Fabulous February

[Octopus37]

Hi,

Here's the new thread for tomorrow. I haven't weighed today, but will yesterday's weight starting out at 9st1.75. Aiming to get under 9st again by the end of Feb.

No weight in for me today. Didn't do very well with snacks yesterday, steps not too bad considering the weather, water good. I wanted to snack yesterday evening but managed not to, so will take that as a win.

Well done everyone, it's hard to stay motivated when the weather is so dire. You don't want to go out in the wet and cold, and are likely craving comfort food. I'm trying to focus on positives and not dwell on negatives and not doing as much

My neck was painful all weekend to the point of feeling sick and having a headache. Did 30 mins of gentle neck focused yoga last night and woke up feeling brand new. It also made me realise when I'm rushing about chasing steps I'm tense when I get home, so this week I'm swapping evening walks for yoga and see if I notice any changes. Definitely felt much calmer last night so fingers crossed!

Brilliant Charlie. Well done on resisting snacks octopus.

9st 12.2lb today so 0.4lb up from last week. I really need to get more serious with the weight loss. I'm on the cusp of being a size up on clothing and I don't want that. I love my clothes and some of them don't fit any more.

@CharlieBubbles88 glad the yoga is going well, keeping meaning to try and do some. 9st2 this morning, just about enough steps and water, a bit too much food. O well.

No weigh in for me this morning steps are more difficult at the moment cause of the weather's so rubbish. Nevermind, its March next week so we should start to see some better weather.

I haven't weighed either octopus but I'm back on track. Horrific night's 'sleep' unfortunately tho fitted in an hour's sport yesterday at least. Off for a long lunch with dear friends today, on the train now and I'm highly excited! 2L water in tow!

10/8 here today. My steps this week have been awful, I've barely left the house as I want to stay away from the temptation of being exposed to cigarettes. Day 11 today!

Amazing. Well done Judy!

Judy giving up smoking is a huge deal so please don't take any weight gain as a negative. It's a terribly hard thing to do and you are doing something absolutely amazing for your body. Easier said than done but try not to be too hard on yourself. My vice is definitely alcohol which people are surprised by as I'm quite healthy and controlled in other areas of my life. Definitely a crutch, especially in stressful times. These aren't only addictions but habits which are hard to break.

Hope everyone else is doing okay. Went for an hour walk after finishing work early followed by an hours yoga

Also trying to keep up the water, skin care and dealing with anything negative in the day to keep my evenings peaceful

So well said Charlie and well done you too.

Joining....OK I've just weighed myself and I'm a whopping 92kg. At my best I was 84kg. I'm 5ft 6 and carry it reasonably well but I'm horrified.

Daily :

Breakfast : 2 scrambled eggs, 2 slices bacon, cream cheese, 1 avocado
No lunch
No snacks
Dinner : 5pm curry or shep pie

1L water a day

No alcohol.
40min walk a day , 11k steps

What can I do to shift this? Advice please!!! I'm debating slimmest.

Welcome @Eesha.

9st0.75 this morning, weirdly I think drinking loads of water makes a difference sometimes. Yay, nearly the weekend.

@Judystilldreamsofhorses massive well done on not smoking, you're doing so well.

@Eesha It would be good to know what your goals are, general activity level is and what you typically eat. You say 11k steps and only went for a 40 minute walk so do you have a very active job? I'd average about 4k in 40 minutes

Not heard of slimmest, what sort of programme is it?

Hi @CharlieBubbles88, thanks for replying. I'd do 8k steps in 40min on the walk back from school, so overall 12k steps a day. I am 92.5kg and want to be 83kg. I'm 5ft 6 and don't look too big but I recognise its unhealthy at this weight. My meals are :

Every morning: 2 eggs scrambled with milk, 2 slices bacon, 0 5 avocado, cream cheese, onion mix.

Next meal is dinner at 5pm with children. So today spaghetti bolognese but I'm going to try a much smaller portion.

No alcohol, no snacks. I drink at most 1l a day.

and I have an underactive thyroid which I'm medicated for, plus recently diagnosed as peri menopausal

Oh I meant slimfast or huel

How are you measuring your steps? Not to be harsh but it doesn't sound realistic. Out of interest I just looked and 8k in 80 minutes is roughly 5mph so you would have to be walking at 10mph to achieve that. You may well just be really speedy but if you think you are doing more than you are it can really skew things and make you disheartened. That’s really not me being passive aggressive so I hope it doesn’t come across that way, it’s just something that stood out to me

I don't have any personal knowledge of underactive thyroid or peri menopause however these possibly mean you don't burn calories as quickly? Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than me will be able to offer more info/advice

Good place to start would be to put what you are eating into my fitness pal or similar. It's really helpful to know what calories you are consuming to allow you to set a realistic goal. I was honestly shocked by the calories some things contain, and how low other things are. For two eggs, two bacon and 100g of avocado is about 500 calories. It would then depend what type of milk/cream cheese and how much you add. Even onion. It is tedious, and might sound extreme, but weighing food is really important if tracking calories. Also remember to include things you may use without thinking, oil, dressings, sauces like ketchup or mayo. You've mentioned no alcohol which is great as that really packs empty calories in. It is more expensive so won’t be possible for everyone but if you buy 12% fat mince maybe look to switch to a lower %. The difference between 12% and 3% fat beef mince is quite big per 100g calorie wise although I appreciate that flavour is in the fat, and calorie counting isn’t for everyone, but it has helped me have a better understanding of what I’m consuming. Your meals don’t sound bad at all but some slight tweaks could make all the difference. At the end of the day you just need to be in a deficit to lose weight. 3,500 cals if roughly 1lb, so that would be around 500 calories a day deficit to lose a lb a week

Again I’ve never personally tried slimfast or Huel, although I imagine it could take some of the headache out of calorie counting?

Sorry for the long post but I hope it was somewhat useful!

@CharlieBubbles88 no that's really useful actually. I used to have a ton of sourdough with my breakfast so kinda feel like I deserve the cream cheese now I've dropped the bread.

I use a fitbit for my steps so I assume its right? It's quite a walk, say 5 bus stops worth then 10min walk to school.

I just started back on my 15min hit workouts. It's depressing how it's crept up like this.

I didn't want to come across as a preachy know it all, as I am definitely neither!

My hobby is pretty much food. I read recipe books and blogs for fun and love nothing more than pottering around in the kitchen so I’m now trying to play around with nice, healthy meals that don’t bore me. It’s hard as I love food so much! Some people can eat the same things all the time, but I just can’t. For me what works is quick healthy meals in the week, then at the weekend when I have more time I can spend longer on meals with more calories, that way I really get to enjoy the whole experience and process.

Basically you need to find what works for you. If you don’t enjoy it you won’t do it, or if you do you’ll just be miserable and it won’t be sustainable. For me it’s walking with a podcast or audio book and yoga, my sister has just trained as a PT and lifts massive weights, I hate HIIT but know others that love it and really enjoy it. I’m trying to find balance so it can be a lifestyle I enjoy, while still being happy and healthy, and not dreading the next workout or ‘diet’ meal. If you try something new, enjoy it but aren’t great at it stick with it. It’s not about how good you are but how it makes you feel. I was awful at yoga but now I’m find strength and ease in moves I basically couldn’t do before

@CharlieBubbles88 I guess what seemed to be OK for me isn't actually any good as my weight is so high. I feel like I need a shock to my system.

I get 9k steps done, on fitbit, in a one hour walk, it's close to 9k I'd say.

Thank you everyone for being so supportive! 10/8 again here but yes, I need to be a bit kinder to myself, but still try not to replace fags with food. I’m fine BMI wise so need to remember that.

It’s my birthday today! So I suspect things might not be great food-wise.

I must have giant strides - my walk to work is 24mins door to door, and it is about 4,000! I’m a lecturer so always pacing around, and on days I am on campus do about 10k before leaving work. I’m home now and on just under 15k steps, yesterday was 17k by bedtime.

@Eesha I am the same height as you and my best weight is just over 10stone in old money, 10/3ish. Not sure what that is in kg but we are probably about the same size?