My 2024 ‘overhaul my life’ thread

[thenewaveragebear1983]

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight_loss_chat/4695746-i-need-to-lose-23lbs-in-2023-and-overhaul-my-life

last year I did a big life overhaul and thought I’d do the same in 2024 to keep me on track. Feel free to comment or join in!

stuff that went well

• i did lose weight, I was 153lbs at my last weigh in so I lost 17lbs although I think my post Xmas weigh in will see a few of those returning
• i got a new job
• I got my puppy 🐶
• I got put on hrt for my anxiety and my mental health is a lot better
• I climbed snowdon, ran 950kms and did 60 gym classes

Goals for 2024

• continue with slimming world. I have 3 weighs left on my countdown, and I will then buy another. My aim is to get any Xmas gain off before this countdown ends, then average 1lb a week in my next one. I’d then be 10st - I think that’s my target.
• Dry January, leading to 100 days dry. I really want to give up drinking both for my weight and my health
• Self care routine- I need to get some sort of skincare/ grooming routine in place
• my dog has put paid to my gym classes as I cannot get to the morning classes now, so while I am walking a lot, I’m not doing any strength stuff so I am going to build in a home workout schedule, starting small.
• I enjoy my job, I want to do some training and consider where I can go within the company
• i have some cardio issues and thyroid issues, I want to consider coming off HRT and pursuing a diagnosis for this.
• Snowdon really gave me the wanderlust and I want to do more
• I need to get some friends. I have realised this Christmas that I actually don’t have anyone, I’m so very lonely and I don’t really know why I don’t have anyone. So I want to find hobbies/other ways to meet people and socialise. (Need to give this some thought)

Oh I forgot goals:-

• to lose weight obvs but maybe not on Weight watchers.
• continue exercising as I was doing before
• more walks with boyfriend or gym with him - have to factor this in when I see him as not near (not that far though)
• journal I got with goals I think this might help with motivation have done 1 day so far for 2023
• social life would be good to improve

Congrats on all you achieved this year, op.

I have tried my best to keep mine realistic this year... Feel determined to see them through.

1. Lose half a pound per week of 2024, so a total of 26lbs (I have way more to lose but as I said...I want to be realistic!)

1. Less screen time. One way is to start using my digital camera again for photos so I can leave my phone at home/at the hotel for certain occasions and holidays. I want to have a plan for reducing screen time in other ways so need to think.

1. Make more time for myself. To write, to walk, to read. I have two children under 4 and I need this for my mental health.

I had the most dreadful nights sleep last night. I suffer with palpitations and I think as a result of too much alcohol and a generally unhealthy few days, my heart was thundering. I tossed and turned all night and had about 4 hrs sleep. No drinking for me today.

i went to Asda at 7am so we now have real food, vegetables and normal meals! I did a menu for the next few days. I bought a side of salmon for £6 which I am looking forward to with some green veg and new potatoes.

it’s too cold and miserable and I was just too tired to run today, so I will make my promises to go tomorrow. I am actually working tomorrow (I wfh) but it’s a quiet day so I might take a longer lunch and go for a run.

This is a great thread, OP, I'd love to join you. I'll add some goals to mark my place, but I need to have a proper think about what I want for the year - not the kids, husband, dog, house, extended family - me. I forget what it is that I like to do!! Here are some to start:

1. Keep up the exercise and healthy eating. Been on a mission with thus since August, and have lost a stone, but have another to lose. So difficult though. I'm 45, and feel like it goes on easily, but is so slow to shift 😫. I read Ultra Processed People a few months ago, and it was a real game changer.
2. Less time on the phone. I complain daily that the kids I work with, plus my own two, are addicted to their phones, but if I'm being honest, I am too. Time to stop!
3. I'd love to make a change at work. I do enjoy my job, but I'm a bit bored now, so will have to look at options to challenge myself.

I'll come back with a few more later.

Great thread OP. Exactly what I’ve been thinking of doing! Will add mine tomorrow and looking forward to seeing your progress 🥰

I really need a complete life overhaul but am going to put some thought into what I want to achieve and try to make them quite specific so I have something to measure myself against

So I tried to do my starting weight on my scales this morning, they slipped out of my hands and smashed into 1000 pieces of glass 🤦‍♀️
not sure if that’s a positive omen or not?! It would probably do me good to only weigh at skimming world and not ‘spot check’ during the week. Maybe I won’t replace them?

If you're getting a regular weigh in at SW I'd try and see how you get on without them. I know I can definitely be a slave to the scale and it can set the tone of the day, for better or worse, sometimes. But I can't talk because I'm addicted and get on mine every day 🤦‍♀️

@JAPB79 yes I’m a slave to mine too. I used to weigh every day but managed to cut down to just a couple a week, but I always weigh before slimming world which is stupid because mine weigh different to group anyway. I think I’m going to manage without them and see how that goes.

I’ve had a productive day today- in between work I cleaned my bathroom as I had new towels and mats in the sales and I didn’t want them going into my hideous, grimy, sluggy bathroom 🐌 , took the dog out twice, and then this evening while cooking dinner I tidied out my cutlery drawer and my pan cupboard. I didn’t run today as it was too cold and dark and I just couldn’t face it after work.

I started the day well on my food but I had a piece of Christmas cake at 3 and then have had a few other bits since. It’s so hard when the Christmas food is still everywhere. I have counted it all though and tracked it. I’m not drinking tonight and I’m determined to run tomorrow morning.

I am going to

stop snacking when I get in from work (aka hoovering up everything in sight and then not eating my healthy dinner)

I am going to aim to increase my daily steps as a prelude to start proper exercise once the operation I need is done

i am going to declutter my house (15 minutes or one task a day)

I am going to meal plan so I don’t end up with takeaways or A graze board full,of cheese/ bread and oils

Oh and I am going to start skincare/ wearing makeup

Haven't read the whole thread yet so hopefully I am not repeating someone else but have you thought about joining a bookclub, maybe a women's only bookclub? When I moved to a new area and I didn't have local friends I joined a bookclub at a local bookstore and I met some great women who I became good friends with. I also appreciated that the book reading forced me to concentrate on books in the evening and not my phone or social media!

• Self care routine- I need to get some sort of skincare/ grooming routine in place

I know you mentioned you might come off HRT but bizarrely it's being on HRT that has got me into a good skincare routine. I guess it depends how you take it, but because I use the gel, I have a few minutes to kill before getting dressed again so I moisturise, once a week I'll use a face mask, and properly floss and brush teeth. Before, my night time routine was very hit and miss but having that five minutes has had the brilliant side effect of looking after myself.

I now get through body butters and face creams in a month, where beforehand it could be 6 months or more.😂The nice thing about that is that every month I'm choosing a new fragrance of body butter so it feels like a treat.

Also, have you tried magnesium glycinate/citrate for your palpitations? It really helps to settle mine.

@ToriTheStoryteller I have so many body butters and creams, I actually ask for them for Christmas and then never use them. I try to get just one out and use it every day but I manage about 4 days max. I have had some lovely Liz earl skin care this year and I have been using that and even in a week my skin looks better.

@pepperminticecream i do take magnesium already, maybe I could use a stronger formula though. And a book club is a great idea, thank you! 🙏

I’ve now had 2 days without drinking and I feel so much better. Dh is out today/this evening so I am going for the hattrick and I’m going to do a combination of jobs, dog walking and chilling today - perfect day!

Can I join please.
i also started a new job last year after going to uni as a mature student.

my goals for this year are:

1. to try and lose some weight each week. I have just weighed myself. I am 11 stone 13 and would like to be around 10 stone 4 I think
2. eat a healthier diet, currently way too much chocolate. I will meal plan from my next food shop
3. increase exercise. My change in job has seen me go from a very active role to sitting at a desk so I want to get back to running. I am going to commit to going on my days off at a minimum
4. learn to drive. I couldn’t previously afford it but new job and pay rise has helped plus my commute is now really long on public transport so a car is needed. I’ve had 3 lessons so far and it’s going well. Theory test booked for in a couple of weeks
5. Start to reduce down my debt. I made a list yesterday and I have 9 separate debt balances such as credit and store accounts. I’m going to start paying these off and closing the accounts as I go. I think this will take longer than a year but I would like to be at a point within 3 years where I don’t have any outstanding credit. Plan is to start with the smallest so the amount of credit accounts goes down rather than the largest bill as I think that will be more motivating for me
6. read more - I am going to set a reading goal of 12 books throughout the year. I bought a kindle for my commute so 1 new book a month is my aim
7. better self care skin care routine. I will cleanse, tone and moisturise my face twice daily and moisturise my whole body at least twice a week as I never normally do it

that’s it and I think it covers a lot, 7 goals. I think I will do a weekly update on a Saturday

good luck everyone

Day 1 of the year - went for a nice walk, did my evening skincare before I sat down for the night. Weight loss plans start on Wednesday when we start to get back to normal after the holidays.

HNY everyone, good luck with your goals!

1st January a 5 mile walk around our local park. Intermittent fasting starts today. Keeping up my skincare regime that I started a couple of weeks ago. Still too much phone usage and no reading yet. I'm planning a short walk this evening and will try to get an early night

Last day of the holidays for me and started the new exercise regime with a class this morning. If the weather holds planning a short brisk walk this afternoon because I know it's good for my mental wellbeing to get outside. Keeping up with the morning and evening skincare this week so far.

Good morning everyone. I feel like I’ve been waiting for today as today marks The Big Weigh In, so even though I went back to work on Tuesday I haven’t really ‘started’ yet.

I am quite concerned that I will have regained ALL the weight I lost in 2023 at SW tonight, sounds silly but while I haven’t officially weighed myself, I weighed the puppy (15kg- what a porker!) and my brain couldn’t help but Do some basic maths on the kgs. I hope I have got it wrong!

but- today is my big starting day 1. I’ve done a lovely menu plan and my big two goals this week are 1) do the Plan 100.% by the book like a new member, and 2) max out the veg on my plate to keep me really full. Whatever the scales say today, we are where we are, it can be gone quickly if I focus myself.

other wins this week:
-took a bag of clothes to charity
-have not spent any money except on essentials and I did buy a cheap waterproof coat on vinted for dog walking
-cleared out my kitchen food cupboards and threw loads of out of date stuff away
-went for the first run of the year with dh, felt very unfit but did it.

goals this week-

• 1 bag to charity, 1 to the tip
• colour my hair
• vacuum/deep clean my bedroom. It’s dust bunny central in there.
• look at existing furniture/storage and see if I can move anything to make better use of what we have.
• run x 2/3 and start some sort of bodyweight/strength training

Oh, and I went through my phone and sent messages to several people who I’ve not seen in ages, hoping to prompt some social things, plus messaged the other puppy owners who had one from the litter to suggest a meet up in a secure field with our puppies.

I'm doing pretty well so far, but its totally back to reality today with kids, DH and me all at work/school/nursery so I am expecting some of my motivation to slip as normal life and the chaos it brings comes back!

1. Have started my running regime using Joggo app. Have been for 4 runs and have another scheduled for today. The app is working really well for me and takes away all the brain work as it schedules my runs and gives me a little workout to vary it up a bit. If I do well on my next run (the 'assessment run') it might let me move up to the next level - I'm motivated by that sort of thing, so ... so far so good!
2. Skincare - remembered most days. Using day and night cream, plus No7 Perfect and Protect serum in the mornings too.
3. Vitamins - keep forgetting so not doing so good with this one! I feel queasy if I have them on anything other than a full stomach so need to place them next to the breakfast stuff!
4. Am 40% through my first book of the year! I'm loving this one!
5. Studying - errmmm.... I've done none of that so far so I def need to work on this goal more!

Oh and I did my weigh-in.... but the less said about that the better! 😬

How's your first day gone @thenewaveragebear1983 ?

Today was my first proper day on it too - have eaten well and completed an exercise class. My goals this week are to keep up good food and exercise habits and NOT open a bottle of wine on Friday night. We're having a veggie curry and alcohol free beer instead. I was going to make a start on some of the 'sorting stuff out jobs' I want to work through on Saturday, but the weather forecast looks ok, so going to go for a big walk instead (one of my aims is to take advantage of decent weather when it appears, so I think that's ok).

I've also upped my skincare game this week, morning and evening, currently waiting for some retinol to sink in before moisturising!