🍁LOSE IT! September 2022🍁

[TheRealHousewife]

Hello and Welcome

Following on from the LOSE IT! August Thread heres the September Thread!

The start of autumn is the perfect time to overall your way of eating in readiness for the change in seasons. Summer was gone in a flash and now the days are getting fresher; I for one like the cooler climate 🥶 < OK not that cold 😬

Fresh new month, fresh new start, fresh new habits. Jump right into September! Reset & refresh to become a healthier version of yourself! Being mindful, planning ahead and few tweaks here and there it’s not impossible!

As no one size fits all, members need to follow their own way of eating to LOSE or MAINTAIN. This thread aims to offer guidance, support and a bit of hand holding.

We generally have a 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). It’s a journey, not a destination.

I calorie count based on a lower carb Mediterranean diet. I intermittent fast and generally eat twice a day. I try not to drink calories and have very little processed food or sugar. I meal plan, set my intentions daily and exercise most days.

Are you in?😊 What food plan will you be following? What do you want to change and why? You can do it, if you really want too!

I'm very similar to you @Cloudberries123 in that at weekends I tend to eat what DH eats for lunch (ie something bread based) and I'm not really sure why? I do need to start changing that - I managed it this weekend with salads every day though.

And yes, it's so true about 'just the one'. I'm lucky in that I don't have much of a sweet tooth, so this particular thing wouldn't be me, but obviously it reflects into other areas too. For me as well, if I have one or quite often breaks my resolve, and I'll have more. The slippery slope of food management!

Today's meals:
Lunch - simple caesar-esque chicken salad. Lots of leaves, tomatoes, cucumber and spring onion, some chicken breast and a drizzle of Caesar dressing. No parmesan or croutons though. Just about to have some greek yoghurt and berries to finish.
Dinner - spaghetti bolognese - I'll have a side salad with it and swerve the garlic bread.

Hi everyone, long time no post. Has an extremely busy September but calmer now. Amongst the business I have not given my diet much thought and due to lots of stress have had wine most nights. I cannot believe I have maintained my target weight! But, it cannot last so I’m reigning it in.

*stress not business

Reining!

Hi @Benjispruce4 lovely to see you back! Well done on maintaining through all the stress!

Great to read you are feeling better @ImALittlePea 👍 Now down to business 😬

@Was126orbustandmaybebust 3lbs is a fabulous 7 day result 👍

Lovely to see you, Benji, and massive well done to see you maintaining! I think that's all any of us want so you're leading the way!

I went off plan significantly yesterday afternoon (chocolate popcorn and crisps) - I don't know what's up with me as I was disciplined for so long... although maybe that's it! I'm not too worried that I'll fall completely back into old habits - I'm liking seeing my collar bone too much for that! - but it's becoming a more regular occurance and then I have to work so much harder the rest of the week (and I've already had a quite full-on weekend!) Ah well - its done now and a busy few days coming up will help keep me occupied.

Hope you're continuing to improve, RealHousewife

Thank you @TheRealHousewife A little but more gone this morning.
Day 8
SW:143.2
CW:139.8
GW:126
3.4lbs in 8 days and into 9 stone band...just...
Onwards and inwards

Good Morning All

Theres a right chill in the air this morning 🥶 Hope you’re all managing to keep warm & toasty!

Thank you@SanFranBear I’m feeling much better😊. Never seen chocolate popcorn before 😮 Clearly your body was craving something! Like you say, ignore and move on 😬

Menu
Meal 1 - Home made veg soup. GF bread. Walnuts.
Meal 2 - Spicy Salmon & Rice with veg.
Tea, black coffee, water.

I’ll sort out September’s thread in next couple of days. SEPTEMBER 😮 This year has flown! I’m not quite ready for the Christmas countdown just yet.

Cross posted @Was126orbustandmaybebust You’re making great strides! Well done! I’ve not been on scales today and hoping to see a small loss tomorrow 🤞My weight has fluctuated this month and hoping to break even 😬

Thanks @TheRealHousewife annoying to be having to lose these lbs again but ho hum
I hate to point out that you will be sorting out a thread for OCTOBER!
Where is the year going?

Hahahaha … @Was126orbustandmaybebust Massive brain blip I had there. I’m blaming the virus’s I’ve had 😬😅 Although seeing October written down is even more panic inducing 🙀

Hello hello hello!

So I've been on holiday for the past week with my aunt in Kent coast.

Naturally she spoiled me but I did make requests (similar to hers) for food choices at home.

Breakfast samples:

cornflakes or branflakes with semi skimmed milk and blueberries/raspberries, sometimes also toast on brown bread. Also had the odd fry up/scrambled/boiled eggs on toast.

Lunches:

Varied from quiche with various salad bits, bean salad, coleslaw, salad to cold meats/Scotch eggs or soup.
Also when out, had soups with cheese scone and butter or Fenwicks jacket potato with ham and cheese and salad

Dinner:

varied from her own food - chicken curry with Bombay potatoes to homemade lasagne, to moussaka or roast chicken meals. Sometimes with pudding (cheesecake/fruit/yogurt), sometimes dinner out at various restaurants.

One thing she wasn't keen on and I'm thankful for is snacking, so the odd small McVities fruit pie but coffee/cake when out at cafes.

Did have gin and tonic with dinner or cocktails and gin when out.

Did actually walk a lot on a few days - either to a town nearby or back or round locally a lot. Also swam a couple of times on really nice days at beach.

Unsure as to how much I've put on will leave until Weigh in Wednesday.

Hope everyone else is doing well and will catch up on posts soon.

@Cloudberries123 - I agree with you about eating like a man and how if you fall into the same trap it's not good. I think men burn fat/calories in a different way to women or need more fat/carbs etc.

I also agree with your SIL re the one biscuit or healthier choices.

Family friend's DD in her I'd guess mid 50s now, she had a hysterectomy in her 40s and put on a lot of weight. She then got divorced and moved and changed job and was also a carer. She became a dog walker but lost a lot of weight (diet and exercise?), when I saw her for the first time recently in the flesh I was amazed by the change. I spoke to one of her relatives who went on holiday with her and he said she is strict about her diet, you wouldn't notice it if you spoke to her etc but she is strict. It got me thinking about a woman either at a similar age or slightly older who does sometimes eat out/has treats but also is strict re food/exercise . Both these women at a rough guess are size 10 or 8 and height approx 5 ft 5/6.

I've noticed that as I've kept my foot off the diet pedal recently then yes, I've probably gained a few pounds but I know what I should/could do to get back on track. This thread really helps me!

@GonnaGetGoingReturns Sounds like you were sensible overall whilst still enjoying yourself. I love sea swimming. Very invigorating!

Photo of my lunch 🍲

Pressed wrong tab 😬

Hello all, Fell of the thread for a while as i've been insanely busy, weekend was not great food wise. An awful lot of carbs, alcohol and a curry Will see what the damage is tomorrow. Hopefully not to much as I have been very well behaved the rest of the week.
Lunch today was a bit random with porridge at 11am and 2 boiled egg whites at 2pm.
Dinner is pasta with homemade arrabiata sauce

@TheRealHousewife - I did try to be sensible but sometimes I did think (when presented with a very large cheese scone and butter) should I be eating all that?! But I had soup with it. And not much afterwards, so e.g. swerved cake or a huge lunch. It helps that my aunt has a good appetite (she actually needs to put on weight) but she's petite (just 5ft or maybe slightly under) and like certain people of her generation isn't really into snacking or pigging out on crisps etc. Having said that, I would occasionally offer her e.g. a Nature Valley oat bar - have discovered these in Lidl and they seem to be a good slow release/sweet treat especially if you only have one.

I've also been ill but similar to you (I think), I've been eating like a Trojan for the past week or so, scarfing down carbs, as well as not! I always thought you lost your appetite when ill! For me though, I've noticed that there have been certain times when I drove or got the bus into town when I was away and I either didn't want to eat/drink whilst driving or the shops are further away and not so much choice with takeaway coffee/snacks which certainly helped me! In fact even when I was in Folkestone one day and had few options for lunch, I chose a Subway which is something I'd never usually choose and had 2 salamis with it, plus salad and mayo (normally hate mayo in sandwiches!) and crisps. The other day I went to the Cutty Sark with family for DB's birthday, we had teas/coffees but shared 1 x Millionaire Shortbread and 1 x Brownie (these were the only 2 left, no more of them there!) but when you cut them up and share with 4 adults and 1 child (me being 1 adult) it's actually ok as you get the sugar/cake hit but don't have the whole cake. I also noticed myself being more mindful of what I did eat out, if there were calorie options I weighed them up but I also ensured I had fruit when with my aunt to fill up. I then realised I'd bought too much fruit and snacks and rather than taking it all home I left her with half and took some pears from her garden too. I did notice that in one of her local Sainsburys I noticed my favourite Snack Organisation Rice Crackers had different flavours so did buy the different flavours.

Quick check in - incredibly manic week, helped no end by my hormones raging 😏

But I shan't be derailed by the rage! (I hope)

Today's meals:
Lunch - big chicken salad again
Dinner - sausages, homemade chips and beans

Four cuppas, a ton of water, and zero other snacks. Even forgot to have my Greek yoghurt with berries.

Kids just gone to bed - now I have to do some bloody work instead of watch bake off. Boo hoo! 😅

Oh no, LittlePea... although I 'work' whilst watching Bake Off at the moment!

Really hectic day today so managed to dodge all the snacks and DD bringing a friend back for dinner meant less for me to overeat with as well.

Good luck for everyone weighing in the morning... I'm going to try and get out for my WoW tomorrow but I've got so much on, it's looking unlikely.. unless I want to work until midnight, like last Wednesday! I need to do something though as feeling very lethargic - bloody weather!

Your break away sounds lovely, GonnaGetGoing!

And your lunch looks even lovelier, RealHousewife... love a soup with all the trimmings!

WOW was 66.1kg so 1.7kg loss. Definitely managed to stay more on track this week and feel better for it.

Plan for the week is to keep going!

We're up to London for October half term so I want to be on or under 10st by then, which I think is possible. Then 60kg by Christmas. And then maintain.,,,

Good luck for anyone weighing today 😁

Good Morning Everyone 😊

@GonnaGetGoingReturns I gain when I take pain meds.
I only take them when absolutely necessary as they cause me so many unwanted side effects.

Just seen your photo of the gifted harvest @fallfallfall. Looks fresh! What kind neighbours you have.

WOW - Weighed in to find I’m .5lb down this week and still carrying a very small post holiday gain, overall small loss on the month.
Several days to go; fingers crossed I finish the month with a loss 🤞

@milkfromthesleepycow Great result! Well done 👍

Thank you @SanFranBear To be honest it was really delicious 😋 I love a spicy soup!

@ImALittlePea Pesky hormones, hope you soon feel less frayed and unsettled ❤️

Menu
Meal 1 - Spicy veg soup.
Meal 2 - Chicken stir fry.

Tea, black coffee and water.

Exercise
Session 1 - Hand weights
Session 2 - Lesley Sansone video

Enjoy your day!

SW 88.4kg
Last week: 87.1kg
This week: 87kg

GW 85kg

At least it is down. Sorry for tmi but I think it might be lower a bit since I'm feeling a bit blocked.

Hi @Rewis lol no worries. A loss is a loss You could weigh again 😬

Morning all.

SW: 100.4kg
CW: 100.6kg

And I'll happily take that as it's a loss from last week's random 2kg gain!

I went to a birthday dinner last night and chose to have a chicken schnitzel with chips (one of the lighter options, believe it or not!) and stuck to one cocktail (breastfeeding) and a type of jelly for dessert. It was loads of fun but I've woken up this morning feeling extremely dehydrated and almost hungover. So that takes the edge off any possible temptation to keep eating and drinking in party mode.

This week - really start to focus on what I'm actually eating. No more surprises. And lots of water.

Looking forward to seeing everybody else's WOWs!