⭐️LOSE IT! January 2024 Reset & Renew⭐️

[TheRealHousewife]

⭐️Open to All⭐️

January 2024! Fresh start & develop new habits. Join-in to reset & refresh and become a healthier version of yourself. These threads are for those who’d like to lose and those who wish to maintain whilst eating a healthy varied diet.

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. I had a blip a couple of years ago when my thyroid went wonky but now back on track.

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

Hello all, just checking in.

I made a new recipe last night and it was delicious so thought I'd share it. I'll definitely do this one again and I served it with stir fried asparagus, carrots and pak choi. I made mine and basted it in the air fryer and it turned out great, the glaze was great and I'm sure would work brilliantly with salmon or tofu, or aubergine!

Miso glazed chicken breast

The alcohol chat has been interesting. I found I was falling into bad habits so have limited myself to two alcoholic drinks per week. I had a rum and diet coke after dinner last night and really enjoyed it..... I think because I haven't been having drinks throughout the week it felt more of a treat.

Hello all, may I please join you? I’ve been reading this thread during the week and it has been really helping me to gird my loins for getting myself underway. I weighed myself on Friday and was the highest I’ve ever seen on the scales. Albeit that I’ve probably weighed a bit more at some points previously, but I’m generally quite good (i.e. bad!) at avoiding the scales when I know that will be the case, but I made myself jump on them now as I need the kick.

I have been gaining and losing weight for such a long time now, never getting quite to where I need, before I then can’t sustain the (usually a bit extreme) diet I chose and the weight creeps up again. Or in fact piles on in a mad rush.

I think I have now got my head around what I need to do this time, and feel quietly confident that this time will be the one where I really manage it.

@ImALittlePea your posts yesterday about alcohol really resonated with me, as I know a lot of my weight gain / inability to lose stems from drinking too often. I need to cut back and in the past have had a couple of spells (not including pregnancies) of 6 - 10 months where I cut it out, but that seems too all or nothing (something I have to watch out for doing), and never survives the summer holiday period! I want to be able to have a moderate, balanced amount without going overboard.

I’m starting dry January today (plus 1st Feb) to push the reset button, break the recent ‘wine every night’ habit, and give my weight loss a boost. Then when I get to Feb I’m going to go back to having a glass or two of wine on Fridays and Saturdays only (possibly Sundays too, I’m undecided on that at the moment). Hopefully that will be the right balance for weight loss, health and still enjoying an occasional nice glass of wine with my DH / friends.

I’m turning 48 in Feb and really want to use the next two years to crack this weight loss and maintaining weight loss thing, so that I hit 50 in good health and stay that way. My knees have been hurting quite a bit in the last couple of weeks, which isn’t great and feels pretty worrying. It is all down to the extra weight I’m carrying (about 4 stone) which needs to go.

No real movement on the scales after last weeks water loss spectacular.

But it's all good.

I've been doing all the right things - so eventually they will move

I've learned to be a lot more patient than o used to be and accept that weight loss is not a straight line on a graph, it will fluctuate but the overall trend ( over say a month) is what counts

The patience is what I need. I'm a very slow 🐌 loser & it frustrates me no end, especially when others on the thread are losing consistently (happy for them, but really upset for me!). I need to remember that I'm different & the fact I'm 52, peri & on HRT has a bearing. I don't want to fall off the bandwagon. I'm good now, but 6/7 weeks in is where I'm likely to throw the towel in 🙈

I like using real cocoa in porridge, makes it really chocolatey for very few calories.
Having it tomorrow. I de-stone a tin of prunes in juice, leave the oats and cocoa to soak in it all overnight, cooks faster and breaks the prunes up less. My children love it.

Today was the first frosty day in forever, I am annoyed we had the wettest, mild Christmas, now when we are nearly back to school it will require car scraping, walking on scary hill all icy at school!
Been out for a walk today, food is on point.

B: homemade banana waffles, mixed berries, yogurt, cashew butter
L: cabbage, kimchi, spicy omelette, pickled radish
D: arepas, peppers, tomatoes, BBQ jackfruit

Another who needs patience here! I will probably have a couple of decent losses the first week or so (looking at 2lb from a sneaky step on the scales for this week) and then I revert to 0.5/1lb loss and the odd gain. I get annoyed at myself and give up. I am determined not to do that this year!

I’ve increased my steps and kept to my calorie allowance most days which is 1350 calories.

I’ve been doing an average of 1 hour exercise / 10K steps every day this week, but that’s including my exercise steps (walking pad and short aerobic videos) and no real change on the scale.

I’m bouncing around from 70.5 to 71.5kg and back down again. No change in my waist line or body fat stats either. I’m determined to keep going like this for a full month though and if still no change by end of January I’ll look into making a couple of tweaks to my diet eg. Cutting out white bread and adding in longer exercise sessions twice a week.

The good thing is though, my sleep has improved massively which makes me feel so much better, improves my ability to concentrate and focus on tasks, and also makes me less likely to give in to sugar cravings.

I’m going on a European city break later this week with a friend, so plan to keep up the 10K daily steps, and will stick to eating 3 meals a day, and avoid snacks or sugary drinks , but outside of those restrictions will eat what I want at the hotel, cafes and restaurants.

Pelham678

I've ordered one today, I shouldn't have really but I've used the bonus money clients gave me for Christmas.

Yeah measurement need doing, the picture someone posted illustrated perfectly, not that I'm going to need to worry about putting on much muscle, I could be a professional exercise avoider.
Saying that I did get up this morning and do the body project recommended by afaloren & LemonDrizzle23

Joining the need to have patience posters, usually have a good first week loss, will find out tomorrow, then persevere with patience.

Today:
-boiled egg, rye toast with butter, coffee
-baked potato with mushrooms, cheese, butter
-meatballs in red wine gravy, roast potatoes, broccoli
-pear, last of birthday truffles

5km walk in the woods and will be doing YWA after dinner.

Another one in need of patience! I've been hopping on the scales daily since WOW in anticipation of the dramatic drop given I'm back on this thread (i.e. mindful eating, not a diet). Needless to say scales are all over the place and have not yet delivered an overnight whoosh !

@ImALittlePea - just being aware you need to cut back on alcohol is the biggest step. Work out what's best for you. Well done, and good luck.

Loved your post @imustbepatient - I could have written it back in 2021 (in fact I probably did !!). Fast approaching 50, 13 stone 2, and very unhappy with myself and lack of will-power. I joined this fabulous thread (thanks to OP @TheRealHousewife !!), kept true to my goals (mostly), and lost 2 stone in 6 months. This time last year I had regained 1 stone so rejoined, took control of my snacking, sugar and carbs again, re-lost the stone, and ran a half marathon & cycled London-to-Brighton. My 49-yr old self would NEVER - I mean NEVER - have thought any of that was possible.

I've forgotten how tough it is though, and how much mindspace it takes up to make healthy eating choices. Last night I got hangry and very grumpy knowing I couldn't just stuff my face with any food, washed down with a few glasses wine. Ashamedly I took it out on DH and had to storm off, dramatically, for a brisk walk around the block to calm down. Thankfully I did, & apologised. Some days better than others. Must keep going though.

B - blueberries & kefir yoghurt
E - long run
L - smoked salmon, avocado & rocket on sourdough - yum
D - roast chicken, broccoli, kale, carrots, and a couple of roasties

Keep going everyone. Loving all the posts. Must improve sleep too - thanks for reminder @2024fit .

Thanks very much for your post @buzzofthebumblebee that’s so encouraging to read. Your food for the day sounds delicious too. Well done on going for the walk - reading your words has reminded me that’s something I’ve done from time to time in the past and that I should stick my walking shoes on and head out / to the treadmill when those sorts of moments come up!

That’s so true about the mind space that getting back into (and sticking with) healthy choice making takes. I find I have to make it one of my top time priorities and create that new enthusiasm to carry me through the first few hard weeks, until I have good habits established. That then tends to last me for several months. It’s at about the 6 - 9 month mark that I can then start slipping back again and undo all / most of what I’ve achieved. This time I really need to be on the look out for that, and be ready with some strategies to counter what has happened every other time.

Hopefully this thread / its successors will be part of that!

Well I've managed mostly healthy choices this weekend! A small amount of snacking that I don't tend to fuss over too much at the weekend (as long as I have a good grasp on weekday habits, anyway). Just some crisps and dip, and a little bit of chocolate. Nothing awful.

Lunch - 1/2 carton of chunky vegetable soup and a small piece of baguette with butter
Dinner - sausage, mash, loads of veg (green beans, broccoli, carrots and peas) and some gravy

I've drunk lots and lots of water, a few teas, and some apple and elderflower fizz - no wine at all and zero desire to have any. I'm not expecting that to continue long term, but I'm enjoying a fully booze free weekend for the first time in too long and plan to harness this feeling to move me forwards.

I'm also being mindful that because I know I'm not consuming all the alcohol calories, I don't want to become lax in my eating choices. Similar to not eating your exercise calories... If that makes sense?! 🤣

Turning my mind to meals for the upcoming week. Lunches will be either soup (without bread) or loaded scrambled eggs, depending on shifts. Dinners are going to include, I think, homemade chips with homemade chilli, jacket potato with cheese and big salad, hunters chicken with new potatoes and lots of greens.. so far. I want a kebab based dinner but that'll be a treat for next weekend - something to look forward to 😁

Should be back at classes this week, although the youngest appears to be brewing something so may have to stay off nursery 😬 hoping she's well enough in the morning to go in 🙏

Watching my daughter eat the Steak and Chips I've cooked for her while I eat the batch cooked veg chilli. I mean mine is nice but it's not steak and chips!

Looking forward to my weekly weigh in tomorrow morning, I have been very well behaved all week with my food and drink and cheeky checks have shown a reduction so far so it should be a happy morning.

NSW fit back into my size 12 jeans! 🎉

Good luck for tomorrow @FlabMonsterIsDietingAgain, I love a veg chilli!

Excellent NSV @PatienceOfEngels well done! 🎉

PatienceOfEngels Well done, I dream of being a size 12 one day 👏

Oh My goodness … away for a day and the threads got very busy!

Well done everyone; I’m seeing some really positive and beneficial lifestyle changes from stopping (or trying to stop) nighttime snacking, drinking less alcohol, increasing activity etc. All of which are worth more to you all than the sum of its parts!

As @FlabMonsterIsDietingAgain shared she’s not only been losing weight and feeling great; she’s been able to improve some of her health markers quite significantly, namely resting heart rate and respiratory rate. Well done and congratulations 🙌

I’ll admit, due to reading all the positive accolades on here that I’m a recent convert to NutraCheck after using MFP for 7 years! I was initially hesitant due to many of my own recipes & meals already being on the MFP database. However NC is easy and intuitive to use and I love the visuals/graphics. The cherry on the cake is it’s got a screen widget that’s incredibly useful 👍

@ThreeRingCircus Great recipe, thank you for sharing 👌

Welcome to the thread @imustbepatient

@WeirdPookah The chocolate prune porridge sounds delicious 😋

@CumbrianExile I understand your frustrations about your initial decent gains then the yo-yoing before finally giving in. No matter how slow or small your weight loss, it’s a loss and it’s important to keep going. I’m in the drip drip weight loss club too. I once worked out my rate off loss over the years (yes years; not so much a yo-yoer but I lose incredibly slowly) and it generally is something like 1/2 - 1lb a month. Really slow. In total I’ve lost about 40lbs over 6 years with about 9lbs to go. I did have a blip a couple of years ago when I was gaining whilst still eating the same which turned out to be an under active thyroid which is now medicated. If I hadn't persevered I would be up 40lbs rather than down 40lbs. You can do it!

Fabulous post @buzzofthebumblebee You are an inspiration 👏❤️

@PatienceOfEngels Thats a great NSV Congratulations 🥳

Menu
Meal 1 - Porridge, drizzle of fresh cream, drizzle of honey (wanted to see how it affected my sugar levels whilst wearing my monitor)
Meal 2 - Lamb & Leek hotpot, cabbage, carrots, green beans & cauliflower.
Tea, black coffee and water.

Wishing you all a fabulous start for the new week and hope you a
l keep your resolve. Reaffirming your intentions and planning your menus & exercise is a great help 👍

I last wore size 12 clothes when I was an overweight 11yr old in year 6. It's an aspirations mine to do it as an adult.

A good day here.

B - Arla protein yoghurt, 5 dried apricots
L - Beans on gluten free toast
D - Chicken and chickpea tamarind curry with sugar snap peas, a Lindahl’s yoghurt.

Snack: 3 Babybel lights.

Exercise: 2 x dog walk, yoga, Body Project workout.

Really glad to have got through my first weekend without splurging or drinking.

Hey all, sorry I've not posted for a couple of days. Lovely to come back and see you're all talking about reducing alcohol etc. I think that's a great move and it's something I'm doing this year too, so solidarity to you all!!

I've had a really bad food weekend, absolutely kicking myself but trying not to beat myself up too much but it's hard as i was so motivated last week. I still am motivated, just think that I had a quieter weekend than normal which meant reaching for the snacks a bit more. It could have been worse though, but I will be having a fast day tomorrow to make up for it 🤞 one thing I'm proud of it that I logged everything I ate which is good, because the more it becomes non-negotiable that I have to log, the more I'll consider what I put in my mouth before I do it.

@TheRealHousewife the Nutracheck is a game changer isn't it! I was a mfp lover before but im also converted now!

@ImALittlePea Alcohol is so unbelievably addictive isn't it? Thank you for talking to us about your experiences, I'm glad we're all talking about it now and looking make changes, hugs to you.

So tomorrow my plan is to fast, and I want to do a 30 min kettlebell exercise as well. That's my plan! Catch you all tomorrow!

Hi folks can I join? I have gained a lot of weight since having my third baby (she’s now 2.5 🫢) and don’t feel like myself anymore. Need to lose around 2.5stone and the motivation is hard to find. I live in Norway and it’s really cold at the moment (-22 some days) and lots of snow and ice so not easy to get out and walk. I work from home so can do some at home exercise but deffo think my prob is calories. Am planning a meal replacement diet as I did Cambridge a decade ago and it worked great and I kept weight off until pregnancies… even got the weight off after each pregnancy until the third one. I’m nearly 39 so think age not on my side but am determined to go into my 40’s in great shape again!

sorry for the long essay!

Another good gym day, smashed it and another lb down this morning, happy days.
B: banana and coffee (pre workout)
L: bacon on brown barm
D: chicken casserole
snacks: choc digestive and low cal crisps. Snacked more than I should. Picked up some AF wine whilst I'm doing Dry Jan. It wasn't good, I'll be sticking to tea.

Rest day tomorrow from the gym.

FlabMonsterIsDietingAgain

It's nice to share goals, let's try and do it together. I lost weight when I got engaged, was a size 12 at my wedding 20 years ago. Am I remembering correctly that you're weighing in tomorrow. I weigh on Mondays.

L seeded toast x2, ½ can baked beans, poached egg x2
D chunky chips, smoked tofu, garlic broccoli
S Nord yogurt with granola, wine, salt and pepper graze.

Had a busy morning, keep myself occupied with sorting out my dd's room, missed breakfast, not on purpose but time got away from me so I had a small portion of my favourite chips with my dinner tonight

First week done and I am really pleased to report a SIX pound weight loss. I cannot believe it, but it does show how much stupid eating I have done over the last two months.

Start weight 10st 12.8 pounds
Weight today 10st. 6.8 pounds
Target. 9st 13 pounds

Have a great week everyone 😀

FiveShelties wow well done