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.

Have been a bit bad this week but redeeming myself with salad for lunch.

Sorry @bigdecisionstomake yes that was aimed at @MightyGoldBear

@Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain I always feel virtuous going for a salad 😃

@Chocolatecoffeecup
My periods are pretty full on I get a lot of back pain and cramps. I had bad spd in pregnancies and its like it comes back every period. I also dislocated my knee 3 years ago(during labour😬) likely have hypermobility. It continues to pop out of my knee cap 🤢 I find during my period the change in hormones increases relaxin in my body. So I go very careful with exercise in general but particularly during this time incase it pops out again!

I’m also tall compared to others on here, I’m 5’7. My bmi is 24.5 at 11.4 ish, I don’t think I could ever be high 9’s again much as I would like to be @bigdecisionstomake. My weight has been pretty much static now (although with a 7lb swing up and down but always this range) for years, it’s so frustrating. I do wonder if it is just that combination of HRT and exercise (weirdly) means I am
just stuck here? I feel huge but I’m also really bottom heavy snd because I run my glutes/thighs are just big - but solid muscle 🤷‍♀️ I know I shouldn’t care about the numbers but I do. At least I know I can maintain 🤣

Also ending April 2 lbs heavier than I started @thenewaveragebear1983 , loosing and regain the same 2 all month!

Good day today, feeling good about May.
Motivated for May!
Enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend everyone!

@MightyGoldBear Oh wow that sounds tough! I had spd in both my pregnancies so now why it's like but can't imagine dealing with that every month!

Glad you've had a good day @Buntyforgirls

I've had a busy few days at work so glad it's the weekend. I'm thinking of doing park run in the morning. I've never done one and at the minute don't feel like it.

Looking at my log I’m starting May at the same point as April so STS but as I gained in each of the first three months I guess that’s some progress. I’m determined May will be different. Dirt today was ok not brilliant but always seems harder on a Friday as I feel I deserve a reward for getting through the week.

I’ve had a not bad day on the diet front, walked 3 miles, spent the afternoon digging at work, and went for a two hour horse ride (which doesn’t burn loads of calories I would think, but good for the core). I saw a picture of myself that a colleague took today and I look enormous. Very disheartening. But equally inspiration to keep going I suppose. Eaten about 1500 calories today, very low carb. No Friday night wine. Can’t say fairer than that I suppose. I’m on the two weeks of my HRT where I take progesterone as well as Oestrogen and it seems I don’t react well to it as I just retain all fluid and Bloat up like a balloon. I need to get it reviewed as it’s worked for most of the other symptoms but it doesn’t half make me feel rough in other ways.

@piscofriscoi have similar with my HRT although the alternative offered to me was mirena coil and oestrogen patch which I declined as the side effects from the mirena were all the things I was trying to stop- namely weight gain and tiredness.

i ended April with a 2lb gain overall from March 31st, and that means overall this year I am down just 3 measley pounds 🙄 it’s difficult, I know deep down I don’t 100% stick to plan, but it’s so hard with everything in this stage of life - plus everyone I know is in this stage of life- why is it only me who can’t get there!

my plan for May is:

1. get more sleep - this is a big one for me, I always say I will but I never do, but I need to get early nights at least a couple of times a week.
2. stick to my diet and actually do it properly which includes all the things like drinking water, taking vits and not eating sugar or drinking alcohol too much
3. stick to my training plan, in April I ran over 100km which is a lot and I want to keep increasing that level and also bring in some more strength and toning. Although I moan about my weight, i actually carry a lot of muscle and am toned underneath

we go on holiday on 25th and I want a good strong push until then. I have a half marathon tomorrow but then I have 3 clear weeks where I can get my head down, stick to my deficit and see where I am.

today, I’m tired. I am going to visit my folks and go for a nice wander around a lovely outlet village that’s near where they live, I just fancy a browse and mooch about and a couple of hours by myself.

I have had a coil and hat it removed as it didn’t agree with me at all in lots of ways including huge weight gain. It just sucks.
I keep getting sucked in by supplements-mushroom gummies anyone? Nothing works really for me.

@bigdecisionstomake I am so sorry about your DFIL, it sounds like you have a lot on your plate as always and I hope that your parents manage to get their house sold quickly and easily.

@Chocolatecoffeecup i hope you do the Park Run, they are good and it’s nice to be able to beat your own PBs.

@thenewaveragebear1983 sorry about your April gain but the sale reflection sounds really positive.

I went for my meal out and stuck to my planed choices and the restaurant portions were smaller than I was expecting 🥳 Proud of myself for that. It was so good to catch up with friends but I got to sleep at 10.30 so another bad nights sleep as I still wake up so early. I weighed in and surprisingly had a loss so I’m at an all time low I think of 9 st 12.8lb so I’m very happy with that.

We are staying with family next week and they are feeders, generous with their portions and don’t really approve of diets and exercise. So that’s going to be really tough. In a month I will be on the holiday so this is coming at a bad time.

That’s great going @CarelessWimper. Eating out sinks me every time so I’m very impressed by your discipline!

@piscofrisco thank you. We have both been exceedingly disciplined this time and it does make a difference. I think we are coming to the conclusion that if we want to be slim, we can’t just have a (insert treat here) and a glass of wine there as those empty calories add up and mean we gain slowly.

In my teens and 20s I was so slim and ate what I wanted and never seemed to gain and then it just all caught up with me.

Congratulations on your lowest weight @CarelessWimper that's amazing progress, well done.

Age definitely catches up with us and the days of eating whatever I want and staying slim are long gone for me sadly. I very much believe however that whilst exercise is not crucial for weight loss in itself what it does do is help your metabolism stop becoming so sluggish so quickly, particularly if doing strength work.

On that note, Day 1 of Heather Robertson's 30 minute express completed today. It was Metabolic Conditioning which was basically lots of compound exercises interspersed with cardio. I am going to be soooo sore tomorrow but you've got to start somewhere 😫

My 10k race is tomorrow and although I probably don’t need to “carb up” and especially not on junk food anyways… I have treated myself to about 2000 kcals of butterscotch and honey shortbread (that stuff is genuinely sent from above).

I was always planning on having a “treat day” the day before the run (not 2000 kcals though!) but as it is my first calorie surplus day since mid-march I am trying not to feel TOO bad about it (but it is really hard).

@Midlifeshenanigans STS after gaining sounds like a step in the right direction!

@piscofrisco Sounds like you're very active! Seeing photos like that is the worse but don't forget the camera adds 10lb!

@thenewaveragebear1983 That sounds like a good plan and your goals sounds similar to mine just in terms of being consistent for me! I need to eat better every day, mainly meaning snack less and don't reach for something sweet after every meal (which is what I do now!), and exercise regularly. Sleep isn't on my list but should be!

I hope you have a nice time at the outlet. My favourite is Cheshire Oaks

@CarelessWimper Well done on the loss!

I did the parkrun. I found it quite hard, walked some of it, and definitely felt my old hamstring injury niggle so I walked the last 1/4 of it but I'm glad I did it and will go again. It was my first 5K in years so it felt good to just get up and do it but I probably need to warm up more next time.

So this week I've done my martial arts class, 20 minutes of step, a park run and some abs exercises most days.

I'm on a 10K steps a day challenge for May if anyone fancies joining for that?

Good luck with the race tomorrow @Fidgetbottom You should definitely not feel bad about the extra cals!

@Chocolatecoffeecup congrats on the park run! Just going and completing it is fantastic.

@bigdecisionstomake I am hoping to restart weight training soon. I have missed it the last few weeks. I hope the DOMs aren’t too bad.

@Fidgetbottom good luck with your race!

I had a STS on the scales, which is a tad disappointing as I did 21k steps! Also a huge NSV for me. I don’t enjoy clothes shopping, especially trousers and so avoid shopping. I went into Next yesterday and decided that I needed to grow up and try some jeans on. I have been wearing an old pair of M&S 14s for ages, as it’s those, joggers, leggings or pjs. I WFH so rarely need smart bottoms.

Anyway, I gathered my courage and took two pairs a 12 and a 14 in the changing room and tried the 12s on first and they fitted perfectly 🥳 I am sure at least some of you can appreciate the dread of trying on trousers, so this was huge for me. I desperately need some new clothes and would like to be less frumpy or scruffy. I seem to live in dog walking mode of joggers and a hoody and Whilst it’s practical, it doesn’t make you feel confident.

@Fidgetbottom I am also racing today, my carb of choice last night was gnocchi with pesto and loads of cheese. 🧀 I had a terrible night, could not get to sleep, felt like I bounced around on the edge of sleep all night- Garmin says I got 5.5 hours in the end but I am not convinced. Heading into the city now feeling like the last thing I want to do is a 2hr run 🤣

@CarelessWimper Thank you. Well done on the NSV!

Do you listen to the No Shame in a Gain podcast by any chance? They talk about NSVs and that the only place I've heard it but I realise it's probably more widely known than that! I recommend that podcast to anyone who might like it. It's two women and the producer talking about dieting and quite good fun.

Good luck to you too @thenewaveragebear1983! Let us know how you both get on ( @Fidgetbottom)

Morning everyone!
Hugs to those that have had tough times.

well done on those doing park runs etc. It is something I would like to do eventually have done couch to 5k before. But a lot of park runs near me are up big hills or the wrong day!

haven’t had any alcohol all weekend, which has been tough!! Had steak last night and dp and I would normally have a bottle (and then 2) but we didn’t! Though I felt very hungry yesterday.

DP has also said he wants to lose weight as well so that should help with evening meals etc. weight loss has stalled but the week is 5.25lbs off so I’ll gratefully take that, as I know the rest will be hard to drop off!

I follow Jo Russell off no shame in a gain on another podcast but listen to the diet podcast now and again, will try and it is more time to listen to.

Non scale victories is mentioned on a lot of the diet groups I peek into on Facebook etc.

@thenewaveragebear1983 good luck with your race! I used to run up to 10 miles at a time so I should probably get back into it.

@Chocolatecoffeecup I haven’t heard of that podcast but will give it a go. I’m not sure where I heard that phrase but it’s definitely a thing for me.

@itispersonal its so much easier to have a partner onboard and congrats on the huge loss and missing the wine

I did 1hr 56 which I’m bloody chuffed with, I was expecting over 2 hours as I wasn’t feeling not feeling my best, and my headphones died at 10km so the 2nd half I just had my own thoughts for company 🤣

i listen to no shame in a gain too @Chocolatecoffeecup@CarelessWimper, I don’t like it as much as I used to- I am in the Patreon diet club but I find Victoria a bit annoying now she’s gone all “influencer” and it does annoy me sometimes how little they actually know about dieting/exercise/metabolism etc 🤣 I love Ruth mac Fit and Jessica Cooke (I think hers is called “I’m done now what” now.) - they are much more knowledgeable but still easy to listen to.

Well done @thenewaveragebear1983 I always found Victoria a bit annoying to be honest, before because she seemed so down of everything and now she seems quite pleased with herself, but I do find it an entertaining listen. I must like it as it's usually the first podcast I'll listen to when there's an episode. Would you recommend the Patreon diet groups? I was actually thinking of joining.

I wanted some more healthy / fitness ones so will have a look a those two - thanks.

I’ve been a bit naughty with food but bought a cauliflower to make cauliflower rice and have some bean salad (napolina) which is very tasty. Did a walk today too.