23 overweight and struggling a bit!

Fire_Fox

angelil wrote: »

You must be superhuman then! I have a proper breakfast every morning (cereal, toast, juice, coffee, and sometimes fruit), but quite early (7.00), often don't get lunch until 1pm, and then we usually don't have dinner until 8.00 or 9.00 at night (husband works late and it's no fun eating a meal on your own lol). To manage those massive gaps with no snacks...well, you just tell me how

Little protein or fat in your breakfast, caffeine messes with blood glucose levels, fruit/ cereal/ toast/ juice is a heavy glycaemic load and high glycaemic index meal. That will spike your blood sugar and could be why it's not keeping you full. Try eggs, any type of cheese, nuts, seeds or beans at breakfast. If you want to continue eating grains switch from processed wheat to jumbo oats and barley flakes. Fruit is great but go for berries and tree fruits rather than tropical fruits.

What are you having for lunch? What do you eat after your run (or before if the above breakfast is after)?

belfastgirl23

Oh there's a lot of conflicting advice here OP it will make your head spin a bit. The danger is that you end up feeling indecisive and this makes it harder to figure out what to do.

I've lost and gained weight more times that I'd care to mention so I also have some experience in this field - currently I'm 5lbs above my lowest ever weight so something is working I'd say honestly that what you eat and don't eat isn't the key issue, the most of the work takes place in your brain. I'd recommend these two books:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0848731913/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=103612307&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1427202605&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=0RZYX59GHM697SZQFCRR

http://www.amazon.co.uk/100-Days-Weight-Loss-Successful/dp/1401603734/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344448332&sr=1-1

The first one is only 99p on kindle at the minute and I think it's excellent, it feels like she is right there in my mind ferreting out all the negative thoughts. The second one is also good. You know that your eating behaviour isn't just about food so why just tackle the behaviour when the problem is the thought processes behind it. As for forcing yourself to take on exercise programs or eat food that you don't like, this is never going to work as a long terms strategy.

But my tuppence worth on what you eat is that eating or drinking sugar, and I include fruit and fruit juice in this, just makes you hungrier and want to eat more sugar. I'm currently working on eating very little sugar and processed foods and trying not to worry overly about my intake of fat and to get some protein at every meal. This seems to be working reasonably well for me. And it's tasty! Low GI is the way forward for me though it might not be the same for everyone.

Also re salads, are you sure that salad dressings aren't the problem. I get terrible indigestion when I use bought salad dressings, I think it's to do with the preservatives in them and the low fat ones are the worst, but I'm fine with my own home made version. Otherwise raw peppers and cucumbers often affect people as well. A salad alone definitely wouldn't do me till dinner time in any case unless it had pulses and cheeses (or I guess meat if you're a meat eater) in it.

angelil

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Little protein or fat in your breakfast, caffeine messes with blood glucose levels, fruit/ cereal/ toast/ juice is a heavy glycaemic load and high glycaemic index meal. That will spike your blood sugar and could be why it's not keeping you full. Try eggs, any type of cheese, nuts, seeds or beans at breakfast. If you want to continue eating grains switch from processed wheat to jumbo oats and barley flakes. Fruit is great but go for berries and tree fruits rather than tropical fruits.

What are you having for lunch? What do you eat after your run (or before if the above breakfast is after)?

Let's see. There are plenty of nuts and seeds in the muesli (and we eat proper muesli from a health food shop, not crappy stuff that's overloaded with sugar). The reason for the low protein is perhaps because I don't like milk (never have) and so eat my cereal dry. Perhaps having a yoghurt for brekkie as well would help? Don't add any milk or sugar to my food generally either (not to coffee or tea for example). I'd say I have eggs for breakfast once a week, at the weekend; more often in the holidays. More than this just isn't possible IMO - I already have to get up at 6.10 for what's already a long day. Fruits we normally eat at breakfast are things like plum, mango, or orange.

Lunch - at the weekend it could be anything! We eat a wide variety of cuisines and don't get takeaways. During the week it's pretty much as I've mentioned in my previous posts on this thread - leftovers (of proper meals...e.g. casserole or lasagne), Ryvita with cream cheese or marmite, cup-a-soup or homemade soup if I've had time to make it, sometimes a sandwich...usually then followed by a fruit yoghurt (Activia 0% fat). I drink loads of water during the day (easily more than a litre, reckon I reach the recommended 2l most days). Despite what I said about diet Coke helping me during my diet last year I don't actually drink it that much these days (maybe about once a month now?).

Dinner again is a proper home-cooked meal, no takeaways. We generally eat vegetarian for most of the week with meat and fish mainly only being consumed at weekends.

On the rare occasions that I manage to go for a run (I'm a teacher so you can read this as being 3-4 times a week in the school holidays) I generally go after breakfast once my husband has gone to work. I take a bottle of water with me and then maybe have some more once I come back from the run. I don't tend to eat anything then until lunchtime. To be fair, I find it quite easy to get through the morning (between breakfast and lunch) on just fluids (tea, infusions, water)...it's the afternoon that's the killer (specifically the danger zone is between 4/5pm and dinner time). I do have a healthy snack (dried fruit, nuts, seeds, cereal bar, sometimes fresh fruit depending on how practical this actually is...) between 4 and 5pm but I still then have to make it to dinner and that is VERY difficult for me

daska

You're probably not wrong when you say you're addicted to sugar, the research shows that it acts on the brain in the same as as other addictive substances. You might find this lecture by Christopher Gardner interesting - it's long but worth watching to the end to see the full results. Also this one by Robert Lustig.

Sugar and other carbs raise your insulin levels and insulin promotes fat storage. Then, quite quickly, your blood sugar drops and you get hungry and you go through the process again. Protein and fat keep you sated and if you're not storing excess blood glucose your body has to free up it's fat for energy. So, have a decent breakfast, not cereal or toast, and take some nuts/cheese to snack on if you really feel hungry. Cut out the artificial sweeteners. Drink plenty of water - thirst can be mistaken for hunger - and it really doesn't take long to adjust if you're not having sweet things the rest of the time. Give it a week and you should find the call of the junk is only in the mind rather than a physical hunger. Trust me, I was a carb addict, but I can now drink strong coffee with a teaspoon of cocoa (the bitter stuff, not drinking chocolate) and cream and find it sweet. And, at 5'10" I'm down from a 24 to a 16 since Christmas.

Gloomendoom

angelil wrote: »

You must be superhuman then! I have a proper breakfast every morning (cereal, toast, juice, coffee, and sometimes fruit), but quite early (7.00), often don't get lunch until 1pm, and then we usually don't have dinner until 8.00 or 9.00 at night (husband works late and it's no fun eating a meal on your own lol). To manage those massive gaps with no snacks...well, you just tell me how

I often go from 8pm to 5pm the following day without eating anything at all. I've never considered myself superhuman.

Fire_Fox

angelil wrote: »

Let's see. There are plenty of nuts and seeds in the muesli (and we eat proper muesli from a health food shop, not crappy stuff that's overloaded with sugar). The reason for the low protein is perhaps because I don't like milk (never have) and so eat my cereal dry. Perhaps having a yoghurt for brekkie as well would help? Don't add any milk or sugar to my food generally either (not to coffee or tea for example). I'd say I have eggs for breakfast once a week, at the weekend; more often in the holidays. More than this just isn't possible IMO - I already have to get up at 6.10 for what's already a long day. Fruits we normally eat at breakfast are things like plum, mango, or orange.

Lunch - at the weekend it could be anything! We eat a wide variety of cuisines and don't get takeaways. During the week it's pretty much as I've mentioned in my previous posts on this thread - leftovers (of proper meals...e.g. casserole or lasagne), Ryvita with cream cheese or marmite, cup-a-soup or homemade soup if I've had time to make it, sometimes a sandwich...usually then followed by a fruit yoghurt (Activia 0% fat). I drink loads of water during the day (easily more than a litre, reckon I reach the recommended 2l most days). Despite what I said about diet Coke helping me during my diet last year I don't actually drink it that much these days (maybe about once a month now?).

Dinner again is a proper home-cooked meal, no takeaways. We generally eat vegetarian for most of the week with meat and fish mainly only being consumed at weekends.

On the rare occasions that I manage to go for a run (I'm a teacher so you can read this as being 3-4 times a week in the school holidays) I generally go after breakfast once my husband has gone to work. I take a bottle of water with me and then maybe have some more once I come back from the run. I don't tend to eat anything then until lunchtime. To be fair, I find it quite easy to get through the morning (between breakfast and lunch) on just fluids (tea, infusions, water)...it's the afternoon that's the killer (specifically the danger zone is between 4/5pm and dinner time). I do have a healthy snack (dried fruit, nuts, seeds, cereal bar, sometimes fresh fruit depending on how practical this actually is...) between 4 and 5pm but I still then have to make it to dinner and that is VERY difficult for me

I come from a family full of teachers so have sympathy for you!

It's not just the sugar in the muesli unfortunately, carbs behave like sugar once in the body and some convert faster than others. What grains are in the muesli? Wheat and rye are higher glycaemic index than oats and barley. Also is it the large flake grains or the porridge type stuff? What percentage of nuts/ seeds? Not having milk is an issue although milk is actually not that rich in protein and does contain lactose (a carb), definitely try soaking in some plain live yoghurt. Mango and orange are fairly high GI, not that they are bad for you but your breakfast is too carb heavy overall IMO. What about a whey protein and fruit smoothie? Frozen berries need no preparation, with a stick blender it takes a minute to make. Do you like peanut butter or other almond butter?

Again where is the protein in your lunches? Cream cheese and meat in your leftovers yes, but it sounds inconsistent? Ditto what is the protein source in your vegetarian evening meals? Are you taking a high strength DHA/ EPA (long chain omega-3) supplement if you only eat fish at weekends? Humans absolutely don't need to eat meat, but we cannot store spare protein so need to eat it little and often from breakfast. Ideally this would be 'complete' - so dairy, eggs or a combination of two vegetarian sources. Nuts are good sources but we tend to eat too small a quantity to be relied upon as a protein source. Grains and pulses are much lower in protein. When you are exercisibng regularly or stressed your need for protein and essential fatty acids is significantly increased.

I am not sure either whether you have enough healthy fats in your diet, most of your lunches look low in fat as well as low in protein. Both fat and protein slow the digestion and keep you feeling fuller for longer. Your snacks sound healthy. :T

murphydog999

PollyOnAMission wrote: »

I also think it's very important to a steady intake of good carbs; I certainly don't buy into these low carb/high fat/high protein diets, especially not as a long term solution. It's just not healthy and think what all the fat will be doing to your arteries. I'd much rather lose weight more slowly and be healthy than lose it rapidly and ruin my health.

I don't really want to deviate from the OP's question but feel that this has to be addressed.

Why do you think carbs are so important?

There are 2 macronutrients that the body needs to survive, fat and protein. Carbohydrates are superfluous to requirements; Daska has very eloquently already spelled out why.

The stuff that clogs up your arteries (plaque) is due to excess carbohydrates (i.e. sugar, including fruit!), and from transfats - that is fats that have been modified by processing and heat.

In the last 20 years fat has been taken out of so many products (to be replaced by sugar) and we now have a population fatter and and so unhealthy it's costing the NHS billions to try and put right.
Eating fewer carbohydrates is NOT a fad or a 'diet,' it is a healthy way of eating, and there is soooo much evidence to support this now.

Bitsy_Beans

Mrs_Boo_Boo wrote: »

If you really want to go down the psychological route as to why you are overeating in the first place then Beyond Chocolate is a good start.
Not an easy route and losing weight is not the main focus,but tackles the important bits.
They have a website for more ideas,suport and courses.
Food for Thought

I also recommend anything written by Geneen Roth, her book breaking free from emotional eating is very good.

sophlowe45

Really great thread everyone thank you.

Similar age, height, dress size to OP and struggle with food and binge eating.

I don't seem to look that fat to people but its not really the point, im doing lots of damage to my health.

I only drink normal coke, haven't had any for a few days and craving it so much, just tried putting sugar and salt in a glass of water and drinking it. Also craving chocolate hugely as not had any for days.

I love breakfast its the only meal of the day i dont have a problem with, usually have porridge or boiled eggs with toast. Rest of the meals are challenging, i often repeat breakfast for other meals but must be missing out on a lot of nutrients as exhausted all the time and really hungry all the time too. I drink far too much water i think.

Wish we didn't have to eat at all. I bought quinoa and bulgar wheat yesterday to try to eat better food, i made chicken last night with brown rice, rice was fine (added veg to both rice and chicken) but the chicken was gross. I'ved tried having brown rice cooked with vegetables over the weekend but still starving after eating. I tried going to the gym a year ago but found i got even more hungry and had to eat loads more food. So stopped going.

Everything i like has sugar in it, Onken Biopot yoghurts for example and the Nature Valley bars.

Gloomendoom

sophlowe45 wrote: »

Everything i like has sugar in it

You need to retrain your taste buds.

Start by switching to 85% cocoa chocolate. It used to make me gag but now everything else tastes far too sweet to eat.