Diet For Summer Challenge

[Dashel]

This is a continuation of the diet for Christmas challenge that was undertaken in 2022. Thank you to @OhFatty for starting that.

It is a group of us wanting a supportive environment to loose weight in the long term. Hopefully the posters from the Christmas challenge will sign up again and new members are welcome.

We each have our own way of doing this and there are no rules other than being encouraging to everyone and cheering on successes.

Hope everyone is having a lovely
weekend. It’s a beautiful day here - hoping go out for a walk later with the twins.

Weighed in today (a day early because I’ve lost all concept of time and space it seems…haha), but am back down to 60.05kg, so that’s a big win and down just over 1.5kg (c. 3lb) since last weigh in. Happy with that. Think things are starting to look up finally 🙂

Well done to you all for your great results too!

Hope you’re enjoying your weekend!

@TheBatwoman Glad things are starting to look up generally but down on thr scakes 😊 it was lovely yesterday so I hope you and the twins got out for a walk. Sunshine is still so special at the moment and need to make the most of it.

@bigdecisionstomake If you know what sizes you are in what brand then Vinted is great or are prepared to take a risk for the price, then I would recommend trying it. I have got some fantastic bargains without leaving the house and tbh I really hate wasting a weekend day shopping and don’t really live or work near any good shops. But I need new clothes.

Sounds like you had a productive day and STS over Easter is great! I hope you got outside too! We will both get there and are making progress all the time!

I managed 19k steps yesterday including some light pottering outside doing hanging baskets. DH had to carry them and hang them, which is so frustrating. He is so good and is happy to help but I hate having to ask. I went for a brisk 40 minute walk and ate mostly crap but under 2000 calories and somehow managed to loose the 2lb I gained so back to 10st 0.4lb 🤯 I had two hot cross buns for lunch, but instead of lunch and not after lunch.

We have friends coming round tonight to move the cross trainer upstairs with DH as the gym is now more or less finished and everything else is in there. It needs a mirror and a blind but my weights and the spin bikes are in there. And ready to be used. I need a weight rack to condense them and I would like a proper bench as well. No hurry as I can’t use it and DH hates weights.

I may have decided to use my last four days of annual leave and my Tesco points on a cruise over the August bank holiday week so really need to focus on getting holiday ready as I now have two very close together. Normally we wouldn’t do anything in the school holidays but the points are decreasing in value soon and I only have 4 days leave left and so we are treating this as a cheeky spa week away.

Morning all

Hope you had a lovely sunny walk with the twins @TheBatwoman Congratulations on the loss - that's great work and you're obviously back on track in style.

I'll have a browse on Vinted tomorrow if I get time @Dashel a quick look this morning suggests it has lots of brands that I usually buy and a beauty section too which might be dangerous 😳The cruise sounds lovely and something to look forward to once you get back from Cyprus. So close to the 9s again now - well done, especially on Easter weekend!

I gave in to a wine craving last night and had a 250ml glass with my evening meal. Otherwise though I was within calories. I was expecting a bounce on the scales this morning but they have been kind so far and I've had a STS at 10st 3lb. I'm very happy with that. Scores on the doors for this week are:

Week 14
Initial start weight 11st 5lb
Final target weight 9st 11lb
Last week's weight 10st 4lb
This week's weight 10st 3lb
Loss this week 1lb
Total loss so far 1st 2lb

As there will undoubtedly be cake this afternoon (and possibly more wine later as now the bottle is open it would be rude not to 😉) I'm expecting a rebound over the next few days but am relaxed about that. I'll do my best to stay within calories otherwise and I've done a 90 minute walk this morning to offset some of the damage so I've already got 10K steps in the bag.

Happy Easter everyone.

Thank you, had a lovely walk with the twins yesterday 😊 I start my new job week after next and pleased to have tried on my old pre-pregnancy work stuff and it fits. Seems like a positive milestone and hopefully a good omen!

Well done @bigdecisionstomake - you’re doing great!

To those of you trying to avoid chocolate and treats like me, may the force be with you and to those of you having a day off,
enjoy! 🙂Hope everyone has a lovely day today whatever your plans

Morning all

Thanks @TheBatwoman there have been ups and downs but I'm really happy with overall progress - just finding it harder now I'm getting nearer target and also since diet fatigue has set in. Great that your work clothes all fit again - I think sometimes those non-scale victories are the sweetest.

On the subject of diet fatigue I ended up off plan completely yesterday in the end. Had a ginormous (but delicious) homemade chocolate brownie at the family party yesterday afternoon and then was very late getting home so ended up picking up takeaway pizza and garlic bread. I drank a large glass of wine and then in a fit of bank holiday madness broke out the leftover Christmas Baileys too 😳

Back on it today. Although some leftover brownies got sent home with me because mum is also currently on a diet and didn't want them in her house....I can't bring myself to throw them away so am encouraging DP and DS to eat them quickly 😂

The scale has not been too unkind - I'm up to 10st 3.8lb - given yesterday that's not too bad and hopefully some of it will be water weight from the sugar, carbs and alcohol and will wash away over the next few days.

I've done an Olivia Lawson 5000 steps workout followed by Day 16 of CGs Iron Series which was hamstring focussed.

Have good days all.

Morning all

Nearly didn't post today....

Went off the rails again yesterday and ate all the snacks and drank all the wine. Looking at it from a new day my actual meals and exercise were on point, it was the times in between that weren't. There's a feeling of deja vu from last year - this is exactly how I ended up nearly 2 stone overweight and I really don't want to go back there again.

I lay in bed this morning trying to work out what caused it but I can't put my finger on it, I wasn't particularly stressed about work or the DC or worrying or upset about anything. I'm wondering if it is a sense of complacency setting in that I'm there or thereabouts back in my 'happy' zone weight wise, albeit right at the top end - and therefore can afford to take my eye off the ball a bit.

Obviously this isn't true because if I carry on like this I'll end up back where I started before I know it. I'm going to try to get back on track again today but will need to have a think about some strategies to try to stop this becoming a weekend habit.

I weighed at 10st 4.4lb this morning which given the amount of salty crisps I ate isn't surprising. Hopefully in the next day or two I should lose a bit of water weight and then be able to see what the real damage actually is.

On Saturday it will be 9 weeks until I go to France and I would dearly love to be in the 9s by then so I'm going to channel that thought to try and keep me on track today.

Have good days all.

Glad to see it wasnt just me who went off the rails for Bank Holiday weekend, because I went food & wine crazy😳
Back on plan today but my steps are gonna be rubbish as I'm not walking to work and my 4 year won't walk far. I did workout this morning though.
Will definitely see a gain on the scale on Friday.
Have a good week all.

Hi everyone,

Another one doing the post of shame, we had friends over for dinner and my nice healthy salad didn’t soak up the wine so an evening of lots of wine and nibbles happened, followed by a hangover and munchies 🫣

Oh well, Easter is over and I have 2.5 weeks of diets and sobriety until my holiday.

I am glad we all seemed to have had a good time and a few bad days won’t do us any harm. Summer and holidays are coming and we will all get back on track and keep swimming!

@bigdecisionstomake I also want to be firmly into the 9s but this weekend hasn’t helped at all and I weighed in at 10st 2.2lb but hopefully all the water I have been drinking today will help flush things through.

The really important thing is that none of us are saying screw it I fell off the wagon and I’m giving up and I think we should all be proud of that.

Morning everyone!

weighed in this morning for first time since last Thursday. Been a bit all over the place recently so quick update on progress:

Feb 22 start weight: 15st 10lb
Jan 23 start weight: 12st 12lb
Today: 12st 2lb
Target: 11st 7lb

So 10lb lost this year so far. Definitely more tortoise than hare 😆

Morning all

@gemzee and @Dashel reassuring to hear I wasn't the only one who went mad over the bank holiday weekend 😋Those are wise words @Dashel it's not the end of the world and we should be proud that we've kept swimming and haven't thrown in the towel 💪

What amazing progress you've made @Isyesterdaytomorrowtoday almost 3 stone last year and 10lbs already this year - I'm not sure that makes you a tortoise! I think the closer you get to goal the slower and harder it becomes but keep swimming and you'll get there. In the meantime a great big pat on the back from me, you're inspiring 😊

I got myself back on track yesterday and ate within calories and drank loads of water. The scales haven't shifted overnight which I'm a little bit surprised about, I usually find water gain associated with salt (sharing size bag of crisps 😳) washes away pretty quickly but the carb/sugar water weight takes a bit longer. Fingers crossed for a little movement tomorrow.

I've done a 20 min Improved Fitness 70s workout as a warm up followed by Day 17 of CGs Iron Series which was upper body this morning. Hoping for a walk later too.

Have good days all.

Thank you @bigdecisionstomake I really appreciate that! Sounds like you had a great day yesterday and are back on track too, if you can’t indulge a little over Easter weekend then when can you? Luckily for me I was at MILs and she’s not a very good cook 😂

@Isyesterdaytomorrowtoday you are doing amazingly well and definitely not a tortoise but I don’t think weight loss is a quick journey unfortunately. The in law diet sounds like a new one! Unfortunately my MIL likes to cook in large quantities. DH had kind words in the past to stop her cooking full English breakfasts a a big lunch, dinner, pudding and snacks.

@bigdecisionstomake My scales weight up this morning so hopefully yours just stayed the same. Hopefully alcohol dehydrated us and our bodies are stabilising again? No idea tbh but I am also hoping for it to start going down tomorrow.

Today I weighed in at 10st 2.5lb, I have been good with food and got my steps in. I may have also ordered another new dress 😊 I probably should keep track of how much I am spending, but I will worry later. I more worried about the lbs at the moment

Morning all

I laughed out loud at the MIL diet @Isyesterdaytomorrowtoday very helpful of her!

Enjoy your new dress @Dashel the scales will start to move in the right direction again soon I'm sure - just keep swimming 🐠

I have had a small downward movement this morning to 10st 4lb. As I was at 10st 3lb on Sunday I guess I have to accept the extra pound is now actually weight rather than water. It is not inconceivable that I ate/drank over calories by 3500 over the bank holiday weekend when I take into account the takeaway pizza/garlic bread, the wine, the Baileys, the chocolate brownie(s) and the veritable mountain of crisps. Just goes to show how easy it is. I'm also very cross at Sainsburys for only having sharing bags of Tyrells rather than a 6 pack of individual bags 😂

I do completely buy into the fact that you can't be on it all the time and it is healthy to have a blowout every now and then so I'm not beating myself up about it but am hoping it will be useful to remember this when I'm at goal as something it is OK to do occasionally but not every weekend.

Onwards and downwards from here hopefully! I've done a 30 minute walk and tone with Up to the Beat Fitness this morning followed by a 20 minute Grow with Jo workout. I've got a busy day out and about rather than in the office so won't get time for a walk but will be active all day rather than behind a desk so hopefully it will balance out.

Have good days all.

@bigdecisionstomake I feel your pain I went down slightly from 10st 2.5lb yesterday to 10st 2.1lb today 🫣

We can not keep swimming and accept that this is part of our lives. I’m not sticking to a strict diet or calorie counting on holidays, Christmas time or for a special meal so I think daily weighing and adjusting things is part of a lifestyle rather than a diet. But 100% agree, I couldn’t do this every weekend as it would take too long to bounce back.

It sounds like you had a lot of Easter treats and hopefully they were worth it. I have learnt that alcohol is particularly bad for me and alcohol and salad is a terrible idea when you rarely drink.

I did a 5k step GFWR and will get my steps in and eat well. We have a visitor this weekend so that will be tough. I don’t want to end up being on the end of a Mumsnet my host under fed me and I left starving thread 🤣

Hello! Happy Friday all.
I'm 8st 13lbs today which I'm happy with. Although it's technically 3lbs on this week, it's 2lbs lighter than I was 2 weeks ago (the change in scale affected things last week) and under my target 😊
I was naughty and had wine last night (did 11k steps yesterday though - impressive with a 4yr old in tow I think 😁).
Have a good weekend all.

Morning all

Glad things are moving in the right direction again for you @Dashel. Hopefully you can manage to keep on track, enjoy yourself and avoid a thread of shame about feeding your guests diet sized portions this weekend😅

@Gemzee 11K steps with a 4 year old in tow is indeed impressive and as such you definitely deserved the wine!

A STS on the scale for me this morning at 10st 4lb. I had a very active day yesterday but succumbed to a delicious pulled pork cob at lunchtime followed by a salted caramel brownie so any benefit from the extra activity was lost in additional calories - whoops.

I've got a quiet weekend this weekend so am hoping to be able to keep on track and get some gardening in for extra calories. I've done a 15 minute Improved Fitness workout as a warm up followed by Day 18 of CGs Iron Series which was Glutes focussed.

Have good days all.

Morning all

Very happy to see the weekend again, although wishing the weather could have been better - a bit drizzly here.

I've finally seen some movement in the right direction this morning so I'm down to 10st 3.6lbs. Happy with that but at the same time frustrated with the fact it only took two days of off plan eating to put the gain on but is going to take probably a week or possibly even longer to lose it. I am going to try to be mindful of portions today although have a half formed plan for either brunch or lunch with my youngest DC in town (depends what time he gets up!) so will have to try to pick wisely.

To accommodate I've done a slightly longer than usual workout this morning - 40 mins standing cardio with Eleni Fit, 10 mins Abs with MadFit and 10 mins GFWR and then a few stretches.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Morning all

A quick one from me as have a busy day ahead. Managed to keep on track yesterday and have had another downward move on the scales this morning to take me back to 10st 3lb - exactly where I was last Sunday. Overall I think it is a fair result after the over indulgent bank holiday weekend and I'm looking forward to moving closer to the 9s now I've regained the lost ground.

Week 15
Initial start weight 11st 5lb
Final target weight 9st 11lb
Last week's weight 10st 3lb
This week's weight 10st 3lb
Loss this week 0lb
Total loss so far 1st 2lb

As always Sunday is a rest day for me exercise wise so just a walk this morning.

Have good days all

Afternoon all,

@bigdecisionstomake I am really pleased that your weight is going downwards again! I hope you enjoy your rest day although I’m sure you were really busy. I hope you enjoyed your lunch out.

@Gemzee sounds like you continue to do well and 11k steps is great with a 4 years old!

Sorry didn’t weigh in this morning as we had a visitor and didn’t want to wake her up so used a different bathroom and needed some tea. We wake up quite earlier and I know not everyone does.

I got my MRI results, degenerative disc disease, an annular tear and a bulging disc. Because I have been doing the right things for months (the exercise and regular physio) and it’s only gotten worse. I am getting referred to a specialist for possible injections in my spine or something. I am super squeamish so kind of switched off at that point. I have the results in an email to pass on to my physio when she is back from her holidays.

I asked about exercising and the GP has said no HIIT and no weights and then said that the specialist will give me more detailed advice. I have been pretty pissed off and upset as I love my weights and I want to find a way to get back into them.

However as our friend came later than expected on Saturday morning. I put a cushion on my spin bike and tried a 20 min session and I think it went ok. We found a vegan cake stall later on in the day and I may have got a few as it’s rare for me to go anywhere like that, so although I did spinning and 24k steps, I’m sure I will be gaining tomorrow.

I tried some bikinis on whilst we were out and about and looking at yourself in a mirror in changing in effectively your undies, makes me realise that whilst I have done well, there is still a really long way to go. Reading a bit about these conditions also makes me realise I need to get my weight down for more important reasons too.

I also found out on Friday that I need to go away with work for a couple of days next week. I’m not looking forward to the drive because of pain and I will need to be careful of the food when I’m there as we all go out for three course meals and drinks 🤦‍♀️Definitely not drinking as I have a long drive the next day and will need to be strong.

Morning all

I enjoyed lunch with my DS thanks @Dashel - it makes a nice change to have some one on one social time with him, we don't do it often enough!

Sorry to hear about your results - I don't know much about back injuries but that sounds pretty serious. Do you know how long it will be until you get your referral for treatment? Maybe your physio can target their treatment more effectively now they know exactly what the problem is?

I can entirely understand your frustration with being unable to return to using weights for the moment. Do you know if this is something you will be able to build back in again in the future or is that a question for the specialist? Fingers crossed it won't be forever.

All of that news must be a complete downer but now at least you know what the problem is and can begin to address it more effectively - try and stay positive if you can. I remember being completely blindsided when I went to the GP with hip pain that I thought meant I'd temporarily pulled or torn something only to be told it was osteoarthritis and short of a hip replacement I would have it for life. I was very down for a while but you do kind of adjust your expectations and learn to work with it. Over the last couple of years I've kind of worked out which movements I need to avoid to not exacerbate it and accept that I have to have some periods of prolonged rest if I do get it wrong and it flares up. Try and keep a positive mindset if you can and focus on what you can do not what you can't while you get a treatment plan in place. Feel free to vent to us on here in the meantime.

On which note, I've been starting to feel fatigued and generally under the weather this weekend and have also started with some quite persistent hip pain that isn't settling. I've therefore decided I'm going to have a rest week this week and just go for a daily walk but stop with the regular cardio and weights for a few days to give my body a bit a break. I know this will have a negative impact on my weight loss as I need the exercise calories everyday so I can eat as I want to but I think I need to do it for my own wellbeing. I will probably switch to eating at maintenance calories for a week.

Unfortunately I've weighed in at 10st 4lb this morning so seem to have found a pound overnight somehow. I've also got a couple of nights out this week so it's not an ideal week to do it but overall I think I just need to let my body have a bit of a break.

Hopefully I'll be raring to go again in a few days 🙂

Hello, hope you all have a good week. I'm not around much and won't be weighing in on Fri as I'm away Thurs/Fri and then again on Sunday. Busy week which will be off track food & drink wise. Going to try to get a least 4 workouts in and hope for good step count. Might weigh in on Sat or I might skip a week, we'll see.

@Gemzee hope you have a great time and are off doing fun stuff.

@bigdecisionstomake I am sorry to hear about your hip pain and feeling under the weather. Fighting against pain and injuries is hard and if you then struggle to sleep as well, it makes it so much harder not to give in to any cravings.

I hope the rest week goes well. Would it be a good time to do some extra stretching and flexibility work possibly avoiding your hip if you can?

I too have had a gain so I think we are in the same boat. It might be inflammatory though so a rest might help?

Thank you for all your kind words. It is so hard to keep positive and I have had a few extra treats this weekend and I have been feeling quite sorry for myself. Degenerative Disc Disease DDD is where your spine suffers wear and tear as you age and is increasingly common over 40. If it was going away on its own it wouldn’t be too bad but it’s not, which is worrying along with a history of arthritis with my mother and both grandmothers. I might have future problems too.

I want to wallow and feel sorry for myself and eat more sugar if I’m honest but from what I have read, being active and loosing the weight will help and I need all the help I can get. No idea how long before I can see a specialist, I’m not expecting it quickly tbh.

We went for a walk early this morning and am on 7.5k steps already. So I am determined to have a positive day even if I did weigh in at 10st 2.5lb but I guess it could have been worse.

I hope that everyone has a good week and @bigdecisionstomake I hope that you feel better soon.

Good morning,

Sorry if I was a bit down in the dumps yesterday, it’s frustrating with my back and my weight being being higher than I wanted.

I was reading the thread about Joe Wicks posting about his wife getting her fitness back after their third child and it has made me realise that I could do more and need to do things better. I make excuses and let myself get down and DH doesn’t need any persuading to miss exercise or to eat junk and will be the first to tell me I’m doing well, when I’m not.

Anyway yesterday was ok, I managed a 20 spin session in my lunch break. I am working my way back into it slowly. I’m away now till Thursday night so next session will probably be Friday or Saturday and will be a 30 minute one.

I went for an after walk work as well and managed a total of 19k steps, we also did a 20 yoga for sleep session just before bed and I’m so inflexible it’s awful. I really need to work on this as I have never been particularly flexible with my neck and back but I’m really bad.

We also did an outside walk again this morning to start the day and I weighed in at 10st 2.1lb so a tiny loss.

I won’t be able to weigh in again until Friday but I aim to keep posting and to come back lighter. I have decided on what I’m ordering when we go out for dinner and I’m not having the hotel food. I will buy things in M&S instead. Any other tips for keeping off the lbs whilst travelling?

Good morning from my hotel room.

No scales so I’m guestimating my weight 😊 at 8st 7lb so a great drop there 🤣 super happy with that.

On the plus side yesterday I did nearly 19k steps and a 25 min yoga class in my room. I bought my mat. I had food in my room so nothing too bad. I haven’t gotten any steps in this morning which is unlike me. But need to get ready and do proper office wear for once.

Hope everyone is having a great day today!

Morning all

Have been quite unwell for a couple of days with some viral thing I think - face all swelled up and very painful and shivery/achy all over. Is on its way out now though I think so hoping I'm going to be pretty much back to normal tomorrow.

Needless to say I've eaten lots of comfort food and done absolutely no exercise, not even walked as I haven't felt up to it - didn't even get to 2K steps yesterday or Monday. On the plus side youngest DS has been lovely and done all the cooking and generally looked after me so that's a win.

Annoyingly DP decided on Sunday he was going on a diet and has lost 5lbs in two days and is now crowing about how easy dieting is and is trying to give me tips😡I have kept a dignified silence and am waiting for karma to catch up with him 😇

I haven't weighed since Monday and am not going to for a few days until I get back into a routine again as I think it will just add stress and I need to ease back in gently rather than go all guns blazing which I will do if I see a big gain on the scales.

Congratulations on your superb loss @Dashel you are obviously using the same methods as my DP 😆I rarely have to do proper office wear these days so it always feel a bit like getting dressed up to go out when I do these days - enjoy your day!