Losing for Lent - No specific target, just drop some weight. Anyone in?

[MCGrindah]

I want to shed a few pounds over lent. Today I'm 53.8kg (8st, 6.9lbs) though some of this might be period bloat.

I don't have a set amount I want to lose because when I've set goals in the past, I end up getting all anti-authority, resenting my own target and giving up 🙄

My approach this time is just to lose, that the scales should read less each time I weigh myself.

I'll be doing this through:

• Giving up alcohol:
• I don't drink that much (only Friday and Saturday nights) but drinking always means snacks, a take away, big breakfast the next day etc.
• Being under my calories every day:
• Not by a set amount, just definitely under. So some days I might be 200 under, others I'll be 800 under. As long as I am under.
• Exercising once or twice a week:
• I do kickboxing once a week anyway which is a crazy hard workout. I've got my eye on a HIIT/weights class that I used to attend which has restarted but I'm struggling to make it work with my schedule. If I don't get to that HIIT/weights class then I'll try and make do with a kitchen workout where I can.
• Not eating meat:
• I'm mostly vegetarian anyway so this won't be too challenging. I feel so much better not eating meat and its much easier to reduce calories by not having meat in meals.

Does anyone want to join me? I thought we might use this thread for moral support, cheering each other on, and sharing ideas.

@Temporaryname158 I'm 5'3. Short arse 😆

Hello everyone. 👋 I caught the awful cold that's doing the rounds, and have been out of action for a week now.

I've stuck with cutting back on meat, and am now trying to come at things from a different angle, i.e. to eat more veg and salad. Change the balance around. I remember making a lovely roll that had the same amount of lettuce, chives, tomatoes as tuna. Everything else was a bit of a blur, tbh.

The house is a tip, which will take care of exercise for a few days, and some nice cooking.

Hope everyone else is well 💐

Morning everyone.
I had a pretty dire week with Dental issues and today is the first day I feel a bit brighter. I really need a kick ass week now!

I must eat more veg, I am terrible at including it in my diet, it’s weird because I love veg when I eat it but I never really fancy it and sometimes feel positively averse to it. So this week I plan to do some veg pre-cut so I can snack on them during the day. I need to run and get some miles in and go to my 2 gym classes.

I’ve definitely gained this week, a couple of pounds on, and while I know that’s because I’ve felt so rubbish, it still makes me annoyed with myself that I don’t have more self control.

Morning ladies.

I'm sorry you've both been unwell with dental issues and a cold. Horrible.

Last week was a shit show. I had two lunches and a dinner out. I didn't drink alcohol but I didn't really try and be good at these meals.

Still, today I'm 53.4kg which is less than I was when I started but 500g on since last week. Bollocks.

This week I'm going to stick to 1000 calories per day Monday to Friday to try and claw something back. I have a pizza night tomorrow at work but will only have a slice or two.

Kickboxing as usual on Wednesday.

Here's to a positive week for us all! Let's keep checking in 😊

Morning @MCGrindah 😀

The sun is finally shining here, it looks like I lost a couple of pounds with all the coughing. I feel much less foggy, and it's time to find a good podcast and set the house to rights.

There's a lot of food in the freezers and cupboard that reflects my previous way of eating. I'll have a good look at that this morning and put like with like. It all became a bit of a guddle the past few weeks.

Will report back!

Hello ladies,

New week! How did we all get on last week?

I'm sadly the same as I was last Monday because my bastard period has arrived again and made me all bloated. DAMMIT.

Back to 1,000-1,200 calories per day from now until Thursday 6th April when I break up for Easter holidays.

Let's keep checking in, let's do this!!

Hello @MCGrindah and aeveryone else. Hope you are all well and enjoying crocuses and daffodils coming up.

Still wheezing and sneezing, but mentally so much better. I've gained a couple of pounds through inactivity, and expect to shed that again over this coming week.

I'm adding more veg into my food. I've started with easy things - a bag of shredded lettuce from the supermarket and chopping spring onions to put in sandwiches. Also slicing tomatoes to put on egg sw.

I found some seeds to sprout while raking through the messy fridge. That should help me keep down the calories and keep up the vitamins.

Good going @FatLadyTriesAgain

As well as kickboxing, I'm doing a HIIT class tomorrow night.
I'm on a bit of a crash diet now until Easter.
17 days, 1,000-1,200 calories per day. Maybe up to 1.5kg off by the time I break up.

We'll see. Let's keep doing our best.

HIIT on Tuesday was absolutely fantastic. A great mix of weights and cardio. I feel great that I'm managed to integrate it back into my workout routine.

But everything hurt like hell on Wednesday morning so I had to skip kickboxing last night.

They run another kickboxing class on Friday nights so I'm hoping I've recovered enough and can get to that.

I've been in work the past couple of days doing a lot of walking between different buildings and up and down hills so I'm hoping that's made a good contribution to my calorie deficit.

Monday will be the next weigh-in so we shall see.

Sounds great! @MCGrindah

I'm adding a few more steps by parking slightly further away, and going up and down stairs more. Also had to use stepladder a few times today. Every little helps. I'll start noting my steps too.

Today's steps 4,210.

Last week's average 3,600.
Climbed stairs five times.

According to the health app, I'm still limping a bit although I'm often not aware of doing so. Something to be more mindful of and to work on.

@MCGrindah great, well done!

l had a difficult start to the week, but yesterday and today I’ve been back on it. I weighed yesterday as a mid week check in and I had maintained, which considering I am due on and didn’t have a great start to the week, I hope is reassuring. I’ve done quite a lot of exercise the last 2 weeks, I’d like to do a long run at the weekend so will have a rest day tomorrow.

tomorrow I have some prawns to have for lunch, then dinner will be a sweet chilli stir fry with chicken meatballs. Dh has been unwell this week so I sort of hope that he won’t want to drink this weekend which means I won’t either.

all in all, I’m feeling quite ‘on it’ and that’s positive, although I am very tired and quite hormonal. I’m definitely eating more veg and fruit, and I’m drinking a lot more water.

I lose the plot a bit yesterday and has some toblerone and wine. I’m back on it today though. My plan for the weekend is:

Take my vitamins
3l water at least each day
busy day doing jobs today
long run tomorrow (10 miles)
lots of protein, lots of veg, fewer carbs
yoga
get some sleep!
plan my food and do my shopping order for the week

I've been concentrating on walking more, and limping less. It looks as though it's working, as I managed just over 5,000 steps yesterday and my limp is barely registering on the health app. My clothes are getting looser, and yesterday I had to adjust the rear-view mirror slightly because my butt is smaller 😀

Re food, I have lost most of my appetite for meat other than much smaller quantities of chicken and fish. I've cleared a spot in a dark cupboard to start sprouting seeds. Must actually remember to do it.