⭐️LOSE IT! February 2023 Edition⭐️

[TheRealHousewife]

⭐️Open to previous members as well as new members⭐️

Fresh new month, fresh new start, fresh new habits. Jump right in to reset & refresh to become a healthier version of yourself. These threads are for those who’d like to lose and those who wish to maintain whilst eating a healthy varied diet.

As no one size fits all, members need to follow their own way of eating. This thread aims to offer guidance, support and a bit of hand holding.

We generally have WOW (weigh on Wednesday) day each week. However post and share your progress as often or as little as you prefer. Do what works for you.

The important thing is not to think of it as a diet (based on deprivation and unsustainable) but more a way of life (sustainable & enjoyable).

I calorie count based on a lower carb Mediterranean diet. I intermittent fast and eat twice a day. Im a long time healthy eater and overall I’ve lost over 3 stone. After having been on the wrong side of 12st Im now hovering around 9st. I had a blip a couple of years ago when my thyroid went wonky but now back on track.

Are you in😊 What food plan will you be following? What do you want to change and why?

Feel free to share your own links, tips & recipes 👍

Sounds delicious 😋

Still too icy to hike.

I'm really pleased that for the first time in ages, I managed to stick to my calorie goal, even though I had wine. I've not been able to exercise really this week due to an injury, but hoping to get focused on that next week (though my exercise goals are all about being healthy and strong rather than for weight loss).

That looks lovely @greenspaces4peace I take it you're not in the UK? As a relative newbie to the thread I'm not yet familiar with everyone!

We like a halloumi bake - halloumi, waxy potatoes halved, broccoli (and / or any other veg you have having around that roasts well), little bit of oil, Lebanese spice, roast for 20-30 mins. Add some lemon juice and pomegranate seeds before service.

Good morning Everyone

That landscapes looks glorious @greenspaces4peace , absolutely glorious 😍

@WhatWouldTheDoctorDo Well done! That’s great! 👍 I find if I drink plenty of water and include plenty of protein and don’t have added sugars or sugary foods I can stick to my limits easier. Sometimes it useful to aim for a weekly average, especially if a meal out is on the cards 😬 I am absolutely going to try to Halloumi tray bake idea, thank you for sharing.

Menu
Meal 1 - Minestrone Soup. Small slice of gf bread. Walnuts.
Meal 2 - Chicken curry, small amount of brown basmati rice. Large orange 🍊
Tea, black coffee, water. 75ml red wine 🍷< For the polyphenols … honest 😬

Enjoy your weekend!

Hope you enjoy the tray bake. We use spray oil do I tend to take it out after 10 - 15 mins to give it a shake and a spray or two of oil if it needs it.

Totally agree on balancing calories over the week. I use nutracheck to log, and have set my week from Wed - Tue, and have Fri-Sun as 'easy days' so it increases calorie count on those days and reduces them on other days. I'm really trying to up my protein.

Your meals for the day sound good - enjoy! I am going to try and make healthy choices at the meal and turn down pudding because I know there'll be cake!

Here for my Saturday catch-up, been enjoying the amazing food pictures from TheRealHousewife and the beautiful snowscape from greenspaces, and happy to hear all the success stories, well done!
I am down 1lb, which I am really pleased about, I am now on 11st, so about to move over the 10/11st threshold.
I have been feeling all over the place this week, a bit overwhelmed with work and family stuff. The main problem was that my leg has been causing me pain again, it is now about six months since the accident and surgery, and I was recovering well, but this week I have been limping a lot again, which then gives me pain in the other leg, and I have been struggling at work as a result.
So today I have cancelled all plans and commitments and am just going to sit on the sofa and try to give it a chance to recover.

It is so frustrating as everything was going really well, and I even started running again very slowly about two weeks ago (just short stretches). But my physiotherapist warned me that there would be set-backs, so I guess this is all normal.

So my focus this week has just been to try to eat three relatively healthy meals a day, and keep it simple. I have been having porridge with blueberries and honey for breakfast, lunch some stew/soup taken to work, and then dinner being a small portion of whatever the family has been having. it seems to be working slowly but surely. I am still keeping an eye on the GI/GL index as much as possible.

Keep up all the good work everybody and have a lovely weekend! And AutisticLegoLover good luck with the last push! But as the others have said, don't knock yourself out if you do not quite there, you have already done amazingly and those few pounds/grammes are not going to make a big difference at this point.

SW: 11st 6lb
CW: 11st
GW: 10st 6lb

@menomonster rest up
It's been a day of tidying today in both house and garden. I have bribed the dc with sweets. I think it's pasta for dinner as I have sauce to use up. I have said we can do some baking this weekend but first Dd has to tidy her room so it might not happen 🙄

I tried new food! Only because my pasta sauce was out of date. I tried aubergine pesto with my pasta, broccoli and sweetcorn. I wasn't too keen but it tasted much better once I grated a load of Parmesan type cheese on it. Ds tried and acted like it was vicious poison 🙄 at least he tried though. I fancied ice cream after dinner but we don't have any so that's that. No exercise today so I might bounce on my ball later.
How is your Saturday?

Evening all. Just checking in as have been tidying and cleaning all day ready for family arriving. I know I will be more indulgent the next few days so I will try not to beat myself up about it too much.
@AutisticLegoLover i love the sound of aubergine pesto. Not heard of it before!
thanks for the advice about the scales @TheRealHousewife and @SanFranBear
i will start weighing three or four times to get an average I think!
AF arrived today and it has been a long time coming. I am 42 and it seems to be effecting my mood more and more. I get really down leading up to it. Has anyone else experienced this ?
have a lovely weekend everyone

@Ninjachicken it's a Sacla one. I'd heard it recommended somewhere on mumsnet and thought I'd be brave and try it. My periods can be anything from 3-48 days apart. It drives me mad. I'm 46 and it's been that way for at least 3 years. It's a joy. Pmt lasts about 2 weeks now and the bleeding itself can be 3 weeks long. I just think that every month is a step closer to menopause and the endometriosis will fuck off then. Mostly. The damage to my insides through adhesions and whatnot still causes mischief but maybe the daily pain will go and I can get off the opiates. It's been much better controlled since my abusive now ex-husband went off with another woman. The stress he caused made it so much worse. The husbandectomy was a godsend in many ways 🤣

So we had a big celebratory meal out yesterday, and while it was difficult to track my calories, a rough estimate suggests that while I went over my food calorie target, once I factored in calories earned through exercise I probably came out even. And the scales haven't woodshed on the opposite direction, so that's something!

My challenge today will be not too succumb to snacks and comfort food as I'm a bit weary after yesterday and I think my period might be imminent (completely unreliable since I started hrt 🙄). But I have a few errands and jobs to catch up on do hopefully that will be enough to keep me off the sofa and away from the chocolate!

Aaarrgh I can’t stop eating biscuits and bloody Kit Kats!!
I keep trying to get on track and then go mad and have 6 biscuits, which is basically like having an extra meal’s worth of calories, except of course not filling at all, and just makes me crave more.

I’ve got 6 weeks left until my holiday, and I’m going to have to lose at least 1lb per week every week from now, so not impossible, but seems daunting given how slow my progress has been since January.

Send help 😆

Hi, I posted last month as if I was an ex-binge-eater and knew how to beat THAT behaviour. Turns out I know nothing, don’t listen to me!

I spent Friday night demolishing all the salty snacks I could find, including some unflavored Nachips (that don’t even taste good without a dip). Why do I do it?

I understand what you mean @SingaporeSlinky i just can’t have stuff in the house - my willpower is usually pretty good, but sometimes I lose control.

@AutisticLegoLover can’t imagine the horror of a 3 day break between periods, I’m also looking forward to them not happening at all!

so, I've just eaten 6 dark chocolate rice cakes to make you both feel better @Bumblebeehum & @SingaporeSlinky at an alarming 486 calories. I should have thought to read the calorie content beforehand. Oops. Damage done.

Thank goodness that was all that was in the packet. Otherwise I would have continued. In my defence clutching at very thin straws:

• dark chocolate and rice cakes on better side of naughty
• first sugar of the week, alcohol friday night aside ; )
• I have done 10km run this morning (second 10 km of the week) so in theory just replenishing exercise calories used
• i had dropped another 2lbs since Weds, so down to 11 stone 4. So obvs need to keep calories a bit higher than they were so as to not loose too much weight in such a short amount of time

Was the sugar hit worth it? Probably not. I just want more now.
Does it prove - like you Bumblebeehum I am no longer a binge eater ? No!
Will I buy them again? No. Thought they were calorie-light, and I could stop at a couple.

In other news, I had appt with dietitian-type person about my slow digestion. I am supposed to be eating very sensible, home-cooked foods, proteins & veggies, soups, stews etc, no nuts, seeds, raw fruits or veggies. (Technically dark chocolate rice cakes permitted ?!!). And keeping food diary. If I learn any top tips in general I shall gladly share.

Hope everyone else can resist the snacking this Sunday. IT IS NOT WORTH IT.

What’s wrong with nuts @buzzofthebumblebee 😬?

Nuts speed up my digestion so surely they are good? Any excuse for a snickers 😁

Cleaning my teeth straight after my dinner stops me being tempted with snacking / evening binging, as everything tastes weird and minty.

However, whilst I know that works, I rarely actually do it 🙄 not much use having the tool and not using it, but there we go...

I usually do my teeth straight after dinner too.
Porridge for dinner tonight due to lack of imagination. No raspberries in Asda or the co-op again. Whoever asked about smoothies-no I don't really like them.

I am really tired and headachey tonight. My plan was Vera and ball bouncing but I want to go to bed. I might feel perkier after my porridge.

Agree - nuts good and for digestion Autistic. But I need to cut out everything like that for now - as even nuts & seeds and veggies aren't having their desired effect. Blueberries in Sainsbury's - but no raspberries. Wonder why there is a big shortage.

Well I bounced my way through Vera and resisted any snacks or my favourite hot chocolate treat. I've clocked 60 miles this week and averaged 1420 calories per day. I'm happy with that. AF is imminent and my back is hurting and my thighs swollen as is my belly. I've got a banging head now too. I might not see that magical 60kg for a few days as a result but who knows.

I was reading another thread something about wanting to lose weight for a birthday in x weeks time. I've always promised myself I'll be a better weight for my next birthday but have never done it. This year seems like it's the year to finally do it. It's my birthday in about 4 months. I might aim for the middle of the healthy bmi range which would be 21.7 and 55.5 kg/8 st 9lb for me. That sounds very skinny right now but probably wouldn't be at all. I'll see how I get on with 60kg to start with. Then take it in 0.5 increments. It will be the maintaining it that will be tricky.

Right, well, another week has flown by and tomorrow is a whole new week of resisting 😁 until Friday at least. I'd said about going out for a meal on Thursday but I'm not sure now seeing as we will be eating out on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and then probably a take away on Monday. I'll just eat small portions.

Sweet dreams everyone😴

Good morning all! Half term starts today so gym will be tricky but I’ll try and get some walking in with the kids at least.

Scales finally moving in the right direction! 9st 8 this morning so hopefully that’ll give me a boost to make the best choices with food this week.

Hats off to you @AutisticLegoLover for resisting, and for bouncing your way through the evening. My big birthday was my goal last year for loosing 2 stone. It was motivational and a good goal. But 11 lbs crept back on (mainly in Nov & Dec when I "let go" of food control), but thankfully only the last 2lbs to get off now. Go for it - although you sound tiny to me anyhow ; )

I've just popped back to say I feel dreadful. I thought I'd have glass of wine with my dinner yesterday evening - 1st wine at home this year. That led to more chocolate. But worse, was the 4am waking , pounding in my chest, whirr of stuff in my head. Got back to sleep eventually. But lesson learned. Wine and sugar do NOT agree with me. All that time I put 4am wakes down to perimenopause. I won't be doing it again.

So this is a fresh new week. Sun shining. Back on track, health food options, plenty of movement. Water, water water. Good luck everyone.

Morning all! I'm pleased that despite an indulgent weekend (planned - I banked calories and tried to go for the lesser of evil choices available to me) the scales are still reflecting my mini whoosh from late last week so fingers crossed for WOW.

Good luck with the week ahead everyone! I'm hoping to get back on the exercise this week after being hampered by an injury.

Good Morning Everyone 😊

Well the weekend pasted far too quickly! Ate mainly to plan other than OH bringing unexpected fish and chips home. I had a few chips but declined the battered fish.

@Bumblebeehum Im no expert but I suspect you eat that way as a coping mechanism/self soothing etc. Are you feeling stressed? Do you have unresolved issues or trauma? It can be difficult to unpick and a councillor (sp) might be useful ❤️. Acknowledgment is a strong step forward!

Menu
Meal 1 - Minestrone Soup, GF bread. Pecans. Small apple.
Meal 2 - Chicken, carrot, leek, potato with skins on tray bake.
Tea, black coffee and water.

iPad is being glitchy so I will wrap this post up and come back later to reply to tags.

Have a great week!