The stone starts shifting, today!

[Chubbybetty]

I am 45 and 5ft 2". I have been a size 6/8 for most of my adult life. I put on about a stone in lockdown. Managed to lose it (largely through stress) for my wedding a couple of years ago, and have since piled it back on, mainly through too much cheese and wine and a love of cooking/feeding other people. I eat mostly low carb and Mediterranean style but have become a bit more lax, I don't really snack and do a fair amount of exercise (including strength training) I'm now more a size 10 with a small spare tyre and a large chest. I detest my body like this. On a short, small frame, 1 stone is a lot and really shows. Yesterday I didn't even want to leave the house with my husband to go for a drink in the sun as I thought I looked hideous. Today it all changes. I have started working with an online wellness/fitness coach recently and she said something this morning that made me stop and think - how sad it is that people literally don't want to be in photo's with their families because of their weight. This is me. I hate that I am so hard on myself because of my size and speak to myself in a way I'd never speak to anyone else. I hate that for the last few years every nice thing we've done, has always had the niggling thought that I'd enjoy it more if I were a stone lighter. I know I have lots of 'mind work' to do aorund my relationship with my weight (hence the coach) but on the physical front today is re-set. Binning the alcohol, more strict with the carbs and cheese. I aim to lose 7lbs in the next 4/5 weeks. Posting here for accountability really. Anyone else having a 're-set' today? Good luck!

@StMarie4me I just commented about needing low calories to see progress before I read your post. I am going to follow Fast 800 for the next few days at least as I need a kick start.

@ChubbybettyI have the Fast 800 book, but not the courage! I’ll do 1200, which I was doing quite happily before Christmas, and see where I go from there!

Well done to those of you who have seen some weight loss on the scales over the last few days.

@Chubbybetty and @StMarie4me I find it so hard to know how low to go on calories. I want to find a way of eating that is sustainable for life. It can also feel so hard to go low on calories whilst trying to eat high protein and high fibre (plus fuelling my body for workouts).

I log my calories on Nutracheck and occasionally look at the forum. There’s a few ‘shorter’ people who have suggested 5:2, eating maintenance calories 5 days per week and 800 calories 2 days per week. I’m considering this, but it feels a bit scary as the maintenance calories are quite high. The person who runs the 5:2 thread on the forum says that it’s important to try to eat the maintenance calories as it’s the jump between calories that helps and stops your body getting used to low calories.

Anyway, that was a long way of me saying I’m not sure whether to try this or not. Or if I just need to keep going with what I’m doing (and hope I might start to build a bit of muscle soon!) or if I need to cut my calories permanently.

@Autumnleaves82 I did 5:2 last year for a few months and it was great. Lost 10lbs and felt good. Wasn't too hard either. Definitely worth a try!

That’s helpful to know @Fattybottom Did you eat your maintenance calories on the 5 days? Sorry, I’ve forgotten (and struggling to find your original post) … are you a fellow fairly short person or not? I know there’s a mixture of us here with different heights/weights?

Honestly I just ate what I wanted on the other days, though didn't pig out too much! I think my appetite was a bit smaller actually thanks to the fast days.

I'm 5'6" so my diet calorie allowance is 1600 and my maintenance about 2000. How about you?

@Fattybottom Nutracheck gives me 1795 calories on the 5 non-fasting days, which feels really high. But I guess the fast days help to balance this out? Did you eat 500 or 800 calories on the 2 fast days? I’m still not sure whether or not to try this or whether I should keep going with 1200-1400 calories per day (maybe trying to aim for nearer 1200 most days).

Well done @Fattybottom and anyone else who's happy with their progress. To the rest of you, keep on keeping on!

I'm still loosely following the Fast 800 Keto plan, aiming to keep carbs below 50g and protein above 50g every day. I'm not strict about sticking to 800 kcal though. On days I exercise I'm eating a little more, so generally 900-1000 kcal. And I've no idea whether I'm in ketosis as I don't have any test strips. It's still working really well for me though. I had another 1lb off on the scales this morning, bringing me to 8lb in 13 days. I can see a difference in the mirror, with my waist becoming a little more defined. I'll recheck my measurements soon to see what progress I've made there.

I managed 5 minutes on the cross-trainer today, still at level 1, and could possibly have done a little more if I'd pushed myself. Next time, I'm going to move up to L2 and aim for a minimum of 3 minutes and build up again.

I'm also really pleased with the improvements I've made on the resistance machines at the gym. To change things up a bit, today I just did some leg work on the machines then followed a 15 minute Caroline Girvan upper body workout with dumbbells. I played safe with 2kg dumbbells for the first session as my upper body strength is really poor but will try moving up next time.

Happy Monday losers! @MarmiteWine your 8lb loss is incredible! Go you! I can only dream about being 8lbs lighter right now, but the will is strong again! In the Fast 800 keto our favourites are the cheesey beef fajita casserole, there is a light courgetti dish with roasted red peppers and feta that I often do but add some cooked chicken to. There is a chicken breast stuffed with feta and (pesto?) that is lovely. I think there's also a baked Mediterranean chicken recipe that's good as well as bang bang chicken and Korean chicken bowl are very nice (can you tell we love chicken haha?!). Thai pork lettuce cups, scallops with mushroom and Greek turkey burgers all delicious too. Love that book!

@Autumnleaves82 it's really hard to pick a calorie path and stick to it isn't it? I've never tried the 5:2 method so can't really comment, but like you, I would be scared of the higher maintenance days, especially as it's 5 days a week. I am still undecided what method to stick with - for this week I think it will be one or two very low calorie days, then on to the Fast 800 for a bit.I missed my 7am live workout this morning as I had to give someone a lift, but will get ti done later along with my 100 skips (still wondering about couch to 5k!).

Well done on the losses, v inspiring!

I’m still floundering around trying to settle on a method to stick to. Despite saying it was making me miserable, I’m thinking that realistically calorie counting might be needed, at least initially to get things going 😭 Otherwise I just waste time trying to make vague improvements but not actually losing any weight!

Ideally I want to be at this for as short a time as possible, so probably need to try 1200 cals and see how it goes…I’ve just put in what I’ve had so far today into MFP and it’s saying just under 800, so I should be able to have a reasonable meal tonight and be at around 1200. It’s so tedious, but so is feeling fat in all my summer clothes!

Eugh I just feel disgusting and bloated despite having a good day yesterday and today!! A 21 day cycle is so ruthless, I only have 1/3 of my life where my body is my own now!

@GrazeConcern sorry to hear it, that sucks. @MadameLeotta I think give the calorie counting a try, in my experience guesstimating just doesn't work.

Have been extremely low cal today (200 so far) and now wondering what to do about dinner. I did get my 100 skips done but no proper workout today.

Finishing the day with a hetbal tea, on around 650 calories. Actually feel fine on it but is obviously not sustainable and will maybe do for one more day only (to give the figure on the scales a big fat kick up the arse) then switch to OMAD staying under 800 calories for a few days. Hope everyone has had a good day.

@Chubbybetty Pleased you’re feeling like today’s been a good day. Please ignore this if I’m being insensitive - but do be careful about restricting your calories too much. I know you mentioned you had some history of disordered eating, so I just thought I’d mention it. Sorry if that’s not helpful or I’m being insensitive.

It’s so difficult for those of us who are not particularly tall with not much to lose as there seems to be such a fine line between the amount of calories that mean we’re gaining weight and the amount that starts to become too restrictive.

I’ve eaten 1200 calories today (still not sure if that is low enough to lose?) and managed to hit my protein and fibre targets on Nutracheck. I’ve also done a Caroline Girvan workout.

I’m still undecided on 5:2. It seems really effective for people who have more to lose, but not sure if it will work for me. I’m doing a bit more lurking on the Nutracheck forum to see if it seems to work for people who are like me (healthy weight, but want to lose a few pounds).

@MarmiteWine how are you feeling on those cals? I’m hoping if I plan filling food it won’t feel too bad. I struggle to sleep if too hungry at bedtime though so will need to plan my food carefully I think.

@Chubbybetty Hope your super low cals give you the kickstart you need. It’s really hard to stay motivated without seeing any weight loss, but I’m not sure I could cope on so little.

@MadameLeotta I'm really not struggling at all. I'm typically eating 2 meals a day, although some days I have breakfast and then have a smaller lunch or dinner. By having at least half the plate/bowl as veg, especially green veg, there's a lot of volume for not a lot of calories.

This is today's food diary on Nutracheck. Tea was Cod Provencal served with cavolo nero. The sauce was the tomato and pepper sauce from the Fast 800 Keto diet book, with added olives and capers. The portion size was huge. Next time I'll probably split the sauce into 3 portions instead of just 2.

That’s really good @MarmiteWine When I plan food in advance I can get quite a lot of food in for the cals. It’s the days when I don’t plan, and just decide to see what I fancy that it all goes to pot! Snacking on biscuits is a recipe for disaster!! I need to get myself organised and just crack on with it.

@Chubbybetty thanks for the recommendations, they all sound delicious 😋

I feel a little bad sharing my losses on this thread as I'm aware they're beyond what's typical for everyone else. But I think I'm very much the outlier here in terms of start weight, at over 15½ stone. My total loss now of 9lb aligns very well with the 4lb 6oz per week average suggested in the book in the initial stages, but I know it will slow down soon.

As @Autumnleaves82 (I think) has posted previously, the low calories make it difficult to reach my fibre target - I was nowhere near today - so once I move into stage 2 I'll be working to improve that while trying not to let my carbs get too high.

@MadameLeotta planning is definitely the key for me! I don't necessarily plan each day in advance, but I'm making sure I have a fridge & freezer full of healthy options, and leaving temptation behind in the supermarket! Again, I'm pretty fortunate in that I'm only shopping and cooking for myself so it's easier to control.

Although if I'd planned better before starting, I wouldn't have over 25 Starbars and 19 (small) boxes of shortbread hanging around 🙈 I don't usually buy either in large quantities but a colleague got me the Starbars from the cash & carry when I was struggling to find them in the shops a couple of months ago. No excuse for the shortbread though, other than it's my favourite biscuit and it was a really good deal.

As it is, I've still only had a single shortbread biscuit, and have given 6 boxes away so far. I took some into work and it was very funny when one of my colleagues offered me one and confidently told me a different colleague had brought them in 😂

Said colleague is very good at confidently telling people "gossip" that may not be entirely true. I foolishly told him about my weight loss last week but didn't give him any details of what I was doing. I'm waiting now to see how long it is before he tells someone I'm using weight loss injections 😂

@Autumnleaves82 thank you for your concern, and I do appreciate it. You're correct that I have had an eating disorder in my past, and I acknowledge that I still have a tricky relationship with 'normal' eating at times, but I genuinely just want to do this for a day or two; I really really need to start seeing the scale going down to give me a boost to carry on and I hope this slightly drastic short term approach will do that. I was 1lb down this morning from yesterday. also, I have a husband that will make sure I don't start going down a bad path (plus, I love food too much!). Am actually looking forward to getting stuck back in with some of the delicious Fast 800 recipes later this week (and we have a 3 course 2 Michelin starred lunch on Sunday 😋). I also agree re a fine line calorie-wise for people our size/stature; it literally takes nothing for me to put fat on and forever to get it off.

Yes, that all sounds a good plan @Chubbybetty (once again, sorry if my post was annoying or insensitive). I’m so pleased you’ve lost a pound.

I’m still 8st12. I don’t understand how I can gain at least 4 pounds with just a day of not restricting calories, but then after 3 weeks of really making an effort with diet and exercise, I’ve still not lost a pound.

I’ve not eaten yet today, but having chicken salad soon. I’ve already entered it into Nutracheck and it’s 220 calories. I’m having fish and veg for dinner. Surely the scales must move soon?! (Or I’d settle for the scales not moving but losing some stomach fat.)

@Autumnleaves82 not annoying or insensitive at all, in fact I'm glad that this lovely group is looking out for each other, thank you. Bl**dy frustrating isn't it?! Your plan today must come in under around 700 or 800 calories, so surely if you stick with that each day it must start happening soon right? (hoping the same for myself too). I have a weight loss shake with protein powder, and some cottage cheese for lunch (circa 220 calorie total) and plan either another shake, or a tin of tuna with plain salad for dinner to make this another very low calorie day. After today I plan lunches of under 300 calories (some combination of tuna/egg/cottage cheese with celery, cucumber etc) and a dinner around 500 calories, and continuing with no alcohol (until our spoecial lunch on Sunday). We can do this!