Let this be a new start

[Kim58]

Hi everyone I have joined today so I have a bit to learn my way around this but I need to lose about two stone which may not sound a lot but I have struggled for years yo yo dieting with every slimming club, potion and pills. My main problem is wine I am going to try not to drink wine as most nights I can easily drink a bottle which I know is bad. I hope by joining this forum I get to talk to people and get some support.

[Tiggerr]

Hi Kim and welcome.

One of the admins will later help you find your way around by supplying you with plenty of useful information.

I can sympathise with the whole wine thing. When I started 9 weeks ago my alcohol intake was &(*)&*() too embarrassing to quantify publicly. Strangely within a couple of weeks, because I was calorie counting I knocked hard spirits on the head. I was still losing weight beforehand but I found that I wanted to make calorific room to eat better things.

Unfortunately for me, I find it difficult to just have one drink and if I had 'a few', my defenses were going down and I was heading towards the nearest choccy in the house. So 3 weeks ago as of this morning, I stopped alcohol altogether. I don't know why but I haven't missed it yet and I'm waiting for a backlash but fingers crossed.

I'm not advocating giving up alcohol as we're all different but thought I'd share my little drinking journey in case any of it helps.

Wishing you all the best.

[lucigret in reply to Tiggerr]

Well done Tiggerr , I'm impressed. Well done also on your great weight loss, I popped along to Monday group to see what was going on and see you were lucky enough to have a Pom Pom wave😄 Your new badge is looking good🎉 Hope you have a lovely bouncy bouncy week

[Tiggerr in reply to lucigret]

Thanks, thanks and thanks again lucigret

I am taking it day to day and not taking myself too seriously. The thing is I know that I can't have one drink from now on because it will only start again but I feel extraordinarily strong about it at the moment.

... and I hope your week has an extra bounce in it too.

[Kim58 in reply to Tiggerr]

Thankyou for your reply I do appreciate it and I wish you lots of luck too on your journey hope we can keep it up, it's only my first day so here goes.

[lucigret]

Morning Kim58 and welcome to the forum. I can't say alcohol posses a problem for me, I just can't tolerate more than a martini and lemonade occasionally. My sister-in-law, goes dry every now and again and substitutes wine with a non alcoholic wine, just a suggestion, don't know if it would help you. Whatever and however you choose to loose weight, I wish you luck

[happyali]

Helloooo, you sound exactly the same as me, I would be happy to lose a stone but more would be good. This will be the start of my 3rd week and I'm struggling not to drink too much wine. I told myself that one glass a night would be ok but I find it hard not to have another one or even the bottle! I'm doing quite well with calories food wise and logging everything on "Myfitnesspal" but the wine is a problem. This week I am going to not have any at all until Friday as I've only lost 1lb this week and know if I'd not overindulged on wine every day it would have been more. So that's it no wine til Friday for me! Good luck x

[NannyEJ]

I too found I was drinking wine every day, 250mls (large glass) which over a week is a significant amount. I would usually drink more at weekends. I decided to cut out the wine completely during the week and at weekend I now just have 125mls in a large glass topped up with sparkling water to make a spritzer. I really like this and now straight wine tastes much too strong. I also like just sparkling water with ice and a slice of lemon, makes me feel like I am having a gin and tonic! Good luck xx EJ

[Tiggerr in reply to NannyEJ]

My go to drink for afternoons and evenings is pints of diet tonic with Angostura bitters. It has that beery bitterness but is also g & t refreshing in taste. I can also drink lots of it without my tastebuds rebelling. The Soda Stream has been de-mothballed so that I can keep the tonic costs to a minimum.

[Kim58 in reply to Tiggerr]

Thankyou for the tip I will try that. I have brought a can of gin with slimline for tonight at the cinema as my friend is bringing wine for herself and I don't want to feel left out 😀

[chris1959 Maintainer]

I'm on my first ever diet to lose 3 stone and hope it will be my last. Because it's going fine for me after 3 months (more than 2 stone lost so far), I'll give you my two cents. What helps for me is to find food that is low calorie that I like. Difficult because yummy stuff usually contains lots of calories. Pity! But I like oats for breakfast and I also really like brussel sprouts. I personally hate calorie counting (boring) and have been able to avoid this so far, because my 1kg per week weight loss has been smooth. No easy solution for alcohol, I think. It has to go, there are just too many calories! I also enjoy running. If you could find a sport you like (as opposed to just doing it because it's good for you) then you will not need so much motivation to get out there 3 times a week. Good luck!

[Beatrice65 in reply to chris1959]

Hi Chris,

Congratulation on your amazing weight loss & no doubt you feel wonderful, this is what I want to feel like, so any tips on your menu plan would, not only be inspirationa, but so beneficial to myself & others who are desperately trying very hard to achieve what you have achieved. Congrats again.

Beatrice65

[chris1959 Maintainer in reply to Beatrice65]

I'll only know if the plan is good in a year's time. If I put the weight on, I will have failed, so don't listen to me I'm lucky because I like running, and because I work at home and have a nice run on my doorstep, it's easy for me to do. If you don't like sport it must be much tougher. 1kg a week = 1000 calorie deficit per day and that is much too much with a sedentary lifestyle, I think. And because I hate calorie counting, I only eat 3 meals with nothing in between. If I ate more often I wold have to start counting but I would hate to do that because I find it so boring. And alcohol really has to be cut back drastically. If you are like me and find it difficult to have just one glass, then cut back to zero and then have max 2 glasses on 2 days a week. Recognize that serious dieting will never be fun, but is bearable because it is temporary. And maybe try to eat the same sort of stuff as you would normally, just less of it. The real objective, of course, is to keep the weight off for the rest of your life. Good luck!

[Kim58 in reply to chris1959]

Hi chris I guess you are the same age as me. I do not like running but I try and walk as much as possible and do at least 10,000 steps a day. I want to lose at least two stone and half a stone in a month do you think that's possible? It doesn't help that my partner drinks cider and is slim 😣

[chris1959 Maintainer in reply to Kim58]

Yes, I'm 57 years of age. And I have a slim partner too who eats and drinks what she likes. Half a stone a month is less than 2lb a week so seems OK to me. A lot of websites say that you can target 1-2lb a week, but not more, which is why I settled on 1kg a week over a 5 month period. 10,000 steps a day is very good! Exercising like that is probably essential if you want to target half a stone weight loss per month. But I'm not an expert. Other members of this site are probably much better qualified to give an opinion here.

[IndigoBlue61]

Hello Kim58 and welcome to the weight loss forum ☺

The first place to look is at the Pinned posts section to the right of your screen (bottom if you're using a mobile), read the Welcome Newbie thread first and move through to the challenges, where we hope you'll find at least one that will appeal to you ☺

Move down to the Topics, to find a variety of threads, collated into specific topics for ease of access and we ask that you also 'file' your own threads, so that others won't miss your important news ☺

Have a look at the NHS 12 week plan, as many people have had success with it. Also use the BMI checker to find your target calories, it's important to eat enough. This was a major turning point for me, realising I could eat anything I wanted as long as the calories are accounted for ☺

Don't forget to take your starting measurements and a 'before' picture, as they can be very motivating on days that the scales refuse to co-operate ☺

The forum also have group weigh-ins every day if you wish to take part. The posts can always be found in the Events section on the 'home' page ☺

You'll notice a grey box next to people's names, these are achievement badges, and as a new member you may have a 'Newbie' badge. If you have any questions or would like a Newbie badge please just ask ☺

We've found that to get the best out of this community, we need to be active on the forum, as it's where we exchange information, get motivation and inspiration and make friends. We hope that you'll join us here, regularly, too ☺

Best wishes

Anna

[Lynna49]

I too have just short of 2 stone to lose, was doing quite well and then my doggie died and I hit the cider and I have put back on in 3 days what I lost in 4 weeks. I'm back on it now been for a walk already today (minus the dog) and going to try pilates class later. Its all about small steps in my book.

[Kim58 in reply to Lynna49]

So sorry you lost your dog I lost my two cocker spaniels two years ago and I miss them every day. Keep up with the walking and good luck today. It's day two for me so I hope it goes well 😀

[Lippy47]

Hi i have only been on the diet for a week so newbies together. Good luck xxx

[Kim58 in reply to Lippy47]

Thankyou for the text good luck to you too. I am on day two 😀

[DRS54]

Hi, Kim

Welcome and you are describing me to a T, the only exception being that I am 5 years older than you. So don't do as I did for the last 5 years, and together we can try to banish those empty calories. Good luck!

[Kim58 in reply to DRS54]

Hi yes wine is my downfall especially at the weekends but I am on day two today and have downloaded the chart so I can put my calories in. Do you know how much white rice I can have with my chilli tonight 😊

[MadmellyGT]

I must admit, I love my wine (red) and usually have 2 bottles a week. (1 on sat and 1 on sun night as I don't work mondays, Yay me.) I'm usually pretty good in the week. However, I've been losing a steady 1lb a week so I'm not cutting anything out..... Yet! I have been and still eating smaller portions using a smaller plate, I'm also counting calories and weighing most things. Today is the start of my 9th week and have lost a stone so far. Just everything in moderation and you can't go far wrong. Good luck to you all. Onwards and downwards

[Kim58 in reply to MadmellyGT]

Wine is the one thing I can't seem to stop with just a glass or two. I was thinking of stopping it for lent and having a can of gin and slimline instead tonight as I am going to the cinema I know it's less calories but not as nice as wine ☹️

[MadmellyGT in reply to Kim58]

That's why I have a bottle of wine on the nights I drink. (can't seem to stop at a glass either unless I'm very tired and I'm literally falling asleep) I'm pretty strict with myself in the week tho where alcohol is concerned because I could literally drink like a fish if I'm not careful. Permanent hangovers and drunken nights a good diet does NOT make. Lol.

[Kim58 in reply to MadmellyGT]

You are right there lol I have had many a night like that 🤣

[DRS54]

Not sure on how much rice - I'd just go for,maybe, three quarters of my usual portion to start with and see how that works. Or google the calories in rice and work it out from there depending on what else you are having today.