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.

Morning all

Another STS at 10st 4lb for me this morning. Happy with that as I ended up a bit off plan on the return car journey yesterday - whoops.

I've done a 15 minute Yana Official walking workout as a warm up followed by Day 21 of CGs Iron series which was an intense leg day. There were a couple of muttered swear words towards the end but I got through it all and am pleased that I didn't give up.

Have good weekends all.

Hello from Cyprus!

Just thought I should check in quickly.

No idea what I weigh 🫣
Diet for food has been okish due to being vegan, apart from alcohol and the occasional chip.
Diet for drinking has not been so good due to alcohol consumption but hey ho, another week and I will be heading home to pick up the pieces.

I have been wearing my bikini but not feeling that comfortable in myself so will be working super hard when I get back.

I hope you are all doing amazingly well and enjoying the Bank holiday weekend x

Morning all

Glad all is good in Cyprus @Dashel - enjoy the rest of your break - the weather forecast is showing rain every day where I am right up until Monday 15th so enjoy the sunshine while you've got it 😎

I ended up completely off plan again yesterday - it's becoming a habit unfortunately, particularly over these long bank holiday weekends. Too many crisps, sweet treats and glasses of wine were enjoyed which has unfortunately impacted my weigh in today.

Week 18
Initial start weight 11st 5lb
Final target weight 9st 11lb
Weight last week 10st 5lb
This week's weight 10st 5.6lb
Gain this week 0.6lb
Total loss so far 13.4lb

I am now back in the territory of not having quite lost a stone which isn't great. I need to do something about it next week but probably won't for the rest of the weekend.

Life is very busy and quite stressful currently and I know that is contributing to de-railing me. Today is a case in point - I was hoping to spend a chunk of the day catching up on work as we're coming up to one of our busiest times of the year and I don't feel as on top of things as I'd like but instead a family thing has come up that I need to sort out so I'm going to be out for most of the day instead.

I haven't worked out as I got up early to fit some work in before I need to leave and am already munching crisps...

Will do better next week.

Hello! Can I join in?

I'm in week five of my diet and I've lost about 5lbs so far. About 40 still to go!

I eat a whole food, plant based, no oil diet.

Today will be -

Breakfast - baked oats with strawberries and blueberries.

Lunch - bbq/picnic so veg sushi, bbq mushrooms, potato salad (no mayo, just homemade fat free dressing)

Dinner - edamame bean curry, rice and cauliflower.

Morning all

Welcome to the thread @purplesparklydinosaur everyone here is lovely and supportive. Your menu for yesterday sounds delicious and very healthy. A 1lb a week loss so far sounds perfect, a good steady pace is the way to do it in my experience. It should make maintaining easier when you reach goal. Keep up the good work!

Apart from the morning crisp binge, yesterday turned out to be so busy it was a fairly refined eating day in the end plus I walked my parents dog so got a bit of exercise too. Miraculously overnight I have dropped a pound back to 10st 4.6lb. Not sure it was deserved but I'll take it.

No exercise this morning as I had a really disturbed night's sleep and am basically knackered 😂Was hoping to do a bit in the garden but forecast is wall to wall rain here so not much chance of that unfortunately.

Pledging to be back on clean eating from tomorrow again....

All I can say about this weekend/today is I'm definitely going to weigh more not less on Fridays weigh in. Be a miracle if it's anything other than a gain!
Having a good time though and back on track tomorrow 😊

Morning all

Glad to hear you had a great bank holiday weekend @Gemzee you've got a few days to turn things around before Friday😃

Mine was busier than expected in the end and then back to earth with a bang and a very early start yesterday.

Have weighed this morning and am back up to 10st 5lb - not sure why as I ate well yesterday and managed 15K steps although no other exercise.

I've done a quick GFWR followed by a 45min CG Epic Endgame upper body workout. I'm having a break from Iron this week as the two bank holidays have thrown my routine out a bit so I thought I'd mix it up.

Have good days all.

Morning all

Feels like we're definitely on the downhill stretch to the weekend now 😀

The scales have been kind to me this morning - I'm down to 10st 4.2lb - so I'm very happy with that and it's motivated me a bit. I'm out for a meal with some friends tonight so will need to be mindful and make good choices as I feel like I've given in to over indulgence far too frequently recently and my progress has really stalled. I just need to find the balance between being able to relax a bit and have a glass of wine but not go completely mad!

I've done a 30 minute Olivia Lawson full body cardio this morning which I enjoyed and then followed with 30 minutes of energetic tidying/housework as the house had started to get away from me with work and the weekend both being really busy. I'm determined to get a good walk later too which altogether with this morning's efforts should mean tonight won't be disastrous if I make good choices.

Have good days all.

Congrats on the loss @bigdecisionstomake 👏

I stayed the same on the scale today, no idea how! I definitely deserved to put on a couple lbs. Taking that as a win this week! Have a great weekend all!

Thanks @Gemzee and well done on the STS yourself!

Had a lovely meal out last night with friends and stuck to a fairly healthy choice of main, one small glass of wine and a cup of tea instead of dessert 😇

I'm still at 10st 4.2lb this morning and am happy with that. Would dearly love to lose a tiny bit more before Sunday but it's pasta tonight and I'm out again on Saturday night so not sure how that will go...!

Hope everyone's having a good weekend.

We were out for a meal last night with DPs family but I managed to stick to just a main course again so not too much damage. I did have a glass of wine and a large g&t though. Overall I think I got the balance right and had a lovely time.

I've got a really busy day today with lots of jobs to get done and am still stressing about being behind with work so I've decided against a workout this morning and have been using the time to get some work done instead. I'm at my parents this afternoon and will walk their dog for them so that will give me a little bit of exercise.

The scales have shown a better result than I expected given two meals out this week:

Week 19
Initial start weight 11st 5lb
Final target weight 9st 11lb
Weight last week 10st 5.6lb
This week's weight 10st 4.2lb
Loss this week 1.4lb
Total loss so far 1st 0.8lb

Back over a stone down and hoping to keep it that way now.

How is everyone else doing?

Hope everyone is doing ok?

I've had a hormonal thing going on and bloated up massively at the beginning of the week - it would have been funny had I not felt so rubbish. I've kept off the scales for a few days as I knew there would be a big impact on the number and I was worried it would properly derail me.

Getting back to normal now and feeling better so have started exercising again. There was a little bit of comfort eating, not gonna lie, but I don't think I've done too much damage 😳

Only 4 weeks on Saturday until I go to France and being in the 9s is looking over optimistic now - hoping to be reliably under 10st 3lbs as my new target. And then aim for my main target, 9st 11lb, by the time I go to Crete in September.

I am the proverbial tortoise....

Finally no longer looking like I've swallowed a beach ball so jumped on the scales this morning and am 10st 4.4lb. Relatively happy with that although it could have been better.

Just got to keep on swimming....

@Dashel How did your back hold up on holiday? Are you any nearer getting some treatment sorted out yet? Hope all is well.

Think I forgot to post this morning, I'm a pound up, probably deserved. Still under target so not too disappointed but need to try to rein it in a bit next week.

Hope everyone's having a lovely weekend.

Sorry about your gain @Gemzee but small fluctuations are to be expected I think. As long as you don't let it run away with you and end up on a slippery slope. You'll not let that happen though I'm sure.

Haven't done any formal exercise yesterday or this morning but did spend a lot of time in the garden yesterday. It doesn't give the same in the way of calorie burn but it uses different muscles as I can feel a bit of muscle soreness in places that I don't usually have it. Hoping to do the same again today while the weather is nice and then start back on the 'proper' exercise tomorrow morning. The garden really needs it too! Had to do a bit of emergency self tanning before donning my shorts though!

Overall, given the beach ball stomach at the start of the week my results are not too bad...

Week 20
Initial start weight 11st 5lb
Final target weight 9st 11lb
Weight last week 10st 4.2lb
This week's weight 10st 3.6lb
Loss this week 0.6lb
Total loss so far 1st 1.4lb

Slow and steady here at the moment.

Hi all, sorry I have been AWOL.

I have struggled to get back on it properly since I got back.

I weighed in at 10st 5 on Saturday a week after I got back 😭and I know I can do this. It’s just been manic and .I have not been sleeping and just been so hungry.

I hope you are all doing well.

@bigdecisionstomake sorry about your bloating and I slow and steady is better than crash dieting for a day and giving up.

@Gemzee i am sure you will loose that pound before you know it!

@Dashel good to have you back. I doesn't sound like the holiday damage was too bad overall - you'll have it back under control in no time I'm sure. Sorry you've not been sleeping though - that's a killer and not very diet friendly. Is it your back causing the lack of sleep?

I pigged out yesterday and have paid the price on the scale this morning - back up to 10st 5.2lb. A lot of crisps were involved so I'm hoping a good chunk of that is water and salt weight and will hopefully flush away in a day or two.

Back on the exercise properly this morning so a bit of cardio to warm up then Day 21 of CG Iron series which was chest and back. Feeling better for it and actually the break from weights for a week didn't seem to do any harm - in fact it felt like I was able to lift heavier for longer so maybe a break is a good idea every now and then.

Got a busy one at work today and it's DPs birthday so off out for a meal with friends tonight so hoping I can eat mindfully as I managed last week.

Hope everyone's weeks get off to a good start.

Down to 10st 4.8lb this morning - a bit disappointed with that, especially as I was mindful of food last night when out for DP's birthday meal. I'm a bit bloated again though so hopefully it's just that - I think chickpeas may be the problem, they are certainly the common denominator. We are trying to reduce the amount of meat we eat so have been experimenting.

I seem to have spent forever stuck in the 10st 3/4/5lb range now and am aware it is another bank holiday weekend coming up. I really want to be reliably below 10st 3lb before going away so need to focus a bit more.

Got a good cardio workout in this morning which is a positive although I picked up a heavy box of files at work yesterday to put in my car and felt my back twinge a bit and can still feel it today so am being super careful not to aggravate it in light of the experience @Dashel has had.

I didn’t weigh in this morning but have been sorting out the garden in the evenings and trying t keep active but it’s making me ravenous.

@bigdecisionstomake congrats On the loss and please do be careful with twinges you just have to be so careful. Hopefully you will be on target for your holiday

Not sure what the deleted comment was about 🤨

Morning

@Dashel the deleted comment was someone advertising their blog about weight loss - they posted on a lot of the weight loss threads yesterday with the same/similar comments.

I feel like I've had a bit of a win yesterday/today. I had a really rough work day yesterday, lots of competing demands and too much to do and not enough time - same old story really. I kept promising myself a glass of wine and some crisps when I finally called it a day. Instead, when I was finally done, I went for a walk and didn't eat the crisps or drink the wine and just cooked and ate a healthy tea. I really thought hard about whether I was going to let work stall my efforts or if I wanted to lose a bit more weight before my holiday.....and common sense prevailed for a change - it hasn't done that for a while. That feels like a win.

This feeling has been re-enforced by a drop of 1lb on the scales this morning to 10st 3.8lb. I suspect it's pretty much all water weight from the weekend's over indulgence but it's still a loss and I'm taking it!

Would dearly love not to see the 4s again but obviously it's a bank holiday weekend coming up so we'll see. CGs Iron Series Day 22 today which was glutes and hamstrings and was brutal. Back is a bit worse if anything this morning so I was really careful but may have to dial back the exercise for a few days if need be.

Crossing my fingers for a better work day today!

@bigdecisionstomake oh just spam and nothing exciting then.

congratulations on your loss and resisting the temptation that I did not. The weekend will be tough but so needed for a long weekend in the sun! Have you had any more twinges?

We had a friend come round so a large class of wine and two packets of crisps and I’m 10st 5.9 so gained since I got back 😭 I need to address this seriously and I know it’s because I’m tired and doing so much so just hungry and because I’m so busy I’m eating too much crap.

@Dashel I always think when I come back from holiday there's a bit of a hiatus when you're back to a normal routine and madly trying to catch up with work/house things but you're still a bit in holiday mode and also, usually in my case, a bit tired and down that the holiday is over. Those aren't conducive circumstances for weight loss so I'd cut yourself a bit of slack if you can for a few days.

Have you got a rearranged date for your big holiday or do you think that might still be in jeopardy with your back? If you do have a date that will give you your next target to aim for. You know you can absolutely do it when you're ready to focus.

My back is still twinging a bit - it was uncomfortable towards the end of the day yesterday and I've avoided bending and lifting wherever I can. I've just done a sedate walking workout with Olivia Lawson this morning which was fine. I'll see how it is tomorrow as it should be full body with CG but I'm not sure currently if I'm going to go for it or not.

The scales have been unexpectedly kind to me and I'm down to 10st 3lb this morning which is equal to the lowest I've been since starting this - that's a massive positive and very motivating. On the flip side, I first hit that weight on 7th April so losing focus has cost me nearly 2 months now.

I'm fully expecting a bit of a rebound tomorrow but hopefully not too bad as I'd dearly like to keep pushing forwards at this point!

Hi all, a 2lb loss on the scale this week! I think last weeks gain was due to less steps (I had the week off work) and have more than made up for it this week.
I'm the lightest I've been since about Feb 2017! And my stomach is almost flat!
Can't believe it's taken turning 40 for me to get my act together with regards to fitness/feeling happy in my body.

Hope you all enjoy the sunny (hopefully) Bank Holiday weekend! ☀️

@bigdecisionstomake Congrats on your loss 👏