⭐️LOSE IT!⭐️Optimistic October & 12 Week Countdown to Christmas⭐️

[TheRealHousewife]

Following on from ⭐️LOSE IT!⭐️ Slimmimg September 2025⭐️

⭐️OPEN TO ALL⭐️

Where did September go? There is a definite chill in the air some mornings now 🥶 I always feel when October is here it’s the start of the 12 week countdown to Christmas!

It’s never too late to make a change, to make a difference and feel confident in your body. To reach optimum health and vitality we need to focus not only on our food intake; but movement, mental health and sleep quality too!

Who doesn’t want to feel good and energetic as well looking great! Get on board to reset & refresh and become a healthier version of yourself.

These threads are for those who’d like to lose weight and those who wish to maintain whilst eating a healthy varied diet.

As no one size fits all, members need to follow their own way of eating. This thread aims to offer guidance, support and a bit of hand holding.

We generally have WOW (weigh on Wednesday) day each week. However post and share your progress as often or as little as you prefer. Do what works for you.

The important thing is not to think of it as a diet (based on deprivation and unsustainable) but more a way of life (sustainable & enjoyable).

I calorie count based on a lower carb Mediterranean diet. I intermittent fast and generally eat twice a day. Im a long time healthy eater and overall I’ve lost around 45lbs.

I’m mainly maintaining but I would like to get back into the 8’s 🤞(I briefly dipped into the 8’s last month but the scale showing 9st 1lb this morning)

Are you in😊 What food plan will you be following? What do you want to change and why?

New members … Give it a go; it’s never too late! You'll be pleased you did 😊

Glad you like them, they are amazing puzzles @TheRealHousewife and lovely to hear from you.

Down 1/4lb today from yesterday 😂blink and you'll miss it. Think I'm heading towards my period so feeling like a bit of a stall, but nevermind.

Hope you avoided the biscuits @Fellsbells

Success! I made it to bedtime with zero biscuits consumed. Dinner was too carby, but I can’t complain. I’m under calories and well hydrated. Those extra lbs better be gone by the morning (ignoring the fact one good day won’t make up for 5 days of excess). DH has sprung a social event on me that requires my best svelte self so I’m regretting all my choices earlier in the week.

Thank you for the welcome. I am looking forward to being part of a supportive group.

Hi @tryingtobesogood welcome.

Lovely crisp day here today, took the kids out for lunch but then had to work. Youngest DD had four hours straight hi-cupping!! Did my 3rd day of 30 day bone density weight lifting challenge 💪 at 10pm at night as lost track of time then finished off with a good 30min yoga stretch.
Food was yoghurt/almonds/berries, followed by half a tuna jacket potato and salad and a penguin, followed by lentil mousakka.

Good Morning You Lovely Lot!

@Poisonwood Do you have a link or more info about the bone density weight lifting challenge please? Sounds interesting.

@tryingtobesogood Welcome to the thread! You’ll soon fit right in!

Well done on swerving the biscuits @Fellsbells 👏

Every bit of loss counts @FridayNighFeeling 👍😬

Good morning, well done @Fellsbells. I had biscuits and cake yesterday. I had a headache and a stressful morning. But today is a new day and I won't. I haven't been swimming in years but would like to take my daughter soon. But I need a bigger swimming costume. A big reason I don't go is I feel self conscious. Can anyone recommend a good swimming costume, I'm somewhere between a size 14-16.

@TheRealHousewife really good to see you, Hope you’re feeling well.

@Alwayslearning25 fantastic news about going swimming. I get Boden costumes in the sale which should be on now.

WOF 2.5lbs have gone so far. Another good day today should see the rest away hopefully. Expect more checking in from me!

I have been warmly welcomed @TheRealHousewife it's nice to read everyone's updates, menus and plans. The hair loss is being investigated- had my bloods done yesterday to check everything. I think years of badly applied box dyes and frankly disordered eating have taken their toll. I went through a very restrictive phase during a particularly stressful time and it had an impact on my whole body. I also have a chronic health issue which probably isn't helping!

The weekend is upon us once again!
I find food so tricky at the weekend. It's always something good/homemade but tracking it gets impossible- I need to try though as I too have an evening out coming up that requires "my best svelte self" @Fellsbells! How long have you got?! I've got 4 weeks!

36hrs 😂

Morning all, and thank you for the welcome.

I have planned my meals for the day so I know what I’m eating. I have weighed myself and recorded it, now I need to stay away from the scales until next Friday!!

I was hoping to do strength training this morning but I am at the tail end of a cold and still feeling unwell. I do think a walk will do me good so my shoes are on and im
going to head out for a quick walk after breakfast.

Have a good day everyone. I‘m so glad it’s the weekend.

Welcome @tryingtobesogood! Amazing weight loss already. If it helps I (and plenty of others here too I believe) weigh pretty much every day, I find I like having it as just a thing I do in the morning rather than something which looms all week.

We have my in laws staying this weekend, so I’m looking forward to a bit of childcare - DH and I are planning our first nice meal out without the kids in 8 or 9 months tomorrow, I can’t wait (and beyond having a lighter lunch I won’t be tracking that!).

Today’s menu:

B - Greek yoghurt with cinnamon apples
L - maybe bread and hummus with some veg
D - roast chicken

@Fellsbells i really wished Mumsnet had a 😅 emoji as that did make me laugh. It kinda reminded me of a scene from the film Twins with Davito & Schwarzenegger when Davito was madly doing sit-ups to lose weight and swelte down in about an hour 😅

Menu
Meal 1 - Chilli & cheese chicken meatballs & salad. Pecans.
Meal 2 - Spaghetti bolognaise with broccoli & cauliflower ‘rice’. Parmesan. Greek yoghurt & berries.

Drinks - Tea, black coffee and water.

Good Morning all, happy Friday!
@vapeaddictmy hair is similar thanks to box dyed and disordered eating! I am going cold turkey on the box dye and going ah natural which is a CHALLENGE in itself. But my hair is in much better condition already. I also found when I took Rheal powders (one with baobab in) my hair and nails grow like mad!!

Plan for today:
Breakfast : Fage, blackberries/blueberries/strawbs/banana, deliciously Ella granola small amount
Lunch: wholemeal Pitta, chicken, avocado, spring onion mix
Dinner: homemade meatballs

Possibly another 4pm workout if I can squeeze it in 😃👍🏻

If it’s any consolation @Fellsbells and @VapeaddictI agreed to a smear test and they’ve stuck a bloody “over 40s” health check on to it as well! So I’m working to a bit of a deadline now too 🤦🏼‍♀️ I think I’ve got about 6 weeks. I have no idea what an over 40 health check is? But I’m guessing it will involve a weighing scale 🙄

B- 5 imperial mints (nutritional value possibly poor)

So I lost weight Monday- Wednesday, so now it’s popped back up. Always the same.
been to my exercise class, week 4 and I kept up much more, so gym cardio is paying off.

I really miss the laugh reaction on here, I too laughed out loud at @Fellsbells 36hrs 😂 I'd suggest lots of water but it always bloats me like crazy rather than the mythical "flushes you out" so I'll just wish you luck!

@frostedshreddie I am thinking the same re cold turkey on the box dyes. How are you managing the greys (assuming you have them!) and how long have you been off them?
I've been looking at Sally's and thinking about getting some salon quality demi permanent dye to touch up my roots but I'm not sure how much better than box dyes this is!

Also focusing on lots of protein, taking a multivitamin and lots of water. Spent a small fortune in Boots on various shampoos/serums. My hair actually feels lovely, just need to keep it up so it can recover!

@Vapeaddict I am not quite there with the greys yet although not dying has revealed a few starting!! I plan to just embrace it 👵🏻🤪

Well, I've been at the gym every day Monday to Friday...but I've not stuck to my diet. Must do better. Weight isn't going up, but there's obviously no shift down the way.

Stumbled across a video taken the first day of my retirement (7 yrs ago) and I looked much fatter than I realised, so in spite of the fact that I'm only 30 pounds down I can see the difference.

Mind you, the fat did a grand job of plumping out the wrinkles!

Re: greys.

I suggested to my hairdresser that maybe I should stop dyeing my hair. She pointed out that - at the moment - most of my hair is quite dark. The front, however, isn't grey; it's snow white.

In other words, until the rest of it goes white I have a choice between dyeing or looking like a skunk.

Re: hair health.

I've realised that my hair is growing in a bit healthier and glossier. I've been taking collagen but also eating better. DH died in 2021 and I didn't eat properly for more than 2 yrs. At first I just didn't eat and then I turned to junk food. I lost a lot of hair at one point and the stuff that grew back in looked like an overdried haystack. (Think Ken Dodd in his later, dyed years.)

I haven't regained all of my hair, but I don't think I'm noticeably bald and I'm pleasantly surprised by the fact that the first nearly two inches seems to have gone back to a normal texture.

When I first started going to the gym, I was heading straight from class to the local McDonald's drive-thru... Burger and chips, McFlurry plus a coffee. In spite of that, I lost a stone the first year of exercise. Now I'm eating much better, but struggling to lose the weight. Mind you, I've definitely built my muscles back.

flexes arms

Just don't look at the thighs! My humungous arse has disappeared, but I'm now in the unfortunate position of having a belly bigger than my bum.

It's also noticeable (to me, at any rate) that my right boob is a good bit smaller than the left. The difference had been mitigated by my weight gain. On the plus side, I am no longer in danger of giving myself a black eye when I run (or hobble) downstairs.

Yes my hair is better, thicker and I would even say darker. I also dye mine, the grey on mine is horrible, it just ends up looking like dirty hair. My roots don’t look bad just now though.

@WearyAuldWumman amazing progress, well done 👏🏻

mid afternoon check in.
L-soup, small piece of sour dough and a couple of chicken nuggets (homemade which makes them less calorific hopefully, but probably not). More mints.

I’m not sure how dinner will go. There’s leftovers, a small sensible portion will be fine. Hoping that the Friday night snack monster doesn’t take over and eat the fridge instead.

Really interesting about hair and whether to dye it. I haven’t dyed it in over twenty years and to my eye have very few greys ( I’m late 40s now). After a big discussion with my dh and hairdresser who is a friend I’ve known for 16 years I’ve decided to embrace the grey as it grows. Albeit currently not much and my Nan wasn’t really grey until her last few years yet my mum was grey by her late 30s.

Having not dyed my hair for so long it feels so strange to want to do it so for me natural is the way
I saw some stunning hair colours all grey when I was on holiday and it made my decision even firmer

Hi Everyone

@WearyAuldWumman You've done fantastically well under tough circumstances 👏👏👏 💐

As it was cooler today I couldn’t face salad with my chicken meat balls, so made a quick tomato sauce 😋