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.

@Dashel great stepping there!! My step count is usually around 12K per day, I'd like to increase that but realistically won't be able to until the evenings are lighter...

@NeedToBeLessLarge2023 I have twins and found the toddler stage utterly exhausting, there was a lot of cake eaten it didn't help that I had bad flu when they were just over 2 and it took me weeks and weeks to recover as I had no 'down time' (DP was, and continues to be, the laziest man on the planet...)

I've found this week really hard and am bereft of energy or motivation at the moment. Hoping things will become easier next week when we're properly back in a routine!

Hi All,

First week has been going well. I'm aiming for a 500 cal deficit every day and have managed that and more every day except Monday when I was easing myself into things.

Homemade slow cooker curry tonight instead of a Friday night takeaway and it was lovely.

Next job is to keep it up over the weekend!

Good morning,

@Matilda142 sorry to hear about the sleep deprivation, that makes weight loss so much harder. Increasing your activity levels sounds like a good start.

@Gemzee wow that’s a huge loss and gone into a different stone bracket so must be motivating even if it’s water weight.

@bigdecisionstomake I hope your weekend is staying on track. It is harder on weekends not to just relax and open the wine and have the treat food. We probably allow a few extra calories but maybe 100 to 200 calories so still under what we should be eating. It sounds like you are getting your steps in, hopefully that will help with the weight coming off.

@LibbySarjeant I hope that you find your routine. I am back to waking up every day at 6am automatically and I find that really helps.

@WutheringShites86 I love a home made curry! 500 cal deficit is a good aim.

I got to my 15k steps yesterday. I did the last 250 by doing a lap of the house before bed 🤓 I really wanted to hit my target.

I had a small gain this morning going from 10st 5.1 to 10st 5.6 but I blame the pitta bread 🤣

The plan today is to get my steps in, some exercise other than walking, chocolate protein oats, chickpeas for lunch and vegan steak, salad and a few oven chips for dinner.

On the last challenge when I hit 10st 7 I bought myself a jumper I really liked as a reward. I want to find something to reward myself for getting into the 9s now. I find the bit of extra motivation useful.

Yes very happy to back in the 9s 😊 More happy though that I've done 4 days alcohol free! Not done that since pre Covid I'd guess.
I can't weigh in every day because I get upset at even small gains (even though I know the body fluctuates daily!).
Yeah its a good idea to treat yourself to something non food related to keep motivated!

Morning all

@LibbySarjeant like you, I find it much harder when not in a routine. I returned to work on Thursday and have found it much easier since then. 12K steps a day is really good though, realistically I rarely manage more than 10K, I would imagine having twins helps with the steps though!

@WutheringShites86 a 500 calorie deficit is what I'm aiming for too, it sounds like you're doing brilliantly and the curry sounds like a good choice.

@Dashel well done on hitting your step goal. I aim for 10K per day and realised yesterday morning I had done 9844 the day before and kicked myself I hadn't gone for a trot round the house to make it up to 10K before bed 😂

@Gemzee well done on being back in the 9s!

I am 11st 2lb this morning so a further small loss from 11st 2.4lb yesterday. Hoping a teeny bit of fat is now coming off after the initial water weight.

I'm not going to lie, last night was really difficult. I was sat at my desk at around 6pm and the longing for a glass of wine hit me really hard. I almost caved in on several occasions, my head started filling up with all the justifications I was using last year 'you've had a hard week, be kind to yourself' and 'you only live once you need to enjoy life' and 'one glass won't hurt, you can always do extra exercise tomorrow to burn it off' etc.... In the end though I gritted my teeth and tried to think about how cross I'd be if I gave in.

Hopefully there's also some positive reinforcement in that I lost a little this morning, as realistically I think I probably wouldn't have done if I'd had wine last night. Hoping it gets easier though.

This morning I've done a 45 minute Olivia Lawson walking for fat loss workout followed by 15 minutes of abs and glutes. I'll try to get a walk in later too if I can - I'm enjoying an audiobook currently which is motivating me to go for a walk.

I need to start some weights workouts next week and am now considering the Caroline Girvan advent series - these are only 20 minutes long each so feel like a good starting point.

Have good days all.

Well done @bigdecisionstomake for resisting that wine. I did not - but I did limit to one small glass.
Steps really do make the difference - I finally hit my 10k yesterday as I went to the gym and did 4km on the treadmill (walking, slight incline). I was very pleased as I'd nearly decided not to go and then I'd planned to only do 3km. I also had a dog walk in the morning which helped the count.
Weighed in this morning at 172.2lbs (12st 4lbs) which in very pleased with. If I can maintain that over the weekend that will be a 3lb loss in total this week, despite not always following a set line.

@bigdecisionstomake Well done on resisting the wine! It's hard isn't it but hopefully results are worth it :)

@bigdecisionstomake I hate it when that happens and you are just short of your target! Normally I try to get to 14.5k before my dinner to avoid missing out. Congratulations on avoiding the wine!

I have seen a lot of positive things about Caroline’s workouts, but not tried them myself.

@Maraudingmarauders I am pleased you are getting into the walking all the efforts so add up! One glass is better than one bottle!

Well done - great to see the positive updates.

Been finding it quite hard to focus on weight loss while taking my exams, but have made a bigger effort this week. It’s difficult when you’re having less control over dinner plans I’ve found! Feel I’ve dropped the ball a bit lately though - will have to sort that!

Hope you all have a great weekend 😀

Gosh, what a lot of really great updates. Some fantastic early losses and brilliant efforts with the steps and activity. Well done!
I haven’t restarted yet and I know that day 1 when it comes is going to be a challenge. My older DD will be here most of next week and we’re still in enjoyment mode. But I have got to get back on track, I am determined to lose at least 2 stone during the course of this year - some of you are starting at a weight I’d be delighted to see 😄 ! But we all have our own targets and the support and encouragement is what I find helpful - as well as the accountability of posting and noting losses/gains etc
Hope everyone has a lovely weekend

Oh goodness I feel like I joined the wrong thread, you lot are all way below my target weight at your starting weight!

I'll head off and find one with similar amounts to lose as myself.

Best of luck everyone

This is great motivation for me to read how everyone else is doing. I am really achey from my first workout in years that I did 2 days ago! It was only a short workout too, shows how badly I need it! Am about to try the Olivia Lawson workout right now as I've just been in the house all day so thanks for the recommendation 😀

I think there's quite a range @Ohmywhat. I'm over 15st and need to lose at least 5 stone to get into the healthy weight bracket.

I am heavier than a lot of others on here too ❤️

@bigdecisionstomake thanks for the Olivia Lawson suggestion, just did one of her workouts and much easier than the one I did the other day so perfect on days where I want to take it easier 😀

@Ohmywhat I think we are a mix of weights on here and everyone is welcome so I hope you change your mind. We are all struggling and in the same boat with good days and bad.

@TheBatwoman good luck with your exams x

@Stepcount i agree the encouragement and accountability are so important and also writing posts is almost like a cathartic diary. Plus hopefully we all pick up tips and ideas from each other.

@Matilda142 try and think of DOMs in a positive way, no pain no gain and your muscles will be growing. Have you looked at foam rolling as that can really help.

Thanks @Dashel - much appreciated x

Looking forward to getting the rest of them out the way and getting back to the usual routine. Between work and revising, I feel like I barely see the twins anymore these days! Will be lovely to spend more time with them again on weekends.

Have also joined a new more local gym opening soon, so I should be done with the exams by the time it opens. Still not allowed to get back to weights due to the hernia, but will be great to get back into some different cardio options and maybe try a class or two.

Also there is quite a range with starting weights here @Ohmywhat - plenty of different starting points and everyone is welcome 😊

Also worth keeping in mind that everyone is at different stages with their diet/weight loss goals (a few of us started on the original thread back in the summer). For what it’s worth I’ve found this group to be extremely supportive and very friendly personally.

@TheBatwoman congrats on joining the gym. I hope you manage to find good ways to work around your hernia.

Yesterday I managed my 15k steps and didn’t eat badly at all, but the dreaded bloat came and my stomach ballooned, the joys of being female! So this morning I was 10st 6.1lb so a small gain but I was expecting it to be worse. I know it a couple of days it will go. It was a real battle to get the steps in yesterday as I was feeling pants but I am glad I did and will do again today.

My weekly average has been 10st 6.8 which was down from the last weekly average of 10st 7.7 so I am taking that as a win. 🥳

@Dashel Great work on the weekly loss!!

I've done 5 days alcohol free now which is amazing for me! Also sticking to my diet, although I was over calories for Fri & Sat (not by huge amounts) which I'm not gonna beat myself up about especially as I was under on Tues, Weds, Thurs. I only get 1200 as I'm a shorty 😄and I'm trying to think of it more as a lifestyle change (but if I don't track calories I'll eat ALL the cheese 😂).

Well done @Dashel and to @Gemzee for the non-scale win there. Great stuff 😁

Finally plucked up the courage to step in the scales this morning and over Xmas and exam period have gained 1.6kg (3.5lb apparently).

Not massively pleased, but was admittedly expecting worse. Going to make a more conscious effort to prioritise my health, nutrition and exercise even when life gets in the way!

Happy with this week overall. Feeling good in myself after a week of actually cooking my meals from scratch again. Did have a takeaway Friday night, but from a vegan company who makes it all themselves. I buy from them regularly - difference this time is I stopped when I was full! Got a Gousto box being delivered later. At least one of the meals is pretty calorific (ordered pre starting this!), but will either split the portion or balance it throughout the rest of the day.

It's great to read everybody's updates here. Feels much less pressured than some groups I've come across 😀

Morning all

@Maraudingmarauders well done for your loss so far and for sticking to one glass of wine on Friday. I am trying to avoid alcohol entirely for a short while as a kind of re-set as I'd got into some bad habits, but would like to introduce a glass on weekend evenings when I feel I'm a bit more back on track. Going to maybe aim to be alcohol free for the rest of January to begin with and then see how I go.

@Dashel congratulations on the pound off your average weight this week, slow and steady is the way to do it in my experience and a pound a week is pretty much a perfect amount. I really enjoy Caroline Girvan's workouts but they are pretty hardcore (for me anyway!) so I tend to try to edge in slowly, hence starting on the 20 minute advent series. I've done it before so know I can do it but also know I will be sore and store some water weight while muscles repair.

@TheBatwoman good luck with the exams, and nice to have the gym membership for when you're done.

@Matilda142 Glad you liked the Olivia Lawson workout. I love her for days when I just need to burn some calories but don't want to go really mad. I sometimes put her soundtrack off and listen to my audiobook or a podcast too as she's really easy to follow along with visually. She did a 30 day Revive programme last year which includes some weights too so that's worth a look when you're ready to add some resistance work in.

@ALittleBitAhAh Glad you've had a good week, it sounds like you have a plan that's working. I have a HelloFresh box some weeks and because I still have my youngest living at home I can't just get low calorie recipes (He's 6 foot 5 and eats like a horse) so I still order more substantial recipes but split them so he has 2/3 and I have 1/3 or split my portion so I have some leftovers for lunch the next day.

I've done another Jenny Ford March Across America workout this morning, plus 15 mins of abs and glutes. I'm going to start adding some weights next week maybe Mon/Weds/Fri if I can fit it in but am still going to try to do a little cardio everyday too.

My scores on the doors for this week are:
Week 1
Starting weight 11st 5lb
Weight today 11st 2.6lb
Loss this week 2.4lb

Overall a good week although as it is my first week back on track I know that that is almost all water rather than fat. Hopefully from next week it will be fat loss although I appreciate the loss will slow down.

I was minimally over calories yesterday (45) but was still in a deficit of 455 for the day but have put on 0.6lbs overnight. Interestingly, I think this was due to my food choices which weren't as good as they had been during the week. As it was the weekend I had crumpets for breakfast, a piece of fruit loaf after my lunch and pasta for tea. The first two of these are 'treat' foods and I don't want to cut them out completely so am trying to eat them only at weekends. Overall though it made my food intake for the day much more carb heavy than during the week so I suspect I am a bit bloated because of that. My stomach certainly was starting to look a bit more rounded than usual by the end of the day!

I did avoid the wine again though and didn't have all the internal arguments about it either - just decided I wasn't having any and got on with it - small wins!

Onwards and downwards for next week.

Have good days all.

Thank you @bigdecisionstomake and we’ll done to you - great result this week.

Well done to you too @ALittleBitAhAh. great you have found this group supportive. I have too. Definitely don’t think I would have managed to lose the weight I did in the last 6 months or so without the support I had from this group in our first thread. Had struggled to make progress before but had substantial results after joining (aside from the holiday blip!)

I’ve found the support and encouragement so helpful - even if I’ve been a bit rubbish at keeping up with the threads since going back to work! This is a really lovely and supportive group.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday everyone.

Hi everyone,

Some really good results for our first week in losses and changing habits, well done everyone!

I've weighed at 15st 3lbs this morning so that's a 3lbs loss since Tuesday and 7lbs since my first weigh in of the new year. Really pleased with that.

Good luck with your exams @TheBatwoman, sounds like you've got a lot on at the moment but I'm sure you'll get rid of that Xmas gain in no time.

Well done @WutheringShites86 - that’s great!

Thank you very much. It’s definitely been a lot to juggle and tough at times, but I just keep reminding myself it’ll be worth it. Two exams down at least now.

Just have to try to stay motivated because nursery fees (and everything else) for twins aren’t cheap. Once I finish these certifications, I’m hoping to go for a promotion and not have to work two jobs anymore! Will get to spend more time with my little ones then 😁

Also need to remind myself that my health and weight loss are also a priority it would seem though!

Well done on a really positive week everyone - great to see so much progress.

Thanks for the welcome, I'll persevere if that OK.

I weighed in with you all as I'd started on Monday anyway.

Starting weight was 20st 6 and I've lost 11lb bringing me down to 19st 9. I'm doing a VLCD so week 1 a big loss was expected, coning weeks we be much more 'normal'.

Really enjoying your posts and positivity.