***Have been hot before, will be hot again***

[BeachBun]

Yet another accountability thread, sorry - I know there have been a few of them lately. Also, apologies if anyone finds the title of the thread offensive. I don't think that my worth as a woman is dependent on my perceived "hotness", I just want to get back to my pre-babies body and feel slim and lithe and good about myself again.

I don't have much to lose, somewhere between 10-15 pounds but I feel like all those extra pounds sit around my stomach and I absolutely hate it.

I count calories roughly, not religiously, but I know full well that I am eating too much at the moment. I like to eat decent sized dinners, as well as dessert most nights and I am not willing to compromise on that (that's my only quality time with my partner so I want to just enjoy the evening and the food). Instead, I'm going to aim for a sensible lunch and a healthy snack and nothing in between. Time restricted eating also worked for me in the past so I am aiming to fast for 14 hours minimum.

I WHF part time, and look after my 3 DC but I walk daily, at least an hour a day. I want to add some weightlifting soon and a bit of yoga or Pilates but I don't feel that I can build all those healthy habits at once. My first priority is sorting out my eating so I'm hoping to use this thread for accountability. Feel free to join me, share your stories, goals and strategies :)

Love to you all x

Hi op I'll join for accountability

Background- Best weight of my life was 2017 when I was 27
I had my dc and spent half my time walking with the pram and doing gym classes

I'm currently around 10lb over where I need to be but in a healthy BMI

I am calorie counting at the minute- around 1200 per day and activity every day

I am starting a 1 2 1 personal trainer next week

My goals are mostly weight loss and tone up for my summer holidays!

Sounds very achievable. Definitely start weight lifting as it’ll help you burn calories throughout the day as well.

Also try cutting out carbs in the evening, this will help you lose fat as you won’t be converting excess energy into fat while you’re asleep.

And good luck!

Hello!
Great to have some company :-)
Thanks @MintyBinty, I have been meaning to start with the lifting for way too long, just always finding excuses.. Are you also trying to lose weight? Are you lifting weights yourself? thanks for the encouragement anyway.
@MrsMSM - great to have you joining. 2017/18 were also my best years in terms of body shape (oh the pre-pandemic days.. Feels like ages ago!) How are you finding 1200 kcal a day? Do you not get too hungry? That would be too low for me to stick to, personally, though I'm quite tall (5ft8). And yeah, the summer holidays looming is also a good motivator, isn't it?

Stayed on track today, although didn't fast for quite as long as I would have liked.
Lunch - porridge with chia seeds, raisins, small chopped-up apple and some coconut oil as I've run out of peanut butter. Around 500 kcal
Snack - some mackerel in olive oil - 125 kcal and small bowl of plain puffed rice with cinnamon (odd and dry but weirdly satisfying) - 150 kcal
Dinner - half a vegetable pizza - 450 kcal, salad with extra mixed beans - 250 kcal, small glass of wine - 100 kcal
Total of roughly 1600 - a bit less than I am aiming for typically but I've had a few bad days so it's good have some extra deficit.
Walked for an hour today, despite the rainy weather. Overall, a good day :-)

Yeah I started lifting weights recently. I have an online personal trainer and I also try and fit in a couple of sessions just watching YouTube videos. I need the trainer to make me push myself (and stick to a routine!), I also take dance classes and cycle everyday so I’m pretty active.

My issue is carbs I just love them 😅 so I’m trying to low carb atm to help lose some fat and build muscle. Have managed to lose about 1.5kg so far in couple of weeks which I think is ok! Im trying to lose another 8-9 kg in total (or just lose some inches off my waist etc), my issue is I always seem to plateau and then I give up. So I’m trying to stick with it this time, lose the weight and (hopefully!) keep it off this time as well.

Your diet sounds v healthy btw and I’m sure if you stick with it you’ll see results in no time at all!

I’ll join!
I have about a stone to shift. All my weight goes straight onto my hips and legs and I just want to feel comfortable in my clothes again.
A pregnancy in lockdown meant I put on a bit more weight than I had wanted because I just wasn’t as active as I would have liked and I was snacking A LOT.

Really struggling to shift it for some reason. My diet is pretty good and I am pretty active. Giving 16/8 fasting a go. Also trying to do a bit more running and Pilates and yoga at home.

I've found the calories OK actually

I don't eat anything till 11/12 usually as the mornings are just too busy! So I'll have eggs and spinach or a salad

And then I don't eat until evening meal. We have massively cut out carbs. This evening is roast chicken salad for example

I do see a difference since doing weights

According to the scales I now have around 8lb to loose

Hi All, thanks for the updates.

@MintyBinty I love the sound of your exercise routine, you must be really fit! And yeah, I love carbs too (who doesn't?!) and I just don't think I could stick to a low carb eating long-term. So I just try to really focus on portion control and enjoy them responsibly ;-)

@MrsMSM - yeah, being busy definitely helps with fasting/ not obsessing over food. 8lbs is so little to lose, I'm sure you'll get there in a snap of a finger. Well done for reducing your carb intake, I honestly couldn't do it myself! How many weightlifting sessions do you do per week?

@Festivemoose Hello and thanks for joining :-) I also experienced pregnancy during lockdown and for me it was the lack of exercise that really got to me. I love walking and when the restrictions hit I just didn't make any effort to stay active whatsoever (possibly why my baby stuck back to back and wouldn't budge - apparently it's got a lot to do with being sedentary..). Keep us posted how 16:8 is working for you and whether you find it easy or not..? I can barely get to 14 hours and then I'm absolutely starving.

I had a good day yesterday, around 1800 kcal which is my daily aim - I know it's a bit high but I'm quite tall and I just want sustainability. I really want to be able to stick with it and not feel deprived.

Today's been decent as well. Lunch was around 500 kcal (porridge with chia seeds, half a banana and peanut butter), snack was around 300 (slice of seeded bread with cottage cheese and cucumber), dinner was 800 (the absolutely delicious sweet potato, chickpea and prawn curry with pilau rice and a quarter of naan bread plus a small glass of wine) - so 1600 in total. And I walked for 90 mins as well. I do feel hungry but just trying to ignore it...

I go to the gym 3 or 4 x a week, start the session with cardio then move onto weights alternative days focusing on different body parts I can see a massive difference and then the personal trainer I am starting this week will be 2 days a week so I am getting plenty of exercise in!!

Your food for the day sounds lovely!! And we'll done on the walk!

Hi All,

How are you doing?

I've had a car crash of a weekend when it comes to indulging.. It was Mother's Day though so I'm not beating myself up too much about it, but let's just say that desserts were multiplying and a jar of peanut butter and a tub of mascarpone seemed to have evaporated into "thin air"...

Anyway, new week is here and so are my good intentions. How are you all doing?@MrsMSM how was your PT sessions?

My food for today:
porridge with apple, banana, yogurt and chia seeds - 500
piece of seeded toast with butter and tuna - 300
handful of almonds - 200
brown rice stir fry with prawns, mushrooms and loads of greens - 500
So around 1500 total, plus an hour's walk in the drizzling rain :-)

I'd like to join!

My weight has crept up during winter and I can't convince myself any longer that the extra timber is needed to keep warm

I need to lose about 10 pounds to comfortably fit in my denim shorts that were a little snug even last year to be honest...

I'm going to cut out booze. Eat just generally better and workout. I workout anyway but will try and focus it a bit more to do two runs and two strength training sessions each week. I prefer to do half an hour bursts of exercise than a long workout.

I always walk for an hour a day so I'll continue to do that too.

Today's meal plan is:

B: Banana with small amount of peanut butter spread on it

L: Pitta with chicken, veg and lentil crisp things

Apple as a snack

D: Chicken breast, stuffing and veg for dinner

The trouble I have is that there is always social things coming up that are all food oriented.

BUT I just need to accept that I'm on a diet and even when eating out to try and choose something mildly healthy and to not just go for a burger a chips....

Hi All and welcome @thecathasbeenfed - the more the merrier :-) How many calories are you aiming for daily? If you track them..? Also, "lentil crisp things" sound intriguing - what are they?

Sorry I've not updated in a while, have had a house move to deal with (what fun..). I will try and post more regularly. Feel free to share how you're all getting on.

Xx

Back after a break and falling off a wagon (again) a little bit..
But, spring is here, so upwards and onwards.

I have added some HIIT exercises to my daily walks, started doing squats and lunges daily. Really wanna build habits and rely on them, rather than my crap motivation.

I have also started tracking my macros on MFP. I was amazed actually! I thought my diet was a lot more carb heavy and didn't realise how much fat I was consuming..! And while I don't subscribe to "eating fat will make you fat" belief, I do subscribe to "too much of anything will make you fat". And, because a gram of fat is higher in calories than a gram of protein or carbs, it's easier to overeat and thus end up in surplus.
So really watching my portion sizes, my fat intake and I want to up my protein. I have noticed that when I eat protein heavy meal, I don't get hungry so quickly afterwards. So, I'm going to be swap my beloved oats for for a savoury, protein filled lunch and then perhaps have porridge for a snack as it genuinely doesn't fill me up for long enough, not as a first meal of the day anyway.

So, the meals today will be:
Lunch - high protein bagel with quark and tuna and a few celery sticks - 300
Snack - porridge with sultanas, chia seeds and apple - 300
Dinner - Veg-filled pasta bake with cheese on top (but no garlic bread) with a small glass of red wine - 750