Not going to be fat and 50!

[MrsMigginsCat]

Every year I say I'm going to do it, but this year I'm determined that I have to lose it. I've got my 50th birthday in May and a once in a lifetime trip in October. I don't want to be fat for either.

I've ordered a treadmill. I like walking, but don't like going out before or after work when it's dark so I thought this would get me back into being more active. Eating wise I'm going to follow Fast800 for a boost at the beginning. I'm the kind of dieter that needs to see results quickly otherwise I'm in danger of giving up so I'm hoping this will give me a decent loss at the start and spur me on.

Anyone want to join me in an accountability thread?

I weighed myself this morning. Not quite as heavy as I have been, but not good either. 13st 6lbs so 3 stone to get to where I'd feel ok, ideally 3.5 stone to get below 10.

Breakfast was stewed plums and Greek yogurt again. That was lush. For lunch I used the largely redundant soup maker and made some broccoli and Stilton soup, using up nearly all the Xmas cheese. And for dinner, I had mushrooms, peppers and courgettes with the last of the Hello Fresh lentil bake thing. All came in at around 900 calories. I'm working down to 800 in readiness for next week!

Apart from a mild headache which I think is carb withdrawal, I'm feeling good. Have managed at least 2L of water each day too.

Onwards and downwards!

@MrsMigginsCat

14kg already lost is fantastic *@itstrue*! I've seen Team RH in FB but not sure what it entails.

My 3 stone is still baby weight too @TellMeAboutItStud which wouldn't be so bad if the youngest baby wasn't 22!

Thanks - I finally feel under control for the first time in years.

Team RH is calorie counting. They differ from other programmes by setting a higher calorie amount than others eg I'm on 2,100 a day as they believe less than that just causes to much of a calorie deficit which will cause you to fall off the wagon. They also have protein, fibre, water and step targets that you are supposed to meet in order to keep you healthy and active. They have good online support and it's low cost compared to other weight loss programmes I have been on.

What I like is they are very much straight up. They do use lots of swearing. I found it a bit confrontational at first but now I realise that actually I needed to be told to cut my behaviour out otherwise nothing would have changed.

Welcome @Eightytwenty

That's similar to me. I lost just under 4 stone in my late 30s with Slimming World. Then I became a mature student and a combination of no time to eat proper healthy food and general laziness meant over the next decade it all went back on.

I've tried SW a few times since, but it just doesn't work for me any more. I was in a more active job then, now I sit at a desk all day, and I think that the inactivity means I just don't burn the carbs off now. To top it all, I'm in surgical menopause after endometrial cancer in 2020 which makes losing weight even harder.

I was happy with my weight until the pandemic, so I'm trying to keep that in mind as a positive. Although I know I started gaining a few months before it started it was only a few pounds but I then became sedentary and ate really badly for a while and the weight has stuck.

I'm really benefiting so far fun the exercise bike which I've been doing for 3 weeks now. Doing 10 miles a day and my back is a lot happier. I'm also really enjoying the overnight fasts. I'm stopping eating at 6pm and not starting until 9 or 10 in order to get the most out of it.

My treadmill arrives today!

I won't weigh myself until I feel a physical difference. Also I'm aware I'm building muscle, so I just want to wait a bit!

Finally braved the scales this morning. I don’t know how much I put on over Christmas as I hadn’t weighed myself in ages. But I’m the heaviest I’ve been since 2015 according to MyFitnessPal. Really needed this to give me a kick up the butt and stop snaffling chocolate.

14 stone 3.8 today. Would love to be nearer 12 stone for my 40th at the end of May but that will require some serious effort!

My treadmill is coming tomorrow. I'm a little bit excited! If anyone wants to buddy up on Fitbit for some more motivation then let me know.

That's definitely doable @Roominmyhouse. I'm a May birthday too and I'd to look a little less like a blimp and more like a fabulous 50 year old goddess by then!

Yeah I hope so! I already do 2 exercise classes a week and pilates but have also signed up for one personal training session a week too for an extra boost. Just got to get my food intake under control!

Day 4 done.

Smoked salmon and scrambled eggs for breakfast. Another portion of broccoli and Stilton soup from yesterday with some celery sticks for lunch. Dinner was oven baked salmon fillet with soy sauce, chilli and spring onions with a load of stir fried veg. Bit peckish now but trying to take my mind off it with more sparkling water.

I'm just writing because I'm hungry. At least I think I am. I'm thirsty, but I've had a lot of water and don't want to have more and then be up all night. There's no reason for it except this new 6 pm cut off for eating. I look forward to it becoming a life long habit but I'm only a few days in and this is the first time I've felt any struggle with it. So I guess I'm just writing to reinforce my intentions.

@itstrue

How can you lose weight eating 2100 calories?

Interested to hear more about your treadmills! I ordered a rowing machine in lockdown but it was the wrong colour so I sent it back - the aesthetics of the house apparently bothered me more than the aesthetics of me! Definitely need to do more exercise in some form though. How much floor space do the treadmills take up?

Hello! Can I join too? I’m 45 and need to lose 7 stone. I have PCOS and I’m starting the South Beach Diet tomorrow. I can’t do the very low calorie diets as they give me really bad headaches.

[quote TowandaForever]@itstrue

How can you lose weight eating 2100 calories?[/quote]
I'm just under 200 pounds at the moment and I do. Ive lost 3.6 pounds this week on it. I do walk 15,000 steps a day and go to the gym 4 times a week. But I don't think the step count is sustainable for me long term. My plan is to get to my goal weight and then reduce to a more manageable level.

If you cut your cals too low then over time you will end up too hungry and it will cause you to binge and make poor choices.

Calorie counting is quite eye opening on how easily I managed to get to the size I am. It only takes an extra 7,000 calories over what you need to burn to put on a kilo of weight. Spread that 7,000 over a fortnight and that's only 500 calories a day over what you need and you will gain a kilo over that fortnight. It's so easy to do if you are eating high calorie food.

I've got a treadmill recently and it's so good! I go on and watch Netflix whenever the weather isn't good enough for me to be outside

Thanks @eightytwenty! It was helpful having somewhere to report to, and it was helpful. I didn't cave!!! And I'm having a prolonged fast as I slept in and now won't have time to eat until nearly 10.30, which leaves me only a 7.5 hrs eating window (I'm sticking with 6pm cut offs because it's a habit I'd like to have).

My treadmill arrived yesterday. I haven't had time to do anything more than put it in place but today's the day!

@KloppsTeeth

Hello! Can I join too? I’m 45 and need to lose 7 stone. I have PCOS and I’m starting the South Beach Diet tomorrow. I can’t do the very low calorie diets as they give me really bad headaches.

low carb (or Keto if you can handle it, not everybody can) is good for PCOS.

if south beach diet is basically low carb you'll be on a good path. One of Dr Jason Fung's colleagues had PCOS and switched to v low carb and her PCOS went away. I'll try and find the vidio that's up on youtube. Put Dr Natalie Peteguana in to you tube

I have to try something new @twentyeighty. I gained weight on Weight watchers and my fitness pal and trying to count calories independently, there's just something in not don't right. And the content is my diet is pretty good and I loathed the tedium of tracking everything - that wasn't a life style shift I wanted to keep. So I'm hoping with fasting and exercise I will see a shift in the right direction. I don't naturally wake up hungry, and having a filling meal at 5.30/5.45, to be done by 6, seemed like the easiest way to make use of my strengths. The other thing I'm doing is keeping a record of when I have alcohol or sweet treats. I started this 3 weeks ago and it helped me keep the holidays from making things worse.

Checking in.

I'm starving this morning. I've been ok every other day this week, but today I'm not feeling it. Sat at my desk trying not to think about food. Have had a couple of celery sticks and about 6 cashew nuts but my stomach is rumbling away. Good job im not in the office today. It's so loud!

Hello everyone.

I'm a kilo down this week so far.

Doing Fast800 so no breakfast - I'm managing a 16 hour no eating window which is pretty easy to do.

Yesterday
2 boily eggs and sourdough
Tortillas stuffed with spicy mushrooms and home made salsa. Small glass of white wine because I had some sad news and needed it

Today
Lunch : dollops of homemade baba ganoush, hummus and salad with carrot stick , small lump of cheddar and sourdough toasted. 440 cals and I couldn't finish it.

Tonight: Fast800 prawn korma with cauliflower rice (it's so yummy) and about 300 cals.

@MrsMigginsCat try having a hot drink - black coffee, miso or just warm water with squeeze of orange or lemon. It's somehow more filling and satisfying than cold drinks.

Can I join? 46, in a perfect world would lose 20kg, started last week on intermittent fasting 20:4 (aiming for one meal a day no sugar no flour most of the time, but 20:4 as minimum). I had twins and it has left me a horrible apron of excess skin which gets worse when I lose weight, so am actually having a tummy tuck which is planned for mid march and I want to shed as much as I can in the next few weeks before that (will give me better results if I am closer to goal weight), and continue on down gently from there a few more kgs. Have lost 2.5 kgs of the 20 already this year. I can cope with being v strict for the limited time until my op, and then will revert to 16:8 lowish carb to maintain/gently lose a little more.

Thanks for the suggestion @catwomandoo I have miso and Bovril so will give that a go.