DIET FAILED AGAIN? Me too. Join me in a friendly, easy going diet thread where we can take our time and see results no matter how long it takes with positive encouragement along the way.

[poorpaws]

My story so far:
I started a thread “Lockdown stones to lose” in early June last year. I had nearly 3 stones to lose and was very determined. At times I did very well and at one point had lost over 1.5 stones.

Loads of people joined and then left and I think only four of us remained at the end. I kept plodding on. Just after Christmas I became ill for seven weeks (Covid related). I couldn’t do much or go out so my weight ballooned. I still kept plodding on. Then one of my dogs suffered an horrendous attack and whilst nursing her I just about lived on chocolate.

So here I am nearly 11 months later, most likely very nearly back to square one. I keep reminding myself that last time I said I would not give up no matter what! Will you join me tomorrow morning? I would love some company.

I'm sorry you got COVID. 😔. My ex husband eats like crazy when he's sick. I always could tell he was coming down with something. It's a difficult balance; you want to lose for you overall health, but you have to listen to your body, too. Just do your best and feel better.

I'm having a disaster
Yesterday had three courses at dinner, two cocktails and large glass of wine.
To be fair I'm at a hotel, have done over 11hrs of driving over two days, on third university visit today and dinner was yummy!
I'm home toni-ht after today's open day and will probably try not to weigh myself as I'd feel so miserable.
I think I will try to wait until. Monday to see if I can repair damage...

Well done @steff13 that's great.

@Theredjellybean dinner sounds lovely not the 11 hours of driving though! Agree to not weighing too soon. A few good days should restore the balance.

I finally had a good day yesterday so hope it spurs me to keep it up this weekend and not fall into my usual pattern of blowing out.

Sorry I’ve been off grid. Majorly busy week or so at work, had an interview too and all sorts but back! Missed the gym because of the interview too!

got the job though 🙂

Not logged onto this or My Fitness pall all week and last weighed in last weekend? Also going to hold off until Monday to ‘repair the damage!’

it was ok last weekend - no gain- but not going down weighed. I did wear some nice trousers that used to be too tight and got some fab compliments which was super

aiming to think carefully about what I eat but just realised we are out for Chinese tonight!

Anyone help with the least calorific food choices?

Something with veg.. Chicken and veg in sauce
Boiled rice not egg fried?
Or just small servings?

@steff13 those are great results - sounds like you are doing really well!

@Mumstheword2022 oh lovely, Chinese food. We normally get a takeaway rather than eat out these days (sadly!) and usually stick with prawn or vegetable dishes and steer clear of all the extras like spring rolls and anything in batter. We have fried rice and boiled rice and split them, with DP having a bigger proportion of the fried rice and me having mostly boiled. Sounds a bit boring written down, but it is lovely!! In saying that, if we were eating out, it would be a rare enough event for me to say 'sod it' and order loads of lovely calorific treats (not much help, am I?)

@ClinkeyMonkey i chose chow mein in the end! Was lovely and we did 18k steps too so maybe not too bad

see what the week brings

Not looking forward to weigh in tomorrow... too many big meals this weekend... must try harder.🙄

Me neither @BeyondMyWits😬

Oh I like a chow mein @Mumstheword2022. 18,000 steps is impressive! I think I've done about 18 today. Terrible weather here and everyone's in a grumpy mood.

Good luck to anybody weighing tomorrow.

Had a big roast dinner now! I think once I get eating i can’t stop ✋
I am luckily pretty fit - for my age and worthy I suppose!- and love walking so much. Lov the exercise but it’s also for stress if I am honest. That and gardening. Which I have done about three hours of today.

i found this section ( popped image on here) on my Fitbit app. Don’t really pretend to understand it exactly but looks like positive news.

im afraid I would rather do the garden than the house

we have been so lucky today. Really windy but it’s been sunny on and off all day to be fair

Sorry to hear you have the dreaded lurgy @Bigbus ! DB, SIL and their two DC are all down with it at the moment, luckily not badly, but still enough to not feel great. Hope you feel better soon

Well done on your loss with Noom @steff13 I haven't tried it myself but sounds like it's working for you!

And well done on your job @Mumstheword2022 , exciting news!!

I don't envy you the driving @Theredjellybean but dinner and cocktails, yum <misses point> - that's one thing I do miss about pre-DC days, the ability to go out for dinner and drinks and think oh well, even if I have a hangover I can take it easy tomorrow. No chance with my DC (even if we could get a babysitter, which we can't!) - any decisions made about the unis for your DD and DSD?

That's very sad about your DM @ClinkeyMonkey , does she have other support - family or otherwise? My DM is still mentally fit but physically very very restricted due to longstanding health problems - she didn't have to get this bad but again, it was head in the sand time and ignore it until it got too bad to be ignored! I took the bull by the horns and reminded her about my trainers - got a breezy reply saying "oh I thought I'd sorted that, will definitely do it tomorrow" - that was a few days ago now and still nothing. I gave up and bought myself some today...

@BeyondMyWits good luck for weigh in tomorrow, although I probably need any luck going!!

Honestly everyone, I'm a bit despairing of how to keep myself motivated in the face of DP's immense laziness - I really want to keep active, enjoy more activities as a family, challenge myself to get fitter - but he'd be quite happy to glue his bum to the sofa and never move again, despite the GP warning him that he must improve his fitness if anyone has any thoughts about a family challenge we could sign up to - probably me and the DC rather than including Mr Lazy - I would be very grateful to hear them!

Many thanks for all your kind messages - I’m ok just perpetually hungry, very tired and a bit annoyed that the teenagers and the husband give me no leeway with regards to being a bit under the weather. At least I have the failed dieters to ask me how I am! My own family don’t seem bothered!

Sorry to hear about everyone’s difficulties. Sometimes I feel like I’m waiting for my life to begin - the bit where I get to be me and fulfil my potential and not have to worry about other people all the time!

If your DP is anything like mine @Bigbus, the second he feels under the weather this will be THE END OF THE WORLD, and he'll feel entitled to stay in bed as long as he likes without participating in family life. Any requests to help in any way will be met with "but I am ILL", whereas when I am ill, I just have to get on with it

(This was particularly annoying when the DC were babies/ toddlers and physically very demanding - I once had flu for 10 weeks as I got no breaks whatsoever and couldn't shake it off!)

I know what you mean though about waiting for it to be 'my' time - the only time I've managed to lose weight was last year when I was between jobs and had some time to myself - the luxury of having some time every day to exercise and plan/ eat healthy meals did not last long!!

Still the same weight here. It's my own fault. I keep doing the weekend thing. And stress eating. I guess it's good that I haven't gained. But this is not the weight I want to be. I did the 5:2 diet a few years ago with good results. The problem was I found myself feeling almost angry on the fast days. It got to the point where I decided a balanced mood was more important than a shrinking body! I'm fully in menopause now, so don't know if that makes a difference, because back then I was peri menopausal and on a hair trigger all the fecking time!! Or I wonder if 16:8 would be better? This is me all over - no plan, just stumbling about hoping something will just change. I've been putting off getting assessed for ADHD for years ... oh the irony🤣

@ClaraTheImpossibleGirl DM has carers coming in. But when it comes to social interaction, I'm it! Day centres haven't started up again and, to be honest, I think now she is too mentally fragile to cope with the disruption to her routine. I'm glad you got your trainers, even if you ended up forking out for them yourself!

Well.... gobsmacked on 2 fronts.

1. Lost half a pound, may be eating too much this week, but must be making better choices. FIFTEEN stone 13...

1. Got covid again... so we can be covid buddies @Bigbus . 1st of April I tested positive, and again this morning. No work... (pharmacy customer facing) SSP... so no pay for a few days either. Fed up. Totally fed up... and coughing, and headache.

Stay safe everyone...

Well done on the loss @BeyondMyWits. But Covid again? That is crap. Hope you don't have too rough a ride with it

Oh @BeyondMyWits and @Bigbus so sorry that the covid wave has swept you up too! Jay Rayner did an article on having covid about the sort of food he's craving (cauliflower cheese mainly). I could not have budged out of bed to make anything more strenuous than super noodles. Sending you healing thoughts.

Bigbus and @ClaraTheImpossibleGirl you've really struck a chord with me about waiting for your time to begin... I'm feeling that so strongly at the moment as I have a toddler and a baby and am picking myself back up after a tough year of DM problems, family problems, money problems (etc etc blah blah poor me)... just feels like I've shouldered all this and DH is happily going about his life and his hobbies. In fact it feels like I've eaten all of this. I don't resent him having a life but I can't seem to remember what my interests were.

Clara, we do family parkrun on a Saturday. They can run or walk with you from age 4, and if DH can't be arsed he volunteers. Would a weekly "appointment" like that work? Or get him one of those keep fit / sports games on the switch haha!

@ClinkeyMonkey no helpful advice here but just to say I agree that your equilibrium is more important than spending two days hangry! I found the same on 5:2. I'm eating 7am-7pm right now and plan to keep pushing breakfast back... it's my favourite meal of the day though...

I had a lovely scale surprise today... 10st 9lbs! I thought 10st 10 was unbreakable. Haven't seen 10st 8lbs since gastroenteritis.

We go again.

It was not so bad here
last monday stuck on 72.5, left for mammoth uni road trip at 72.7 on thursday and today 72.8
so while up , its not the awful disaster i thought it would be.

I have not lost in June at all which is disappointing but i review the last 18 months on MFP and i am less now than i was at this point last yr
and over the time period heaviest has been 76.0 and lightest was 70.2.
so generally considering i have become fully emopausal in that time i am glad i did not let the 76 creep on up.

I go on holiday in 2 weeks and absolutely determined to get to 71 kg prior to that holiday.

@ClinkeyMonkey I have found quite a good mood stabilising and toning exercise regime ( i am currently trying to strengthen and do weights as i used to just run....but back injury and currently on a rehab programme so no running at moment) ...its called Burn360 menopause reset ...i thought it was one of those american things that promise if you just do what she says she has got the secret and puounds fall off...but it is actually really good and quick and while i am not sure it is doing massive amounts for weight at moment, maybe things would be worse if i had not done it. Plus in 6 weeks i have lost in total 8 cm round my waist which is amazing and i definitely feel overall toned, strong and mood stable. I had to pay $39 dollars but you get the programme, the HIIT classes and stretches and a few extra workouts and a cook book if that is any use.

well doen everyone on losses and bad luck on covid...

@ClaraTheImpossibleGirl ..honestly at some point you have to do something for you and DC and accept that your DH is an adult and not your responsibility.
I'd be planning activities which involve moving/being active etc and go with DC , and say to DH ' on sat me and kids are doing family fun swim at ( insert club name here) , it would be great for kids if you came too'..but just go if he moans and mopes on sofa so be it.
I don't recall how old your dc are, so if the thought of taking them swimming/trampolining etc is daunting on your own, say ' on sat dc1 and me are joining a trampolining class so you will be at home with dc 2+...'
dont ask him ...he is not babysitting for you...he is parenting a child or two ...while you improve your health and model good behaviours with one of your dc

or get a dog that needs walking ????

@ClaraTheImpossibleGirl sorry to hear about your DP. Last year I signed up to a virtual waking challenge where you can choose a challenge (I did Lands End to John ‘o’ groats) and it counts your steps and tells you have far you’ve gone and shows you pictures of where you would be if you were actually walking it. It can count all the steps you take so it encourages you to be generally more active. You get a medal at the end. It’s not cheap but you could maybe do it as a family challenge because you can see where other people are on the map and see who gets there first. It’s called ‘Conqueror’. Also has DP ever tried SW? In my experience men do really well on it and because you can eat so much they don’t get hungry.

@steff13 that’s interesting about you ex. I guess my body is trying to tell me something but it would probably prefer that I eat vegetables and lean meat, not Mac n cheese and crisps!!

@Theredjellybean your dinner sounds lovely! How are the uni tours going? We have all that to come in a few years. How are you feeling about DC going off to Uni? I think I’m sort of looking forward to it!

@Mumstheword2022 congratulations on your new job! That’s exciting and definitely worth missing the gym for!

@ClinkeyMonkey I tried 5:2 as well and I nearly lost my marbles on the fasting days! Also I can eat a lot, so can easily make up for the fasting days on the eating days! Dealing with ageing parents is another stress for sure! My FIL has severe dementia and my MIL is in denial a bit about the progression of the disease. He keeps falling. He is nearly 100 so he’s done quite well really. My relationship with my DM is complicated - I don’t really like her but am forced into a caring role I don’t want.

@BeyondMyWits i feel much better now (just quite exhausted) but I’m also off work because I’m patient-facing in the NHS. I’m using the time to tidy up and study and try not to eat the entire contents of the fridge! I hope you feel better soon.

@triplecheeese I’ve definitely been there with the toddler and the baby. After my second was born my DH carried on going out after work several times a week (none of his friends had kids) and it was a really bleak time. I was nearly 18 stone by the time I had my third. After he was born I realised something had to change and I did lose some weight. DH still does a lot of hobbies - often going away for 6 nights - and playing sport most weekends. To be fair, he’s be happy to hold the fort if I did the same but even though the kids are older now (15, 13 and 10) I still feel guilty if I go away for more than 2 nights. I do get away twice a year though and that does make a difference. I found the small children stage very difficult and looking back I sort of disappeared as a person for a few years.

@poorpaws i hope you are ok xx

Thanks for keeping this thread going and your responses all!

i chickened out of weighing myself this morning BUT promise to do tomorrow 😬

Hi everyone

Sorry I've been AWOL and I've just caught up with all your news. Losing or struggling it's so lovely that you are all still here.

I've not been too well (hence disappearing for a while). I don't want to bring the tone of the thread down but I'm back on the diet as of today.

I had an accident and spilt boiling water down the outside of my leg and foot. It's ok and didn't need medical attention other than ice cold water and butter but it bloody hurt (foot much more than leg).

I'm going to starting posting daily again to keep myself in the frame, I'm just absolutely exhausted all the time. After the dog walk I just want to sit down.

Yesterday I made myself bake (which I love but my oven is very iffy). I made two lemon drizzle cakes (one for DP and one for SIL, I'm not that bothered about anything lemon). I've got two oven thermometers and there is a 30 degrees difference between them both so I tried an average of both. The cakes ended up burnt black on top (despite covering as I could see them browning too fast) and undercooked in the middle. Obviously the oven was too high but I wasted 10 eggs, two packs of unsalted butter etc and a load of energy. Unfortunately finances won't run to a new cooker as the garden has taken just about all my savings ☹️.

Anyway barring any more accidents/illness I'm back here and hope to lose this week. Sorry about the covid illnesses and DP and DM problems. Life can be so difficult at times.

I skim thru the posts, but people keep talking about food... 🙁I don't count calories, but I don't think I eat that much. My problem is that I cannot really exercise. I have trouble standing, and can walk only a half a block, even with a walking stick. Very slow and painful. There's probably a wheelchair in my future.

It doesn't help that my genetically slim wife is a good cook, likes cooking, and ... well, I can't insult her culinary skills by being reluctant to eat everying in sight.

174 this morning, about the same as usual.

Weighed in tonight bravely… which I thought was brave as I think you are lighter in the morning, naked after using the loo!

but it wasn’t bad. 11st 12 so not above twelve ✅ but not really losing anything 🤨