Here we go…

[MrsHippopotamus]

I lost 10lb at the back end of last year… weighed myself this morning and I’ve put on just over 8lb over Christmas! I don’t even feel like I overate that much. I blame the baileys.

Anyway, today is a new start, going to get that weight back off and lose another stone on top.

MFP is my friend again and today shall be somewhat of a fasting day as I’ve got so much to do and feel horribly bloated.
Day 4 of no alcohol, going to keep that going for as long as possible as it’s empty calories and my evening wine was becoming far too much.

SW - 10st 8.8lb
GW - 9st

Goal weight for now is back to 10st.

Feel free to join or at least wish me luck 😬

@SingaporeSlinky good luck!!! If 10am is a trigger point for you - plan in something then specifically. Think about what you can have at that time every day and just plan it in. It’ll really help.

Morning all, another pound off today but I assume that’s purely because I ate dinner early and then only had water in the evening. Clearly haven’t lost a pound in a day, but after a good day yesterday, plan for today is more of the same, plus distraction, so I’m not thinking about dieting the whole time.
Hope you’re all doing ok.

Maybe grab a banana to have a quick munch on?

I may have to start measuring and upping the exercise. Don't feel like I'm losing any.

Morning all.

I need to confess. Yesterday wasn’t great. I ended the day on just over 1900 cals. Purely because I was feeling terrible, whole body aches and general shittiness. Would you believe most of them calories came from tea & coffee?! Needed lots of sugar & caffeine just to stay upright. I didn’t even eat much really.

Anyway, new day, feeling much better today so back on plan. Glad I still recorded everything yesterday because now I can average it out over the week.
Going to finish off the salad for lunch. Then possibly just soup & bread for dinner. Couple of snacks.

This morning was a bit of a rush so didn’t get chance to weigh myself, probably for the best

Let’s have a good day! I keep thinking of summer and how I want to throw on a dress without wanting to cry. We’ll thank ourselves in a few months!

Glad you’re feeling better MrsH.

Just done a small supermarket shop, been looking at recipes so needed a few bits, picked up some wholewheat couscous, going to cook it in vegetable stock and then roast a ton of courgette, tomatoes, garlic, pepper and mix it all together, then some lemon salmon on the side. Doubt the kids will eat it, but I’ll try.
Also got some corn-fed chicken breasts for tomorrow which I’ll bake in a chicken stock with thyme, garlic and lemon wedges.

Lots more lemon water as well - can you tell I bought a few more bags of lemons 😂

It’s that mid morning slump, so having a green tea and banana as suggested.

Sounds delicious!

I bought lemons & limes to have with raspberry vodka we bought for Xmas. We didn’t bother drinking the vodka so I’ve sliced up the fruit and put it in the freezer… perfect for popping in a sparking water! Like a fruity ice cube.

I have no appetite atm so I’m going to see how long I can hold out. No point eating for the sake of it.

That’s a good idea, I always leave things too long and then wish I’d frozen them.
The key is meal planning isn’t it. Today I went with recipes in mind, and a list and stuck to it. No chocolates or anything, just the meat, couscous, fruit and veg. Felt a bit smug.

Did anyone watch the Ruth Langsford programme ‘how to lose a stone in a month’? I watched all 3 yesterday, where each of the 12 people were given different diets to use. I don’t think it really mattered which one, clearly by restricting their calorie intake and cutting out the rubbish, they were going to lose weight. The interesting thing was seeing the before and after, because I didn’t really think any of them looked different, even though they’d lost around 5 inches from their waist. Maybe it’s because they needed to lose a lot more than a stone, I don’t know.

Morning all! I agree that planning is the answer. If I wait until I'm hungry then I make bad choices!

I made a big batch of leek and potato soup last night for easy lunches

Sorry for all the spam, can you tell I’m a stay at home mum? 😆
Just watched ‘you are what you eat’ which is giving a lot more practical tips than the other programme, which kind of skipped past that.
This one had a nutritionist who was explaining to a woman that old saying ‘you can’t outrun a bad diet’, and showed her that her 15 minute run had burned 150cals, and plated up lots of things that also equaled 150 cals. So a strip of chocolate, one slice of her usual massive pizza, or 1.5 cookies. Quite shocking, as she did seem to think a bit of exercise here and there would burn off all her food. On the flip side, the nutritionist prepared a few huge platefuls of healthy salads and things, which were also 150cals that would clearly fill you up more, and not give the sugar spike and crash. So interesting to see it laid out like that.

So I'm at work today after having a sleepless night with my 1 year old and my energy levels are SO low I felt faint at one point. Had to go to the vender machine. I'm annoyed but it is what it is. Sometimes your body just needs a little more!

@SingaporeSlinky Ha, I’m a stay at home mum too!

That’s what I tend to tell myself, exercising is pointless for weight loss if you’re not watching your diet. When I exercise it makes me think twice about eating a chocolate bar because I know it won’t fill me up, and I know how long it would take to burn off! It isn’t worth it a lot of the time (sometimes it is though!).

Doing well on not snacking today and managed to get some strength workouts done. Only a small walk today as it was very icy out this morning!

My danger zone is the evening so I always make sure I save some cals for then. Probably not the healthiest but at least I’m not overeating and getting bigger I suppose.

This is going to sound nuts, but when I’m struggling to change my mindset about eating well, I’ll watch My 600lb life. It’s impossible to sit and watch that while eating a big bag of crisps, etc.
I don’t mean that to sound harsh, but it highlights to me how easy it is to let your weight creep up.

@Wednesdayafternoon Listen to your body! Sometimes we all need a pick me up and a little boost. You obviously need to energy today.

*the energy, not to 🤦‍♀️

Wednesdayafternoon I remember those sleepless nights well, it’s hard to function on little sleep, so the extra energy is definitely needed. What did you get from the machine? I wonder if you could maybe pack some healthier snack bars in your handbag / desk that would given you energy next time it’s needed? But absolutely don’t feel bad whatever you did get, one won’t hurt!

MrsH it’s funny you say that, I actually can eat unhealthy snacks while watching those programmes. It sounds so wrong, because you should watch it and feel like you do, some motivation not to end up like that, but honestly, my brain can sometimes just detach from it and I’ll see them eating crisps and just want crisps. Maybe because it’s so extreme, those programmes, that I think, well I’m nowhere near like them, so I see it as pure entertainment rather than a teachable moment.

Having said that, now I’m on this journey, I feel like I’m finally in the zone. I had a shaky start but once I go cold turkey on snacks, I think I get it out of my system. Not that I don’t ever crave it, I’ll certainly have some slip ups, I’m sure, but breaking the habit of evening snacks feels so good. And even if my stomach rumbles before bed, I think, well that’s not a bad thing. I’ve had my dinner, and while I’m sleeping, my body can use the energy and fuel I’ve put in today, or my fat stores. It doesn’t need a sharing bag of minstrels 🤣

Yup, those first few days are torture. But then there’s like a shift in your mindset and all of a sudden you don’t seem to mind the rumbly tummy or saying NO to a tub of ice cream.
I love it when I get to that point… makes me feel in control

I weighed myself after my workout… I usually weigh first thing in the morning, after a pee and before I’ve eaten/had a coffee.
I was pleasantly surprised… 10st 4.5!

Another trick I’ve learned is calorie cycling. So one day have slightly more calories, the next day slightly less and so on.
That way your body doesn’t get used to a fixed number… keeps your metabolism revved, or so I’ve read.

Well done, I haven’t managed to do any exercise at all!
I think we’re the slimming twins, same height, same goals, same loss so far 🙂

On track today, except for the fact I’ve just had a shower and noticed my skin has broken out! I was hoping it would clear a little, but just today it’s really bad, and I know I’ve not had chocolate or any snacks for days now. I’m wondering (hoping) it’s maybe some kind of toxin purge. But then maybe that’s another myth, I don’t know.

Well done MrsH!!

Today I’ve had a fairly good day.
Breakfast - handful of gf bran flakes, blueberries and oat milk. Lime and hot water.
Lunch - a few wedges with chilli flakes, 3 big meatballs, passata and raw spinach. Bottle of water and a pear.
After school - poached egg and tomato gf pitta, more water
Dinner - cod fillet with spinach and sliced sweet peppers

One decaf coffee with oat milk so far, I’m sure I’ll have another this evening on the sofa. I’ve got a chocolate soya pot to have too if I fancy it.

I’m not doing any exercise as such but my job is very active so I’m on my feet all day! My plan is to start exercising in the evening too next week. I just need to get through this weekend without messing all my hard work up!!

Me and DH are off out for meal and drinks Sat night - that will be a big test!!

Hope every has had a good day!

@SingaporeSlinky let’s hope we continue losing the lbs together!
I too have broke out 😫 I’m putting it down to dry January, hopefully it’s the copious amount of booze I had over Xmas leaving my system.

@KimmyKimdoo Thanks Kimmy!
You’ve had a lovely healthy day by the sound of it, well done!
I really have to force myself to exercise. It does help me with my diet as it makes me think twice.
But I also want to change my body shape. I really don’t like how I carry weight. I think even if I got down to 9 stone I’d still look ‘out of shape’.
So hope some exercise will sort me out a bit 🤞
Not even sure if I’m doing it right tbh but it’s got to be better than nothing.

Just enjoy your Saturday evening out! My nights out are so few and far between that I just indulge when I get the chance 😆 get back on it Sunday and you’ll be fine!

Hope everyone is having a lovely evening!

I'm stuffed like an xmas turkey but can't even remember what I've ate. Should be able to get an early night tonight though as ready to zonk.

What’s happened TalkToTheHand123?

Ok so not had a good day today, but like o said earlier it's been a tough day! Still hoping for 3 pound loss this week ♥️♥️♥️

Might give this calorie counting a go! Do you use an app to keep track? How many do you allow?

I log everything on the My Fitness Pal app. Once you plug in your height, weight, goal weight, and how much you want to lose per week (0.5lbs, 1lb etc) it tells you how many calories you should aim for per day in order to reach that. You can log your exercise too and it will then add on those calories to your daily allowance, but some of us don’t do that, because we don’t want to ‘eat back the calories’.

I log everything, even a green tea which is hardly any calories, because I want to be in the habit, and make sure I don’t eat little extras that can add up to more than I realise.

Morning all, I’m another pound down today, which I’m sort of excited by, but sort of worried I’m now not eating enough. The last few days I’ve come in under 1000 cals, but feel like what I’m eating is enough for my height and given I’m not really exercising. So yesterday I just walked the school run, and a quick supermarket shop (but drove there). So nothing strenuous.

I’m not really having breakfast, just a coffee, then mid morning green tea and banana. Lunch was leaf salad with dressing, olives and walnuts. Dinner was couscous, roasted veg and lemon chicken. Maybe I need to add a yoghurt or something?

I weighed myself today and lost 2.5 pounds since Monday :)