Diet for Christmas Challenge 2023

[bigdecisionstomake]

This is a continuation of the Diet for Christmas Challenge thread started by @OhFatty in 2022 and the Diet for Summer Challenge thread started by @Dashel earlier this year. Thank you to them both.

It is open to everyone, whether you have a lot to lose, just a small amount to go or you're at target but facing the enormous challenge of maintaining your loss ongoing.

It is a thread for positivity, support, cheering each other on and the very occasional kick up the bum if and when requested.

Hopefully previous members of both threads will join us again and new members are always welcome.

@bigdecisionstomake yes it's a conundrum for sure. I knew the salt intake made me feel awful so I'm quite happy to cut back. I just need to take good care of myself. I'm planning on eating healthy, doing as much exercise as possible and living gently. I'm going to focus on a consistent lifestyle change, even if it means dropping just half stone a year, I might get to my goal weight in 6 years! I will report in at Christmas with my weight, that should be long enough to lose any of the water retention weight. Hopefully we can have an Easter weightloss group and I can try lose another kg or two!!

Anyway I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but it's been a surprising revelation as a direct response from joining this group and going for blood tests on posters suggestion. So thanks to those who said check your thyroid.

Thanks @bigdecisionstomake I had a great time! Paying for it today though 😁

Morning all

I love the concept of living gently @Yocal something I need to adopt more I think. As long as you're on a downward trajectory I wouldn't worry about how long it takes you to get to target - slow and steady wins the race! Will be interesting to see how things go once you've lost all the water retention - keep us posted.

I suspect there will be another summer or Easter thread - I will definitely need some help to get back on track after Christmas!

@gemzee - glad you had a good time and hopefully you're feeling a bit more alive this morning 😉

I have had an unexpected whoosh this morning - I've dropped a pound down to 10st 5.2lb. I have no explanation for this at all, it is a complete mystery. I did have a haircut yesterday but it was only a trim so I don't suppose she cut anywhere near a pound of hair off 😂

I'm going to take it as a win today and brace myself for either a bounce back up tomorrow or a long plateau which is usually what happens to me after a whoosh.

Enjoy Sunday everyone.

I weighed myself today and I'm supposedly down to 11.2! That's a loss of 1.5 stone since I started this diet (what, early October was it?) It would be amazing if I could get down to 10.something before Christmas but realistically that's not going to happen as I start baking next Friday and it all goes tits up from there!

Well done to everyone who's been plugging away at it - you have my admiration!!

Weighed myself earlier in the week and was 69.8kg - that's like 10st 13.5lb or something ridiculous. So I made my sub-70kg/11stone by December goal by the skinniest of teeth!
Admittedly our little city break away put me up by about 2kg (anyone else struggle to poo when they're away from home? ) but hoping most of that will... flush away in the next couple of days.

The Christmas party for which I wished to wear the very tight dress is at the end of this week so a whoosh like yours would be nice, bigdecision. Fingers crossed! Others or might be the back up dress, which I love, but has had several prints and isn't nearly as christmassy.

Well done everyone, you’re all doing so well! Look after yourself @Yocal
I’m finally over the virus I had all week! I managed my PT session on Thursday but it was a struggle, also went to a yoga class today. Food has been ok, lots of room for improvement as always!

Morning all

Lots of lovely positive updates.

That is an awesome result @SnuggleBuggleBoo big cheers for you - whoop whoop. 1.5 stone since October is a fabulous result well done you've done an amazing job! See if you can squeeze a tiny bit more off before the baking starts and then you'll be in a great place for the over indulgences of Christmas.

@CatMattress Brilliant result, well done you on hitting target 😀May the toilet gods be on your side so you can fit in your dress by the end of this week! And most of all - enjoy the party 💃

Glad you're feeling better now @LBB2020 and great work with keeping up with the exercise while you've been under the weather.

Well, I've had the inevitable bounce back this morning so am now 10st 6lb exactly. Whilst that's disappointing it still means I've lost a pound for the week which was my target so I'm very happy with that. I'm going to aim for another pound this week as it's my last full week at work and therefore the last week where there will be any semblance of a normal routine/eating habits.

I've tried to start as I mean to go on so I've done a 25 minute Grow With Jo workout followed by Day 7 of CGs Christmas Series which was leg day (groan). At least it's done now.

Have great days all.

Morning all

A quick one from me as I have an early appointment to get to. I ended up having a glass of wine with my dinner last night - I never do that on a Monday so not sure what came over me. I think as I drank very little at the weekend I had half a bottle left on the side and just thought why not it's Christmas.... 😳

The scales flitted around in the 6s before settling back at 10st 6lb again but I think I need to be careful I don't get into the 'It's Christmas' mindset too soon otherwise it will be a slippery slope from there.

I've done a 40 minute Olivia Lawson walking workout this morning as my hamstrings are sore from CG's leg day yesterday. Going to try to concentrate on keeping my food good and not drinking wine again!

Have good days all.

Morning all

I started yesterday with such good intentions but I'm sorry to say it all went a bit sideways. I had appointments both morning and afternoon but was due to be back in my home office for a couple of hours around lunchtime so didn't take any lunch out with me. The inevitable happened and one of my morning appointments was delayed and then an afternoon one asked to move to an earlier time and I didn't end up getting home.

I wish I could say that I just skipped lunch but unfortunately DP (who I work with too) wanted to stop at McDonalds.... you can guess the rest 😳

To compound this the afternoon appointments ended up running on due to some tech difficulties and we got soaked in the rain so I had the last glass of wine out of the bottle left over from the weekend with my evening meal to cheer me up 😵

Amazingly, the scales have been kind and have stayed at 10st 6lb - I can't believe I haven't had a gain if nothing else due to the salt/alcohol.

Now the wine is finished hopefully I shall be able to abstain tonight...

Have good days all 🙂

@bigdecisionstomake one off day won’t make too much difference anyway! Well done on keeping up the exercise!
My week has started off ok, I’m realising I eat far too my carbs (porridge for breakfast, sandwich/toast for lunch etc) need to have a rethink for the new year! I did a spin class yesterday and have a PT session tomorrow, just need to keep plodding on!

Morning all

Thanks @LBB2020 my food/alcohol choices are not as good as they could be but I am still getting my daily dose of exercise in. It sounds like you are too, so well done. I think winter encourages us to eat more carbs, possibly some kind of anthropologic thing where cavemen needed more readily available energy to keep warm?

I was doing well food wise yesterday until DP plied me with a sneaky Bailey's last night so my alcohol free day went out of the window again. I can definitely feel the slow slide into Christmas over-indulgence starting to creep in.

The scales have not reacted well this morning with a gain to 10st 6.4lb. This is fair given everything over the last few days but also still slightly disappointing.

I'm just going to keep swimming now and hope for damage limitation in the run up to Christmas rather than any meaningful loss. I've done a 45 minute walking workout this morning with Yana Fit so hopefully that will set me up for practicing good habits for the rest of the day.

Happy Thursday everyone.

Good work @bigdecisionstomake

It feels like it's definitely damage limitation time now. Too much Christmas food about.

Good luck everyone dodging the Christmas feeders. 🎄

Well I've gone down with bloody covid! So decreased appetite and I can't do baking for another week. So I guess I can lose a couple more pounds in that time!!

Aaah 2lbs on this week! Think I'm sliding into Christmas. I did 3 workouts but definitely not drank enough water and had too much chocolate!

My work worries have eased which is great news just before Christmas!
I'll check back in next Friday hopefully it won't be another gain but I'm fully in xmas mode now 😬
I would say I'll try to exercise and be mindful over Xmas but it's unlikely unfortunately.

Morning all

Thanks @Yocal - definitely damage limitation mode now I think. DP - who can eat practically anything he likes without putting any weight on - is such a bad influence on me 😅

@SnuggleBuggleBoo Getting Covid is a pretty drastic way to lose a couple more pounds! Hope you're over the worst soon and you can get Christmas back on track 🙂

@Gemzee sending sympathies about the extra couple of pounds - but it's Christmas and only to be expected I think. Fantastic news about the work worries easing - hopefully that means you'll be able to enjoy Christmas and relax a bit, you deserve it 🤗

I ate a bit too much chocolate yesterday but otherwise was pretty much on track and in particular managed to avoid the alcohol. As a result the scales have dropped back down to 10st 5.8lb. Unfortunately I have pizza for tea tonight and there will no doubt be wine too so I'm fully expecting to be back in the 6s again tomorrow but hey ho....

On the plus side I'm still keeping up with a daily workout and hope to continue that until Christmas now so hopefully that will help with the damage limitation 😄

Have great Fridays all.

Thanks @bigdecisionstomake

I am pleased to say that since cutting down on salt last week I've lost 2kg! I'm interested to know what happens now with my weight, but I'm plodding on and seem to be in a comfortable stride with the healthy eating habits.

Morning all and thank goodness for the weekend.

Wow, that's awesome @Yocal I knew salt made some difference but 2kg is a huge amount. Have you felt any difference in your POTS symptoms since cutting back? Well done on maintaining your healthy eating habits - it's definitely not easy at this time of year!

I had a really busy work day yesterday so avoiding snacking wasn't too difficult. I did have one small glass of wine with my pizza but was restrained and had an early night rather than another glass.

The scales are very unpredictable for me at the moment - I've dropped again this morning to 10st 4.6lb when I was fully expecting a rise due to a fairly heavy carb day and the wine yesterday. Just wondering if it was my level of activity that made the difference. It would be easy to drive yourself mad trying to explain the fluctuations when you weigh daily so I'm just taking it with a pinch of salt for now and we'll see what tomorrow brings.

I've done an Olivia Lawson Christmas walking workout this morning followed by a Caroline Girvan full body workout from her Christmas Series so at least I feel I've set myself up for a good day - just got to keep my food in line now!

Happy weekend everyone.

@bigdecisionstomake I've dropped another 0.6 kg since yesterday! Something is finally moving. 🙌
I'm 0.6 of a BMI away from just being overweight instead of Obese. This will be a huge milestone as it's taken a lot of persistence through the plateau. The POTS symptoms improved a lot when I started HRT a couple of months ago, but I've still been liberal with the salt as recommended by the doctor. Since I've cut back I feel better for it not worse so this is an amazing result. I just hope it continues and it's not short lived because it is pure water loss.

Re your comments - I hear you. sometimes I want to throw the scales out of the window, but despite the frustrations they do help overall but not as a daily thing for me.

Have a good weekend everyone and stay strong 💪

Hi all, well done on the losses and exercise! COVID seems to be doing the rounds again at the moment, a few of my family members have it and are feeling pretty awful. Hope you feel better soon @SnuggleBuggleBoo.
I had my PT session yesterday and have a yoga class booked for tomorrow. Food has been hit and miss, Christmas over indulgence has definitely crept in!

Morning all

Thanks @LBB2020 and well done on keeping up with your exercise too. How have you found the PT - has it been helpful and can you see any tangible results? I love the idea of booking some PT sessions but always find reasons not to in the end. Is it something you would recommend?

I had another busy and active day yesterday and kept my food on track but did drink two glasses of wine with my evening meal last night. I've woken up feeling a bit dehydrated and the scales have weighed me at 10st 4.2lb but I'm taking that with a huge pinch of salt as I think that as I rehydrate that will go back up again.

I had a really dreadful night's sleep so have only walked this morning. Hopefully an early night tonight will leave me feeling more up for exercise again tomorrow morning.

Have good days all.

@bigdecisionstomake I had been thinking about PT sessions for years but always felt self conscious about it! So glad I went for it as I’m really enjoying it. I’m doing exercises I never would have tried myself and lifting heavier weights than I would push myself to lift. I love having the PT there to ensure form is correct so I know I’m getting the best out of the sessions, I would definitely recommend

Morning 😊 Thought I'd ease myself in on a Monday with Standing Pilates - turns out...not easy 😆 I didn't burn many calories but really felt it in my muscles and glad I did it.

Monday all

Last week before Christmas so let's have a last push Diet for Christmas Challengers!

@LBB2020 thanks for the inside track on the PT. I think having someone to check form would be really helpful and I hadn't thought about that then opening the door to being able to lift heavier without worrying about injury. It definitely makes me think I should bite the bullet in the new year and book some sessions although I might leave it to March time to avoid all the new year's resolutions people starting their new regimes.

The standing Pilates sounds great @Gemzee I really should do more stretching based exercise. Bet you'll feel it tomorrow though!

I got my week off to an active start with a 15 min GFWR Christmas Workout followed by a CG full body cardio with weights. I think I may be sore tomorrow too!

The scales have bounced back up this morning to 10st 5lb but overall I'm very happy with that as whilst my exercise has been consistent my food has been a bit up and down - yesterday in particular wasn't great. It's another pound lost for the week though so I've met my target again and am happy.

I am tentatively thinking I would like to try for one more pound before Christmas but I'm aware that that is a bit of a challenge, particularly as I finish work on Wednesday so my routine will go out of the window. It is usually a busy week with lots of running around though so that may help and I'm going to give it a go and see how I get on!

Have great days all.

If I lose another 1lb by Christmas then I will announce that my plateau is over. Here's to another week of will power, self control and chocolate avoidance 😂

Good luck y'all 🎄

Morning all

Crossing everything that another pound comes off and your plateau is over @Yocal I'm doing my best with the will power, self control and chocolate avoidance but it's hard work at this time of year!

I've had a STS at 10st 5lb today, not unexpected as I am on a mission to empty the freezer to clear some space for Christmas and last night we had what's called in our house a 'beige buffet' which just means lots of leftover bits of freezer food. I'm ashamed to admit that a couple of the packets we cooked were left over party food from last Christmas which were actually ok as it turned out - I was expecting them to not have lasted as well as they did. I've no idea what the calorie count was, but probably quite high I should think so there may yet be damage to come in the next day or two weight wise as there are still some bits leftover for lunch today!

I've done a 40 minute Olivia Lawson walking workout this morning but it was a bit of a struggle and I can feel my enthusiasm for daily exercise starting to wain now. Also, I have a To Do list a mile long now of things that still need to be done before Christmas so it's easy to make the excuse in my head that I don't have time for exercise and should get on with some jobs instead. I know if I give in to this though bad food choices will follow so I'm trying to stay strong until the weekend at least - damage limitation!

Hope you're all doing well 🙂