Join me for a 30 day weight loss/health sprint

[rosewater20]

I have an event coming up in 40 days that I want to look amazing for. I have about ten pounds worth of baby weight + lack motivation to take care of myself because of lock down depression and general exhaustion. I want to be at my best at this event as it will be the first time seeing friends in over a year and there will be lots of photos, etc. In general I want to spend the next 40 days in deep self-care and really focus on eating well, weight loss and taking care of myself. I would love it if people joined me in this thread as a support to each other. So if anyone has some weight to lose and wants to do a 40 day sprint with me please join.

My goals:
Lose ten pounds/focus on toning up.
Keep calories to 1,200 per day
JM 30 day shred + Barre class (which I am already doing and want to alternate with 30 day shred).
Walk 10k steps per day
Go to bed by 10:30 each night
Daily five minutes of Tai Chi for stress relief

I will join you. I have a lot more to lose than you!

I’m planning on doing

• intermittent fasting
• 10,000
• yoga x 3 a week
• drink a lot more water

I would love to join too. I have gained around 9 pounds due to copious wine consumption and eating badly over the last couple of months. I am usually 9st 10lbs and think I am around 10 st 7lbs at the moment - will weigh in the morning(I am in NZ).

I intend to return to lots of water, less wine, no cheese or ice cream and over 10,000 steps per day.

Sorry that weight should be 'normally 9 12'.

I'm in, but I only have until July 15th, so a month. Need to lose 9lb- but there'll a way to go. Cutting back on wine and carbs and trying to do 16:8 too.

I am so pleased to have this support thread going! Welcome @FiveShelties*@Fitforforty @cathyandclare*

Maybe we should post our daily food diaries to stay accountable? I am currently abroad (we've been stuck here since lockdown and I think this is part of my weight gain (well and having a baby this year), not walking around the city all day + missing home).

I am currently 9.2 stone and while I know that doesn't sound bad, its on the high end for my height and a couple of extra pounds really shows up on my body and makes it so that my clothes don't fit. I've been ordering black tie dresses for our upcoming event and it has been demoralizing when my normal size is just too tight.

I am about to do an at home barre class and then later today go to a yoga and pilates studio to see if I can sign up for classes (we are allowed out door classes here and I am fully vaccinated).

My goals today:

1. Barre class
2. sign up for classes for the next two weeks and pay so that I have to go!
3. Tai Chi
4. walk 10k steps
5. Make a big batch of vegetable soup so that I have low calorie meal ready to go.
6. Not drink wine! (or maybe just have one tiny glass )

Ahhh @rosewater20, I can see you're a fellow shorty! I'm also 9 2 and aiming to get to 8 7. I'm also making soup and eschewing wine!

Yes! It's so hard how a few pounds can be the difference between looking good and looking overweight.

What soup are you making? I am making a vegetable soup and maybe a lentil soup today (though making two soups in one day might be a bit much).

Weighed in at 10st 6.2lbs and that gives me 8.2 lbs to lose to get back to 9st 12.

Aim for today - lots of water, 11,000 steps and eat sensibly.

Today started off well and then took a bit of turn with food in the evening

I did 20 minutes of Barre and five minute kettlebell workout and ended with Tai Chi. I wasn't able to accurately record my steps today but I was running around all day and have only now just sat down.

Food Diary:
Breakfast: sprouted grain toast with peanut butter, jam, fresh cherries, coffee with full fat milk = 361 calories

Lunch: butter lettuce, spring onion, red pepper, raddish, grains, beans, and rotisserie chicken, olive oil (sounds like a lot but I measured and weighed everything) = 368

Snack: oat-milk latte, 1 piece sourdough toast and small chocolate bar = 443

Dinner: beef, salad, avocado, salsa and homemade vegetable soup = 680

Calorie total for the day: 1,852

Water = 2L

I was feeling really good until I was making dinner for the baby and was so hungry that I ate the toast and chocolate. I need to find some filling low calorie snacks to keep me going (maybe an apple and nut butter) and I think I need a bit more protein for breakfast to keep me fuller longer. Logging all of my food on MFP was a big wake up call to how much I am eating, I eat a relatively healthy diet but I wasn't realising how many calories I was consuming in things like olive oil. Measuring it out today made me realise that I was probably eating a couple hundred calories in olive oil per day which is shocking.

Any tips on food?

I hope you all had a good day!

Love this challenge. I'm hosting a free webinar for weight loss post 40. Let me know if you're interested and I'll share the link.

Can I join? I've put on 9lbs due to menopause and bad lockdown habits. I've lost 2lb over the last ten days, hoping I can keep that off and more.

Ideally I want to lose weight by making healthier/lower calorie food choices - it might come off slower, but those choices will be my way of life.

Keeping up with my exercise class, online Tai Chi, walking with a friend and cycling (rather than finding excuses not to). Today it'll just be a bit of gardening, online tai chi, maybe some skipping and star jumps as I'm awaiting a covid test result.

Krisvo I'd be interested in the link please.

I'm on an ongoing challange but stalling on my last 5kg.

For me I've found it is all about getting a regular weekly 7000 calorie deficit to lose 1kg. And, it is all about food.

To put in perspective 1200 gives me ~800 deficit a day with no exercise so about 6000 deficit a week.

I do exercise too though, regular tiring mountain biking in hills, but I can see from my Garmin that last month's 100 miles of cycling burnt 6,680 calories.

So for me the exercise helps but it would mean slow progress of 1kg a month if I only upped my exercise. It has been quite empowering getting to grips with why I was struggling whilst being pretty fit.

Welcome @Swallowridge @ifonly4 !

@ifonly4 what online Tai Chi are you doing? I am doing a simple beginner five minute one online that I am doing to help with mediation and breathing. I find it very calming. I was talking with a doctor friend of mine recently who said that there are some great studies that show Tai Chi helps with cardiovascular health. I suffer from anxiety and so finding something that helps calm me down is key. Ideally, I would love if Tai Chi and exercise could help bring my heart rate down, its in a healthy range but all of my healthy and calmer friends (and my DH) have much lower heart rates.

@Swallowridge You are right that the key is really understanding what works and doesn't work for your body. I am hoping that this helps me to understand why I have gained weight over the past few months and what is a healthy lifestyle for me. On the surface, I am healthy and when I talk to my friends about getting healthier they brush it off because I lost my baby weight quickly, I am moderately active, etc. But something about my lifestyle has made me gain ten pounds over the past six months, and I know that I could be far more active and so I don't just want to look good on the surface (I mean lets be real, for my upcoming event I want to look good on the surface haha) , I want to feel good internally too and I think that will come with taking a serious look at my food intake and activity level and seeing what works and doesn't work. What has surprised you the most about what you've learned from tracking your exercise and diet?

@FiveShelties how did your goals for today go?

@cathyandclare how did soup making go? I made a vegetable soup but used purple carrots and so the whole soup has a weird purple colour to it and looks a little off-putting haha

I started a 4 week weight loss effort on Monday! Would love to join you all please to keep myself accountable.

I’ve managed 4lbs over the last month but derailed recently. I have set myself a goal of losing 8lbs in the next 4 weeks. That might be a tad ambitious!
Doing 16/8, and trying to keep carbs lowish.
Short run 5 times a week - trying to gradually build up my distance.
Also trying a better skincare regime and face yoga exercises to try and look slightly less aged!

I will then start a second sprint to lose one more stone, for a friends wedding in mid August. I need to break it down into two chunks though, or it feels impossible and I don’t get anywhere.

The Tai Chi sounds really interesting. I’ve never done it but will be interested to hear if you think it has an impact.

I've been most surprised that it is true - you can't outrun a bad diet! I was religiously tracking on mfp and was pretty consistently losing 1 - 2 lb. I got bored, stopped tracking, telling myself that I was still eating less and my weight loss has stalled - even though i burn 300- 500 in strenuous exercise calories every day. I need exercise and most importantly food to lose weight.

@ifonly4 here is the link bloomlab.easywebinar.live/event-registration

Leek and celeriac soup for me, delicious! I've also done a cauliflower soup- just shallots and cauliflowers, with a little grated cheese at the last minute, but haven't eaten that yet.

I've been strictly low carb the last couple of days to get myself going, so lots of eggs and water. I've lost 2.2lb, all fluid but I feel better for it. The bad news is that I've been losing and gaining the same 2 lb since the second lockdown and getting nowhere near losing the other 9lb lockdown gain. This time WILL be different!

rosewater4 I work for a company which gives me access to a site with 45 min online classes and other perks. Also, I've found David Dorian Ross (American), he does 5-20 mins tai chi, so ideal if you haven't got much time. What's the 5 minute one your doing? I find tai chi a gentle exercise, but if you do it for 15 mins you can feel your heart pumping a little and the muscles working.

krisvo thanks for that, I've signed up. Just need to remember to stay up as it'll be on at 11pm our time.

Salmon and roasted onions, peppers, mushrooms and courgettes tonight - will do couscous/similar for rest of family. Bought bananas, cherries, peaches and wholemeal wraps (less calories than two slices bread) earlier.

Welcome @DragonflyInn Face yoga sounds interesting! I occasionally do Lisa Eldridge's facial massage from YouTube. Speaking of yoga, I went to a local yoga studio today and they are doing a special for the next few months where classes are donation based and so I am planning on trying to do a yoga class in person two-three times per week over this 30 day sprint (28 days now!) alongside my daily barre and walking.

@Swallowridge so true about not being able to outrun a bad diet. I keep feeling shocked about the amount of calories I had been absentmindedly consuming from foods or drinks that I weren't even part of a meal. Pre covid and pre pregnancy I just didn't do that, I was too busy with being out at work all day, running around town getting things done and since we've been at home for over a year now I think it just became so easy to over snack.

@cathyandclare You sound like me with losing and gaining the same two pounds. I weighed myself this morning and was also down two pounds (most likely water too) but i won't be celebrating until I am down at least five pounds as thats a bit harder to put back in one day haha.

@ifonly4 I am doing the Tai Chi 5 Minutes a Day Module 01 - easy for beginners on Youtube. It is not at all an exercise that will get your heart pumping and is really just, for me, about breathing and picturing calming landscape. There is a lot of: "the ocean comes in and the ocean goes out," "hug the moon" type of wording used. Very calming. I will try your Tai Chi though and see how that feels.

My food intake has been a lot better over the past two days and within my allotted daily calories. I have been having at least one very large salad per day full of different vegetables (which for me is key because then I can eat a lot without it taking up a lot of calories) and protein (lots of fish) and small helpings of carbs (potato, quinoa). Todays meals:

breakfast: Accidentally fasted because I got caught up in work and didn't realise how late it was.

Lunch: Massive salad with lettuce, red pepper, avocado, carrots, spring onion, cucumber, tomatoes and tuna and lemon.

Dinner: Ceviche, rice, small portion of pork and black beans (sounds odd but very good).

Snack: a couple squares of chocolate and coffee with full fat milk

I have a few calories left and I am about to do a short barre workout so I will finish the night with some fruit.

I missed my workout yesterday but went on a long up hill walk and then did the same today.

I signed up for a very early morning workout tomorrow before a busy day and so I am writing it here so that this group can keep accountable and from turning off my alarm at 5:30 am and going back to sleep instead!

How did everyone do today?

rosewater20 I'll check the tai chi out, I could do with some easy relaxations sometimes.

I'm going around to a friends tonight and eating late for me, so had a jacket potato and cottage cheese earlier. Typical I'm already hungry again - thinking about a peach, but not sure it'll fill me up. Looking forward to tonight but it's going to be a struggle, my friend has got Pimms, Prosecco and a takeaway ordered (I'm sure she's massively over-ordered - there's going to be starters, mains and sides for us all to pick at - it's going to be very tempting - think I'll try and eat slowly in hope that helps).

Not done much exercise today, but the walk back from my friends is a good 30 mins, slightly uphill.

At work tomorrow, usually get my first break at 10am, my next break can be anything from 1-3pm, which isn't great for factoring in what to eat to keep me going.

How's everyone else getting on?

Have a lovely evening! I'm out for dinner too tonight, always a challenge. Going to stick to some sort of meat or fish and salad.

I'm driving so that's one less temptation!

I feel a bit more in-the-zone at the moment, hoping I can break over the 2lb loss barrier by Monday.

Hi everyone,
How is it all going? The weekend was tough for food with a date night for me and DH and father's day brunch. I tried to make sensible choices but I am sure I went over my recommended calories. Also had some wine this weekend and a cocktail on date night.

I was feeling a bit down this weekend and overly critical about my body. I need to refresh this week and remind myself that the overall goal is to feel better, and have better overall health and that change isn't going to happen in just a few days.

@ifonly4 @cathyandclare how did your dinners out go?

Hi all.

@rosewater20 well done on surviving a very social weekend-it sounds fab! I suppose all we can do is live our lives and make sensible-ish choices even if we sometimes go over the limit. After all the lockdowns, it's lovely to get out and about again. Like you I sort of kept to plan but had some fizz and I'm sure the salad dressing was v sugary.

I weighed in today, after a strict day yesterday, and have lost 3.5lbs. I'm aware it's fluid and one carby slip would pile it back on, but I am feeling less hungry now. I'm having an op in three weeks (nothing serious but want to be in good health and fitness for it) and want to lose another 3.5-5lb before that

I haven't done very well over the last 2/3 days. Takeaway with friends, then Fathers Day meal, oh and someone bought me a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. I still tried to be careful inbetween all this, but pretty sure I haven't lost anything.

Back on course now as I have inspiration, DH and I are thinking about going to a hotel with a pool in a couple of months time. There's no way I'm walking about in a swimming costume looking like this, also I really don't want to have the hassle of trying to find another larger swimming costume that I feel looks ok.

I've done an exercise class this morning. Aim to do some tai chi or a bike ride after work later.

Not feeling that hungry right now, so might have a slice of toast before work and take a banana with me.

cathyandclare well done on the loss. I bet you were really pleased.

How's everyone else getting on? Well I hope, or has it been a bit of a struggle.

I've lost 1lb this week. Happy with that, as I was worried it'd be nothing after three days of temptation. So that's 3lb in total. In the ideal world another, 6lbs to go.