21 and Struggling

cyclura

your food budget is more than mine for a family of three :eek: I know you said you are on a liquid diet but those diets only work while you stay on them, as soon as you start eating again you start gaining the weight again. You really are better off going on a veggie or healthy diet, no rubbish and 5 small meals a day rather than 3 large ones. Talk to your doctor he/she will refer you to a dietician as its causing you so much upset and they can help you sort out a good diet plan thats healthy.

Good luck hun

ru20205

As much as i hate to say it, Bristol_pilot does have a point regarding bankruptcy, or at the very least a debt management plan (there is plenty of threads on here about places you can get them).

Im guessing you are only earning about 11.5k a year, this is something, as you have said, you need to address, but means of a second job or a job paying more. When i was in debt i was at least earning more that my outgoings were. There is the option of cutting out the diet supplements totally and just eating healthly and going for a run 3 times a week, trust me it does work, coupled with an hours walk every day you will be loosing the weight in no time.

You need to look to reduce the highest paying APR first, then work your way down.

I would say you have several options:
Firstly, see if you can consoladate all your debts with your bank or put them onto a 0% CC.
Secondly, see if mum and dad will help you out. Even lending you 2/3k would enable you to clear the highest charging APR creditors first.
Finally, there is the option of bankruptcy or debt management, both viable options, but should be at a last resort and i hope your not there yet.
To me there is a great satisfaction of knowing i cleared my debts without having to go bankrupt, although it was close for a while!!

pinkarsenalprincess

As others have said, the diet plan will just be a short term quick fix. As soon as you start eating normally again you are going to pile the weight back on. You will feel miserable for it, and even more miserable for having spent so much money on it beforehand. If you want to lose weight you don't need quick fixes if you want it to be long term and maintainable. It takes a whole change of lifestyle and attitude and confronting the reasons why you are the weight you are unhappy with at the moment.
When in debt and with so many other options out there I could not justify spending £150 on a fad.

gfplux

Hello,
What sort of job do you have. Getting £170 a week is quite low. What type of job are you looking for. What are you doing about finding a new or second job.

Sharon87

Agree about the diet. I've discovered it's not the diet that's the problem it's too little excercise. You may as well spend £100 on proper food and a £30 a month gym subscription. Although a gym subscription isn't best when you're in debt.

Are these shakes from a specialist company like slimfast/cambridge diet? If so they're rubbish, they don't provide all the nutrients you need. You're better off learning to cook healthy cheap food. Lots of veggies, cheap cuts of meat, rice, pasta.

I know there's a weightloss thread somewhere, should be some good advice there.

I would also suggest paying the debts with the highest APRs first, and maybe clear the ones with a lower balance, then use the minimum payment from them onto other debts. Also it feels good to clear one debt.

Good luck on your debts and weightloss

psychopathbabble

I'm trying to do slimming world and my food budget is £60 a month, I have to work around that figure as I can't afford to spend more. I've lost 12.5 pounds since end of august so it's much better for you and cheaper!

HAYLEY8005

Totally agree on the diet i tried this one before the minute yo are back on food back goes on the weight a diet works only by reducing the food intake i then started weight watchers end of jan this year and in 9 months id lost 3.5 stone and you can still eat normal things just in moderate portions so save your money for elsewhere.

Hayley

u_r

Firstly, congrats on acknowledging you are in debt and that you have decided to do something about it now(whislt still being young,21).

-xmas on the way, look for a temp xmas job.if not, gumtree is good for short assignments, try that site.
-dont worry too much about your weight. u hav recognised the problem.thinking about it too much will want you to get a quick fix.a quick fix does not work with dieying.Take others advice about the diet plan, especially the half marathon suggestion. u will be soo busy and into a routine taht you will have no time to worry about socialising, hence no worries about latest fashion etc. you will concentrate on the running but indiretly you are working towards weight loss, fab advice from poster.
-again ask if parents can help-this way you will only pay back the actual amount and not the interest which is the biggesr troubles of alltimes!!!
-finally, hang around in here and take small steps like others are doing and soom you will be debt free and hopefully will have learnt a lesson for life by the end of it!!

Good Luck

DCFC79

For part time jobs or xmas temp jobs try the local supermarkets, or maybe avon, bar work,

Hax

A few years ago, I was doing the SlimmingWorld diet with my OH for a while - found that was really good as you could each pretty much normal food. I'm a reasonably large bloke - I lost some weight then - but haven't followed it for quite a while now.

However, over the last 18 months, I've lost around 2 and a half stone - without really trying. The only thing that has changed is me having a bowl of cereal in the morning for breakfast (I used to skip breakfast) and because of that I've reduced the number of sandwiches I take for lunch. I have increased the amount of fruit I eat to to try and reduce the temptation to buy chocolate from the vending machines at work. I have also cut back on the amount of cheese I buy - that was one of my big downfalls!

Anyway, I haven't changed a huge amount with regards to my diet - still have takeaways, mocha's from the coffee shop and snacks like crisps, etc - but am still losing weight!

I attribute my weight loss to cutting down on the amount of bread I eat and having a decent breakfast in the mornings. The weight loss hasn't been rapid - and I still have another two or so stone to lose, but I'm confident that it will stay off.

I could do with more exercise - that much I know - a desk job doesn't help there!

Anyway - the point of the above is that for weight loss, you need to change your lifestyle/eating habits in a way that you can adhere to - diets aren't always the solution that they're made out to be...

It's possible to make better progress by just modifying what you currently eat. That way, you don't feel like you're missing out on the "nice" things you enjoy - plus, it doesn't cost a huge amount!

Good luck with it!