New at this , but excited to see where it will take me :)

[Anarusky]

Hello everyone,

I have been trying to loose some weight for quite a while now , but with not much success . I have tried quite a few different diets and I would be very keen for a couple of days but than slowly losing interest for all the different reasons ( feeling too hungry , over exercising and than feeling exhausted, working long hours , etc. )

As a result of a google search , I have come across the NHS 12 week plan . Did a bit of reading and it makes sense to me so am very keen ( for now ) to give it a go !

Counting calories is a fairly new concept to me ( as most of the other diets I tried ,were excluding these or that ) so have armed myself with some accurate kitchen scales , booked mArked the calorie counter on the NHS website and did an impressively healthy shopping list for the week . I am a bit of a foodie - so I found it helpful to write down a list of unprocessed foods I like ( decided to have a cooked from scratch approach to the meals I'll be having - simple but tasty ) and check the calories they contain and how to turn them into meals that I like and still be under the advised . 1400 kcal per day intake whilst dieting .

Couple of other little things I 've done to make things easier : got a cute water flask , some Tupperware for packing lunch and snacks for the day at work ( working 11 hours, 5 days a week requires organising and pre planning to make it work ) , signing up to this amazing community !!Will have breakfast and dinner at home

Doing T25 , a DVD workout that will ( if getting myself to do it on a daily basis ) provide me with the recommended 150 minutes of varied work outs per week .

So , the plan is writen down and I have started today - stuck to my calories intake and did my exercises- feeling happy !

My aim is to loose approximately 10 kg in 12 to 15 weeks time if possible . I will keep this as a diary of my journey , a way to motivate myself and see where I will get to in 15 weeks Having two weddings to attend to and an amazing summer holiday in early August, so hopefully I will look great in the pictures :))

Never written a post before , so here is to a new start for everything !!

[BLOSSOMing]

Hello Anarusky, maybe we should work on lossing weight together since I've got 10kg to loss too. I will try to use this weekend to plan as much as i can... Wishes you the best.

[Anarusky in reply to BLOSSOMing]

Hi Blossoming,

Definitely, nothing better than having support ! I will be following you please share your thoughts , struggles and victories to keep each other on track and stick to our common goal !! Have a lovely day !

[BLOSSOMing in reply to Anarusky]

Yes definitely!

[EllaMidlands]

Hi, welcome! I have been using this forum since December and never have I seen a newbie so well prepared! You are going to smash this, I can tell already. I wish you luck and I shall follow your progress. 🤞

[Anarusky in reply to EllaMidlands]

Thank you so much ,EllaMidlands !

[PippiRuns 6kg Restart Jan 2025]

Like EllaMidlands , I must say, you are a woman who does her homework! You are very well prepared. That's half the work done (or maybe not quite but very important ).

It sounds like you have some extremely long working days and you are also planning to cook from scratch and exercise every day. As another busy working mother of two, I would suggest three things that might make your life easier. First, I suggest you prepare the coming days' meals, or some of them, on your days off, secondly, I cook meals for the freezer in large quantities - that is a timesaver! And thirdly, I suggest you build exercise into your daily commute to/from work to save time.

But, wow, I'm impressed! Good luck.

[Anarusky in reply to PippiRuns]

Hello IbenCopenhagen

Thank you so much for your advice- incorporating some exercise in my commute it is a great idea ! I am lucky enough to live close enough to my work ( I usually ride my bike - it's about 15 minutes away by bike - may be I can turn that into 35 minutes run , 2 or 3 times a week )

I think you are definitely spot on , on having a long working day and I agree - will be hard to find the time in the day for the exercising . My plan is to wake up one hour earlier - which will be quite hard as I am not a morning person- and do my exercises before work !! I think it's my only option though as when I get home in the evenings I am absolutely shattered - and chances are I will be to tired to do it !

Have a great day

[RG07 Maintainer in reply to Anarusky]

cycling or running to work counts to your 150mins/week of exercise which is what is recommended for everyone irrespective if they are wanting to loose weight or not, so you are already doing the necessary exercise if you cycle into woek every day. Maybe its the eating side you need to focus on- its importatnt to eat enough calories- if you don't have enough you actually can put weight on since your body thinks you are being starved so stores everything you eat as fat so stick to the recommended calorie intake proprosed by the NHS Choices 12 week weight loss plan 1400 if you are female

[Anarusky in reply to RG07]

Thank you for your advice -yes , definitely what I was eating was not great - will keep an eye on the calories and make better choices in regards to where I take them from

[IndigoBlue61]

Hello and welcome to the weight loss forum ☺

You have some excellent plans there Anarusky especially the plan to focus on what you CAN eat and planning interesting meals 😊

Here are a few suggestions for getting the most from the 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 ☺ (Please note if you are using the new HU App these facilities aren't available yet so you may prefer to use the full website version)

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

[MissHunt]

Thank you for your positive post. I am also starting out with hopes this can change my mindset. Have you ever downloaded my fitness pal app? It has a barcode gadget where you scan a barcode with your camera and it work out the amount of calories per portion and you can add it to your log. It has a huge database of foods. Good luck x

[Anarusky in reply to MissHunt]

Thank you for the app suggestion , will check it out

Best of luck to you too !

[BLOSSOMing]

Hello Anarusky, wondering if you are still trying to loss weight and what you are doing? Take care wish you the best. Cheerio