⭐️LOSE IT! March 2023⭐️Get Ready for Spring Edition⭐️

[TheRealHousewife]

⭐️Open to previous members as well as new members⭐️

Spring is right around the corner so it’s time to embrace a 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

I have been very tempted to eat a big bag of Haribo tonight. I love the little Balla bites. I have resisted and am now in bed with my book and two hot water bottles for comfort as well as warmth. I'll be so glad when it warms up outside so that inside warms up without the heating. In the summer I'll be cursing the heat but the cold makes me miserable whereas the heat makes me I'll-tempered and actually feel ill. It affects my breathing and ability to walk everywhere. No car with air con to get places and the buses are roasting too. I really hope we have a nice warm sunny summer but no heatwave please, at least not for as long as the last one. I hate being sweaty and always feel grubby and smelly and uncomfortable when it's hot.

My new Fitbit hasn't arrived yet. Tracking says it was out for delivery yesterday but no sign of it. I've had a quick look at the premium feature and there's a section on fab abs and arms that I'll give a go. At the moment I have flab abs and arms 😩

Good luck to the morning weighters!

@ImALittlePeaany idea why you were feeling faint? Are you eating enough? Hope you’re feeling better now, despite the lack of motivation.

So my (Clodagh’s) asparagus filo tart was a huge success, me and DH loved it. I then started logging all of the ingredients into a ‘my recipes’ on MFP so I could use it again in future. I hardly ever use double cream, and the 300ml pot I bought was over 1000 calories 😳 The tart fed 4 of us, plus there’s a portion left, so I logged my 1/5 at 780 cals. Luckily I just had salad leaves on the side or it could have been a huge amount.

I’d forgotten how low calorie the skyr is, so I had a much larger portion for lunch than I do with Greek yoghurt, for the same, if not fewer cals. And because I like the (baked apple) flavour compared to plain greek, I didn’t add as much granola, so better all round. Ending the day on about 1100 cals as I didn’t snack and just had 1 coffee today. Fitbit 23,000 steps and saying my walk this morning burned 1,000 cals so should have a nice deficit today.

Asparagus and tenderstem broccoli filo tart

@SingaporeSlinky that looks amazing!

I’d like to join please! Desperate to lose my lock down weight which has now become my middle age spread! Ideally would lose 1.5 stone but would be happy with 1 stone

Healthy eating, low GI, low sugar, less junk will be my plan plus running twice a week and yoga.
more mindful eating and less mindless snacking between meals. Alcohol is my downfall though.

@SingaporeSlinky That looks gorgeous! and although high in calories probably high in good nutrients also so at least a good use of the calories.
I weighed myself yesterday and was down to 64.9kg hoping I can maintain it but probably not as the quick loss was due to being too anxious to eat Monday and Tuesday and as much as I want to loose weight I don't want to achieve it through not eating.
Plan today
Lunch- leftover grilled chicken and fruit salad (not in the same bowl )
Dinner- Homemade Pizza (I will add up calories and potentially have half with salad depending on the results and whether I want a glass of wine also)

Exercise- I already walked the dogs this morning but only for 30 minutes, will drag myself to cross fit this evening as it really did make me feel better on Tuesday.

I am finding trying to force my mojo back food and exercise wise is at least giving me something positive to focus on.

Morning all

Just a quick pop in to say Happy Belated Birthday, RealHousewife - hope you had the most wonderful of days and that the celebrations will linger over the weekend!

No change for me from the start of the month so am pleased as we were out Wednesday and didn't East particularly healthily and then yesterday was a 'keep popping to the kitchen cupboard' day... busy day today and then big hike tomorrow so should set me up well for the weekend!

Everyone sounds so on it at the mo - lots of strong willpower and great snack ideas (I, too, love a Snack-A-Jack, AutisticLegoLover - the chocolate ones are my absolute favourite and I got a little obsessed a few years back!) Your tart looks very tasty, SingaporeSlinky - DS doesn't like quiche which is a shame as DD and I are big fans...

No DC today so making a fancy Tom Kerridge omelette for me and a friend and then might go to the pub 😀

Morning all! Friday at last!

Good luck to those weighing today and hello and welcome to the newcomers.

58.6kg this morning and that's a good Friday feeling 😃

Have a great day everybody!

Morning all! Welcome @icecreamisforwintertoo !

Weigh in today, lost 2lbs so all the half term indulgences have gone!

Won't be eating much today as having a tooth out. Soft comfort food will be the order of the day. Out for a fancy dinner tomorrow so aiming to try to get rid of that weight and maybe a 1lb loss next week.

Been out for a 40min pooch walk this morning and am taking her out again this afternoon for some recall training with our trainer .... photo attached for the dog tax

Lovely photos of gorgeous pooch, snowdrops, and delicious asparagus / broccoli tart. Just what I needed, thank you.

Not having a great week - lots of nice highs but lows too. Plus I thought I would allow myself a few b'day indulgences - cake & champagne. Then yesterday I "treated myself" to alcohol and chocolate after a family funeral.

But the post-sugar and alcohol slumps are just really bad. Feel very teary, depressed, and generally rubbish. So learning - yet again - how toxic alcohol and sugar are for me. I crave them so much though. Thankfully my willpower has been strong lately. Thought just 2 days I could manage, but obviously not.

Just about to take my doggie for a stomp in a nearby country park to try and shift the black cloud. Will be back on track soon.

 for you @buzzofthebumblebee

Happy Friday everyone, and that is a very good-looking pooch gin

Welcome @icecreamisforwintertoo loce your username! Your plan of low GI, low sugar is what many of us are doing to a greater or lesser extent. Looking forward to seeing how you get on 💪🏻

I'm feeling good in general although facing down some tricky disordered eating thoughts which are trying to get in the way.

Finished off yesterday with a lovely satisfying dinner, then didn't go looking for dessert or snacks. But have woken up today feeling afraid of that deprived feeling and am currently having two coffees and a cornflake nest in the local café.

It's like my brain has finally accepted that deprivation isn't good, but is trying to remedy that using unhealthy options... Well progress is still progress. Someday I'll get to healthier coping mechanisms.

Breakfast - 1x rye toast, tea

Snack - 2x coffees, cornflake nest

Lunch - leftover veg pasta, green salad with o+v

Dinner - homemade butter chicken, rice, green salad

Hugs @buzzofthebumblebee that dog will do you good. Be kind to yourself xx

@Cloudberries123 would you mind explaining a bit more, if you can, what you mean? I keep reading your last 2 paragraphs and trying to understand what you mean. Do you mean that you used to get obsessed with depriving yourself (and I guess feeling a sense of achievement in that)? And now you’ve realised that’s not healthy, but have gone the other way and having too many unhealthy snacks, instead of healthy snacks? If that’s correct, it’s the para before that I don’t quite get. When you say you’ve woken up afraid of the deprived feeling - is it because you didn’t have dessert, you’re worried you’ll somehow go back to the unhealthy mindset? So to avoid that, you’ve had snacks again?

Hello all, thanks for all the inspiring posts.

I've been finding this group really helpful. This is the end of my first full week and have done well cutting out all the cake/biscuits or unnecessary snacking. I've been eating plenty of health food so never feeling hungry (particularly don't want to do that as I'm breastfeeding) but feel lighter, even if its just in my mind it helps to be in that losing weight mindset. Thinking more about long term goals.

I've gone on 4 runs since Saturday and a few walks with the toddler in the buggy.

I hope I can do a few more exercise sessions this week and not completely fall off my plan as my mother is coming into town and that's usually a recipe for excess. I will do my best!

@Cloudberries123 I understand what you mean, I had anorexia as a teenager and after years of recovering I actually ended up overweight. My brain was similar in terms of it started getting its hits from overeating instead of starving.
It's part of the reason I don't calorie count regularly and try to eat when I'm hungry even if it means a few extra calories.
I am hoping that eventually my brain will be rewired to just be able to eat intuitively without me ending up severely overweight or underweight.
I consider myself fully recovered from anorexia but the thought patterns never seem to get fully shaken.

@WolfMother326 that's fab for week 1, 4 runs and cutting out snacks is a great start! Keep it up!

Sending hugs to you @Allthegoodnamestakken well done for getting the support you need, it won't be long until you're moving on and hopefully things start to improve for you.

Well done @MKD1 that's a great start!

I'm sorry I can't remember who else has a poorly LO at the moment - perhaps @Cloudberries123 ?? Whoever it is, I hope they are better soon!

@SingaporeSlinky I think I probably did need a bigger lunch yesterday given I was running on very little after a few nights of hardly any sleep. It's also something that happens intermittently for me, docs have investigated several times to no avail. I think it's linked to temperature more than anything. Your tart looks delicious!

Well done on the loss @ginsparkles

And hugs to you too @buzzofthebumblebee

Sorry I can't remember who else to name check; another sleep deprived night for us. DD spiked a high temperature overnight as well so off to the docs shortly to get her checked before the weekend. It's come down now and she's in good spirits despite looking wildly tired - but better safe than sorry eh.

1lb on for me today. Bit deflated but on reflection not surprised as we did have a verrrry naughty weekend and with the sleep deprivation I've been up to cooking less. I also feel heavier, I think it's the tiredness... Does that weigh anything?! 🤣 Last night we did avoid takeaway but didn't have a healthy meal - southern fried chicken goujons in a wrap with salad, sauce and cheese, with curly fries and onion rings. Better than takeaway though!

Just frustrated that I am yo-yoing between 9.11 and 9.12, I clearly need to find some more levers to pull to move past 9.11 but I'm too tired and too weekendy to think of what they could be right now! Tempted to just accept this weight range, it's still over 1.5 stone off my starting point, but I'd also like to get below 9.10 and have 9.7-9.10 as my yo-yo range. One to think about when sleep returns!!

Hi everyone. Please can I join this group? I really need some motivation to start getting the weight off. I feel awful at the moment and none of my clothes fit. Im in leggings full time and thats not making me feel good either. I am going to weigh myself tmrw morning and then start updating on here to see if that helps. I will calorie count, but also want to eat healthier. I am addicted to sugar and snacking in front of the tv in the evening. This cold weather isn't helping much either.

Welcome @Infracat I was the same, a habit of putting the kids to bed and then going straight to the kitchen to get a sharing bag of minstrels or m&ms and sitting eating them, while watching tv. My tips would be stop buying the snacks to start with, and just go cold turkey on it. I don’t eat anything after dinner now, and got used to it very quickly. Good luck!

SingaporeSlinky It's kind of like I fear hunger I think. I was brought up in a family where there was a) poverty and b) disordered eating habits but to the other extreme of never deny yourself anything and talking about being unhappy with your weight was taboo. I suppose my mum etc were trying their best to protect us from negative body image but it sort of had the opposite effect in that I'm afraid of hunger. If I feel hunger I get a sort of buzz from it (like AutisticLegoLover describes) but I also get a bit freaked out and automatically want to fill up so I don't feel it any more. I wish they had taught us that feeling a bit of hunger is OK and normal. It doesn't mean you're starving.

That's the flaw with 'intuitive eating' in my opinion, it assumes you don't have all these conflicting voices. I've been sort of doing intuitive eating for years trying to get over the food weirdness in my family, and look where it's got me - obese and still overreacting to feelings of deprivation.

This is all a bit heavy but I just want to say that I also do really enjoy food, cooking, eating out, and eating nutritious and less nutritious foods in a mostly unproblematic way 😊

Thanks for explaining @Cloudberries123, that sounds very difficult to have those conflicting feelings 💐

@ginsparkles love the pup photo! A walking buddy 😊
all’s stable over here including my weight. Down some from the trip but not all yet.
exercise on track, but mid day snack/cheese consumption NOT.
i’ve got my work cut out.
new vitamin supplements helping with sleep, very surprised with this.

I'm loving the honest insights. I don't really talk about these things IRL. I try and hide the fact that I'm trying to lose weight as it's a bit boring for others and I don't want to calorie count in front of the DC.so it's nice to talk about it here.