Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Weight loss chat

A space to talk openly about weight loss journeys and challenges. Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. You may wish to speak to a medical professional before starting any diet.

LOSE IT! September 2021

465 replies

TheRealHousewife · 31/08/2021 07:18

Hello & Welcome

September has come around so quickly; children getting ready to return to school and Christmas around the corner (116 days). A time when summer is starting to fade and an autumn chill is in the air. Changing seasons is a natural transition that we echo in our day to day live’s. I for one look forward to cosy nights by the fire and mentally prepping for the coming festive season.

A part of my Christmas prep also includes dropping a few extra lbs ‘to make room’ for a little foody extravagance… and a Baileys or two 😬

Carrying on from August’s Thread 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

NHS Free 12 Week Weight Loss Plan

On-Line Plan

Water Intake & Weight Loss

Tips

The Psychology of Maintaining Weight Loss

LOSE IT! September 2021
OP posts:
Thread gallery
23
SunshineCake · 16/09/2021 17:06

Sorry @Graphista. I missed you have covid. Hope it isn't too awful for you Flowers.

Graphista · 16/09/2021 17:27

Welcome @Tuirseach

Remember it went on slowly (even if it didn't feel like it did) so it'll come off slowly too.

It's supposed to be better if it comes off slowly as that means it stays off and that's the ultimate goal.

How are you planning to lose?

We all have different methods that work for us but we're also happy to advise what's worked for us, and what hasn't!

Also helpful and unhelpful motivators, exercise for some etc

I normally calorie count I've been using the nhs bmi calculator to check how many cals I need to err towards, I don't use the calorie counting apps as I think they're often inaccurate based on some checks I did. I use the info on packaging (which is regulated) and now the nhs calorie checker

www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/calorie-checker/

But I started by easing myself into it by simply swapping full fat/full sugar products to lower cal ones, cutting portion sizes generally and increasing fruit and veg intake.

Even "just" doing that made quite a difference, which surprised me at the time but now I look back (only 3 months ago) and I can see how much I was eating and what I now think "no wonder I was that fat!"

My main "top tip" would be DON'T just cut out/down how much you're eating especially at first as you'll get hungry and you'll end up caving. REPLACE what you're leaving out with lower calorie, higher nutrient items. The easiest way to do this is with non carb veggies. That way you feel full, feel satisfied, but you haven't had as many calories.

Because whatever method/plan works for you they all basically come down to more calories out than in!

I'm personally not a fan of cutting out food groups unless medically indicated as I believe in a varied diet.

There are no bad foods as almost all food has nutrition, plus having a mix of food groups ensures a wide variety of nutrients and some nutrients need others from other foods to aid absorption and/or metabolism. Eg to aid absorption of of iron from iron rich foods it's best to have them with vitamin c rich foods, olive oil with tomatoes to absorb lycopene better, vitamin d and calcium (particularly important to me at the moment with the COVID, I'm having an extra actimel daily alongside an extra dose of my high dose vit d supplement - check with dr before you do this as it's contraindicated for some people/meds my vit d is low anyway as I'm housebound), and fat soluble vitamins (a,d,e and k) of course need fat eaten alongside them, vegans can be prone to low vitamin A if not careful.

I'm vegetarian myself have been over 30 years and my mum made me research it properly and make sure I was getting good nutrition and that I understood the potential risks nutritionally speaking.

As it turned out my dodgy stomach I'd had all my life until then was much improved when I went veggie. A few events/experiences have led me to believe that I think I can tolerate red meat. It's not why I went veggie it was just a surprising result. I seemed fine if I accidentally had fish or chicken (labelling then wasn't what it is now) but if I had red meat I got very bad upset stomach. When the link between red meat and bowel issues came out my dad (who'd also always had a bad stomach similar to mine) decided to cut out red meat and he was very surprised how quickly he felt much better on that score.

But of course everyone's different so what works for one person won't for another.

Eg low carb is popular at the moment and if that works all well and good, whereas if my dd went low carb she'd quickly get underweight and probably be quite poorly as she has a disability that affects this. She's the opposite to us here cos she struggles to maintain a MINIMUM healthy weight. I actually think it's harder to gain weight than lose it. A cousin has a similar condition and he struggles to stay up at a healthy MINIMUM weight too.

Anyway, I've waffled on sorry.

Generally speaking - good luck and persevere! You'll get there

Graphista · 16/09/2021 18:00

@SunshineCake if I've helped AT ALL I'm glad - makes ME feel less of a failure!

Not that you are!

I remember when I had gf, one day literally all I did was fetch and open the post and I was wiped for the rest of the day!

Regarding worrying about dh, could you possibly (as a family) fetch in help? Either voluntary or perhaps paid (don't know your income and I don't need to just giving you ideas) often we are reluctant to ask for help when we should.

I have alerted my therapist, gp, mum, boots the chemist...

I've got the nhs support volunteers number ready if I feel I need to use it

Mum has said she can ask her neighbour to drop things in to me if needed he offered this to her when she told him yesterday bless him cos he knows I'm housebound and mum can't get up my millions of stairs cos of her own health. Boots have said they'll rush through any prescriptions/meds for delivery if needed (I'm debating that one as I'm not very sure how much of my inhaler I have left), mum is also checking in with me daily.

Dd also checking in and advising on all the admin side as I hadn't a clue! I still don't have a clue I just do what she tells me! Grin I had to ask her how to fold the bloody box for the pcr test cos I'm crap at things like that it was like sodding IKEA flat pack!

Your gp surgery will also know of local resources and volunteers that may be able to help just till you get back on your feet.

Pretty sure there'd be people doing dog walking in that.

My aunt does voluntary dog walking now she's retired herself for people that are temporarily laid up/infirm she loves it! It's a local charity she does it through but from a quick google it does seem to be a "thing" so might be worth googling in your area or speaking to local pet/dog charities?

Would I be right in thinking home start may be able to help? I'm kinda out of the loop on that stuff now.

Regarding the friend you've been wanting to see for a while now is there any way they can visit you? Even just for a couple of days? If they're as good a friend as you say they won't mind/care about how things are your end. I've been that friend and I've had that friend visit.

There's an ethos we seem to connect with:

"Good friends don't care if your house is a mess, you've no make up on and your hairs scraped back, BEST friends get stuck into the dishes, put a laundry on, make you a cuppa and get you to laugh at the hair!"

My most memorable instance of that was when my then closest friend came to visit when I'd just got home from hospital after last mc. I was in a granny nightie (couldn't have any waistbands as I'd had several abdominal surgeries and so was still healing), granny pants and maxi pad which kept leaking, so I had a towel folded on my seat on the sofa, had been sobbing crying most of the time big snotty tears, so was puffy tear stained face, dishes were piled up, laundry piling up, flowers EVERYWHERE in the most bizarre containers mostly dying as I'd run out of vases!

She just breezed in, put the kettle on, she'd brought my favourite biscuits (which are hard to find! And not cheap!) stuck the dishes soaking while kettle boiled, made me a cuppa, MADE me sit down cos I started feeling guilty and trying to "help", washed the dishes, wiped the kitchen down, stuck a laundry on. Then she sat and had a cuppa with me and just...listened. No judging, no thoughtless comments, no awkward "jokes", made kind comments and positive ones where appropriate that was all. She hung the laundry before she left, put another load in and then she actually tucked me up in bed! Which kinda made me laugh as she is several years younger than me and it felt quite maternal. She was amazing at that time. Will never forget that.

I've done similar for others too, I hope it was received the same way it seemed to be.

We all need help sometimes Thanks

Graphista · 16/09/2021 18:08

The COVID sucks! Aint gonna lie!

Headaches gone at least. Still got sore throat, fever, chills, bunged up sinuses and now the dreaded cough! Urgh!

But so far (touch wood) still breathing relatively ok, fever hasn't gone above 38°c and generally comes down quite quickly if I take appropriate action (paracetamol, cold compress, do a striptease! Grin) only a couple of dizzy spells but I get them anyway so hard to know if that's COVID or not bit worse than usual

I'm just basically hunkering down, drinking lots of water and tea with honey and watching tv that doesn't require much thought!

TheRealHousewife · 16/09/2021 19:20

Evening All

I second everyone else that in not resting properly now you’ll drag your recovery out @SunshineCake. I get how frustrating it is for you and I’m sure I speak for everyone in that we care for you and want only what’s best for you ❤️

A warm welcome @Tuirseach. The ladies on here are supportive and inspirational. Do you have a plan outlined yet?

Pleased to read you’re improving, albeit slowly @Graphista! Keep doing what you’re doing as it seems to be working!

Attached photo of meal 2 of chicken curry and spicy riced cauliflower.

LOSE IT! September 2021
OP posts:
SunshineCake · 16/09/2021 19:23

He says he's fine but I can tell he's finding it all hard. I definitely do the lions share of the cooking, cleaning and washing while he does the DIY, taxiing the kids, mowing lawn, ironing. At the moment he is doing everything. My friend can't visit as she's 84 and what I need to talk to her about I can't do it on the phone. I'm just feeling so miserable as I'm normally so busy and active and running was keeping my mental health manageable. I have two friends who I have been texting about my main emotional problem but tbh I think they have had enough. One hasn't answered my last message Sad.

SunshineCake · 16/09/2021 19:24

Thank you @TheRealHousewife. I'm annoying myself so must be annoying everyone else Sad.

TheRealHousewife · 16/09/2021 21:03

You’re not annoying @SunshineCake, never annoying. Be kind to yourself. Treat yourself like you would a friend, you totally deserve that ❤️

OP posts:
SunshineCake · 17/09/2021 08:21

Thank you @TheRealHousewife and for your WhatsApp.

DS1 is coming home for the weekend today. DD is leaving for uni tomorrow. DS2 went to school without me seeing him. I am going to try and get up. I said to dh how I went for a run to either kill or cure me and he said it killed me. The next day was when I got admitted to hospital. I said should I force myself to be normal and walk the dog. He said I should force myself to go downstairs and sit on the sofa. So I am going to get up and get showered and dressed and go downstairs even though the thought of it scares me.

132orbust · 17/09/2021 09:09

Hello my old chums!
I am back after a break that involved a too lovely holiday and DD1 working 60 hours a week, but hopefully finishing Sunday before she is back to Uni next week. DD2 is back in school for her final year.
I am skim read the thread and probably missed a lot but oh my poor @SunshineCake what a time you have had - I'm so sorry.
It is a lengthy recovery so be kind to yourself and take it one day at a time.
I weighed in on Monday for the first time in 4 weeks and was a shocking weight but am back to 137lbs now ( still not good but 3lbs down on Sunday after 4 days of focus)
Onwards and inwards!

swampytiggaa · 17/09/2021 10:14

@SunshineCake please please listen to your husband. He sounds sensible 💕 no point rushing to be normal when that will only take longer for you to recover 💕 be a 🐢 about your recovery 💕 you know you will get there in the end

@Graphista hope you are feeling a bit better now too 💕

Youdoyoutoday · 17/09/2021 10:14

Morning ladies,
Still at 14.10 and currently laying on the floor after stretching from my 2nd c25k! Had to do it indoor again as DD had me up til 4am crying so as she's napping, I thought I'd crack on with the 'run' but didn't want to leave the house incase she cried again as DP is on work calls all morning.

One day i will actually run outside Grin

@Graphista sorry to hear you have covid, rest up!

@SunshineCake Flowers

Graphista · 17/09/2021 11:15

Feeling lousy. New nonsense although it will indirectly help with weight loss - everything tastes salty! Envyyuck!!

Even my fruit flavoured water wtf!

Thought I was going round the twist so I googled not expecting to find an answer and right enough a minority of sufferers are experiencing this phenomenon - I think I'd rather not taste at all!

SunshineCake · 17/09/2021 16:08

Thank you everyone. I am imagining all your kind words are a hug as I really need a big hug.

I did go downstairs for a bit but found it hard. Everywhere needs vacuuming and I know I don't have the energy for it. Dh is doing some rewiring so hoovering is not on his list. Had a little chat with dd then a long chat with my neighbour. Just want to heat from one friend and then I'll feel better. I'm really struggling with how exhausted I am and how dizzy I get at times. I'm back on my bed now.

TheRealHousewife · 17/09/2021 16:38

Good Afternoon Lovely Ladies

Welcome back @132orbust 3lbs down after 4 days of focus is a great result! You'll soon see the rest off I'm sure.

@SunshineCake how lovely your son is coming home. That'll be good for the soul :) < All these words are another big enveloping hug!

@Graphista how awful for you! I hope all your symptoms disappear soon!

Enjoy what's left of your Fridays. Tomorrow I might not get the chance to post as out for the day seeing some friends which I am looking forward too.

OP posts:
fallfallfall · 17/09/2021 16:46

I know it’s hard, just rest @SunshineCake. Just like a rain or winter storm it will pass and you will feel better. Just not very soon.

SunshineCake · 18/09/2021 08:16

DD is leaving for uni in 15 minutes [all the feelings].

SunshineCake · 18/09/2021 08:29

She's gone

swampytiggaa · 18/09/2021 10:23

Huge love to you @SunshineCake 💞💞

132orbust · 18/09/2021 11:03

Oh @SunshineCake I am sad for you missing it. Glad you had the chat before she left. I have stolen @swampytiggaa hugs as I don't know how to make them happen so hope they come out properly. 💞💞
@Graphista hope you are feeling better today.

SunshineCake · 18/09/2021 11:09

Thank you @swampytiggaa and @132orbust. They will nearly be there now. I've stripped her bed and had a shower but I'm shattered. Sitting with the dog who I really want to walk but I don't think I can. Not if just doing ^ exhausts me Sad.

Things are falling apart with dh and I and I don't know what to do Sad. Things should be great. He's retired, the kids are all doing well, we have enough money to eat, pay the bills, etc the house is being worked on and looks better but...💔

swampytiggaa · 18/09/2021 11:35

Don’t worry about anything until you are better @SunshineCake 💞 I reckon this illness has been creeping up on you for a while and it’s going to take time to bugger off. Once you are better then you can see how things are with your husband 💞

Youdoyoutoday · 18/09/2021 12:53

@SunshineCake it sounds like you feel worse about everything else because you yourself are feeling like crap. If you're that worried, chat your DH.

Scales reading 14.8 this morning, so that's another 2lbs off. 5lbs in the past 2 weeks so maybe there is something to this no drinking/exercising malarkey! Who knew? Grin

SunshineCake · 18/09/2021 13:15

Thank you @swampytiggaa. You are so lovely. All of you.

Dh has sent photos of dds room and view and it all looks really nice. She says she's happy.

SunshineCake · 18/09/2021 13:16

I can't talk to dh as that would be the end of us

Swipe left for the next trending thread