Hello and welcome! This is the latest 2 month thread, following on from Marching on through 2024. Anyone is very welcome to join in. It will run from Wednesday 1st May until Sunday 30th June.

The aim is to set one or more goals that you would like to achieve by then. Whether it’s a target weight, fitting into certain clothes again, or seeing an improvement in medical conditions and tests, you will find us a friendly, understanding and supportive bunch.

We sometimes refer to the thread as a bus journey – the idea being we are all travelling together to our particular destination, and also having a lot of fun along the way. Come and join us, and here’s hoping we all have a Marvellous May and Joyful June!

Hello DCT🤗
Thankyou for setting up the new thread love the name !!
I am sitting on my seat 💺 in the bus 🚌 not getting off until end of June!!🤣
Good luck 🤞 everyone on our next journey
Lv nokie xx☺️

Hi everyone and thank you DCT for setting up this new thread, perfect name😀I’m pleased you had a lovely birthday.To get to what I think will be my goal weight(it’s so many years since I’ve been anywhere near it I won’t know until I get there!) I need to lose 33lbs.If I could lose half of that on this journey I would be happy.I’m hoping to have some non scale victories (NSVs)along the way which I will post on that thread if its still active.There are various items of clothing I would like to either fit into or which I can squeeze into now but wouldn’t wear until they fit properly, I would love my knee pain to ease and I would like to have more energy.Wishing everyone the best of luck, I’m strapped into my seat and raring to go……….🚌……… Dawn XX

Thanks for setting up the thread, DCT! I’ll be following along and joining in as soon as I get home.

Thanks DCT for setting up new thread. I love the cheerful positive name. Good luck everyone,toot toot,hold on tight! XX

Hello everyone
Thank you for setting up our new thread DCT! I love the name you’ve chosen for this leg of the journey. My aim for Marvellous May is to get to 149 lbs. Today at “fat club” I had lost 900g. Todays topic was food and mood! I’m slowly heading in the right direction. I’m ultra low carb as I’m trying to keep my blood sugar in the healthy range so my HbA1c is normal when they check me again. I think this is having an impact on the weight slowly coming off along with the cardio work i am doing climbing up the huge stone steps in my local hilly park. My toe injections were cancelled yesterday as there was a problem in theatre but I’ve been rescheduled for two weeks. I’m seeing podiatry on Friday for my plantar fasciitis so hopefully during this leg of the journey I can walk without pain. Would it be unreasonable of me to want to get to 145 lb by the end of June? I am going to aim high and go for it!
For the UK bus travellers we are coming into hopefully warmer times so those pesky tight summer clothes will be making an appearance. Let’s get some weight off ready!
Here’s to a Marvellous May and a Joyful June for us all.

Hello everyone
Spent the morning trying on my summer clothes. I’m so glad I made a serious start to lose the excess in January. I reckon at the end of marvellous May and Joyful June I will be fitting comfortably in my size 12’s. I’ve lost about 10lb since January. Slow but steady downward movement onthe scale. I’m off to Abersoch next week with my book club for three nights. It will be a booze and carb fest but not for me. I’ve worked out i can have G&T and a glass of red wine which shouldn’t send my blood glucose soaring but there will be no crisps (my favourite snack) and I am going to be sticking rigidly to my low carb diet and hopefully without anyone noticing! I’ve not eaten any crisps for two whole weeks! The scales read 153 this morning so slowly and surely creeping towards my first goal of 149!! Not been in the 140s for a very long time.
Keep going everyone!

CATHY that’s a brilliant loss since January! Well done. I know there have been a lot of glitches along the way but slow and steady wins the race. I’m sure you’ll soon be fitting into those clothes again, and hope you have a fab time away next week.

Big hello to all our other travellers too – YOWZER, DAWN, MARIET, NOKIE and anyone else reading this. 8 weeks to go which gives us all time for significant change.

My aim this time is to re-lose the weight I regained last journey, plus at least a couple more pounds besides. But more importantly I want to really target my belly fat, to be able to get into some of the clothes I love. Which will involve me being disciplined about keeping up the regular exercising as well as laying off specific temptations such as wine and snacks! Will report back in due course . . .

Have a great weekend everyone X

Got to share this- just made the cauliflower and broccoli rice dish from the keto cookbook and it’s absolutely delicious! Can’t believe I’ve not made it before.

Hi everyone,
Thanks for the new thread, DCT. Please count me in.
I’m going to be focusing on reducing carbs and increasing protein. I will do 3 yoga sessions a week and then the local pool opens at the end of May, so will try to get to aquafit 2 times per week.
Great idea about the broccoli and cauliflower rice, Cathy. I’m going to see what I can do along those lines myself.
Best of luck to everyone on this journey!

Hello everyone
Hope you’re all enjoying marvellous May. I’m sticking to low carb and trying to keep active. It turns out I don’t have plantar fasciitis but fat pad atrophy on my heels which is why they’re so painful when I walk. I’ve got belly fat but no fat padding on my heels! The podiatrist has made some insoles for me but they’re putting pressure on my toes! Nothing is simple. I’ve got a non scale victory to report. I got into my smaller sized jeans today and they’re comfy! I’ve lost about 10lb since January but was pleased when I tried on my jeans and they fit. I’m chipping away slowly. Hoping to get to 149 during this month but it might e too much of an ask to lose 4 lb before the end of the month.
Have a good week everyone .

Hi everyone,
I am also sticking to mostly low carb this week, and also fasting at least 15-17 hours each day. It hasn’t been perfect, but much better than I’ve been lately. I’m still allowing myself some fruit with yogurt every other day. My NSV today is that I am noticing less pain in my legs. I’ve been pretty good about wearing my compression as well. I may have to ditch it later this week though as we may hit 30 C by the weekend. I had a bit of carb flu on Monday and I’ve been craving weird things like croissants and cakes – things that I don’t normally eat in any case. But I feel that I may have broken through it a bit this evening as I wasn’t very hungry. I ended up having some bell peppers, courgette and a chopped kale salad mix stirfried with paneer and curry powder. It was very satisfying. I’ve got lots of salad ingredients in and will have salad with sardines for lunch tomorrow as that is easy for when I come back from the office over the noon hour.
Hope everyone is doing well.
Keep going Cathy, you sound on the right track!

Hi everyone 💕
Well done Cathy keep going!! And Artic fox I have lost 2 pds this week so am feeling happy 😊 I have cut down on my carbs as well strange I fancy doughnuts 🍩 and I don’t usually like them 🤣
I am away at the weekend seeing my grandchildren we normally have a Chinese meal as I don’t see them very often and they love it I hope I don’t regain my weight!!
Keep going every one I have a feeling this 🚌 journey is going to be good 👍
Have a nice weekend
Lv nokie x🥰

Hi everyone. The sun is shining here in the UK (finally!). Here’s hoping we all have a wonderful weekend wherever we are in the world.

CATHY I’m so proud of you losing 10lb since January. That’s brilliant! Well done. And even better about the jeans too. That’s my main aim for this journey – to slim down (whatever the scales are telling me) and get into some of the clothes I love. I hope the foot improves soon too : at least you now have a proper diagnosis.

NOKIE I’m so pleased you’ve seen a loss too. That’s great news and I hope will continue. Have a lovely time with the family this weekend, and I’m sure if you eat moderately you won’t regain the weight.

ARCTIC FOX you sound very determined and I’m sure will soon see results. Your meals sound lovely : I love it when we put together some kind of combination of food we have around and it turns out to be a delicious – and nutritious – meal. I think when we are eating reduced portions and low carb, the more interest / flavour / colour / texture we can put into a meal, the better. I hope that your legs remain comfortable as the heat rises.

Friday is my day of reckoning. I’ve not made my target weight of 140 this week, though was nearly there mid-week. But overall I’m maintaining, with a very slow downward trajectory. But I’m doing more exercise than before and, as I said earlier, my main goal is to trim down, firm up, and fit into my summer clothes again! Here’s hoping 🤞

Have a great weekend everyone X

Hello all I’m joining this bus trip very late – but better late than never 🙂
I have no idea what I currently weigh as haven’t been on the scales for a few weeks. Things have been very hectic at work and I’ve been working extra hours, in addition to that we’ve been preparing my MILs house for sale and dealing with agents, buyers, solicitors etc, hopefully we’ll be able to sell it in the next few weeks, as it’s a lot of work keeping her garden maintained as well as ours.
I have been fairly active and eating reasonably well, and my clothes fit so I know I haven’t put on weight which is something I guess! I will weigh myself in the next few days so I can set a goal.
My goal at the moment is to get back into meal planning and setting goals.
We are in Autumn here now, with winter beginning in 2 weeks, although you wouldn’t have known it today, it was a warm 22 deg C and sunny, perfect drying weather as we’ve just been through about 10 days of rain – it felt a lot like the English weather I remember as a child!
Well done Cathy on your 10lb loss and I’m glad your ‘fat club’ is going well.
I need to catch up on everyone’s posts – take care all 🙂

Welcome aboard SueBlue. Sounds like you’ve got a lot on at the moment but it’s impressive that your clothes are still comfortable. The scales don’t really give us the full picture. You’ll soon be back to meal prepping and back on plan.

Oh flippin heck,i just realised i hadnt ticked the notification box,so im playing catch up now,reading the posts!

CCATH you are doing soooo well,despite all the obstacles youve had to navigate!
Im sorry to hear about the heel atrophy x how was yr book club trip?X
Well done too NOKIE! X You and ARCTIC and DCT sound so motivated and you are inspiring me ( i was doing well until the last few days when i fell off the bus,got a bug and feeling sorry for myself led to mindless eating..but heyho,tomorrow is a new day)
Hiii SUEBLUE sounds like youre super busy but have stayed sensible foodwise. I didnt realise you grew up in England! When did you move to Oz?
Calling in DAWN and MARIET! Yoohoo girlies! how are you doing? XX
Love to all and keep moving onwards and downwards 🌻🤞🏻🙏🌻🥰😜🙂🙃

Hi everyone, I’m home!
Cathy, I am so glad to see you’ve been having some happy results, you deserve it after all your hard work! Glad your ‘Fat group’ is helping- so hard for me to write that!
I weighed myself a week after getting home from the cruise and was 2kg more than when I left. I thought it would go quickly but it really isn’t 🙁
So I must work harder.
To be fair I had three birthday parties in the last week, one at my place for 3yo GS and the others big O-birthdays, as in Oh Dear am I really this old. Time to knuckle under now and get some solid results in while this challenge lasts. Good to soo so many on the bust and best wishes for the weeks ahead!

Hi everyone,
I’ve had a busy, stressful, but otherwise decent week life-wise. Food-wise, not so much. But not beating myself up about it as I know it was to deal with the stress. I’ve come off an enforced fast this evening due to a gastroscopy today. Being used to IF certainly makes fasting for a medical procedure a piece of cake! Luckily no physical signs of anything wrong, but they did take a couple of biopsies and I won’t hear back about that for a couple of weeks.
I also had an interview on Wednesday for that job competition I was in. I wasn’t really sure how it went, but they called back on Thursday and wanted to check my references, so that’s positive. I think I’ll be quite disappointed if I end up not getting it now after having got this far. I was sobbing in the shower last night, but that was just a release of all the pent up emotion from the week.
Therapist at my last session was expressing concern over my lack of support network. So, I reached out to one of my friends in Norway and had an online catch-up chat which was nice. I haven’t made any friends locally other than some work acquaintances since I moved here though. I suddenly remembered that a person I used to compete in sport with and whose company I enjoyed was from this area, and looked her up on social media. Turns out she had moved away but is back in the area now. I reached out and she has said she would love to meet up. We haven’t seen each other in over 30 years! So, slowly trying to improve and heal. Of course, all of you have been great support as well!

Hello everyone
Not a lot to report at the moment from here. Book club weekend in Abersoch was good and I gained 4lb which is now off! It was water weight. I was careful what I ate and drank. Had my toes injected last week and hoping to get some steps in from this week. My heel is feeling better too so onwards and upwards steps wise hopefully
I am fasting today and I am hoping that before the end of the month I can dip under 150lb. That is my goal for 1st June. It’s a slow process losing weight but I do feel better in myself and I can see my face is beginning to look slimmer.
My cat Monty had to have five teeth out this week! His face is looking slimmer too!
Have a good week everyone. Keep strong and keep trying. I’m eating whole food and trying to eat only healthy food and unprocessed food and I do feel better!

Hi everyone. This journey is flying by! Just catching up on recent posts.

SUE welcome on board. I can empathise with all the “sadmin” you are having to do to sell MILs home, and I hope there is a good buyer very soon. That will really ease the pressure. it sounds like you are still on top of things though, weight-wise. And I’m sure once you get back into your legendary food planning you will soon get to your next mini target. Like Yowzer said, I hadn’t realised you hailed from the UK. When did you emigrate to Oz?

YOWZER I hope you are over your bug now and are feeling a bit better? You always inspire me with the way you can get back on board again with a big smile on your face, even if you’ve had to step off for a little while. Good luck, and I hope this week goes well for you.

MARIET welcome back! I’m sure you’ve had a fabulous time and your gain is not too bad. It will soon come off again now the party week has gone. We still have almost 6 weeks to go.

ARCTIC FOX it sounds like there is a lot going on in your life at the moment. I hope the biopsy test results are reassuring, and also wish you every success with the job application. From what you’ve said previously, a change would be really good for you. It’ll be great to meet up with your old friend again too, and I hope that you are able to build a stronger support network around you. And, as you say, this motley crew is here for you too : even though we are dotted around the globe and are names rather than faces, we have become a bit of a tribe over the months and years, and are here to support each other.

CATHY I’m so glad you had a good trip with your book club, and have reversed the water damage 😊 It’s also good news about your heel treatment and that you can start doing steps again. Most importantly I’m glad that you are feeling better overall. You are losing weight and seeing visible changes which is all really positive. I’m sure you will make your end of June goal. And I hope that Monty is better soon.

I’m doing ok – up and down (literally!). I’m not really losing this journey as yet, but am managing to maintain. I’ve been feeling very hungry which I’m blaming on some new drugs I’m taking for a long term medical condition (though could be pure greed!). I’m an early riser and whereas I used to skip breakfast and start the day with brunch around 11ish, I now feel weak and hungry much earlier. So am back to three meals a day and having to get back into healthy meal planning so I don’t just snaffle any old thing down! I’m away for a few days next week – tying up loose ends up north – so there’s danger potential there too as I will be out of my normal routine (whatever that is right now!). At least I’m managing to keep up my regular exercise which hopefully helps. But am aware I need to rein things in food-wise to start seeing any further loss.

A big hello to NOKIE, DAWN and anyone else reading this! Do come and join us even if you’ve never posted before. Hopefully we will all keep moving forward – at our own pace and in our own way – towards our respective goals.