I completely see what you're saying maryjh. The last time I lost weight I had the goal of my best friend's wedding in August, so I started exercising and eating better around April-May time and continued successfully through the summer - I found that time of year was really helpful with what I was trying to do because it was very hot for a couple of weeks so I didn't really feel like eating much and seeing as it was often dry and relatively mild weather I was able to go out for walks much more regularly than I'm finding I can at the moment.
I can't speak for everyone but a lot of people see January as a time for new beginnings, a fresh start. I didn't start my healthier lifestyle on January 1st as like you said, I was still celebrating the festive period. I did notice that by not stressing about what to eat at Christmas, I actually managed to lose weight the week between Christmas and NY. I started going to Body Attack classes the week before Christmas and upped my exercise routine. I relaxed over Christmas and find myself home with a horrible cold today, so am yet to get back into it.
January is a cold and dreary month, perhaps having a goal helps to see people through the month?
After writing my post I thought some more and I actually completely agree that starting new classes, or an excercise routine in Jan is a good idea and could work well, as it gets you out of the house, gives you a goal at a dreary time of year.
What I genuinely have never understood ia how people can have finished their Christmas food by 1 Jan and hate the idea that it might get thrown away!
Having said that I've had a cold/cough since just after Christmas and said no to joining my friend at Zumba this evening. So nobody follow my example.
Clara, I have also noticed that I don't generally put on weight at Christmas - I think because the food is good quality, and there are long gaps between meals and always lots to do.
Well, I managed to resist the usual Friday dinnertime takeaway at work. They came round as usual with the menu for the local greasy spoon and i politely declined...........I feel quite proud of myself!!
How is everyone planning on coping with the weekend? It's usually when a lot of people fall off the wagon due to the temptation of alcohol/takeaways etc
I've managed quite well today in terms of calories and exercise. .So far I've had 250 calories (I start work at 7 in the morning and it's far too early to eat beforehand, so I usually just wait until lunch and haven't had my main meal yet, in case you were concerned about the low calorie count!) and done two hours on my exercise bike.
However, it's my one day off tomorrow so I decided to get myself some Coors Light beer to have tonight. Was going to get the 340ml bottles, but Tesco was sold out so I had to get the 440ml cans instead. Hoping it's not going to increase my calories from alcohol by too much
After writing my post I thought some more and I actually completely agree that starting new classes, or an excercise routine in Jan is a good idea and could work well, as it gets you out of the house, gives you a goal at a dreary time of year.
What I genuinely have never understood ia how people can have finished their Christmas food by 1 Jan and hate the idea that it might get thrown away!
I think for me it's a case of getting a routine in place. I'm not a huge fan of these long dark nights and always tend to eat more which isn't good so if I can start tp get into an exercising routine and try and make more diet a bit more healthy I'm more likely to stick to it and feel better for it.
We've still got a lot of Christmas chocolate left. We tend not to buy too much extra food in so it's chocolate we get left with. I've got some choc tree decorations left and some celebrations etc. I will eat them, but I'll have one and not 4/5 a time.
Don't know if this has been posted - it might help some of you:
WW online - you can sign up for free for the next three months. In the Money Saving email it tells you how - think that is as much as I can say.
Having said that I've registered with WW, and I'm not that impressed with the online system. I felt my fitness pal was just the same, and it was free. Will see how WW goes though - aiming to lose 1-1.5 stone.
Well, I managed to resist the usual Friday dinnertime takeaway at work. They came round as usual with the menu for the local greasy spoon and i politely declined...........I feel quite proud of myself!!
Well, I managed to resist the usual Friday dinnertime takeaway at work. They came round as usual with the menu for the local greasy spoon and i politely declined...........I feel quite proud of myself!!
I started the 5:2 intermittent fast diet in September and have lost 1.5 stone and have not given up alcohol and not stopped eating what I like.
I started it after watching the Horizon programme that Dr Michael Mosley did. I have not been doing it over Christmas as too much was going on so am starting again next week. I got on the scales this morning and surprisingly I'm happy to say the weight I lost has not come back on.
I can't praise this diet highly enough as there are lots more health benefits as well as weight loss and this is a diet that you can stay on as a lifestyle diet unlike any other I have ever tried as you can still eat and drink what you like.
Just thought I would put my experience here in case it helps anyone.
I decided to try My Fitness Pal.
I have really cut back on my food intake and I have stopped the evening glass or two of wine and I am amazed at my calorie intake!
No wonder I was putting weight on. I'm meant to be on 1400 cals a day and haven't managed less than 1800 yet.
I think I will probably switch to Slimming World as I'm really hungry counting calories.
I started the 5:2 intermittent fast diet in September and have lost 1.5 stone and have not given up alcohol and not stopped eating what I like.
I started it after watching the Horizon programme that Dr Michael Mosley did. I have not been doing it over Christmas as too much was going on so am starting again next week. I got on the scales this morning and surprisingly I'm happy to say the weight I lost has not come back on.
I can't praise this diet highly enough as there are lots more health benefits as well as weight loss and this is a diet that you can stay on as a lifestyle diet unlike any other I have ever tried as you can still eat and drink what you like.
Just thought I would put my experience here in case it helps anyone.
I am really intetested in this diet but what do you eat on your 2 day,can you have say coffee with milk and sweetner freely,or has that got to be added to your calories for the day,i could probably cut down on food but not my brew,s,when you think a bannana can be over 100 cals ,eating 500 must be pretty restrictive.
I decided to try My Fitness Pal.
I have really cut back on my food intake and I have stopped the evening glass or two of wine and I am amazed at my calorie intake!
No wonder I was putting weight on. I'm meant to be on 1400 cals a day and haven't managed less than 1800 yet.
I think I will probably switch to Slimming World as I'm really hungry counting calories.
Two possibilities there.
1. Reduce your weekly weight loss goal to allow yourself some more calories. The recommended setting is to aim for a 1lb weight loss per week, but you could reduce it to 1/2lb. You can do that via Settings >> Update diet/fitness profile. That's how you'd change settings on a PC, anyway; it may be different on other devices.
2. Take more exercise, because that counts against your calorie intake. I have a regular walk six days a week (just to collect my newspaper, actually) that uses up 120 calories, and if I go out cycling for an hour that's 500 calories or so, and if I do those things I can eat another 620 calories in the day.
I like My Fitness Pal, though it does have some weaknesses. I started using it in early September, then ignored it for a couple of weeks when I was away on holiday and also over the past couple of weeks, partly because of Christmas and partly because I had a cold and didn't feel too energetic. However, I've managed to take off 21lbs, haven't found it difficult, haven't been particularly hungry, and intend to keep it going for quite a while, because I've at least another two stone to go!
1. Reduce your weekly weight loss goal to allow yourself some more calories. The recommended setting is to aim for a 1lb weight loss per week, but you could reduce it to 1/2lb. You can do that via Settings >> Update diet/fitness profile. That's how you'd change settings on a PC, anyway; it may be different on other devices.
2. Take more exercise, because that counts against your calorie intake. I have a regular walk six days a week (just to collect my newspaper, actually) that uses up 120 calories, and if I go out cycling for an hour that's 500 calories or so, and if I do those things I can eat another 620 calories in the day.
I like My Fitness Pal, though it does have some weaknesses. I started using it in early September, then ignored it for a couple of weeks when I was away on holiday and also over the past couple of weeks, partly because of Christmas and partly because I had a cold and didn't feel too energetic. However, I've managed to take off 21lbs, haven't found it difficult, haven't been particularly hungry, and intend to keep it going for quite a while, because I've at least another two stone to go!
I've set it to 2lb a week weight loss. I just know I would lose all motivation if I was only losing a 1/2 lb a week.
Saying that it's a great app, love the barcode scanner.
I am going the Food Doctor route to kick start mine (ie low GI and healthy eating) Including not drinking for a month at least and I'll be revving up my exercise prog too.
Got nearly 3 stone to lose to restore myself to former glory of my pre-giving up smoking weight. Aiming for end June. And no, am not going back on the **** in despair! But appetite is a real problem for me.
Have tried to lose before, but not with my heart/mindset in it really. Want this to be a long-term thing, not just for new year! So not a diet as such...
I've set it to 2lb a week weight loss. I just know I would lose all motivation if I was only losing a 1/2 lb a week.
Saying that it's a great app, love the barcode scanner.
If you've set it to 2lb a week, it's not surprising that you're hungry! Take it back to the recommended 1lb per week, then. You'll probably lose more than that in the early stages anyway.
Just as an example of how exercise makes it easier, here's my Fitness Pal Daily Summary for today. My calorie goal was 1660 calories. My actual calorie intake was 2169, but during the day I took exercise amounting to 538 calories, leaving me with a net calorie intake of 1631, just a little under my daily calorie goal. Some days I'd be maybe 200 or 300 calories under my goal, occasionally (maybe one day per week) a little over.
I find it works for me, anyway, and I can eat in a reasonably normal way, rather than adopting some cranky diet that's quite unsustainable after a while.
If you've set it to 2lb a week, it's not surprising that you're hungry! Take it back to the recommended 1lb per week, then. You'll probably lose more than that in the early stages anyway.
Just as an example of how exercise makes it easier, here's my Fitness Pal Daily Summary for today. My calorie goal was 1660 calories. My actual calorie intake was 2169, but during the day I took exercise amounting to 538 calories, leaving me with a net calorie intake of 1631, just a little under my daily calorie goal. Some days I'd be maybe 200 or 300 calories under my goal, occasionally (maybe one day per week) a little over.
I find it works for me, anyway, and I can eat in a reasonably normal way, rather than adopting some cranky diet that's quite unsustainable after a while.
Ok. I'm joining a gym next week with a friend so hopefully we will motivate each other to exercise.
I will have to change my target to 1 lb a week and see if I can stick to that.
Filling in my calories has made me realise how much I was overeating anyway so even if I swap to another method it's been useful for that.
I am really intetested in this diet but what do you eat on your 2 day,can you have say coffee with milk and sweetner freely,or has that got to be added to your calories for the day,i could probably cut down on food but not my brew,s,when you think a bannana can be over 100 cals ,eating 500 must be pretty restrictive.
It is restrictive but you do get used to it. I usually drink coffee with milk and 2 sugars but on a fast day I replace the sugar with canderel sweeteners as they are calorie free. A filter coffee with a bit of milk & 2 canderel is 30 cals (60 if I had sugar) and yes that has to be part of your 500 cal allowance.
My fast day usually consists of a coffee for breakfast, 2 satsumas and a banana for lunch, bowl of fresh soup for tea ( have to check the cals on the container) and a coffee for supper. If I have an odd few cals left I have a few maltesers as they are 5 cals each. The rest of the day you have to fill yourself up with water as that is unlimited.
Michael Mosley has a bool out on it now on Amazon called The Fast Diet.
The best thing about it is you can struggle for one day in the knowledge that you know you can eat what you want the next day.
MyFitnessPal online or the app on smartphones is brill for this diet as it has a calorie counter for most foods and you can keep a diary entry on there of what you eat and record your daily weight. If you do it properly you will be very pleasantly surprised.
I have never been able to stick to any other diet but this is great.
I am another advocate of My Fitness Pal, and I use it to plan in advance that way you can see how many calories you are using and make changes if need be.
For example I make a homemade curry and by swapping my portion of Basmati rice for 200g of new pototoes I save myself over 100 calories!
Logging food after I've eaten it is no use to me so I use MFP as a meal planner.
I lost 20lbs in 2011 and maintained my goal weight through giving up smoking and some difficult personal times, I only gained weight when I fell pregnant.
I've been gradually losing weight for the last 2 years on various diets. So far i've gone from 16.st 3 pounds to 12st 5 pounds. My aim is to get to 11st by the spring/summer.
Since the end of October i've lost over a stone. I did it first by doing slimfast for three weeks. Then I tried this diet where you had 600 calories for 2 days of the week. Now I am eating 900 calories for 2 weeks to try and get my weight to 12st. Then i'll go back to the slimfast diet.
I'm 5'11" and male so I think 11st is right. Josie Gibson is the same height as me and as got to 10st and looks amazing. I hope to get my body into shape too, but realise once I reach 11st i am going to seriously get into exercise (which I hate).
I am another advocate of My Fitness Pal, and I use it to plan in advance that way you can see how many calories you are using and make changes if need be.
Logging food after I've eaten it is no use to me so I use MFP as a meal planner.
I do that too, it ensures I don't go over on my calories rather than logging what I ate the day after I had it - if I'm over, its too late then!
Went a 5 mile walk yesterday, so pleased with that.
Giving my legs a break today, will walk tomorrow again.
Quiet night in tonight, no alcohol or snacks either!
That's very good! Since 1st Jan I have given myself a goal of walking very briskly for 2 miles every day. It took me 39 minutes today and that distance just fits in with my family commitments.
Walking is excellent exercise providing it's brisk and you get your heart pumping nicely.
Fell off the wagon last night,but to be honest I should have waited till monday to start,but I i did start my running fri morn,just round the block,but I will go a bit further next time,and I ran all the way without stopping so it,s a pretty good start after not doing it for so long,onwards and upward,s,hope everyone else is doing slightly better.
Comments
January is a cold and dreary month, perhaps having a goal helps to see people through the month?
What I genuinely have never understood ia how people can have finished their Christmas food by 1 Jan and hate the idea that it might get thrown away!
Having said that I've had a cold/cough since just after Christmas and said no to joining my friend at Zumba this evening. So nobody follow my example.
Clara, I have also noticed that I don't generally put on weight at Christmas - I think because the food is good quality, and there are long gaps between meals and always lots to do.
I've managed quite well today in terms of calories and exercise. .So far I've had 250 calories (I start work at 7 in the morning and it's far too early to eat beforehand, so I usually just wait until lunch and haven't had my main meal yet, in case you were concerned about the low calorie count!) and done two hours on my exercise bike.
However, it's my one day off tomorrow so I decided to get myself some Coors Light beer to have tonight. Was going to get the 340ml bottles, but Tesco was sold out so I had to get the 440ml cans instead. Hoping it's not going to increase my calories from alcohol by too much
I think for me it's a case of getting a routine in place. I'm not a huge fan of these long dark nights and always tend to eat more which isn't good so if I can start tp get into an exercising routine and try and make more diet a bit more healthy I'm more likely to stick to it and feel better for it.
We've still got a lot of Christmas chocolate left. We tend not to buy too much extra food in so it's chocolate we get left with. I've got some choc tree decorations left and some celebrations etc. I will eat them, but I'll have one and not 4/5 a time.
WW online - you can sign up for free for the next three months. In the Money Saving email it tells you how - think that is as much as I can say.
Having said that I've registered with WW, and I'm not that impressed with the online system. I felt my fitness pal was just the same, and it was free. Will see how WW goes though - aiming to lose 1-1.5 stone.
well done !!!
Big pat on the back Stella:D
I started the 5:2 intermittent fast diet in September and have lost 1.5 stone and have not given up alcohol and not stopped eating what I like.
I started it after watching the Horizon programme that Dr Michael Mosley did. I have not been doing it over Christmas as too much was going on so am starting again next week. I got on the scales this morning and surprisingly I'm happy to say the weight I lost has not come back on.
I can't praise this diet highly enough as there are lots more health benefits as well as weight loss and this is a diet that you can stay on as a lifestyle diet unlike any other I have ever tried as you can still eat and drink what you like.
Just thought I would put my experience here in case it helps anyone.
I have really cut back on my food intake and I have stopped the evening glass or two of wine and I am amazed at my calorie intake!
No wonder I was putting weight on. I'm meant to be on 1400 cals a day and haven't managed less than 1800 yet.
I think I will probably switch to Slimming World as I'm really hungry counting calories.
1. Reduce your weekly weight loss goal to allow yourself some more calories. The recommended setting is to aim for a 1lb weight loss per week, but you could reduce it to 1/2lb. You can do that via Settings >> Update diet/fitness profile. That's how you'd change settings on a PC, anyway; it may be different on other devices.
2. Take more exercise, because that counts against your calorie intake. I have a regular walk six days a week (just to collect my newspaper, actually) that uses up 120 calories, and if I go out cycling for an hour that's 500 calories or so, and if I do those things I can eat another 620 calories in the day.
I like My Fitness Pal, though it does have some weaknesses. I started using it in early September, then ignored it for a couple of weeks when I was away on holiday and also over the past couple of weeks, partly because of Christmas and partly because I had a cold and didn't feel too energetic. However, I've managed to take off 21lbs, haven't found it difficult, haven't been particularly hungry, and intend to keep it going for quite a while, because I've at least another two stone to go!
I've set it to 2lb a week weight loss. I just know I would lose all motivation if I was only losing a 1/2 lb a week.
Saying that it's a great app, love the barcode scanner.
Got nearly 3 stone to lose to restore myself to former glory of my pre-giving up smoking weight. Aiming for end June. And no, am not going back on the **** in despair! But appetite is a real problem for me.
Have tried to lose before, but not with my heart/mindset in it really. Want this to be a long-term thing, not just for new year! So not a diet as such...
Just as an example of how exercise makes it easier, here's my Fitness Pal Daily Summary for today. My calorie goal was 1660 calories. My actual calorie intake was 2169, but during the day I took exercise amounting to 538 calories, leaving me with a net calorie intake of 1631, just a little under my daily calorie goal. Some days I'd be maybe 200 or 300 calories under my goal, occasionally (maybe one day per week) a little over.
I find it works for me, anyway, and I can eat in a reasonably normal way, rather than adopting some cranky diet that's quite unsustainable after a while.
Ok. I'm joining a gym next week with a friend so hopefully we will motivate each other to exercise.
I will have to change my target to 1 lb a week and see if I can stick to that.
Filling in my calories has made me realise how much I was overeating anyway so even if I swap to another method it's been useful for that.
It is restrictive but you do get used to it. I usually drink coffee with milk and 2 sugars but on a fast day I replace the sugar with canderel sweeteners as they are calorie free. A filter coffee with a bit of milk & 2 canderel is 30 cals (60 if I had sugar) and yes that has to be part of your 500 cal allowance.
My fast day usually consists of a coffee for breakfast, 2 satsumas and a banana for lunch, bowl of fresh soup for tea ( have to check the cals on the container) and a coffee for supper. If I have an odd few cals left I have a few maltesers as they are 5 cals each. The rest of the day you have to fill yourself up with water as that is unlimited.
Michael Mosley has a bool out on it now on Amazon called The Fast Diet.
The best thing about it is you can struggle for one day in the knowledge that you know you can eat what you want the next day.
MyFitnessPal online or the app on smartphones is brill for this diet as it has a calorie counter for most foods and you can keep a diary entry on there of what you eat and record your daily weight. If you do it properly you will be very pleasantly surprised.
I have never been able to stick to any other diet but this is great.
If you need any advice/help just ask.
Had pork and a massive plate of salad was really nice.
Have not eaten a lot of carbs since starting and feel pretty good.
No bread/biscuits/cake and nothing processed so far. Not missing bread yet.
Giving my legs a break today, will walk tomorrow again.
Quiet night in tonight, no alcohol or snacks either!
I am another advocate of My Fitness Pal, and I use it to plan in advance that way you can see how many calories you are using and make changes if need be.
For example I make a homemade curry and by swapping my portion of Basmati rice for 200g of new pototoes I save myself over 100 calories!
Logging food after I've eaten it is no use to me so I use MFP as a meal planner.
I lost 20lbs in 2011 and maintained my goal weight through giving up smoking and some difficult personal times, I only gained weight when I fell pregnant.
Since the end of October i've lost over a stone. I did it first by doing slimfast for three weeks. Then I tried this diet where you had 600 calories for 2 days of the week. Now I am eating 900 calories for 2 weeks to try and get my weight to 12st. Then i'll go back to the slimfast diet.
I'm 5'11" and male so I think 11st is right. Josie Gibson is the same height as me and as got to 10st and looks amazing. I hope to get my body into shape too, but realise once I reach 11st i am going to seriously get into exercise (which I hate).
I do that too, it ensures I don't go over on my calories rather than logging what I ate the day after I had it - if I'm over, its too late then!
That's very good! Since 1st Jan I have given myself a goal of walking very briskly for 2 miles every day. It took me 39 minutes today and that distance just fits in with my family commitments.
Walking is excellent exercise providing it's brisk and you get your heart pumping nicely.