Weight getting me down

17810121320

Comments

  • onlyroz
    onlyroz Posts: 17,661
    First Post Combo Breaker First Anniversary
    Forumite
    I'm sorry, but if I just 'listened to my body' I would be eating all the time. May work for some, but not all.
    Listening to your body might have been fine when we all had hard manual jobs but these days most of us have sedentary jobs but still have the biological urge to eat.

    I don't personally see how you can instinctively know the "right" amount to eat, and that monitoring what you eat and how much activity you do is the easiest way to ensure a calorie deficit.

    "Diets" that constantly deprive you of nice things just makes you miserable. It really shouldn't be onerous to keep track of what you eat and build in allowances for treats. And developing an awareness of which foods are the most calorie dense is helpful - for example it rapidly becomes clear that any red-meat based dish has many more calories than the equivalent chicken or fish dish, and so if you want that mid-morning muffin then compensate with a low calorie chicken stir-fry for dinner.
  • Anoneemoose
    Anoneemoose Posts: 2,258
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post I've been Money Tipped!
    Forumite
    edited 17 April 2017 at 2:41PM
    onlyroz wrote: »
    Listening to your body might have been fine when we all had hard manual jobs but these days most of us have sedentary jobs but still have the biological urge to eat.

    I don't personally see how you can instinctively know the "right" amount to eat, and that monitoring what you eat and how much activity you do is the easiest way to ensure a calorie deficit.

    "Diets" that constantly deprive you of nice things just makes you miserable. It really shouldn't be onerous to keep track of what you eat and build in allowances for treats. And developing an awareness of which foods are the most calorie dense is helpful - for example it rapidly becomes clear that any red-meat based dish has many more calories than the equivalent chicken or fish dish, and so if you want that mid-morning muffin then compensate with a low calorie chicken stir-fry for dinner.

    Because you eat slowly and when you feel comfortably full, you stop. Of course we instinctively know. That's how we're made. Our instincts are only messed with when we start dieting and calorie counting and listening to external cues about what's right for us.

    Oh, and none of my family have hard manual jobs, all desk jobs, and none have dieted or counted a calorie in their lives, and are all slim, fit and healthy. I am the only one who has dieted and the only one who is overweight. Funny that!

    Edited to say - I am not suggesting it is easy to return to an intuitive way of eating, of course it may be difficult to get used to, after all, our current situation is that as a society we believe diets and weight loss is what we should be doing.
  • prosaver
    prosaver Posts: 7,026
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    edited 17 April 2017 at 2:56PM






    My main target is Slimming World, because it is their hell I lived in for most of the 2 decades I refer to. And because most people think it's healthy, when in fact, it's the opposite.


    As I said, I am not knocking you..or anyone who's aware of what healthy eating is. Or even anyone who's doing SW. And I do know what I am talking about..I did it on and off for 20 years and gained an eating disorder because of it. Ask K, I was never ov. It also encourages people to become obsessive about their 'syns', creating an unhealthy relationship with food. You can disagree with me all you want, that's your choice, of course, and as I say, I say none of this to belittle anything you've done. However, I can categorically say that SW caused me to go to hell and back because of its effect on my relationship with food. And you know what? Since stopping dieting, my weight has stayed the same (well, it's actually gone down slightly but I only know that as I had to get weighed at the hosp - I don't own scales now) . As I said above, I eat a wide variety of whole foods and proper treats (not low syn versions of them that leave you wanting more). I don't have a mental struggle every time I go to a restaurant over whether to eat what I want or what's 'on plan'..I remember the days of being torn and miserable, because if I chose what I really wanted, I never enjoyed it because it was too many syns and I was full of guilt, yet if I chose what was 'on plan', I didn't really enjoy it either because it was not what I wanted. You'll find that's the same for the majority of people who follow any diet. So, if you are one of the 5% who don't end up with disordered eating and who keep the weight off, then I will be genuinely glad for you, because I only put my neck on the line by saying this because I honestly don't want anyone to go through what I have.
    when I s
    so if you wanted to loose weight your plan isnt for them..cant see someone wanting to stay overweight, thats not healthy

    what about weight watcher then?
    I did that and it was really good.
    done the atkins too..but theres a new atkins where you eat more veg.
    fasting
    the food combination diet.
    the 5;2
    “Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
    ― George Bernard Shaw
  • onlyroz
    onlyroz Posts: 17,661
    First Post Combo Breaker First Anniversary
    Forumite
    Eating until your stomach is full is not the same as eating an amount that corresponds to that day's activity. Our biological instincts tell us to eat whatever food we can find while we can and before somebody else nabs it.
  • Anoneemoose
    Anoneemoose Posts: 2,258
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post I've been Money Tipped!
    Forumite
    edited 17 April 2017 at 3:04PM
    prosaver wrote: »
    when I s
    so if you wanted to loose weight your plan isnt for them..cant see someone wanting to stay overweight, thats not healthy

    what about weight watcher then?
    I did that and it was really good.
    done the atkins too..but theres a new atkins where you eat more veg.
    fasting
    the food combination diet.
    the 5;2

    The myth is that it's unhealthy to be overweight. As I said, weight loss doesn't make you healthy, healthy behaviours do.

    https://thebodyisnotanapology.com/magazine/11-reasons-your-concern-for-fat-peoples-health-isnt-helping-anyone/
  • elsien
    elsien Posts: 32,424
    Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary First Post
    Forumite
    I can see it may seem an airy fairy, hippy concept to some, but you look at naturally slim people (like my parents - and me before I started dieting), and they will likely tell you they never count anything, they don't think of food as good and bad, they just eat what they feel like (usually a wide range, with some set things, like my dad generally has the same breakfast because that's what he likes), stopping for the most part (not always) before they are uncomfortable.

    I am that person. Never been on a diet in my life, always ate what I wanted when I wanted. Stayed slim, although not always fit.

    Or I should say, I was that person. My eating habits haven't changed, but I am increasing round the middle and outgrowing my waist bands.
    I am putting it down to time of life and my body needing less. However my body/brain/appetite clearly has yet to be convinced of this and isn't quite keeping up.
    I agree with what you're saying about slimming clubs and dieting. But sometimes you do need to think about things a bit more or it creeps up on you as I am just finding out.
    All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

    Pedant alert - it's could have, not could of.
  • Anoneemoose
    Anoneemoose Posts: 2,258
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post I've been Money Tipped!
    Forumite
    onlyroz wrote: »
    Eating until your stomach is full is not the same as eating an amount that corresponds to that day's activity. Our biological instincts tell us to eat whatever food we can find while we can and before somebody else nabs it.

    Only in times of restriction. For the most part, people in this country aren't restricted physically.

    And yes, eating until your body tells you it is satisfied is EXACTLY how our bodies regulate themselves. That's why some days my appetite isnsuch that I have breakfast and nothing else until evening, without thinking about it, and other days, I am hungry all day and eat on and off throughout.
  • Anoneemoose
    Anoneemoose Posts: 2,258
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post I've been Money Tipped!
    Forumite
    elsien wrote: »
    I am that person. Never been on a diet in my life, always ate what I wanted when I wanted. Stayed slim, although not always fit.

    Or I should say, I was that person. My eating habits haven't changed, but I am increasing round the middle and outgrowing my waist bands.
    I am putting it down to time of life and my body needing less. However my body/brain/appetite clearly has yet to be convinced of this and isn't quite keeping up.
    I agree with what you're saying about slimming clubs and dieting. But sometimes you do need to think about things a bit more or it creeps up on you as I am just finding out.

    Yes, I see what you're saying. I do wonder though if it is just normal to get this middle aged spread as it's often called and whether it sorts itself out later on. I remember my mum being 'concerned' (not overly so, more curious) her tummy was bigger than normal when she went throigh menopause..she didn't diet or consciously do anything and things seem to have settled down now, and she is back to normal for her. That's not to say you shouldn't be aware, of course. You have to do what is best for you.
  • onlyroz
    onlyroz Posts: 17,661
    First Post Combo Breaker First Anniversary
    Forumite
    elsien wrote: »
    I am that person. Never been on a diet in my life, always ate what I wanted when I wanted. Stayed slim, although not always fit.

    Or I should say, I was that person. My eating habits haven't changed, but I am increasing round the middle and outgrowing my waist bands.
    I am putting it down to time of life and my body needing less. However my body/brain/appetite clearly has yet to be convinced of this and isn't quite keeping up.
    I agree with what you're saying about slimming clubs and dieting. But sometimes you do need to think about things a bit more or it creeps up on you as I am just finding out.
    I used to be that person too. I could eat whatever I wanted until I was about 30 (and after having two kids). Now I have to be very careful what I eat if I want to stay a healthy size.
  • Anoneemoose
    Anoneemoose Posts: 2,258
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post I've been Money Tipped!
    Forumite
    onlyroz wrote: »
    I used to be that person too. I could eat whatever I wanted until I was about 30 (and after having two kids). Now I have to be very careful what I eat if I want to stay a healthy size.

    What is a healthy size though?
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.8K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.3K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.4K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 606.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.7K Life & Family
  • 247.2K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards