5 stone 26 weeks - Anyhow that works for you

[stillplentyofjunkinthetrunk]

If you have a bit more to lose and will be doing this for a while and want a nice supportive crowd to hang out with while you're at it this might be the thread for you.

@owlyboo it's a revelation isn't it! Mostly it is a glass or two (although large obvs) but we find too often that we're debating a third bottle between the two of us so time for a reset and give my liver a rest ....

Couple of days late but I’m in. I need to lose two, I want to lose 3, I’d be over the moon to lose 4. I don’t think IF works that well for me, I sort of do it anyway as I don’t like breakfast, though maybe consciously doing it is different.

Starting calorie tracking and upping the exercise from this weekend.

Wondering if anyone has any tips/anything that works for those sugar cravings during or just before period starts? Mine are horrendous,
like I will not be able to concentrate on anything until I have some sugar and it’s only just before and during my period, is there anything I can do to help or do I just need to tough it out.

@Realist2022 it's switching that mindset isn't it. What is this glass of wine going to actually do to benefit me? Absolute bog all!

Weigh in day today for me. I lost 7.5lb. I had to get on the scales several times just to check it was right.
SW 18st 9.5lb
CW 18st 2lb
TW June 1st 14st something
Feeling better already. Have definitely got more energy.

@Gabriella83 wowsa! Well done

@Gabriella83 that must have felt good to see - I think we can agree the Christmas bloat is over.

Hello @stillplentyofjunkinthetrunk
I’ve been looking for some online support.
I would like to join you please!

I got rather large during lockdown and had a baby last year and my weight has really got out of hand. Since the start of 2018, I’ve put on 7st. I’m going to let it go now. I’m ready to get back on it.

I started two days ago on a ketogenic diet. I’m increasing walking and them moving g to proper exercise when I lose 50lbs.

SW: 303.4lbs (04/01/23)
CW: 298.2lbs
TW: 198lbs

@owlyboo Exactly! Although I am going to see some comedy in a couple of weeks and worried it won't be all that funny if I am stone cold sober .....!

@Hotgoose we only advice I've got on sugar is based on my recent experiences from cutting right down the less sugar I eat the less I crave sugar and the better other food has tasted.

I also try to plan what I'll eat that day early in the day when I'm not hungry yet.

@Realist2022 well if it's not then they're not funny 😂

Does anyone know if it makes any difference to weight / health whether you do intermittent fasting ‘properly’ or not?

I’ve been skipping breakfast, partly because I know it’s supposed to have health benefits, partly because it’s so much easier for me to skip breakfast than to eat less in the evening, so it’s a more realistic way to hit my calorie targets and it’s working, down 6.2 lb so far this week (water weight probably but still).

in reality this means I last eat 11pm ish, then in the mornings I have a couple of coffees with milk, then lunch about 12:30/1. If there’s actually benefits in properly intermittent fasting, then I could try not eating after 8:30pm and only having black coffee until 12:30pm, it’s not that much change from my current lazy version. Just can’t understand all the different stuff written about it to know whether it would have significantly more benefits or not.

My experience of intermittent fasting has been really positive so far as I can see there are 2 main strands,

1. it's easier to not overeat / create a calorie deficit by having an eating window and sticking to it.
2. it's less strain on your system to give it a break from digesting food.

I seem to have got the benefits despite the fact that I drink tea with milk outside of my window.

@stillplentyofjunkinthetrunk

thanks. I think then I might break it into phases:

skip breakfast but don’t worry about eating windows etc (this week)

cut out late night eating to have a 16hr fasting window next week but don’t worry about milk in coffee in mornings

then optional cut out milk in coffee in the mornings the week after, maybe switch to herbal tea

@PotatoFan I do the same as @stillplentyofjunkinthetrunk and eat within a window (for me, this has meant missing breakfast and no snacking in the evening). However, I cannot live without a cup of tea in the morning, so I have continued to have that. I'm not 100% certain of the health benefits, but for the first time in a long time, I have lost weight without feeling starving or deprived. I have lost just over 2.5 stone since June, so not the speediest but it definitely feels more manageable than previous diet attempts.

Ahh that’s bloody amazing!!! Well done 🤩

Skipping breakfast is a great idea. This is exactly why I weigh on Saturdays - I don’t eat breakfast that day. So I weigh less in the morning and get to eat more dinner later on or have a bigger lunch!

I think skipping breakfast is so much easier than skipping lunch too, I had that “breakfast sets you up for the day” drummed mentality drummed in to me, but realistically it doesn’t work for everyone. I’m naturally a night time snacker so save the cals for then.

Amazing work so far everyone.

I'm saying I'm IF but I need my tea...
So I'm eating one meal a day but having unlimited tea with (only a very tiny splash of semi skimmed) milk throughout the day.

I need to be able to eat whatever others have in the evening - too complicated to change. We eat pretty healthily, but often there's an indulgent cheese sauce or roast potato or similar. I also don't want to make a big deal of being on a diet -3 teen/tween girls in the house- so if I just don't eat all day I can just eat normally in the evening. Makes everything easier.

I don't actually have any scales so I'm going to go off of waist measurements for weigh in day, hope that's ok.

@Scrabblingaround There aren't really rules because different people find different thing helpful.

If people want to share their weights I suggest once per week on the same day, so we get a rhythm going. If you prefer not to share your weight and just say how much you lost that's ok too. Or you could just semi lurk with the occasional comment ( just keep it supportive please)

I find I need to calorie count and weigh myself in order to make good progress, but whatever works for you.

For those talking about IF I found it made all the difference when I ditched the milk in my coffee first thing. Ditching it seemed to make me less hungry and able to fast for longer. The tummy rumbles seemed to stop too, and I wasn't watching the clock waiting for 12pm to be able to eat. Sometimes I look at the clock now and am shocked to realise it is gone 1. I find it relatively easy to fast from 7pm to 1ish now, although I am not anal about it. I didn't turn down a bacon sarnie in my son's at 11am this morning. He'd gone to the butchers to get it in specially for me... life is too short to stick to all the rules sometimes!

Just a quick check in, I have done really well since Monday, no binges and staying well within my daily Nutracheck targets.
5lbs lost
However tonight is a big family celebration so it is going to be hard, my plan is to have some of everything in moderation but to try and avoid my trigger food (sugar) as much as possible.

Intermittent Fasting: I am already skipping breakfast most days, except for a milky coffee, eventually I want to drop the milk but with so much to lose I am going slow with the changes. So I eat between noon and 9pm currently and only at 2 meal times, with 1 late afternoon healthy snack as my DH gets home late for tea. I am hoping to get this to a 1pm-9pm 8h window by the summer.

scrabblingaround I am doing similar as like you I want to keep things simple and I don't want the DC to grow up with mum always eating some weird diet food separately from them. I'm mid 40's so have done most diets searching for a miracle. I know that a huge salad is a 'good' choice and a huge slab of chocolate is a 'bad' one so rather than count calories I'm trying to make better choices, think longer term (maybe not having a couple of Christmas chocolates at work because I know I'll be having a slice of cake later) and when I do eat be mindful of portions. I'm also trying to drink a glass of water before eating. Missing breakfast is easy and gives me more freedom later in the day.

I feel like a pp said that this is my last chance, with menopause fast approaching if I don't shift the weight now it'll never happen. I need it to be sustainable though. I'll let you know if it's working on Monday!

I find that having a sugar free custard pot (meant for kids), Hartley's sugar free jelly pots or a low fat rice pudding pot really helps me with sugar cravings. I'm attempting to not eat chocolate for a whole year so these have been my alternatives! Hope this helps @Hotgoose

Edited due to typo!

no chocolate for a year is a big one @xLMCx impressed.

I'm more on the everything in moderation side. Tracking my sugar intake to make sure it is moderation, over the years I've had some pretty bad habits. My aim is <30g total sugar per day and I'm definitely finding it illuminating just how much sugar there is in a lot of things.

Thank you @stillplentyofjunkinthetrunk it's only been 6 days but I cannot believe how many times I have thought about it! Deffo one of my trigger foods so I'm going to see how far I get... Easter is going to be painful as for some reason Easter egg chocolate tastes so much better than normal chocolate 😂😭.

On the bright side, I'm already feeling less bloated (I can now tie my dressing gown and a bath towel actually covers me up)... Excited to see what the scales say for Monday 🤞🏻