21 and Struggling

Miss_Scrooge_2

Quit the ridiculous diet. Honestly, that is a really expensive way of losing weight - if it even works. The only *efficent* and *absolute* way of losing weight is burning off more calories than your intake. So quit the shakes and get yourself down to a gym. Or even better, save that bit of cash and go for a stride every evening for an hour or so. The fact you walk to work every morning is a great start.

MFWannabe

Hi Katie
Unfortunately you are not going to make much of a dent in these debts until you do the following:
1) Cut the mobile contract. Even if you are stll in contract it may be worth ringing them to see if they can cut the tariff to a lower one as you are in financial trouble.
2) Get rid of the special diet. You seriously cannot afford this much per month. Meal plan instead. Know exactly what you are going to eat for every meal time. I find that if you prepare then it really helps.
3) Get extra work; i think at the moment your best chance is by getting a 2nd job. At least this is a good time of year to look.
Also check that you are at the every least receiving minimum wage in your current job

consultant31

KatieWelshie wrote: »

Hi Everyone,

I was on slimming world for nearly a year and I would only lose a pound or 2 a week. Being 21, it is hard to be a larger lady. The fashion all my friends wear won't go near me, so I'm extreemly self-concious. I did used to get a lift to my job, but I started to walk, saving petrol money, and an aid to lose weight. I can't run at the moment due to some form of arthritis in my Knees (Doctors say it may be something else - I have hardly any cartlidge left behind my kneecaps.)

If you ask anyone with no axe to grind (ie making money from getting you on an extreme diet) they will tell you that the best diets are the ones on which you lose between 1 and 2 pounds a week. This is because if you lose at a faster rate than this you run the risk of losing lean muscle tissue which will bu**er up your metabolism making it harder to lose any weight at all.

Being 21 isn't what makes it hard to be large - it's hard whatever age you are since most fashionable clothes are designed for the slimmer members of society.

I have been a slimming club consultant for many years and seen lots of young women like yourself come to group and lose well over ½ stone a month, which equates to at least 6 stones in a year. You didn't put all your weight on in a few months, it's unreasonable to expect to lose it quickly without paying the price over the next few years when the weight will probably go back on with a vengeance.

Please think carefully about going back to Slimming World where you can lose weight having real food and plenty of it. Combine this with some exercise - you don't need to pay out for a gym membership, walking is excellent exercise and free! The weight will drop off I promise (there is a guarantee - if you don't lose weight you get all your subscriptions back) and the only charge will be around £5 a week. The food (especially on the Green plan) is cheap and nutritious and most of all....filling

With what you're saving on the drinks you will be able to pay off your debts and start a new life. Good luck

KatieWelshie

I have taken everything you have told me into account about the diet, but whilst on Slimming World I was spending the £20 a month on membership and at least £90 a month on food so as my temptation is the portions of food, I wasn't losing as much as I could. I know I'm not helping myself with debt, but It is a MUST.

As for my mobile contract, I CANNOT change the tariff for another 12 months.

I am trying for other jobs to up my income, no luck as yet.

pinkarsenalprincess

KatieWelshie wrote: »

I have taken everything you have told me into account about the diet, but whilst on Slimming World I was spending the £20 a month on membership and at least £90 a month on food so as my temptation is the portions of food, I wasn't losing as much as I could. I know I'm not helping myself with debt, but It is a MUST.

As for my mobile contract, I CANNOT change the tariff for another 12 months.

I am trying for other jobs to up my income, no luck as yet.

How miserable are you going to feel though when you stop the diet (because it will make you thoroughly miserable on it anyway) and put all the weight back on plus more, have all the debt still and have wasted £150 a month to be back in the same unhappy place you are now?

Silaqui

Hey Katie,

I don't mean to sound harsh here, but whether or not the food replacement diet would work, you simply cannot afford it at the moment. You have posted a SOA that clearly shows this.

Your mobile contract is non-negotiable, you can't alter the amount of board you pay as your parents have their own issues, and your debts must be paid to avoid getting into deeper trouble. You can't get any more credit (I sympathise, I've been after a 0% card to shift my last little bit of debt onto and haven't been able to) so you need to make cut backs somewhere.

I know it's hard to be bigger when you are young - I ballooned from a size 10/12 to an 18 when I went to uni and am not much below that now, and it was horrible to try clothes on and have everything look awful.

If you really want to do it, is it possible for you to put off the diet for a month or two (carry on eating healthily, obviously - follow the SW plan that you were doing, but just on your own for now to save the cost. I'm on my own this week as bloke is away and have bought in enought food for a veg stew (will last 2 nights and 2 lunches) chicken fajitas (2 nights and 2 lunches) and and a few other bits for under 15 quid.

So say you could live for this month on £60 groceries, that would give you £90 quid 'spare'. Thats the New Look card paid off. Do it for another month, and that gets rid of the Additions card.

You won't be able to be tempted by portion sizes because you will have to eat whats there. And tbh, if you are eating things like veggies the portion sizes don't matter too much anyway!

I would seriously ask you to consider this - read my first paragraph again. By coming on here you have made the first step to getting yourself sorted out, but you have limited options at the minute.

xx

Miss_Scrooge_2

You absolutely do not need to be on this ridiculously expensive diet. If you continue on these shakes, you will not be any healthier in the long run, because as soon as you start eating like a *normal* person, your weight will sky rocket.

A good, healthy balanced diet will actually cost you less! You don't need to fork out loads of cash to these "con artists" that prey on vulnerable women with very low confidence who are so desperate to shed those pounds. You're an easy target, I'm afraid.

So I advise you to quit these shakes. Start eating breakfast, fruit and veg in your meals and desert. No snacking between meals of course, and certainly no late night binging. Always do exercise. Every. single. day. Very important. I know it's tiring, but you should always count your calorie intake and how much you are burning off each day so you can estimate how much you are losing (and how quickly) and set a realistic goal for yourself, and stick by it!

Good luck!

tonyE1

I am a great believer in the good that exercise can do for people. You will find that it will help you with losing weight and is also really good for clearing the mind. Try to take a less direct route to work and walk a bit quicker that way you will burn more calories.

Good luck Katie.

ru20205

I cant help but agree with Silaqui & Miss Scrooge.

I was, up until a 2 years ago when a nasty car accident put an end to it, a bodybuilder. I studied Personal Training and Nutrition to a fairly decent level in order to increase my own base of knowledge. SW, WeightWatches etc, they work short term, but long terms have the reverse effect. The amount of people i have seen who have gone on a WW or SW diet, lost weight only to put it back on and then some after finishing these diets. Trust me, they do not work.

5 small meals a day with plenty of fruit, greens, carbs and protein is all you need. Breakfast is very important as it kick starts the metabolism first thing, another snack(2 pieces of fruit)/light meal around 11am, again at 1.30-2pm, again at 4.30-5pm and again about 7.30pm, plenty of walking, light jogging a couple of times a week and you will be right as rain in no time. But remember, do not eat past 9pm at night!! A lot of people disagree on this but if you are trying to lose weight it is not good. I used to eat after 9pm, but thats because i was consuming thousands of calories a day for bulking. When you are trying to lose weight, dont eat after your last meal, drink water instead.

I seriously do not recommend doing the SW diet. If you want, PM me and i can give you some ideas for meal plans or something, might as well put my knowledge to good use and help you save some money!!

pinkarsenalprincess

Having studied nutrition myself there is absolutely nothing wrong with SW at all. For many it is actually an incredibly useful tool to learn how to eat properly. Like anything, it requires a complete lifestyle change. If the lifestyle is changed and habits are changed then yes it does work long term.