⭐️LOSE IT! January Jumpstart 2026⭐️

[TheRealHousewife]

⭐️ Open to All ⭐️

January 2026! Following on from LOSE IT! 8 Week Christmas Countdown

Fresh Start, New Habits! To reach optimum health and vitality (as well as a trim body) we need to focus not only on our food intake; but movement, our 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 have a 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) that’s based on several sensible principles including:-

1. Eat a variety of real whole foods such as fresh vegetables, salad, berries, beans, nuts, eggs, lean meat, good fats etc.

2. Reduce sugars, simple carbs, alcohol and UPFs.

3. Plan your meals & log your intake. Also be mindful of portion control.

4. Intermittent fasting - research suggests (Zoe study) that adhering to an eating window of 10 hours can have a positive effect on health, wellbeing and weight loss. I personally have a eating window of approximately 7hrs - 12:00 - 19:00.

5. Stay hydrated! 💧

6. Move as much as able. Particularly strength based exercise. Muscle keeps you strong as well as revs up your metabolism.

7. Get the fibre in! Great for your gut biome as well as 💩

8. SLEEP! Good sleep hygiene and a regularly sleep routine can be beneficial to weight loss. I’m always more hungry following poor sleep.

9. Be mindful about your own mental wellbeing and try not to eat your feelings. We’ve all been there!

10. Be kind to yourself. One or two slip ups won’t undo all your previous efforts. Just check-in with yourself, reinforce your good intentions and carry on.

I calorie count based on a lower carb Mediterranean diet. I intermittent fast and eat twice a day. Im a long time healthy eater and overall I’ve lost over 3 stone. After having been on the wrong side of 12st Im now hovering around 9st 2lbs.

Are you in?😊 What food plan will you be following? What do you want to change and why? Any recipes/workouts that have worked for you, you’d like to share?

Morning! Yesterday ended up a tiny bit derailed (already 🫣). My lovely 11yo is being bullied at school and has gone back after a happy few weeks off to it kick starting again. So we had a TLC afternoon after school which involved a bowl of sweets each while catching up on Sundays Masked Singer. My arm is also still getting more painful so I was craving comfort food and added garlic bread to our planned meal. It's all logged and accounted for though!

I've been to the pharmacy today to get some stronger meds, so 🙏 they kick in soon. I had breakfast this morning while taking these to protect my tum, so current standings are:

B - slice of 50/50 toast with butter & marmite, tea
L - planning a high fibre bagel thin with ham, half an avocado, poached eggs and some rocket and tomato. Greek yogurt with fruit after if still hungry.
D - not sure. 11yo has a party after school so DH will feed the 5yo and we'll have something when I get in, which we haven't discussed yet. Whatever we have will be homemade, at least.

One thing I'm surprised with is my approach to the weekend. I'm a bit of a drinker by nature, generally only at weekends but last year it crept up a touch. We're doing dry Jan but normal me would be really hankering after that Friday night wine. I can't think of anything worse at the moment - genuinely feel like I'm looking at that habit differently at the moment. Feels good going into the weekend with such a different determined outlook 😊

Happy Friday!

I’m sorry to hear about your DC’s tough time @ImALittlePea hope it stops soon.

I am pleased to say I have been sticking to my goals the last week and have had 7 portions of fruit and veg a day.

I am planning a nice long walk today but nothing more strenuous than that.

B - making egg, spinach and mushroom muffins with side of tomato and crispy seitan.

L - bean and soy stew with quinoa

D - tofu stir fry

snacks will be edamame beans and some yogurt and berries.

well done everyone so far.

Sorry to hear about your 11yo @ImALittlePea it’s so hard. Mine had bullying issues at primary school too. You just want to scoop them up and protect them from the world.

I just read Glucose Revolution and I found it fascinating. Trying to implement the hacks she talks about and I’m amazed at how good I feel already, has anyone else read it?

Morning all, this thread is moving fast I’m having trouble keeping up.
@@ImALittlePea my dd also had awful bullying at high school, resulting in her sister in sixth form being assaulted too and having to go to hospital. The girl was suspended she was horrendous. It breaks our hearts I know and understand - big hugs to you.

i thought i was having a good week, i followed chat gpt and they’ve done my calories too high im just bouncing around so back to nutracheck and doing as im told!! So lost nothing but i wander if some of that is in wfh as still on antibiotics and not well so once I'm back in the office next week it’ll all start moving again?
looked back and despite a good loss last year I’ve actually been at this weight since early September which is really frustrating now

Hi @ImALittlePea Im so sorry to hear about your little one getting bullied! I hope the school are addressing this behaviour. The emotional impact can be so detrimental to their sense of self & wellbeing. Bullying behaviour is abhorrent!

@BraceFace92 I read it a couple of years ago. It was ok and can be enlightening if you’ve not thought about the impact of carbs on blood sugars before etc.

@Runssometimes Well done on sticking your plan! 👌

I’ve had a change of menu as my oh didn’t want I’d planned and wanted bacon butties NOW instead. I decided to go with Miso Mushrooms on avocado toast. I also ate earlier than normal as I didn’t want to be cooking and cleaning twice.

Thanks for the kind wishes. He's still in primary school and I've had so many meetings with them now I've lost count. It's not horrendous/physical bullying, but just ongoing constant vile comments, nastiness and digs which are really affecting him. He wants to move school now, but it's so close to secondary we think that would be more detrimental now... So we're counting down to the end of the year when he can move on! I have a positive relationship generally with the school but have not held back with the impact it is having, and the fact they are failing him (and others also on the receiving end from these bullies). It's absolutely heartbreaking, but I take solace in the fact that he himself is so kind-hearted, so true to himself and proud of who he is, and that he has a close and open relationship with me that he doesn't ever bottle it up.

I can't help but eat my feelings about this sometimes, though.

Those mushrooms on toast looks delicious @TheRealHousewife 🤤 no-one else in my house eats them so I very rarely have them!

@ImALittlePeaIt will affect him, like you say. The drip drip of seemingly small bullying events can be as bad as one off larger events. It’s good he is able to share. It sounds like you have a delightful little boy and a really lovely relationship with him ❤️ I can easily eat a full small punnet of mushrooms as they cook right down and have minimal calories. I tend to dry fry (with seasonings) on hot plate so all the moisture comes out of them and then when cooked down add 5-10ml of EVOO. Today I also added in 20g goat cheese pearls. Was tasty. 😋

Oh I’m sorry to hear about your son, @ImALittlePea - horrid for both of you. Have you been to the governors? If what’s been put in place so far hasn’t been effective, I imagine that would be your next step in the complaints policy and the school might need that kick up the backside. I’m sure you have, but just in case also worth checking their safeguarding and bullying policies in case they’re not doing what they should be.

Today’s menu for me:

L - flatbread with minced beef, some cheese, spinach, an egg, and some seeds
D - Thai style curry noodle soup with chicken

We use a rain drop analogy @TheRealHousewife - each tiny drop doesn't do anything, but enough of them and you're soaking wet. We can try and be their umbrellas but ultimately there's only so much protection that can offer. It makes it harder to raise it with the school as each individual thing sounds petty, but I'm not going in every single time - and they're finally starting to deal with it.

That sounds lovely! I nearly bought goats cheese the other day, too. I just so often cook what the others are having, but I must remember to prioritise myself more... With mushrooms 😂

My lunch was SO delicious, I wish I'd taken a pic! Nutritional content attached though. I know there's goodness and benefits in some fats and carbs but I always question having avocado!? I rarely have it though.

DH wants chicken burger tonight. We're going to try and skinny it up as much as possible, but comparatively to previous weeks where we've had a takeaway and a bottle of wine every Friday for months... I think it's allowed!

I think the governors will be the next step, unfortunately. I've been incredibly upfront with the management there, and they are supportive enough, but not enough is happening as far as we can see.

Your menu is delicious @biscuitcat 🤤

@biscuitcat @ImALittlePea i could eat both of your lunches 😋

Gone well over calories today unfortunately. I haven’t run this week which hasn’t helped. on the plus side I’ve eaten mostly well and got 120g of protein in today.

Good Morning Ladies

@Fellsbells Me you both. Unusually I also ate over what I normally do. That said I feel my body was craving a re-feed and like you I’d had a very decent amount of protein👍. Sometimes a re-feed can jumpstart the metabolism 🤞

Menu
Meal 1 - Spicy chicken balls and salad. Greek yoghurt, chia and strawberries.
Meal 2 - Chicken stir fry. Pecans, brazils & walnuts.
Drinks - Tea, black coffee, hibiscus flower tea, water.

Exercise
Session 1 - Stretches
Session 2 - Short Walk

Come on ladies I realise it’s cold damp and miserable but investing in yourself now by eating nourishing nutrient dense foods and moving a bit will reap rewards. Come the Spring sunshine (and your next health check up) you’ll be pleased you did ❤️

We had wine and snacks last night, but I’d set an easier day on nutracheck and was careful to stick to my calorie count and not blow it.

struggling with the exercise, as you say @TheRealHousewife it’s cold and miserable, and tbh, the thought of changing out of warm clothes into exercise gear isn’t very appealing. I got a couple of classes in this week so will try and improve on that next week.

Planning to get a few overdue house maintenance jobs done this weekend so that will keep me occupied and moving around!

Morning! Appetite has vanished with this health nonsense so no risk of overeating here - but I had a pre-surgical appointment and need to go high on protein to aid recovery so I will be shopping with that in mind.

Finally off to the cafe for more Persian soup this morning! If it is off the menu for whatever reason there will be consequences

Have a lovely weekend all!

@TheWayTheLightFalls

Good luck getting your tasty soup again!
I'm going to try and do similar, but for different reasons obviously, with the protein. Thinking of you 🥳💪🏻

I've got a cold again. Partners had it for a while and I've been waiting for it to hit. Argh.

I've been snacking on all the leftover chocolate from Xmas and weights going back up 😢 going to try and get out walking today and we'll see what happens.

Have a good day everyone.

Morning all. Woke up crazy early (4am) for no reason and now planning breakfast. I have decided it’s toast, avocado and a fried egg tomato and a protein shake.
Lunch will be the last of the beany stew I made and dinner probably tofu stir fry again. I need to learn some new high protein recipes.

Did a sneaky weigh in and have dropped half a kilo since Weds which I’m happy about.

Despite the miserable weather I did 4km walk yesterday and hoping to get out later this morning with the family for a longer walk.

Booked another Pilates class for Monday and will meal prep I think tomorrow to set me up for the week. Have a good day everyone.

Made sure I did my steps all week. Woke up this morning and have lost weight. I’m 80.8kg, my low before Christmas was 81kg.
My short term aim is to be under 80kg. Happy Scale doesn’t think that will happen until end of February but I’m going to keep ploughing at it.
Snow today so makes getting my steps in hard.

Hello everyone, and happy Saturday!

It is beautiful here - freezing cold and blue, blue skies. We have our usual weekend activities plus going out for dinner which will be lovely.

Seeing some movement on the scales. Nearly back down to pre-Christmas weight, but not yet my 2025 low, which was the end of November. Healthy meal planning sorted for the week, just need to not snack on too much chocolate!

Morning everyone! Very icy this morning here. Looking forward to more normal weather returning next week and will hopefully be able to go out for a run, maybe on Sunday? I'm too much of a wimp to run on ice or snow! Did get to the gym yesterday though which was great, did lots of strength work and my shoulders aren't aching as much. Will aim to do some gentle stretches today too.

Had a bit of a woosh downwards in weight on Friday which was quite reassuring after staying the same last week - body clinging onto Christmas food a bit longer than it should have I think! Hoping to get through the weekend and to next Wednesday without going backwards...

Thanks for the motivational words this morning @TheRealHousewife - you're right, we'll be glad we've done the work now when Spring rolls around! We're already planning our week off at Center Parcs in April (after easter weekend) and it would be nice to weigh a bit less and be a bit fitter for all the activities there!

Day 10 of the yoga challenge complete - today was a number of sun salutations, which felt appropriate in this glorious sunshine!

I love your words of wisdom and encouragement @TheRealHousewife thank you!

I haven't been keeping up with the thread as I've been floored by a cold/flu this week. Hopefully starting to recover now and get back into my groove again.

Sounds like you're all doing great so well done everyone 👏

Morning all! We've got a busy weekend travelling for a health appointment for D's so I'm not going to be too strict - dinner will probably be a halloumi burger and I'm going to make the most of a premier inn breakfast tomorrow!

Hi everyone

Happy Saturday 😃
Great to catch up again today on the latest posts .
Seems like everyone is doing really well so well done .
I went to my Slimming world meeting this morning ( a few new faces today ) and weighed in one and half pounds less 😀
So this makes me back to pre Christmas weight and even though I have mentioned a couple of times I would like to be 8 and half( which would keep me at target weight) I have decided to go for proper maintenance and try stay the same as I am now as i have done what I aimed to do and that was to get in my clothes nice and comfortable again.

I am however going to have a treat later and it will be left over cheese which is still in date though not for long with a packet of mini cheddars
This will be after my evening meal whilst watching The masked Singer 👐
Have a lovely weekend all of you xx