LOSE IT! August 2021

[TheRealHousewife]

Good grief, I’m sure the year is speeding up! July has passed so quickly!

This is a space 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 reap the rewards. Better mental health = better choices. It becomes a healthy cycle.

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. Personally, I rarely drink alcohol and keep sugar to a minimum. I try to not overload on carbs etc, include a protein source with most meals and aim to glug enough water. 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. We generally have WOW (weigh on Wednesday) day each week. However post and share your progress as often or as little as you prefer. I’ve weighed daily at times and weekly at other times. Do what works for you.

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

LOSE IT July 2021 Thread

NHS 12 Week Weight Loss Plan

Fast 800 Diet & Fitness Plan

Water Intake & Weight Loss

MFP

26 Evidence Based Weight Loss Tips

The Psychology of Weight Loss

😬. Better than reaching for the snacks.

Small gain materialised this morning and so I've tried to have a strict day.

I think my TDEE is around 1398 calls a day according to the scales in my bathroom. I have NO idea how it works it out but explains why I gain a little if I go over 1500.

I know the next stone is going to be the hardest and I do find losing weight during the school holidays is more tricky then term time when the lovely children are home.

Whether you're starting your journey, picking yourself up after a slip or almost at the end. You are all amazing. I set myself small goals and I tick them off when I get there. 2-3lbs, an inch from here or there a new distance or intensity on the treadmill. All to be celebrated and rewarded (hair trim, nails done etc).

Welcome @Somuchtolose. I started at 14 stone and I'm now just under eleven. Has taken nearly two years, really slow as I lost 1.5 stone really quickly then have lost one half stone six times and I am on attempt three or four at a different half stone.

@Graphista I really hope you get somewhere.

First time ever dog and cat are sleeping together and have the run of the lounge and kitchen. Normally dog is shut in lounge and cats are in utility. EscapeCat has been shut in kitchen to keep him from leaving again. Tonight he wasn't having any of it, ran up the hall, back in to the kitchen then into the lounge and laid on the rug next to a very surprised dog in her bed. Dh not happy ds2 on stand by to go down if anything happens...🦮😼

i need help :(, the 12 lbs i lost are back on.

i knew it was happening and am really grateful i stopped when i did but oh my i want it gone.
i might need some support as i try and kick start this fat burning with a vengeance.
smaller portions and EXERCISE is my plan.
btw i'm right in the middle of the bc fires and will not step outside if i can help it.
i hope the dedicated group can help me through this and of course i will chip in with support if anyone else needs a fresh start (again).

Good Morning Everyone

Hello @fallfallfall a warm welcome back. Don’t panic, you’ll be ok. So sorry to hear about the fires! Keep posting, keep on it and keep safe ❤️

@SunshineCake nice to read the cat & dog have buddied up. The dog must have missed the cat!

@toppocket lovely post! The gains are frustrating but the fluctuations are normal. As long as the general projectory is downwards you’ll get there.

Blipummin iPad is mega playing up. Won’t type, doing wrong words and it’s really twisting my mellons man!

Menu

Meal 1 - Stir fry with cabbage, carrot, courgette, onion, leek, red & green pepper.

Meal 2 - Home made chicken curry & quinoa. Pear & plums.

Have fun! (144 days to go 😬)

@fallfallfall. Hello! I was thinking of you yesterday but couldn't put a shout out as was at the in-laws. Nice to see you but sorry you are having difficulties. We've all got you. We'll help. What do you need? You can do this.

Cat and dog were separated as dh had shut the door so no access to his litter tray . Then to add to my annoyance with dh he punched me in the face twice, tried for a third but I moved. He has no recollection of this, says he didn't mean to, was asleep and can't remember if he dreamed. I know he would never do it for real but it damn well felt real at the time. I'm going running as I need space!!

Morning all!

I haven’t posted since the first day as I managed to fall off the wagon on Day 1. 1! I took my daughter to a free funfair event, except it was tiny so we were done in about 15 minutes and ended up visiting a family friend. They were cooking a big roast and enthusiastically asked us to stay. And there was wine and desert..

.. which then took down day 2 as ‘oh well I’ve already failed..’

But day 3 I’ve given myself a shake and back to it!

Just place marking so I don't lose you all again.
Life is insanely busy and I cannot seem to shift this last 1lb - sometimes I go up 2/3lbs and then back down to 133lbs again.
The thing is 132lbs was just a number I plucked out of the air as 9 stone 6 sounded better that 9 stone 8 in my head but...
Anyway I got back on it yesterday so onwards and inwards again.
I'll be back to post properly later.

Crumbs just replied to @SunshineCake @132orbust and @gggrrrargh complete with links. Pooof, it’s not here.

@gggrrrargh Hey that's fine! It's a marathon, not a sprint and one day won't make a difference - just pick yourself up and do better the next day. We're only human after all so no point being too hard on yourself or you'll never get back on the wagon!

I made it to that second walk yesterday and reached my 10k step goal! I also had loads of water so I think I hit the 3 litre mark there too :)

Was snacking on celery when feeling like my mouth was lonely so that's also a win.

Lost that pound I gained overnight from the carbonara on Sunday so feeling more on track already - let's do this!

Starting is definitely the hardest part!

I was reading a book yesterday about how humans develop new skills. It’s not a diet book, but some of the messages/ lessons are relevant to that too, as for example exercising self-control and saying no to treats when you’re not hungry is a skill.

Main lessons are that:

1. it takes time and practice to build skills
2. when you’re just getting started on building whatever skill it is you are focussing on, every time you practise that skill it takes a LOT of mental energy. So much energy in fact that hours afterwards you’re likely to be much worse at that skill than usual! I think we’ve probably all been there and resisted treats during the day, only to be followed by absolutely no will power in the evening. That’s a totally normal pattern and the trick is to not give up, but keep practicing your new skill
3. there are ways to replenish your mental energy levels after you practice your new skill, which makes it less likely that you will end up doing the complete opposite later on! Those include exercise, a few minutes of relaxation or meditation after you practice your skill, visualising the positive outcome of practicing your new skill, positive self-talk and giving yourself small rewards for practicing your new skill

Just thought I’d share as I was struck by how relevant this all sounded to weightloss!

And well done on all that @Juno231! You sound really determined!

I was inspired by this thread (and my almost empty fridge) to make some soup yesterday. I’d kind of forgotten how filling and low calorie soups can be. It was definitely a better choice than the supermarket pizza DH was planning to get!

I also did an hour on the cross trainer. My aim is to work up to 2 one hour sessions a week by the end of the month. I’m taking a break from cardio today, before trying the 2nd session tomorrow

@Crazzzycat I LOVE soups. Now that it's feeling cooler they are more inviting then salads. Links to good soup recipes much appreciated!

The sun is shining where I am but it's definitely chilly. I'm having a frustrating day of needing to pick up or drop off children at regular intervals. Intervals not long enough to do anything useful but long enough that I'm twiddling my thumbs! Annoying!

I prefer to be busy to prevent snacking but I'm sat in the kitchen dealing with life admin and starring at the fridge!

@toppocket, I make this soup a lot. It’s a bit bland if you follow the recipe to the letter, but it’s easy to make it much more interesting by upping, or changing the spices. There’s lots of suggestions in the comments.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/spiced-carrot-lentil-soup/amp

For the version I made yesterday, I increased the lentils and swapped about half the carrots with cauliflower. Instead of the recommended spices I added garlic, a tablespoon of harissa and a teaspoon of ground cumin. It was lovely!

(By the way, I never bother to grate the carrots. I just cook the whole thing a bit longer 🤷‍♀️)

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone

@Graphista - I also suffer with the weather. Was contemplating one of those SAD lights - has anyone tried one?

I have an actual lunch break programmed in for today and the sun is shining so I'm taking myself off for a fast walk with my new Bala Bangles on.

@Crazzzycat I've just read your post and agree those lessons are really interesting and worth remembering. Tempting to print that off to remind myself that practicing a new skill does require a concerted efforts. Thank you for sharing.

I can't see your post to me @TheRealHousewife

I had a pretty good run this morning then a lovely long walk with the dog. She still sulked about coming home though. Have taken paracetamol as in a fair bit of pain and I'm about to have left overs for lunch then sit and watch the olympics with the dog. Dh has gone canoeing.. I weighed to start the month and was shocked to see I'm another pound down on my weight a couple of days ago.

Well done for getting back on it @gggrrrargh. It is all worth it.

Hi @132orbust. I put a shout out for you. Lovely to see you again. Btw dd is home.

Lots of positives there @Juno231. Well done.

Back later to see everyone else's posts. Need to eat!

To add to @Crazzzycat's excellent post, a habit takes three days to start, or stop, so challenge yourself to just do three days of doing X or not doing X and see how you go.

@Crazzzycat that's such a good, relevant post. And totally explains why it seems so hard, mentally, even though it's "just" eating well.

Soup wise, these are my go-tos

Roasted red veg
Roast red onions, red peppers, lots of cherry toms, garlic, carrots in the oven with some olive oil. Then blitz with veg stock.

Pea soup
Fry off some smoked streaky bacon until quite crispy. Add celery, carrots, onion, then soften. Add ham stock, and then lots of frozen peas. Blitz and serve.

Chicken and rice
Finely crop celery and onions and gently cook off. Add lots of shredded roast chicken meat. Add lots of grated carrot, and lots of chicken stock (ideally from the roast chicken bones). Add in some basmati rice and cook in the stock..lots of salt and pepper.

If I think of more I'll add.

Walked 15k steps today. Have had two coffees, a bite of my daughter's chicken sub and a banana. Holding off for a bigger portion of tea - making a kind of bastardised pilaf with chicken. Lots of pomegranate seeds and chopped coriander to make it feel fancy.

Ended up having a very easy-to-make salmon tagliatelle dish last night - basically tagliatelle mixed with tenderstem broccoli, peas, salmon flakes and se low fat Philly, and a squeeze of lemon. Clean plates all round.

Feeling really positive still. Trying not to weigh until the 8th so I've had a full week...

@FuckingHateRats your dinner sounds like my cup of tea - anything rice and chicken is to die for. and well done on the steps! I'll struggle to hit my 10k today as I've only done 5k steps so far and then have a social event in an hour...

Weird one I know - but my favourite soup is Polish Gherkin Soup! I never make it myself but this recipe looks good: www.polishyourkitchen.com/polishrecipes/polishpicklesoup/

@FuckingHateRats Your soup ideas are right up my street! Utterly delicious! Well done on your walk!

@SunshineCake you not see it … I’d posted that my previous post disappeared 😬. Lost my inspiration now. It was lengthy to the 3 people mentioned complete with some links. I don’t know if it’s mumsnet or my iPad. Photos aren’t always posting either.

@Crazzzycat absolutely spot on advice 👍👏🌟

Trying to drum up the energy to go to kitchen ….

Won’t see it*

I'm sorry not to be able to read it @TheRealHousewife. You always write such lovely messages.

I'm shattered. Still in a lot of pain. Have to be up early to take dd for an appointment and then I'll see.

@TheRealHousewife @SunshineCake, actually on week two. for a change i didn't wait till the first of the month to "assess the damages".
week one of good portion control and two 30 minute exercise session. stabilized my weight and some loss. now onto week 2.

my plan is to increase my exercise sessions to 3x a day while maintaining a low cal low carb diet and get out of the 150's as fast as possible.
limit my bread
so 1 30 minute leslie
starting the day with a fun 30 minute latin vibe walking/dance workout and ending with a 30 minute denise austin number that confuses the hell out of me (brain exercise ;) )
currently life her is very simple

Simple can be good.

All I'm aiming for is a decent nights sleep and keeping away from dh .

Had a bit of a rubbish start to the month steps and food wise but I’ve had a brilliant theatre trip and now I’m having my bathroom replaced! No more grotty carpet 😂😂

Anyway today I managed 20k steps for the first time this month and 3 litres of water 😊 I’m getting extra steps in overnight having to go downstairs for the loo 😂😂

Really must reign in the chocolate again tho. Bad habits have been creeping in.

I’m not weighing in until I have the new bathroom in 😊