🥳LOSE IT! 🥳Christmas 2023 Countdown Thread 🥳

[TheRealHousewife]

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN EDITION.

8 week countdown to Christmas. November brings a fresh new month to become a healthier version of yourself. If you’re up for being your best self in time for the festivities you’ve come to the right place.

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 8st 12lbs. 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 few lbs 😬 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 - 2lbs per week you could be a half a stone to a stone lighter by Christmas 🎄🥳

Morning all! Quick one from me. Weekend was pretty standard for me. I've already slipped out of the habit of MFPing each day 🤦‍♀️

Yesterday:
Lunch (well, brunch) - homemade post-workout-pre-work breakfast burrito: 2 eggs, one sausage, lots of peppers and mushrooms, 30g cheddar and a squirt of ketchup in a wrap
Dinner - homemade wedges, vegetable fingers, beans
Unfortunately I dove into a bowl of leftover salted chips last night at work. Must not slip again!

Today:
Lunch - cup-a-soup special
Dinner - sausage casserole with jacket potato and lots of green veggies

Big wave to regular posters, hi to newbies, get well soon/thoughts to those of you who aren't 100% at the moment ❤️

I've been all over the map for a couple of days, but I've finally disposed of the sweetened milk powder that I'd been putting in my coffee. Yesterday was bad, no doubt due to lack of latte. The scales were up another three pounds on top of the two pounds I had already regained. I ate too early in the day, and had something in the evening after weeks of sticking to my IF window.

Today I can do better. Scales, which are very accurate medical type, back down two pounds. I've never experienced such a rapid gain before now. A good lesson for me. I'm more positive, and Getting Stuff Done.

Weigh in for me:
SW 70kg
CW 62kg - I've been wobbling between 61 and 62 this week.
GW 50kg

I'd love to see new year in 50s. Onward we go!

Hi Everyone, 😊👋

Not a great day yesterday food wise! I'm just really struggling to stick to my calorie goals atm! I just seem to be so hungry. I'm bf and DS does seem to be feeding a lot through the night (he's not a good sleeper bless him) but I don't know if your appetite fluctuates when they're eating a bit more. Tbf I'm not exactly eating the best most filling foods so am going to try and meal prep some healthier, more filling stuff tonight while DH rocks him off to sleep. Currently the queen of empty carbs!

Bit nervous to weigh in tomorrow but fingers crossed! Hope everyone is having a good day and congrats on progress so far all! X

@TheRealHousewife just reading through posts and forgot to answer!

The film The Pigeon Tunnel is a 👍overall but more interesting if you like/are interested in spy novels, John Le Carre and his life. It’s basically an interview with him but he’s very watchable and had a fascinating life. It’s out on Apple TV.

Dinner last night: pesto and goats cheese tortellini with sautéed mushrooms and spinach and grated cheese

Menu today:-

Breakfast porridge with blueberries water and splash milk
lunch crofters thick vegetable soup with 2 Ryvita rye and spread plus cucumber batons and 2 radishes
snacks 2 rich tea light biscuits, plum and 2 tangerines
dinner tonight: chicken pilau meal with aubergine and peppers
drinks: water, green and camomile tea and tea with skimmed milk

Wednesday menu:- Breakfast :- blueberries and fat free yogurt but maybe with puffed oats and skimmed milk
lunch: Waitrose vegetable soup in tin, 3 Ryvita rye with half tub low fat cottage cheese and cucumber batons and 2 radishes
snacks: plum and tangerines
no idea what I’ll do for dinner.
drinks as above

@Toomanyemails - yes it can be a wrench sometimes swapping normal tea/lattes for green tea but I do every day and usually mornings after first tea with milk and at lunchtime.

I understand you re the exercise not being loved! I’m a big believer in the class/instructor being key to trying to love them… tried Joe Wicks and just couldn’t get on with him but The Body Project are my go to for workouts. I sometimes do Pop Sugar ones too.

@PatienceOfEngels love an NSW! Well done. I fancy a pair of cords now.

@GonnaGetGoingReturns I also struggle with swapping to healthier options drinks wise, too much tea and coffee, but that sounds like a sensible time to try.

Very little movement again today but my back is starting to feel better at least:

Food today:
Porridge with berries (couldn’t face eggs!)
Chicken salad
Cottage cheese
Bolognese sauce with barenaked noodles, bit of eatlean protein cheese

@GonnaGetGoingReturns That sounds like a good policy, and nice to still have the caffeine at the start of the day. I had a latte today, but I needed to work from the local cafe and can't face paying £££ for tea, whereas for a barista made coffee it feels like better value!

I'm currently drinking a Yorkshire Tea in the 'malty biscuit' flavour that's supposed to taste of tea and biscuits, which I thought could curb my snack cravings (late dinner tonight with DP on a work call). It's a weird flavour but I do like it.

@Spudlover are the barenaked noodles any good? I love pasta and have switched to wholegrain, and have been eyeing up the chickpea or lentil versions you can get too. The barenaked ones look amazing for low calorie count though!

@GonnaGetGoingReturns your dinner last night (the goats cheese and pesto pasta dish) sounds RIGHT up my street!! Yum!

Everything was going well today until I picked DD up from nursery and she's poorly. Had to rush her to the docs, only just got in so it's a freezer pizza and chips for me now 🤦‍♀️ can't be helped I guess.

@Toomanyemails they're not bad. Not a brilliant substitute for pasta but if you’re reducing carbs, worth a try. Great in a dish like chow mein though, they’re very similar to rice noodles.

The worst aspect of them is the smell when you open the packet. It’s apparently a natural smell of the konjac flour in water but it smells fishy. Rinse in plenty of water though and they’re fine.

This week has been a bit mental so far. Just sitting down watching bake off! OH is cooking tonight, just Gusto but we havent eaten yet which is not good, It’s also not really an ideal meal- I don’t know what I was thinking when I ordered!

Walk at lunch today so that’s good:

food
breakfast 2 clementines
lunch protein wrap, left over veg curry
snacks apple with 1 tablespoons of peanut butter, popcorn
Gusto ramen with pork belly and prawns (not having the noodles)

Best of luck to everyone for the weigh in tomorrow x

My meals today were:
Skyr with berries and banana
Lentil dal
Chicken with veg and a very few chips
Snacks/drinks: Latte, almonds, teas
I did 11k steps and a home workout with my weights. I'll do a weigh-in tomorrow to see where I'm at. I have a tentative target weight in mind, but because I'm short I'll focus more on clothes fit and how I feel - I think I could easily be this same weight but a dress size smaller if I had any muscle tone!

I stuck to my IF window today, and feel much better for it. Food was a bit unbalanced, but it did not include binge items. Started on some paperwork that I've fallen badly behind with. Felt far less agitated than recently.

Two hard-boiled eggs with ryvita and Flora. Crackers and blue cheese, chicken spread.

Porridge with blueberries, splash of single cream.
Wrap with shredded lettuce and turkey pieces.

Coffee with single cream.

About half-litre of redbush tea.

Weigh tomorrow, drink more tea, eat more veg.

Good morning, everyone! Another early weigh-in as I can’t seem to sleep past 4.30am right now. I’m trying to embrace an early start, though it does mean I’m ready for bed by 6pm :D

WOW

SW (19/9) 12st 2
CW 10st 13.5
GW 10st 9

2lbs off this week and I’m in the 10s!! I haven’t weighed 10 stone something for a decade.

Good luck to everyone and thank you to everyone on this thread for all the support and inspiration.

well done @MarzipanKnees !

@2Early4Breakfast I also feel less anxious and restless since improving my diet 2 months ago. Have stopped having hot flushes as well.

@Toomanyemails your meals from yesterday sound lovely.

@ImALittlePea we all have busy days like that (see my meal this evening!). Just making up for it with no more UPF dinners this week (sweet and sour chicken, a curry and soup on the menu on my cooking days).

WOW -0.8kg this week. 🎉 Very happy with that!

SW 77kg (beginning October 2023)
CW 71.9kg
GW 68kg

Today:
-boiled egg and rye toast w. coffee
-fruit, greek yoghurt and honey
-pasta pesto chicken salad
-fish fingers, potatoes and baked beans

@Newbornmum how old is your baby? Bf really does ask extra of you. When I was postpartum I was always eating this weird stuff here called 'breakfast cake' (a bit like ginger cake in texture but less gingery) with a thick layer of 'apple syrup' on(really high in iron, almost molasses like in texture). I'm not in the UK..my best translations! Sure the cake wasn't good for me but filled me up and kept me going. Personally find calorie counting too restrictive and only ever use it as a temporary measure to gauge for myself what normal portion sizes are and remind me how many calories there are in junk!

That's amazing @MarzipanKnees well done!

Nothing much changing here but there's too much going on for my head to be on it. I walked nearly 11 miles yesterday so that's over 20 miles so far this week. I imagine by next week the effects of a week home with ds not walking will have disappeared and I'll see a good loss. I hope so anyway. I have 4lbs to lose by Christmas to get to target but my heart isn't in it. That's 3lbs in 3 weeks which is doable but I'm not sure I've got the headspace at the moment.
Thanks for the well wishes about ds and DDs 😊

@TheRealHousewife I hope you're feeling better.

I've still not caught up but have a few days off from tomorrow and I'm hoping to catch up on lots of things then.

Hope you all have a great wow day!

Note to self as much as others: don't forget lots of 🍾

@ImALittlePea - it’s my cheat healthy quick bad meal, I do a portion each week of spinach and mushrooms but you can have as little or as much of the pasta as you like.

I’ve posted the Weightwatchers veggie lasagne recipe here before but will do again if anyone would like it. They also do a potato gnocchi with a sauce and broccoli spears that gives you the pasta hit.

@Toomanyemails @Spudlover yep, I just worked out when I do need my caffeine hit (and skimmed milk) and when I don’t. That makes it easier to have green tea. Mornings it’s Twining’s Defence tea (citrus and ginger with echinacea) or another green tea and at lunch and after its decaff green tea and camomile in evening.

I’ve had skimmed milk in drinks for so long now too at home that if I do get semi skimmed milk or full fat at a cafe it’s a “treat”. I’m quite strict though, at work we have a hot drink club but they only have semi skimmed milk, so I bring my own skimmed in.

Morning everyone! Can’t tag people so quick message before commute to work! But, WELL DONE on losses and getting out there to exercise.

Despite the scales showing me 10’s last week I’ve settled today at bang on 11, so 2 pounds off. Ok with that as my body hasn’t quite settle
in to this things not moving 🙈).. Not sure
lasts v late and fatty dinner helped either!

SW 11.2
CW 11
GW 1 9.7
GW 2 9.0

Have a lovely day!

xx

I'm -1kg after a week, though I know it's just water weight or something at the start! Still, another week of 10k steps and much more balanced meals is something I'm happy with after so many months if not years of not treating my body well.
Amazing losses @witnessprotection73 @PatienceOfEngels @MarzipanKnees!

@JustACountryMusicGirlInCowboyBoots very impressed with your walking. I'm sure you can get to a point by Christmas where you feel good with the change, even if it's not your orginal target.

@PatienceOfEngels he's nearly 5 months. It really does feel a bit draining sometimes - he's just shot up so maybe he was having a growth spurt and needing more milk because I've been starving! That sounds amazing... I might have a Google! Can't be any worse for you than the cinnamon bun I've had the last couple of days lol and that definitely doesn't keep me feeling full. Think it's the sugar rush first thing in the morning I'm after to get me going! Yh I know what you mean.. I don't usually go in for calorie counting for the same reason but the baby weight sort of shocked me into it! I really didn't think I'd gained very much until he made his appearance and was a bit taken aback to say the least! Hoping to start easing off the calorie counting soon and go a bit more intuitive eating style again 🤞

Weighed in this morning at 51.4 so 0.5 of a kilo down. Pretty happy with that. Well done everyone on your journey, losses and all 😊 Anyone else find it getting trickier closer to Christmas already? Think it's the lack of routine and more treats around generally. Really looking forward to December anyway though! 🎄My back is feeling pretty rough at the moment - I'm carrying DS around loads in his carrier so think it's time for me to start some home workouts maybe and build a bit of strength back. Don't feel as strong as I used to be and feel like I need the muscle power with this mumming business!

Wishing you all a great week x

@GonnaGetGoingReturns a lasagne recipe sounds amazing! Yes please. Dh loves lasagne! Thanks in advance 😊👍

Definitely getting trickier as Christmas approaches. We have a big lunch planned at the weekend - Im hoping to use it as my OMAD and will try to limit my calories to food rather than drink.
Down 0.7kg this week. 2.1kg to go to target weight.
Keep going everyone!

@Toomanyemails it's not impressive really, it's just that I don't drive and need to walk to get about.

SW 70kg
WoW 65.5kg
up 0.2kg since last WoW
TW 60kg

One of those weeks - went down to 65.2 but back up slightly above last week’s weight. But it’s tiny amounts, so never mind.

I'm currently making the Finch Bakery Brownie Yule Log as a Christmas trial. I'll take it to work and have tried the batter which was delicious! Luckily I can usually resist my own baking or it would be a disaster 😂