SF's keeping on the straight and narrow!

slowlyfading

Jo - some good points, thanks! To be honest, my BF says he thinks I look beautiful just the way I am (:o ) but I am overweight for my height at the moment so I want to lose some just to be back in the healthy range. Also, I've been overweight for a long time - the last time I was 8 stone something was when I was 18 and that was just briefly. I think for myself, getting into the 8 stone barrier would be amazing, so although I've put that as my target, I guess I'll see if I ever get there what I look like.

The only thing I've got to be careful with is that I want to do this the right way for a change.

NualaBuala

No tips from me I'm afraid. But I just wanted to wish you the best of luck with eating healthily SF! :T Like you say, it's about being healthy more than just dropping the pounds.

I need to lose weight too - I like the healthy stuff but it's easier to grab rubbish when I'm tired.

I know it's a bit of a cliche but I do think it's wiser in the long not to diet, and just make lifestyle changes. Maybe change one habit at a time. E.g. if you associate tea/coffee with chocolate biscuits, then break that association, maybe by drinking herbal tea instead. Maybe introduce new habits like fruit snacks?

I'm trying to increase my fruit and veggies too - the easiest ways I've found are soups and salads. My favourite (especially when the sun is shining) is Greek salad - lovely ripe tomatoes, cucumber, maybe some olives, peppers and onions. A wee bit of feta and olive oil and I'm sorted.

Don't forget to share your tips with us too!!

cw18

The only way I've ever found that works is to eat balanced meals and healthy snacks, and to exercise.

I decided I had to lose weight when DD was expecting GD1 (who will be 7 in August) and I was in my mid/late 30s, so I started using the (basic) gym at work for 20-30 mins 5 days a week alongside changing eating habits. My biggest vice had always been the sweets, crisps and chocolates I ate at my desk (pretty much 'grazing' all day) and the free canteen dinners (fried chips pretty much every day, often with a pie) - so I started taking in punnets of grapes and cherry tomatoes (along with other fruit and cucumber) for picking on during the day, and packed lunches of a cold meat sandwich on wholemeal/granary bread (or crispbread with soft or cottage cheese) with a large salad (and sometimes an instant soup) or a cold pasta/rice salad of some sort (often with tuna).

In seven months or so I dropped from 12 stone to 8.5 stone, which put me within my healthy weight range (I'm 5'2") but still a way off the lowest I could officially have aimed for. But everyone (at work and home) started to say I didn't look healthy at that weight, so I started to let a bit slide back on - and got back to over 11 stone over the next 12-18 months, with my weight then wobbling between 11 and 12 stone for 3 years before stabilising at 11-11.25 stone :eek:

As I have back problems I'm constantly nagged by the doctors about my weight, so am again trying to do something about it. At the moment my diet isn't brilliant - though I've started trying to introduce more fruit (fresh, tinned and dried) and am starting the move back to the higher fibre breads. I've also recently started a running program for exercise (no longer work where the gym is, and can't afford membership to a local one), but am having to take it a lot slower than it's designed to be done at because of my back.

In the last 2.5 months I've dropped about 8lb - not a lot, but slow and steady is much better and much more likely to stay off too I should also be able to make better progress after DS moves out for Uni in September, as he gets funny about having too much veg / too may meals with salad / any meals without meat / fish on a regular basis


The important things I learned last time were that you have to want to do it for you and not because other people hint you need to (doesn't sound like this is a problem for you), that the changes are best made gradually, that the loss is better done at a slow rate, that - even if you have a target in mind - you're prepared to change it to a higher weight if you start to look unhealthily underweight, and that it's nigh on impossible to lose weight without support at home as family will try to sabotage all your efforts if they don't think (for whatever reason) that you should be losing weight :mad: Sounds like your BF may not be as supportive as he could be, and I'm in the same boat with my OH who thinks I'm absolutely fine. (But at least I normally only seem him at weekends at the moment, which means he's not around enough to do toooo much damage to my intentions )

solventsoon

TMVen wrote: »

I think firstly you need to relax......

Im the same with food and im also trying to lose weight, i find i think about it all the time and when im eating one meal thinking already about the next.
I lost 7lbs this week and that was through, meal planning, cutting my portion sizes down a little, exercising, and then keeping myself occupied so that im not thinking about what is to eat next....
I always have found in the past as soon as i say to myself im on a "diet" i crave everything that i shouldn't have, so just relax about it a little but make sure the meals you do have are planned healthy ones.
Good Luck...........................

Agree 100% TMV... the minute I start a "diet" is the minute I start desperately craving sweets, cakes, chocolate, all the sort of things I can control normally..

I would suggest, sf, you concentrate on eating healthily, instead - 3 meals a day and maybe a couple of snacks in between if you're feeling peckish.

Breakfast is an absolute must, it kick starts your metabolism for the day. Lunch, try salad with a wholemeal sandwich/roll/pitta stuff plus some fruit - that will increase your f&v intake quite a bit, protein as well (chicken, tuna, whatever you like provided it's low fat). This is a great time for salads and fruit, there's so much variety so a good time to start eating more of them.

I follow the WW programme more or less - lost a lot of weight with them some years back and have stayed around the same since (with occasional upward swings, of course!!) thanks to doing this. You have to eat to lose weight (strange as it sounds) as otherwise your metabolism just slows right down, so if you want to lose a bit of weight and eat more healthily, you can combine the two! The main thing is variety - if you get bored with what you're eating, you'll start on the chocolate or high fat snacks.

Good luck
spoon
x

slowlyfading

Thanks for the responses - there's a lot of good advice in there so thanks for taking the time to write it!

I've had a yogurt for breakfast today - does that count? I do have breakfast cereals, I just have to force myself to eat them I suppose.

Today should be a NSD but I'll confirm that later - just in case!

cw18

A yoghurt is better than nothing, but even better if you have fruit (and/or muesli) with it

Like you, I have cereal in but struggle to feel in the mood to eat it - the only days I regularly have breakfast are those I have an early start at work (Mon & Tues). This is one thing that my OH does nag me about that I don't mind too much

slowlyfading

thanks cw - I need to go food shopping I think for more bits and bobs food wise. I'm going into town tomorrow anyway so I'll do it then

taka

Hi SF! :hello:

I have a LOT of weight to loose and am trying to loose it at the moment. I have to be really careful to be both healthy foodwise but also healthy mentally (given my ED problems in the past).

Is there a dietitian associated with your GP/area/town at all? A few years ago I asked to be referred to one and it was very helpful to get advice specific to me and what I would like to achieve (especially as I'm veggie). Some of the things she advised me to do were...

Keep a food diary
(I hate doing this but it does help...) Have a look at it after a week or 2. Are there any patterns forming? I tended to skip breakfast, only eat a light lunch then eat silly amounts of food in the evening (because my body was screaming out for food by then) and then I'd way over-eat as a result.

Eat regularly
I was told to eat something every 2-3 hours eg Breakfast, Lunch, Tea, but with snacks in between. The snacks may be a pear, a small cereal bar or some airpopped popcorn (I have a popcorn machine so no need for oil). Whatever you fancy really but healthyish!

My worst time for it all going wrong is late afternoon, early evening when I'm going home from work so I make sure I have a cereal bar (or similar) handy for a boost then so I don't stop off and buy rubbish on the way home cause I'm so hungry!

Don't necessarily ban "bad" foods
Don't necessarily totally ban foods you love (but aren't overly healthy) just find a way of eating them more healthily or in smaller amounts. If you don't include a little of what you like you may completely go overboard on them (binge styleeee) at some point.

Also eating healthily is a lifestyle change not some kind of punishment - healthy, fit people at their correct weights eat the "bad stuff" too... just in moderation!

I like the occasonal ice cream so out went magnums and in came buying ice cream cones, an ice cream scoop and some ice cream. That comes in at ~40% of the calories of a magnum with the ice cream I like! Craving choc? Will a Freddo do (once in a while)?

That said I just can't have crisps around... I'm a bit all or nothing with them so buying multipacks are out (as I eat them all waaaay too quickly ) and I object to paying 55p for a single bag when a multi pack is only a few pence more! :rotfl: I've only had them once since the start of May. :cool:

Portion sizes
Make sure your portion sizes are correct! Mine were waaaayyy off especially things like pasta!

I've lost 17lbs since the start of May. A big chunk of that was in the 1st week and since then it has been just over 2lbs average a week. Sadly I have an entire (Jo4 sized ) person's worth of weight to loose altogether so I'll be at it for a good while.

I've set myself a target of being fit enough and light enough to hike the Inca Trail in Peru ~May 2012 which should give me long enough to loose the weight and get much fitter. (And save up for it! :rotfl:) I have pictures of Machu Picchu as my computer desktop, on my fridge and in my purse (next to my cashcard to stop me when I'm about to buy rubbish). I'm walking loads and have just started going ice skating again (I used to skate loads as a child) and I'm really enjoying it and I feel so much better and happier for it!

Is there something you'd like to have/do/see as a goal? Or have as mini-goals along the way?

Good luck! Oh and be kind to yourself if things don't always go to plan - no-one is perfect and it's not something that is all or nothing... Tomorrow is another day!

Sorry for the essay!

slowlyfading

:hello: taka and thank you for your post! I think my main aim is to feel confident about myself and see food as something to enjoy, but to fuel me, rather than something to despise and worry about all the time, iyswim?

I like the idea of mini goals though - shall have to think of those! I like going swimming and playing tennis, but at the moment I feel waaaay too self conscious to be in a swimming costume and I don't have anyone or anywhere to play tennis! When I was at school, I was in all the sports teams, county for some of them and really enjoyed team sports. I was in the netball team, hockey, tennis, swimming, badminton, rounders, athletics - you name it, I was in it! Now, I'm not good enough to play and don't have the confidence to walk into somewhere like a club and start playing with strangers; I'm my own worst enemy really.

These posts have given me a lot to think about, thanks.

taka

Is there a womens only session at your swimming pool? Would you feel better about going to that than an open session or maybe an early morning session when everyone'll be too bleery-eyed to care about anything other than their own swimming?

Does your BF play tennis (or be willing to learn!) or is there something else you could do together even if its not your favourite sporting activity?

Are there any clubs near where you live (or where you'll be working after the summer) that you may feel comfortable about going to if you lost a bit and got a bit fitter before then?

Say spend the next 3-4 months loosing a bit and getting toned / fitter by walking / cycling / Chair to 5k running/ pilates/ fitness DVDs or something else you can do on your own THEN join a club in the Autumn?

I know what you mean about the confidence thing - Me too! It took a lot for me to go to the learn to skate session on Sunday. I almost didn't go. I used to be able to do jumps and spins etc but can only manage the basic forwards, backwards and stopping now! I was by far the most overweight there but I was too busy enjoying it and concentrating on what I was doing to care about what others thought of my being there. I'm really glad I went. I figured the worst thing that could happen was I left early and wasted a few £s (oh and a wet bum from falling over! :rotfl:) and to hell with what a bunch of strangers may or may not think - they don't know me so why should I care about them!

I imagine if you go back to one of your former sports it'll all come back to you again with a wee bit of practice.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step - Confucius.