Very interesting CathyC. I have mine going back 3 years and they are
Dec 2019 – 80 kgs
Dec 2020 – 77.9 kgs
Dec 2021 – 75.6 kgs
Dec 2022 – ?????

Wow sunshinegirl- your stats are to be very proud of. Where are you hoping to be this Christmas? I found maintenance very difficult once I had lost my initial three stone. I don’t even know how I managed to lose so much weight as these days I struggle to lose at all. I think the drastic change in my WOE made a huge difference. I find stats encouraging and I reckon if I lose 10lb I’ll be somewhere near when I want to be by Christmas. I really have spent a lot of time faffing about! Life’s challenges have scuppered my efforts over the last year or so but I’m feeling so fed up with myself and so determined to get some control back. Carbs are definitely my enemy! They will have no place going forward and that is a lesson I’ve learned the hard way over the last year. Thank you for sharing your stats. I think it’s important to see how far we have come. Onwards and downwards

Thanks Yowzer & Nokie, I’m treasuring every moment so far – even now when it’s 5am on the day of the wedding and I’ve woken early and can’t get back to sleep! So I’ve been catching up on everyone’s posts quietly as I don’t want to wake everyone else!
Cathy I love your idea of sharing previous December weights, and here’s mine (I have weights in MFP going back to 2011!)
Dec 2016 – 103kg
Dec 2017 – 91.9kg
Dec 2018 – 97.6kg
Dec 2019. – 96.1kg
Dec 2020 – 98.6kg
Dec 2021 – 89kg
Dec 2022 – ????

Would dearly have loved be at 80kg this year, but knowing how slowly I lose weight I’m aiming for 82-85kg.

Now I’m going to listen to some mindfulness apps, if I can’t sleep at least I can relax 🙂

SUE !!! Soo excited for you..the Big Day has arrived and youre going to look amazing!
Lots of love to you and the bride and groom..a day you all will remember forever!❤️Xx

Hehe CATHY,NOKIE and ME..the back to basics three!
NOKIE think i might try the MM shakes…
NEVERGIVEUP Im doing cartwheels with you..you deffo might as well say 3 lb down! Excellent work towards our communal stone xx 🥳xx

Sue I am excited for you too I hope you enjoy the day and have many happy memories 💜
I haven’t got my stats unfortunately all u kniw is I need to loose a stone in weight I must stop changing my mind which plan to do and stick to it
We can do this I think you are all great 😊 as you certainly keep me going
Thankyou
Be in touch soon nokie xx

All the best Sue
Thanks Yowser 😊
Sharing your yearly weights is such a good idea and encouraging to see how far you’ve come. Unfortunately I haven’t got yearly weights as mostly I was too ashamed and not mentally able to face the scales after I spectacularly fell off the diet having followed it so well for 2 years. Silly I know, as the weights are just a number. I do know that at the end of 2016 I was around about 10st, although my new goal weight is currently 11st.
Sticking at it this time, in it for the long haul
xxx

Cathy asks where I want to be this December. First of all, those weights were all actually 1st January so probably a bit higher than a few weeks before Christmas. This year, before Christmas I would like to be 71kgs – 70 would be a dream. I am really focussed right now so will see how it goes but determined to last 8 weeks from Monday gone and that takes me to a week before Christmas when we head off the the UK for family time.

I think with your determination sunshine girl you have every chance of being at your dream weight for christmas. There are a few of us feeling determined together which is great. Enough is enough. I’ve faffed about for too long and I am hoping to be in ketosis by Sunday and then I am going to dig deep and work hard at achieving a healthy weight once again. I am going to try hard to get to 142 lb.

Hello everyone. I have been lurking here and on the weekly thread. Sounds sinister but it’s not! I can’t face digging out my annual figures. But my goal is to lose 10% of my weight by Christmas. Some health issues have reappeared as my weight has crept back up – and that is great motivation. That said, this is my seventh “restart” this year, so don’t hang out the flags yet! I know what I need to do, but my head has simply not been in the right place.

I was reading a CBT book in June, to try and get my head sorted: Atomic Habits by James Clear. It was an interesting read. One of the statements that has stuck with me is this: “Every action you take is a vote for the person you want to become”. It felt particularly relevant since there are so many decisions on food each day – even with the best plans and shopping lists. So each decision to make a better choice on food is a good vote! It is also all about actions rather than plans or ambitions…. I am talking to myself really.

Anyway, I am with you on getting back to basics, and wishing us all success. Now Week 1 Day 3.

Cathy 142 would be a dream for me. I am currently 159. Don’t think 142 is possible for me but certainly 150 would be nice. But you never know what you can achieve until you really , really try.

Caronl – great to see you back and feeling motivated. There are a few of us ready to get going again. Like you I’ve had numerous attempts at a reboot this year without success and life’s challenges seem to scupper me every time. Still lots of sadness and challenges to deal with but for some reason I am feeling stronger and more focused on getting to my goal. I’m going to test my urine tomorrow and hopefully I’ll be in ketosis which means I can look forward to feeling less hungry!
Im eating a lot less and eating low carb so hopefully on a steady downward slope to health and feeling better.

ClarinetCathy, Thanks for the welcome back. Fingers crossed for tomorrow!

Hello everyone. Great to catch up on the posts, and great to see you again caronl. You are welcome to lurk here any time!

Sue I hope the wedding went well and that you all had a lovely happy day.

Count me in the Christmas losers club. Great idea Cathy to declare our goals publicly. I want to be safely below 140lb again – ideally around 138lb.

Great idea too to look back on our previous Christmas weights. Mine, in pounds, are:

2016 175
2017 141
2018 139
2019 144
2020 141
2021 146

2016 was just before starting this WoE in January 2017. I got to the stage that Christmas and New Year where most of my clothes no longer fitted and I felt sluggish and awful. Decided it was time to change and the rest, as they say, is history.

However, I’m also at the stage like others on this thread where I need to get my act together and start heading more purposefully in the right direction again. I was 150lb at the beginning of the week – my highest weight in a long time. Much of it was carb water I think, because I started off the week well and by Wednesday was down to 145.8lb – my lowest weight for several months. However, I undid some of that progress with a family celebration in London yesterday 🙀 . . . but today is a new day.

We have a week to go on this thread and then the Christmas bus 🚐 will roll out of the garage! Which means we still have 9-10 weeks to Christmas. And if I can just lose an average of 11b a week, I will get to my Christmas goal. If !

I know you will all be a tremendous help and support along the way, and I hope to do the same for you too. So onwards and downward, as they say!

Have a great week everyone X

Hello all😀
Hope the wedding went well sue I was thinking of you 💕
Dreams cometrue I am exactly the same as you how strange so if I can loose 11b a week up to Xmas I will be where I want to be too🤪
I don’t think I would of kept going without this great group it’s really nice to belong with all the posts that come through THANKYOU 🙏
Goodluck everyone gave a good week
Nokie 💐

Hi everyone especially CARONL! Xx
I dont have stats ..all i know is that i seriously need to lose weight and keep losing,instead of yoyoing up and down
Last week or so i have been Back to Basics,so shd see good results. Havent been on scales,i dont find it very helpful as its an emotional seesaw of ups,downs,nd Am i really still this heavy! But things are looser on me,good sign!
SUE please jump on the bus when ypu have a moment and tell us about the big day!
Everyone else,keep on working towards yr goals! Keep on keeping off as LINDA says! XX

DCT – the wedding was beautiful, we had such a good time 🙂 it was an outdoor wedding overlooking the beach. All week we’d had rainy weather and Friday morning was no different but then the sun came out at lunchtime and the weather was gorgeous all afternoon, blue skies, sunshine and a sparkling ocean made the perfect backdrop for the ceremony. It was a lovely, intimate wedding with just immediate family and a few close friends of the bride and groom. My daughters looked beautiful (my younger 2 were bridesmaids for their older sister). It was strange dressing up, having my hair and make up done and wearing heels and a dress again, after 2 years of mainly wearing yoga pants and joggers 🙂
We then partied all evening (actually till 3am!) – I would have burnt some calories dancing that’s for sure! We had booked a holiday flat near the beach and made a long weekend of it. Food wise I didn’t go overboard, although I did have a few glasses of wine and champagne 🥂
We’re back home now and I’m going to board the bus tomorrow and get back into a healthy eating routine again. I’m not going to count calories, I’m on leave this week and we have a few outings planned, some involving walking so that should help.’Then I’ll restart properly the week after, that’s my plan anyway!

Ah all sounds amazing Sue! How lovely. Have a fab few days off and yes do slip back into your seat when you’re ready! X

Oh how fab SUE that the weather cheered up for you all.
Being by the beach sounds gorgeous! So many lovely memories made all weekend..im glad youve got a week leave ahead to process it all.
Welcome back to the bus! XX 🥳🎶🥳

Sue- thank you for sharing your lovely wedding news. What a wonderful day you all had. We will give you a huge cheer when you step on board to join us again. You might see a huge light from my halo as you board because I’ve been polishing it! I am firmly in ketosis and am feeling very very focused for the next 9 weeks until Christmas. Can’t wait for the Christmas bus to roll out of the garage next week.
I’ve found it really inspiring seeing the journey we have been on- some of us since 2017 and looking at the scores on the doors! 2022 hasn’t been a great year for me but it hope that by 2023 I am in a better place weight wise. If I can get to 142 by Christmas Eve- I can then achieve my goal of getting to 138 lb for March when I have a snorkelling holiday booked!
Yowser- like you I’ve fallen out with the scales so I’ve decided not to weigh myself until Christmas Eve and to rely on my clothes fitting better. I want the huge lump of fat above the waistband be gone when I put on my jeans!!
If we all do as well as we can then I reckon the New Year Bus will be a party bus! Wouldn’t that be fantastic! I can’t wait to sit on the maintenance bus with you all.
Keep going everyone- keep telling us how you’re doing, keep your eyes on the prize. One day soon we will all be where we want to be. I reckon 2023 will have us all at goal!!!!! How good is that?

Inspiring words from so many. This is going to be great 🙌

Nokie we can lose our weekly pound together! But I’m also just as focused on clothes, as others have mentioned. I bought two new items online around this time last year, a shimmery pleated skirt and some smart black culottes with lovely gold buttons. When they arrived they were both a bit tight round the waist but I didn’t return them, thinking oh they’ll fit soon. I’m ashamed to say they never have. I did wear the skirt once with a baggy top and the button undone. But I’ve never worn the culottes. What a waste (or should that be what a waist 😂!!) I’d love to be able to fit properly into them both by Christmas so that’s another mini goal for me too!

Hello and hope everyone is keeping to their plan. I am still firmly in ketosis and my hunger has dissipated. I had a hospital cancellation today to have my steroid injections in my toes and was proud to refuse a cup of coffee and biscuits after the procedure. It’s funny how hospitals think biscuits are ok to give out. The guy next to me who was diabetic had two sugars in his coffee and helped himself to a fair few packets of biscuits (they were thankfully individually wrapped)! Grateful to have had my injections but it means I have to delay my Covid booster but I must still have some immunity as I didn’t catch Covid from my husband last week. Had an omelette tonight which was tasty and I’ve had some Greek yoghurt and some toasted seeds, My face definitely looks slimmer!

Keep going everyone.

Hi All
We’re still here although only just.
The next cruise the transatlantic one goes from Southampton on 29th October, just 10 days away & we’re not expecting miracles to happen in that time. I’m doing the bounce when weight goes up & down constantly. Got on scales this morning & I was back to weight I got off the ship on 3rd September so although we’ve been trying hard – we failed dismally. A lot going on here so not really a surprise – I can’t get Carl to stand on the scales for love nor money. methinks he’s put on 7ibs to 1 stone???? EEK! Last trip 2 dresses which I’d tried on before looked decidedly too small towards the end of the cruise, there are being replaced with some more forgiving ones.

Still, we’re still here, better than the alternative. Carl’s ex wife passed over in the last week & the services are this weekend. It was actually a blessing for her & the daughters as she had just been diagnosed with Parkinson’s the last time we were over & she had the tremors & the speech problems then. On top of that she developed Dementia & the last few months she just slept. Poor lady but at least she’s at peace now & no longer suffering. 70 is still too young to go though. Carl I think has been comfort eating. He’s either feasting or is in famine mode – neither of which is good. He does this every time a friend passes over too.

We are SO looking forward to seeing the oh so stunning daughters, their lovely hubbies & the 2 grandchildren – a girl of 17 to his elder daughter & a boy of 8 to the younger daughter. It’s been 5 years since we were last over. We’re back on 28th November I think? Then back again over there 1st March to do the trip in reverse. Those 3 months can I sit at the front of the buses as I REALLY want to try losing 1.5stone this next time. We’ve decided to be a bit more careful on what we stuff in our gobs on the cruise. No more morning croissants for a start. Just go for lunch & dinner, as we do here. Getting enough veg is a little bit sticky though so Carl says maybe we eat at the buffet instead so we can fill plates with cauli, brocc etc & maybe have a curry or even a roast dinner. Can’t stand their gravy though (it’s dismal – thin & no taste) so will have to find some butter for the veg. We both could eat the starter anti- pasta in the Italian restaurant (the free one) so have both decided to ask for it as our main meal. SO easy to do I’ve been making it at home. Roasted peppers, Roasted tomatoes, Mozzarella slices with a drizzle of Balsamic vinegar & olive oil. – You can eat it hot or cold, I like it warm. The trick to this is to buy Aged Balsamic vinegar of Modena – has to be Aged though as it imparts a wonderful flavour. The Maitre D told us the trick. We couldn’t wait for Amazon when we got back with their really extortionate charges for some 4+yrs aged. I picked up some of the Tesco Finest aged at £7 – it’s not half bad too & it’s I think 250ml. As you only use about 5ml per meal of each then it should do us 50 meals or thereabouts so not too expensive. Gonna see if he’ll actually show us the bottles this time, Maybe let us buy one., as we got quite friendly with him, although the Tesco one is pretty good. I love balsamic on salads but this knocks the cheap ones onto the ground. no comparison at all.

Crickey it’s nearly 3am. I’d best get to bed. Carl went 3hrs ago & is gently snoring his head off. lol
Cathy(You go girl), DCT, Yowser, Nokie, Sunshine-girl & welcome newbies/oldies Caroni & never give up Hope Dawn is having a wonderful holiday. You all know what we need to do – Keep on keeping off.
Onwards & downwards ALL of you
See you all in 5+wks as inundated with stuff to be before we go. Everything takes 5-8X longer to do than when I was young. I NEED this break.
Love to ALL of you Linda & Carl XXXXX

Sue the wedding sounded lovely, pleased the weather was good for you.

Oooh Linda, some of those food options sound lovely as well as sensible at the same time! We stayed in Modena earlier this year and sampled some gorgeous vinegars. A little goes a long way, and gives a real feeling of luxury pampering! That cruise and family reunion sounds fabulous.

Well done on resisting the biscuits CC!

Thanks to Yowxer and DCT for the welcome back too. This is a lovely group to ease back into – and I might dip into the weekly group too. I know views on weighing/motivation differ, but I find a weekly weigh a helpful discipline. So Week 2 Day 1. And I have lost 2.5 kilos. It may be mostly water, but the loss has already stopped the heel pain I was experiencing. So pleased. Onwards and downwards…

Happy Wednesday!

Hello all, lovely to read all your posts, really enjoy this group 😊
SueBlue, a lovely description of the wedding, so pleased it went well for you. Well done CC on resisting the biscuits, no easy task sometimes 😒 Lovely feeling when your face is a bit slimmer – nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. Dreamscometrue – maybe it’s a good job you kept the clothes after all – you’ll fit into them before long!
Have a lovely cruise Linda – only a tiny bit jealous!
Really happy to report another 2lb loss this week which brings me to 18lb overall, an average of 3lb a week over the challenge. I set myself for a 3.5lb average but that was ridiculously optimistic 🤣 I am so pleased all the same. I think a lot of exercise and drinking heaps of water have really helped shift it. I don’t seem to be in the next size clothes down yet but my current clothes are so much looser. 💃 Looking forward to joining the Christmas Bus.
Sorry for any posts I have missed, I enjoyed all the catching up reading and here’s to hoping you all have a good rest of week.
xx

Hi Never Give Up and wow! what a tremendous weight loss for this journey 👏👏👏 You’ve single-handedly nailed our joint stone – and then some 😀

I’m away visiting family at the moment so don’t have scales. Like you caronl, I weigh myself daily. I just like the discipline of it and I’m always interested to see the correlation (if any) with intake the day before. A bit like a science experiment! I’ve also found that I’m so much calmer about numbers now too that if there is an increase I don’t have a hissy fit any more, just treat it as a red flag to get back on track.

But anyway, tis nearly time for that good old Christmas bus to roll out of the garage. I’ll set up the new thread sometime over the weekend. Any ideas for names? The best I can think of so far is Christmas Belles but I’m sure you can all come up with something better. So throw your hats into the ring . . . . . very topical for the UK right now! 🙀

Hello everyone
I am excited to get on the Christmas bus next week. Thank you DCT for dusting it down for another year. I think it’s going to be merrier than usual this year as we are all so motivated . I started my Christmas shopping yesterday (I like to spread the cost) and I treated myself to a lovely dress I saw. I was going to buy the size 14 but decided I’d go for the 12 and was pleased that it did actually look ok! Another 10lb off and it will look even nicer. Am so glad to have given myself a couple of weeks good head start and my appetite is curbed. I am hoping to lose about 10lb between now and Christmas Eve. It’s a big ask for me as I lose so slowly and because I am not getting on the scales I cannot gauge my progress. However, I am eating less, am in ketosis, am eating low carb so I am doing everything I can. I do feel so much better about myself now that I have gained some control. Hopefully, it won’t be too much longer before my clothes are swishing!

Have a good weekend everyone. Here’s to the Christmas Bus roll out! I have reserved my seat once again!

Howwwwdy friends,just calling in to say I too will be clambering onto the Festive Bus! Deffo no luggage rack,firmly in a seat all the way to Crimbo
Thank you DCT..will try to think of a name,but I v much like your suggestion of Christmas Belles! X
Happy weekend everyone! X

Hi all !!
Thanks for arranging next bus 🚎 Christmas belles sounds great when does it start?? I want to reserve a seat please 🙏 as I have been really naughty looking after my grandkids at moment and we just had 🥞 🤣
I start on Monday up to Xmas and so glad we are all on the same bus
Have a good weekend everyone
Lv nokie 😘 x

Hi all !!
Thanks for arranging next bus 🚎 Christmas belles sounds great when does it start?? I want to reserve a seat please 🙏 as I have been really naughty looking after my grandkids at moment and we just had 🥞 🤣
I start on Monday up to Xmas and so glad we are all on the same bus
Have a good weekend everyone
Lv nokie 😘 x

Hello all, just popping in quickly to say Congratulations to Never Give Up 🙂 18lb is an amazing effort 👍

Cathy – 10lb sounds like a good, achievable target, I’m going to aim for a similar amount – 4.5kg.

In regards to weighing, once or twice a week works for me, and I record my weight each Friday. Then at the end of each month I work out the results for that month. This year I’ve basically been maintaining since May, but I would dearly love to shift another 8.5kg between now and Easter 2023, so I’m thinking that 4.5kg should be achievable by Christmas.

There were some scales at the holiday flat we stayed in and what I loved was the owner had covered them with motivational quotes and sayings in pretty, glittery stickers – so things like “you go girl”, “you’re beautiful”, “sexy” etc – it brought a smile to my face and I’m going to do something similar with my own scales, so my weekly weigh in will be a positive experience 🙂

I’ve been “off plan” all week while on leave and for husbands birthday, and I’ve put on about a kilo, but I think this would be water weight as I’ve ate (and drank!) carbs – I have kept my portion sizes sensible though and mainly kept to 2 meals a day and 16:8, so not all bad.

Tomorrow I’m going to do a fridge, freezer and cupboard “stock take” and plan some healthy meals from my Fast 800 and BSD books. Because this WOE has become a way of life for me, I have lots of healthy foods on hand anyway – eggs, lentils, veggies, chicken etc.
See you all on the Christmas Belles bus!

Ohh wow tomorrows our last day of high days and hols!! That went quickly didnt it and SUE yr DD is now a happily married lady! ❤️💜👏👏
Are we still trying for that communal stone until tomozz? I lost 3 lb,got weighed this morn8ng,doubt if by any miracle i’ll have lost any more by tomorrow morning,so thats my contribution!
DCT looks like we all like your Christmas Belles title..so bring on the next challenge up til Christmas! Yay our bus is dying to get started,its engine is vrooming,tyres are checked,the windows polished,seats are waiting,wet lettuces stored on the luggage rack ( but hopefully wont be necessary except in salads!…) so lets go go go! 🥳💜

Hi everyone just to say the new thread Christmas Belles is now set up and the bus is being decorated and sparkled, ready to roll out of the garage for its annual jolly!

I’m up north with family at the moment, travelling back tomorrow, so will hop on board on Tuesday. Am hoping for rather more success than this thread, on which I’m moreorless back where I started. But onwards and downwards!! See you Tuesday X

Thanks DCT, I’m going to visit the new thread shortly.
Just to finish this one off though – I started at 89.7kg and did get down to 88kg at one stage, but am now back up to 89.3kg, so an overall loss of 400g or just less than a pound! But I guess considering there’s been my birthday, husbands birthday, our wedding anniversary and of course daughters wedding, it could be worse!
Happy travels all and see you on our jingly Christmas bus 🙂