Lose Weight 8

MissMoneypenny

Congratulations Eels:beer:

rachelmk wrote:

Found out today that a standard 6 inch tuna Subway sandwich has over 500 cals in it!!! Madness! Thought I was being relatively good too!

I have decided to try to stay away from all shop bought sandwiches as the calories are not worth it. Not that I have been very good this week:D but I have avoided pre made sandwiches.

Lois_Lane

honey28 wrote:

Has anyone heard from DellyBelly recently? She hasnt been around for a while

Yes - I emailed her and she said that she would be back - That was over a week ago, so I think I might need to give her a gentle reminder..!

LL

Lois_Lane

Hi all

Sorry I haven't been around much this week, it's been a funny week, one way or another. I get the impression that a few of us are struggling at the moment (me included) and wonder if it's because of the dark nights, or the weather getting colder, or maybe the fact that Christmas is just around the corner? I know that this time of year always makes me want comfort foods!

Congratulations Eels - is this your first?

Honey - why not take a holiday from the plan, relax a bit, then get back on track after Christmas? You'll probably find you'll maintain, providing you don't go completely OTT, and new year is always a good time to start afresh.

Devils_nose - welcome to the thread, I'm sure you'll find lots of support and inspiration here.

Have a good weekend everybody. Try not to get blown away by the gales, or trampled underfoot by the Christmas shoppers!

LL

madauri

In my case it is anxiety that makes me seek comfort foods. and I've had a lot to keep going.

I've found some notes I wrote about overeating, based on books I've read on the subject and on my own experience. I used to overeat what seems eons ago, and some good information I found helped me slow down and go back to normal (although that didn't help me to slim down - I never slim down, it seems ).
Still, when in your life food has a special place for one reason or another, it is easy to make it the centre of it and start overeating. You needn't overeat all the time... but from time to time is more than enough (thoughts of boots come to my mind).

So I wrote down some sort of mantras that help me to focus in putting food back to the place it should be (i.e., a need not a way of indulging). I've decided to write them down here for if you find them helpful too.

1-seek help. You needn't do all the effort by yourself all the time, and aren't expected to. Nobody can, actually, so why should you try to be superhuman?

2-Stop feeling guilty. It only leads to denial and that won't help you to regain a balanced life.

3-eat when you are hungry. If you keep a strict timetable regardless of what your body is telling you, it won't work. If your body wants to be hungry at 5 and not at 9 it will and you risk eating double, for routine and for hunger. Only stop to consider whether you are really hungry. It is so easy to mistake thirst for hunger! And then you'll fill yourself with something you don't really need, and will not feel satisfied, because your body is asking for something different.

4-take your time to choose your food and to eat. If others eat really fast, it's their problem. Learn to relish those things you eat, do not just stuff yourself with them. You'll be happier later and will end up eating less. Plus I've found that, the more varied is a dish, the more filling I find it.

5-keep a food diary. It will help you see if you really overeat, when you are more prone to it, whether there is a pattern, and what things make you go to the fridge in the first place.

6-don't do the shopping yourself. That is, if you can arrange it. Make a list of only what you need and have somebody else buy it. Steer away from the food stores. I can't, but I'm thinking of starting to order to Tesco on-line. This way not only I won't get so tired, I won't have so many opportunities of buying what I shouldn't - the pics on the website never look so interesting as the real things. And not buying extras means also saving a lot of money. You can keep the count of what you spend that is not necessary and you'll see what I mean.

7-if you, like me, must do the shopping yourself, eat first, shop later. An empty stomach is a fiendish traitor. It makes you put things in your trolley you wouldn't even consider if you weren't hungry.

8-learn to listen to your body. It tells you when you are hungry, and when you are thirsty, and when to stop eating, and even what sort of foods would be good for you. The rigid timetables of modern life have made this harder to do, but think of all those slim people that, effortlessly, stop eating as soon as they feel full - and it takes them little to do so! Overeaters usually have lost this knack, which is actually natural to the body. Cravings are usually a sign that something is missing, and we craftily misunderstand them too.

9-cook your meals. It will distract you from the wait; and if you pick from it while you're cooking, it will always be healthier than grabbing a ready meal and gobble it down. You know what you're cooking, and it's usually tastier and more satisfying than prepared food.

10-pamper yourself. This is a method of diversion, and it works very well. If you feel tired/sad/angry/desperate/helpless, instead of attacking the chocolate box go and have a bath. I love the Lush fizzy bars, they really make me forget everything else. There's aromatherapy too, and with so many products in the market there must be some that do the trick for you. Or you may prefer to make yourself a lovely dress, or do your nails, or try a new makeup or hairdo, or care for your hands and feet, or go out for a nice walk, or take time to meditate, or practice your favourite hobby...

11-take up new activities. This is not only about exercise, it's another technique of diversion. Among the causes for overeating there are stress and boredom, and if you fill your time with something more constructive to do that you really enjoy, you'll get there. Before telling me you're too busy, think twice: if you have a habit of overeating, remember you consume time when you consume food (still I guess this is not easy; maybe sharing ideas with the family will bring out something interesting that you can do).

12-plan for the future. It is good, it is practical and it helps to ground yourself. Once you know your objectives, start planning how to get to them. You'll do more about your life and you'll think less about food and consequently you'll eat less.

These things helped me and help me when I re-read them. I hope you find this useful too. If you like it, I've got some notes about the causes for overeating, taken too from specialised books on the subject and pondered about. Information is power!

Eels100

Wow, madauri, those are fab notes - much of them can be applied to all sorts of control issues in life, so thank you! :T

Yes Lois, my first ... eeek! Not sure what I can do weight-wise at the moment - someone said I shouldn't go under 2200 calories a day! :eek: Will just have to ask the doc.

PS honey - hope your OH is feeling fine x

Lois_Lane

Eels100 wrote:

Yes Lois, my first ... eeek! Not sure what I can do weight-wise at the moment - someone said I shouldn't go under 2200 calories a day! :eek: Will just have to ask the doc.

Hi Eels - you can always join Cathys1 in the 'on hold' section at the bottom of the table - she was in the 2 pound club until she discovered she was pregnant! You'll have plenty to think about with baby on the way without worrying about your weight - but don't be tempted to eat for two!

LL

Lois_Lane

Eels100 wrote:

Wow, madauri, those are fab notes - much of them can be applied to all sorts of control issues in life, so thank you! :T

I agree - they reflect certain aspects of my live very well - thank you Madauri.

I really recommend doing your food shopping on line - I have been doing it for a while and it works for me because it makes me plan my meals. Before I can do my shopping I check the freezer to find out what's already there, then write a rough list, adding more ideas and making sure I have a main meal for each day, then I fill in the detail with the vegetables that I need to go with them.

When you shop on line regularly, the items you buy all the time are listed separately, so you can go through and tick what you want without having to browse through the 'aisles' and seeing things that might tempt you, like you do in the supermarket. They still use marketing ploys on line like they do in the shops - Sainsbury's put 'have you tried' adverts on the pages to catch your eye, in the same way that they will display new products at the end of the aisles in store, and sometimes they are useful, but more often they need some exercise in willpower to ignore them.

If anyone wants to give shopping on line a go, I do recommend Sainsburys - if you book your delivery on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday and spend a minimum of £70, delivery is free! They have one hour delivery slots, and if they're one minute late, you get a £10 voucher to use on your next shop. The way I look at it, it's saving me money because I'm not driving to the supermarket, and it saves me the time I would spend walking round the store, and it saves me money because I don't buy things on impulse.

... if only they would put the shopping away for me as well.... :rotfl:

LL

honey28

I did an online shop this week for the first time, simply because I just couldn't fit in making time to go. I only bought what I needed, avoided the chocolate biscuits aisle and I also spent about £25 less than I usually do. Money Saving tastic! I agree Lois that it is a good way to avoid temptation and I will definately do it again - my only complaint was that Mr tesco didnt put it away for me too :rotfl:

madauri

I'm glad the notes are useful to others!
I've gained a pound this week, due to two factors: my dinners have been terrible (not by overeating but by eating what I shouldn't). And I'm pretty sure my monthly pe...st is about to arrive, so I am not that sad or even angry. There have been positive things this week that will help me in the weeks to come!
My lunches have been good - every single day I've had fresh fruit and fresh vegs (not having them is easier than it seems!) and I intend to keep the habit. Last night I began a plan to fix my dinners too and make them less aggressive - although I can't plan all of them. I am afraid I had a delicious dish at the pub on Thursday, but I didn't know when I ordered it was swimming in a sauce that surely has about 500 syns. Oh well. What I cook myself has no excuse though.
Uh, every week I promise myself to do it better next week and...well...
I have to read more often those notes of mine.

Congratulations for the news, Eel. Do ask your doctor, I am sure keeping a balanced diet when you're pregnant is flipping complicated!

I hope your OH is much better soon, Honey. You know, somebody told me yesterday that women have many more nervous terminations than men, in order to make sure they keep safer (both for themselves and their children). So men don't think nothing of breaking a bone while playing football... but when they get really hurt, they REALLY complain!

dellybelly_2

Wow, Congratulations Eels! What a wonderful way to come back to the Lose Weight thread..... That's fantastic. :j BTW, I had extremely sore boobs when I was expecting DS (over a year ago now! :eek:) and I found that one of the best things for me was a vest/tank top, that was tight across your chest to hold them in - other than that, nothing much else worked, you just become accustomed to the tenderness.

Sorry I've been away for a while, I let life get on top of me. Having said that, I have found a wonderful diet! It's called poverty and food poisoning:rotfl:. I'd put on quite a bit of weight whilst I've been away but have managed to lose it again in the past few weeks. I'm still not used to my new budget (paying £400+ per month on childcare has really screwed us over) and we've been broke for the past few weeks. At least now I know we can survive 3 weeks on about £60 - and worked out an excellent moneysaving weightloss recipie - frozen veg cooked with rice and quorn pieces in stock and a bit of chilli paste! yummy!

Hope everyone is doing well. I'll read back further on the thread later this week.
DB