1 year. 5 lb a month..sounds so easy right?!

[NotThat]

That's it. That's what I have set for myself. I'll weigh myself in the morning to get an accurate starting point but in a years time I should be almost at target.

My plan is Eat less and move more. Winge a lot. Cry for chocolate..

A years is a long time, I’d give up. I’d have to break this down to weeks of not days. Good luck though

Yeah it's daunting but I've been trying to do it week by week for years and I find it too easy to write the rest of the week off if I had a bad day... and have gained a few stone instead!

But if I have a month between weigh days (official ones anyway) I think I will find it mentally easier to cope with and I'm willing to try anything at this point.

Starting weight 14st5lb.

Good luck! This sounds like a great plan, especially as you’ve worked out what doesn’t work for you. As long as you’re doing something that is sustainable (i.e. don’t cut too many calories or never allow yourself a treat) you’ll be fine!

I’ve been losing weight for the last 7 months, although I prefer to think of it as building better habits and a healthier lifestyle!

For me the trick is to accept that for every day or week that I feel super motivated, there will be weeks that are a little harder. All of that is perfectly normal. No one can run on full steam all the time! As long as, on average, I’m being sensible it will all work out in the end.

Oh, I like this idea. I think it might work well for me as well. Do you want a buddy? I suspect my starting weight is higher than yours, but 5lb a month still seems like a sensible thing to aim for.

5lb a week is a lot, but I need to too, currently have a very bad arthritis in my knee (for my age 42) so really need to get fit/healthy and lose weight. I don’t have much of a life just now so I think it’ll do me good to try.

I'd love a buddy @greensnail! I was hoping to go on a bike ride today but it's been raining buckets the entire day.

It's 5lb a month not a week @Etonmessisyum! I don't think there's a diet in the world to lose
5lb a week!

@NotThat sorry oops I clearly was half asleep when I read your post. 5lb a month sounds much more achievable I need to do the same due to a knee arthritis. It’s so difficult just getting the motivation then doing it and keeping it up.

So, I've done my initial weigh in 14st10lb. Not quite as bad as I'd feared. My plan for today is to only eat a sensible portion of roast dinner instead of completely stuffing my face, and then to get out for a walk in the afternoon.

What an absolute pile of poo.

Weighing in the morning and planned a bike ride. It's taken a few weeks but I will actually start!!

Sounds like we have a similar situation op. I started a couple of weeks ago at 14st 11 and am just trying to eat less and move more too. Using mfp to track. I'm currently 14st 3. My mum is over from Australia in April and want to be feeling more confident by then as haven't seen her since before the pandemic 😔 I have gone up and down for years and started over and over again but am determined this time to get there and stay there! Good luck on your journey 🙂 we can do it!!!

Ok, so first month was total rubbish! Though I did have 3 birthdays and all the treats and meals and cake to go with them, and then halloween treats floating round the house undoing it all. 1st month total loss 2.2lb

November will be much better! And I plan to post instead of hiding...

2.2lb is progress. And shows that progress can be made even with outbreaks of cake etc.

BUT there will always be things happening: Christmas season approacheth!

It helps if, as @Handsoffstrikesagain says, you set up some habits that are easy enough to embed. Just makes it easier, less pressure, less thinking of misery and more a new healthy way of eating.

I did a long slow loss, mostly at about 5lbs a month, really worth it.

I have a regular menu of breakfasts that see me through til lunch (not high calorie, incl complex carbs / fibre and protein) , a regular menu of lunches (same principle) and exert portion control at dinner. Add extra veg, go very easy on the carbs and high fat.

Then actually enjoy a slice of birthday cake and don’t see it as a ‘failure’, but don’t casually eat stuff you don’t even really like.

You’ve made a great start, picture 5 blocks of butter: that is the weight you have lost!

It's still a lose so well done, progress is progress. Keep posting and stay accountable good luck

Loss* 🤦‍♀️

It's still a loss and a good start.
Keep going.
( and NO negative self talk!)

No negative talk from here on in you are right it needs to be a mindset not a hope.

I'm under calories for today and I've actually logged everything on mfp which I haven't done for years - I normally just update the weight and be done with it. No more half a job.

Talking of jobs I start a new one tomo so a massive change of routine and timings. That can only be a good thing to help break bad habits.

Thank you for the encouragement ladies I needed that and feel ready.

@NotThat, good luck with the new job. It's good to have a change, a fresh start so to speak.
Just keep trying and some months you'll probably surprise yourself and lose more than the 5lb.
You can do it !

How's it going op?

Sounds good. I'm working on a similar principle. If a 1lb a week is lost that would 4 stone over a year and doesn't really require detailed tracking of everything, just limit the alcohol and random biscuits. I find mfp etc is OK but takes up too much headspace and faff if what I'm eating isn't easily quantifiable.

Morning! So the new job is working nights and I spent most of last week not knowing my arse from my elbow but still managed to lose 1lb even though I was eating at all sorts of hours.

And that was with unhealthy meals at the weekend so this week I will aim to behave at the weekend now I know what to expect.

@NotThat, morning! Well done. A pound is certainly moving in the right direction but more importantly, you're reflecting on what's affected you and how you can sort it to lose more. And you sound motivated so that's important 👏 @HugeAckmansWife, I agree. A pound a week is good. Too many people want massive losses straight away ( because we all remember that first week we went to a dieting club and lost 8lb !! That's how we got reeled in), but that's neither realistic nor healthy. A pound a week is. I'm the same with mfp - too much messing about for me. I know what to do - I think we all do.
I had an interesting weekend- definitely drank too much and ate the wrong things. The good thing was I met so many people who said how well I look ( I've lost a pound a week for the past 9 weeks), so I'm getting back on it because that's when I feel happier and less anxious. It's not a vanity thing for me ( though it is a little bit).
So today, eating properly, water in me, exercising where I can ( walk instead of bus) and positive thinking ( alcohol really is a depressant ).
Have a great day everyone!