LOSE IT! October 2021

[TheRealHousewife]

Hello & Welcome

September has flown by and now October is upon us! There's a definite autumnal chill in the air and this change in seasons is a natural transition that we echo in our day-to-day lives'. I for one look forward to cosy nights by the fire and prepping for the coming festive season. .

With 86 days until Christmas there's plenty of time to svelte up for the Christmas holidays. A part of my Christmas prep includes dropping a few extra lbs ‘to make room’ for a little foody extravagance… and a Baileys or two 😬

Carrying on from September 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 😊

I will add links on my next post.

@Graphista my ears go bright red and swell up in cold/sun/wind etc which is really unpleasant. Obviously having no hair to hide them doesn’t help 😂😂 so I wear buffs or hats or bobble hats depending on what I’m doing. Caps are a bit hit and miss as they have to sit over my ears. Boychild has similar issues bless him.

Thanks @Graphista, some good ideas there. I adore lentil dahl, and actually have a cupboard full of lentils, so I'll make up a batch.

Ah, Henderson's Relish - I miss that stuff! Can't get it here. In fact supermarkets here are pretty limited, but they do have a few Quorn bits. I have a food flask which I use through the winter, and the weather is getting cold now. I think I have some carrot & lentil soup in the freezer, so I'll microwave that before I go to work tomorrow.

@Graphista, believe it or not, there’s a 3 stone difference between my before and after “photos”. I’m tall though, which helps to hide the extra weight!

@Sonmi451, I don’t have anything to add to Graphista’s excellent list of lunch suggestions. I eat the same lunch pretty much every single day (bean chilli in a wrap). Think I need to have a look at Graphista’s list of suggestions too! 😂

@SunshineCake1 defo eat if your hungry! My mum is a HUGE advocate of "listening to your body" in all aspects. When I was a kid I was dismissive of her belief on this, as I've grown older I've learned she is absolutely right! But she doesn't mean give in to cravings for a pint of Haagen Dazs or scream in an inappropriate moment what she describes as "listening to your body" would nowadays be described as a sort of mindfulness practice - be calm, listen to what your body is encouraging you to do (have some soup, get some sleep, have a stretch, take some deep breaths...even stop taking a medication if it's causing bad side effects etc) and pay heed to what it's telling you.

I do it now myself and for the most part while I hate to admit it  she's right.

It is hard as I think oh, I feel okay I'll do X then I'm not okay and it takes hours to feel better again.

Yep! This is typical gf effect. I had so many times when I thought "I'm fine I can do x" and then buggered myself! I was fairly young and fit when I got it and had only been seriously ill once before in my life at that point (yes I was very lucky! I'd never broken a bone and even didn't have most of the childhood stuff most of my generation did - measles mumps etc I only had one of those VERY mildly) one particular occasion was then husband and I decided to have a bike ride and picnic one day. It was only a 40 min bike ride had done it many times before without blinking! Well we rode to the picnic spot, had the lovely picnic I even had a little nap...then I couldn't even bloody HOLD the bike up for the way back! My shoulders were screwed! Sore and had badly swollen up. Husband had to carry the picnic rucksack AND push both bikes home and when I got home we iced my shoulders and I saw dr the next day - who told me what a bloody idiot I'd been  (military drs aren't as polite as civvy ones! - "well that was stupid! You're still supposed to be taking it easy even if you have started recently working again! You plum!")

I did feel an idiot AND I had very sore shoulders for about 10 days!

@swampytiggaa my ears go white! And sort of slightly blue! I've yet to find anything that helps much, as I say woolly hats aren't enough. If I do hat, scarf AND earmuffs I'm not too bad! That's my usual get up if I go to a bonfire night else my ears are aching for days

@Sonmi451 I struggle to get Henderson's where I am too so what I do is pop some on Amazon orders whenever I'm doing one (I have prime, but struggle with deliveries with the ocd/disability so I do my Amazon orders so that I add to the basket and every 6-8 weeks put the order through)

@Crazzzycat as you're tall you'll be able to carry it better! I'm 5'2" and shrinking! (Genuine my spine is crumbling I used to be 5' 3.5") so every lb shows!

I can be guilty of falling into food ruts too I think we all can at times? And have to push myself to not have the same few meals on rotation! With me it's also because of the limitations on cooking due to not being able to stand for long etc

Earlier on I was being stupidly stubborn and wouldn't get disability cooking aids or ready prepped veggies etc - defo a psychological/emotional thing - then when I "gave in" and did start to get them and they made things soooo much easier I was like "you're an idiot graph why weren't you doing this sooner?"

My emojis are missing which make my post tone a bit odd! There were grins around being dismissive of my mum and then realising that of course she was right!

Hi everyone.

Weigh in this morning was 14.5 again so at least I'm maintaining that.
Just enquired about an 8 week boot camp, seems to have good reviews and guarantees results so will talk to them later and see if it's suitable for me.

Happy Tuesday x

My weight has shot up but pretty sure it’s from Sunday. I’m drinking more water and hopefully it will come down as quickly as it went up 😊

Your body may well be in shock Swampy - calories burned, and then re-consumed - then soon to be reabsorbed. But def doesn't sound worth worrying about.

Staying the same is still an achievement you! I have no idea what my weigh in will be tomorrow. I'm averaging about 1400 cals a day, or thereabouts. No major loss anticipated. But even minor drop will be v welcome.

My body is very tired at the moment Graphista - awake for hours last night listening to rain. It's currently telling me to eat chocolate but I have told it off, and making a cuppa instead ; )

Afternoon All

Last nights post didn’t post. Frustrating as can’t remember what I wrote 😬

Menu
Meal 1 - Spicy Chicken Soup. Gluten free cracker & small piece of cheese.
Meal 2 - Cod & Veg tray baked. Couple small potatoes skin on.

Had pain meds for migraine past couple of days so my prediction in anticipation of tomorrow’s wow is a gain. Meds always make me water logged.

@buzzofthebumblebee see my response to that would be to have a SMALL piece of chocolate or an options hot choc or a 69 cal choc pot and then have a nap.

Listening to your body doesn't have to mean responding excessively just being aware of its needs.

My weight is creeping up but then that's unsurprising after the massive illness weight loss and basically not eating and I'm now eating again and not ill. Still v weak/tired though.

I'm sticking to 1500 cals a day, fairly arbitrary amount loosely based on nhs bmi calculator guidance. When I tried before to have the min cals they suggest I was getting really hungry late at night and exceeding even the max cals at times so that clearly doesn't work for me.

So this is around 100 cals more than lowest amount and is a level I've used before and it's worked for me.

I'm just not sure at what point I think "ok that's the COVID weight loss going back on" and when I should be like "whoa! You need to sort this"

I'm thinking I was 13 stone 0.25lbs at last weigh in before I was ill so if I hit the 13 stone mark again then I need to sort things - though hopefully avoid that altogether!

12 stone 10.25lbs today

Thoughts?

My thinking is if I'd not been ill and had carried on as I was based on weight loss rate before I'd now be around 12 stone 12

Can I join in please? I've a lot to lose, approximately 5st to be in a healthy weight range.
I struggle with evening snacking and reaching for the biscuit tin during the day too much.

Currently trying YouTube workouts a couple of times a week and school run twice a day on a Wednesday & Friday which is about an hour in total. I work the other weekdays.

Food wise I'm aiming for changing one thing at a time otherwise I get overwhelmed and give up. This week I'm focusing on high protein breakfasts and not eating after the kids are in bed.

Also trying to go to sleep around 9.30-10pm each night as I definitely overeat more when I'm tired.

@buzzofthebumblebee yes staying the same is a great achievement, so many diets I've done over the years only to fail so to lose 33lbs (and still counting) and keep it off is a massive win for me!

Ladies, put my mind at rest please..... I think I've done something silly.

I spoke to the personal trainer for bootcamp and paid £100 deposit without ever meeting him or seeing a class.....
I did research them and only found good reviews in various places but I'm now worried I've been had!

@Youdoyoutoday have you arranged a pt session yet? Fingers crossed he’s legit!

It will be 3 mornings a week at 6.30am in a small group!! Why didn't I do this at the beginning of summer?
I hope its all good, will find out on Thursday as that's my next phone call to discuss and book it all in. I'm sure it's fine but you know when you panic a bit and think I've just done something really stupid!

It’ll be fab! My local gym does boot camp I’ve been once and it was fantastic but I’m usually at work at that time which is a shame and the evening ones clash with running.

I’ll be honest tho I could barely walk after it 😂😂

That boot camp sounds exciting @Youdoyoutoday! I’ve never done one, but I’m sure it will be worth it. (Disclaimer: I very much have a no pain no gain attitude towards exercise, so a boot camp sounds right up my street 😂) When does it start?

Welcome to the thread @Jduh! I’m a big fan of the change one thing at a time mindset. It’s much more effective, in my experience, than trying to do too much in one go.

@Graphista, I’d think that your weight will soon start to stabilise, especially if you’re sticking to 1500 calories a day. I wouldn’t do anything too drastic while you’re recovering from COVID anyway. Like you say, your body needs energy to recover.

I think it's a great thing your bootcamp you. If you were meant to have done it beginning of summer you would have come across it then, and joined then. But now is your time. Small group great too - like minded support, and usually fun once barriers broken down. Go for it !!!

@Jduh welcome. I had about the same as you to lose I've lost approx 1 stone since June you CAN do it.

My advice based on what you posted would be:

Evening snacking - if this is how you are then instead of trying not to which ime sets oneself up to fail, instead plan lower cal/healthier options/smaller portions. I'm also an evening snacker, as I say I've tried not to it doesn't work. Instead I get in things like lower cal crackers and cottage cheese, carrot and celery sticks, low fat hummus, low cal cereal bars, fruit etc and snack on those rather than crisps (by which I include things like Doritos etc), crisp breads, higher fat cheeses, olives, sun dried tomatoes, sweet pickle, chocolate, biscuits, cake etc

Biscuit tin - you could stock it with lower cal options but I find these still tend to be too calorific. Instead of biscuits I'll have low cal cereal bars, a slice of toast with a scrape of jam or honey, fruit, occasionally a soreen lunch box loaf

Not qualified to comment on the exercise

I did similar in starting off making small changes at first but make sure you keep making changes. It's prob on June thread somewhere but iirc I started by stopping eating crisps, biscuits and sweets (I'm not a huge chocolate person now it's all so crap but I'm a sucker for "kids" sweets like chews and strawberry laces etc) eating more fruit and veg and cutting my carb portions down - to be clear I'm not a low/no carb person but I was having 2-3 portions a go and not realising/admitting it! So now I have a 1 person portion!

Then as I went on I added in more changes, and then I think week 3-4 I started properly calorie counting and weighing so I knew exactly what I was having.

I used the nhs bmi calculator to find out how many cals roughly I should be having and I've experimented and changed along the way. Eg as you lose weight you need less cals so weekly I would check and see what my new "numbers" were and adjust accordingly. Although just before I got ill I was doing min cals and as I said before that simply didn't work for me as I'd be "good" all day then hitting the junk late at night and undoing all that good work! I don't think being too strict is sustainable.

A number of us on thread are in the tortoise 🐢 club - slow and steady wins the race!

There's a wealth of research that shows that losing weight slowly (usually no more than 3lb a week) means you're more likely to stick to the way you're doing it (different methods work for different people for many complex reasons) and you're more likely to KEEP the weight off.

As I say you and I are similar. I was 13 stone 12.5lb at start of June and at my height (5'2") I need to be 9 stone 10lb to be a healthy weight. I should based on progress so far hit that point end of July next year which would be great for me as I'm 50 around then, if I manage it a few weeks earlier I'll be a healthy weight for my 50th which I must admit I'd LOVE to achieve. But I'm not gonna beat myself up if I don't.

With so much to lose I've found it helpful to have "mini goals"

1st lose 5%
2nd lose half stone
3rd Be under 13 stone

And so on and so forth

I think if someone has a lot to lose that's a lot less overwhelming than constantly "bugger I've 5 stone to lose!"

@Youdoyoutoday how did you pay? As I say I'm not qualified to comment on exercise and frankly a boot camp is my idea of hell! But appreciate it suits others. But IF he's dodgy if you've paid by credit card or visa debit you may be able to get your money back. I think true of PayPal and klarna too? But I don't use those so not totally sure

In all likelihood it'll be fine

That said usually these things encourage potential customers to do a class as a trial first and only pay for one class before committing to a "season"

I'm more a yoga/aquarobics person these days due to the health issues and local classes are very open to potential customers doing a one class trial first

@Crazzzycat you're absolutely right! Need to take my own advice!

@Graphista thank you that's all good advice. So far going to bed a bit earlier has helped with the evening snacking and actually doing my crochet instead of it sat on my lap whilst eating
My downfall is definitely chocolate and takeaways. I can easily put away a whole big bar of chocolate a night and been known to have 2-3 takeaways a week after the kids are in bed, which has a massive impact on finances as well.

I will definitely keep adding a bit on each week. I'll use this thread to keep myself accountable.

Definitely slow and steady here. I lost 3st in 2013/2014 in 8 months (I'm bigger now than my start weight then) and then fell pregnant with first and never lost weight, just added to it with my second pregnancy.

I'm currently 17st 11lb so my first goal is to get to 17st.

Good luck @Youdoyoutoday. I'm sure it would be great. I might do one!

Welcome @Jduh. You have come to the right place. You'll get all sorts of help and support here.

I got up and laughed as I told dh I was going running today - he said You Are Not - and my legs are still wobbly. I then remembered I have to wait until at least the 19th anyway and DH is insistent I start on the bike anyway. Didn't sleep well or for long. Dh and I had a little falling out then we got a message from dd around 10.30 - saying an ambulance was going for her . At 3.45am she messaged to say it hadn't come. I've message her but I expect she is still asleep.

I'm a bit nervous about doing this bootcamp because I know its going to be really hard! Getting up at 5.50 to get there on time and then actually doing it, I've never done anything like this before. Also, I'm a tiny bit worried about having to wee as it's held on a local common with no toilets and that worries me

However, I'm kinda excited too as looking at the before and after photos, this does work! I'll be signing up to the 6 month bootcamp, 3 times a week which I think works well timing wise for the wedding.
The guy on the phone seemed nice (hopefully I've not been conned) and I was honest about why I wanted to do this, ultimately its to be able to run around with the kids and not always be cropping myself out of photos! The why now is the wedding but I've always wanted to lose weight, the wedding has just given me the kick up the bum I needed.

Well fingers crossed!! Thanks for the support peeps, it means a lot!!

This mornings weight is 14.4 so 1lb off!
Total loss - 34lbs

Pretty much the weight of my 2yo DD!! Carry her around is exhausting! I can't believe that weight was on me, no wonder I hurt, felt exhausted and lethargic!! 😲

Have a great day everyone and thanks again for the support!! Wish I'd joined this group sooner!

Ambulance with dd now.

@SunshineCake1 what's happened?