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

Weighting daily puts me in a bad mood, regardless of what they say! It is how you feel, obvs. And you're doing great You.

And I can't believe your progress either Elle200 - amazing.

Ive been sat at my desk all day, so going to take dog out now for a long stroll. Gym tomorrow morning.

I unusually had breakfast today (melon, yoghurt & seeds) so had smallish lunch (hummus & carrot sticks, hummus being very calorific as I had loads!). Salmon, red pesto roast veg & couple spoons brown rice for dinner. Looking forward to it.

Hope everyone doing OK. Sorry you lost your post earlier Graphista - you are always so personal too, which must take ages! It is appreciated.

@buzzofthebumblebee totally agree, its how you feel. In the past I've weighed daily, weekly, and less often too. Now i generally weigh a couple of times a week and that's suiting at the moment. Your evening meals sounds very tasty. I love hummus but I find it doesn't taste as calorific as it is if that makes sense. Hope you enjoy your walk.

@Youdoyoutoday try doing measurements too, not very often I do it once a month. Then maybe you'll get inch losses if not lb losses?

I have seen losses the problem I'm having is I'm struggling to keep doing what I have been doing. I'm getting fed up eating the same things but I have been eating them as they're easy to cal count and fill me up sufficiently

@Elle200 that's a hell of a loss well done!! Agog to hear tips please

I think weighing daily messes with your head too much. Weekly or monthly is plenty

@buzzofthebumblebee ahh thanks for appreciating my posts most annoying when they vanish

Thank you @TheRealHousewife. That is very helpful and reassuring.

I have my treats in the middle of the afternoon and paint my nails in the evening if I'm struggling.

I'm glad that I'm not alone with the scales getting me down.

I decided to weigh once per week (instead of daily) and was discouraged to see a 2lb gain. I had foolishly thought I would trick my body and scale by weighing midweek, thinking that I would lose whatever weekend bloat and then psych myself to keep up good work through the upcoming weekend. Ha! Didn't work!

So, back to trying to be disciplined with the food and increase the exercise. Food is tough this time of year with all the yummy treats and feeling that since they're treats, so I should partake. Exercise is tough because of the dark and cold. All I want to do is hibernate.

But, neither will get me where I want. So I will slog on.

Have a great evening!

I put my jeans on this morning, I was in a rush and needed a quick to put on outfit (jeans and a t-shirt). They're tight. Pretty tight. So I'm desperately trying not to feel down. Perhaps I'll try them next week and they'll feel better.

It's dd's birthday today, she's 9. I think I'll swerve the 'treat' foods this evening.

@Elle200 the dietitian sounds interesting. I've never met a dietitian. What sort of advice did they give? Was it things like cutting back on carbs? You've done amazingly with your weight loss!

Hi all!

Haven't been going too hard but I've lost about 2.5lbs so far... so at 10st 1.8 this morning. I can see the 9 stone bracket is sooo close- how amazing to reach it next week!!

I've just been eating in moderation in the evenings especially. About to batch cook some dinners (though I'm so tired may have to be tomorrow actually). Craving a run actually so will probably go tomorrow evening and sauna. OMG, heavenly as I thought.

I've also treated myself to those slightly odd but still quite nice Yorkshire Tea biscuit/toast and jam teas. I don't think they actually taste like either of those things but they are yummy as a treat in the evening when I'd usually eat a whole bag of buttons :/

In other news, I'm having some issues with a friend who seems obsessed with telling me I shouldn't be losing weight. She is a larger girl, I don't know what size she is and honestly I couldn't care less what size she was but she cannot stand the fact that I am trying to lose a few lbs (it's not like I'm starving myself or unrealistic, my goal weight is actually higher than what I used to weigh in my early 20s!). I know maybe she is uncomfortable about it for her own reasons but I don't really know what exactly to say, how to deal with her. She's one of those friends that can be quite clingy too, always asking where you bought your clothes/stuff... sometimes we turn up in almost exactly the same outfit (we work together!). I say this because... well I don't know. I'm baffled but I have to see her every shift I work and often on my days off we end up hanging out cause she has a DC a few months young than mine... Caveat: she's lovely and a fun and a good friend. Just hoping for some advice from some fellow slimmers :)

@TheRealHousewife thank you so much for those Dr MM podcasts, I've been bingeing them (pun intended!) - they're great.

@pennefabredux soup is the best! I've got ingredients to make a big batch of chunky veggie soup- so perfect for this weather and it really fills me but I often see losses after a few dinners of soup!

@buzzofthebumblebee YES! Being with good people is like food for the soul and stops me wanting to fill the void with chocolate! I also feel like it distracts me from my reliance on food throughout the day- more chatting less snacking!

Side note- If I was to reach the 9st 13s next week, I would be happy enough to reach around 9 st 12 for my first weekend event and then 9st 10s for the rest of xmas. Will probably indulge over Christmas but the aim is to have something really sustainable, not just binge... plus hoping to TTC DC2 at some point this winter!

Good Morning All

@DownUdderer are your jeans freshly washed? Mine are always tighter the first wear after wash. Try not to get down about the numbers, although I understand the disappointment. Hope you daughter has an awesome Birthday 🥳.

@amorningperson nice steady loss you got there. You’re welcome about MM 😊. I think you’ve already identified what the issue could be with your friend. She seems to have low self esteem and she’s transferring her anxieties onto you. She doesn’t want you ‘leaving her behind’. I’d just stay neutral and move the conversation on. Navigating these kind of issues are tricky, especially with work colleagues. Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Menu
Undecided as yet. OH wants fish and chip supper ….

Have a great Friday!

Good morning all. I have caught my children's horrible cold and have set my phone alarm to ring every hour when I drink a glass of water. That way I still feel a little bit of positivity in what feels like a wasted day.

I'm going to make some soup for lunch and tea today. Still got my taste buds so that is good!

No news about work for my husband. Thank you so much for asking after him. They are entering the consultancy phase, people are receiving their letters one by one. So far he hasn't had one. So while I'm not feeling positive, I'm not negative either. One member of his department has taken redundancy.

Morning all!!

Bootcamp done ✔

Really wouldn't have taken much for me to stay in bed this morning, I felt shattered but I wanted to go to chat to my coaches about my gain. They said its not muscle weight gain either as that takes a long time to build muscle and it would be at the rate of half a pound a week. So they are going to book me in for a phone call to talk about food as they reckon that's where the problem is. Have to admit, that felt a bit disheartening to hear as I've been trying but I think maybe I need to tighten up on habits like weighing food again. I can link MFP to my bootcamp app (not got it working yet) so I'm learning my way around MFP instead of food logging with my old noom app which I found far easier but that probably because I've been using it for so long.

Also going to attempt bootcamp again tomorrow as the normal 3 during the week is body weight HIIT workouts and on Saturdays, they use the ropes and weights etc so that should hopefully help the bingo wings and my upper body.

Think "TheReal" has nailed it "amorning" about your friend. Shame. But ignore, deflect & rise above. Well done on loss so far and hope you get to your goal for Xmas.

Sorry you are poorly jelly - so many nasty bugs doing the rounds. Hope the news remains good on your DH's work situation ...

My scales said 11 13.75 this morning. Haven't seen an 11 in years. It had obviously gone up again by the time I'd been to the gym and drunk loads of water, but I'm hoping to be in the 11s still for WOW next week. That's if I don't celebrate my success through food (my usual trick !!).

Hope everyone else OK!

@jellyrolly - sorry to hear you're feeling poorly. Not what you need at all! Fingers still crossed for you.

@Youdoyoutoday, aw, sorry to hear they think that. But maybe the coaches will have some good help for you. I use MFP and quite like it - I like how I can save my recipes and my regular meals to just pop right in each day.

I struggled to finish my lunch today. I thought about stopping eating, but as I'm doing 18:6, it was my last chance to eat for the day and my total was not quite 1200 calories with the full lunch. So I thought it would be too little food and struggled through. My daughter gave me a candy bar from her Halloween stash (one I apparently told her I'd take, she even wrote a note from the sweet to me...) and I ate it for desert - it tasted all dry and not very enjoyable. Although I didn't recognise the brand - it might have been a substandard sweet.

I'm not quite sure what's going on - happy that I'm not starving, but it seems very odd to NOT want to eat when on a diet. Maybe it's just a weird day. I'm not sure if I should embrace this lack of interest in food, or if it would leave me faint and dizzy at the end of the day (half my lunch would have left me ~1000 calories, ~900 without the extra sweet). Has anyone had anything like this happen (I guess, especially right at the start)?

Oh, congrats buzz! somehow didn't see your post. Hurrah to get down into a new stone :)

Hi everyone

Hope you feel better soon @jellyrolly and that your dcs aren't suffering badly. Any news on your dh job?

Well done on getting up to do the boot camp @Youdoyoutoday and don't be too disheartened. Even if you aren't losing weight you are still doing good for your body with the boot camp.

Congrats on the 11 vision @buzzofthebumblebee. We can all relate to the joy of a new lower stone especially when it is one you haven't seen in years.

I also sometimes eat a bit more than I need or want, @murmurationm due to only having a short time left. It is a difficult balance but it is about the right type of food not the size of the portion I think. Maybe the sweet wasn't pleasant as your taste buds and mindset has changed.

I have been home alone since half three and decided to sort out the pantry. I was going to have a really early tea - crackers and mushroom pate - as then I can do a really kind fast but the pantry took ages and I just wasn't hungry. I ate at 5.40 and my win was not finishing the late for the sake of it. I am not a dustbin. I then ruined it by eating six mini mini picnic bites. Oh well. I ran today and did really well. Not going to weigh for as long as I can bare as really disheartened and shocked when I saw what I was on Wednesday.

Thank you @SunshineCake1 DCs are better now so at least we aren't sick at the same time. No news about my DH's job but they are now in the consultancy phase.

I swerved birthday cake and McDonald's for dinner!

I think the jeans being tight was a shock because I've been wearing stretchy gym bottoms for the last few weeks.

@amorningperson I'm sorry to read your friend has made comments about your weight loss. I think as long as you are within the healthy BMI range then you mustn't worry about losing too much weight. I should think it's hard talking about weight with a friend who's happy to be bigger for fear of hurting her feelings, but it's a shame she's not worried about hurting your feelings. Perhaps she doesn't know many others who're in a healthy BMI range and she's lost sight of a healthy weight and what it looks like.

Good Morning All

Sorry to read you’re poorly @jellyrolly. Good tip re:- water alarm 💧👍 Get well soon!

@Youdoyoutoday cheering you on for your Bootcamps 📣. Sometimes we need to overall our eating habits as it’s surprisingly easy to ingest over our requirements if goal is to lose. Let us know how you get on.

@buzzofthebumblebee it’s a lovely feeling to get in a lower stone bracket … well done 👏. Here’s hoping it sticks for wow (and a bit extra even 😬)

@murmuration yes I’ve had that happen. It’s usually when my macros have been balanced, meaning I’ve had the right ratio of fat, carbs, protein to feel satiated and blood sugars remains balanced hence no additional cravings. Keep going, it’s obviously working for you.

Menu
Meal 1 - Cauliflower & Leek Soup
Meal 2 - ?

Side note:- There’s a great Thread that I’m following - The Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater. I have had the book a couple of years and loved the idea of a read along. The book is a mix of recipes, life story & musings and great photos. It’s a wonderfully tactile book. Pure quality. It’s a joy to pick up and read. I’m behind in reading as only just found the thread but I’m confident I’ll soon catch up.

Have a great day everyone 😊

Missed a bit sorry …

Well done on swerving the cake @DownUdderer 👍Hopefully the jeans will fit more comfy in the coming weeks.

@SunshineCake1 well done on getting your run in! Are you feeling somewhat better emotionally now … I do hope so 😊

As you were …

I got up at 7am this morning but was so tired I went back to bed. I feel worse now than I did at 7am, if I'd stayed up, had a coffee, I could have gone off to bootcamp and would probably be feeling better now!!

Oh well, time for breakfast!

Have a great weekend folks!

Congratulations on seeing the magic number 11 @buzzofthebumblebee !

I’ve been at it for a week now:
SW: 11st 8lbs
CW: 11st 3lbs
TW: 10st 0lbs

So the scales say a 5 pound loss. I think that’s probably 2lb water weight, 2lb hormonal variation (just had my period) and 1lb fat loss. But I’ll take that - a good motivator to keep it up. My aim is to go into December as 10st something, which feels achievable.

@Youdoyoutoday bless ya. When very tired the pull to go back to sleep is stronger than the realisation you know you’ll feel worse if you do, but do it anyway. Hoping you feel better as the day progresses.

Wow 😮 @MyAnacondaMight that’s a motivating start, well done! 👍👏🥇. Whatever you’re doing is clearly working!

Thank you for asking @TheRealHousewife. Still in a mess. Hoping for some resolution in the next few weeks but not hopeful.

@SunshineCake1 Sorry to hear that. Sending loving kindness ❤️