2.5lb a week (on average)

[HawdMeBack]

I weighted myself this morning and I'm 14st 5lbs. That's a gain of 12lbs in the past 10 weeks - I'm disgusted with myself!!

I've been struggling to lose weight since DC2 was born 14 months ago. Nowhere near enough sleep, too exhausted to exercise and bingeing on crap at night when the kids are in bed.

We're going on our first family holiday abroad at the end of September and I want to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight (11st) for then.

I have 18 weeks to lose 47lbs, that's 2.5lbs a week. I've fired up my fitbit and intend on doing the following:

10,000 steps a day
1200 calories a day
Log everything in MyFitnessPal
Drink 2 litres of water a day

I've lost around a stone twice already this year doing faddy diets but they aren't sustainable long term and I've put the weight back on (plus some) when I've stopped, so I want to do more of a lifestyle change than a crash diet this time.

Anyone want to join me for accountability? I plan on weighing myself every Monday morning and will share my results here (even if no-one else joins, it'll hopefully keep me on track).

@Quitelikeit I also love eggs a lot, and you've reminded me about skinny bagels, I'd forgotten about them!

Which skinny sausages do you get? I'm trying to find the best! x

I have just bought the Sainsbury’s Extra Special ones you can have two for 138 calories

They were expensive though at £3.25 for 12. They were yummy though

I’ve heard that the Lidl ones are good so I’ll check out theirs next.

Also tinned toms are so low calorie, I love to have a low cal fry up but use toms instead of beans. The Aldi bacon (the one where no fat is left on) is roughly 70 cals for two slices

Oh also I burst the sausages when in the oven to allow the fat to seep out.

not really sure if it makes a difference 😆 but in my head I’m convinced it does

@Quitelikeit 😂we all have our coping strategies x

Are people here counting their calories?

I am trying to but it's hard when I have to buy something. I had homemade soup and brought it into the office but it exploded in the bag lol so I've had to buy something. I've gone for French onion soup but no idea if this is healthy or low calorie or whatever!

@Ilovedavidmitchell I do, on myfitnesspal. I'm sure it's not perfectly accurate, but it's good as an estimate.

I’m counting just roughly though.

French onion soup yummm

I’m not calorie counting as I don’t find that, for me personally, that’s going to be sustainable long term. So I’m just consciously eating smaller portions and making sure I’m eating plenty of veg/fruit.

I read a mantra somewhere… eat food, not too much, mainly plants. So I suppose going for that 😂.

My meals today have been odd!

I didn’t eat anything until 1.30pm for a variety of reasons (not intentional). I then ate a moderate portion of aloo gobi that I made (baby potato’s, cauliflower, spices and coconut milk) with spinach and spring greens and peas. I was honestly so stuffed from it I haven’t wanted anything since. I had a small mr whippy ice cream with the daughter at the park around 5pm - it felt like a super special treat. But I likely won’t have any more food today.

hope you’re all feeling good! Is anyone struggling with hunger? I have to say I’m not - but I think the total commitment in my mind helps that. I’m not depriving myself, just eating good nutritious food mindfully. I’ve really got back into my reading and have read 4 books this week alone - that helps in the evening to keep my mind focused away from food.

@Todaypicard I'm struggling with hunger really badly but I can't eat more because my calories will be too high.

For breakfast today I had strawberries and yoghurt with a bit of granola. Don't usually have the granola but for the past few days I've been really hungry and hour after breakfast do thought I'd add a bit more.

For a snack I had carrots and hummus and two rice cakes

Then french onion soup for lunch and a salad with potatoes for dinner. I'm absolutely starving right now but this is all about 1,400 calories I think. I don't know how people do this, I'm gonna have to think of some new ways to do it because I can't sustain it 😔 anyone got any tips?

im sorry to hear you’re feeling hungry. My main suggestion is to eat more protein and reduce sugar/carbs. I never eat granola as it’s very sugary and that will make you more hungry.

could you have chopped nuts and seeds instead of granola? Make sure it’s proper full fat yoghurt not a sugary one. Berries are good!
or an omelette / eggs for breakfast.

what protein can you add to lunch and dinner? Meat/fish? Nuts? Beans? Eggs? Cheese? Coconut milk? Or just have lots of extra veg as low calorie and you can have a big bowl - I often eat a bowl of kale, spinach, green beans, cauliflower, broccoli etc - very high in nutrients and low in calories. You could sprinkle with a flavour of your choice - a little chilli and extra virgin olive oil? Garlic salt? Or a little salted butter. But I often have plain or just with chilli

@Todaypicard yeah I don't usually have granola I have grabbed some today because I had a long commute to the office and was worried about being hungry. Won't be a regular occurrence though. The yoghurt that I have is plain alpro yoghurt, as it's dairy free. I'm not vegan but have alpro milk and yoghurt. Do you think I should have more fruit with my yoghurt instead of just strawberries?

I am vegetarian so no meat or fish but we have chickpeas, mushrooms, beans, sweet potatoes. We eat salad a lot. I do want to do the bowl of veggies I just need to try and find what kind of flavouring I would like, that's a good idea.

Thanks so much for the details response, I really appreciate it. This is usually why I fail when trying to lose weight because I just struggle so much with eating healthier and staying in a deficit. Hunger makes me really angry and usually makes me feel sick too so then I just get annoyed and overwhelmed and give up. I'm determined not to do that this time though, just have to find a way that works for me

Do you like oxo cubes or bovril cubes?

I do they’re yummy and low fat

Also a cup of decaf coffee

oh and kimchi - I buy a tub from M&S it’s spicy but so healthy, full of gut bacteria and sorts my hunger pangs out v quickly

Hi All,

Hope you're all good.

I've been ravenous fornthe past 3 days @Ilovedavidmitchell, it's really hard to manage when the hunger/cravings take over. I don't have any advice really on how to manage those feelings except to keep busy, it's the only thing that keeps my mind off food. I've succumbed to my cravings more than once this week, not in a major blowout kind of way but enough to feel disappointed in my lack of willpower. Instead of going it the flow thus weekend, I'm going to sit tonight and write out a menu for the next couple of days so that I know what I'm having. Hopefully, having it written out in black and white (like insteuctions) will make it easier not to deviate from 🤞

I weighed myself yesterday and had lost weight but I'm noy logging it as my official weigh day is a Monday and I'll probably have put it back on by then 🫣

I think that’s an excellent point- keeping busy is essential!

im vegetarian as well- good to share meal ideas together!

I’ve not been well today, and although I haven’t fallen off the wagon in terms of junk/sugar/UPF, I certainly could have eaten less carbs!!

breakfast - homemade bread, as toast (2 slices!!) with peanut butter and an apple. I’m my defence it was delivered in bed by my husband and I didn’t specify how many slices! Should have said one.
lunch - another slice of toast with homemade lentil and vegetable soup
dinner - jacket potato with cheese, carrots and cauliflower, and another apple.

I feel I have learnt something interesting about myself though- despite eating that breakfast which is the biggest breakfast I have eaten since we started this thread, I felt no more or less hungry than when I have no breakfast. In fact perhaps I even felt a little more hungry after eating it compared to no breakfast?! Very interesting! But gives me confidence to carry on with the no breakfast on non-work days, unless I do feel very hungry in which case I’ll eat.

Oh and I made some homemade rice pudding (just jersey milk and pudding rice, no sugar) for my daughter - I don’t think I’ve ever made it before! I had one spoon and it was so delicious! Daughter refused it (I’ve been worried about her calcium intake as we don’t drink liquid milk as a family and recently she’s gone off cheese and yoghurt) so I’ll have to persuade husband to eat it so I’m not tempted too much!!

I keep feeling a bit disappointed in myself but I'm having to remember that how I'm eating now is a huge difference to how I used to eat!

Today I had strawberries and banana in yoghurt and a small protein bar.

Lunch was chunky veg soup (boyfriend made this for me in a big batch last night) then dinner was jacket potato with beans but then I gave in and had a bowl of cereal. I am trying not to be too harsh on myself though. I have been eating two bowls of cereal every day for about 20 years. This is the first time I've tried to stop eating it. I only managed 4 days haha but that's progress.

A typical day of eating before wouldve been chocolatey cereal, crumpets, eggs on toast, a couple of chocolate bars or one big share bar to myself, some other sort of snack like a piece of toast or crisp, then dinner would be either homemade curry or pasta or fajitas or lasagne or something. Then another bowl of cereal before bed.

So I guess my body isn't used to eating like this and I need to be happy that I am making positive changes and just keep trying

Today was:
Breakfast overnight oats and coffee
1 hr strength training
Lunch: Bacon and egg roll and coffee
Dinner: Homemade sweet and sour chicken with rice (gousto)
Definitely got my protein in, but lacking in fruit and veg today.

Lunch 130 cal thin bagel
scrape of butter
ketchup
4 skinny sausages 260 cals

then another two sausages and slice of 55 cal brown bread. Ketchup

2 small bowls of spag Bol (no spaghetti) with grated cheese sprinkled on top

hungry day today……
4 pints of water so far

I might start only weighing on a Monday like a pp

I keep going between 11st 12 & 11st 11lbs

I'm off on holiday to the land of maple syrup for a fortnight. Im aiming to sample local delicacies in moderation. Wish me luck!

Hi everyone.

todays meals:
no breakfast
lunch was a marmite and cheese sandwich with an apple (at a family members and not many good choices)
dinner was a large bowl of kale and cauliflower with some tofu and grated cheese, followed by a bowl of homemade rice pudding and a banana.

hoping to be able to make some better choices tomorrow. Not holding out for a loss this week - but I did so well last week unexpectedly that I’ll be very happy with just staying the same.

Guys how long does it take roughly to lose a stone do you think?

8 weeks? Longer?

Im 11st 11lbs and I want to make sure my expectations are not too wild

or how long has it taken you?

I have bought a Sainsburys Finest chicken and veg soup to have for lunch today (my new version of a easy roast dinner 🤣🤣)

Then maybe later I’ll have chicken breast with some Franks hot sauce

It depends how extreme you want go. I've lost a stone in 5 weeks before doing keto but it was HARD going! I've lost 11lbs in the past 5 weeks, without being too restrictive and hoping to lose 3lbs next week which will take me to a stone in 6 weeks. I don't do any exercise apart from running around after 2 toddlers but I am almost 2 stone heavier than you.

I’ve lost 10lb in 5 weeks - starting weight was 78.5kg. Not doing anything extreme.

Well done guys!!! That is amazing!

you can do this - keep at it

what are you eating today?

@Todaypicard @HawdMeBack

when you say going hard how many calories are you having and what do you weigh today?