Diet for Summer Challenge 2024

[bigdecisionstomake]

This is a continuation of the previous Diet for Christmas and Diet for Summer Challenges started by myself, @OhFatty and @Dashel

It is open to everyone, whether you have a lot to lose, just a small amount to go or you're at target but facing the enormous challenge of maintaining your loss ongoing.

Your target doesn't need to be summer - you can set if for as soon or as late as you like. There are no rules other than being supportive and cheering each other on. Occasional kicks up the bum are available as and when requested.

Hopefully previous members of these threads will join us again and new members are always welcome.

I will update shortly with my start point for this challenge.

I finally got the scales to move this week and lost 2.5lbs! So now am 10lb down from when I began on Jan 13th.
SW: 167lb = 11.13lb stone
CW: 156.7 = 11. 2 lb stone

Almost at my next goal which is 155lb.

I began at 12.12 stone last year, but put weight-loss on hold when I was very busy and decided to start chipping away at in again in 2024. Lost 23.3lb from my beginning weight.

That's brilliant @Yocal and @Backinthedress @Charliewasfired well done on the losses! Such a motivation seeing the scales move. (Apologies, I tagged you backinthedress by accident instead of charlie and now my phone won't let me take off the tag).

I made 10,500 steps today. Walked to get son from nursery, ate my soup, within mu calorie limit. So I've started the week on the positive I wanted 👍🏻

Arghhhh I’ve fallen off the diet wagon the past week and feel really disappointed in myself! I’ve kept up with my exercise but my diet has been appalling (sharing bags of chocolate and crisps, take away etc).
My skin looks terrible and I feel gross! Back on it tomorrow…

69.6kg today, so dropped below 70 at least. Tried interval training for the first time this week - it was brutal! Ouch. DP reckons the scales might be staying the same as I'm building muscle. Hoping that's true - would be nice to see the tape measure reflecting progress.

It's nice now the days are milder and getting longer, but I do find this time of year tough generally. I guess a lot of you are experiencing the same. Sugar is my narcotic of choice - hard to resist it when I'm tired and low. Wish I'd forked out for a nice sunny holiday about now, but funds are too tight sadly! Instead I have a sexy work trip to yorkshire to look forwards to

Afternoon all

Well done on your determination at shaking off the slump @IchGlaubMeinSchweinPfeift think we both need to do this! I'm feeling positive at the moment again, now work is less stressful, let's try and keep each other motivated. It sounds like you had a great day yesterday smashing your steps goal.

Glad the Second Nature program is working for you @Yocal I already eat a lot of veg but don't do so well on the processed food front or the water intake. I'm focusing on water again this week as I caught something on the TV last night about kidney stones being avoided by making sure you were well hydrated and they're one of the things I really dread getting as they're so painful.

Whoop whoop on the 2.5lbs loss this week @Charliewasfired huge congratulations on that and your progress to date which is phenomenal. You're so close to breaking into the 10st now - keep going, you're smashing it!

Join the club @LBB2020 I was off the wagon last week too but have made a concerted effort to get back on this week. You can do this, keep posting so you're accountable and think about how much better you'll feel 🤗

Massive congratulations at being back in the 60s @Backinthedress it's really disheartening when you bounce back up again thinking you've left a bracket behind once and for all. Kudos to you for not letting it get the better of you. Yorkshire is lovely, even if it is for work 😅

I'm still feeling motivated and have done a 20 minute fast walk with GFWR this morning followed by 25 minutes of Day 7 of the Heather Robertson 4.0 program - ran out of time to complete it! My weight has dropped to 10st 6.4lbs which will just be the excess water from the last week dropping off. It would be good to be in the 5s by next week.

Have great days all.

@LBB2020 hope the day was better today 🤞🏼

@Backinthedress congratulations on saying bye to the 70s! It's a great feeling seeing that first number change

@bigdecisionstomake sounds like you had a good day too!

My days been pretty good again. I'm on 7000 steps and I still need to tackle the evening tidying with DH which always gets a couple hundred more in there. Calories are spot on again. Weigh in tomorrow for me. Hoping to see something move down however small but I'm not too sure due to not being fully on it this last week.

Thank you! Much better day today and just finished it off with a very sweaty spin class!

Morning all

Glad you both had good days yesterday @IchGlaubMeinSchweinPfeift and @LBB2020 the extra steps and sweaty spin class should hopefully translate into pounds lost soon 😃

Just as I was back in the swing of things with a vengeance and feeling really positive I started with a sore throat yesterday afternoon and by the end of the day was really achy and generally not feeling well at all. I am disproportionately annoyed at this, it seems like every time I build up some momentum and feel positive things are moving in the right direction something happens either health, work or a life stress which derails me.

I feel pants this morning so haven't exercised but will try to stick to calories and avoid comfort eating as best I can. Hopefully it will be gone as quickly as it arrived and I can get back in the game - without exercise I find it much harder to make good food choices unfortunately.

Apologies for the moaning post - just can't quite believe my luck at the minute 😲

@bigdecisionstomake feel better soon! I feel like so many of us have been constantly ill this winter. There's nothing worse than a constant roundabout of illnesses. It's frustrating when you finally get into the swing of it then you're on hold again.

I didn't weigh in this morning. DH has a chest infection so I was on the nursery run this morning, straight to our baby class, lunch with the other mums, back for nursery pick up. Means I've done a lot of steps, I just completely forgot to weigh in! Will do tomorrow.

@bigdecisionstomake hope you feel better soon. This winter has been awful for illness, I’ll be glad when spring is finally here!
My day has been ok, drank lots of water and no eating after dinner. Also went to the gym for a quick workout as no PT session tomorrow as it’s half term here so I have the joy of entertaining the children tomorrow (wish me luck the toddler is going through a “challenging” phase at the moment 😂)

Morning all,
Quick check in as I weighed in this morning.

15st 4lbs.
-0.2lbs again.

Not even half a pound in 2 weeks is a little too slow for my liking...

I know why though. Over eating by 100-150cals a day, and much less steps due to illnesses. This week has been good so far with steps (27,500 over 3 days), but cals still need to be reigned in a bit. Going to make this my focus over the next week as I'm determined to see that 4lb mark go down to 3 before March.

Hope everyone's weeks are going well.

Morning all

Starting to feel a bit more human this morning thank goodness - thanks for your good wishes.

Sounds like you've got a lot on your plate at the moment @IchGlaubMeinSchweinPfeift but good step progress! A loss is a loss but I get how frustrating it is when it's slower than you want it to be. Well done on recognising what you need to do to change that - you've got this 🙂

Hear hear for spring arriving soon @LBB2020 I can't wait for it to be warmer and lighter. It seems to have done nothing but rain here for days on end now. Good luck with the unruly toddler today - lots of physical activity with the dual purpose of burning calories for you and tiring them out would be my recommendation - sending solidarity 🤗

I have a slightly odd day today as youngest DS is going into hospital for a minor operation. I'm sure it will all be fine but I get more anxious about things like this when it's the DC than when it's me. Exercise helps me in this situation so I've done a fairly gentle walking workout with Jenny Ford this morning just to ease back in gently.

I am still stuck at 10st 6.4lb which is a bit disappointing but not surprising given the fact I've been under the weather and missed some exercise although I did keep my food pretty good I think. Hopefully the scales will start to shift downwards again soon.

Have good days all.

@bigdecisionstomake I'm glad you are starting to feel better and good luck for your DS's operation, I hope it goes well. I bet the scales will start moving again for you very soon.

I've been away on holiday the previous week, which was interesting from a dieting perspective. I went with the attitude of trying to make some good choices but not getting too caught up and just enjoying the food I did have, and the family time.

On the whole I feel like it went fairly well. Probably still indulged a bit too much on the food and alcohol, but certainly less than if I hadn't joined this thread and been eating well beforehand.

I hopped on the scales yesterday and was a little disheartened to have gone up by about 2.5 pounds. But then my period arrived so I'm hoping some of that gain is related to that!

I have a weekend away with friends tomorrow (honestly it sounds like I have such an active social life / holiday schedule, but it has just worked out I have two events in quick succession then nothing on for ages!).

My plan is to weigh tomorrow, and just try to be more mindful again over the weekend.

I was getting a bit despondent before last week's holiday as the scales were not playing nice at all. So my main aim is not to give up and just keep going. If I keep to my calories and eat healthy food the majority of the time, I will eventually get this sodding weight off!

I've rejigged my Nutra Check app to reduce my calorie limit by 100cal a day. I don't want to make the same mistake as I've done in the past by jumping to something extreme, so I'm trying this small change to see if it gets the weight loss going. Blips and occasional upward movement is all well and good, but the scales do actually need to go down at some point!!

Well done to all who have had such inspiring losses and kudos and solidarity to those are still plugging away. We'll get there!

I've stayed the same again for the 4th week in a row, which is good (well, better than a gain). I do wonder if I'm building some muscle as I've been doing a lot of resistance (weights) workouts the last couple of weeks.

My size is fine but I'd like my tummy to flatten out a bit (it did last year!), so might need to do some crunches or planks but I'm awful at planks - just can't get the form right. Any suggestions welcome.

Happy Friday all!

Pilates class? At least you'd have a teacher to guide you?

I've finally started tracking down again, though still haven't hit my lowest most recent low. But it's nice and sunny today and I'm going to have another go at interval training on my run. Wish me luck!

Joining in please. I've got a holiday booked in June and I definitely need a good stone off. Am very slow to lose these days so need some motivation on my feed. Good luck everyone.

@Hoglet70 welcome! I was new to this thread in January and find it very supportive and motivating :)

@imustbepatient hope you had a nice holiday! I think finding a balance on holiday is good and sounds like you found it. Two events on the bounce is difficult but I've learned to just get straight back in it, expect a small gain and keep going :) I used to let it get me down.

@bigdecisionstomake hope you're feeling much better now!

@Gemzee building muscle is a good possibility, are you also tracking with pictures/measurements or how your clothes feel? Sometimes I find that helpful if the scales don't move :)

@Backinthedress that's great! How did the run go? We also have nice weather at the moment, blue skies and chilly air. Perfect for getting out with the kids or a walk.

I've had a good week so far. Step goal for the week is 42,000 and I'm on 54,000 not including today. I was going over calories at times but reigned that in the last few days. I always recalculated my calories based on my current weight and took 100 a day off so hopefully that'll help too. Got a playdate for the toddler arranged today so not sure how much walking I'll be doing if we stay in, but hopefully I'll fit in a walk somewhere!

The run went well - longer recovery time between intervals and I managed a lot better. Went for a shorter run today and pushed myself to go faster which I did. Was very happy. And I took a child on a bike with me each time and it wasn't a total pain in the bum, which was nice!

Weight is remaining the same, but I am happy at the increase in fitness so I'll take that!

Morning all

I spoke too soon on Thursday and have been downhill healthwise since then. An out of hours doctors appointment yesterday and several doses of the resultant antibiotics later and I'm now crossing everything I'm moving in the right direction again.

Glad you had a lovely holiday @imustbepatient 2.5lbs gain after a holiday sounds like a win to me, particularly if there is some period bloat to add into the equation. The 100cal adjustment sounds like a good idea, I agree it's best not to go all hardcore and then give up a week later. DS's operation went well thanks although he's a little unimpressed with the resultant scar (on his face unfortunately) but if he's consistent with the aftercare hopefully it should fade with time.

Well done on the STS @Gemzee if you've been doing a lot of resistance work you may well have some body recomposition going on so there may be some inch loss even if no loss on the scales. If you find the secret to a flatter tummy let me know - I really need to know 😁

Sounds like the interval training went well @Backinthedress it has been a lovely weekend weatherwise hasn't it. I had all good intentions of going in the garden but just didn't feel up to it! The loss will come and the increase in fitness is a massive positive.

Welcome to the thread @Hoglet70 a lot of us here are slow and steady losers for many different reasons but however you lose it I think it really pays to have the accountability of regular posting. A holiday in June is an excellent target to aim for, I always find I lose better if I have a target in mind. Good luck with it and keep us posted on your progress.

@IchGlaubMeinSchweinPfeift that's great advice about just accepting a small gain when you've had a couple of events on the bounce and then just getting on with it without letting it get you down. I need to remember that myself sometimes. Amazing progress with your step count - well done. I've been very sedentary the last few days so need to start getting up and about a bit more now I'm on the mend.

After a few sedentary days and several comfort crisp and chocolate indiscretions I am now back up to 10st 7lb again. Really hoping I will be feeling well enough again in the next day or two to start getting on track again.

Have good days all :)

Sorry to hear you've been so poorly. Do give yourself a break while you're in the anti biots and load up on those prebiotic foods once you've finished the course. Almonds, green bananas, flaxseed and homemade guacamole full.of raw onion and garlic are my go tos. Also helps keep people at a nice distance so you don't catch any new germs!!!

@bigdecisionstomake hope the antibiotics are doing their job and you're feeling much better.

Quick check in from me as it's weigh day.

SW Jan 1: 15st 10
Feb 28: 15st 2.8lbs

This week's loss: -1.2lb

Really happy this week to see the scales move more than 0.2lbs 😁I'm putting it down to increase in steps ive been doing and the fact i was strict on calories again, and hopefully I've skipped right past that '3'lb mark🤞🏼

Another month over
Jan loss: -4.8lbs
Feb loss: - 2.8lbs
Total loss so far: -7.6lbs

Making steady progress towards my yearly goal of 28lbs off :)

Hope your weeks are going well!

Can't edit again and I messed up my numbers slightly. I should drink a coffee before I post😁

January loss: -4.6lbs
February loss:- 2.6lbs

Total loss since Jan 1: 7.2lbs

Evening all

Thanks @Backinthedress have been taking it easy and will take on board the advice about prebiotic foods. I eat almonds and green bananas several times a week already but I'll stock up on the ingredients for some home made guac. I try and have some Kimchi every day for my gut microbiome too so hopefully that will help with the antibiotic side effects.

@IchGlaubMeinSchweinPfeift so pleased you have seen better results on the scales this week, it's very well deserved. You're 25% of the way to your yearly target too - awesome!

I'm feeling a bit better now and contemplating getting back on the exercise properly tomorrow. I haven't done any strength work at all since I've been feeling rubbish.

I've been careful food wise and have dropped back down to 10st 6.4lb but it feels like I've been here for ages now so I'd really like some proper progress now. Need to do the work I guess though.....

Hope everyone else is doing well 🙂

Hi, weighing in a day early this week as it's my birthday tomorrow - I'm out for thai food later and don't want it to reflect badly on the scales and spend the day disappointed. So, cheating slightly but it's another sts this week, fair to say I've mastered maintenance! 😁 I would like to lose my last 2lbs to weigh the same as last summer but weekends are my undoing.
Have a good weekend when you get there!

@Gemzee maintenance is the hardest bit! Have a great day tomorrow.