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.

Not sure what happened with the usernames there - sorry!

@Gemzee enjoy your week off but I would still think about a new reason to keep on track when you get back to it.

@bigdecisionstomake I am sorry that you are under so much stress. I comfort/ stress eat too so I understand how tempting and easy it is to have that chocolate. I try and keep a jar of options hot chocolate at work and at home just in case, but sometimes it just doesn’t cut it.

Hopefully the dentist will go ok and no pain or work needed! Hopefully you will sleep better tonight x

I finally had the scales go the right way and go back down to 10st 3.0 not ideal but at least it didn’t go up again. I was very on plan yesterday with diet and walking and have been for a very early morning walk with DH and will try to stick to food and steps.

Not a hugely positive update from me either but could have been worse!

Morning all

Had a much better day yesterday thanks @Dashel and then a lovely meal with friends last night. It sounds like you're starting to get back on track again which is great news. Hope the physio goes well tonight - let us know what they say.

I've had another STS at 10st 2.8lb which I suspect is probably a fair result.

Although yesterday was much better stress wise and really productive, I'm now perceptibly starting to fall behind where I need to be workwise to prevent the next 10 days being a car crash so I have taken the decision this morning to be up and working by 6am to try to get some of the office stuff done before I head out and about later.

This means no workout this morning and I know that not working out inevitably affects my food choices for the worse - I'm sure I eat better when working out as I don't want to 'waste' the effort. I will try to make as many smart choices as possible and I may try to pick up a workout again tomorrow if possible but for today it was the best option for my stress levels, if not my diet progress.

Have good days all x

Good morning,

@bigdecisionstomake sometimes you have to prioritise other things and that’s ok - as long as you find your way back and it’s not forever- which I know it won’t be for you. Try and prioritise your food choices and do your best but we have all been there and it’s only for a short time and it’s not like you are eating three meals a day out of the chippy so just do want you can and breathe. Maybe try a 10 minute yoga with Adriene to help you relax before bed for your mental health to help you get through the next few days?

I am glad you had a good night out! It sounds like you need it with work.

I had a woosh on the scales and back down to 10st 2.0lb so a pound lost so pleased with that. I got my 15k steps in and no weights. My neck is feeling less painful but I’m not risking anything until I have been tonight. I will let you know what she says, but I would like to go swimming on the weekend and I am so much happier when I’m doing my weights so I’m really hoping I will be back to them quickly.

Morning all

Great news that you had a whoosh @Dashel you really deserve it after your perseverance in the face of another injury. Glad the neck's feeling a little less painful too. Hope all went well with the physio yesterday.

I've been ok foodwise but not logging and probably coming in around maintenance or just over as I've had wine on Tuesday and last night. I've had a bit of a drop today down to 10st 2.2lb but I suspect that's the weekend's excesses washing away.

No workout again this morning - too much to do and have been working since 5.30am. Going to try to keep my food on point as much as possible again though - every day I can avoid going off the rails completely is a win at the minute!

Have good days all x

@bigdecisionstomake congrats on the drop. I wish I could magic you a few extra hours and take away your stress.

Hopefully it will get easier soon x

My news from the physio is as good as I could have hoped for, soft tissue damage and as long as I keep moving, don’t do anything stupid, like high impact damage ie falling off a bike it should be ok in a week or two. The only restriction is no weights above my shoulders till then - I can live with that 😊

I have been very worried but it has been feeling slightly better each day, but you never know with my neck and back. I am so relieved.

I also had a small loss and am 10st 1.5 so happy with that too.

we just have to keep going!

Fantastic news about the neck @Dashel so pleased for you! You'll just have to stick to legs days for a while 😬

Well done on the loss too - things are looking up 😀

Quick one from me this morning - a STS at 10st 2.2lb. No exercise again but managed to keep food on track yesterday. Probably still eating at or around maintenance - no time for logging and tracking - but a bit more active than usual so I think that's my saviour at the moment.

At some point the tiredness will hit - there are only so many early starts and late finishes in a row I can do before it becomes a problem and then the mindless eating will kick in....trying to stave that bit off as long as possible!

Have good days all x

Morning all. 2lbs gain for me, it actually should have been worse! I'll be back on Monday with some new targets.
Congrats on your losses all 😊

Morning all

Sorry about the gain @Gemzee but glad it wasn't as bad as you expected! You'll soon see the extra couple of pounds off once you get back into the swing of things next week. Hope you've had a lovely week off and enjoyed yourself 😃

I've got a busy weekend ahead with work so it won't be a great one for me but hope it's better for everyone else.

Amazingly I've had a drop on the scales this morning to 10st 1.8lbs. Very happy indeed with that as at this time of year I usually only gain. I managed to keep my food on track again yesterday but it's getting harder as I get more and more tired. I'm wondering if the loss is partly to do with stopping the weight sessions temporarily as I'm as sure as I can be without logging that I'm eating at around maintenance calories and not in a deficit. Could just be that I'm more active during the day I suppose though.

Anyway, whatever the reason, it's a small win so I'm taking it 😊

Morning all

Another quick one from me as I have a to-do list a mile long for today.

The scales have been amazingly kind to me today - down to 10st 0.8lb - however (TMI warning) I've had a bit of an upset stomach last night/this morning so I think that weight is not accurate at all.

Not sure if it's stress or something I've picked up (I'm in a lot of really unclean environments at this time of year and although I wear gloves and wash hands/anti-bac a lot it's not uncommon to pick something like this up unfortunately) 😭

Bit of an inconvenient method of weight loss and not one to be recommended!

Hope the rest of you are doing better x

Another really quick one from me....I hit the wall of exhaustion last night at around 6.30pm and broke open the crisps and wine while back in the office working. I suspect it will be all downhill from here eating wise but I'm going to try my best to keep the holiday in mind over the next week or so and not let things get too out of control.

As expected yesterday's low hasn't held and I'm back up to 10st 1.6lb. Overall given the week so far I'm happy with and I think it's fair.

Hope everyone has a great week.

Good morning

Sorry I have been a bit AWOL.

I dropped my iPad and just been getting it fixed. I hate posting on my phone and tbh just be a bit meh.

@Gemzee I am sure that you will have those pesky pounds gone in no time! I hope you enjoyed the time off?

@bigdecisionstomake when will your crazy busy time finish? Stress and tiredness are diet killers for sure.

Hopefully your will power will be 💪

I have been so good with my exercising, I have just been so unbelievably hungry this weekend and am back up to 10st 2.4 although I suspect at least some of that is DOMs and had too many carbs so will try and ease off snacks and carbs and see what happens tomorrow.

I am just not sleeping well at the moment and that sets my hunger levels into overdrive. Must get my arse into gear with that!

@Dashel I had far too much fun, thanks 😄

Ok, August targets:
Lose the 4lbs I've put on recently
Workout 4-5 times a week
10k steps a day
Drink more water (& less wine!!)

Just a quick update as I'm a bit busy. 'See' you guys on Friday weigh in 😬

Eat a lot of fruit and vegetable salads, fresh juices, and eat less spiced foods.

Morning

@Gemzee glad you had a good week off - life's too short to be strict with food (and wine) all the time! Good luck with your targets 😃

@Dashel eeek about the ipad - hope it wasn't too expensive - Apple repairs can be extortionate sometimes! You and me both with the sleeping. For me it's partly the wine I suspect and also I find it difficult to stop my mind whirring when I've got a lot going on.

In terms of my work the really mad bit should be over in the next week or so but it will stay fairly busy until we go to Crete now. The work I do follows an annual cycle so I know its coming but apart from prep well the actual work itself can't be done any earlier or spread out any longer - it just has to get done in the available window. Unfortunately my coping strategy has always been wine, crisps and chocolate although until Sunday I was doing well managing without.

Yesterday was far less active than usual and my eating was poor so I have had a gain to 10st 2.6lb on the scale this morning. A bit fed up with that but it is what it is and there's too much else going on to worry massively about it at the moment. Am going to try to be more mindful of food today though and will be a lot more active again 😐

Have good days all.

@bigdecisionstomake just keep swimming as best as you can and Crete will be here soon and you can relax and drink guilt free cocktails. I hope today hasn’t been too bad.

I had a gain this morning which I don’t get as I was on 17k steps and on 1550 calories 🤦‍♀️

Hopefully tomorrow will bring better results 🙏 for us both x

Morning

Sorry for the gain @Dashel . I am in the same boat - 10st 3.2lb this morning. My food was really good through the day but then I went large on the wine and crisps when I got back to the office last night to start all the paperwork and emails that had accrued through the day. Mine was at least explainable unlike yours.

Just keep swimming!

@bigdecisionstomake im sorry about your gain, maybe stress as well in your case?

I did my 15k steps yesterday and day 21 with Joe the fully body workout I added on a few extras as well.

I finally had a good loss on the scales 10st 1.1lb still fighting to get it down below the 10st mark. I feel like there is a brick wall that I’m struggling to smash through but can’t.

Good morning hope work is ok @bigdecisionstomake

I started coming down with lurgy yesterday, sore throat to start with and then the rest of a cold came in. I managed to get 11k steps in but apart from that no weights and similar today no doubt.

I had a STS on the scales this morning. So nothing to report there but I had soup and two rolls for my dinner and didn’t feel guilty.

Morning

Sorry to hear you're unwell @Dashel nothing worse from a diet perspective. Hope you're starting to feel better soon. In the meantime I would just eat what you fancy.

I am in denial and not weighing. I am managing to eat well until I get back to the office but then eating crisps and chocolate and drinking wine with abandon whilst trying to get all the day's emails and admin dealt with. Fairly standard stuff for this time of year. I think I've pretty much reached peak tiredness now - I reach a point every year where I question if I want to do this again for another year because of the physical and mental demands and yesterday was that day.

So - the only way is up right? I've set myself a deadline that the mindless eating and wine drinking is going to stop from Monday. I think the last two really busy days are going to be Saturday and Sunday and from then on hopefully the pressure will ease a little. The plan is to start trying to re-introduce some gentle exercise each day - not going to go mad as it's going to take a while to recover from the exhaustion I think - but just some walking workouts to begin with I think.

It will be 5 weeks until Crete on Sunday so with the wind behind me that's 4 or 5lbs I can lose if I get back on it properly.

Have good Fridays all.

Hi all,

I lost 2lbs this week. 5 workouts done but not hit my steps every day as I've had a lot of workmen coming and going so been working from home (which I hate) and not felt able to get out for a walk everyday.

I'm definitely more motivated than the last few weeks but could definitely do better (I had wine last night - was trying to wait until Friday!).

Let's all just keep swimming & remember how far we've come! Have a great weekend all.

Good morning and I hope you all had good weekends.

@Gemzee congratulations on your loss and exercise it sounds like everything went to plan. I don’t like strangers around the house either it feels so restrictive. I hope it was worth it!

@bigdecisionstomake I hope your weekend wasn’t as bad as you thought it would be and you are now over the worst of it?

I did eat what I fancied as I felt so rough and no real steps. I started to feel a bit more human yesterday evening so did some weights and managed 10k steps but still 10st 3 this morning so need to get back on it properly. Hopefully so of this is water weight so will be swimming extra hard this week.

Hope everyone has a half decent Monday!

Morning all

@Gemzee fantastic loss, well done and great consistency with your exercise too. Like you, I hate having workmen in the house - you can never quite relax!

It was a timely reminder when you said to remember how far we've come. I was a bit down in the dumps over the weekend with Crete creeping closer and closer and not doing any exercise and eating absolute crap so it was the motivation I needed this morning to get up and workout, despite feeling tired and rubbish - thank you 😀

@Dashel Glad you're feeling a little better - I've had a sore throat and felt rubbish all weekend too and it's really not conducive to eating well. I will be joining you swimming extra hard this week.

So....after a week in denial avoiding the scales I've have taken the plunge this morning and it's not as bad as expected. I am 10st 3.2lb. I ate rubbish all weekend (and in large quantities too) so I'm expecting that may go up a little before it starts to come down but fingers crossed some of it is water weight and will come off relatively sharpish as I start to exercise again and clean my diet up a bit.

The really rubbish bit of work has gone on a bit longer than expected and there are probably 2-3 more days to go but by the end of the week I should hopefully be back on more of an even keel.

Would dearly love a number in the 9s by the time I go to Crete. 9st 11lb is optimistic I think now but anything with a 9 in front will do me. Remembering that I started this in January in the mid 11s and now something in the 9s seems achievable is amazing motivation - I am very grateful for this thread which has absolutely kept me accountable and been the support I've needed to get back on it when I really don't feel like it and would otherwise have given up 😍

Morning all

No workout this morning - volume of work has meant a really early start again 😖However, my food was good yesterday and I slept much better in the absence of wine. The resulting loss this morning, down to 10st 2.8lb, is enough motivation to keep eating clean today I hope. I will add the exercise back in as soon as I can.

Have good days all.