LOSE IT! January 2022 - Thread 2

[TheRealHousewife]

Following on from January Thread 1

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2022 🍾 🎊 🎉 🍾

Fresh new year, fresh new start, fresh new habits. Jump right in to reset & refresh to become a healthier version of yourself.

As no one size fits all, members need to follow their own way of eating. 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. 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).

I calorie count based on a lower carb Mediterranean diet. I intermittent fasting and eat twice a day.

Are you in😊 What food plan will you be following? What do you want to change and why?

Useful Link - more to follow

Good morning. It's time (again) to really do something. Gotten heavier than I've ever been.

Start weight: 87.7 kg
Short term goal: 80kg

Gonna write time what I've eaten. Although I hate calories counting but just to get me in gear. We are in a lockdown (well small one. Not a full on one) so everything is closed. My goal is to go outdoors for 30min every day! Also reduce ordering takeout and no drinking on my own (like skipping the glass of wine on a Friday unless with a friend).

Wednesday weigh in 10 stone 13, stayed the same which to be honest I'm happy about. I need to change my diet / lifestyle permanently as I've lost weight before and put it back on, so aiming for slow and steady. This week have a couple of meals out, so not expecting much either, hopefully lose another pound by the end of the month

Sorry you’re feeling that way. Have you actually counted your calories or are you just guessing? Might be worth logging everything for the next few weeks to see how many you’re actually eating.

For the past twice weeks my diet has been as follows:

Breakfast: cereal with oat milk.
Lunch: tomato soup with two slices of un-buttered bread.
Tea: Stew or stir fry.

That’s all I’ve had over the last weeks apart from one day where I had a pizza.

I don’t count calories but I can’t imagine the above world contain many??

DontWantTheRivalry no that doesn’t sound like a huge amount. Although it depends on your height and current weight. I’m only 5’4 and not very active, so I generally skip breakfast or just have one piece of fruit in the morning.

What type of cereal is it? The portion sizes on the box are usually tiny, so it could be you’re having a lot of carbs and sugar if it’s a big portion. Is the tomato soup homemade or from a tin? Again, could be lots of added sugar, if a tin. The bread is carbs again.

I’m no expert, and it could be that you’ll suddenly drop a few pounds this week. But if you drill down into the calories and nutrients of those meals, you might find it’s too many carbs. Could you try switching the lunch to a salad with some chicken a few days a week?

@DontWantTheRivalry that sounds like a lot of carbs, I'm trying to eat carbs two meals out of three, (and not losing weight but I need to cut down on snacks)

Wow, already a second thread! It moves so fast and it is hard to keep up. This week I’ve been a bit slack about counting calories and need to keep at it.

SW: 11st 4
Today’s weight: 10st 13

1lbs loss this week and 5lbs total. I’m now back to a healthy BMI which I’m over the moon about!

I hope everyone sees good losses this week and if not there’s always next week.

It’s just so difficult and I’m feeling so deflated.

I’m 5ft 5 and weight 66kg.

The soup is from a tin.

Because I’m eating so much less I’m so lethargic all the time, I had to be sent home from work last week because I almost fainted.

I take medication for a chronic condition (started this new drug 9 months ago) and one of the side effects is weight gain so I’m just feeling like, “What’s the point in even trying?”

I honestly feel like I could cry.

Weigh in today 10st 2, so 3lbs off since last Wednesday. I’m really happy with that. Could be doing a lot more exercise as not doing any at the moment but the calorie counting is working at least.

@DontWantTheRivalry. This may sound counterintuitive, but to lose weight you need to feed your body well. If you cut your calories too much, your body may try to hold on to the weight by slowing down certain processes in the body.

How are you feeling? Are you feeling energetic and upbeat, or low energy and grumpy? If the latter that could be a sign that you’re just not eating enough. Feeling more sleepy than usual, dizzy or feeling cold all the time are also signs that you may need a bit more.

If you’re eating the same thing every day, it would be worth working out the calories you’re getting. Looking at what you posted, and assuming you’re eating small to medium sized portions, I think your intake may be too low.

X-posted with you there @DontWantTheRivalry. It sounds like you’re not eating enough.

The reality of the matter is I just have no clue what I’m doing.

So even if I’m eating under my calorie allowance, if I’m having too many Carbs I won’t lose weight?

So it’s not just about reducing my calories?

I’m a very upbeat person and I work in an active job which I love so my state of mind is fine - well it was until I weighed myself yesterday.

So what in my above post includes lots of carbs if I’m eating too many? My cereal and the two slices of bread?

DontWantTheRivalry it’s so hard if you’re putting in the effort, avoiding snacks and then don’t see any difference on the scales, isn’t it. If you’re feeling faint then I’d add in some healthy snacks to keep your energy up in between meals.

I’ve just grabbed a tin of tomato soup from my cupboard as the kids have it sometimes and for the tin I’ve got (Tesco cream of tomato) it’s got 24g of sugar if you have the whole tin. That’s loads. Then 2 slices of bread on top. I think you need to try switching the lunch for something that will be more nutritious and less carb heavy.
Maybe eggs and salad? I’m sure others will have suggestions.

Morning all 🙂

Day 18 - Weds 19th Jan - 9s 3 & 1/2lb
BMI 21.4
BF 23.8

Although I've moved between around 9s 3lb to 9s 4.5lb the last few days I think I am still losing, just far more slowly than at the start. I feel & look ok, so that's the main thing. I think it's interesting that whilst my BMI is at the lower end of healthy my body fat is much lower, relatively speaking. It shows how crude BMI is as a measure.

I'm now really looking at my diet. Although I cook from scratch for my kids every day (with one cheeky frozen pizza or similar one night at the weekend) I realise I have started to skip eating with them in favour of grabbing cheese & crackers or some soup at around 2.30pm which is when I tend to get hungry. Then I'm not hungry enough to eat with them at dinner time... 🤔 Daft as it sounds It's just dawned on me that I've been imagining myself to be eating the same home cooked food as them when in fact I often haven't!

Tonight we are having steamed smoked cod with new potatoes & sweetcorn, & that 'we' includes me 😀

I’m trying to concentrate on smaller portions of healthy non processed food. Lots of vegetables and no sneaky slices of toast in between meals. I’m noticing my appetite is reducing. I’m generally eating two meals a day and upping my water.

@DontWantTheRivalry The post from @Crazzzycat is a really good one. If you are feeling so weak at work that you are having to be sent home it's pretty clear that you're not getting enough nutrition/calories. Your body will hold onto what it has if it fears that it's not getting enough to keep going, hence you don't lose the weight so easily.

Can you speak to your GP about a weight loss programme that accounts for your meds, if they are part of the issue?

Don't lose heart - you are trying, that's the main thing, & you will get there 👍🏻

I think you need to go back to basics and maybe use an app like My Fitness Pal to enter all your calories. It will give you the breakdown of all the nutrients (if you select foods accurately) and should tell you if you’re going over on sugars or fat for example. Or just look up some healthy eating plans online and pick some that you like. I don’t think it is just about the calories, as you wouldn’t want to eat 10 chocolate bars in a day, even if technically it’s within your allowance. You need a good balance of protein, fat, some carbs, fibre, vitamins, minerals etc. Also, eating exactly the same every day won’t give you enough variety.

It’s time consuming to start with, but when I started logging mine, I actually did weigh out my portions because I had no idea how much my bowl of cereal weighed. Turns out I was having nearly 3 times what the box said was a portion, which meant a lot of sugar.

Are you eating white bread of wholemeal? And what about the stir fry, is it noodles, rice etc and again, white or wholemeal?

Hello to the new thread. Thank you @TheRealHousewife

Just checking in with my WOW. 11 stone 6 so I'm still 1lb up on end of Dec but that's OK. Keep going everyone!

@DontWantTheRivalry

Please try not to be disheartened. I would second what others have said, download the MFP app and log your intake there. It's important to weigh your portions (particularly with free flow things like cereals). I tend to have soup most days for lunch but only half a tin, no bread, followed by a satsuma and a big glass if water to fill me up. If you need something extra with soup, maybe try a ryvita or two? And go for ones that aren't 'cream of'.

Best of luck today.

Wednesday weigh in 😊 as expected the loss has slowed down… been a bit up and down this week. Still it’s a loss so I’m happy 😊

I understand your frustration @DontWantTheRivalry. Healthy eating is a bit of a minefield, not helped by lots of people having lots of different opinions.

In your situation, I’d have a look to see if you can find a diet plan that you can use for inspiration. There’s some free ones on the BBC Good Food website. (Disclaimer: I’ve not looked at this in detail, so no idea if it’s any good or full of complicated recipes)

www.bbcgoodfood.com/health/healthy-diet-plan

This NHS website/ app looks like it could be useful too:

www.nhs.uk/better-health/lose-weight/

@DontWantTheRivalry it's so frustrating isn't it? My usual loss is similar to yours, I have to be very careful about portion sizes, and what I eat.

I would echo what others have said about downloading an app to help tracking what your eating and the balance of food types. I use nutracheck. I find it easy to work with the MFP.

For me the two slices of bread would be a killer. I don't eat bread more than once a week as it's guaranteed to stop my weight loss, I don't know why but it just does. I find that if I keep my foods more protein and veg rich and less carbs that seems to power my weight loss forward.

Sending love and positive vibes your way.

Second thread in a month - crazy!
Weighed in this morning at 131.8lbs so am ready for the weight to start going downwards now as I'm pretty much where I was one month ago.
I suddenly felt a bit peckish at 10.30 last night and it took all my willpower and silently chanting my mantra:
Do you want to be a little hungry or a little fat x 20
before I walked out of the kitchen and went to bed. I am glad I did morning as once I brushed my teeth, the hunger disappeared Even more so this morning.
@DontWantTheRivalry I had periods last year where I seemed to be doing everything right calorie wise but the scales didn't move and I would have a day of lean protein and veg and when I weighed in the next morning I would show a loss.

Good morning!

Another 1.4lb down since last Wednesday (which is exactly what I lost the week before too!). I'm very happy with this, especially considering I had a night out with friends at the weekend.

January 2022 loss: 4.4lb
Total loss since 2021: 16.8lb

Lunch today is a ham sandwich and for dinner we're having Thai peanut ramen with tofu.

I'm really struggling with the thread moving so fast and remembering who everyone is! I've so much on my mind I can't keep everything on a good enough level.

Weight wise, no loss and I have gone up a couple of pounds I think.

Only managed 3.8km on the treadmill today but did so five yesterday.

DS2 is still poorly. Still supporting my friend.

Rubbish on here, rubbish on weight loss. Feel like I'm not doing anything very well at the moment.

Drink your water. Have an extra vegetable on your plate. You are all doing so well.

Sending hugs @SunshineCake1 I hope things improve for you soon 😐