45 years old and 47.5 BMI. I need help

UKTigerlily

Just have to say, it's totally fine to eat a couple of snacks, keeps the metabolism going. No need to not eat after a certain time either! Eat anytime you like, just think about what you eat and how much x

fairy_lights

fred246 wrote: »

Main thing is to change your eating habits forever. No diets. Have 3 meals a day. No snacking. No night time eating.
Breakfast - Porridge with fruit.
Lunch - Big salad. Chicken or tuna with lots of salad. Tiny bit of dressing.
Dinner - Normal main course with portion control. Unsweetened natural yoghurt with fruit.
Avoid sugar - it's TOXIC.
Have sparkling water in the pub.
All the above may sound rotten. You will get used to them.
You need to exercise. Join a gym. Consider a personal trainer for a course to get you going.
Good luck.

I have to say I disagree with a lot of what you've posted here - snacking is fine as long as you don't exceed the number of calories you should be eating in a day, in fact a lot of people find having a few snacks in between meals stops them from getting too hungry and binging.
Eating at night time is also fine - I've said it before on this board and no doubt I'll say it again - food eaten after 6pm doesn't magically turn in to fat.
Sugar is fine in moderation - fruit for example contains a lot of sugar but is good for you in so many ways. Sugar only really becomes a problem if you're eating too many sweet things e.g. binging on chocolate and taking in a lot of calories - but then any food group can be bad for you if you have too much of it.


You're right that the OP does need to completely rethink his diet, but he doesn't need to go to extremes.

fred246

I think snacking is a massive cultural issue. You need to live with the French for a while to truly understand.

http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2001-07-02/why-so-few-french-are-fat

Sleep is incredibly important and is the best time to burn fat. You're not really going to burn fat if you've just scoffed a pack of chocolate digestives.

Added sugar should be avoided. Sugary drinks, cakes, biscuits, sweets etc you need to avoid or have tiny amounts.

UKTigerlily

fred246 wrote: »

I think snacking is a massive cultural issue. You need to live with the French for a while to truly understand.

http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2001-07-02/why-so-few-french-are-fat

Sleep is incredibly important and is the best time to burn fat. You're not really going to burn fat if you've just scoffed a pack of chocolate digestives.

Added sugar should be avoided. Sugary drinks, cakes, biscuits, sweets etc you need to avoid or have tiny amounts.

I wouldn't know, i've only lost 5st 10Ibs. How on earth do night shift workers cope? A calorie is a calorie whatever time it's eaten and the body will burn them just fine. I try to stop by midnight but sometimes eat at 2-3am if I feel the need and am still awake

fred246

If you ate properly you wouldn't need to lose 5st 10lbs.

UKTigerlily

fred246 wrote: »

If you ate properly you wouldn't need to lose 5st 10lbs.

How about I need to lose 5st and already lost 5st 10? I am eating properly or wouldn't have got to where I am would I? And i've always known HOW to do it but haven't been able to until now! So as I said, how is it i've lost so much if snacking is so bad or eating at anytime?

fred246

OK UKTigerlily I will make some assumptions about you which are probably right but could be wrong.
Most of your life you have overeaten so calories consumed > calories used. You have become overweight over a long period of time.
You have now become obsessed with your weight and at the moment calories used > calories consumed and you are now losing weight fast.
The problem is that most people who do this soon get bored, forget the diet and put the weight back on. They get upset and lose it again. YO-yo dieting.
You CAN lose weight by lying in bed eating all night and run ultramarathons during the day. I am trying to give people advice so they can change their life and remain at a good weight. Obesity rates are increasing rapidly caused by numerous factors. Constant snacking is something that people do now which was unheard of years ago.

Flybaby

Slimming world - even just for 6 weeks is a recommendation I would endorse as, whilst I don't think all the ideas they have are "healthy", it will teach you a lot about food and especially portion sizes - things like the actual "average serving" of cereal is 30g - which is basically an old fashioned teacup - when we measured how much we were having we found we were having 10 times that amount....... (switched to Weetabix - 2 biscuits - no measuring needed) - in trying to lose weight - knowledge is key


I also used to eat on the go - often on the tube, driving or running between construction sites where there might not even be a microwave - preparation is key - used to cook a large frittata full of veg and then slice it and eat cold - lots of veg so fills you up.


Final tip - research the contents of shop bought lunches - say you like prawn and mayo sarnies - you'd be amazed at the fat and calorie content difference between various brands and shops of that one product. I carry a list of what is the best option to choose ( that I actually like or don't mind) in each shop - so it doesn't matter if I am caught short and the only shop near me is a M&S/Tesco/boots/greggs etc - I can just run in and grab without having to read packets etc.

Flybaby

On snacking - did you see the recent programme about teeth on TV (BBC - the truth about your teeth)? After watching that I now stop and think before snacking. Weird way to go about it I know, and I do snack sometimes, but I do stop and think about it now for the sake of my toofy pegs!


RolandtheRoadie - acid reflux might be worth getting checked at docs - my OH had severe and it was waking him up etc - he is extremely overweight but doc gave him some medication that has eradicated this completely (due to a faulty stomach valve I think - common in overweight people?) - losing the weight is the way to go obviously - but in the meantime, a decent nights sleep goes a long way to helping and medication might help with this until such time as it goes away due to weight loss, so a check up with the doc might be worth a go.

fairy_lights

fred246 wrote: »

I think snacking is a massive cultural issue. You need to live with the French for a while to truly understand.

http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2001-07-02/why-so-few-french-are-fat

Sleep is incredibly important and is the best time to burn fat. You're not really going to burn fat if you've just scoffed a pack of chocolate digestives.

That's really not how the metabolism works, meal timing has no effect on how your body burns calories, the only reason not to eat at night is if it will give you indigestion. Some people do tend to eat unhealthier foods later in the day for comfort or out of boredom or habit, so for some people snacking and night time eating can be problematic but for that's more to do with the quantities and types of food they are consuming, not the timing of it.
UKTigerlily has lost 5 stone so is obviously eating properly now, regardless of what weight she was in the past. Snacking doesn't have to mean constant snacking and I think people definitely did snack in the past they just had proper names for their snack times e.g. afternoon tea, supper etc.
Oh, and there are plenty of fat french people around :rotfl: