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Dieting & exercise

I’m a Pear/Apple - Part 5. Still going!!

(852 Posts)
NanKate Tue 22-Oct-24 12:47:23

On 08 May 2018 I started this thread for those who wanted to lose weight and have a healthier lifestyle.

We now have a small band of ā€˜regulars’ called Pears and Apples. I am so grateful to those who have stayed loyal and contributed a lot of useful information and given support, especially Whiff šŸ‘

Do join us, the rules are simple.

Choose your own style of diet plan.

Check in regularly with a report of the highs and lows of the diet.

Have an occasional binge but get back on the wagon ASAP.

Pass on any useful diet tips.

You have nothing to lose on this thread, other than weight.

Our mantra is - EAT LESS FOR LIFE.

StripeyGran Sun 05-Oct-25 18:51:10

Maybe a change in mindset ? After all the first three letters of diet aren't so good!

I will have to adopt this forever I think and stop deluding myself. I like your hot water in the morning idea.

MayBee70 Sun 05-Oct-25 18:58:17

It was during lockdown that I found I was losing weight and inches and it was mainly because I was worried about food supplies so only ate when I was actually hungry. Having said that my eating has gone to pieces over the past couple of days as I was travelling for a day and ended up snacking. It then takes me a while to get back into sensible eating. It doesn’t take much to throw me off track.

StripeyGran Sun 05-Oct-25 19:45:56

Never mind May Bee, a few snacks never harmed any body.

MayBee70 Sun 05-Oct-25 21:35:30

It’s so hard to lose weight but so easy to put it all back on though!

NanKate Mon 06-Oct-25 10:09:06

Hello Pears and Apples.

I realise I have been absent without leave šŸ˜€so I’m back now and will comment on your recent contributions.

Thank you Whiff for saying you were surprised at my age. I make a point of wearing bright clothes, nearly all from our excellent charity shops. Also I have been collecting jewellery, also from charity shops. I try to get strong colours and they boost my moral. Yes ā€˜Eating Less for Life’ is my mantra and it seems to work.

You are very welcome Moth62. So pleased you have got the carbs/calories book which Whiff and I use. It’s brilliant.

Glad you are doing well CocoPops

Yes StriperGran Slimming World is popular.

Maybe70 you made two comments that I live by - not eating in the evening. I try to go from about 6.30 pm until 9.00 am and now that feels normal for me. Yes hard to lose and easy to put on, wish it was the other way round.

It’s almost a year since I started calorie counting. When I got to a reasonable weight I stopped the counting but tried to eat in a similar way to when I was losing weight, with just a few extras and it seems to have worked.

So that’s it folks. Keep calling in and updating us on the highs and lows of your slimming journey.

Shirleyw Mon 06-Oct-25 21:04:37

Well done on the loss cocoapops, wish I did…not been on scales as we just back from a week in Norfolk hence my nutritional content was not all good lol but on the plus point I kept up my early morning runs, was lovely running along the beach also we done lots of walking.

Happy belated birthday nankate, I agree with whiff I thought you were in your 60’s, you don’t seem 79 the way you write.

Have a good week all.

NanKate Mon 06-Oct-25 21:28:01

Thank you shirleyw I try to keep up with life, news etc and some would say that I am a bit to mouthy. šŸ˜€ I regularly speak my mind at WI and with friends as I want to keep Ukraine in people’s minds, Women’s Rights are another of my topics, together with free speech.

Don’t worry if you have indulged a bit on hols we all do it, that’s part of the pleasure of going away.

NanKate Mon 06-Oct-25 21:34:44

PS I’m also a Bingo Caller for my WI šŸ˜‰

StripeyGran Tue 07-Oct-25 11:16:25

NanKate

PS I’m also a Bingo Caller for my WI šŸ˜‰

2 fat ladies? Probably be carted off for saying that.

NanKate Tue 07-Oct-25 20:37:46

StripeyGran I was told by one of our members not to use the old Bingo sayings, which I had been looking forward to using to give a bit of humour to the afternoon. I hate this woke world where exception is taken to the slightest thing.

21 Key of the Door, number 90 top of the shop and so on.

Whiff Fri 17-Oct-25 07:11:18

Just realised been couple of weeks since I posted. Don't know when my life got so I busy. After my good lost put on the last 2 weeks 😔. But my own fault but funny enough it's not with foods you think but extra porridge,pasta ,bulgar wheat gnocchi. Ridiculous I know .

Moth glad you have a eating less for life friend as you can encourage eachother. Glad you like the book . As soon as NanKate recommended it I got my copy and wouldn't be without it . My Mindfulness class on Thursday I bake but make the cakes in muffin cases so only have mine at home and take the other 11 to give away always packed in a bag so they can take them home if they want. But do have 2 of the brought treats by our instructor. But as she buys the same each week I can look them up and count the cals. Hopefully get my mojo back as it's been lacking since January. That's why I hope the MRI shows something that can explain why I am like this now so many things have changed and don't like it . In my Mindfulness class I can relax and feel safe to shut my eyes and my arms and hands are still. Our instructor send me a link to some videos and listen to them at home and they help . If anyone wants them PM me and will send it as don't know if it's allowed to do it on GN . Couple of the things are for children but some in the group have grandchildren who need help so those videos help them .

In my singing and exercise class I sang 4 lines solo with my tuneless voice but.did it . Our teacher has a beautiful voice plays mainly guitar but other instruments and writes her own songs . Unfortunately both classes will end soon . There are ones to go too in the city at their headquarters but I can't cope with the tall buildings,noise and people and like the Brain Charity would be 4 hour round trip and can't do that since January not in a day. But will look for other things local and hopefully a singing class for the tuneless like me šŸ˜‚.

MayBee hope you can get on the right track soon . But you are on the go a lot so must be burning off cals . Do you fancy seeing if their is a chair based class near you for exercise? If not I know the Move it or lose it do classes online . First month is free then think it's £4.99 after that. I pay £5 for my sit fit class and £5 for my move it or lose it class. My singing and exercise class and Mindfulness class are both free as run by age concern part of my council and the city one .

StripeyGran this is the best thread to be on. NanKate made this a friendly , supportive thread . No judgements just a group of friends trying to eat less for life . Where it's no just about losing weight but anything we want to talk about . Here we don't take short cuts but put in the hard work and have a commitment to keep going and never give up . If we have a bad day then we start again the next day.

I am anti weight loss jabs . Unless you are diabetic and need the help as that's what they where made for in the first place . But you still have to eat healthy.

It does make me laugh these so called celebs who lose stones and pretend the skin after decades of being obese magically tightens up. The only person who has lost think it's 11st the hard way is an actor called Lisa Riley and she has talked about having surgery to remove the excess skin and the scars she has and infections she had . There is a man on some TV reality TV programme don't know how he lost the weight but he admits to having the excess skin removed and how painful it is and scaring but like Lisa is glad they did it . They are honest .

I lost 7st so have baggy saggy skin but no one sees it except me and medical people if I need to expose parts of my body . Our sit fit instructor calls them bingo wings I call mine elephant ears šŸ˜‚.

I tried slimming clubs in 80's and early 90's but not for me . They where ok if you lost weight but named if you put on . But my husband supported me when I tried to lose weight but never said anything when I gave up he loved and fancied me no matter how big I got . He could eat anything and not put weight on until his 30's when he put a stone on but lost it in no time . But he loved sweets which he kept a stash in the car the children always found them but didn't allow them sweets until after they where 13 . Chocolate was a treat every 4-6 months . Both children never had fillings . Only reason my son had 4 teeth out was to have a brace fitted.

CocoPops well done with the loss. You never give up like the rest of us. Hope you are still enjoying the memories of being with your son over here.

MayBee I told my parents I wanted to diet when I was 13 they told me it was puppy fat and it would just go . No such thing . But after my diagnosis I understand why they didn't kerb my over eating . I was very skinny as a baby and children and didn't put weight on until I was 8 . My brother is 16 months younger than me and always bigger . But since having my diagnosis in 2022 I know realise what a struggle my parents had with me to eat as talking to parents of HPX babies and young children food was a major problem. Plus I understand why I have problems with textures of foods and why I can't eat something's . Plus I can choke on my own salvia let alone foods. And why I can't eat certain foods .

Anyway better end my ramble . What haven't yesterday morning is for another day but suffice to say this government is a load of xxxxxxx when it comes to changing covid jab criteria.

Have a good week fruits 😊🤸

StripeyGran Fri 17-Oct-25 07:33:37

Nice message Whiff. I have yo yoed for over 50 years and now I see this is for life.

The SW club is alright, you don't learn anything but the leader is cheery and it is some accountability and company. I'll keep chipping away at it.

CocoPops Sat 18-Oct-25 05:38:28

Last weekend was Thanksgiving here and a large family meal.
So no weight loss but luckily no gain either. I have decided I am much better at sticking to healthy meals when I feel more relaxed with less on my plate if you know what I mean.
I need to pace myself better and not get so overtired. A few early nights necessary I think.
Odd that the Covid shot is no longer available for 65 yr olds in the UK . I wonder why Whiff?

multicolourswapshop Sat 18-Oct-25 05:55:45

I live in Scotland CocoPops and I’m getting the Covid Jab alongside the flu jab, I’m lucky my nurses will come to the house to to the job. I’ve been speaking to folks who say theyre not going to take the C jab but I think they’re just being silly

MousieB Sun 19-Oct-25 13:21:26

So I am new to this whole forums thing and GN, found it by accident, and since my daughter is upgrading me to gran in April I thought why not? And so far so good.
This forum is recommended by Whiff, big than you there, as I am really struggling with losing my last bit of weight (10lbs), and it is getting me down and sometimes quite teary. This journey should have finished by June but I feel like my body is just hanging up on me and maybe perimenopause is also not helping!!!!
It's nice to not feel so alone in the battle.

CocoPops Sun 19-Oct-25 17:55:14

Hi MouseB,
You are not alone! I am trying to lose 10lbs too and preferably before Christmas. I have the midriff bulge which I want to diminish. So it's reduced carb eating for me with lots of veggies. Battle on and good luck.

Whiff Sun 19-Oct-25 20:48:41

Just realised my post isn't here I wrote this morning. MousieB glad you joined us. Need to go too bed as got to get up at 5 and out at 7.10 . Night fruits .

NanKate Sun 19-Oct-25 21:21:22

Welcome MousieB and congratulations on the forthcoming baby.

We all have our methods here of losing weight and coping when the weight returns.

For me the realisation that losing weight isn’t for a specified time, such as 2 months, it is a continuous journey. Let me explain. A year ago I made the decision it was now or never to lose weight. I bought the Cals and Carbs book which Whiff and I use. We both count calories. For 9 months I kept to under 1,500 calories a day. Over that time I got used to eating less and didn’t feel hungry all the time. I lost just over a stone and went down a couple of sizes in clothes. I got so used to eating less it seems normal to me now.

So what I am saying is Eating Less for Life, my mantra, is just that. My appetite has reduced and other than special days, such as Birthdays , meals out etc when I indulge more, I keep to the pattern of under 1500 calories a day.

Other friends on this thread use different methods, but this one works for me. You may like to try it, šŸ‘

StripeyGran Mon 20-Oct-25 07:35:38

I think one of the keys here Nankate is the "over 9 months" bit.

NanKate Mon 20-Oct-25 15:38:43

Spot on Stripeygran

silverlining48 Mon 20-Oct-25 16:55:09

Havnt posted for a while. Hello all and well done to all.
I re-joined SW in February after 10 years of maintaining my nesrly 2 stone loss, but over the last couple of years it’s slowly crept back on despite me weighing myself every day.
I have lost just over one stone, realistically have another stone to lose but aiming at half a stone for now.
Am not really following SW rules but have always eaten sensibly. Have reduced portions and am being very careful with how much I eat.
I am short, realistically will never be slim but am giving it my best shot. As for smaller dress sizes, I am still in my old clothes but perhaps they aren’t quite as snug as they were.
If I dropped one dress size I would be very happy. Two, I would be estatic. .
Greetings to all, onwards and downwards.

NanKate Mon 20-Oct-25 17:22:38

Good to have you back Silverlining48 šŸ‘

silverlining48 Mon 20-Oct-25 18:09:23

Thanks NanKate.

Whiff Tue 21-Oct-25 07:02:31

No idea what I did yesterday but then again my hands have a mind of their own and no idea what I pressed.

silverlinings lovely to know you are still with us well done with the stone . Have you measured yourself as you will see you have lost inches. That's the funny thing about eating less of life NanKate's words . We can put weight on or stay the same but lose inches especially if you are exercising. I finally had to give in and brought smaller clothes when my daughter said what size are you wearing size 22. My daughter said mother you need smaller clothes this was 2019 .Know I am in trouble when she calls me mother 🤣. She was the one who got me to try on trousers and much to my surprise I look ok. I like to wear wide legged trousers as my thighs will never be slim and feel comfortable in them . I do own a couple of skirts and 1 dress but prefer trousers they are pull on in fact all my clothes apart from my bra are pull on . I have shirts but they are buttoned up and just pull them on. My hands can't deal with small buttons and zips on clothes. My coats have easy to use zips and either press studs or large buttons.

Before I forget finally got my mind into right mind set just hope it lasts . Lost 4lbs instead of giving into 9 pm munchies had a drink instead. I know someone advised doing that sometime ago but can't remember who but thank you .

MousieB being a nannie is so different from being a mom . I found I worry more if my grandsons get hurt . Think it's when they are your own being with all the time you just patch them up and carry on especially if you have more than one lot more relaxed with second or third or how many children you have .

StripeyGran glad you are still enjoying SW like you said it's a social event . But you have all got the same goal. It's like this group we keep plugging away but never give up. I love going to my exercise classes. Yesterday my brain took a hike and couldn't get the hang of one move . Done it before but just couldn't do it . Like last week at my move or lose it class our instructor said I should sit down . Must have been wobbler than normal but stubborn me did it standing up just slower than the others but I did it. My Wednesday singing and exercise class and my Thursday Mindfulness class both end the end of the month .and will really miss them . Will try and find other classes to join . Both the classes have taught me new things and the Mindfulness class which I never thought I would like but went with an open mind has helped me especially when my body decides to go into overdrive. I listen to the videos and my body is still for a while .

NanKate the old bingo calls where funny . I hate this woke society when I see the old comics on Facebook Dave Allen, Jasper Carrot ,Jim Davidson,Charlie Drake,Billy Connolly,Les Dawson and the like they were funny . My mom justed to talk about Max Miller with his kipper tie and he stopped short everything like the old carry on films was mainly innuendos and not resorting to bad swearing. We have a generation of thin skinned people. Mind you it is funny my daughter always insisted calling body parts the correct name with her first son. . When I said to her oldest leave your willy alone she says it's penis . That all changed when he started school now she doesn't care and of course his brother who is 2.5 younger has always copied his brother .

Thinking about NanKate does anyone remember the old arcades at the seaside when we where kids and there was bingo but it was plastic board which you slide the cover over the number prizes where rubbish but fun. The machines where 1d no idea what they are like now. They where 1p or 10 p when my kids where young and lit of the old machines no longer there. Not old enough for what the Bulter saw but I imagine it was tame compared with today . But shocking at the time .

There used to be a lot of bingo halls which was a social event now lot is on line no wonder people get into debt.

As usual rambled on . Sorry if I have missed anyone out . Need to get up now . Have a good week fruits.

silverlining48 Tue 21-Oct-25 11:19:12

I have measured myself whiff but my waist is still an astonishing 40ā€. I remember the miss word and seaside contests when young women were paraded around in swimsuits watched by a group of make ā€˜judges’ when their measurements were always given, and most were around 36:24:36. Actually the top of one of my legs measures the same as their waists. 24ā€ in the round is tiny! shock?
Looking back those contests belong firmly in the past.