Back at target, still thinking...

Sounds like you've definitely got your head back in the game hun - planning and prep is the only way forward!

I always think slow cookers are great for this - you know something yummy and hot will be waiting for you when you get home :).
 
ladyfelsham said:
Sounds like you've definitely got your head back in the game hun - planning and prep is the only way forward!

I always think slow cookers are great for this - you know something yummy and hot will be waiting for you when you get home :).
Click to expand...

I'm getting there!:)

Totally agree about slow cookers. I didn't have one until a few years ago, but now I'd be lost without it, especially in winter when what I want more than most things is a nice hearty stew to stick to my ribs! :D


Monday official weigh-in: 11 st 0.8lbs

Down a pound, so it's going the right way :)

Last week has been a struggle, not gonna lie! I've been hungrier than normal AND experiencing more cravings too, which is a pretty tricky combination. I managed to stick to 1600 for 5 days, but confess that the weekend got away from me a little and I ended up over 1700 both Saturday and Sunday. That's still under maintenance, so it's okay, but it's not quite the deficit I was looking for. Hey ho. There's always next week!

I guess the important thing is that in spite of my post-Xmas food hangover I ate pretty much according to the schedule that's been working for me this past year, so I am at least back on the rails, albeit a bit wonkily! I'm making sure that every food day contains a balance of stuff that's nourishing, stuff that's filling and stuff that's just downright fun, and that's what will keep me right, hopefully.

Exercise has been going okay, though I've had one or two muscular niggles that have hindered me a bit. I was hoping to get back to burning a solid 2000 cals per day (per my fitness tracker), but I've only managed it a couple of times since 1st January, and I'm hitting the low 1900's most days, so I'd like to address that sooner or later. Some warmer weather fit for walking/gardening would be helpful, so I may be waiting a while...

The Xmas goodies are slowly being depleted: just 2 small slices of Xmas cake left, the wedge of Stilton (unopened - wonder if I could freeze it?) and 2.5 boxes of chocolates. My best aid to moderating these things seems to be to keep them out of sight and/or awkward to retrieve - if I have to get the step ladder out to access a food item, I most often can't be bothered to do that on the spur of the moment, so I end up passing on it...laziness FTW!:p

Anyway, must get on. Have a good one, folks!:)
 
Thanks, folks!

Was down another 0.4lb this morning, so just a few ounces from getting back into the 10's...so close, dammit! Bet it goes back up again before it comes down, though. Heh.

Thanks for the Stilton info, Susie - think I might try freezing it because I'm still finishing a block of Shropshire Blue (new to me this Xmas; very nice but a bit saltier than Stilton) and by the time I do, the Stilton may well be growing its own fur coat, and I can't allow that:eek:

Still struggling to keep a deficit at the moment - in fact, if it weren't for the calorie boost I'm getting from activity, I wouldn't even be at maintenance, let alone under!

I hope it's just the time of year - mid-winter blues - rather than signs that my body is starting to fight me. There's only so much I can do activity-wise to offset my eating, and if my appetite goes haywire I could be in trouble.:confused:

I'll think positive for now and blame the weather: no significant snow as yet, but it's icy cold and I always want to eat more when the temperature's low, so...yeah. That'll be it :D
 
Well, my willpower finally crumbled last night. Not quite sure how many calories I had in the end, but I know it was north of 2000, therefore at least 200 over maintenance. :rolleyes:

In an odd sort of way I'm almost relieved, though. I've been feeling the urge to overeat for days, and the mental effort of fending it off was beginning to wear me down to an uncomfortable degree. Today I feel a lot calmer, so maybe this will have gotten it out of my system for the time being? I can only hope!

Ironically, when I got on the scales this morning instead of going up my weight had gone down to a post-Xmas low of 11 stone exactly, so it almost feels like the universe is telling me not to sweat it, lol

So I won't. I cannot undo what is done, and I am fully aware that one day is nothing in the great scheme of things.

Line drawn.

Moving on...:)
 
It's bizarre isn't it, maybe you needed a little blow out to jerk the bod into behaving?

And you are so right - one day is nothing in the big plan xxx
 
Looks like it was just one of those random minor fluctuations because today it was up again.:rolleyes:

Official weigh-in: 11st 0.4lbs

Was hoping I might sneak back into the 10's on the basis of yesterday's numbers, but no, not quite.

At least I appear to have steadied the ship since Xmas - mini-meltdown over the weekend aside:oops: - so that's something. Now all I need is the will to maintain a consistent deficit, but that's proving a lot trickier than I hoped.

Still, there's no rush, and if I end up maintaining through the dicey days of late winter/early spring, I'll be doing better than I have for the past few years! I got down to around 11 stone in both 2013 and 2014 but couldn't make it stick for more than a few months either time, so just settling where I am now would be a major achievement for me. Fingers crossed, eh?

Have a good one, folks!x
 
Weight back up again this week by about half a pound.:rolleyes:

Official weigh in: 11st 1lb

No great surprise really because if I'm honest I'm hanging onto maintenance by a thread most days, never mind creating a deficit! Also, TOTM is currently hitting me with a delightful double whammy of bloating and constipation, so goodness only knows what my "proper" weight is right now.:confused:

Best if I just plough on and don't think about it, I suppose. Looking back over the years, the period between Xmas and Easter has always been the dodgiest time for me when it comes to weight management, so I probably ought to accept that I'm treading water for now, and that that's a good thing!

I'm still hitting my activity tracker target every day, so at least I feel I'm doing something towards my goal even if I'm not restricting calories as successfully as I would like.

With any luck it will all click into place if I keep doing what I'm doing. :)
 
I think it sounds like the perfect plan - just incorporate it all into your regular life and try not to worry about the numbers, especially with totm playing havoc!
 
...aaaaaand this morning I'm back in the 10's again. Just like that. Was nowhere near yesterday! o_O

Daft body.:D

Funnily enough though, I had been feeling sort of leaner the last few days, even though it wasn't showing on the scales - rings looser, waistbands looser, that type of thing - so perhaps I've been losing a bit of fat in the background whilst TOTM/menopause has been playing games with me. (Can't wait for all this nonsense to be over, btw!)

Anyway, not changing my stats because only Monday morning weigh-ins count, but it's nice to finally see a number I haven't seen since before Xmas. Things appear to be happening, albeit at glacial pace!:D
 
Thanks, Susie!

Still in the 10's this morning, but only just - an extra pair of socks and I'd be back to the 11's, lol!

I shall have to think light thoughts tomorrow morning...:D
 
Made it!....just!
Official weigh in: 10st 13.8lbs :woohoo::D

I expect I will fluctuate back into the 11's again, but the general trend is clearly down, and that's what matters.

I also seem to have finally gotten over my Xmas food hangover which had me constantly thinking about what treat item/meal was coming next. I mean, I am still thinking about food more than a *normal* person probably does, but I'm a lot calmer about it, so that's a relief.

Now I just have to keep it going and see where my weight settles. I have 10st 10 as my goal, but frankly, as long as my monthly weight range is within the 10's I'm not too bothered about hitting that precise number. The less I weigh, the less I get to eat and the more I'll have to move to sustain that weight, and to be honest I'm not sure I want to eat any less or move much more than I am at the moment.

But we'll see. Perhaps I'll suddenly start wanting to run marathons or something. Ha!:cool::D
 
Woohoo wtg Scrummie, that's fab!

Slow and steady is working well for you hun, just keep doing what you're doing and you'll know when you've got to the weight your body is happy with.

And good luck with the marathon running :).
 
Thanks, ladies!:D

Been hanging on just inside the 10's since Sunday, so I'm mildly hopeful of staying there.

And whilst that hasn't kick-started any marathon training:p, it has motivated me to step up my movement a bit so that I'm consistently hitting 10k steps a day, which is pretty significant for me since I average a paltry 2000-3000 per day if I don't make the effort.

Foodwise I'm still sticking to 1700-1800 calories per day, which would be round about maintenance if I weren't exercising, so I hope I can keep it going!

Sunny morning today, so I'm off outside....before it rains :rolleyes:

Have a good one, folks!x
 
Envy you the sun today, yucko here.

WTG on the steps - I've been so housebound lately that I really need to (cough) step up my stepping :). I read an article about what exercise you should be able to do in your 50s - one being sitting down cross legged and getting back up again without help or using your arms. Really? Really???? :eek::oops:
 
Huh?? I don't think I could have done that when I was fifteen, let alone fifty!:eek: I'll stick to my stepping, with a bit of manic arm-waving, lol :D

Most of my exercising has been done indoors this winter, and I've been surprised how many steps I can rack up without going anywhere at all, AND without any fancy schmancy equipment. I worked out that if I spend 5 minutes per hour that I'm awake (so about 16 hours) doing some kind of movement (marching/jogging on the spot, silly dancing, whatever!) that would be an hour and 20 minutes of "exercise" every day, and it's more than enough to hit my target without ever feeling like I'm knackering myself:p It's a very small investment time-wise that seems to be yielding a surprising amount of benefit in terms of how much I get to eat whilst still losing weight, and how I feel in general. I'm kinda kicking myself for not realising this years ago!:rolleyes:

Weigh in this morning was unexpectedly good: 10st 12.8lbs, so down a pound from Monday:eek:. I'm obviously at the low point of my cycle just now and it will go back up, but each new low tells me I'm still doing just enough to whittle away at my fat stores, so I'm a happy bunny :D

Sunny again today, so I walked a couple of miles around the neighbourhood this morning - nice to get a chunk of steps done outside for a change!

Have a lovely weekend, folks!x
 
Scrumbles said:
I worked out that if I spend 5 minutes per hour that I'm awake (so about 16 hours) doing some kind of movement (marching/jogging on the spot, silly dancing, whatever!) that would be an hour and 20 minutes of "exercise" every day, and it's more than enough to hit my target without ever feeling like I'm knackering myself:p It's a very small investment time-wise that seems to be yielding a surprising amount of benefit in terms of how much I get to eat whilst still losing weight, and how I feel in general. I'm kinda kicking myself for not realising this years ago!:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

You are a genius - that is exceedingly clever!!! I'm going to try that too :D. Have a fab weekend yourself, lovely x
 
You're too kind!:oops::D

I just think exercise doesn't have to be some big, scary commitment to be effective.

I am a great believer in "little and often" when it comes to activity, and I'm not alone. Recent research - and I wish I could remember where I read this! - indicates that people who do their exercise in big chunks (ie flog themselves for an hour at the gym several times a week) are less likely to lose weight and keep it off in the long term than people who increase their NEAT, ie. their incidental movement throughout the day. The thinking behind this is that the formal exercisers do their workout, wear themselves out, then feel they're "done" and end up slobbing out on the sofa for the rest of the day, whereas the little-and-often movers don't get that same sense of completion (or knackered-ness!) and tend to keep a slow but steady burn going all day thus burning more calories in total - they fidget away their fat, basically!

What I do isn't quite the same as being a natural fidget, but deliberately incorporating short bursts of activity throughout my day is the best I can come up with to mimic it, and it does seem to work. It's become so habitual, in fact, that it now feels wrong if I sit for more than about 40 minutes at a time, and I find I actually want to get up and move, which has never been the case for me in the past.

Incidentally, I'm not quite as rigid about it as I may have made it sound - that in itself would be a recipe for failure for me - but I try to make sure I do something each hour, even if it's just a bit of disco dancing whilst I'm waiting for the kettle to boil: that's two and a half minutes of strutting my funky stuff right there:cool:. I'm convinced every little helps, even that.

So go for it! Though if your dancing is like mine you might want to wait till your builders are finished before you start unleashing your inner disco queen in the kitchen, lol :p:D
 
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