🎄LOSE IT! December 2022🎄Festive Edition🎄🥳🥳🥳

[TheRealHousewife]

Hello & Welcome

Carrying on from LOSE IT! November 2022 this is where people who wish to lose or maintain with accountability check in daily. People can access support and general advice around a healthy lifestyle (food/health/wellbeing) We generally have WOW - Weigh on Wednesday to track progress.

December is a tough month to navigate food wise especially if you’re wanting to lose. By making sensible choices without total deprivation you can hopefully mitigate any Christmas excess.

We all deserve to feel the best we can, be the best we can and strive to be as fit and healthy as possible. Not only will you look great in your finery, you’ll be strengthening your immune system and maintain a sense of well-being. In addition, if we eat right, get outside, move more your mental health will heap the rewards. Better mental health = better choices. It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

You just need to find what works for you! Me personally? I calorie count, log via MFP app, Intermittent fast, eat-low carb Mediterranean style and try to stay well hydrated.

There are so many enjoyable lifestyle options out there without the need to resort to extreme measures. Whatever way you choose, it needs to be enjoyable & sustainable for the long term. This is a long term commitment rather than a quick fix. I also rarely drink alcohol and keep sugar to a minimum. I exercise by doing walking vids & strength sessions with lite weighs.

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

There is no shaming, competition or harsh words to be found on this thread. We are in this together.

Are you in? What’s your plan? Whatever you do, Good Luck!

Morning!

-1lb since last Friday. And 1lb up since Monday, but that loss was artificially driven by that awful hangover, so I'm super chuffed with that!

As already said, I'm still going to weigh on Fridays over the break and check in, but I'm very much taking this as my 'end of 2022' weight. Which means my overall loss for the year is 1st 10lb. I'm immeasurable proud of this; it's been sustained and sensible, I think. I doubt I could have done it without the continued support on this thread. I want to lose about 4lb more if I can, but I'm also going to switch my focus to exercise and toning in the new year.

So yes, a nice place to end the week!

Evening All 😊

I know I said I was giving WOW a miss ... I weighed on Thursday (but didn't get round to posting) and I lost a smidge of .1 lbs since my last weight. Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick 😬.

Well done @ImALittlePea 👍. Every bit helps!

@Smugsmaug Going off piste is par for the course over the festive period. Don't be too hard on yourself!

Just baking for my OH ... he likes to take a bake to his hobby. I'm not tempted in the least 😇. Same can't be said for the fruit jellies that keep shouting me from the cupboard 😜

Enjoy your evening ❤️

62.2kg today despite takeaway pizza for dinner. At one time I'd have eaten a whole 12 inch by myself if really hungry (and I weighed a lot less then, bastard menopause) but now I share with dc who like pizza these days. Both dc are ill again and it was all ds wanted. I had 3 slices, 4 onion rings and a handful of chips and still a drop on the scales. A Christmas miracle I think and one that will never be repeated.

Lovely Waitrose delivery is due this afternoon with lots of nice food and drink, mainly for Christmas.

I'm trying to decide what cake to do for Christmas. I have a beautiful nordicware Bundt tin that's a forest with a train going round it. Last year I made a gingerbread cake and it was amazing.

Hello all 👋🏻

I don’t know if anyone will remember me, I was on these threads late in 2021 & earlier this year but I think the last one I posted on was May. Life got busy but I’ve carried on battling…

I was 8s 13lb or thereabouts for many years but started to lose the focus a bit before lockdown & I’ve been fighting to get back down from the 9s 7lb ish that I kept finding myself at. I’m 5’ 5", 47 & slight with long limbs so I was never overweight but I’ve always liked to feel slim & carrying that extra half stone was depressing me. And because of my build any weight change really shows on me. I only have to lose 3lb & people ask if I’ve been ill, I put on 3lb & people tell me I’m “looking well” (by which they mean fatter 😀)

I’ve lost most of the weight a couple of times this year but I’d get to 9s 2lb & stop, as I felt ok at that size. But then it would creep back on & before I knew it I’d added another 4lb. I’ve had to take a good hard look at my diet - I do a lot of home cooking & never ate huge portions but I have an undeniable problem with sugar & especially chocolate. And my life has become much more sedentary now my kids are older & I’m permanently working from home at a screen. I don’t think I’d factored in the amount of calories I burned up when then pushing a pram or racing across the country for meetings as I used to do. I’ve simply had to accept that at my age, with my lifestyle, I cannot eat what I have been eating & expect to stay slim.

Long story short, I’ve tackled my diet, got more exercise & I’m back down to my username! I hit 8s 13 & 1/4lb a couple of days ago & today 8s 13lb. It's the first time I've seen that on the scales since Feb 2019! So not far off 4 years.

I don’t know if I’ll stay here, I suspect I may creep up to a couple of pounds heavier at times, & that's fine, but the point is I’ve addressed the underlying issues & I think that’s the best way for me to stay at a weight & a shape that’s comfortable for me.

I recognise some names & I hope everyone is doing ok. Good luck to all, whether losing or maintaining 🙂

Well done 8stone13!!!
and thank you for sharing 🎄

Staying low as my food and activity level is not up to snuff this week.
wallow wallow a poor couple months.
But it won’t last I know that.

fallfallfall Keep checking in! I find reading about others' ups and downs really motivating - even the downs! Genuinely. I don't really talk to anyone offline about weight and health, except my sister, so it's great to be part of a little group who are on their way somewhere. You'll get your mojo back!

8stone13 Really enjoyed reading that, so thank you. You make it sound very straightforward, sensible and doable, which is inspiring for me as I have quite a complicated relationship with food.

Smugsmaug Just saw your name up thread so hello to you!

Hello everyone else, I've read your posts but have been in the depths of sickness land. DP and baby have turned a corner today and he is up making dinner as I put baby to bed, which is lovely.

A highlight of this week was baked chicken thighs (with skin!) and roasted root veg, one of my fave meals that I could eat every week happily.

But there's also been a lot of sugar, a lot of carby snacks/crackers/sandwiches with not a lot of nutrition this week, which - I know, I know, we have to adjust when life is crazy and it's not forever.

BUT I already felt I was not being as focused as I would have wanted, and have put back on about half a kilo from the 'lowest' I got down to. Which is only 2.9 odd kg since September - so unbelievably slow! At this rate it will literally be years till I reach my target as I have at least 20kg and preferably 28kg to go!

So while I don't want to do extra damage over Christmas and be back where I started, I also have to accept the reality that life is busy at the moment and there WILL be Christmas food everywhere we go. A delicate balance. A good protein breakfast sets me up well to make better choices (you're the same i think RealHousewife) but you will laugh when you see today's breakfast;

• Handful leftover potato wedges, coffee

Lunch - small chocolate tart, coffee. Later on, roll with cheese and sauerkraut, coffee, packet of crisps, leftover ice cream. (I'm embarrassed at that listl

Dinner - beef chili with rice, maybe a herbal tea to get me back in the right mindset for tomorrow

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. How are you @SanFranBear?

Autisticlegolover - the Bundt tin sounds so cute! I was planning to make a healthy/low sugar version for Xmas but plans have been waylaid!

Hello everyone! Almost Xmas week!

I’ve had a funny old week, up and down, managed to get into some more old clothing, gone down a bra size, which was great! Also had a vague hangover (ended to over eating crackers and cheese- so not even particularly decadent! 😂) My cold/bug seemed to clear up, but it’s back with a vengeance. Annoyingly, during the cold snap, managed to get my walks in, and now the weather is warming up, feeling too achey to go outside. Oh well! Problem with a cold, I’m craving carbs - and not veg so much, so trying to think of what I can have today that will keep me on track but still feel like a treat. Going to have a lazy day, so that hopefully I can get back into some routines tomorrow - missing the sense of purpose that comes from sticking to the healthy habits!

Well, I wrote a huge long post and then Mumsnet refreshed without me asking it to, and the post was lost.

Hope everyone has had a good weekend. I've had a few bready snacks and then a large roast, which was delicious. However I am now in bed with Round 2 of whatever this lurgy is going around.

Only potential upside is I don't feel like eating!

Ah sorry to hear that cloudberries123! It’s not fun at all when it drags on and on! Hope you’re being looked after and fingers crossed it clears up before Xmas. I’m running out of comfort programmes and films to distract myself with - and behind on Xmas chores 😓

Today: spinach, leek and potato soup, fish fingers and roast parsnips (random I know), slice of homemade sugar free peanut butter cheesecake -mixture of healthy and stodgy comfort foods

I have 2 poorly dc, one being treated for strep A so everything is out of the window at the moment. No walking but then not much appetite either so swings and roundabouts there. I might make some soup tomorrow. Ds is getting bony as he's slight to begin with and has had 4 illnesses this term. Need to feed him up.

Really sorry to hear that! Sending healing wishes, hope they get better very soon x

Thank you. I've been developing a cough all day but thankfully nothing to write home about. I usually end up on steroids and antibiotics because if my asthma so this might not be a fun Christmas.
I'm trying to think what I've eaten today and think I forgot dinner as I was engrossed in our Christmas Lego project. I think I've had the grand total of half a toasted muffin, 4 heroes, 10 ritz with the usual, 1 large glass orange juice, 3 cups of tea, 1 knock off baileys. Chocolate matchmakers. A whole box 🙈 That might explain the huge growl my stomach made as I was cleaning my teeth before bed because there's no substance there. I don't take sugar in my tea and use skimmed milk and not much of it so the cups of tea barely count. I've had a few glasses of water too.

How is the Christmas prep going? I'm feeling a little stressed because I've got most of the children's presents to wrap. My mum's are all done and under the tree.

What's on the menu for Christmas Day?

Checking in with 61.95kg this morning.

Good Morning Everyone 😊

Congrats on your Christmas Miracle @AutisticLegoLover 🎄Nice! Sorry to read you’ve poorly little ones. Hope they recover soon! I’m all prepped for Christmas apart from wrapping the dogs present and a couple more for OH. As we lost 80% of our family in recent years we don’t have as much to do or buy anymore. We do love giving so we do donate more to charity this time of year as a way of giving back. Not a huge amount, just what we can afford.

I remember you @8stone13 Lovely to see you back and a big well done on getting to maintenance. As you’ve identified it can be a bit tricky to staying in that zone. Nonetheless not impossible all things considered. It is perfectly normal to fluctuate a few lbs either way and as long as you keep an eye on it you’ll be ok. My mantra is never give up. Even when the scales don’t budge … keep going. 👏👏👏❤️

@fallfallfall Youll soon be back in the zone come the new year, longer days and the promise of spring sunshine ❤️

@Cloudberries123 im a bit like you in that I don’t chat to people about weight loss or diet except my oh who I live with. I agree I like to read all the good, the bad and the ugly that happens. We can all relate as it happens to all of us at times. I second the shout out to @SanFranBear ❤️Hope you’re ok!
Good choice 👍 Who doesn’t like a wedge & coffee at times 😆 Also I sympathise … MN has refreshed my page during post writing and my post goes pooof into the either. Very frustrating!

@Smugsmaug Congratulations on the smaller bra size! I wish my twins would skinny down a bit! All other body parts are smaller including fingers/feet etc.

Menu
Meal 1 - Minestrone soup. 2 satsuma.
Meal 2 - Pork medallions, carrots, broccoli & cabbage. Onion gravy.
Tea, Black coffee and water, water, water - intake been a bit low.

The silver lining with being celiac is you can’t eat regular mince pies, panatone, sausage rolls, Christmas cake etc. A lot of places still don’t cater for celiacs and friends forget. I’ve lost count of the times someone says ‘its vegan, that’s ok isn’t it’ 🙄

Heres wishing you all a lovely stress free festive week in the run up to Christmas 🎄

It must be annoying for you RealHousewife with the wrong things provided, but I sometimes envy people who have to cut out a large portion of (potentially) unhealthy foods for health reasons. Rather than deal with my actual food issues, she says... 😋

AutisticLegoLover we are with pescatarian relatives over Christmas so there will be several types of fish including a baked side of salmon - one of my faves! Other than that, just a glorified roast dinner really, with ham, PIBs and lots of sides!

Sorry to read your kid has strep, we have all been cycling through the same flu here. I've got it worst at the moment.

Breakfast - takeaway coffee, sandwich after dropping kiddo off. Huel drink for nutrition (surprisingly nice!)

Lunch - I'm hungry but don't really fancy anything we've got. Might have toast and fruit

Dinner - probably something quick and wholesome with minimum faff! Pasta and veggies? 🤧

Autisticlegolover - hope your children are feeling much better and that you’ve avoided the bug x

After a comment from my partner that I should push through feeling unwell, I decided to take the day off from everything and have a sofa duvet day instead! I decided that the world won’t end if the house isn’t all organised before Xmas, and if gifts aren’t wrapped, and if the Xmas baking doesn’t get done by me. Rest day today consisted of, lots of toast, tea and leftover sugar free peanut butter cheesecake. Hoping to feel more energised tomorrow, very shivery + achey today, and had a bit of cry earlier about feeling unwell. And over my partner not taking the initiative to make
something for dinner. And although he decided to take over the Xmas baking today , and spent ages in the kitchen, there were just a couple of balls of dough in the fridge to show for it. I have no idea how it’s taken him the bulk of the day, to actually get nothing done 😅 usually he’s really proactive and great at that kind of stuff, but not today I guess. The crying, weirdly, helped my mood a bit. It’s like I already have that post-Xmas-blues-come-down-feeling that usually kicks in for the new year. Started watching slow horses to cheer myself up, and looking forward to a brighter more jolly day tomorrow 🎄🎄🎄🎄I’m a bit rubbish at replying properly to everyone but always nice to read all your updates 👍🏼🎄🎄🎄🎄

@Smugsmaug You do right! Sometimes a duvet day is exactly what is needed. Hope you soon feel better 😘

Oh no, there's so many poorly people about at the moment-get well soon!
I woke up this morning with a full blown cough and a banging head and aching joints. I'm on antibiotics and steroids and I'm hoping that by midweek I'll feel better and can carry on with the Christmas wrapping. I need, well, want, to bake but that can wait. I want cheesecake now but a full sugar one. I make Oreo cheesecake, Maltesers cheesecake, chocolate cheesecake and key lime pie. I want cheesecake and pie! Today has been toast and a 2 toasted muffins. That's it. No exercise except for going up and down the stairs many times.

Morning all!

I hope all the poorly people are starting to feel better soon ❤️ so much about.

Hi @8stone13 I remember you - well done for figuring out your balance!

The less said about what I've eaten and drink since Friday, the better 😆🤦‍♀️ I ended up in a bad mood yesterday afternoon which is definitely down to the amount of carbs I've inhaled. I keep telling myself I'm not going to fall even further off course, but I know I will. I'm now wondering whether to weigh Friday 😂 as it's probably just going to annoy me. I 100% will gain and deserve to, but knowing the number isn't going to change my approach over the Christmas weekend so I don't know if it's worth doing?? But then I feel like I'm dodging any accountability by not doing so. Hmm.

Anyway, swearing off the wine for the rest of the week, barring tomorrow when I have plans. Taking ds and a friend to McDonald's today but will go off the saver or wrap menu, which will be lighter at least. Risotto for dinner tonight, I hope.

I'm finally feeling festive though, yay 🎄🤩 decorations all up, presents all bought and will be wrapped tomorrow. Christmas dinner this year is at my family's, it'll be a mostly traditional roast with every extra you can think of, but I think we're having pie instead of a bird as there are some vegetarians and vegans amongst us. Can't blooming wait!

Well hello you wonderful bunch! I am so sorry to have been awol for most of the month but my move didn't go that smoothly, unfortunately, so have been firefighting in one form or another ever since.

I have read through the thread and just wanted to say 'Get Well Soon' to almost all of you - sounds like it's been a really tricky month health wise for so many of you so hopefully everyone turns a corner to be able to enjoy the Christmas break fully!

Given the housing nightmares, I've been very slack with my food but the stress, the sheer physical effort and missing of meals has meant I'm the lowest I've been all year!!!

SW: 104.7kg
CW: 67.1kg

I'm thinking a lot is tied up in dehydration as lots of salty snacks and takeaways but at the same time - whoop!

In other good news, I seem to have found myself a Friend with Benefits which, after 10 years of celibacy, is also helping to keep the weight off! Someone I've known for years but never really thought of that way but am really enjoying it for what it is for now... and given I've not able to get any hiking or regular exercise in for weeks, good to stay flexible 😉

Lovely to see a fellow walker on the thread, AutisticLegoLover (also love me some Lego so am intrigued by your Christmas project!)

And a heartfelt thank you to RealHousewife for everything you've done to help support me this year.. this thread has played a massive part in keeping me on track and feeling like it's all worth it! I shall definitely endeavour to contribute more now that things have settled down a bit on the home front!

Now - need to get our tree and decs up - normally one of the first to do so but just had no luck whatsoever in finding time this year

ImALittlePea it's Christmas and if you can't indulge now then when can you? I think the main thing is being sensible most days of the year to allow for celebration times. Life's too short to not enjoy what's on offer. At McDonald's I go for a bottle of water sometimes instead of a fizzy drink or milkshake. I always have the veggie deluxe but sometimes skip the Mayo. It's something we have a handful of times a year because there isn't one nearby enough without getting a bus or walking 6 miles there and back.

I've dropped to 9 st 9lb this morning and can't believe it especially as I'm not doing any of my usual walking.

SanFranBear Lovely to read your update about your new friend, although sorry the house move hasn't gone as smoothly as desired! Look forward to hearing from you more regularly in the new year perhaps? 😋

AutisticLegoLover sounds like you've got what I've got. Cough, headache, achey... Hope you turn a corner soon.

This is my second full day of official rest and I have to say I'm not loving it! I'll try to remember that next time I'm holding a yelling baby and wishing I had free time to just sit and scroll and drink tea. It's not that interesting for more than a couple of hours!

Am having to cancel a few Christmas week social plans too which is annoying.

Food today ok so far:

Breakfast - Lemsip, coffee, toast

Early lunch - peanut butter & banana on toast, tea, another Lemsip

Dinner - DP is bringing home a Christmas hamper from work so hopefully that means a dinner of fancy cheese and cracker type things 😉

No idea what to expect for WOW tomorrow but we'll take it in stride.

a quick post for accountability:

• toast
• kefir and berries
• lemsips cough syrup and various pastilles
• salt and vinegar crisps
• sourdough pizza
• two small home baked Xmas almond shortbread biscuits

Not much movement again today, another duvet day. However, whilst I felt so rough earlier, not so bad now. Fingers crossed it’s clearing up and I’ll be fighting fit tomorrow. Had more carbs and processed foods the last couple of days when poorly than in a while. And can feel a difference, and not in a good way. Looking forward to healthy food and getting back on track with the walks. Will aim for a brief ten mins tomorrow morning if I feel well enough, and a hearty home cooked nutritious meal. Hope you’re all good x

oh my it's cold over here -26C yesterday and a balmy -22C today :(
just ordered fleece lined clothing...knowing they will be touch tight
nearly at the winter solstice and each day getting a bit brighter.
i'm really excited to be out of the winter doldrums even though on the 20th with this bitter weather it's a bit optimistic.
hang in there everyone
i've spotted some pretty spring attire that's caught my eye, incentive on the horizon.