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?

Well done! 👏 I can relate to this A LOT.

I struggle to know when I'm full, and my mind starts thinking about what I can have next, and the 'I deserve a treat' impulse is strong.

I've kick started things by doing two Fast Days in a row and renewing my Nutracheck subscription. Also made a big pot of lovely spiced parsnip soup so I've got something warm and nourishing for lunches at work. I'll freeze a couple of portions for next week too.

My weak spot is Friday night/weekends in general. I'm going to a friends for dinner tomorrow so can't control what is served but will just have a 'normal' portion and not snack.

The only way I can do it is tracking everything. It's dull at first but it makes me mindful of everything. Nutracheck is so easy. And it also shows you what foods really give you a bang for your buck and fill you up.

Today is a lower calorie day, will come in at just over 1000 calories- I only do two of those a week. I find that easier than sticking to a rigid daily total. But I'm still having 98g protein. Only 15g fibre which is low for me but I don't have many complex carbs on low calorie days so it's trickier. I'll make up for it with All Bran tomorrow.

Yes @JuJuHeyHey I always have a takeaway on Fridays and usually a couple of G&Ts. It's a 1700 cal day for me so I just try to eat lightly before then.

I have 2000 cals a day for the weekend days. Usually have half a bag of Twirl bites (by giving the other half to DH!) and a couple of bags of crisps, as well as a bit of beer & gin.

This weekend I've got a nice dinner out and an overnight stay in a hotel, so a nice breakfast too. So I'll probably not have the chocolate and crisps and save my calories.

My weak spot is Friday night/weekends in general.

Same! This is why I weigh on a Monday to keep me on track.

This is quite good on mindset.

https://chopra.com/blogs/nutrition-recipes/how-to-implement-an-abundance-mindset-in-nutrition#:~:text=An%20antidote%20to%20diet%20culture,focusing%20on%20taking%20things%20away.

I'm not there with intuitive eating but I don't tend to have emotional binges now.

Hello again, I said I would like to join this thread and then haven't contributed at all!

I'm really noticing how much harder it is to lose weight in my mid-40s than when I was younger. When I put my mind to it, the weight would fall away but now not so much! I've been doing all the right things in terms of eating the right foods, cutting back on carbs, not snacking in the evenings, only drinking at the weekend and I've very recently (2 weeks ago) joined a gym and have been doing good workouts 3 times per week. I know it's early days and I need to focus on long term goals but I was expecting to be down a good few pounds from two weeks ago. I weighed myself this morning...I've lost one miserable pound! I know it's the right direction but I was expecting a bigger reward for my efforts!

I think I need some strategies to keep motivated when things aren't moving quite as quickly as I'd like. I do feel better for it and it does give my mood a boost, but can't say I'm noticing my clothes feeling any looser!

Yes. Me

I have started intermittent fasting

So far have done it for 3 weeks

Im going to give it a couple of months and see how i go. Im not expecting a quixk fix. I want to change for the long term

Ive basically cut out breakfast
It's more manageable than a diet
Im feeling good

@shearwater2 I like this approach too, nothing is "off limits", it's just adjusting what you eat the rest of the time to allow for it. I find it more sustainable and it means I'm not cutting out all the things I love completely, I could never keep that up long term. Sean Casey speaks a lot of sense on this on instagram (and also about normal fluctuations in weight for women across the menstrual cycle).

I tend to stick with the set daily calories but I like the idea of varying them by day so I might try that at some point. How much protein is everyone aiming for out of interest? I find it hard some days to get enough in within my calories.

I'm conscious that I need to increase my steps so today I walked the dog before going to the gym, almost at 10k already so it's done the trick!

Have you tried watching the Pahla B weight loss over 50 videos on YouTube? She explains about the relationship between perimenopause/menopause in women, exercising and weight loss and how it can be harder to lose weight. I'm not over 50 yet but have been using her videos since lockdown as they are nice, varied moderate exercises.

@shearwater2 I like that blog post. I just seem to be very all-or-nothing, so need to find some balance!

I used to get about 80-85g (which per kg of body weight is at the low end but ok). Today I've logged over 100g (I've already added my evening meal for later). I had a protein bar that was 20g protein.

So I would say 80-100g for me. I try to get around 30g fibre as well which also helps on the hunger side for me.

A rule of thumb is 1.2g per kg of body weight for daily protein.

@froidIci Thank you for this thread, which I have been reading today.

I'd like to join please. I lost my holiday bloat then regained it all with several biscuit binges. January has felt like a very long month this year, and the weather and long dark mornings have got me down.

I want to develop some good habits and mindful eating, and get into my slightly too-tight clothes by the Easter holidays.

My first aim is to finish my evening meal by 7pm, if not earlier, and to stop my bedtime milky coffee. At the same time, gradually reduce the foods that upset my innards, ie high carbs and too much fat in the form of crackers and cheese, and both sugar and sweeteners.

My fridge and freezer are stuffed with healthy food, and I'm making a determined effort from now on. One or two pounds a week will make such a difference.

Welcome!

I reckon of all my habits the one that’s been surprisingly good for me is to not eat after 7 pm. We all sit as a family round dinner table and eat solid home dinners at 630 and by 7 that is it for the day. Some days (I’ve noticed these are days when kids being non useful or work issues etc) I feel the huge need for a snack at 9 pm but I’ve just been sitting on my hands and it’s getting a tiny bit easier …)

I agree that the no to evening snacking is the key. I had a rude shock today when I considered buying my favourite (I know this shouldn’t be an adult thing) sour jelly beans from Aldi. I was thinking yeah you shouldn’t but hmmm have a look at how many calories. Think it was nearly 800 in a bag! Think I know how I got fat as these were a snack before tea sometimes. Anyway I put them back and just did my week 5 run 3 of couch to 5k. It’s the funny one where you feel like you go from an 8min max run to 20mins but it was fine. Hurrah! Now to keep it all up.

Just had a sneaky weight check (I try to weigh on Mondays only but needed some motivation to stay on track today and this weekend!) and I’m 4lb down to 10stone exactly since last Friday! Now I must say I’m sure this is just that initial water weight loss from bloating. I know it’s a lot for a week otherwise and I’m sure it’ll be much slower going forward - which is obviously healthier for our bodies (1-2lb a week). Now the hard thing is going to be not putting it back on this weekend - and this is exactly why I usually weigh on Mondays… 🙈

I’ve found it helpful eating really regularly to regulate metabolism. (I don’t do fasting since being told it could affect MY fertility/prevent ovulation but I appreciate it is advised short term by some drs if very overweight eg for IVF or pre Type 2.) Essentially, I’d only give it a go under medical advice but each to their own. We all know our bodies and what works.

I’ve also found it helpful having a target weight and date in mind and working out what mini milestones would be leading up to it eg a stone off by X, half a stone by X.

Oh and a checklist of planned meals and even snacks in my phone notes is massively helping so thank you for that tip!

My DM lives with us and doesn't help matters sometimes by having a bowl of crisps in the evening, which she proceeds to take seemingly an hour to graze through. If I have crisps they are demolished in five minutes!

Wooohooo well done! Thats amazing :) I think micro mini goals are SO useful. My micro mini goal this morning is to simply pick out a healthy protein rich lunch for later. My micro mini goal for this evening is as usual to not snack after 7 pm. Little steps - and little weight goals too :)

Well done @Philippa7. I find having short term goals useful too.

Thanks both. What’s everyone having for lunch and dinner tonight? I’m undecided but definitely a meal kit. I like that they have the estimated calories. Some are quite high though - 900calories for dinner. With the richer ones like the creamy pasta dishes, I split them across dinner and put some in a Tupperware tub for lunch the next day. (Simply Cook meal kits tend to be big portions so it works well here and it’s not like a split portion is tiny - I have a massive appetite so that wouldn’t work.) Then I add a big side salad or veg or whatever to both my dinner and lunch. And it saves me having to make a different meal for lunch!

@JuJuHeyHey, thanks for that - I will check out the videos on YouTube.

Well done@Philippa7! I agree that setting small goals is really helpful when the overall long-term goal seems so out of reach! Small victories are the ones that will keep the motivation levels up!

Today's meals are a salad with roasted veg and halloumi for lunch and chicken goulash with cauliflower rice for dinner. Snack will be apple and peanut butter.

I'm skipping breakfast but having leftovers of a veggie bake I make last night for my lunch. It's a 1700 calories day for me. Haven't put it into Nutracheck yet. There are no starchy carbs but there is squash, cauliflower, spinach, cheese sauce, and a cheese and chopped cashew nuts topping, I'm guessing about 600, but could be a bit more.

Then I'm having a takeaway tonight. King prawns with ginger and spring onions, some stir fried broccoli and a few prawn crackers, with half a sachet of brown rice instead of the takeaway stuff. One large G&T.

Lunch is a Covent Garden soup, some mini snack salami, and a high protein mango yogurt.

Dinner will be jerk chicken, masses of vegetables and family will have same but with either potatoes or rice!

I put all that into Nutracheck and it only comes to just under 1400 calories. Might have a hot chocolate with the Velvetiser later then!

I had two wraps at 5.30pm yesterday with mayo, shredded lettuce, and turkey pieces. I kept thinking about creamy coffee then got busy, and forgot to think about it with the driving to and from activities.

I still want sugar and fat in some / any combination. This morning I ate too much cheese and crackers. I will limit the crackers from now on. I think Ryvita would be best for now.

Later today will be home-made root veg and lentil soup, then green salad and turkey or roast beef. It’s been sunny this morning, which makes everything just a bit more bearable.

Weighed in this morning at 147.4lbs, which is about another lb off and more than I was expecting. Have been good so far today but the stress of life/kids is getting to me tonight and I'm ready to give up dry January! Going to go for a decent walk when DH is home to try and take my mind off it.