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.

Thanks @may23 hope all goes well for you too and looking forward to your update on Friday.

@Dashel I have a work to do list that I know is longer than can possibly be completed in the next four days so I'm not sure how that's going to go....it's definitely not helping diet wise and I've already had to fight the urge to miss my workout this morning and work instead. I can see a couple of late nighters coming on which is danger ground for me with snacking so I need to be careful.

We're off to Northern France on Saturday for 10 nights. I'm back on 27th but then off down south to help my eldest move house 28th-30th so will be off work and away from my scales for 2 weeks. The holiday plan is to try to work out daily and not go completely mad food wise but I definitely won't be counting calories and will eat the ice cream and drink the wine at will 😎It's a three generational (plus dog) family holiday so will be lots of activity rather than lounging on sunbeds so hopefully that will help a little.

Despite the fact I was back on the wagon fully and stuck to all four goals yesterday the scales are not playing ball and I am back to 10st 4lb this morning. Not sure why that has happened but I am quite bloated this morning and my youngest cooked tea last night which was quite salty so hoping it is just that. Working at home today so hopefully can stick to all four goals again and get a good chunk of my work to do list ticked off into the bargain!

Have good days all.

@bigdecisionstomake that sounds lovely. I hope you have an amazing time! I tend to be reasonably good at breakfast on holiday and lunches and it all goes downhill from there! I do like alcohol on holiday which really doesn’t help but I think it’s far better to enjoy yourself and have a good time that site there eating lettuce and drinking water.

I go on holiday to relax and spend quality time with DH not to,diet! However we enjoyed every walk we did on holiday as it was so nice to walk along the coast.

I hope the work stresses don’t derail you too much before you go. Hopefully the scales have dropped back for you today.

Yesterday was a great diet day. I had 1450 calories and did 19.5k steps and I very gently did a Joe Wicks strength workout on my legs. I know my physio won’t be too happy but I am much happier when working out so I have decided I’m going to start doing weights again but using very light weights, so yesterday was 2kg each one.

I also tried a Huel drink for lunch. It was nice but I didn’t find it filling for long and I was ready for something else. However they are nutritionally complete and I wonder if there is a physiological thing going on as there is no chewing?

I did have success on the scales though and have had a huge drop from 10st 5.8lb yesterday to 10st 4.5lb today 😳 could be Doms easing on my arms, less carbs etc so I imagine tomorrow will be higher.

I hope everyone has a great day today!

Thanks @Dashel I'm sure we'll have a lovely time once we're there, it just seems like there's a mountain to climb of work and packing/organising to get there first...!

Glad you had such a good day yesterday and that you're seeing the results on the scales as a result, it's a good motivation to keep going.

My DP uses Huel sometimes and really likes them but he's not bothered about food in the slightest and has often said if he could just take a nutritionally complete pill instead of eating meals he would. I have to admit they don't appeal to me at all (I enjoy 'real' food too much). I have heard anecdotally that, alongside things like Slimfast, people find the lack of chewing difficult to cope with if used regularly. I think I certainly would and I can see why psychologically that might trick your brain into thinking you were hungry.

Unfortunately work has derailed me a little. I was stressing about work in the early hours so got up at half past five this morning and have been working ever since so no workout this morning. I was on point yesterday though and am going to try to keep my food on plan today even if activity is lacking.

Some of the bloat has dropped off and I'm down to 10st 3.6lb this morning. Not quite what I'd hoped but better than nothing.

Have good days all.

@bigdecisionstomake I am glad the scales have gone downwards even if not as much as you would have liked.

The holiday will be worth the stress, you just need to keep repeating that this week.

DH was talking to a friend who has two bags of Huel that we can have as apparently he ordered way too much for a holiday diet and it gets to date in August. He will get that next week so it sounds like a good way to test it properly.

I had a small gain on the scales going from 10st 4.5lb to 10st 4.9lb. However I did 18.5k steps yesterday, which included GFWR and two walks. I also did a YWA and a Joe Wicks biceps and triceps with 2kg weights and ate 1750 calories. So pretty good and on plan! Just a shame for the scales. Still onwards and downwards!

Morning

Despite a day not quite fully clean eating and no exercise the remainder of the weekend bloat has dropped off to leave me at 10st 2.8lb. Happy to be back in the 2s but with no exercise again today and likely tomorrow too and then 2 weeks on holiday I expect it will be the last time I'll see the 2s for a while.

Hey ho, these are the ups and downs of real life and at least I'll be going into the holiday from a good place so it shouldn't be too hard to get back down again afterwards.

Sounds like a really good day for you @Dashel it will follow through on the scales if you keep consistent with it - just keep swimming!

Ok I went from 280 to 400 and ugh 🙄 that was eye opener. I'm 370 so 30 pounds lost but that's with meal replacement shakes one meal and lots of water. Ok so I am going to do 30 day water fast lol I mean dude I only eat once a day sometimes I don't eat so doing water fast should be easy for me. I am little worried though to be honest about health affects from doing it but I am just wanting to get more weight off . I'm doing arm exercises and walking and butt hip and thigh exercises that are easy to do. So I am really hoping I start seeing results. Today is day 1 of 30 day water fast wish me luck I can use all the support I can get.

@bigdecisionstomake i hope you are properly in the holiday mood. Please enjoy your break, life is too short so make the most of it. You will be in the 2s, the 1s and the 0s soon enough. Have a wonderful time!

@Hotmess39 hi and welcome.

The water fast sounds harsh, have you spoken to your doctor about that? I do occasional 24 hour ones and they are hard enough. I would really get medical advice if you are considering that.

I am sure you want to speed up the process of loosing the weight but you don’t want to trash your metabolism or hurt yourself in the process.

If you want any walking workouts I recommend watching Get Fit with Rick on YouTube.

I think the heat got to me a bit yesterday, I only got to 14k steps but did get two walks in and a standing abs workout with Rick.

I ended up with wheatabix for lunch as I was lazy but it’s high in fibre and not very calorific and I did have success on the scales at 10st 4.1lb so the threes are within touching distance again.

Morning all

I know you're right @Dashel I need to make sure I enjoy the holiday - more to life than work right? I'm hoping once I've finished tonight - whatever time that is....I'll be able to get properly into holiday mode 😎Whoop whoop for being near the 3s again - you'll be there soon I'm sure!

@Hotmess39 welcome to the thread. Well done on losing 30lbs so far, that's a great achievement. I'm a proponent of slow and steady weight loss so I don't know anything about 30 day water fasts I'm afraid. It does sound quite extreme though - please be careful. Let us know how you're getting on and good luck with it. I think as with a lot of things in life you have to find the way to do this that suits you.

I've had a further unexpected loss this morning to take me to 10st 2.2lbs - my food was good yesterday but no exercise (although a lot of running around packing etc... last night). Very happy with that obviously and a good place to be going on holiday from.

We have an incredibly early start tomorrow so this may be my last post for a few days but I'll keep following the thread and look forward to catching up with you all soon 😀

Hi all, well done on all your losses 👏
I had a 2lb gain this week, I've been off plan most of the week and had less workouts - I was away 2 days in the week with my mum and ate/drank whatever I liked. I did do loads more steps than normal but clearly not had an affect on the scale.
I'm a little disappointed but realistically I know it was deserved (Krispy Kreme donuts are not low calorie 😂🤦‍♀️) and I'm hoping the 2lbs will disappear next week 😊
Have a great weekend all

@bigdecisionstomake roll on finish time 🥂oh thinking about it I did diet on holiday,… I had some Prosecco instead of some of the cocktails… sometimes 🤣

@may23 1.4kg is a great loss in a week congratulations 🥳

@Gemzee sorry for the gain, but yeah I think unless you can find cauliflower donuts they won’t be diet, but I am sure you will have the weight off in no time!

I had another Huel ready made drink for my lunch….. really wanting to go and get a vegan magnum ice cream but that defeats the point 🤦‍♀️

Yeah I think 14 days of this sounds like way better idea than 30 day water fast LoL. So no worries I figured I'd better do 14 days see how it goes before even trying 30day . I walk early morning or after dark so it's cooler than being in heat of the day because I know 😏 I won't make it long in heat of the day. Thanks for your concern and support.

@may23 currently we have just had a bottle each of the pre made chocolate drink for lunch on two occasions. I like that it’s got all the nutrients as I’m vegan so it’s quite reassuring on that front. DH goes all over the place for work so convenient for him. We are getting two free bags of the powder next week from a friend so going to try those and if that works, then we will probably try them for breakfast and lunch each day and see how we get on.

We have a cruise booked on the 27th of August for a week and then come back, have two weeks at work/home and fly out on a dream holiday so we are both wanting to loose as much as possible for then. Both of us are on the short side so don’t carry extra weight well. I have never tried meal replacements or drinks like this before. My my did Slimfast off and on for years and I’m determined not to go down that route with the large weight swings, but I could cope with having Huel for breakfast every day and maybe even lunch in the working week if I was my ideal weigh.

We are having normal food for dinner but trying to keep under 800 calories, so I’m not doing crazy low calories overall and I am getting my 15k steps in. I am trying to get nutritionally good calories in rather than 800 calories worth of crisps, but we did get some alcohol free beer 33 cals a bottle for a treat in this weather and some 60 twister ice creams- I know how to party 🥳🤣 it all goes. On MFP though.

@Hotmess39 It is important to take care of yourself and one thing that has helped me is not thinking of this as a diet as I don’t want to loose the weight and put it all back on the second I revert back to my usual eating.

I had a good day on plan with nearly 22k steps and 1700 calories but I had a gain on the scales from 10st 4.1lb to 10st 4.4lb, I know it could be anything from salt to carbs to hormones or poop so im not disheartened in my head but my heart was so hoping to see a 3.

Oh well, it will come! I hope that everyone has a great weekend and enjoys the weather.

Good morning,

I hope everyone had a great weekend and @bigdecisionstomake has arrived safely and is having a great time.

I had a good weekend, but a salty carbs dinner on Saturday night which reflected on the scales at 10st 4.5lb wasn’t over maintenance calories but I was hungry.

Sunday was better and we also weight swimming which was a nice change. I had a woosh and am 10st 4.0lb this morning so not at the 3s but touching. My body fat is also coming down but slowly and possibly inaccurately.

I have overnight chocolate protein powder oats for breakfast and a Huel premade bottle for lunch.

DH should be picking up the Huel powder tomorrow now. I know I can do this from diet, I just want to speed things up and I worry that even with my vitamins and supplements I’m missing something.

I hope that everyone has a great day today

Good morning,

Not exactly sure what happened yesterday but I managed to put on 0.9lb despite eating 1750 calories and getting 16k steps.

I don’t feel bloated and didn’t think I had anything salty or too many carbs, so hopefully tomorrow it will be gone. I’m so keen to be back in the 3s.

I have already managed a walk outside and as the weather is supposed to be pants, I suspect I will be spending some quality time with Rick later.

I have my usual breakfast and will probably have another premade Huel for lunch.

I hope that everyone has a good day and hopefully the scales are being kind to you.

The scales are not budging but steps and food have been good. 10st 4.8lb this morning 🤦‍♀️

Just keep swimming!

On the plus side, I posted on here when I really didn’t want to and I had physio last night and I have been cleared to do some weights with no more than 2kg and not too many and preferably whilst lying on my back 😃 I am taking this as a win!

@Dashel that's positive 😊 I love doing weights (never thought I'd say that!).

I'm just working hard to get rid of the 2lbs I put on last week. Back on Fri after my weigh in, have a good rest of the week all!

@Gemzee I never thought I would enjoy doing them either but I do. I have always enjoyed seeing the progress I have made, more reps, finding it easier, heavier weights etc

I stuck to the plan yesterday and lost 0.1lb 😵‍💫 I can’t believe I was 10st 4.0 the other day and then struggling to get back there despite being on the Huel.

Hopefully results will be a long soon!

Another Huel lunch yesterday and protein powder over nights oats and a fecking salad and 18.5k steps but it was worth it as I’m finally back into the 3s - 10st 3.6lb 🥳

Now I just ave to keep going and avoid the usual weekend pitfalls, currently we have no social plans which is a help. I know if I want to see real progress in a hurry I need to treat the weekends the same as the weeks so I should really meal plan.

I hope that everyone is well and enjoying the sunshine x

Sounds like you're doing great @Dashel well done! Yeah weekends are my downfall unfortunately!

Ok so I lost the 2lbs I put on last week and I also lost 1 more 😊 Last time I was this light was January 2017!!! I did work hard this week so feel it was deserved 😁

Have a great weekend all

@Gemzee That is fantastic, you must really have put the effort in this week! 2017 seems a very long time ago. Are you doing a lot of exercise as I’m struggling in this heat to do anything cardio

I am keen to get into the 9 stone somethings before we pay for the big holiday so I have just under a month to go until then. Which really doesn’t leave a lot of room.

I really wish there was an aqua aerobics class outside of work hours near me as they are great for burning calories and low impact. I will try and drag DH swimming over the weekend but the local pools have funny hours and lots of closures for clubs and kids inflatables, which whilst fun and no doubt calorie burning, I’m not sure we would be allowed on

@Dashel This week I did 5 home workouts but I do them at 6am before it gets too hot. I do between 30-45 minutes either HIIT or resistance.
I'm walking 10k - 13k a day but I know you do a lot more than that.
We also do 2 nights a week where we don't have an evening meal (so kind of like the 5:2 I think although I've not read much on it) but I wouldn't recommend that if you're not having a proper lunch especially in this heat!

Bonjour from France 😎

Just checking in - it sounds like you’re all doing really well!

We are just around the corner from a lovely boulangerie so as well as the usual ice creams and cocktails that are a regular holiday feature for me there is also large amounts of fresh bread and pastries everyday too 🙈

I think there’s going to be a lot of work to do when I get back…

On the plus side we are far more active than I would be if at work so surely that must help? 😳 I’ve managed to fit in a few GFWR & Olivia Lawson walking workouts too so my steps are good.

Keep up the good work everyone and looking forward (weirdly) to being back on it when I’m back 😊

Morning all

Back in the UK after an extremely long day travelling yesterday (delays at the Eurotunnel). I'm doing a bit of work today but am officially on leave until Monday as I'm off tomorrow for a couple of days to take eldest back home and help him move flats.

I haven't weighed 😳as the rest of the week is likely to remain off plan but I will weigh on Monday and take stock of the holiday damage and be back on it fully from then.

It's ten weeks to my beach holiday on Saturday so that is when I'd like to be at target by. Not sure if it is doable and would settle for being in the 9s to be fair but target would be preferable if possible. We'll see what the scales say on Monday....

Hope everyone is continuing to do well 😀