🍁LOSE IT!🍁October 2023🍁

[TheRealHousewife]

A fresh new month; perfect time to re-set the mind, outline goals and affirm intentions. A fresh start to become a healthier version of yourself. These threads are for those who’d like to stay healthy, lose weight as well as those who wish to maintain; to encourage a healthy & varied diet and to exercise.

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 1lb. I had a blip a couple of years ago when my thyroid went wonky but now back (mainly) on track. I Would love to wave bye to another half a stone 😬 The main thing is to never give up! Keep going!

Are you in😊 What food plan will you be following? What do you want to change and why?

PS - Positive thought:- If you were to lose on average of a 1lb per you could be a stone lighter by Christmas 🎄

Welcome back @ImALittlePea . I hope you’ve returned all refreshed after having a great time!

Hello everyone,

Can I join please? I am 3 months postpartum and have a bridesmaid dress to fit into by the end of this month eeeek. Have lost just over 6 kilos so far and want to keep up the momentum and continue losing a kilo a week, but starting to find it a bit more of a struggle, particularly at weekends when I'm out of routine. Not done too well this weekend so a bit nervous about my next weigh 😕 and really need a bit of a kick up the bum and extra motivation to keep going and get back on track!

Welcome to the thread @Newbornmum and congratulations on your baby. Try not to be too tough on yourself; your mind and body have gone through a massive transition. Weekends are tough to navigate for a lot of people. There’s so much temptation and routines tend to not as structured. Good luck for your next weigh in 👍

Hello. I have been away from the thread for a couple of weeks. It's been the school holidays here. The kids are back at school today! Phew!

I've literally put on 5lb. I've just been eating and eating and eating and drinking booze. I've fallen back into old habits.

I would like to try and get my head on straight again and start to lose weight, instead of putting it back on.

I need to do a good supermarket shop and stock up on things that have helped me in the past couple of months. I need to plan better and drink more water.

Thank you for the welcome back @TheRealHousewife

Seems I must do even harder. Scales are going up rather than down, despite all my efforts ; ) A clear reminder how little I am able to eat in order to loose.

Starting a new week with determination.

Congratulations on the new baby @Newbornmum - don't forget there's control underwear too. I swear by the ones from under boobs to knees. Sucks and smooths.

I've had a good day today. I'm pleased. I had such a lovely filling salad at lunchtime with lots of different things in it. I just fall out of the good rhythm during school holidays. I don't plan as much and then food isn't as good. And so many snacks! Too many snacks!

I'm planning a good day tomorrow. I'm going for a walk, so that'll be nice.

Good Morning All

Welcome back @DownUdderer Weight seems to go on so quickly and easily … if only it was so easy to lose it again. Great to see you’ve outlined a loose plan. Good luck, you’ll soon be back on it ❤️

@buzzofthebumblebee It’s tough isn’t it; For a lot of us it’s such a fine line between calorie/portion/intake and gaining, maintaining or losing. Determination and consistency will get you there 👍

Menu
Meal 1 - Spicy Cauliflower soup.
Meal 2 - Chicken tray bake.
Tea, black coffee and water.

Exersise
Session 1 - Floor Exercises
Session 2 - Hand Weights

Get on it ladies, you’ll be pleased you did this time next week 👌

Cross posted @DownUdderer I absolutely love a good salad with a lot of variety and texture and a decent dressing 😋

Useful Reminders = Tips for Weight Loss

@Newname2308 I have exactly the same things with cravings/emotional eating - my first response to something going wrong is to reach for the cheese! I really need to get back on mindfulness as I found it made me much more aware of what I was doing and break the automatic pilot response. Well done for breaking the habit.

@wiltingflower well done!

@TheRealHousewife as fun as it sounds 😅Sounds like you have a good plan for the week. Thank you for the reminders link.

@DownUdderer snacks are my downfall. If I could cut them out then I think I'd meet my goal in no time. I'm not even hungry half the time, just bored or stressed or craving a dopamine hit.

I had a rotten cold come out Saturday and feel terrible. My diaphragm hurts from sneezing and I've had a temperature all weekend 🤒

Think I may have to hop back on MFP, even if it's just for a week to hammer across to me how much I sabotage myself with snacking and poor carb portion control. I always tried to avoid CC as I can get a bit obsessive and stressed about it but being so overweight for so long without dropping it is really getting me down.

I would like to up my protein but feel like that's tricky without upping my calories. Think I need to do some research today to see how I can achieve it.

Have put on a pot of vegetable, ham and lentil soup to cook for tonight, and some homemade bread.

Lunch is leftover rice with spinach, mushrooms and 2 eggs.

Breakfast was a hard boiled egg with slice of rye toast with butter and 2 small cups of coffee.

Morning snacks - 2 satsumas.

Also need to do some exercise but feel so rotten won't be out for a walk. Some gentle exercises in front of the TV will have to do instead. Going to dig out my hand weights and resistance bands.

Yesterday ended up as a bust, at my InLaws house, exhausting day with the amount of driving I have to do, 5 children there, very loud!

Today, struggling with the "all or nothing" feeling of my birthday coming up and feeling like, well, not planning on tracking at all for the weekend, so might as well give up now! Not constructive at all.

B: Black bean burrito
L: Potato and quark dumplings, cabbage
D: Homemade vegetable sauce, broccoli, cheese (family has pasta)

Thanks for the warm welcome @TheRealHousewife 😊 Had a quick weigh this morning and had still managed to lose just under a pound so can't have been too bad - phew!

Good point! Thanks @bubuzzofthebumblebee Definitely planning on some control wear to (hopefully!) smooth everything out and give me a bit of a confidence boost. Not sure which brand to go for though. Can you recommend any good ones please?

Found you! I'd accidentally hidden the thread
I'll catch up later but Happy October!

I can't help you on brand @Newbornmum but my favourite go-to-shape wear is similar to the M&S Magic Wear waist clincher & thigh slimmer. I have black and nude. It holds everything in & a smooth silhouette, without creating extra bulges (which I find all others do, including the tummy control version which stop at belly button creating extra tyre, or those that finish at top of legs like normal knickers). I am pretty sure mine are from M&S. I only have the shorts style - no chub rub, plus I would be frightened of the slip-version rolling-up.

A quick look online - similar are spanx everyday seamless shaping high wasted shorts, or miracle suit high wasted thigh slimming shorts

These also allow you to wear the right shape-bra for your outfit or comfort (plunge, full cup etc etc). Downside is the effort required to get them on again after going to the loo (but worth it !!!). They are also a bit hot, but absorbing. Despite being the most unflattering Bridget Jones underwear ever, they make me feel confident when I'm wearing them. Not too many of such occasions these days.

Sounds like your weight loss is going great. Do be careful though - esp if breastfeeding (but you will know about that). Enjoy baby snuggles !! And a smile is the best thing to wear ; )

So many new names! Welcome to all the new posters and hello to old faces.
I fear I am the frog in that picture.
My weight is stable at 56kg. I'd like to get down to 54kg for Christmas so not far to go. My head's just not been in it lately at all.
I still have porridge for breakfast most days. Still walking 10 miles a day on a lot of the week days. Need to increase fruit and veg and water. And sleep! Definitely not enough of that. I'm back on iron tablets so back to being bunged up again 😩 the joys, the joys.
My plan is to be in bed at 9pm with lights out at 10.30 so lots of lovely reading time. Too much tv lately.

@Newbornmum I also second the shapewear! I am 2 months pp, and I discovered shapewear postpartum leggings (not exactly underwear but similar idea). I live in them now. As @buzzofthebumblebee says, it's such an effort getting them on again after going to the loo, but I am willing to suffer for the cause 😂
I am drinking close to 3L of water a day thanks to breastfeeding, so toilet trips are fairly frequent!
I also had a C section and it's nice not having any waistbands sitting close to the scar.

I've walked 8km today, so nice to get out and stretch my legs!

I think today has been good for food so far. I'm going to have a banana in a moment to help get me through to dinner. It's 4:20 pm for me.

I'm trying to remember to drink plenty of water.

My usual Tuesday weigh in:
SW: 70kg
CW: 65kg
GW: 50kg

I am firmly in the plateau 😡
I am doing 16:8, smaller plates to control portion size, black coffee and water for drinks, no 'junk'. Usual home made food and apples/pears for snacks. I can't reduce my calories/carbs any further as I am breastfeeding and terrified of dropping milk supply. Shall persevere.

Hi all! Still haven't had a chance to catch up on the thread yet (thanks to piles of washing 😝) but I did weigh yesterday morning... 6lb up since 22/09. So in just over two weeks. I did fall into holiday mode the week building up to it, and stayed in it over the weekend too 🤦‍♀️ thankfully I've stayed just in the 9s, phewwwww!

Given we were all inc and I slipped into having breakfast (which I normally don't), and made the most of the buffet and bars, I'm not surprised.

Back to it. Lots and lots and LOTS of water, 16:8 and meal plans!

Yesterday:
L - very salad heavy chicken Caesar wrap
D - spaghetti Bolognese with salad

Today:
L - same as yesterday
D - cooked breakfast

No snacks, all the water, steps in at work etc. Trying to forgo the booze for as long as possible too (not just my normal weekday/weekend rules) as I need a rest from it.

Have a good day all!

WoW 55.8kg

It feels harder to shift the weight but I want to persevere. Still eating mainly whole foods made from scratch, minimal processed or out of home, protein shaking for breakfast and lunch. My main difficulty is how intense work is that now I'm having the protein shake for breakfast at lunch, sometimes the lunch shake at lunch and sometimes later e.g once the people intensive part of work is done. I feel like I don't have enough time.

I'm trialling 30 minutes walking on the treadmill and 30 minutes of Les Mills, both at home because of the busyness, I know exercise will take a backseat. It does mean other things like housework or work work have to take a backseat instead but I can't do it all and the exercise is good as a mental break. I'm getting to a point where I don't want to go to work because of the intensity and expectation to do more. I have a cold and am struggling to breathe but feel like I have to go in and don't want to take a sick day.

Non scale victory - when I'm not bloated, I can hold less of my tummy in my hands when sat down and there's less pain with the tummy, it doesn't feel like it's pushing other parts of me like lungs and putting pressure on it.

Morning all, 0.6 kg down from Monday today. I'm happy with that!
10 miles walked yesterday. Not as much as I could have as was really tired and got the bus home from the morning school run.
Today I have a sort-of day off and am going to make soup. I've got fixings for sunshine soup and a cauliflower, carrot and potato soup the children like.
Hope everyone has a great day and don't forget your 🍾

Checking in and sharing a (possible revelation):

SW 10st 11
CW 10st 5.8
GW 10 st by Xmas

i’m somewhat flabbergasted as I’ve been doing high protein / reduced calories since I started this months ago and seeing minimal but steady weight loss of a few lb a month. I found an old Joe wicks cookbook and thought I’d change it up this week, and just by cooking the dinners appear to have lost 2lb in two days. I suspect it’s because I’ve been using the low-carb recipes. Need to reflect as I don’t want to do anything crash diet-y or that will make the weight spring back, but wow 😮

Random brackets sorry, half asleep!!

I weighed at 55.3kg today, so 0.2kg down. It's a loss but I'm not too excited as I'm not sure if it's a genuine loss or just a bit of a normal weight fluctuation- time will tell.

I've been I'll the past 3ish days so been feeling a bit sorry for myself and exercise has come to a halt. Hopefully it'll clear off soon.

Oh @wiltingflower - sending you my best! I've been and only slowly coming out of a similar situation with work and it's awful! Is there anyone you can escalate to and get more hands on deck or take some of the load of or tell them a ball is going to drop? I know it's not always possible.