I want a different me! Do you?

[DoctorDolittle]

Accountability thread. I piled on a huge amount of weight at start of menopause, was ravenous all the time, and am really struggling to lose it. I thought an accountability thread that also focused on increasing self-care and self-worth would be good.

So - food wise I think I’ll try “no snacks”, that gives some wiggle room with meals to be what I most fancy/will fit in with kids the most.

Self-care: I bought a whole new skincare regime a month ago, just start using it woman!!! Am pampering my decades-long neglected feet each night and have booked in to salon for eyelash tint and curl as now suddenly need to wear glasses and want to feel better about eye area behind them.

Fluids!!!

Any company would be welcome 😊

My theory is that potato skins turn jacket potato into good carbs....🙃

My weight is still dropping at the moment. Another dent in the 86kg territory. Trying to hit the magic 85kg mark by Monday.
It's so slow though. The 13stone point....well not even near hitting that.
Still, trying to think BMI and vitality/strength not just raw weight.

My BMI is 27.2 at the moment down from 29/30 at the start of this thread (I think)

This is brilliant!

Thank you for your suggestions! Yes, I know there are solutions - it is doing the solutions that is the real issue (aka laziness/priorities/habits...).

I've got a half day at work today, so the whole afternoon to sort out at least tonight's dinner - I need to prioritise it!

DS was in last night so cooked dinner earlier - had it just after 7 pm I think, which was much better.

I made a salmon harissa traybake tonight (a bit of a go to - red peppers, aubergine, red onion, olives, garlic and butter beans in in, so healthy). Have a portion for lunch tomorrow!

@DoctorDolittle was it you who ordered the IPL? If so have you tried it out yet?

Reminds me - my facial routine has disappeared again. Hope you’re doing better @EasternEcho ?

@Verlag Thanks for asking! I'm afraid I'm slipping up badly. Binge eating at nights is creeping up do to a lot of factors. I'm trying to get that under control at the moment. Days are fine, but I feel like a zombie at nights with the eating. I have the event in September, and yesterday I booked a holiday in November, for both of which I would like to see a big improvement in my overall health and appearance. Need to get a grip again. I feel motivated today.

I do live on the edge of the suburbs, almost in the country. Our little town is surrounded by woods that make for lovely walking, but I have a terrible aversion to slugs! In the summer the woods are overrun by those awful cannibalistic Iberian slugs, which turn my stomach each time I venture out. It also doesn't help that I watched that horror movie "The Ritual" on Netflix and now have another fear of the woods :D Haha. I think I'm being silly and must get out on walks more.

That bake sounds lovely! I love Harissa.

@Nettleskeins Congratulations on your progress!

My secret weapon today has been a batch of cooked wholemeal bulgar wheat, from fridge, which I heated up and mixed with leftover tuna, lemon, avocado and chopped herbs. Cucumber on side. Always starving at lunchtime.
Hungry again now but using coffee and glasses of water to get through to supper

Harissa with salmon sounds superb Verlag

Eastern it helps to have a deadline of sorts for any sort of progress otherwise the goal posts are soooo far away. My last goal was to be a bit thinner/healthier for the May 18 party. Even a bit.

Slugs - well let's say I'm used to them. I just will the birds and hedgehogs to devour them. I've never heard of Iberian ones😝not a fan of dark woods either,sounds reasonable to avoid them!!

Still failing on the face cream. I need a SPF moisturiser. I need a haircut. I need some respectable shoes and walking shoes. Distracted by building materials instead

Ugh those slugs do sound off putting for what would otherwise sound like idyllic walks in the woods @EasternEcho

Batch cooking the Bulgar wheat does sound like a good idea @Nettleskeins

Nothing much to report here other than I'm still pretty motivated. Want to get serious about cutting out alcohol, junk food and adding in some weight training and foot exercises (that bit could be 2 mins/day to start with). As ever I need to plan dinner today though (DH cooked me steak last night)!

I remembered yesterday that my scales (Renpro) have an app, that I haven't used since Sept 2021 so I've started using that again. It was uncomfortable to see that I had gained all the lovely losses that the app recorded between May and Sept that year and I am now much heavier than I was at the start of that 'campaign'. I knew this, of course, but to see it in graph form...If only I had kept WI every week maybe this wouldn't have happened. Oh well.

Yesterday was a non hungry day so managed to stick to three (smaller than usual) meals (and one snack of a pear, as dinner later) easily. Hopefully, that continues today.

I also did a 30 minute seated weights workout (for beginners and seniors!) off YouTube, that I think might be the way forward. I'm just going to have to work round my foot issues - it may not be the most intense workout but it is much better than just sitting there, and I can always up the weights. Likewise with the foot wakers video. Just going to have to do it. Every day.

Main plan this morning is to clean the fridge (sadly throw away half a fish pie that ended up not being eaten 😔), plan some meals, go shopping and do what prep I can.

Hope you all have a good day!

I did some piano practice yesterday Verlag - Beethoven Ecossaise in G from grade 2, so thank you for inspiring me to continue that

The context is important with weight loss and gain as it gives us some indication of what is causing it. But also you have to give yourself credit for different stresses and factors influencing every year of your life, and it's not so simple as i did that in 2021 and i should be doing that now.

Still on 86kg ...veering up and down in middle range. I know why it's not going down to 85; every day something HAPPENS!😄Yesterday we went to a Lebanese restaurant for dds end of year exhibition at art school. I drank water and left the rice and most of main course but still....
This is real life, something will always HAPPEN to make one hungrier or eat something less perfect. So I make my peace with that

I did take a lot of exercise yesterday though and stuck to the rigid three meals no snacks programme though. Lots of walking to public transport and two dog walks. DH has foot problems peripheral neuropathy so he ironically relies on walking to gain relief.

I think seated weight exercises will pay off however short. Someone suggested once that kneading wholemeal bread was a good aerobic activity...Even hoovering or cleaning out the fridge is good" tiring" and builds up resilience. I used to find squatting to clean out bottom of the fridge impossible - I would just keel over and lose my balance but now it's a bit better because I have more strength.

I still feel incredibly full after last night's supper in restaurant and I think I can manage till lunchtime, despite croissant fir breakfast on patio the last two days. Such a wonderful sunny day outside, irises, herb Robert, purple Campanula weaving in and out of Red valerian. Seedlings not doing so well in the greenhouse because I still have no compost to pot them into, due to car still not working
Must bite bullet and either order compost delivery or get car fixed. We just don't drive, it's become a compulsive "block" 🤔some might say good for exercise but car COULD be my servant not my master

Have ordered three bags of compost and accepted car is not going to be organised today

I immediately went down to the piano and had a go on reading your post @Nettleskeins . My version sounded nothing like a Scottish dance, and indeed nothing like how Jill Morton on YouTube plays it. Nice jaunty piece! I'm still slogging away at the Mozart - I'm not entirely convinced I'm going to finish it...My husband wants me to play Piano Man by Billy Joel so I've started to practice that a bit too. Need my teacher to help with the fingering though - I am rubbish at that and often think I am playing with one finger to find...that is not the case.

Just ordered some planners for the fridge door - magnetic clear transparent ones you write on - weekly and monthly. Hoping that will help with the food organisation issue. I've cleaned the fridge now and decided I am definitely making more egg breakfast muffins and Hugh's Spicy fish fingers with tomato and bean salad. Just need to push myself to think about another couple of days too.

We had a barred grass snakelet slither across out patio yesterday and disappear into the grass - never seen one like that before. Seems very early too! Think it must have not long hatched and just wildly travelled as we have no pond or anything in our garden. Hope it can get out again ok as our garden is completely walled apart from the gate.

Hope you've got that compost ordered now! Sounds easier than fixing the car!

In 2021 I just decided what I was going to do and I stuck to it consistently - that's what worked. I had my foot issue then too as well. What is worse is that I lost that weight in 2018/2019. I was much, much lighter in June 2019. Again zero alcohol and strict consistency. Boom and bust mentality. Got to be permanent changes now. Having no, or almost no alcohol, in a typical week is an absolute must. I can see that quite clearly. As is cracking this organisation around food...

I've prepped everything for the curry fish fingers and bean salad and made the egg cups (in the oven). Also, have the ingredients for chunky chilli for tomorrow (well a variation based on what was available). I bought a new audible book 'The housemaid' by Freida McFadden so listened to that at the same time. I think listening to an audible book may be the key to getting me going on a number of things, as it made it something that was really enjoyable.

I feel like I've made a breakthrough in my mindset this weekend, and no longer feel stuck. What attracted me to this thread was the title initially 'I want a different me!'. To me that meant more than 'just' weight loss but a tweaking in all areas - it is all related really, well it is for me anyway. One step at a time everywhere, at a manageable pace...hopefully by the time I am slim (or at least slimmer - thinking next summer) I will have improved lot of other things too.

Sounds wonderful. And all family friendly too. Your efforts in general I mean. I've found my DH to be alternately encouraging and then negative about my goals. He likes classical piano sounds though!(And for myself I Found some Billy Joel piano chords for Piano Man.)

To him personal goals are too confusing. He supposes action to follow thought! So he either wants to do something or not!

Tonight I took courage and just said I wasn't having supper at all as I felt ill after our busy day yesterday. Rather than plodding through a family meal. It's doing me good just to retire from the fray again. He gave me an emergency chocolate flake so I've had that for supper and a piece of plain bread 😁

Have been re reading Long Island by Toibin for the third time. It fascinates me. The ambivalence. The humour. The awful sadness in some parts.

This morning was Monday weigh in. Into the 85kgs now, just. 85.95kg. I take that as a win 😄

Have a good week, all, back on thread next Monday. @DoctorDolittle I do hope you are alright. Also best wishes to @Misshollys

Hi everyone,

Have been reading updates, although I don't have anything of interest to report. Life has been busy in general, with a few stressful ongoing issues. I have always been an emotional eater, so keeping my natural tendencies at bay has been my focus.

@Nettleskeins Congraulations of the downward trend!

@Verlag I too, am trying to focus on a holistic improvement rather than only weight, hence keeping up my skin care routine, decluttering, and being more present in my daily life. But the weight still pushes forwarded though, as it is so irritating that is has to be so difficult to lose it :)

The weather is unseasonably cold and wet, as I think the UK is also at the moment.

Have a good day everyone.

Great news at the scales @Nettleskeins !

I definitely one for copying - just bought 'Long Island' on Audible - nothing like a recommendation! I'll listen to that after I've finished the housekeeper!

Yes, weight loss is firmly the main one - so many other things I don't feel like I can properly change with out that one (for a start I know I won't stand a chance of getting rid of foot issue until a lighter weight now). I'm seriously considering an unmentionable (I wouldn't talk about it on here, if I did) just to force me to completely, or almost completely, cut out the junk and alcohol and get used to much lower calories consistently.

Plan to come back later and think about next goal is a few areas...needs to happen!

@Verlag I'm with you with the weight. I feel like no meaningful change can take place in other areas of life unless I lose this weight first. It probably isn't the reality, but it certainly feels that way.

How is everyone doing? I doubt I've lost any weight, but I'm trying to keep up with the food and exercise. Everyday seems like battle, but I've accepted that this is how it's going to be for a while. :)

This thread is getting rather quiet.

Hi, just checking in to say I did a bit of decluttering and moving furniture to dust behind it....felt very faint...ate brie and three boiled sweets plus lots of water tea coffee and three meals. Felt the task of sorting out all our records and cds was impossible but did a tiny bit then another tiny bit then another ....and lo and behold this morning my weight is down again. The records are still with us (they are DHS mostly and inherited from his uncle...so much highbrow classical)but I've put about thirty in plastic bags so they arent in the living room and will store them elsewhere.
DH is away and the children with him. Long awaited tasks piling up everywhere, difficult not to panic. This is my chance to get things done but where to start?!!! Luckily the dog still needs walking three/twice a day

So weight in mid to low 85kg consistently. And I had chocolate cake and prosecco at bookclub on Thursday!! Still going down.

The frustrating thing is the record needle/stylus is shot so changing it is the really the first thing on the list to LISTEN to these thousands of amazing records but this is a nest of vipers, DH ordered a new one and then it didn't work. That was two years ago...it's a very good turntable but v old.

Seedlings also need potting on. I do have three sacks of compost now though😀

I also did my pick me up activity which is to read a chapter of a non fiction book and switch off from media completely even music. I read about Whistler and Sargent and Henry James in Venice. Partly because Long Island is influenced by Henry James. Although he is v purple prose in Venice, not like Toibin at all...

Eastern my take on battles is this. Changing the status quo is always going to be incredibly hard. We need it to be a "battle" to have the adrenaline or cortisol whatever you call it, to engage with change

Change is never quiet and peaceful and holistic, it requires upheaval, and the upending of tried and tested ways to comfort and please ourselves.

Sometimes I just do give up on some attempts to change (my driving is a lost cause this month/season) and then in small things I will adapt and surprise myself.

Made a decision about paint colour for dresser after a year prevaricating. Painted a third of shelves.
Long walk with dog
Sorted some laundry.
Very simple lunch but prepped some veg for evening to prevent bread and cheese splurge later.
It's pouring with rain, a wonderful day to sort things

I'm quite committed to the no alcohol now (not absolute exactly but try to keep it to one glass with a meal occasionally - none at home), and enjoying not thinking about having it. Enjoying being completely sober!

I have decided to focus on protein and water intake more. Bought two 1L water bottles - one for work (I fill up my 700 ml water bottle multiple times a day at work - so I am going to have two there, so avoid the special trips to fill it) one for home, where I am rubbish for some reason at drinking water during the day. That is working already.

Decided that most of my meals are going to be simple. I had steamed salmon and veg for dinner (put on some salmon seasoning and soy sauce afterwards) and I really enjoyed it. I seem to have completely gone off red meat. DH and DS had fillet steak last night for dinner - I passed. I also made chunky chilli from the Hugh book a couple of days ago - it is all ready in the fridge to eat. Can't face it.

Today was baseline WI - now going to WI every Saturday, and stop messing around.