Losing weight the healthy way and on a budget

Fire_Fox

simmed wrote: »

You're forgetting about this thing called "exercise".

Given that I am a professional in the field of lifestyle healthcare (physical activity and nutrition) that is a tad unlikely! :rotfl: Exercise actually increases the body's requirements for all nutrients - not just the obvious calorific ones but vitamins, minerals and long chaim omega-3s too.

simmed wrote: »

Calories out - calories in = ~1000

Theoretically the best way to lose weight is by doing lots and lots of exercise, so you can still eat what you want and get lots of nutrition. But that's completely unrealistic and infeasible.

Er, according to whom? Too much exercise increases the risk of injury and overtraining, boosts levels of stress hormones, depletes muscle glycogen leading to dehydration, burns muscle instead of fat.

gettingready

Oooooooooooooooo interesting thread.....

I have tried possibly every crap "diet" there is - mostly by sabotaging often very good results by chocolate/biscuits. Worst place - at my desk at work.

Recently lost over 10kg just by using MyFitnessPal (logging all my food and watching wjat I eat) but now put nearly 7kg back on.

So back to the drawing board - very much on a budget though so will be watching this thread.

FireFox - had no idea that this is what you do for living...

Any serious exercise is out of question for me (for various reasons) , walking 10000 steps per day is normal for me so not going to make any difference - have to concentrate of food intake.

On a budget of about £25.00 per week on food and shopping at Tesco only (no markets etc cheap places to buy things) living alone - big challenge.

Massive problem - sitting at my desk all day at work and constantly munching on Tuc crackers (can have 2 packets just at work) or other biscuits/chocolate as very often bored out of my mind.

So.. will be watching here and will re-register with MyFitnessPal.

Possibly dig out my steamer too.

Fire_Fox

Sharon87 wrote: »

I weren't sure if my achy joints were from injuring them or from working them too hard, so if I have weak ankles it's best to try and push through the pain I sometimes get? As long as I warm and up properly and cool down? I did think about an ankle support whilst at the gym, but not sure if my ankle would be too reliant on it, or whether it's best to use it to start off with. Any suggestions?

(Sorry for hijacking the thread! Was about to start my own anyway lol)

Depends what is causing you pain - the ligaments, tendons or small stabilising muscles? Are you talking about sharp pains or burning pains? You absolutely should not train on an injury unless specifically advised to by a physiotherapist or similar, and you should only do light to moderate cardio exercise with DOMS. If you are unsure get checked out by your GP or a physiotherapist or a personal trainer with a special interest in injuries or postural analysis.

DOMS is delayed onset muscle soreness: when you feel bruised and stiff, the muscle hurts when you sit on the toilet or walk upstairs, comes on 24-48 hours after a new activity and lasts a few days.

The burning discomfort you get in the belly of a muscle during intense exercise itself is normal and not harmful, ditto when your muscles start to shake. Those are just not enough oxygen getting to the muscle, lactic acid building up, the muscle telling your brain it is tired and wants to stop. As long as you are fully healthy you can and should work through that whilst being sure you are still safe, not losing your technique. This sort of pain should wear off very quickly when you slow down.

Why do you think you have weak ankles, do you have a history of injury? It's possible not just your ankles are weak, much instability is poor control in the abdominal and back muscles. One way to support and stabilise your ankles safely and protect your joints is to get a *free* gait analysis at a running or proper sports shop and fitted for walking/ running trainers. Expect to walk on a treadmill and be video'd. You can get decent shoes from £35 if you shop around or get the sale model but you MUST get them fitted.

And are you warming up properly, are you doing five to ten minutes of low/ no impact rhythmic activity, enough to get warmer and breathing heavier but still able to hold a conversation? No pounding, cross trainer or bike if walking might cause an issue, stretching does not count nor does under five minutes.

JBD

simmed wrote: »

Swimming is a poor method to lose weight because it doesn't burn many calories, requires a lot of effort to travel/change/get dry etc, and makes you ravenously hungry.

OP, by far the easiest way to lose weight is to join a gym and do both cardio and weight training (lift weights that are heavy that you can only just lift them ~8 times). Calculate your daily calorie burn, go below it (how far below depending on how fast you want to lose weight, maybe around 1,000 below). Eat 100g protein a day.

I disagree with the 1st point. Swimming really helped me lose weight. It probably depends on how long and with what intensity you swim for though. It didn't make me ravenously hungry either, I just ate the same size meal afterwards as I ate on non swimming days.
Good luck with finding a pool that is local to you though. My 2 local pools have both closed down [one just temporary] and I have heard that this is happening in a lot of places.

Fire_Fox

gettingready wrote: »

Oooooooooooooooo interesting thread.....

I have tried possibly every crap "diet" there is - mostly by sabotaging often very good results by chocolate/biscuits. Worst place - at my desk at work.

Recently lost over 10kg just by using MyFitnessPal (logging all my food and watching wjat I eat) but now put nearly 7kg back on.

So back to the drawing board - very much on a budget though so will be watching this thread.

FireFox - had no idea that this is what you do for living...

Any serious exercise is out of question for me (for various reasons) , walking 10000 steps per day is normal for me so not going to make any difference - have to concentrate of food intake.

On a budget of about £25.00 per week on food and shopping at Tesco only (no markets etc cheap places to buy things) living alone - big challenge.

Massive problem - sitting at my desk all day at work and constantly munching on Tuc crackers (can have 2 packets just at work) or other biscuits/chocolate as very often bored out of my mind.

So.. will be watching here and will re-register with MyFitnessPal.

Possibly dig out my steamer too.

There is a 'simple' (yeah I know ) answer to that - you know what your trigger foods and times are so change up your routine. Where are you getting this stuff from? Don't go to/ past/ near the shop/ vending machine you are buying the TUC or chocolate at. Literally walk or drive a different route. Don't carry money you don't absolutely need, no cash no crap! If you can change the order of your day or the layout of your desk even better, many habits are associations. Smokers find stupid things like sitting in a different chair/ place helps reduce a craving.

Store healthy snacks in your desk drawer or bag so they are there all the time - flavoured oatcakes or Ryvita (plain taste like cardboard), nuts, seeds, dried fruit, fresh fruit, cheese portions, homemade sweet or savoury flapjacks, crunchy fried curried chick peas and lentils.

Also what are you having before work? Try plenty of protein and some fat, small portion of lower glycaemic index carbs so probably no wheat or potatoes. Nuts and seeds, beans and lentils are amazing for filling you up. Weezl74 has some great ideas for eating cheap and healthy.

gettingready

Ermmm - I have nothing before work. I get up, take the dog out, run out to catch the bus/train/overground/walk to get me to work.

If I get nothing on the way (good intentions) then I pop out later to get some crap. And most days there is something in the kitchen anyway (birthdays).

Did not have this issue in my previous job as it would be very difficult munching on something non stop while training people - standing in the front of a group giving instructions and with a packet of Tuc in my hand or a massive Galaxy. Now, desk based it is my worst nightmare.

2 of us in the office, my and my male boss - he has started the 5:2 several weeks ago and is doing well. Me? Total diseaster.

I will not much on anything - it will be chocolate or Tuc/Ritz biscuits or those caco wafers thinfys in double packets. I can never have one either, whole packet or two. Every single day.

Right now, 1 am and I have put a tiney bit of milk into half a cup of chocolate powder and got a very thick chocolate substitute. That is how bad I am.

So "healthy" snacks are not appealing to substitute for what I LOVE....

Also - as you mention smoking. I smoke too. Another bad habit to kill...

Sigh...

Fire_Fox

gettingready wrote: »

Ermmm - I have nothing before work. I get up, take the dog out, run out to catch the bus/train/overground/walk to get me to work.

If I get nothing on the way (good intentions) then I pop out later to get some crap. And most days there is something in the kitchen anyway (birthdays).

So "healthy" snacks are not appealing to substitute for what I LOVE....

Also - as you mention smoking. I smoke too. Another bad habit to kill...

Sigh...

There is likely the problem. Research shows those who don't eat breakfast tend to eat more the rest of the day, tend to crave fatty and sugary foods and if your blood sugar is low they taste better than if you already ate a meal. You can't buy stuff if you don't have cash, don't carry any!!!

Do you like smoothies or fresh milk? A drink is as good as food if it contains some protein - put milk powder, Value plain yoghurt, cheap plain whey protein powder or peanut flour in your smoothie, use frozen or canned fruit for speed and not not too expensive. And you could carry a drink to work if you had a reuseable screw top bottle.

Smoking dulls the tastebuds and dims the appetite to a point, but salty, sugary and fatty foods can obviously be more appealing than delicately flavoured fruits and veggies. It also messes with blood sugar levels and makes a strong 'hand-to-mouth' habit. IMO if you are already skipping meals and you smoke (uses extra nutrients) fasting is a really bad idea, there is no way you are going to get all the nutrients you need.

If you were my client? I'd encourage you to kill the smoking first then work on the diet afterwards. But you have to want to, then get whatever help you can on the NHS - group counselling, one to one advice, medication, try it all - if you have had a couple of unsuccessful quits on NRT before tell them, they should prescribe you something different like a tablet to kill the urge if you want it. :T

Sorry if that sounds preachy, I mean it all as fact not judgement but obviously I can't convey my facial expressions and tone of voice online.

belfastgirl23

Excellent advice from Firefox

The good thing from your perspective is that you've identified the keystone bad habit that is causing you to gain weight - eating at your desk (and poor food choices as well ). What you need to do is cut that dead. You will have a hard first couple of days and the first week will feel generally tough. I'd encourage you to sit down and make an actual plan in writing of everything you will eat for the week. Then make a plan of how you will resist the cravings that you know will come. So write a series of plans - ideally as a tick list. For example:

I will have a good breakfast in the morning (you can take a good breakfast to work with you as long as you plan it the night before)

Between breakfast and lunch if I am hungry I will eat a small piece of cheese (or whatever)

I will take a lunchtime walk of at least 15 mins every day

etc etc. One thing I've found good is delaying - so if there's cake in the kitchen thinking: I can have that later if I like but I don't need it right now.

Take your time with this planning, it's vital to succeeding.

I'm going to send you a pm with some more info good luck

gettingready

Well, you could always put a copuple of photos re the facial expressions LOL

I gor microtab and inhaller at home as far as NRT goes. Will try those when I am ready - right now with poor Zara in a crate and winging - my stress levels are too high.

gettingready

OP- sorry for hijacking your thread - I better start my own now.....