6 week blitz starting tomorrow

[BasinHaircut]

I’m simply starting this thread for myself as a diary.

I’m hovering around 12st 1-3lbs ish. I’d like to hover at 11stones-something in 6 weeks time, so nothing major.

All I’m going to do is the following:

1. Stick to under 1600 calories per day
2. Walk for an hour each day
3. Resistance train 4 times per week

I should be able to do this easily but I need some accountability (with the food!) so here I am!

I have 4 social occasions during this time that may lead to not sticking to 1600 calories on those days but I am ok with that. I will just do my best on those days, accept what they are, and not let them lead to throwing in the towel altogether.

If anyone would like to join me they are very welcome!

Same here with the screw it mentality @NuclearSummer

I have managed to stick to low cal/low carb but it has been joyless today. So tired and craving sweets. Will have some dark chocolate in a bit but I really want a large Dairy Milk!

I had a good day today, I recommend snacking on watermelon to satisfy the sweet craving, I ate at least a third of one today.

Scramble eggs for breakfast, salad with a hot smoked piece of salmon for lunch, homemade sweet and sour chicken for tea (bbc good food have a great recipe for an easy one!) and a shitload of watermelon, 1,411 calories. 15,000 steps and 13mes on the bike.

Fab!! @Jammymare

Keep at it @olliepollie you have your nice dins to look forward to, and you'll be glad you did after the weekend.

Been having a few good days then yesterday after a really manic day I ate a whole sharing bag of sweet pop corn. Plus chocolate (dark, but still).

Any tips on dealing with stress binging?

Thanks @SunscreenCentral! Back on the bike this morning.

The evening was ok, I had a couple of slices of toast but will have still been in a significant calorie deficit yesterday so am completely mystified as to why I feel so terribly bloated today. Carbs? Hormones? Not enough water? All the above...

Dinner out tonight, guests this weekend and barbecue tomorrow so the next couple of days will inevitably be more relaxed, but on Sunday I'm going to do some cooking for next week's lunches and I'm going to be on it from Sunday.

@ManxRhyme also a stress binger here. No 'I'll never do it again' fixes but distracting/alternative de-stress/relaxing activities:

• long bath or luxe shower
• going to a room away from the food to read or watch or listen to something
• crafts that keep my hands busy
• going outside for a walk or to do a bit of gardening
• cold, icy, non-alcoholic drink in a proper drink glass (usually a light fever tree or similar tonic)
• generally in the day making sure I eat regularly and don't leave it until I'm famished before eating. If I get to that stage I tend to feel quite stressed and want to eat sweet/junky things for the rest of the day

Great day yesterday @Jammymare !
Watermelon is a good shout.

@olliepollie just try to remember bloat is not fat or weight gain so don’t worry about it! It’s probably a mixture of things.

Another good day yesterday, came in on calories, did a gum session and got my walk in too. I love my half-working days (2 per week) they allow me to spend a bit of time on me.

I weigh myself every day so and can see great fluctuations, if you can do it without obsessing over a higher number than the day before I’d recommend it as it really allows you to understand what might cause those fluctuations. Twice this week I have seen a number below 12stone. Only by a few ounces but it’s a great feeling for me to know it’s going in the right direction as I am a very slow loser as I don’t over-restrict.

Well done @BasinHaircut it must be so encouraging to see that 11 number on the scales.

Do you mind saying how you came to 1,600 as a good number for you? I'm a terrible one for over-restricting because I find big losses motivating but I do yo-yo. I think if I'd just aimed for 0.5kg a week when I first started trying to lose my baby weight (about a year ago) I'd probably have actually lost a fair amount, slowly, instead of having lost and gained the same 4kg over and over.

Has anyone read anything about resetting your 'set point' weight? I keep seeing it mentioned on threads about that book 'Why we eat too much' but am reluctant to buy yet another book just to find out what the theory is.

@olliepollie it’s been trial and error really to settle at that number. I’ve tried lower and I can’t do more than a few days. This girl needs to eat!

It’s about the most I can eat on average per day (with one day a week not being as careful) and still see a small loss. I know I won’t even see 0.5kg loss per week, or probably even half a pound if I have a proper day off that week, but long term I can stick to it as I can still eat quite a bit and satisfy my hunger.

I’m trying to approach it as a lifestyle change and so I figure if I have to get used to an amount of calories long term to maintain it - why not just start closer to that number and then by the time I get there I’ll be better placed to not just revert back to old eating patterns.

What are you on now? Whatever it is, if you are struggling to stick to it I’d increase it and see what happens.

The other thing is that you have to give it time. Really it’s about 3 weeks before you can tell if you are actually losing (in my experience and weighing every day) as there are so many things that affect your scale weight day to day. You really need all that data before you declare its working/not working.

If it’s not working don’t think you have wasted 3 weeks not losing anything, because what you have done is learned something very important about your calorie requirements which will help you going forward.

I listened to a podcast recently about taking a few months to get ready for a weight loss diet and I think it’s actually so true. Take time to get into habits and routines and learning new recipes and how many calories are in certain foods etc. Then when you come to apply it all it has a much better chance of working (plus you will probably lose some in that time anyway).

I’m going on a bit now but I find it all so interesting

Thanks @olliepollie. All good suggestions. I am sure if I wasn't so time pressured I'd be less stressed. A big part of binge eating for me is not even the feeling of hunger, but a distraction from the juggling and work.

I have kept up with the exercise though, and lunch tends to be healthy cos I rarely have time to snack at work.

@BasinHaircut what you say about preparation is so interesting. I'm very much a planner but recently read Atomic Habits by James Clear and one of the big things he says about habit formation is doing then improving instead of spending too long planning. Clearly no one has the right answer

What podcasts do you listen to @BasinHaircut? I have just subscribed to the bodcast with Chloe Madeley, but not sure if it’s going to be a bit too fitness focused for me as I never go to the gym.

I have had a bad day in terms of the types of food I’ve eaten, but an excellent day calories wise. I was up and out early to volunteer at an event, scrambled eggs for breakfast and thought I’d get something from the burger van as a treat, but before I knew it it was 4pm and the burger van had shut so I survived until I got home at 8:30 on two small shortcake biscuits. OH had cooked me gammon eggs and chips for dinner so I’ve just wolfed that down and now feel stuffed. Logging it as 700 calories gives me a total of 1,139 for the day of pretty unhealthy food.
BUT I didn’t stop at a garage and stuff myself with chocolate on the way home like I usually would, even though AF has appeared, so I’m banking it as a win!

Down 1lb this morning
Not a great day food wise. I am below my target but haven't eaten properly.
I've started some meds which have left me tired and I'm dying to go to bed
Well done everyone on staying on track
3 weeks to go for me... ulp

Scratch that just eaten a waffle cookie & 3 mini fudge bars.

@Jammymare the Bodcast is a good one, the later series’ better than the earlier ones and you can pick and choose the ones that are more diet than fitness.

Chloe has another one called the EC method which is recordings of ‘lives’ she does with her group coaching clients and you can glean a lot from those.

ESG fitness is also another good one. As is the food doctor or nutrition nuggets. All really accessible and not too sciency.

Right well I’m under 12st again this morning so that’s 3 days this week which I am buzzing about.

I seem to have injured myself at yoga last night however which is very annoying!

I went over calories yesterday as I was super hungry so had a bigger than planned dinner. Thought this was preferable to still being hungry afterwards and snacking on who knows what.

Ended the day on just under 2,000 calories.

I had been planning loads of cleaning and organising today to stay active but not sure that’s going to happen now I’m in pain! Will still get a walk in though and will stick to calories today.

@BasinHaircut thanks for your earlier, that's really interesting. I'm trying to do Fast 800, so 800 calories a day over 2 meals, which I'm finding quite hard.

I am obese though (not massively, BMI is 30.3), so I feel I need to be quite hardline about it. Probably not helpful. I was hoping to lose a few kgs rapidly as I have a wedding to attend in September and wanted to look nice. Might have to let go of that a bit, it's putting a lot of pressure on myself.

Well done for seeing under 12 again! Must be so encouraging. So sorry to hear about your injury, how frustrating for it to happen at yoga! Hopefully it will get better very soon.

Had a lovely dinner out last night, but the (small amount of) alcohol meant I didn't sleep well. Usually I would fast until 1pm but can't face it so have had a big cup of tea and will have some breakfast today.

@olliepollie if you have a lot to lose you could most likely double that and still lose weight. It will be much more enjoyable and therefore easier to stick to.

I would be exhausted all the time if I only had 800 calories a day.

@ManxRhyme yeah I don’t think there is a right or wrong way like that, it’s what works for an individual. But I took it as more like accepting that whilst you are learning, that fat loss might not happen in any significant way, but don’t let that put you off. Focusing more on the learning than the outcome for a while, letting yourself get into the swing of it gradually and not expecting to lose a stone in 6 weeks or whatever, getting into the mindset that it’s a long term thing IYSWIM?

@olliepollie I've done the fast 800 before to kick start weight loss when I had a lot to lose. It was difficult at first but actually very good for resetting my satiety and superbly motivating because results came quickly. Not sustainable long term obviously, its more like a boot camp for your metabolism I think. Massive salads for at least one meal a day and plenty of fluids worked for me.

@BasinHaircut yes totally get what you are saying. I think everyone has to find their path, and know their bad habits ie mine is stress eating then work on it.

I haven't lost any weight, but took some photos today to compare to when I first started and I can definitely see a change in my body shape. Clothes are fitting more comfortably too. Been doing a fair bit of weight training so I think I'm just getting denser! I may need to readjust my goals and aim for fitting back into my old dresses instead of achieving a set weight.

@ManxRhyme that's good to know your experience- when I started I had a great run of about 10 days and really did feel 'reset' by it, but I had a weekend away and just never felt quite back in the zone. How did you transition from Fast 800 to what you are doing now? I think I may just need to put a 2-week limit on it because I was thinking of doing it for 12 weeks and that just feels quite bleak.

That's great that you've found your shape changing. What kind of weight work are you doing? Do you feel healthier too?

@BasinHaircut I think you're right about the calories. I find myself getting intensely hungry and then over-hungry and irritable and craving sweet things. I need to decide to either do the 800 quite commitedly for a limited period or ditch it and accept slower (but more enjoyable) weight loss.

How has everyone's weekend been so far?

Fast 800 is way too hardcore for me, hats off to you! I try to aim for 1,400 but realistically consistency at 1,600 is more achievable for me.

I’ve been keeping really busy this weekend. I definitely eat through boredom, and I definitely eat more at weekends when I don’t have work to occupy me.
Kept going for a walk every time I felt like snacking, finishing the day on 23,000(!) steps and 1,532 calories.