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.

Sorry it's been a tough few weeks @bigdecisionstomake hope your DH continues to feel better. Back pain is awful. Also hope staying on track is going well this week 🤞🏼I relate to avoiding the scales until you're back into the swing of it.

@NahThen I also think that could be sugar withdrawal. I was SO hungry after we came back from holiday...it wasn't normal. Ds felt it too. It took about a week to settle!

I cannot seem to get back into it. I keep mentally motivating myself and then just not sticking to it. I keep eating too much sugar, I stop calorie counting in the afternoons, I have no idea why or what's going on! Part of me is even wondering if it's hormonal and my period is gearing up to come back (still breastfeeding) as it's not normal this kind of sugar craving.
Weighed in at 211 again so I'm disappointed and annoyed but it's reflecting my effort this week so I can't do much.

Anyone have any tips for these demotivated phases? I was doing so well and I don't want to mess it up. I still feel so uncomfortable and not happy with the way I look and I know another stone will make such a difference so I need to get back on it

Afternoon everyone

Thanks @IchGlaubMeinSchweinPfeift it's been a fairly horrible couple of weeks but it feels good to be back on plan again now.

Sorry to hear you're going through such a demotivated phase - it probably doesn't help but it happens to all of us at times so you're not alone.

There are two strategies I use when it happens to me. First of all I focus on my holiday. Whilst I do want to be healthy and have good longevity and be fit and mobile in my retirement, ultimately at this time of year, for me it's all about being able to feel good on holiday in a bikini and dresses that show my arms and shoulders off etc... I know this won't work for everyone and it doesn't necessarily need to be a holiday but I would try to find something that is really important to you and focus on that. I actually make myself stop and think when I'm reaching for an unplanned glass or wine or piece of chocolate - which do I want more, to eat this, or to feel confident on holiday. Sad as it is that strategy works for me around 80% of the time when I'm in a good place.

The second thing I do is shift my focus a bit. It's partly related to above but at the moment I'm very much focusing on my body shape rather than the number on the scales so am structuring my exercise plan to get those results. I almost always find that when I start to see small improvements in my body shape it really motivates me to keep on plan food wise - otherwise the weights etc... are just wasted effort.

Those things work for me but hopefully someone else will be along later with some other suggestions.

I had a good day yesterday and dared to finally step on the scales this morning. I am very happy to report I am still in the 4s so am 10st 4.4lbs. I should imagine all the dog walking helped balance the over eating a bit although I'm quite surprised to still be in the 4s if I'm honest. I've done 20 mins of cardio with BurpeeGirl this morning followed by a 25 minute Bicep and Tricep workout with Joe Wicks. Hoping to stay in the 4s now and possibly even creep into the 3s before I go away - fingers crossed :)

Morning all

A quick one from me as I've got a really busy day today but just checking in to say I managed another day on plan yesterday and the scales have dropped a smidge to 10st 4.2lb this morning 🙂

Arms are sore from yesterday's workout so I've just done an 80s music themed cardio walk with Kat Gates Buettner this morning. May contemplate the next Joe Wicks strength workout tomorrow morning which is Legs (don't really enjoy legs!) but we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Have good days all.

Hi all. Been away dealing with redundancy, relationship stress, an op to remove a lump and bereavement. Due to this I have been unable to exercise (stitches) or eat (stress) and I am now 65.1kg (or 10 stone 3lb). That's a loss of at least 2kg since I last checked in. Might even be three.
Since I started weighing myself in 2018 it's a loss of 20kg.

I need to try and find a way to start eating again, but currently I can manage some plain protein, white carbs and fruit once a day and that's a challenge.

Ah, apparently 3.5kg since I last checked in on page 15 or 16.

Welcome back @Backinthedress, it sounds like you've had a rough time of it lately! I hope you're healing well, in all respects ❤️ it sounds as though you're doing your best in terms of food, do keep nourishing your body and hopefully you'll start feeling yourself again soon. Little and often is my go to strategy in these scenarios- and easy! Yogurts/nuts/my favourite fruits- whole meals were too overwhelming for me.

My plateau continues at 9st8. I'm calling it maintenance 😅

@bigdecisionstomake I'm curious about walking workouts- is it walking on the spot type thing? Great news on the little drop, 3's next!

@IchGlaubMeinSchweinPfeift you've had good advice already, for me it depends how bad the demotivation is on a scale of "kind of trying but half hearted" to "active self sabotage/binge". At the first end, I go back to tracking absolutely everything and it tends to bring me back on course. At the other end, it's damage limitation all the way- 3 chocolate bars instead of 4, share bag of wotsits not walkers, gin not wine etc 😳 hope you're back on it soon!

Morning all

So sorry to hear you've had such a rubbish time @Backinthedress it sounds like you've been under fire from all angles. I really hope things pick up for you soon but in the meantime I agree with @NahThen little and often is what works for me when I really don't fancy food. Are there any foods you really fancy? When I'm under the weather I always have a craving for a banana for some reason. Calorie dense things like cheese and nuts would also be good. Have you got a good moisturiser to use on the wound once the stiches are out? My DS found this invaluable after his op.

I know this is primarily a weight loss chat but I unload all sorts of personal things here too so feel free to do the same if that would help. In the meantime look after yourself as best you can, whatever that looks like for you. Sending all the good wishes and an un-mumsnetty hug.

@NahThen I mainly do walking workouts for my cardio as I used to run and do high impact cardio/aerobics workouts (showing my age) but then was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my right hip about 5 years ago. I now have to keep everything low impact so walking workouts are great for that. It's really an umbrella term for low impact cardio and there are lots of other exercises apart from walking on the spot. The ones I do most frequently are Olivia Lawson, Jenny Ford, Get Fit With Rick, Leslie Sansome, Burpee Girl, Jessica Smith and Yana Fit but there are lots of others. If you put 'walking workout' into the YouTube search bar lots come up. Well done on keeping at 'maintenance' that's a challenge in itself 😁

I've had another drop this morning to 10st 3.6lb. I had a really busy day yesterday and was quite physically active so I think it's likely due to glycogen depletion and I may jump back up tomorrow but that's fine as long as the overall trend is downwards. I bit the bullet and did the dreaded legs day with Joe Wicks this morning as well as a 15 minute Get Fit With Rick walk. I'm expecting to find it difficult going up and down stairs tomorrow 😂

Happy Friday all - it's nearly the weekend!

Thanks for the love. Most of the stressful, painful things have eased back now to a lower level, but the relationship one is ongoing and something I need to deal with. A whole load of traumas from my marriage break up are being triggered, plus a more underlying personality type/approach of needing constant reassurance and input from my partner to feel loved and realising it's not a terribly healthy way to manage a relationship. There's some other stuff, too, but that's why I'm seeing a therapist next week. Nothing like trouble in your love life to tank your appetite, huh?

Anyway. Had some spag bol leftovers for tea yesterday, which is more calorie dense than most other things I've been able to manage. Going out for dinner tonight which will be interesting.

Well done everyone who's losing on purpose. You're doing wonderfully.

Morning all

Glad some of the problems are now receding @Backinthedress but relationship problems are the worst as there's really no-where to hide from them. The therapist sounds like an excellent idea though - I think talking things through with an independent third party really can help to give you a fresh perspective that it's hard to see for yourself. Hope you feel the benefit and well done on the Spag Bol. How did the dinner out go?

I've had the expected bounce back into the 4s this morning so I'm 10st 4.1lb but I'm happy with that as it's an overall downward trend and I did think yesterday's weight was a bit of an anomaly. Plus, the quality of my food wasn't great yesterday...we ended up having McDonalds for lunch 😳although I only had a Filet O Fish and a small fries. I was the only one home last night so avoided cooking and had a supermarket pizza and wine for my evening meal to add to the carb fest. I did manage to avoid snacking altogether all day apart from a couple of squares of chocolate after work so quantity of food wasn't bad at all and it was quite an active day.

I've got a lot to get done today so have just done two quick Improved Health walking workouts, one with Bruce Springsteen music the other Disco themed and am off into the garden now as we are forecast rain here from around 11am so wanted to get that done early.

Happy Saturday everyone 🙂

Hi! Back from hols, I weighed on Friday at 5lbs heavier than I was before holiday. I took full advantage of the all inclusive! 😁
__
I'm hoping at least a pound of water weight might drop off by this Friday, I'll check back in.

Morning all

Hope you had a fabulous holiday @Gemzee I doubt very much that's all actual 'weight' I bet a lot of it is bloat from change in routine etc... Even it if is though - that's what holidays are for and I'm sure you'll get back to where you were in no-time 🙂

Chaos has descended here again. My dad, who has been on the waiting list for a replacement knee for literally years, has just found out the op will take place on Wednesday. I'm a bit gutted as we go away on Saturday for a week so it means I probably won't be here when he comes out of hospital. Mum is adamant she will manage and insists we must still go but they are both early 80s and I am worried how they will cope.

I'm going to spend a fair bit of this week travelling back and forth and have been batch cooking to make sure they have some food in the freezer (one less thing for them to worry about) so the weekend has been spent madly trying to get some of the holiday prep done early as I'm not likely to be here much towards the end of the week.

I haven't worked out for a couple of days as it's always the first thing to go when I'm really busy and there has been quite a bit of wine this weekend so I was dreading weighing in but actually it turned out not too bad at 10st 4.6lb.

Not sure what the rest of this week will look like but I'm just going to do the best I can.

Have good days all.

Afternoon everyone!

Thanks very much for taking the time to offer advice @bigdecisionstomake what you said about having a holiday resonated. I feel like I came back from my holiday and lost some motivation...it was a nice goal to have. I don't have any other holidays planned but a trip back "home" to Scotland is planned for October so I may use that as my new goal. It would be great to feel more comfortable for the flight and seeing family and friends again (focusing more on being comfortable in my clothes helps me move along).

And thanks @NahThen for your advice as well. I was definitely at the higher end of sabotage! So I started going from 175g bags of malteasers to 1 kinder Bueno.

Been working on it slowly and it seems I'm finally getting there. I've tracked now this week, stuck within the calories and have been walking loads.
So thank you for the help!

Last week I weighed in at 211.8 and today down to 211.4. getting back on it now :)

Hope you're all having a good week!

Morning, I STS this week, so no holiday weight gone yet. I am finding it difficult to not overeat after coming back from holiday and I'm bloated due to time of the month so not feeling brilliant.
I have been working out so I just need to get my eating back under control and hopefully a couple pounds will drop off next week. Saying that though I'm away on sun/Mon 🙄
Oh well, we go again. Just keep swimming 😊

DP is trying to get me a GP appt today. I'm still not eating. 64kg now. 4kg in just over a month. I'm so low. I've never felt like this before. I feel broken.

Morning all

A very quick one from me as we're off on holiday for the week shortly.

I've been totally off plan this week.

My parents have needed a lot of support due to some medical issues so I've been trying to juggle work, getting ready to go away and being with them for large chunks of the week. Eating tended to be whatever I could get my hands on and I'll admit not always very healthy choices due to the fatigue from all the driving and trying to keep everything together.

When I get back it's 12 weeks until my main holiday with DP so I need to be properly back on it then.

@Backinthedress I didn't want to read and run so I really hope you managed to get a GP appt yesterday and that you have a plan in place to start to heal. It does sound like you need some medical intervention at this point. Sending love and a hand hold.

@Gemzee I shall be swimming with you when I'm back from Dorset the week after next!

Keep on keeping on everyone.

Enjoy your holiday. We'll miss you here 😊
Have been given meds for the first time. Trying to adjust and force myself to eat. Probably best not to weigh myself for a bit but if you all don't mind me hanging around like a wet weekend I'm going to stay and keep posting.

Have a wonderful holiday @bigdecisionstomake you deserve a lovely break after all the stress, both this week and the previous ones with sorting the lounge!

@Backinthedress glad to hear you've got some meds and crossing my fingers that they kick in soon for you. I'm not sure what you've got but when I was on meds a few years ago, initially I felt really nauseous so nibbled little and often. Crackers/bland/easy stuff really. Cottoned on to taking them in the eve instead of morning and it was much more manageable. Definitely stick around!

How's the motivation going @IchGlaubMeinSchweinPfeift and @Gemzee? I've had a lovely weekend but really mixed bag. I think I ate my calorie allowance just in coleslaw at a BBQ yesterday 😅 but I've exercised a lot more than usual as well. It's just under 6wks til the wedding I was slimming for and I'm at the target I set myself so I'm ok with just maintaining now. Heading over to style and beauty to see what I can do to glow up a bit!

Hi all,

Would it be ok if I rejoined please? It’s been a while and I have wanted to post so many times but felt embarrassed that I have left it so long to come back.

Im sure I have missed loads and will try and catch up soon. But I hope everyone is ok and enjoying the sunshine whilst it lasts and @bigdecisionstomake i hope you have a lovely holiday

I have been fluctuating between 10st 7 and 10st 10lb but weighed in at 10st 11 on Sunday and realised that I really need to get back on track as my exercise is just walking and I’m struggling with motivation to do weights or spinning. I need my arse kicked!

Welcome back @Dashel

I lost 2lbs of my holiday/water weight this week which is a good start, I'd like to lose another 2/3 lbs to get back to where I was pre-holiday. Motivation is waning though with no holiday target, need to think of a new target 😊

Have a great weekend all!

Morning all

Back from Dorset and have had a fabulous time - the weather was very kind to us. I've eaten and drunk far too much of the wrong things but not really feeling guilty as I enjoyed every mouthful 😆and it was lovely to spend some quality time with my boys.

@Backinthedress glad you got some meds, hopefully they will start to help soon and of course we would love you to hang around. This too shall pass as they say but in the meantime we're all here cheering you on.

@NahThen Well done for being at target 6 weeks ahead of the wedding - just got to keep maintaining now which isn't always as easy as it sounds. Hope you managed to find some inspiration over on Style and Beauty!

@Dashel Great to have you join us again. Nothing to be embarrassed about - my attempts thus far this year have been distinctly underwhelming but I'm hoping to change that now in the run up to my sunny holiday abroad. Perhaps we can kick each other's arses, particularly in regard to exercise as I have been slipping too and need to get back on it. How has your back been - are you able to do more now or is it still limiting? Let us know about your plan and if you have a fabulous holiday booked to look forward to or if it's more of a general wanting to get back on it kind of thing 🙂

@Gemzee whoop whoop for the 2lbs gone - that's great progress. I agree, without a target it can be hard to focus. Have you or any of your family/friends got any celebrations coming up? Or perhaps you need to book another holiday....

What with the week away and my dad's operation I've been firmly off plan for two solid weeks now and it shows on the scale. I've weighed in at 10st 8.4lb this morning which is really disappointing, however I feel horribly sluggish and bloated so I'm hoping there will be an easy/early win with some water weight coming off to get me motivated again.

I've re-started the Heather Robertson 4.0 12 week plan this morning and have done Day 1 Arms again alongside around 15 mins of low impact cardio with Ingrid Kick. I usually only do strength around 3 times a week but in the run up to wanting to wear a bikini I'm going to try to mix it up a bit and do the plan as she intended it to be which is 5 days a week, Monday to Friday, and rest days at the weekend. Not sure if I'm taking on too much by doing that but I'm going to see how it goes. It will mean a big reduction in cardio so I don't know if that will have an impact on my weight loss.

I need to get my food sorted for the day and I'm going back to logging everything for the moment as I think I've lost sight of healthy portion sizes and need the discipline again. I would dearly love to be down 12 pounds in the next 12 weeks but I have a horribly busy couple of weeks late July/early August with work which usually means eating on the go a lot so that might be optimistic. If I can at least get down to a number that starts with a 9 I'll be happy I think.

Wish me luck everyone - count down to sunshine holiday starts today 😎

Morning all

I had a good day yesterday although I was fairly hungry from around 6pm until I ate at 8pm. I had no calories left and didn't want to give in on the first day back on it so I stayed strong. I really need to get a shop in though as I don't have a lot of healthy options in the house at the moment.

The scales have been kind this morning and I've dropped to 10st 7.2lb which is great but I'm under no illusion that that's just water weight. Still very motivating though so full steam ahead today.

I've done HR 4.0 day 2 which was Glutes and Hamstrings this morning plus 20 mins of low impact cardio with Improved Health. My arms are sore from yesterday and my legs will be too tomorrow so it will be interesting to see if I can manage a third straight day of strength tomorrow.

Have good days all.

Morning,

@bigdecisionstomake I definitely need my arse kicked 😂 Between comfort eating and weekend wine it is so easy to have that weight creep set in. It sounds like you are super focused and very motivated. I hope you manage to get into the 9 stones, that is what I am aiming for too.

Injury wise, my back is still very painful and has little flexibility, my shoulder is sore and after the weekend my knee is sore and I’m struggling to walk much. I have been getting knee pain on and off for a bit but haven’t bothered the doctor but this is the worst it has ever been. I’m trying to rest it for now but not too much as lack of movement makes my back seize up. You wouldn’t think I was 43would you?

I need to be strict with my food and get back into exercising as soon as I can. Hopefully this will help my back and knee as well.

I weighed in at 10st 10.4lb this morning. Dinner and lunch are planned but need to sort out dinner. I’m going to try and stick to Huel for one meal a day to try and help make it easier.

i hope everyone has an amazing day.

Hi all. Feeling much more stable. Eating has also stabilised and I'm holding steady at about 64kg. Relieved to experience relatively few side effects and am just trying to be careful to eat nutritious, sustaining food when I can with high protein and healthy fats where I can. Portion size is way down but that's no bad thing.
The physical issues sound very difficult, @Dashel - have you found anything that helps or makes it worse? Pilates has made a decent amount of difference to my hip/IT band issues. Lack of movement definitely makes it worse.

Hi @Backinthedress it sounds like you are trying to make really healthy food choices which has to be a really good thing.

Running seemed to be the best for my back in terms of how I felt but I got seriously told off by medical people. I miss it and the sense of freedom. Normally I walk or do walking workouts and depending on how bad things are weights and spinning.

I have never gotten into Pilates but if you have an online person to recommend I will give it a go. I tried a few but can’t recall who. I really enjoy yoga with Adriene so I try and do her videos regularly as these are easy to modify if I need to.

I keep meaning to try tai chi but I need to find someone online. I live very rurally so if I have to drive to a class it won’t happen.

I have my physio tonight so will hopefully feel a bit better tomorrow. Weighed in at 10st 10.0lb this morning and only managed 7.2k steps yesterday but until my knee is ok, I’m doing as many as I can.

I have banana overnight oats for breakfast, Huel for lunch and 5 bean chilli and rice for dinner with snacks of a donut (peach 😂) and a kiwi if needed.

I hope everyone has a great day

Hello

Has been a mad busy couple of days at work so a late one from me today.

So sorry to hear your back problem is still not resolved @Dashel that must be gutting but it sounds as if you're learning what works and doesn't work for it. Rubbish that your knee is playing up too - I know how much you value your steps and exercise so that must be really frustrating. Focus on your food - they say this is by far the most important aspect anyway and some yoga or pilates in the meantime might help with mobility. Good luck with it all and may we both be in the 9s soon 🙂

That's great news @Backinthedress baby steps all count if they're in the right direction. It sounds like you've found a little bit of stability which must be a relief, hope things keep moving in the right direction 🤗

Another good weigh in for me at 10st 5.8lbs which means I've bypassed the 6s altogether for now. Again, it will all be bloat/water and I definitely feel a lot less sluggish now. This is where the hard work starts though and I have to keep it up to start getting some actual fat off. I am trying to maintain my determination and have a screenshot of the hotel we're going to on my computer so I can look at the pool and beautiful blue skies when my motivation is waning - a bit mad but it's working for now!

Work will be my biggest disruptor from now on as we're starting to get really busy and I tend to reach for chocolate/wine when things get stressful or the days are long and tiring. I'm hoping to make some good progress over the next 3 weeks so that I can relax a little over the worst part which is usually the last week of July and first week of August.

This morning was Day 3 of HR 4.0 which was chest and back and was fine actually although I do still have doms from the last couple of days. I also did 15 mins of low impact cardio with Burpee Girl - can't quite bring myself to stop the cardio altogether.

Keep up the good work everyone.