LOSE IT! November 2021

[TheRealHousewife]

Hello & Welcome

October has flown by and now November is upon us! The outside temperature is actually warmer than this time last month, so feels quite unseasonal. Still have bumble bees and lady birds in the garden 😮. I for one do look forward to cosy nights by the fire and prepping for the coming festive season.

With just 59 days until Christmas there's still 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 October’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. The important thing is not to think of it as a diet (based on deprivation and unsustainable) but more a way of life (sustainable & enjoyable).

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

Blood Sugar Diet based on Mediterranean Recipes

Intermittent Fasting

MFP App also available.

25 Tips to lose weight & improve health

The Science behind sleep & weight gain

Holistic approaches to Eat Sleep Move Be

The Importance of Fibre

The Importance of Water for Weight Loss

Thank you @TheRealHousewife. I'm struggling tbh.

I'm feeling run down this weekend, I guess I've caught something off the kids! I'm just taking it easy. It's always inspiring to read of others good work, thanks for sharing.

Good Morning All

This came up on my insta yesterday and I thought of our tribe ❤️

@DownUdderer take care and take time out. Let those around you spoil you. Get well soon.

Menu
Meal 1 - Roasted cabbage & cheese sauce, chicken fillet, peas.

Meal 2 - Fruit, nuts, gluten free crackers, cheese.

Didn’t eat enough yesterday as I woke in the night. Didn’t feel hungry par se but I feel a certain way (cant explain but perhaps blood sugar related) when I woke and knew it was food related. Then pain stopped me falling back asleep for a couple of hours. Never mind. Will eat more today.

Have a great day!

Quote is spot on @TheRealHousewife. Thank you. Hope you get yourself sorted today.

for all of us I reckon. There is so much going on behind the scenes personally isn't there? Rather than subscribe to weight loss organisations or food, I spend mine on therapy. Money well spent - especially now I'm saving money by not downing X bottles wine a week as well ; )

I'm planning a productive day of chores. No idea what lunch or dinner will be as nothing in the fridge. Prob best go out for a food shop too then.

Sending love & well wishes to everyone. We can do this.

You are so right @buzzofthebumblebee. We need to focus on the cause of mental anguish/over eating/drinking rather than the symptoms (weight gain/ill health). I admire your honest and accessing the help you know that’ll benefit you the most. 👍👏⭐️ I agree we can all do this ❤️

I agree with the quote too @TheRealHousewife. I also can tell if I've not eaten enough and sometimes the feeling happens when I've started fasting. I then have a battle, see below, as to whether I eat or not.

I know why I have the many food issues I have but it doesn't mean that sometimes they win.

I went for a run. I walked for seven minutes then ran five km! I'm as slow as I was in August 2020 so I'm miffed but trying to tell myself as least I did it.

Every day is a battle for me at the moment but being able to run will help..

Sending love and strength to everyone who's finding it a battle every day! I am too, and I often lose the battle. But I do try to start again every day and hope that persistence counts for something!

I might start running again too. Find it hard in the winter though, because I get exercise-induced asthma when I run in the cold. I might join a gym - there's a pure gym opening near me so that could be an option through the winter.

Funnily enough the eating situation isn't the biggest battle at the moment. I forgot to say I'm a pound down since last weigh in so pleased with that.

Well done, Sunshine! And I hear that, about the other battles weighing heavy on you (no pun intended!!) and wish you luck and fortitude in your fight.

That’s great to read @SunshineCake1 that the scales are going the other way!

Feel a bit pants, lack of sleep caught up with me. Don’t want to dose on sofa as it will affect my sleep at bedtime. Will have an early night though. I love early nights in winter, so cosy 😊

@SunshineCake1 I try and do nails/hair/cross stitch/puzzles of an evening too as I will snack then out of boredom otherwise - I need to keep my hands occupied. Go easy on the exercise - gf recovery is a marathon not a sprint

All I want to do is hibernate.

I'm the same I've had a really bad week as a result of not sticking to my usual routine (not just food - chores etc too) which really does me no good either weight loss wise or Mh. I've had a blitz of housework yesterday and a delivery today and feeling calmer and more positive

@DownUdderer hope dd had a lovely birthday The jeans will feel better soon hope you do too

Dieticians can be amazing I've worked with a few over the years

@amorningperson the friend clearly has her own issues with weight/food, not your problem. Steer the conversation away from food/weight loss when you can but if it gets too tricky I'm afraid I'm of the opinion that honesty is best.

@jellyrolly continuing to hope your dh is ok job wise

@Youdoyoutoday I think weighing/measuring is the only way to be certain you're not consuming too many cals. Again I caution against using mfp, as I've said before I found it to be inconsistent and often inaccurate and upon further investigation learned that anyone can update the info without verification

Very well done on the bootcamp though

@buzzofthebumblebee well done on getting into 11's I'm hoping to be under 12.5 in next few days next week latest

@TheRealHousewife good insta post. I was commenting on another thread the other day which was FULL of fat shamers. I noted how there are a lot of "experts" who are slim and have never been overweight/lost a significant amount of weight themselves. They may be experts on not gaining weight but losing weight is a whole other story.

Now I'm sorted

Meal 1 - vegetarian stir fry with wholemeal rice

Meal 2 - sandwich with carrot batons (I'm going to have to kinda force myself to go back to this as it worked for me. I say forced as they don't appeal in the cooler weather but once I'm eating them it's fine)

I'm struggling to get my head around the FACT that at almost 1.5 stone lighter I don't need as many cals as I did then so I need to seriously cut down! Not have the same meals/portion sizes as I did then.

I was having roughly 1800-1900 cals a day in June - and losing weight!

I'm now aiming for around 1500 cals a day and if I even go slightly over that I tend to gain. But I've tried 1400 cals and found I got very hungry and ended up caving and eating way too much. So I've found for me better to have a slightly higher daily allowance BUT stick to it.

Happy Monday all and hope its a good positive week.

I haven't weighted today, and probably won't all week as I took a nose dive and snacked yesterday evening. Big time. Slept rubbish, & feel rubbish, but dragging myself off to the gym now, and will up the water bit time to try and flush away all the bad.

Not entirely sure why I did - have managed 10 weeks without. May be hormones, may be stuff in my head. But it's done. But one thing I'm very certain of is I'm glad it's not a daily event any more!! Maybe I just needed a reminder of what I used to do, how the snacking was neither needed nor made me feel good. Will brush off and back on it today.

Good morning all.

I'm starting to feel better from awful cold. I'm going to do Smoothie/Salad/Soup for this week, Monday to Saturday, then a bit more relaxed on Sunday. I like this as it's easy to remember and I also like those three things!

Still no news about the job, I think no news is potentially good news in this case but we will just wait.

I hope everyone is ok this morning!

I’m so annoyed with myself as I joined this thread and then dropped off and all I’ve done instead is eat! My willpower is so low. Determined to start paying more attention to how much I’m snacking. I can’t exercise too vigorously at the moment as I’ve had a small op so that’s not helping either. Like your idea of keeping my hands busy in the evening graphista (rather than in the fridge). I don’t know why I do this to myself. I get on the scales, get miserable, get a plan to lose weight and not be miserable, and then get a biscuit and bag of hula hoops and ruin it all!!

@amorningperson - sorry to hear about your friend. Is there any way you can just not discuss it with her? I do have some friends who are very vocal about things like "healthy at any size" and really attack the whole idea of dieting. I'm not sure your friend is like that, or just insecure about her own weight and not wanting to be left behind as the 'big' one? What I do is either avoid discussing weight/diet at all, or if it is somehow obvious (um, like when I don't eat dinner...or if I'm out with people I'll sometimes have just a very small serving and forgo the fast for that day) talk about how I am trying to eat heathier, and how I feel better in myself when I do (and for me, that eating the evening makes me feel ill, so I avoid it/have less). So it's not about weight but healthy eating choices - people find it hard to argue that you shouldn't eat healthily!

@TheRealHousewife - thanks. I wonder if that's it - I'm actually eating what I should so aren't hungry.

I've found that a lot of my impulses to eat are out of habit, not hunger. Other than that first day, I've managed to avoid snacking while cooking, but I definitely have the urge each time I open the fridge and see the grapes, just to grab a few. I remind myself I'm working on cooking NOW, and food will be ready in just a bit. It's not like I'm starving, it's just that I've picked up the habit.

And things like taking an extra spoonful of nutella's after making DD's sandwhich... although I did still lick the spoon - need to work on that habit too. I have a thing about food waste, and I need to remind myself that a miniscule amout of nutella going in the sink is NOT much waste and it would be better there than in my stomach. I managed to not eat the scraps of cheese DD left on her plate after meals - again, it's a food waste thing: I hate seeing it go to waste. But it is so small. Anything large enough to even make a snack I put away.

And food for me is also emotional - I want a "treat". I spent a lot of time this spring/summer wanting to start to lose weight but not because I felt bad and I really wanted the happiness food was giving me. I am going to try to make meeting goals be my happiness - seeing weight loss, or even just following my plan (as I know the weight won't always be giving me the feedback I want) - not snacking randomly, eating the right amount, following the IF.

@Graphista - I also do crafts in the evening. It does help to have something in your hands. Also: "They may be experts on not gaining weight but losing weight is a whole other story. " - so true!

@Youdoyoutoday - regarding, MFP, @Graphista is right that it can be inaccurate, but if you cross-reference your regular foods with it, it works pretty well. For example, I found it had several versions of Tesco's pepperoni - I checked them against the pack and one matched what I had, so used that. Occasionally nothing matches my pack and I make my own entry. But once I've used something it comes up in recent (or I can save it in a meal), and then I know I'm getting the accurate numbers.

@HippoHips - welcome back! I've just joined the thread and am like you. I spent lots of time "wanting" to lose weight but kept snacking, etc. Sending you good vibes. I've only been at this for just over a week, but so far please that I've managed. You can too :)

Morning all! I haven’t posted for so long, this thread fell off my watch list 😬

I’ve not been doing great these last two weeks. I’m trying to support DH who is going through a mental health crisis at the moment. Tracking calories has frankly been the last thing that is on my mind right now.

Anyway, today I woke up thinking that I really don’t want to throw away all the progress I’ve made this year, so I need to get back on it. The scales this morning were still at 78.5 kg. With the way I’ve been eating over the last few weeks/ months, I consider that to be a minor miracle!

With just over 6 weeks until the end of the year, I’ve decided to aim for a 1.5 kg loss by the end of the year (and hope for more! 😂).

The first step in my action plan is to get back on the exercise bike and try not to eat my feelings today. I’ve also been upping the vitamins and supplements (vitamin B, iron, probiotics, omega 3). Anything that might make me feel better is welcome right now!

@buzzofthebumblebee I would be tempted to blame your snacking on your bad nights sleep as a way to give yourself willpower not to do it again.

Glad you are feeling better @jellyrolly and I hope no news is good news for your dh job.

@murmuration I relate to you a lot as I hate food waste too but I learnt that I am not a dustbin. I don't have to eat all the leftovers unless I want to (I make bigger meals to have the spare for lunch the next day sometimes. Different to finishing off others leftovers of course). I went hungry a lot as a kid die to neglect and abuse so have stupid food issues. I need to value myself more and not just eat whatever even if I don't want to just so it isn't wasted.

Welcome back @Crazzzycat. So sorry your dh is struggling. I am too so can sympathise. It is truly crap. Sounds like you do have a handle on everything and a good set of plans. Good luck.

Maybe I just needed a reminder of what I used to do, how the snacking was neither needed nor made me feel good.

I had a similar epiphany recently good reminder to myself I've found

@HippoHips boredom is definitely when I start raiding the fridge and cupboards! I finished my latest cross stitch last night so starting the next one requires a lot of concentration defo can't be snacking and faffing while I do that

Re biscuit and hula hoops - for those days/times when you really can't resist a snack I've found it is much better if instead of saying "I won't snack" having no snacks in and ending up eating piles of toast! I'm better having in stuff that is snacks but also healthier/low cal. Better to plan for how you are as a person/eater than deny who you are and try and change that completely I've found that's much harder to do

a lot of my impulses to eat are out of habit

I can relate to that

Re dds food - I have a dd who is very slim and can't eat big portions due to disability. I had been giving her a hard time about not eating enough (I thought) prior to going to ww...then when I started ww I quickly came to the realisation I had been giving her and expecting her to eat the portion sizes I SHOULD have been eating (as an overweight adult! She was primary school at this time!) and that the portion size I SHOULD have been giving her was about 1/3-1/4 of what I had been! Poor kid! Perhaps look at your ideas around portion sizes for you and her and see if they're perhaps a little out of kilter as mine were? Would reduce the food waste too.

I got too annoyed with mfp and having to check if the entry was accurate or not. I've created a spreadsheet for myself on my phone which acts as both a food diary and a database for the items I regularly have (I think most of us have the same items and brands week in week out). At this point some items I just know how many cals are in them (mainly things I have daily like bread or yogurt) and if I can't remember the "find" function works well enough for checking. I've got the original info from the pack, manufacturer or a reliable calorie website. I've almost 6 months of data now so it's really only if I try something new I need to check

I MUST be better at taking my vitamins regularly I even keep checking when is best to take different supplements (some are best on empty stomach some best with food) but I don't actually always take them daily so I need to sort that

Had a little look at weight today albeit early in week and I'm at 12 stone 7.5lbs so I'm hoping to crack the 12.5 stone barrier this week and keep moving in the right direction

Good Evening Viewers 😬

Busy busy day and now bathed, pjs on and in bed 🛌 All cosy reading, catching up on threads whilst stretching out my spine. Feels soooo good.

@Graphista you’ve hit the nail right on the head. Skinnies know how to stay slim but don’t have a clue in regards to losing against all odds. Like I say we are all our own expert in knowing what to do/not do. We are all unique and face differing challenges. But we remain undefeated 😬

A warm welcome back @Crazzzycat & @HippoHips jump right back in. When I lose motivation I find myself reading success stories and scientific stuff around successful weight loss. Does help a bit.

@murmuration I’d say it sounds like you are. If it’s working keep doing it 😬

@jellyrolly pleased to read you’re starting to feel better. Fingers crossed you hear back from the job soon!

@buzzofthebumblebee right attitude. Brush it off, it happens, and get right back on it. You’ll soon right yourself and gain back your equilibrium.

Going to now catch up on reading Nigel Slaters Christmas Chronicles 🎄

Night All ❤️

Thanks for the warm welcome back @TheRealHousewife. Sorry to hear you are still feeling rough @SunshineCake1. It’s so tough 😔

I had a good first day back. Stuck to my calories, spent time on the exercise bike and went for a walk in the rain. I surely deserve to lose at least a pound just for that!

@HippoHips, I’ve been trying to get back on plan for weeks and have been failing miserably. All that matters is that you keep picking yourself up and keep trying. Easier said than done, I know!

@murmuration, I can relate to what you say about food being an emotional thing. I’ve had a few too many late night eating sessions over the past few weeks, just to compensate for things not being that much fun during the day. I’ve started planning some more fun activities during the evening to see if it makes a difference.

@Graphista, I find taking vitamins one of the hardest habits to get into. I don’t know why, but I keep forgetting them all the time too. I’ve even downloaded an app to remind me. It’s not making much of a difference yet!

Hello can I join you? I started at 11st 5, now 11st05 (counting that half pound!).

I worked out my BMR and am eating that every day. I haven't accounted for household walking or the energy it takes to digest food so thats my deficit. I'm not sure how I lost the 4.5lbs - shock adjustment I think!

Exercise wise I had a 40m swim last week so that helped.

Today I did a spin class and had a post workout snack to replenish muscles and calories.

I'm guessing as I lose weight my BMR will drop so I will recalculate and eat less accordingly.

I will also be increasing my workouts as I get fitter so hopefully that speeds up the metabolism.

I've done some batch cooking of wintery pies (sweet potato topping) and am eating stirfries or a piece of fish for dinners, homemade wraps and soup for lunch, mainly fruit and zerofat yoghurt for snacks. Protein smoothies or bagels after exercise. Soup is a bit of a lunchtime winner as it staves off feeling hungry.

First goal is getting under 11 stone.

I'm exciting about feeling better. I have a lung disorder and I know from experience what an absolutely phenomenal difference to energy levels losing weight makes. Thats my main motivation, but close second is fitting into more of my clothes and buying new ones.

Good Morning All

I agree at @Crazzzycat, you deserve a good result and I hope you see it reflected in the numbers on the scale 👍.

A warm welcome @MistySkiesAfterRain Fabulous start and we’ll done on your progress to date👏. You are right in needing to adjust cals to suit altering BMR. It’s such a science.

OAN I must share my morning of rarities with you all:-

1. Up and dressed before 8:00 (very rare unless appointments)
2. Out walking dogs with OH (very very rare due to morning stiffness & pain)
3. Saw an otter 🦦 in the river. Swimming about, frolicking & diving under the water, making a little noise not unlike a dog snort, carrying a branch. I was in utter awe and it was a joyous moment. OH convinced it was a beaver 🦫.

Menu
Meal 1 - Mushroom Ome
Meal 2 - Chilli con carni with cauli rice.
Apple, satsuma, water, tea with milk. Coffee with small amount of cream.

Enjoy your day!

Welcome to the thread @MistySkiesAfterRain. It sounds like you’re already making good progress. Have you calculated your maintenance calories? BMR is the absolute minimum your body needs to function and I don’t think it’s supposed to be used as a calorie goal, especially not if you’re not taking exercise into account. Depending on your exercise levels, you could end up eating way too little, so be careful with that.

@TheRealHousewife, an otter?! That’s an amazing sighting! I caught the briefest glimpse of a seal at the weekend and if made my day. Never seen an otter in the wild, so I’m a little bit jealous!

Morning everyone,

not been about for a couple of days but just had a quick read through so welcome to the newcomers and well done to everyone for literally just showing up as that is sometimes the hardest thing to do and for any losses had!!

I've not weighed myself since last Thursday and the urge to weigh myself daily has subsided which is good so I'm no longer dealing with the daily disappointment I have with the scales.

I did bootcamp yesterday and went swimming this morning, I like to get my exercises done in the morning so I'm free for the rest of the day. It seems to be working quite well and DP is wonderfully supportive but he does start a new job next week so may have to go in to the office but we shall see what we can do.

I spoke to my coach from bootcamp yesterday, its him that says to use my fitness pal as its connected to their own app. He can then go in a look at my input etc from his end. I had a bit of trouble with the app last week but fixed now so he said to fully log everything for the next week and we will chat again. However, I have been checking everything i log and adjusting it carefully to ensure its right as yes, every Tom, Dick and Harry has entered in the same product 678 times all differently and I also don't like the way it keeps telling me to upgrade to a premium version!

I was a little bit disheartened after our chat as I felt like he was implying that I'm not trying hard enough with my food or challenging myself when at bootcamp. I'm honestly not sure if that was what he saying or if I've just taken it the wrong way. He spoke about doing the exercises, my form whilst doing them and to ensure I'm still making it harder for myself. Like for example, squats are fairly easy to do so when they become that bit easier, squat down lower to make it harder. Some people have a way of being ever so slightly patronising when talking about diet and weight loss, especially when they've not personally struggled with it themselves but maybe I'm overthinking what he said to me and being a bit too sensitive.

One thing he did say that really struck a chord with me is that I have to realise I'm not the person I used to be, I am now the person that does exercise 3 times a week! I had to correct him and say its actually 5 because I swim also. But its true, isn't it? I'm no longer the person that sits on the sofa stuffing my face with wine and chocolate, waking up with a hangover most days. I'm now a person who does exercise 5 times a week and is mindful of what I eat and that comes back to the mentality behind losing weight, am I trying to cling on to my old self thus hindering my progress?? That's food for thought (pun, very apologetically, intended😁😁)

I feel like I've rambled on for a bit now so I'll head off to do my chores before the little one wakes up!

Happy Tuesday xx

@Youdoyoutoday I sympathise with what you’re saying and how we can hear one thing when perhaps someone is saying something different, or they could be being inadvertently patronising. Plus context can affect how we interpret what we hear. A couple of years ago (after I’d lost about 20lbs) during a GP consultation (not weight related) he prodded my mid section and said ‘you could do with losing some of that’ (or something similar). I was mortified as I knew how hard I’d worked to have lost the weight I had lost 😡 (although he wasn’t aware I’d recently lost weight). I was gutted. They feeling he stirred in me sometimes rears it’s head when I glimpse my midsection in the mirror (scarred and a bit podgy due to numerous surgeries & muscle & nerve damage). Just remember you are doing your best and that is more than good enough. You are doing great! 👍👏🥇⭐️