From a Christmas Pudding to a Christmas Cracker - Weight Loss Motivation

Jude13

Okay, I weighed myself this morning, do I dare post it.... I was 91.6kg. I thought I would be 91 max. It took me four months of hell two years ago to lose weight, I was 95kg and down in the dumps. But I managed some serious motivation, and had the funds for a PT. We are closing on a house the end of Feb so funds are at zero so its all on me.

Week 1 Day 0 = 91kg

TRS30

You’ve taken the first step which is often the hardest. You got this.

DvB

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120247502#Comment_120247502

That's not that bad really, its what c.14stone? I was 15 and a half at one stage after giving up competitive sport and going mad on the pints & late night visits to the chipper etc. Managed to lose it thankfully. IIRC you're a good bit taller than me so are probably meant to be c.12-12 and a half stone as a healthy weight?.... so wouldn't be too disheartened (though I appreciate the hard work that got you down the first time), your not exactly in gastric band territory! Chin up, small changes and some exercise and you'll start moving in the right direction in no time.

Jude13

Cheers all, I'm more dis heartened that I left of the .6kg, so its 91.6kg which is 14.42 stone.*

My ideal weight window is 80-82kg (12.5 to 13.4 stone). Just doing weights and cutting back food. Sadly squats/dead lifts, running and biking are out due to the knee. Might have to take up swimming!

*I will be tracking in kg as I barely remember ever using stones, maybe before I was a teen. I remember being 15 and being weighted in kg as we went to UL and got put through our paces, have the print outs.

TRS30

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120251349#Comment_120251349

Having done more swimming in the last few days then in ages I can testify to the full body workout. Only downside for me is that it makes me starving after!

tscul32

@Loughc is it bodyslims that you did? The OH and I both need to ditch a bit and have heard great things about it. Next programme doesn't start until late April but will run until just before our summer hols so if it works it means we should be in great shape for our trip. We aim for that every year but never quite make it.

So if it is Body Slims, do you recommend?

Edit: never mind, I've just read back and see it is Bodyslims (and that i even commented on it back then too). We've just decided that I'll sign up and OH will piggy back like you did. And will try to get a little fitter before then too.

CheerLouth

Jumping back into this thread for what must be the 10th time, give or take! This time, I really need to give myself a kick up the bum!

My problem, without sounding like excuses hopefully, is that I've gotten totally out of the habit of actually eating proper meals. I'm on my own a lot with the kids & I always seem to be in a rush and eating properly just seems to pass me by. For example, I get up at 7 with the kids & by the time, I have them breakfasted, dressed & ready for school, we are running out the door & I've normally just managed to down a cup of tea. Then with working from home fulltime, I find I'm back from the school run & trying to scramble to get the house tidied up after the morning rush & get started with work, it's often 11 before I've even thought of eating & then I'm normally either grabbing something quickly or a biscuit because I am so busy with work. At lunchtime, I try to get my walk in so then I'm back & it's the rush to get back to work etc. And then in the evenings, once the kids have been collected & homework done, prep for the next day, get them to bed, I'm too tired to make a dinner for just one so I just have a sandwich & go to bed. So basically, I'm surviving on tea & biscuits 😕

So I've decided that I need to take myself in hand & start looking after myself, instead of looking after everyone else all of the time. My energy levels are shocking as you can imagine. From a fitness perspective, I'm actually not too bad. I walk every day, sometimes twice a day if I can get out in the evenings, play football & go for a run every now and again. I just need to get the diet under control. With Lent starting this week, I've decided to give up the biscuits & chocolate & really concentrate on getting three square meals a day. I've started this morning by having a bowl of porridge when I got back from the school run instead of running around like a headless chicken trying to clean the house!

If you've made it this far in this essay, fair play 😜

TRS30

Have you though about batch cooking on say a Sunday evening? Splitting up the meals and freezing them and then just pop them in the microwave each day. I know it's not as good as cooking fresh everyday however doesn't sound like you have the time for that so might be a good alternative.

CheerLouth

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120264141#Comment_120264141

I don't batch cook per say but I do put the leftovers in the freezer, it's remembering to take them out that is the problem! I've taken a chicken curry out of the freezer for tonights dinner. I just need to get back in the habit of planning meals. I used to be great at that, I'd plan all the dinners for the week, check what we had in the freezer & would mostly stick to it. So it's just that I've fallen out of the habit in the last year or so. I also need to use my slow cooker more often I think so that dinner is ready when I'm finished work, rather than trying to start making it during the busiest part of the day.

Mystery Egg

Hey folks. I'm a long term lurker in this forum, I read all year round but rarely post, so you don't really know me but I feel like I know you all. :)

I just wanted to wade in because my heart goes out to you Jude. You sound like you are so hard on yourself.

Here's a bit of my story. I grew up in a very stressful home and was constantly criticized for my weight. Looking back I was tall and strong with little or no excess weight. However I embarked on a series of diets which all ultimately resulted in weight cycling - lose a little - gain a lot - lose a little - gain a lot. If I was losing weight it was all I thought about. My toxic family praised weight loss endlessly so I only thought I was worth anything when I was thin or losing it. I destroyed my metabolism and developed an eating disorder and over exercised. In my late twenties I sought treatment and ultimately made a full recovery. However at the point of recovery I was overweight. I decided to accept this and accept my body just as it was. I was the happiest and healthiest I've ever been.

Then I developed fatty liver disease and was told I had to lose weight from my mid section to control it. This was a horrible situation because I thought I had kissed dieting goodbye forever and was afraid that starting another diet would mean redeveloping my eating disorder.

So I moved really gently and slowly with it. I gave myself unconditional permission to eat all foods - just not all of them all at once! I took up gentle exercise several days a week that I loved - yoga, swimming, weights and walking. I refused to do anything that felt hard or punishing. I experimented with new recipes. I take care of myself with non food treats. I don't criticise myself ever, if I eat a takeaway it's just one meal and that's it, no self berating. I ate what I wanted over Christmas and still lost a kilo somehow. My appetite has adjusted because I am responding to my hunger. If I need to eat, I eat. And I'm dropping weight bit by but with no suffering, for the first time in my life.

Bottom line. Go gently. Be nice to yourself. You are great no matter what you weigh and your body is a miracle! Slow and steady. Nothing is off limits. Good luck!

Jude13

@Mystery Egg great post, being happy in yourself is all that matters and each person has a different view of what makes them happy.

@CheerLouth I could have written a lot of that myself. Two kids, working mad hour mean I don't structure my meals and eat when I can, I then over eat and snack on high calorie food, not unhealthy food. Meat, quinoa, veggies etc but enough for two meals.

I have take an milder view of this and have gone easy as my body isnt able for the old ways. I did two light gym sessions and two light jogs this week. I was a little bit stricter on lunches but didnt kill myself. I also had one night of a few drinks. I know week 1 is water weight and a clean out, so I will have to be a bit stricter the next few weeks.

Week 0 = 91.6kg

Week 1 = 91.0kg (-0.6kg/1.3lb)

TRS30

Good man. Moving in the right direction already with what sounds like a sensible and sustainable approach.

Mystery Egg

Best of luck Jude!

Jude13

I am working too many hours, I read back my post and it was like a riddle. It's defo not lack of food.

CheerLouth

Week 1 in the bag and I'm down 3.6lbs.

Delighted as I have not been very strict with myself. As per Mystery Eggs very relatable post, I've spent far too many years vilifying myself for eating & thinking that my worth has been directly linked to my weight which is why I have been so reluctant to start trying to lose weight. I've done all the counting points/syns whatever & while I lost weight on those diets, I've always put it back on plus the VAT while destroying my relationship with food & my body. So this time, I'm trying the gentle approach; I am counting calories but nothing is off limits but I'm really trying to be sensible.

This week, I really concentrated on having my three meals which I did & I also tried to have protein with every meal which I find hard to do. I did limit the biscuits but still had a small bit of chocolate every evening. I also didn't deprive myself or beat myself up if I went outside my three meals or over my calories. I had a scone on Thursday with a friend & had an impromptu evening out with Mr. CL on Friday evening. Previously if I was trying to lose weight, I would have either not gone for the meal or agonised over the food choices. Instead, I had my scampi & two glasses of wine which I thoroughly enjoyed. I had a bite out of Mr. CL's dessert which was enough. I also made sure I got out for a walk every day & managed to get two runs in the bag too.

DvB

Ate really badly this weekend with everything we had going on & it was clearly the straw that broke the camels back, getting dressed this morning & my work trousers are visibly tighter than they had been previously... definitely a sign I need to get my ass in gear & cut down on the poor eating habits i've had since the holiday.

Loughc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120293160#Comment_120293160

Same fresh start from today, not only have I feel off the wagon, I've burnt the wagon to the ground and sprinked the ashes away.

Back to calorie counting today, I had my fun at least haha.

TRS30

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120293072#Comment_120293072

Well done CL, great result.

tscul32

@CheerLouth "put it back on plus the VAT" 😂😂 I love, that, cos it's sooo true.

I've done the WW and the Unislim and the carb free, intermittent fasting, etc.. all over the years. They all worked but 6 mths later I was back where I started, with interest.

Am going to give Bodyslims a go cos it sounds much more lifestyle oriented than "diet". I'm a big foodie so cutting out different food completely doesn't really suit me, but just being fully aware of calories will suit me much better and knowing that if I splurge in one area (as a one off) I can compensate somewhere else. It will also get me moving properly again. When I commit to a program I'm actually quite disciplined so they usually work, but myself and OH both need to do this now as we've found that getting older sucks and we really have to put in effort now to stay fit and healthy. Will try to improve the diet and fitness a bit between now and late April when the next program starts so it's not too much of a shock to the system, then it's 10 weeks of work right up to our summer holiday. We're touring Central Europe for 2 weeks and I don't want to be stressing over what clothes fit and can I make the hike up the mountain.

Love the support here and may we all be massive losers this year😁

(jaysus auto correct had us all as massive lovers🤣🤣)

CheerLouth

That sounds like an amazing holiday @tscul32! We'll need a whole trip report when you come back!

Jude13

Week 0 = 91.6kg

Week 1 = 91.0kg (-0.6kg/1.3lb)

Week 2 = 91.1kg (+0.1kg/0.2lb)

Not a great week, not a terrible week. It has been a mad week at work running around, late nights, unexpected two days travel to KSA, issues with mortgage approval, and a family member getting the last rights yesterday. Sadly we are signing for a house tomorrow (if the bank gets sorted today) so we cant fly home until Saturday morning.

TLDNR: I stress eat.

DvB

A lot going on there jude , I'd be easy on myself being honest.

TRS30

Sorry to hear about your loss @Jude13 definitely wouldn't be beating yourself up about this week.

tscul32

I find routine to be essential for me to lose weight. When everything is up in the air it's so difficult. There are some things that are outside of your control and you just have to roll with the punches.

CheerLouth

Sorry to hear this @Jude13, take care of yourself

CheerLouth

Week 1: -3.6lbs

Week 2: -1.8lbs

5.4lbs gone in total and on target for half a stone by the end of March 😊 Am still going with the gentle "all in moderation" approach. Concentrating on my three square meals, but also not limiting myself. So feeling good in myself. Hope everyone else is feeling good too.

TRS30

Great work CL.

Loughc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120323939#Comment_120323939

Crushing it!! Well done!

CheerLouth

Week 1: -3.6lbs

Week 2: -1.8lbs

Week 3: -0.4lbs

Slightly slower week for me this week - definitely didn't get as much exercise in as usual with the weather & had a day or two of not feeling great, but still happy out with just under 6lbs gone in three weeks.

DvB

Still on a downward trajectory @CheerLouth thats not to be sniffed at. Well done.