🍁LOSE IT! October 2022🍁12 WEEK COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS 🎄

[TheRealHousewife]

Hello and Welcome

Following on from the LOSE IT! September Thread here’s October’s Thread.

Dare I say it’s officially the 12 Week Count Down to Christmas 🎄😬 There is still time (for those who want to) for a complete body/mind/fitness overhaul before the festivities and family get together commence 🥳 Plus, who doesn’t want to start 2023 feeling more energised, fitter and svelte!

Jump right into October! 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!

Evening all, checking in late as its been a crazy day. Just under 1/2 a kg lost this week which isn't much but after weeks of nothing it's at least something.
@Cloudberries123 sorry to hear you're struggling with clothes, I get what you mean about thinking you look better naked! Could you go to a big shopping centre and do a try on even if you don't buy much you would at least know what styles to look for in the charity shops.
@MirandaWest congrats on the PB
Food today was
Lunch- halloumi and rice cakes
Snack - oat balls
Dinner - I was planning roast chicken salad but now I'm fancying chicken noodle soup
Exercise was a dog walk this morning and a crossfit class this afternoon.

Allthegoodnames half a kilo is massive! Well done. Your food today sounds lovely too.

Ha ha ha @TheRealHousewife this “exercise” is simply me attempting to be helpful around a chaotic home. Dd youngest is a genuine handful from sunup to sundown. So constant tidying of yard toys, games or puzzles. I spotted a pile 5ft high of laundry (a shelving unit with one shelf for different categories of clothing; white, colors, dark, mending needed etc). Then dishes and yesterday olives that needed harvesting.
today I hid at the equestrian club, although dd managed to find me and send me on a trek to the bakery. Oh and a trip to the rock climbing center with the grandkids included mending while I watched. All rather funny.

Sounds like you’ve been really busy @fallfallfall. It all adds up 😬. I bet your daughter is happy for the extra pair of hands.

😊, for which I’m fed fish and quinoa. I know I know it’s healthy…. She’s a seriously healthy cook. Lots of interesting combinations. White beans used instead of macaroni, a dupe to Mac and cheese that was amazing. Lunch was linguini with mushrooms and eggplant in a sauce that tasted like it was done with white wine but not.
We did order pizza one night which was nicely done very thin crust.
i’ll try harder on the water bottle issue.

@fallfallfall The Mac & cheese dupe sounds interesting. Would your DD share the recipe please 🙏 Don’t forget to get the water in tomorrow 👍

Good Morning

Menu
Meal 1 - Halloumi stir fry (chilli oil) with cavo, red pepper, red onion, carrot, broccoli and black beans.
Meal 2 - Spicy salmon fillet with cauli rice.
Tea, black coffee and water.

Exercise
Session 1 - Stretching/bands
Session 2 - Hand weights.

Come on ladies, last few days. I know its tough at times due to managing life/feelings/mental health. Setting or reaffirming your intentions can help! You deserve to feel better and improve your health. ❤️

This week saw a very unexpected 2lb loss. Not sure how that happened.
Total loss for October is 1lb which I'm taking as a win.

Indulgent couple of days coming up celebrating 18 year anniversary and DC away at DB's for the night so probably looking at a gain next week.
This is a marathon for me though and not a sprint.

Yes, last few days of the month! Come on everyone!

Well done RadFad

I'm experimenting with having Wednesday evening & Thursday morning as a relaxation of paying attention to what I'm eating, and a chance to enjoy some less healthy things if I want.

I don't really like the language of treat/reward or cheat days, as that tends to set off disordered eating thoughts for me, but for the past couple of weeks I have essentially 'rewarded' the small losses with some dessert etc.

All this to say I have just bought a packet of Lu chocolate biscuits and am hugely enjoying them with cups of tea!

Other than that, still on track:
Breakfast - 1 slice toasted sunflower seed bread, cream cheese. Apple. 2 coffees

Lunch - small portion spaghetti and meatballs.

Dinner - tbc but using up a lot of veg.

Nearly the weekend!

@RadFad That is fabulous! Well done! Being down overall for October is a great result! 👏

@Cloudberries123 You do it the way you know is sustainable for you. I don’t like labelling food good or bad either. Another way of looking at it is that nothing is banned in moderation 🙂

Day 38
SW:143.2
CW:137
GW:126
6.2lbs
Sorry to have disappeared for 13 days and lost track of the thread - DH and I decorated like a pair of possessed creatures for 5 days solid and managed to do all three floors before we headed off for 4 days holiday. Lots of walking and lots of delicious food and it has taken me until today to get back to where I was 13 days ago.
Sadly just in time to probably see the scales go back up again as DD1 and DD2 are coming back from Uni tomorrow - flying visit for DD1 as she has ward rounds at 9am on Monday. So looking forward to seeing them both and hearing all about Years 1 and 3 - facetimes are great but I want to hug my boos.

Hi @Was126orbustandmaybebust Lovely to see you. Your chipping away towards your target. Well done on your loss to date! Sounds like you’ve been extremely busy. Family time with your beloved daughters will soon invigorate and fulfill you ❤️.

In the same way as 'good' and 'bad' food I hate it when people say to me 'Are you allowed to eat this cake?' Or whatever else it might be. I'm afraid I get quite snappy and say that I'm allowed to eat anything I like but I may not choose to. Any advice to help me avoid sounding like a moany ungrateful mare?

@Lizsmum 😅 Sorry I've no advice how to stop being a moany mare. Then again if people are rude enough to comment about your food choices they deserve what they get 😬

Sorry for disappearing for a day or two.. have caught up and some lovely losses amongst you all. You sounded disappointed, RealHousewife, but hopefully this last sprint before the end of the month will shed that pesky pound!

Thanks also for the kind words on the housing nightmare as sadly, Lizsmum, we do have to move in the next few months - my landlord is looking to sell. But I shall get back on it and find something nice, I'm sure!

Your holiday sounds quite full on, fallfall - but I think visiting family can definitely feel like that. As long as you're enjoying yourself - the food sounds delicious!

Well done on a PB, Miranda.. your next 'big' run is coming up, isn't it?

I've been out walking again last couple of nights and managed 19k tonight which finished me off... no cross country or windy little roads at least but just looooong! Hoping it pays off in the morning as not been too strict on my food intake... even a little 100g off would be welcome as going in the right direction.

Right - must sleep... almost the weekend 😃

Morning everyone. Sorry for disappearing again for the week. I'm doing better but I'm still not in the best headspace overall to read & absorb everything. Sending congratulations and solidarity in equal measures to all of you though ❤️

Nearly didn't weigh today as I knew it'd be a gain, and kind of wish I hadn't 😏 I've gained all of my October loss and then some in the last two weeks! Ffs. I shouldn't be shocked though - we've had so many takeaways and extra wines to get through the shit-show of the last few weeks. I'm going to use today's result to motivate me, hopefully normality resumes in spades on Monday and I can reset and focus.

I haven't set myself goals in the last few months but I'm going to for November. Accountable LittlePea will be back 😜

In the meantime, it's my DD's birthday this weekend so there will be all the party food, cake etc. I'm not going to worry about excess calories - another few days of not worrying won't do much more damage now.

Have a lovely weekend ladies, see you on the other side.

My weigh day and an ever such a small gain but bit gutted as doubt I'll make my October goal... but has given me a boost to get back on it as still got about half a stone (ideally a whole stone) to go:

SW: 104.7kg
CW: 69.6kg
October GW: 69kg

I will jump on next Tuesday so I know exactly where I am for November. I should celebrate my NSVs more, I think... practically every pair of my trousers are now too big, even those which are years old. I was going to go on a big, daylight hike tomorrow before DC come home but instead, I am going to take myself around the charity shops and get some bottoms.

Will try and get out tonight instead - perhaps not too far and certainly not like last night, but feel the need to take advantage of childfree time!

Hope everyone is having a lovely Friday... I'm very much looking forward to carving some pumpkins for Monday - my favourite part of the whole shebang!

I’ve been missing in action too, as I’ve just been too ill to care about my diet...it’s mainly consisted of ice cream this week 🙈 I don’t think October will be the month for weight loss for me!

I hope you find a new rental soon @SanFranBear . I don’t envy anyone who is dealing with the housing market at the moment.

Glad to hear you are feeling a little bit better @ImALittlePea . Fingers crossed the upwards trend in mood continues 🤞 You’ll probably find that at least some of that extra weight drops off in no time.

Sorry I don’t have time or energy to catch up with everyone’s posts, but will try to do so later.

Hugs to those who are snowed under at the moment LittlePea, Crimson and anyone else. It's a really busy time of year. I may be going back to work earlier than I thought too.

Enjoy the charity shopping SanFranBear It wasn't a success for me last week but I've got so far to go still. You're nearly at goal!

Good on food, exercise and water today. Lots of walking on errands with baby in the sling.

Breakfast - toasted sunflower seed bread with German cheese and salami. Two coffees.

Lunch - 2 mini wraps with houmous, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms. Piece of banana bread

Dinner tbc! Happy weekend 🎉

Back from holiday in the big smoke. Twas lovely but definitely ate way too much- took the opportunity to splurge on easily accessible dim sum! Also tried purple yam ice cream- very tasty
Managed to offset a little with a LOT of walking. Highest step count for a day was 32K!
Only did one run as needed to go out in the early morning and Hyde park (which looked fabulous for running) was closed!

Random weigh in this morning shows a gain of 0.4kg which puts me on a gain of 1kg for the month.

Either way I'm now back home and gearing up for the pre Xmas period. My nearest good Chinese is probably in London far away and I've got a routine to get back into

Will catch up on the thread later when I've tackled mount washing pile but my general feeling is Novembers our month ladies!

Helloooooo everyone!
Forgot to post my WoW this week which pretty much sums up October for me! Been super busy and super sociable which has been fun but ultimately not conducive to weight loss! I was 2lbs up on the previous week 🙈and I'm heading towards STS over October which is probably better than I deserve. November is the month though, I am determined primarily to cut back on drinking as I've had so many birthdays/work events this month I've actually stopped appreciating a nice glass or two which negates the whole thing. DH is in the same boat so at least we can cut back together.
Hope everyone has a lovely weekend and belated congrats @MirandaWest on your 5k PB, that's incredibly quick!

Completely agree with the 'November is our month' sentiment... we'll get ourselves that hit closer to our goals before Xmas, I just know it!

I don't think I am very choosy, Cloud - either that or the charity shops round my way are very blessed with their donators - as I found quite a lot of bits and pieces. To be fair, I was mainly after plain trousers for work so there's always lots of those but did also find a jumper for Xmas and a pretty, sparkly dress which I might wear for NYE... we normally go to a party at my BFF's place and it was the resulting photos from last year that made me really get a hold of myself. DD wants to go to a sleepover this year so not sure if we'll still go but might post a 'before' and 'after' pic somewhere... the old dress is like a sack, now!

Sorry to hear you've been feeling crook, CrimsonAlligator - hope you're well on the mend now. You too, Littlepea.. glad to hear your stresses are easing a little.

Glad to hear you had a lovely holiday, milk - Chinese or Japanese food is my downfall as well but I'm sure it was worth it at the time!

And I bet its lovely saying DH now, slightlystressed 😆

Oooh loving the idea of a before and after pic sanfranbear!
Hahaha it's nice but still getting used to it!
And funny as I suppose I was expecting things to feel a bit different - perhaps more like a grown up?! - but of course it's exactly the same (no complaints!) I'm in the process of changing my name and finding I don't like "Mrs" as a title, it doesn't really feel like me. Also a bit of me feels like - why should people know I'm married just because I'm a woman etc. So it's thrown up some interesting feelings I wasn't expecting.
But yes saying husband is nice

🍁LOSE IT! November 2022🍁🎄8 WEEK COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS🎄

Thanks for the new thread RealHousewife I'll join you all over there shortly.

SanFranBear definitely do a before and after picture! Even if it's just private for you. What a milestone. Though of course we'd love to see it too - face etc cropped out as you feel comfortable 😊

I've had purple yam ice cream in London too milk it's yummy!

Having a birthday weekend over here at the moment, so lots of lovely food. But not really tempted to overindulge which is nice.