☀️LOSE IT! April 2023 Countdown to Summer☀️

[TheRealHousewife]

⭐️Open to previous members as well as new members⭐️

Summer countdown starts here! The holidays are 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!

Thank you for everyone’s kind words. Today has been better but maybe because we have not really seen each other!!
day 2 of fast 800 has gone well.
small bowl of porridge this morning, omelette for lunch and bolognese sauce and salad again for dinner. May be slightly over 800 calories but I don’t think by much

i will try and not eat now until around 11am tomorrow which is what I did today. It does become easier the more I do it.

not sure how I will manage with socialising, I may stay in for two weeks!! 😄

Hi @greenspaces4peace Im tempted and I’d intended to drop a steaming service to cover the subscription. However 😬 I’m a Succession fan and I’ve had to take a different subscription to view it 😅. Needs must. YouTube walking it is for now.

@ImALittlePea Thats one way to do lower carb … risotto sans rice 😅👍

Welcome to thread @goodenoughmum88 . Well done on facing your demons and starting a new healthy routine. I remember the shock I felt when I first realised how heavy I’d got. Very sobering.

Kitchen cleaned and closed by 18:30 👍

Crossed posted! That’s a lovely positive post @Ninjachicken 👍. Keep going.

Well the day started out well with porridge. Then I missed lunch and it got to dinner and I didn't make that and I ended up eating foods of very little nutritional value. I've taken soup out of the freezer for tomorrow and might make some more as no plans for tomorrow. Thursday we are going back to the big smelly city and hoping there'll be less rain and thunder. We are going to a museum. There's a cafe there but I bet it's expensive and the dc will probably want McDonald's again. Not great but they have one about 6 times a year with me so I'm not stressing about it. I spent the first week of the holidays ill with them both glued to screens and I feel guilty that we all missed out on outside fun . So my plan for the rest of the holidays is to eat a good breakfast at least and try to minimise unhealthy snacks but have fun together. Tomorrow will be lots of yogurt, porridge, soup. I dread to think what the scales will say tomorrow so I might not bother. AF is due and that won't help.

Nice to hear some positivity coming back for some of you. We can do this!

I'm (mostly) back on track
Wednesday weigh in:
SW 88.8
CW 75.8
TW (new) 74 kg
So I'm moving downward again, just much more slowly.
Keep going everyone:)

@ImALittlePea gosh that all sounds very hectic! Hope you sort out something for DD soon so you get your down time! Yes it was Sorrento, I love it there... well anywhere in Italy to be honest!

Hello @goodenoughmum88 welcome onboard! I follow a simple SW principle too.

I also had a menu change yesterday and had a pea and ham risotto for dinner. Majorly stressful day yesterday (building work at home so was dealing with coordinating many people's diaries to get things organised! ) but I didn't cave and bury myself in food!

Working today so the plan will be :
B - cereal and fruit
L - finishing off the prawn salad
D - chicken fajitas

SW 10st 4
CW 10st 5.5
TW 9 st 7

Well that's really annoying but hardly surprising as I have been poorly over the last few days - hormone migraine.

Also everyone is at home and I am very easily tempted by all the snacks. I have made poor choices but know I can make better ones the rest of the week.
I am back at work today so have better intentions!
Will take soup for lunch along with fruit and veggies to munch on.

Hope everyone else's weigh ins are more positive.

Commiserations @Remindmeofababe I'm up 2.5lbs up this week too apparently. I suppose after a long weekend of birthday and Easter celebrations that's to be expected, but rather annoying. Maybe it will whoosh off.

Easter hols are also nearly done, so back to real life and routine soon. Need to get a handle on it. We have so much chocolate in the house it's ridiculous

Hope everyone else has a more positive WOW!

@TheRealHousewife Your protein starter sounds great.

@ImALittlePea The dreaded mum guilt 😢It's awful isn't it. I'm struggling to keep up at work and I keep thinking about doing an extra day but also don't want to loose the time with the little one. I also keep thinking about how many days I will work when she starts school..... she's only 1 😂

@goodenoughmum88 Welcome! I was 14st 4 at my starting weight doing SW and I got down to 9st 4. I think it can be really helpful. Have you seen the food planners at fabulous planning? My friend uses them and thinks they are great (but the cheapskate in me and the don't want to carry a massive book around with me would make me design my own on the computer and print a page off for each day instead!) Your menu sounds great!

@heinztomatosoup I love running. Do you enjoy it? If you run on your own I highly recommend a podcast or an audiobook. Makes the run/speed walk disappear!

@Ninjachicken I'd have to stay in too. Sounds really tough but glad it's working. You lot doing IF is definitely making me think about it. Sounds like it makes a big difference. Glad to hear things were ok today for you

@AutisticLegoLover Glad you are feeling better and museum sounds lovely.

@Weatherwax13 That's great news that you are (mostly) back on track. Is there something in the air?

@ginsparkles Oh building work at home is the worst. I hope it's complete soon !

@Remindmeofababe This will be the week! You sound like you have a good plan in place.

@Fara22 How are you coping with the house full of chocolate? It's so difficult! Hope this week is more positive for you.

I didn't eat the chocolate yesterday that I portioned out! I'm actually really surprised by that. Maybe because work was so busy. Then when I got home I ran for 30 mins, cooked LOADS of roasted veg to snack on instead of biscuits and chocolate. Had a shower, cooked dinner, ate dinner, ran around the lounge with the kids as they were both shattered and if I didn't keep them entertained they didn't know what to do with themselves. The little one just kept crying 💔Then put them to bed. So maybe I didn't have time and it wasn't anything to do with will power! 😂

Today
Breakfast muffin (not ideal but not beating myself up), apple & yogurt
Chilli on Sweet potato
Something out of the gousto box
Snacks - Only if needed - Roasted Veg, 25g cashews (not eaten yesterday), 40g chocolate (not eaten yesterday) 3 pieces of fruit and my 2lt bottle 🍾

I'm not weighing this week because the inevitable huge gain will upset me so I will wait a week and hope it's either a STS or a slight gain. Feeling positive so hope it stays that way all week this week.

Morning all.

I've been reading all your updates- they really keep me motivated.

I'm 2lb down this week! Yeah!!! I knew I felt a touch slimmer round the stomach (my problem area!). I've been religious with the IF (except for Fri night when BF came for dinner) and logging all food on MFP. I feel the logging really keeps me grounded when I see how many calories are in things and they add up so quickly.

I do think you're so right TheRealHousewife that as I've gotten older I just can't eat what I used to. I was amazed I'd put 1.5 stones back on after losing it before, as I don't really eat that much, but I suppose when you drill down I was eating too many calories to maintain. Even 1500-1600 a day will have made me gain that slowly over the year. It's mental. 50+ is a bit crap (in that regard, not others!).

There's a ridiculous amount of chocolate in this house. Trouble is, all e DC are not chocolate lovers 🙈. DH will work his way through it eventually (he loves the stuff, but is one of these super-fit, never puts on a pound people- so annoying).

Went to the cinema yesterday- Mario movie which I thoroughly recommend 👌- and had NO treats, which I was so proud of as DC munched hot dogs and slushes! I wasn't hungry, my body is definitely adjusting.

DC3 isn't so well today- he's epileptic- so a quiet one pottering today, which suits me down to the ground.

Have a great day all.

Sorry

SW 13st 2
CW 12 st 11
TW 10st 12

Happy WOWzers Peeps

My trajectory this month so far has been wild rollercoaster 🎢

01.04.23 - 9st 8lbs
03.04.23 - 9st 10lbs
07.04.23 - 9st 11lbs
08.04.23 - 9st 10lbs
09.04.23 - 9st 9lbs
10.04.23 - 9st 10lbs
12.04.23 - 9st 9lbs

Hasten to say I’m going all out to see a loss by month end. Looking back over my menus I need to eat more protein rich satiating foods rather than processed carbs like gf pasta/dessert/gf crackers/bread. Once every couple of days is ok but my body really doesn’t like carby stuff daily. I’ve altered my minestrone soup to omit the pasta and replace with beans and lentils so basically I’ve turned it into veg soup 😬

@Weatherwax13 Youre making solid progress 👍👏 Weight loss does naturally slow down the nearer we get to goal so try not to worry. Plus we need less when we weigh less iyswim.

@Remindmeofababe Hormone migraines are the worst pain. Usually we need food when taking meds so that can hamper efforts too. Hope you soon feel better!

@Fara22 Sending you a ‘whoosh’ 😬 Seriously, I hope it comes off quickly!

@Lionnose To be honest I think the protein mix really helped keep me satisfied; we ate our last meal and closed the kitchen earlier and I’ve not woken up hungry. That’s not unusual for me as I don’t usually fancy food pre-noon normally. Well done on swerving the chocolate and getting your exercise in! 👍👏

Come on ladies, we can do it!
Get your protein up and water intake in 👍 It all helps.

Menu
Meal 1 - Cottage cheese, tinned salmon, boiled egg, chopped spring onion (all mixed up aka Protein Mix). Vegetable soup.
Meal 2 - Protein mix starter. Hake, carrots, peas, broccoli and sweet potato.
Tea, black coffee & water.

Posted photo of portioned out Protein Mix.

Yikes a kilo gain here. I'm sure half of that is due to salty fries, salty popcorn and salty take away pizza. Once Monday comes I'll be back to walking miles each day. That will help shift it along with being back to normal eating. Porridge for breakfast, Greek yogurt fur lunch, butternut squash soup and crusty bread for dinner.

@Lionnose ... thanks! Everyone keeps saying it'll be worth it when it's done but lord above! Expensive, mess and dust! 

Congrats @Puffalicious

@TheRealHousewife that is a rollercoaster! You can definitely finish on a loss this month!!!

@ginsparkles Yes I know, crazy isn’t it. Never in my weight loss journey has it been like that. Thanks for the vote of confidence. I agree, I think I will end on a loss. Not on pain meds currently so that will help. Eating fresh, high protein meals and staying hydrated 🍾 < For those that don’t know this is the threads chosen icon for water courtesy of @ImALittlePea (I think it was Pea)

@AutisticLegoLover You're in good company with the frustrating gain, there are a few of us.

Good morning troops - gosh this thread is moving fast.
So this morning I have lost a bit - was at 131.8 on the scales this morning.
Still need to knock a bit more off to get to pre-holiday weight.
Onwards and inwards.

Absolute shock that the scales have gone down today, given the Easter shambles. Who starts a diet a week before Easter bank holiday?

SW: 15st
CW: 14st 9lbs
TW1: 13st 7lbs

I'm taking it half a stone at a time, 2 more lbs and I'm at my first half stone loss and first non food reward 🏅. I have a list of treats and treatments for each 0.5st goal, my first being some new straighteners, secondly a luxury pedicure and thirdly a massage.

I had some bread yesterday, not good but I compensated by having it in my OMAD. I was busy playing catch at work I didn't have my first meal until 2.30pm, I wasn't hungry at 5/6pm so ended up closing my window at 4pm

Hi all, I’ll join for the support and accountability if that’s okay 😊

I’ve just finished my first BodySlims programme and lost a little over 2 stone. Doing the next one which starts in a few weeks and hope to finally shift the last of the evidence of my over-snacking then! Was starting to tip into a size 18 and just couldn’t bear it so finally took the bill by the horns.
Never had great willpower but I’m encouraged by the results so far, now that I’m a comfortable 14 and can even wear some size 12 stuff!! Never believed that could happen to be honest.

SW 14.2
CW 11.6
GW 10

Welcome! If you don't mind ne asking, what's Bodyslims? Sounds interesting.

Well done getting back into the 14s. That's my mini mission- to fit into ALL my 14s, particularly workwear as I'm not buying it all again! Once I reach goal I'll be in the 12s and very happy.

Hi @Puffalicious
BodySlims is an online programme. The guy runs it from Ireland I think but as it’s online it didn’t really matter. What I liked about it was that there’s constant interaction which kept me focused (and away from my biggest downfall - snacks!!) Twice daily videos and weekly seminars trying to get you to rethink your relationship with food and life in general. The guy who does it can be a bit long winded at times but I got some good insights and I lost weight without too much pain 😂 An hour’s walk per day is all the exercise you’re asked to do.

I honestly never thought anything sized 12 would fit me again as I honestly can’t remember the last time it did! Probably when I was in my early 20s!!

Hi new people!

Late lunch of yogurt, cherry compote and honey. I really want to eat lots of things I shouldn't but I'm resisting.

Afternoon!

Thanks for the welcome.
Breakfast was mango and coffee.
Lunch was a jacket potato (small) with beans and a little LF cheese.
pear and green tea this avo.
had a flat white earlier, should stick to black coffee I think!

Still planning dinner, think it’ll be a pinch of nom recipe with chicken and orzo and peppers etc.

Off for a swim this evening too.

Just watching my kids scoff their Easter eggs….🙄

Thanks OliveOyl321 sounds interesting.

Thanks to all you posters reminding me how much I love porridge! I had it today with greek yogurt, blueberries and a drizzle of maple syrup. Delicious. 340 cals but soooooo worth it. I'm so full still after hours.

Congratulations on your loss @Was126orbustandmaybebust 👍👏

@LaWench You're off to a great start! Well done! 🥇Very sensible as well as motivating to break down your goal into mini milestones 👍

@OliveOyl321 Congratulations on your 2stone loss to date. That’s fantastic progress! Well done! 👏🥇🥳

Keep resisting @AutisticLegoLover. When you’re in bed later you’ll be pleased you didn’t give in 😬👍

@goodenoughmum88 Enjoy your swim. Well done on not diving face first into the eggs! 👏 Not always easy.

@Puffalicious Porridge/oats are ace! For those who are susceptible to high cholesterol they are excellent at moping up the excess. I made these a couple of months ago. Utterly delish 😋 A bit carby but low fat and full of heathy fibre.