HGG Community Forums

I did not manage to lose weight before either of my weddings. lol. The pre-wedding stress was alot for me to handle. I got married for the second time on June 9th this year, and have lost 5 kg since then (edit: I didn't start trying to lose weight untill last week though. But I did start to lose it before then). I was going to say it is so much easier when you don't have the pressure of "having to", but then I realized I'm under more pressure now, as I am trying to lose weight before we start IVF some time next year. I am at least under the weight I need to be, but I would like to be "normal weight" instead of "over weight".

I know exactly how you feel. In the distant past I did a Couch to 5k plan, was super proud of myself but stopped running for a few years, and oooof my body can't do it now! Want an online daily walk/run buddy? I am finding it super difficult to motivate myself to get started and also need the encouragement.

My mom has been selling Epicure spices and products for years. They came out with a cooking meal plan a few years ago but I dread cooking and resisted for a long time lol she’d feed me plan meals when I was there and it didn’t seem too bad so February 2017 I decided to try the plan for a month. Less than a week later I broke my arm but the plan was simple enough that I didn’t have trouble keeping with it and living alone one day of prep I had enough meals to reheat for the week. I wasn’t looking to loose weight or anything just save some money on groceries and followed it well for a few months but started reverting back to old habits by the fall although I had cut out quite a few bad foods I used to love now don’t even want to think about eating now and did continue to make a few favourites.

At Christmas my aunt came to dinner and needed 4 guys to help her up the 2 front stairs into the house and I just had this flash of the future that if I let myself go the way I was I would end up here being so big I needed propelled into a house. She has put on so much weight over the years.

January 2018 I joined the Epicure 90 day challenge and started tracking my weight and measurements. I also met a bunch of women from the next town and we get together for walking and touch base almost daily on messenger to see how everyone’s doing.

I just looked through my sheet of measurements and weight since January and I can see how some people can get so sidetracked by the numbers. Looking at them I feel like a failure (only down 3.6 lbs and -1.25 inches) but looking at my body you can see that I’ve lost the weight. Sunday I wore jeans that were 3 sizes smaller than the jeans I was busting out of this time last year. My numbers say my waist is 3/4” bigger than January but doesn’t reflect that my fat used to go up to my bra and now I can fit 7 loose fingers below my bra along my ribs before the fat bulges out off my hips. But I’ve been changing fat into muscle which takes up less space.

I’ve continued with the fb group and so many posts reflect that Diet and portion control can be everything. If you are eating the right amount of the right foods your body will loose the weight whether your able to exercise or not.

Definate yes to the exercise vs diet! Exercise takea away grams, diet takes away kilos :)

Always good to keep in mind that exercising can actually contribute to weight gain to an extent since muscle weighs more than fat, so if you're looking strictly at numbers on the scale and not looking at body shape, exercise can be very disappointing, lol!

I've always been almost unhealthily skinny, so I don't look at the scale for the most part, but I'm going to add in that swapping a sandwich for a salad on a regular basis has me feeling better physically than when I junk out on chips and snacks. Same goes for stopping eating when I feel satisfied rather than finishing my plate. That's been a hard habit to train out after my parents always telling me to "finish your food" (parents out there, please don't do that, lol!), but I always feel better when I eat to satisfaction, not stuffing. If I get hungry in between meals, I just have a small snack.

In a world that's become a lot more focused on eating healthy lately, you can find a lot more prepackaged snacks that are actually pretty good for you, relatively, if you don't have the time yourself. I buy a couple bags of salad mixes for the week - they're delicious, and all you do is mix the ingredients together - and that will be a full meal of just salad when I'm hungry and it's still really satisfying.

Oh, and yes, cut out those sodas - I allow myself sodas as a treat when I'm out but make a policy of not buying them for the house. On occasions when I've had more than a couple sodas in 48 hours I can feel the difference the next day, and it sucks. I feel more dehydrated and tired. Drink lots of water, and if you're dying for caffeine maybe try black teas.

Good luck and congrats!

I lost a little weight for my wedding. Recently I’ve been doing the 2B Mindset nutrition program and lost several Kgs with no significant increase in exercise. I’m redoubling my efforts there after taking a couple of months off from the program since I need to wear a swimsuit at the end of next month!

Ahh finally, I'm back on my computer! I've been reading through the replies but replying with the phone drives me nuts!

@RoseFlute ah thank you! We got engaged in March this year but the date we're getting married on holds significance to @Wayfarer so it's not a lot of time to get it together (eek!). This week I started to be stricter with my calories, I know MFP isn't as effective with a vegan diet so I'm going with the cups method. So far, it's OK and I'm down a tiny bit! Congrats on the weight loss :)

@Maribo Thankfully I'm not terribly stressed out the wedding, I want to keep it low-key but my godmother is being a bit of bridezilla... she's pretty much planning it, and I'm just plodding along haha. I do stress-eat from my job though, and when I go pick up the s/o I go past all the fast food place. Fries and soda are my downfall. Congrats on the weight loss and fingers crossed for when you guys start treatment!

@Mittens, love the name! We got our youngest cat from a rescue called mittens :) Thankfully I'm a natural when it comes to fasting, it's just a thing my family do. We don't eat breakfast, have a late lunch and have dinner close to it. I eat in a 6-7 hour window. No idea why, it's just how it's always been. Soda is a big one for me. I'm not 100% counting calories, but I am weighing out what proportions I can have for the day. Congrats on the wedding either today or tomorrow <3!<br />
@Windywild oh heck yeah, if you're game I'm game! I don't suppose you have a fitbit, we could be fitbit buddies to compete with :) And yeah, I get you. I did the C25K at the same time I was doing horse riding, hockey and volunteer dog walking. It's no wonder why it was a breeze! @RunFarAway I saw your comment a little further down, that would be brill if you could share it. I think I might have a spare buddy room left, so I can set one?

@Ammit Bloody hell, congrats on the weight loss! that's a huge chunk. I'm hoping with a combination of the two I'll get a better boost. I've already cut down my food to what I'm supposed to be having and I'm sticking to whole food plant based (wfpb) along with cups. I've cut out oil and now I'm slowly weaning off sugar and switching my breakfast teas to mint tea. Thank you thank you :)

@Bandit1119 I have to admit, I've not heard of Epicure before but it sounds like it's a pretty decent plan for those on an omni diet. It's cool that they have the recipes on their website for free too. As for your aunt, my gosh. I think it would have been an eye opener for me too if I saw a family member like that. I know I've let myself go, I was categorised as underweight a few years ago and now I'm considered obese. That gave me quite a startle. I also jumped up 5 dress sizes. I've got my old 18th birthday dress in my wardrobe and it makes me sad that I can't even put my leg through it. I agree with the portioning over exercise. I'm mainly looking at exercise to help firm up and also so I can start horse riding again, as for the diet it's OK but it's very obvious that I've been overeating, and for a long time.

@RunFarAway coming back to your comment, I did actually used to enjoy running quite a lot when I was younger. I guess now that I'm older and slightly more stubborn it's like trying to bath a cat at the moment. I'm unwilling as it's uncomfortable, but I do feel so so much better after I get home. I did my second run yesterday and I found it very hard but I shot over my daily walking goals as I had a burst of energy and kidnapped Francine (Aunty Bourbon is currently the best thing in the world to her at the moment). I am however an achey mess today.



@Lallyhop Oh I don't mind gaining muscle mass, I'm more concerned about the fit of the dress at the moment. I think it's 2" that I need to cut down off my back and if all else fails and I don't hit my target then I'll be a double steel boned corset for the day to make it fit (ouch). I guess it's a good thing that I'm used to being in a corset, but I don't want to be in a heavy dress and also restricted in breath. My parents always guilt tripped me into finishing off my plate as well, it was no wonder why I was such a chubby child.

As for swapping food out, it's pretty tricky with vegan food. A lot of the time they swamp salads in dressings with egg or butter, or going out sometimes all that's available to eat is just fries. If I know I'm going to be out a while I pack down my own milk and a small lunch (usually a hummus sandwich and a banana) as there's very few places that'll cater. I'm actually going out for lunch soon whilst my car is going in for a MOT and I'm dreading the hunt for food. I guess a perk in my case is that I don't drink caffeine as I'm addicted to it and the withdrawals are freaking awful. We only have decaf tea and coffee in the house.

@Mittens Aldi is pretty good with their foods and own brands. I'm a sucker for their 6 super foods of the week and gorge on whats on offer. As for the honey, yep we eat honey in this household :) We gotta support the bees and I think it's strange that other vegans would support something which makes their food possible.

@Cheers congrats on the weight loss! What does the diet entail roughly, I've had a quick google but it's just asking me to sign up to find out how. I'm sure you'll be beachbod ready :D

@XXVI Stud Oh my goodness, you're far braver than me! Congrats on the engagement and soon to be wedding :D This is the dress I've got to cover up my back, I've got scars all down my back so I wanted something that took the focus off it. Believe it or not, but I live almost next door to a indoor climbing centre and I really want to give it a go but I'm a chicken. It looks like a lot of fun and a good workout for the upper body which is my weakest part of the body. Do you go with friends, or have you gone alone?

Thank you, thank you :) I’m glad I managed to find something which didn’t break the bank and I actually like. I think it might be a long time coming my way then as I’m from the UK. Currently I’m doing a wfpb which is basically eat more veg, eat more fruit, eat more legumes and cut all processed food with more than three ingredients. And I’m also combing that with no oil, and cutting out sugar. It’s not terrible, but it’s really easy and fast to prepare :)

I think it’s a little tougher with the vegan diet as the foods which are protein dense also have a lot of carbs. And trying to eat enough veg for the right vitamins is a pain. I’m already supplementing iron and b12 and it looks like I’m slightly low on iodine and vitamin A.

I’ve been wanting my fiancé to go with but it’s hard trying to find timings which work for us. I did make him walk up a mountain with me yesterday and we’re very sore today.

As for the sugar, it’s hard! It’s in so many things but as long as you go for natural sugar over processed it’s not too bad. So if you want a sweet treat have an apple instead. I’m swapping sugar in foods for dates. So I have an Apple, cinnamon and date porridge for breakfast. Sweet smoothies I’ll add dates. Coffee I’ll take without sugar, breakfast tea I swap for a mint tea so I’m not missing the taste. I try to be good when I’m out, if I’m super dying for a soda I’ll go zero/diet version. And I just don’t buy treats/sweets for the house. If it’s not here then I can’t eat it.

@Bourbon congrats on the upcoming wedding! I love your dress!

When I used to have to lose weight quickly I would actually juice. But I would have a full 42 oz glass of a mix of veggies and fruits for breakfast and lunch, and then eat a reasonable supper with proteins and a grain. The first two weeks of this I lost 14 pounds of water weight. (I carry a lot of water weight.) I will warn you that it takes your body a little bit to adjust to the diet. We actually owned a juicer, and the pulp can be used to make breads with that are pretty tasty and filling. If I got hungry between breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner (which honestly, I really didn't after the first week) I had a boiled egg or some nuts.

All in all when I was on the diet I lost nearly 50 pounds. I did keep it off for two years until I got sick.

I wish you the best of luck! :)

@Bourbon - congrats on your engagement. Super dress!
I am also trying to diet - need to lose about 35lbs.
I started last week doing the couch to 5k week 1 - first 2 runs (well walk/runs) I couldn't complete but I managed the third (just!).
This week I'm on week 2 and feel a bit better. Also cutting back on calories (I am from the UK and vegetarian). In one week I lost 4lbs - so feeling good. I am sure a combination of both diet and exercise helped.
Keep it up and we can compare runs. I need some motivation to keep going. I want to eventually run a half marathon for charity (not sure as that is going to happen after 1st week!) but not going to let it stop me trying! :D
Good luck - you will do it - just think of how great you will look in that fab dress :X

Hello all! I’ve been busy saving Hyrule (Botw) so I’ve not been online much.

Not surprising but I actually popped a muscle in my right leg, so no running for another few days. I think I’m going to have to restart the c25k, ohwell. I got this!

I’m down 3kg (6.5lbs?) but I haven’t measured yet. I’m going to do base measurements on Friday and then see where I am in two weeks. I’ve been walking instead and hitting about 10-13k a day and it’s getting easier :) I’m not as hangry these days either which is nice ☺️

@chillifirefarm I’ll take you up on that! I’m wildly competitive so it’s good for me to have a goal against someone!

Btw, is anyone else dieting that would like to be a Fitbit buddy?