LOSE IT! June 2021

[TheRealHousewife]

Hello & Welcome 😊 WOW 😯 June already! What a start to meteorological Summer; stunning weather and easing of Lockdown.

Firstly a massive Thank You to @SunshineCake who has done a stellar job in taking charge of May’s thread 🙏🌟❤️. I was happy for sunshine to carry on but she kindly invited me back to start the new month, so we agreed to make it a joint effort. (I’m still battling ill health and will post when I can).

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 & Articles

NHS Free 12 Week Plan

MFP

Water & Weight Loss

Ok!

Very frustrating - any app designers reading (I know unlikely, I've also emailed mfp)

I would pay for a good, easy to use, ACCURATE app where some time and effort is put into ensuring the nutritional effort is accurate and how much of an item you've had can be accurately entered.

I'm going to basically create my own "database" using numbers app with cals for 100g of each product or if it's an item that comes in one portion size - like a yogurt - then the cals per portion.

Yes it will take time initially but thereafter it will be easier and more accurate than these apps apparently.

Morning All!
Weigh in today for me - I have lost 0.8 lb, I'll take that after the Bank Hol gain. I have been working out regularly and eating pretty good this week! I made some homemade "Nice Cream" using frozen bananas - very yummy in this hot weather!

@Graphista such a shame you don't like MFP, I use it all the time and think it's great, it's definitely helped me keep track. It's a bit faffy in parts but I usually just scan all my foods so it's pretty accurate and then just adjust serving as I go.

I hear you with the MPF frustration @Graphista. I make so much from scratch and couldn't be bothered to weigh everything. I'd also have to put eight portions down sometimes to get the right grams and now that I know it hasn't always been accurate it might be part of the reason I didn't lose any weight!

Well done @FearlessFairy. One of our mantras is a loss is a loss!

This morning I ran about 12.5km then walked ddog in the pouring down rain. Just got back from shopping. Awful service in M&S so they missed out on about £50. Now I'm going to make a lovely picnic for dh, ds2 and I and then once I've done some tidying up I'll have a hot chocolate and watch something with dh.

Have a good day everyone.

4 days in and I’ve already smashed my goal for June! It obviously helps that I set the goal very very low, but it still feels good 😌

At the start of May I needed to loose 15 kg to get to a healthy weight, which felt like a massive challenge. So, I broke it down into three 5kg chunks and allowed 2 months to loose each chunk. This morning the scales showed that I’ve already lost the first 5kg, so I guess that means I have almost three months to loose the next 5 kg. That feels pretty doable!

@Graphista, MFP being inaccurate sounds really frustrating, but if lots of people are managing to loose weight with it, I’d thought it must be reasonably accurate on most things? That’s just a theory though, as I’ve never used MFP. I use a different app altogether (FitBit). I’ve found that one reasonably accurate, but it does underestimate on some things and overestimates on others. Over the course of a day, or week it kind of balances out though.

And well done on your loss @FearlessFairy!

Late to the party, but started June at 85.5kgs.

Still just calorie counting.

SW 134KG
CW 85.5KG
GW 75KG
Loss so far 48.5kg

Heartening to read of everyone's progress.

Well done @Crazzzycat. I've forgotten my goal for this month and have realised I'll miss weighing day on Wednesday, so I'll try and run every day until Monday then see where I am on Thursday.

Brilliant loss @Elle200. Well done.

I don't use MPF but wonder does anyone have Fitbit frustration?
Some days, if I have had an active housework day, I have burned more calories than when I go on a two hour walk despite having walked less steps, less distance etc. very frustrating!!

Welcome @Elle200 I am so impressed by your weight loss - you have lost the equivalent of my 19 year old daughter and in just a year.

Well, depending on how active your housework is, it can burn quite a few calories @132orbust. So your Fitbit may not even be that wrong 🤔 Does it show an increase in heart rate during that time?

This is an interesting comparison of day to day tasks vs walking when it comes to burning calories.

www.weightlossresources.co.uk/exercise/tips/housework_workouts.htm

It does @Crazzzycat but much less raised and sustained that when I walk.
So an example 13,339 steps, 5 miles, 88 active minutes = 1659 cals compared to 8769 steps, 3.5 miles, 32 active minutes = 1684 cals
Why - given I hauled myself out, walked a decent length and all for less cals

Oh dear @132orbust. I remember feeling really miffed that I burnt more calories on a dog walk than I run. The walk was twice as long in time but obviously running is harder work. I still don't really get why I didn't lose any weight when I started walking twice a day for an hour at a time once I got my dog !

The thing is though I walked further and for longer and burned less.
That makes no sense at all.
I would like to complain!!

Hmm, that is very odd indeed @132orbust.

I wonder though if the “active minutes” are a bit of a red herring? If the cleaning takes longer than the walking and your heart rate is elevated to just below the point where it starts measuring “active minutes” then it might be possible to end up with a higher calorie burn overall? Because even when you’re not in the “fat burn zone” you would still be burning calories, just not as much. If it’s over a longer length of time it could add up to quite a lot?

I’m really guessing now though. FitBit has some mysteries for me too. Like how can a 30 minute, really intense session on the cross trainer only burn 10 calories more than a walk of equal length? 🤔 It’s one of the reasons I try not to eat back my exercise calories, because estimating them seems a bit too much of a dark art for me to be able to completely trust the numbers.

It is very annoying and I agree about not eating back my calories as that way leads to disaster and a big tummy in my case.
I tried asking on the Fitbit community but though loads of people experience it no-one can explain it - that is mad about the cross trainer/walk thing. I know that these things are not perfect BUT they should be a bit more representative of our efforts. rhubarb rhurbarb...

@Elle200

Late to the party, but started June at 85.5kgs.

Still just calorie counting.

SW 134KG
CW 85.5KG
GW 75KG
Loss so far 48.5kg

Heartening to read of everyone's progress.

Omg! That's amazing!

Is too late to join?

Current weight = 146lbs (few days ago I managed to reach 144.6lbs)
Target weight = 140lbs (I’m currently to yo-yoing and I just can’t seem to get there)
Dream weight = 112lbs

Not at all @ExitChasedByABee. All welcome.

Lots of us experienced yo-yoing but the satisfaction when it stays off for more than five minutes..

I'm another who gets on really well with MFP. It balances out over the course of a week so I don't get too wound up about individual anomalies.

Elle200 that's phenomenal!! You're an absolute inspiration!

@SunshineCake Haha! Yes I get that feeling of satisfaction albeit rather fleetingly

@Crazzzycat How did you do it? I feel like I’m just running in the same spot

@Crazzzycat well done ! I want to lose a stone by my birthday in August , I think I have 11 weeks or so to do it
@132orbust I really don’t understand the active minutes , IMHO the person who runs 5 k in 40 minutes is actually working harder and longer than the person running the same distance in 17 mins ? But what do I know 👍
Had a run on the treadmill this morning , with a bit of walking managed 3K in 22 mins , quite pleased with that
Busy day , with lots of housework ( holiday cottage changeover ) then a bit of me time at the beauty salon 💇‍♀️
Fruit ✅
Veg ✅
Water ✅
I like MFP too , I know it’s not perfect but it’s an efficient way to record what I’ve eaten and drunk in a day

Yeah, the fitbit can be a bit of a mystery. I once had like 29 active minutes and decided to go for a quick run outside to get to 30min. Ran as fast as I could around the block and then did stairs for 10min but it remained at 29min.

According to fitbit I once burned 6000 calories by 10am. And at work sitting down, in a meeting my heart rate was around 180. They sent me a new one.

As much as I love my fitbit, there are a lot of flaws and inconsistencies. But I just try to keep it as a general guide to what's occurring.

Hi all apologies for my mfp mood. If it works for you great, I hated it.

Today scales did not arrive from Tesco so more frustration have now ordered some from Argos.

Cba with cal counting just yet, delivery contained lower fat, lower sugar, lower cal all sorts plus lots of veg and fruit.

Today I had:

Lunch - carrot sticks with a small pot reduced fat houmous, 1/2 pot potato salad, grapes and milk slice - water to drink

Dinner - Quorn sausage rolls, carrot sticks, banana, muller light chocolate pud - glass of milk and water to drink

So that's 4 of 5 a day, no crisps.

I think as said before - baby steps

Well done to everyone who's had losses - I totally agree any loss is a win!

Hi All. Is it ok if I join? I need a bit of motivation, and reading through the thread reminds me of a few things I used to do, then slipped back into bad habits... I am roughly following the No S diet, so I can ease up a bit at the weekend, but I need to do better in the week to make that feasible, and still lose weight. I have bought some Langleys cottage cheese yesterday, and had that on a sandwich, rather than the cheddar I would normally have. I agree, if its not the fat free one, it doesn't really feel like a sacrifice. I tend to avoid things like crisps, as I rather use the calories on sweet stuff, and don't seem to have the calorie budget for both. I'm a menopausal old bag, which really doesn't help. I struggled with the maths thing in MFP, and it just made the whole thing more a faff, but koudos to anyone who can work it without tearing their hair out! I have just started to get back into a gym routine, which is helping, I think, but managed to put about 1.5 llbs on during a few days at the sea side. It's like I go on hols, and all sense goes! I'd like to be able to ease up on breaks, without putting weight on, and feeling a bit rubbish eating badly. @Graphista, I have pm'd you :)