Anyone else looking to get in better shape for the summer?

[Chocolatecoffeecup]

I'm in my 40s and have a big family wedding in July I'd like to get in better shape for. I'm trying to cut down on the sugary snacks and exercise more. Anyone else interested in a support and motivation thread.

I have been chugging along. I hit 120lbs today so not too far off my goal and the lightest I have ever been (in my adult life). That is a loss of 27lbs since mid-March.

I think i will start tapering my calories upwards to prepare for maintenance soon. The difference in how I feel is incredible, I have ran at least one 10k every week without fail and it is now finally starting to feel a little easier. I am also hoping that increasing my calories a bit will mean I can improve my running performance too.

Overall extremely happy. Thank you and well done to everyone on this thread,

@thenewaveragebear1983 one week till a holiday 🥳 in some ways and sheer panic in others. I would also look at de bloating after the plane journey. I saw someone talk about how we stress out at loosing weight before the holiday but then we gain loads of temporary weight from flying. I need to look more into that too. It sounds like a sensible plan.

@Chocolatecoffeecup I’m sure you will be in the 8s soon but it’s hard to know when to stop.

So I’m also panicking as we booked a beach holiday on Friday that leaves at the end of the month. To make my first world problems much worse, I tried on my holiday clothes and a lot of them are too small so we went shopping today and I may have bought a rather small bikini so I’m now worried about how that’s going to look on my very white and pasty and still quite flabby body 🫣 so how much can I tone up I’m less than a month?

That's fantastic @Fidgetbottom - well done!

@CarelessWimper I think you can tone up a noticeable amount in a month and focus on the areas you're more bothered about - for me it was arms and abs before the wedding and I tried to do exercises every other day. Would a bit of fake tan make you feel better?

I've been in bed ill for 2 days (but unwell since Saturday) and I'm down to 8 stone 11.8 today. I literally had two slices of dry toast yesterday and will probably do similar today. I was also eating less because of my Invisalign aligners which are restricting how many times I feel I can eat in a day so it feels almost like intermittent fasting.

I'm feeling better today but still feel lightheaded probably because I'm running on empty now and I'm going to try to stick to plain food again just in case.

Hope everyone else ok!

@Chocolatecoffeecup i hope you feel much better soon. Being stuck in bed is horrible.

I love the fake tan idea. I think that would definitely help my confidence and my paranoia of my ghost white middle. At least my arms have a hint of colour 😂

One other thing I have noticed since I started this journey is that my hair has far fewer greys. I realised the other day that it’s been ages since I dyed it at home and even then it didn’t work that well and I meant to re do it, but I never got round to it. So it should be pretty noticeable but it’s not.

I did leg day yesterday but didn’t want severe DOMs as DH is away and I still need to walk the dog so didn’t go too hard.

@CarelessWimper I always feel better for just doing my nails, scrubbing, buttering, hair removal etc. that's amazing about your hair! Have you been taking something that has impacted your hair colour do you think?

I feel much better today so expecting the scales to go up a bit this week which is fine as long as I don't undo all my hard work the past few month 😂

@Chocolatecoffeecup im glad you are feeling better today! Hopefully the scale won’t budge too much!

For the first time in over 2.5 decades, I bought a dress that I can’t wear a bra with, it arrived today. A Reiss size 8 dress that looks amazing 🤩 it fits and although I’m a bit (read very) self conscious, it does look good.

My Rehpho scale moved my “age” from 47 to 42 throughout the year and I don’t know if that’s linked to the less grey hair thing. I don’t think anything else has changed apart from my regular use of Huel so unless I was potentially a bit deficient in something and I got the nutrition from those? I honestly don’t have a proper answer and am reluctant to believe that Huel fixes greys 😂😂😂

There are some comments online about extra weight causing stress on your body and stress can cause greys. DH was going quite grey and his hair is more noticeably browner now than mine. We eat differently and I had a lot of bloods taken about 6 months ago and everything was normal.

Sorry @CarelessWimper I thought I'd replied to this post! I'm 9 stone 0.6 today which I'm happy with. I need to get back into a routine with exercise but we are going away for a week next weekend. How are you? I'd be tempted to try Huel again if I'd fixes greys 😆

How are you all @thenewaveragebear1983 @Fidgetbottom @ApricotRow @bigdecisionstomake

@Chocolatecoffeecup

Enjoy your week away! I would say I hope you have lovely weather but right now “lovely weather” would be rain. It’s really hard to get motivated to exercise when you feel hot and sticky even just sitting on your sofa.

I have been maintaining at 120lbs for a few weeks. I still have a few wobbly bits (all my fat seems to have come off my boobs unfortunately) but overall I feel really happy and confident in how I look right now.

I wouldn’t mind pressing down to 116lbs or maybe even 112 (8st) at some point but I have parked here for a bit so I can fuel myself to improve my running performance and do some skin care, my skin doesn’t feel or look too loose currently but I suppose it doesn’t hurt to let it have a moment to catch up. I am down just a smidge under 2st since mid-march :)

i just ran a sub 26 min 5k and my 10k time is now under 56mins too. So everything is tracking in a good direction for me.

Hope everyone else is doing well too!

Still plodding away. Have about 5lbs to get to my target weight but the closer I get to it I’m not sure if I will go a bit lower. The problem is I am happy with nearly everything but my stomach. I think I need to target my exercise a bit more, although it may be a lost cause!

the good news is I am happy when I look in the mirror, and I have seen tagged photos of myself on Facebook and haven’t hated them.

@Chocolatecoffeecup hi, I am on holiday. We’re halfway through and I am so far from on track, I can barely see the track. Nothing extravagant but just bread, ice cream, wine. I have done a couple of runs and am walking a lot. But I still reckon I’ll be 7lbs up when I get home 🤣

@thenewaveragebear1983 off on holiday in a couple of weeks and I was worried about this. I thought I might work out a meal plan for the week we get back and book in a delivery for our first day home so hopefully I can get straight back into it. Hope you are having a lovely holiday - enjoy the food and drink!

@Fidgetbottom I think it's due to rain a bit this week but I'd rather not have rain on my one week away of the year thank you very much! You sound like you're doing well. I feel happy with where I'm at too which is nice but I really need to keep on track with the the exercises and I've had about 3 months off my martial arts and really need to get back.

@ApricotRow Sounds like you're doing well too. My stomach was my main issue and I've found working on my diastasis recti and toning the area has really helped. Not that I'm saying you have the same thing but may be worth considering

@thenewaveragebear1983 at this point I say just enjoy your holiday and the weight will come off if you get back to a routine when you get home. Home you're having a fab time!

I'm away next week and I don't want to overdo it but I do want to enjoy the food and eat out at different places so try to be relaxed about it...

@Chocolatecoffeecup enjoy your holiday! I am still away, don’t worry I am not being too strict (at all) and am just enjoying the sun and the food. Life is too short. Although I am realising that if I don’t want another year where I don’t get to target, I actually do need to knuckle down and stick to something, and I need to change the way I do it because 20 years of dieting has never quite got me there. Do you ever just feel like you need a drastic shake up? That’s how I feel now. For a few years I’ve been struggling with feeling so tired and basically Peri, but now my HRT is sorted, my iron levels are back up, maybe it’s time to do something different to get my goals 🤔 I have already decided I need to stop prioritising running and focus on strength training, running is too physically demanding now and my feet and ankles are just getting so tender.

@thenewaveragebear1983 Enjoy the sun! It's raining now here.
Thanks! It's a UK holiday for us so I'm happy for it to rain this week but hoping we get some nice weather again next week 🤞🏼 I'm trying to focus more on strength training now too. Apparently that's the thing at our age for various reasons! I do feel like that from time to time. I feel like my eating is a bit dictated by my Invisalign at the moment but I am finding myself gravitating towards sugar again and need to nip that in the bud. I'm still enjoying NSIAG but not sure the diet group is any good to be at all. I've also been listening to a couple of other podcasts that I think you recommended(?) Jesse Cooke and Ruth Mac Fit and they're quite good.

I saw yesterday that Hayden Panetierre died sadly. Our health is so important but it does make me think life's too short to worry about the number on the scales...

@Chocolatecoffeecup I love Ruth Mac and I quite like Jess Cooke although after a while I find her a bit rambling on , I am falling out of love with NSIAG. I have listened from the start but now I find them a bit annoying. I really didn’t like the step challenge they did and they aren’t actually very knowledgeable about diet/ exercise etc. I do however like my diet chat group, they merged us from 2 quiet groups so everyone’s quite chatty.

life is too short, you are right. I try every day to find one thing I am grateful for and to remind myself that I am fit and healthy and above all, really lucky. We all are really.

went out to a little town today and had lunch, just the most delicious fresh fish and frites and a glass of wine. I treated myself to a beautiful striped jumper in bright colours, last year I bought a soft sage green one and it gets so many compliments. Tomorrow is our last day and I’m going to the supermarket to stock up on mayonnaise, French soap, and other local delights to see me through the year. Vive La France

I’m looking forward to coming home though. 10 days of drinking, bread, and sun. ☀️ let the detox commence! Glad to hear it’s raining in the uk, we need it

@thenewaveragebear1983 I know what you mean about Jesse and also about NSAIG. I think they can all be slightly annoying esp Victoria but I do enjoy listening to them. I just don't feel I gel with my diet group which is probably more about me... Sounds like you're having a lovely time!

Hi @all I lost the thread as it's been quiet and I've been a bit distracted but I feel like I need to get back on it again. Anyone about and in a similar position?

Hi @Chocolatecoffeecup, I’m still here just ticking along. I gained quite a lot on holiday (7lbs ish) and I’m really struggling to get it back off, I think I’m heavier now than I was at the start of the year. FFS 🤦‍♀️
I’m trying to switch my exercise focus from running to strength. I’m noticing a bit of muscle tone but nothing dropping on the scales. Trying to eat more protein, especially in the afternoon. I’m seriously contemplating an alcohol free October and also putting my scales away for the month and just focusing on my workouts and food, back to basics style.

how are you doing? What’s your plan?

I’m still here. Am down 15kg with 3 to go. Finding these last three very difficult and for the last six weeks I have just maintained and not really lost anything. I think I need to switch my diet and exercise up a bit maybe.

Hi @thenewaveragebear1983 I've put on a few lb's this month and I'm also trying to do more strength training than cardio but I'm doing the NSIAG step challenge so trying to walk / run a bit. Are you doing the steps challenge? I might leave the diet group after Christmas. I think I need to cut down on the sugary foods as I've gone back to overdoing it a bit.. I really happy with where I got to for the wedding in July but after that I wasn't motivated. I have another event now at the end of November so I'm a bit motivated for that and then it will be Christmas 😆

@ApricotRow Sounds like you're doing well but I know it's frustrating when you plateau. Switching things up might help, for your sanity if nothing else. Remind me what sort of exercise do you do now?

@Chocolatecoffeecup I am following the step count challenge but I do almost exactly the same number of steps anyway every month. The last one annoyed me because they were so gushy over someone who did 60k steps a day average, which I am sorry but I just do not believe is possible every single day. I’d be much more impressed with hearing from someone who increased their steps from 5k to 10k and how they did it. i’m still bobbing around the same weight, I lose a few, gain a few on repeat. It’s boring me now. I think I need to drastically drop down for 2 weeks and go low carb just to kick start myself but I don’t think i could actually do it. I’ve cut down my running a lot and am focusing on strength first, walking and only running if I feel like it, however come 1st October I am going to pick it back up again.

@thenewaveragebear1983 I agree with you. That's obviously part of that persons lifestyle and most of us wouldn't be able to increase to that daily and it's not necessary! A really good day for me is over 20K but I don't do that often. My steps aren't great but I'm making an effort. I might go on a Christmas meet up with Jo's team but it's not local and if I'm not feeling it by then I think I'll leave as it's not worth £12 to me but I still like the podcast.

I feel like I need to do something too like cut out sugar for a week. I feel like I'm addicted to sugar and I'm almost eating for the sake of it but when usually I cut it right down and then reintroduce it I find I can have smaller amounts and enjoy it more. I'm not even enjoying it now as I'm eating out of habit. I've put on about 3lb which isn't the end of the world but I was only losing half a stone to start with 😂

I'm feeling a bit low generally at the minute. I think kicking my arse into gear might actually help!

@Chocolatecoffeecup how are you doing? I’m actually having a really good month, something has clicked in my head I think and I am just consistently hitting my goals. I haven’t weighed myself and I think that is partly contributing, I’m not having the emotional rollercoaster.

In other news, I have switched NSIAG group to one of Paul’s! I was starting to get quite annoyed with V, I know it’s weird to say she doesn’t like me as I have literally never met her, but she never ever commented or acknowledged anything I said or posted except to give a snippy answer, so after the last time I asked Paul if i could switch. You know, I have been in that group for over 18 months and I put a little goodbye on there, all the group commented and V just removed me from the group she didn’t even say goodbye! So I think my theory was correct…..

Hope you’re all doing well

Hi @thenewaveragebear1983 I was actually about to come on to tell you I've moved to one of Paul's groups and I'm so happy! I'm not a fan of V so that doesn't surprise me actually and I also get the impression from the podcast she would be genuinely annoyed if anyone left her group for Paul's. I do like Jo but she didn't have much time for the group at all and I just didn't gel with the group, maybe because they had been going for a while and I joined later. I don't think we're in the same group but I suppose I wouldn't know! I feel much better in the group I'm in. PP's wife is lovely too.

I've become a bit more consistent with exercise which is good but I need to be a bit more consistent with food now again.

I'm glad you're doing well.