14 today. I bought a "medium" top in Primark yesterday, which says 12-14 on it, but their sizes are all over the place.

Oh and walking - I've upped my walks, and push myself harder. I keep threatening to start C25K as you know!

Annie.... Well done, what a fantastic achievement!

That's really fantastic @AnnieJ1985. It is interesting that you mention a plant based diet and the benefits for MS. I have a friend with MS who is really struggling with flare ups at the moment and he is thinking about doing similar. Good to know it can help if you are strict about it.

MS is so different for everyone, others I know have tried plantbased and saw no real difference. It definitely reduced my flare ups (or coincidentally they improved - who knows!)

Can i join, my lowest was 84kg but im stuck at 90kg despite 20k steps a day though i think its lack of water plus portion sizes. Today a friend told me about herbalife (which i doubt ill do) but also apparently i should be drinking 1L for every 20kg i weigh!!! I really want to make a dent. I only eat between 10 and 5pm.

Welcome Eesha, this is a very supportive group. it probably is portion sizes if you're walking that much.

Don't do Herbalife, it's an MLM / pyramid scheme, you'll get sucked in and spend a fortune. You don't need gimmicks, just fresh ingredients and a better awareness of portions.

Hi @Eesha I drink a lot of water, I definitely have better weight loss the weeks I drink 2+ litres a day. It also fills me up, so I am not as hungry.

4l a day sounds tough going though, but remember to count water used for tea and coffee too.

20k steps a day is a lot too - I am lucky to hit 10k- although I am sitting for a lot of the day.

You can totally do this btw Eesha. Just over a year ago I weighed 90kg, I'm now at 77 and still going down, despite a major setback at one point (Christmas...). Only 3kg to my target weight.

I've done it through intermittent fasting, smaller portions and cutting way back on refined carbs and sugar. I never feel hungry like I used to when I just counted calories but didn't really change the type of things I ate.

I'm doing more exercise, but 90% of the loss has been through diet. I don't think of exercise as enabling me to eat more food, it's just for health and fitness.

I do drink a lot of water, but it's not a magic bullet. I also eat or drink fermented things every day, to improve my gut biome - full fat greek yoghurt, apple cider vinegar, home made sauerkraut, pickles, cheese etc.

I think a lot of overweight is caused by inflammation from the wrong types of foods. I recommend the book Why We Eat (Too Much) by Andrew Jenkinson. It's a real eye-opener.

I'm just starting to tackle my weight in a healthy eating and moving around more way. I am fed up with fat

@TheLeadbetterLife you're inspirational!! I guess i don't know how it has crept up again even though im loads fitter. Im having issues with missed periods which i never used to have too. Im going to make a start with at least 2L water a day and see where it gets me. I have a few days sans kids next week so would have been an ideal time to start some sort of fasting or diet but instead im looking at ice cream flavours which i can scoff whilst binging on Succession.

@Veryverycalmnow me too! Totally fed up with feeling unhealthy, fed up telling myself I am going to change then going back to my old ways, fed up repeatedly growing out of my clothes. Ready for change!!

My mum just said I look like I've lost weight over the past few weeks! I'm only a pound or two down on the scales but had a theory I had changed shape a bit - she might just have been being nice but I'm taking it as validation 🤣🥳

@sylv165 - it is nice to read about a mum who has something kind to say - most of the mothers on MN seem to be scathing critics 😂😂

I will be seeing family, for first time since last summer, on Friday. Looking forward to seeing them, without the usual dread of what to wear. I still have at least 20lbs to lose and am by no means slim now, but I have found that I don't give a damn if people can see my upper arms - imagine. As well as losing weight I've lost (some of) the voice in my head telling me to cover up. Nobody gives a shit what I look like, they just want to see me.

Last summer I'd have been afraid of scaring young children by daring to show the flesh above my elbow.

We really give ourselves a hard time, don't we?

She is generally lovely @AnnieJ1985. Although we'll see if I'm still saying that after she has been living here for a couple of months 😬.

I've had a lovely few days of socialising, eating too much and drinking way too much. Good for the soul, but probably not so much for the waistline. So wiping the slate clean today, back to lowish carbs and running. 32 mins today! Hope everyone else is doing well.@Roussette I hope you had a fab weekend with your daughter, you definitely got the weather for it!

Hiya.... thanks.

Well... yes and no on the weekend. Seeing both daughters, but on the same day we arrived DH was poorly (have found out now he contracted gastro enteritis) so as much we it was beyond wonderful to see the DDs, it was not as it should've been.
We had to stay up there until he was well enough to travel home, which he really wasn't.

I did have snatched moments with them when he was sleeping but it was a bit stressful.

So I have no idea how my fitness is going! Although I'm not eating much as he can only eat dry bread and crackers and I can't be arsed to cook just for me. So it's tuna salad all the way.

Maybe there'll be a silver lining... but the running has gone to pot for now. Will restart.

Oh, and to rub salt into the wound, he's lost 10lbs from this! Pah! (but not in the way you want to lose weight at all)

Onward and upward...

Well done on 32minutes sylv That is soooooo good.

Well done @sylv165, you are definitely doing well with the running 🏃‍♀️
@Roussette, sorry to hear that your husband has been so poorly. Such a shame that he missed chunks of time with your DDs and it put a limit on what you could do. Hopefully he’ll feel better again tomorrow.
I finished May with an overall loss of 8lbs which is great but most of that was achieved in the first 2 weeks and I have bobbled around since. Still feeling pretty premenstrual which at 54 I could really do without. It’s definitely impacting my hunger although I am generally managing to do 16:8 - what I eat during the 8 hours is a different matter ! I’ve got just under 11 weeks until a big family party. I’d love to lose up to 20lbs by then. I guess if I hit 2lbs per week it’s doable. Fingers crossed.

Oh no @Roussette! What a shame. Hope your DH is feeling better now

@Onesmallstep67 that is pretty good progress for May!! Well done you 🎉

Sorry I disappeared! I went into a four day binge

Back to it today. Haven't dared weigh myself- think I'll wait a couple of days!!!