Need to lose 1 stone? Gather around....

[froidIci]

Not sure if this will get any clicks, but I wondered if there are folks who need to lose about a stone or a bit this way or that who might want some accountability?

BTW When I say "need to lose a stone" this means basically a stone to get to your own, individual target (which could be a random number, a random BMI point, just anything).

For me - 1 stone off takes me to weight before conceiving Baby 1, and 1.2 stone off takes me to my lightest adult weight and a very comfy size 10-12 as opposed to a size 12-14. I have added motivation that a 40th birthday tails off 2024 for me, so I've got a deadline.

My downfall? Carbs. Salty carbs. My body absolutely magically loses if I cut out rice, pasta and potatoes. And yet, alas - it specifically is those that I crave.

Anyone want a loose accountability thread?

@coolcahuna I wonder if that recommendation that women consume 2000 cals a day to maintain their weight is off base unless the woman is quite large already or very active. According to my Fitbit I only burn 2000 calories or more if I have a very active day. For example I recently went cross country skiing for 1.5 hours, which is about the most strenuous exercise you can do, and I burned 2200 calories for the day. I am smaller than average (5'3") but still!

Morning everyone! I ended up having some homemade from scratch pizza last night but that’s fine!

Recapping some of the fine principles we as a group appear to be coming up with -

1. Identify 2-3 good habits you’d like to sustain long term and do them.
2. Weigh regularly to track progress but also note progress off scales (good habit developing)
3. Avoid eating snacks at “witching hours” which seem to be 3-6 pm and 7-10 pm for emotional reasons
4. Have “planned exceptions” for life events, trips out, get togethers - the key is “planned”, so that the exception doesn’t feel like “falling off the wagon” but is taken in our stride and adjusted for the rest of the week. This means looking ahead at diary for the week and noting the planned exceptions. This way birthday cake at a long planned birthday doesn’t register as wagon collapse and dejection, but simply a planned event.

With this in mind my goals for the week ahead are -

1. good habits - no carb heavy meals
2. weigh - daily but noting Period due around Wednesday
3. Avoid snacking - yep still will try to not eat past 7 pm this week as previous week too
4. Planned exceptions - one dinner out with colleagues but at a Middle Eastern place where conscious low carb yummy food is doable; period due around mid week to will plan an exceptional evening of snacking potentially.

I’ve never “joined” a thread before, but I’m struggling to get started this time round.

Height - 5’ 6.5”
Current weight - 12st 2
15 March target - 11st 2 (2lbs a week)
summer target - 10st 7

ive been 12st 10 and got down to 10st 7 in 4 months of 5:2 using it as 4:3. Put some on again over a whole year and lost 1.5 stone in 6 weeks to get down to 10st 2, but lost loads of muscle and my hair fell out so that was too quick, and it literally piled back on so my weight gain graph continued like nothing had happened. Weird! Lost 1st4 over 4 months at the start of last year by calorie counting and running and it felt good - but back to 4 lbs heavier now after months of steady weight gain!

So, I need a quick stone off then a slow half stone and then to maintain like I’ve never maintained before. Life was so much easier pre kids and perimenopause!

my weakness is mornings (work from home in the kitchen) and while cooking dinner!

We have a similar profile and yes it is harder these days!

I fear we need lifetime accountability:)

I got this email from Nutracheck and I think the advice is quite sensible - much of what we've been saying above. Not everyone uses a tracker or food diary, but I pretty much have to, personally.

https://www.nutracheck.co.uk/Blog/article?title=7-top-tips-for-weight-loss-success&utm_source=promo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=69917

1. Avoid cutting out lots of foods
2. Eat smart not small (nutritious and energy dense foods)
3. Include the foods you enjoy
4. Plan in advance
5. Expect slip ups
6. Exercise for enjoyment
7. Track everything

Hello all I'm on a Christmas weight loss thread but thought I would come say hi!

I've been doing intermittent fasting (16-18 hr fasts) with aim of 1200 calories a day tracked on mfp. So far (since end of Nov) weight loss has been over 1.5 stone, another 1.5stone to go this week start weight is 10 stone 13.

@Daffodilsandsunshine speak to your Dr and see if they can refer you to a dietician there is a diet by Dr Michael Moseley which has been shown to reverse type 2 diabetes he has a few different approaches the 800 cal diet, 5:2 and Mediterranean diet with intermittent fasting.

So!

lunch today was chicken taco (but with a twist - the “taco” was made of chicken not wheat!) with lots of fiery sauces!

Dinner is beef in black bean sauce with zest Water noodles with egg, soy and garlic and tempura prawns for Chinese new year coming up!

so no pasta potatoes or rice TICK
No evening snacking hopefully TICK

but Period arriving in a few days so planning to feel the desire for ALL THE FOOD soon :/

Good to hear people's good news stories. I weigh myself daily and today I am down to 10 stone 8.4 lbs. So I have lost 4lbs since the start of Jan, although much of that is water from reducing carbs and alcohol, post Christmas . Long way to go but I feel pleased nonetheless.

However my DP is away at the moment which makes it much easier to control my intake and I'm travelling for work next week which complicates things. I'll have to try extra hard to stay on track and not wipe out the tiny progress I have made so far.

I'm back on the wagon after spectacularly falling off yesterday and Friday.

Today I've done 10k steps
Eaten 800 calories (well when I've finished this yoghurt I will have)
Meal planned, and shopped for next week.

Next week: no snacks unless it's protein based and under my calories.
Gym X2
10k steps 5 out of 7 days (I have five-6 hours driving on two days)

An excellent thread @froidIci , thank you for starting it. It is so interesting to read how other people cope with different situations.

I have to report that we went away for the weekend and I did not complete my Nutracheck diary for Friday to Sunday - would have taken far too long with numerous entries. My weigh in day is Tuesday so not looking forward to that tomorrow. But Monday is another day and is always diet day so back to it.

Have a great week everyone.😁

I haven’t added anything for a while as I have had two full on stressful weeks where I haven’t been as focused as I wanted to be. However I have been to the gym 3 times a week and I have not been as crazy with my food as I usually am when overtired and stressed and am pleased to report am 1kg down despite that. That is a small
boost to remind me to keep on going - especially as my period is due this week…

Speaking of periods - mine is due on Wednesday and I’ve randomly woken up having gained 1 lb in weight since yesterday and a bloated belly :/

Hard not to get disheartened but how on Earth having I gained an entire pound overnight ?!

Weight fluctuates with period cycles and water retention. As your due your period it will be water retention rather then you having gained 1lb overnight.

It will likely come off once you have finished your period. It's completely normal and why it's worth knowing what is happening with your cycle to factor in for weight loss or stagnation etc.

Usual water retention on your period/when due is between 1-5lb

Hi everyone, weighing in at 9st 6 today, down from my initial weight of 9st 13 so I’m pleased to see some progress.

my first major goal is 8st 10, then 8st 3 to be at my lowest adult weight, and then reassess from there with how much will power/vanity I have left.

I'm sticking with a loose IF/low starchy carb approach.

dreading my first period week already, although it’s not for another 3 weeks. I could just eat the whole way through for 3 days and not feel satisfied, I guess I’ll cross that bridge when it arrives.

Weight fluctuations up are so demoralising, but just look at the figure on a scale as a data of your entire mass on a specific moment in time. It won’t be a 1lb of fat but most likely water etc.

I’ve not managed to get on the wagon at all. Please feel free to give me a mild ticking off to help me on my way. Really need to crack this

What do you think your trigger points have been @Rainallnight ?

I don’t want to give you a ticking off! I think being kind to yourself is a big factor, weight loss is 90% mindset for me so when your head isn’t in it it’s so, so difficult.

What do you think your main motivation is for wanting to lose weight? Health, vanity, an event? There’s no right or wrong answer I think.

Im a big believer that there’s no one size fits all ‘method’ of weight loss, it has to be individually tailored to your trigger points, lifestyle etc. A really good starting point for some people is not trying to throw the kitchen sink at doing everything at once, but much like the op has done is having some smaller goals such as no snacking after a certain time in the evening, or reducing alcohol mid week etc.

The one thing that helps for me is engaging with threads like this to keep myself accountable and mindful of what/why I’m doing this.

Hey @Rainallnight , it is so, so hard. I went to do an epic jump off the bandwagon today as I’m sleep deprived after my DC kept me up. I bought the new Tony’s Chocolonely with my lunch and it’s very disappointing so stopped at a third(!) of a big bar and worked out the calories and I’m drawing a line under it. I’m a tiny bit annoyed at myself as I’ll have a bit of a smaller dinner to keep within my calories and I feel I wasted them on a chocolate bar which wasn’t even nice. I told myself that yes I do feel like shit today and want comfort food but I’d have felt less shit and grumpy this AM if the first clothes I put on fit nicely and I didn’t need to change them.

Small steps!

Tomorrow is a new day - for me too. Actually, dinner is a new meal. Too much of “starting tomorrow” I’ve been doing as I write off the rest of the day and eat like a pig…

Ps I suppose my realisation from my own reply above is that my new habit is to stop this all or nothing disordered thinking. I can have an indulgent lunch and not feel compelled to also have a similar dinner until the next day - or week or even month in my case in the past!

So heartening to read such thoughtful and mature thinking about all this - rather than faddy unsustainable stuff

period due Wednesday and 1 lb water weight on overnight. Still calm headed and pursuing. Lunch was Zero carb noodles (“Eat Water”) and prawns with chilli and garlic. Dinner - DH cooking spaghetti Bolgonese - I’ll have the same sauce and cheese as others but no spaghetti. - zero noodles again.

I could too. I'm five foot 11 and weigh about 17.5 stone. I swim regularly and part walk to work and back but I need to do more.

Yes, before my period I feel extra hungry or craving sweet things. Though oddly this month I was like that when it was super cold and as soon as it became milder, even though it was the week running up to my period, I've been able to be really focused with food again and I haven't felt like that at all. Hoping for a good weigh in tomorrow morning.

I'm exactly the same during/leading up to my period (due in a week).

I too am a pound up from yesterdays weigh in but I'm trying to remind myself it's a normal fluctuation of water weight from enjoying a roast (and therefore more salt than normal) yesterday. Need to just keep my head in the game and not be derailed!

oooh interesting. does salt make itself visible on weighing scales? As someone who was raised in a culture and country with the prohibitions on salt so visible societally - my palette is very biased towards salty/savoury stuff (I have no issues rejecting sweets...) - so maybe thats why i retain more water?

Yes excess salt makes the body retain more water, makes sense with e.g. bloating the day after a takeaway! Back to eating healthily today and I'll go to the gym tomorrow, so hopefully the scales will notice my efforts again soon 😂