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

Good Morning Everyone

@DownUdderer I totally agree with everything you've written! Planning, healthy choices and a good dose of IF.

@buzzofthebumblebee I was awake early too by a loud bang at 5:50am. I thought it sounded like a bird hitting the window but cant see anything in the garden. Sleep deprivation headache setting in and its really intense too. I like your post about staying on it and having a good week :)

@SunshineCake1 I have days sometimes where my appetite is such I cant think what to have. Hope you feel better soon.

Lovely sunny frosty morning here today. Its one of those days where its great to be outdoors walking the dogs and kicking the golden fallen leaves into the air ... although I know id probably fall over 😁

Menu
Meal 1 - Cauli Egg Fried Rice.
Meal 2 - Chicken Tray Bake
Walnuts, satsuma, water, tea and white coffee.

Enjoy your week Everyone :)

@Crazzzycat Great result! Well done and congrats on your new weight. 👍🥇

@TheRealHousewife
that’s 17 inch reduction 😮 Awesome!

I wish! I started at 50 inches and am now 43 inches. Height to waist ratio says I should be 33 inches but that is an incredibly long way off from now.

Bootcamp done this morning, quite nippy too! Also just walked back from the garage as the car is in for a service. I feel shattered now and I gave myself a big long list of chores to do today as the kids are out the house and I've no car to go anywhere so I'm going to get the songs on to get me motivated to move and get off my phone!

Happy Monday peeps

Hello everyone
Sorry to rejoin and then fall off the thread again. I was doing pretty well and had got my weight down to 137.6 on 12/11.
I then got ill and have not really left the house since then - averaging about 2300 steps per day and I'm not better yet - thank god i can work from home.
On the positive I got back on the scales this morning and I am showing 134.8 which is getting close.
It really does prove that for me it is all about what I eat and drink and I can not exercise off indulgent eating.
I have eaten the last 9 days but hadn't had the appetite to finish everything on my plate - perhaps shuffling around the house and lolling on a bed and leave the last third of every meal is my key to weight loss. Combined with eating 2KG of satsumas for the Vit C!

Well done everyone on delicious sounding diets, exercise and getting back on it.

I had 3 days of sinus headache misery. That has taught me never to eat a whole advent calendar. I wrote a note to self Reasons Not To Sugar Binge. Yesterday I did hours and hours of housework and ate healthily. Coupled with the mammoth sleep I had on Saturday, I feel pretty much back to normal today.

I woke up at 6 and had a walk and have done a few hours work. I bartered with myself I would have a 20m nap at lunch. Currently munching homemade wrap. I did sit on my balcony for 1 minute then realised it was freezing. I was massively craving a Costa crispy star but I think the wrap might hit the spot. If not I am allowed yoghurt or chocolate coated rice cakes!

I was back to 11st3 at last weigh in so I have revised the goal and I would like to be 11st a week on Wednesday.

I have booked a swim tonight, including walking there and back. I'll be having tomato and lentil soup and fish pie.

I feel like, I know where I want to get to, and how to get there...but can I be there already please!?

Also had a off plan weekend here. Between dining out and two nights’ drinking I think I probably consumed 1,700 calories above my plan and 700 calories above my maintenance level. Back on it today, but it really brought home how easy it is to overdo it and gain. Dieting aside, I don’t think I overeat day to day - but I generally fail to compensate for these frequent nights out where I’ll have a pizza and half a bottle of wine. That’s what I need to fix going forward - for now, I need to swerve the nights out!

Definitely know that feeling @MistySkiesAfterRain

So had a chat with my bootcamp trainer and he said I'm doing really well on my food. This week he wants me to concentrate on upping my protein but keep to the same calories so that means my fat and carbs % should fall.

The conversation went better today, I think because he had a weeks worth of data to look at and can see that I actually eat well, all fresh etc. I did have 2 meals out this week, lunch with a friend Thursday and then my dp surprised me with a meal out on Saturday. My coach said when I go out, just enjoy it and then be more mindful in the lead up to and after so that my daily average works out over the week. He didn't even tell me off for a my wine consumption so I like him a bit better this week 🤣🤣

@DownUdderer I'm always trying to drink more water I'm rubbish at it! I rarely get the "I'm really thirsty" feeling except at height of summer/humid weather I genuinely forget to drink and have to remind myself to do so

Glad you're feeling better. I'm glad dd is away at uni as she's picking up every bug going!

@Youdoyoutoday 7 inches is AMAZING well done!

I continually looked pregnant/bloated, it was horrible.

Same here I seem to carry majority of weight on belly and boobs!

Now I "just" look fat, previously I looked as I did at 6/7 months pregnant

@TheRealHousewife just hoping 🐢 club pays off!

@buzzofthebumblebee lovely to get compliments - nsv there

@SunshineCake1 lovely to see you doing better and better

Posted too soon

But gotta deal with something so more later

Sorry @Youdoyoutoday id read it that you were 33 now. sorry, no pressure. You've still done great! It seams you've tamed your trainer ;)

Bless ya @132orbust sorry to read you're still not well! I hope you fully recover soon! I agree with the sentiment you can not exercise off poor food choices. If I eat too many carbs (same cals) I gain, although i feel its predominantly water weight. Still annoying though.

@MistySkiesAfterRain pleased to read you've right yourself after sugar fest. Sugar is a bugger for all sorts of reasons and if we can do without it we benefit hugely, not least it tames the snack dragon 🐉. We have all done it at some time or other. Put it behind you and dont give it any more head space :)

@MyAnacondaMight as you've identified its a fine line between losing/maintaining and gaining. It is far too easy to over eat when celebrating, especially if alcohol is involved. Then again we all have lives to live so we need to find the right balance, which you seem to have done! Well done! Identifying our saboteurs helps us to stay focused.

I went for my run and felt it was hard as I got to the end yet somehow I was faster than yesterday. I do not understand it. My NSV for today is that I didn't get on the scales!. I looked at myself and thought I looked okay ish but more not than is and decided I wouldn't handle it well if I was up so I decided not to weigh myself. I'll run on Wednesday then do WOW.

@TheRealHousewife lunch was roasted Mediterranean veg with some left over sliced potatoes and onions and a slice of homemade sesame seed bread. Mid afternoon snack was some chocolate and after a dog walk of an hour a homemade mince pie. Dinner is salad with avocado, cockles and a little bit of cottage cheese.

You had a good productive day planned there @Youdoyoutoday and I hope it worked out well for you. I definitely cope better if I know what I am meant to be doing.

Sorry to hear you have been poorly @132orbust. I think it is @DownUdderer or @buzzofthebumblebee who you are the sensible group with. I didn't think about less exercise, stuck in bed equals eating less food and just put on half of what I had lost through eating chocolate as miserable. They were sensible and knew to eat less when ill.

Horrible as it was, @MistySkiesAfterRain to have a three day headache I would claim it as a NSV as you know now not to eat that much chocolate in the future.

I know someone said they can't exercise off bad food choices but tbh I see my runs, partly, as buying me a daily treat but tbh the bigger win is my mental health as I am trying to avoid medications.

Thank you @Graphista. Hope whatever you have to deal with is not too difficult.

I looked nine months pregnant until I had my tests and stopped eating what I was intolerant to.

Closed the kitchen on 1600 calories. Had a great swim- front crawl for 40 lengths, whereas last time 10 of those were slower breast stroke. I'll probably be ravenous tomorrow.

I've ordered some body fat % scales. I doubt they will be wholly accurate but a downward shift would be encouraging. I'm also adjusting my macros, after much googling and not making sense of it I've gone for 40/40/20 for fat burning. I'm also going to go for my morning walk BEFORE breakfast (what, leave the house before eating, this is unheard of for me!). Anything I can do to help.

Tomorrow is work and maybe some yoga or stretching.

@MistySkiesAfterRain sometimes walking on an empty stomach feels fine, other times not so much. But it's worth trying it!

Your runs sound great @SunshineCake1

It's always encouraging reading everyone's updates.

My jeans felt a tiny bit better today, they still dig in when I sit down! I'm getting there!

Hello to everyone.

I actually had bread yesterday - 1st time in so long. 1 egg on super seeded sourdough toast for lunch. It was delicious as a one-off. Made a nice change from salad ; )

Getting knee looked at today. Don't want long-term damage, plus my job can be fairly physical at times. So want to be sure it's just superficial strain and not anything more sinister. Know it will be OK, but I'm dreadful at over-thinking and regrets etc. And I want to get back out running again. I love the autumn.

Glad you got out yesterday Sunshine. Getting up and out - as hard as it can be - is the best thing to do on a bad day.

I got back on the scales this morning, just to check if yesterday wasn’t a fluke and they showed an even lower number today. I don’t want to get too excited, but really hope that means that after almost three months of being completely stationary the scales are finally moving again.

@MistySkiesAfterRain, I’m glad you are feeling better. I can totally relate to that feeling of impatience. I often think that losing weight is much more of a mental challenge than a physical one.

@MyAnacondaMight, I agree striking the right balance is so hard, but also essential if we want to keep the weight off long term. I think that’s one of the benefits of losing weight at a slower pace. It gives us time to think about our old habits and how to change them.

@Youdoyoutoday, good to hear your trainer was a bit more constructive about your diet this time. How long have you been losing weight? For me the weight came off pretty easily over the first six months, but now I’ve been stuck on a plateau for months. According to the internet, weightloss tends to plateau once people lose 5-10% of their body weight. Could something like that be happening to you?

@SunshineCake1 it’s good to see you are making so much progress! I’m another one who uses exercise to make up for the occasional treat. I’ve also found that cardio actually suppresses my appetite, so that’s an added bonus!

Great news that your jeans are fitting a bit better @DownUdderer. That’s as motivating, if not more so, as the numbers on the scales.

I hope you get good news about your knee today @buzzofthebumblebee. So frustrating to get an injury when you’re working so hard to get healthier.

Good Morning All

@MistySkiesAfterRain Swimming is my favourite exercise as its supports my body whilst I move. I find being in the water very therapeutic. Are you macros 40 protein 40 fats and 20 carbs? I know I do better if my carbs are the lowest macro, but that might suit everyone.

@buzzofthebumblebee A very nice lunch you had yesterday. Here's hoping your knee isn't serious.

You'll get there @DownUdderer, bit by bit :)

@SunshineCake1 Your yesterdays menu looked tasty😋

In other news

I receive an Emma Bridgewater order today and on opening they had sent double. I telephoned them to arrange collection of the extras as I hadn't paid for them. They've arranged collection for tomorrow. I have just received via email a notification of a £30.00 Gift Card that's been credited to my account. How nice is that.

Menu
Meal 1 - Spicy Cauli Soup
Meal 2 - Braised Beef, brussel sprouts, carrots and leeks.

Water, tea, coffee.

@Crazzzycat possibly

I started properly this year in January. I did make a start last year but life just got very overwhelming when my mum died, I sacked off all non essential tasks like looking after myself. When January came around I was so miserable with my weight so had to focus on it so I started Noom again which I think has really helped.

January weight 16.10
Current weight 14.2
So 2 stone 8 pounds down this year

Hit 14.2 mid October just when I started bootcamp so I've maintained my weight but I do bootcamp 3 times a week and swimming twice and the weight is still not shifting though my body shape is changing. It does really annoy me sometimes but I have to keep reminding myself that it's a long process and I just need to keep going.
Staying off the scales has helped me not get so demoralised by it all.

I'm sure it will come and I just need to take longer to adjust my diet correctly, I'm hoping more protein will make a difference over the next couple of weeks.

I think if nothing really changes by the new year, I'll have a chat with my gp just to make sure there are no underlying health issues that I'm not aware of.

My meal went to pot @TheRealHousewife! The salad turned out to be too far last it's use by to eat. I had a bit of cottage cheese, a few cockles, a piece of bread with Philadelphia cheese and then later marmite on toast . Dh currently making me parsnip mash with potatoes and carrots all mashed in together. I grew the parsnips so very proud. We had a walk with the dog today but I felt very unwell on the way home so sitting now. Due to run and then weigh tomorrow.

I'm back again - checking in every day from now on as when I fall off the thread I fall off the focus too.
I didn't know you were a fellow grower @SunshineCake1 I has raspberries for dinner last night that I grew ( with dinner rather than for I suppose!) Such a sense of achievement to eat what we grow. I also grow lollo rosso and rockets in tubs and hanging baskets - cut and come again variety - great for green salad but mine is tiring now.
I walked a little more yesterday to take me up to 3396 steps - need to start building it up again, my legs feel weak but I am on the mend.
So down to 134.4 today which means 2.4lbs to go and then I'll think again.

@Youdoyoutoday, I’m the same. After losing about 20% of my body weight, I’ve been completely stuck on 78.5-79.0 kg since early September. Being very strict hasn’t made a difference. The scales didn’t even go up after a few weeks of overeating. I was starting to think I was going to be 78.5 kg forever, but this week I’ve finally dipped under 78 kg 🥳

You may find this article about weightloss plateaus interesting. It explains why hitting a plateau is actually a really positive thing. It certainly hasn’t felt like that for me, but just knowing that this was probably what was going on with me has been useful for me.

www.secondnature.io/guides/mind/motivation/weight-loss-plateaus-explained?campaignid=8918399894&adgroupid=87186600622&adid=411990390160&gclid=CjwKCAiAv_KMBhAzEiwAs-rX1JrbfsoA0UO8-3riolFSbAYpPhquqQ8aN_GpoGFbtCDSy8OoLYJUAhoC0m0QAvD_BwE

@TheRealHousewife - yeah, I feel like I've quite lucked into a good place to work. It's mostly been great line managers, as so far everything has been "informal agreements" and I do worry what will happen if there is someone who isn't so accommodating. I did try to do something official, but a number of reasons that didn't work. But now I've recently gotten a new line manager on a partial secondment and just said "My disability accommodations are..." and he was fine with it (previous guy had arranged regular meetings with me, I think he was a bit worried I couldn't manage, but it was helpful to understand the new role so I wasn't too bothered, and this fellow just agreed and let me get on with things). So hopefully it all continues okay!

Glad to hear your coach was more positive @Youdoyoutoday ! Sounds like he may have had an 'idea' of what you were eating and it was wrong...

I've been super busy at work (as mentioned above) and so only just getting back to the thread. I was able to take the weekend off, after staying up to 1am Sat morning. I did give myself a treat of nice meals on the weekend - carbonara on Sat and enchilladas on Sun - first time making the enchilladas and they came out quite well I think :) Although they were calorie-heavy meals so I'll see how I'm going regarding weight loss tomorrow. I did manage to stay below 1400 each day, but I'd been aiming for 'in the 1200s' otherwise.

I appear to have settled into the new eating regime - I'm happy to eat my lunches and feel full and satisfied (no more feeling like I can't finish), but don't want anymore, so that's quite good.

I'm pretty happy with my produce @132orbust as I've had more successes than failures. I've had spinach, parsley, potatoes and parsnips and waiting on leeks. Only had tiny carrots, lost some herbs and a fabulous courgette 🐌 and my spring onions didn't grow. Hoping to do better next year as 🤞won't be poorly or as tired.

Well done @SunshineCake1 It is a great hobby.
I have been known to be out with a torch at 11pm looking for slugs and snails when my seedings go in , only to be caught out 4 weeks later when I thought I was safe!
Tried to send you a pic on pm but don't think it let you do it and cannot post it on here as I was soooooo proud of it that loads of people would know it was me and - shock horror - my weight!

I bought copper tape but sadly the courgette never came back even though the flowers were promising. I think I just didn't spend enough time out there with everything else I had going on.