Losing Weight OS?

miniloopie

Hi everyone,

As a newly converted OSer I thought Id ask you all for advice...

My mum and I have vowed to start getting healthy and losing some weight - in the past we've tried Slimming World and Weight Watchers but both are rather expensive... so I thought we could do it in a more old style way with plenty of home made healthy food (I shall check out the recipe index!) and perhaps a homemade chart with rewards etc when we reach our goals...

But the trouble is I dont know where to start... what sort of chart? I want something we can stick up and mark off - but not necessarily with our actual weights on there :eek: - and some way to track our success! Any templates/ideas out there?

Any thoughts on moneysaving treats we can have are also welcome... bear in mind we don't really live that close by so will be a long distance support group
I was thinking of things like pampering sessions etc.

Thanks everyone,
Sal

nickcardwell

My wife went to Rosemary connolly, (she lost over 3st) heres some tips:

Anything you eat make sure the fat content is under 5%
Dont use butter at all (if you need to make a sandwich, use low low fat mayonnaise)
Dont use oil for cooking

Hope that helps!

Good luck!

miniloopie

nickcardwell wrote: »

My wife went to Rosemary connolly, (she lost over 3st) heres some tips:

Anything you eat make sure the fat content is under 5%
Dont use butter at all (if you need to make a sandwich, use low low fat mayonnaise)
Dont use oil for cooking

Hope that helps!

Good luck!

Thanks Nick... not sure I could work out all the fat content on my HM things! Sounds like some good tips though, cutting down on fat etc is definitely a good idea...

I was looking more for ideas on charts we can make/things we can do more OS rather than paying £5 a week to be weighed?

4Chickens

I just got back from the docs. Been weighed, blood pressure etc and I think I am at critical mass right now. Also, after buying a new bed and sofa I am super duper skint and have decided to start shopping at Aldi instead of the other big supermarkets.

Alot of processed foods have a hidden high fat content. It is better to make stuff from scratch where possible.

If you reduce your portion sizes by say a fifth you will automatically save 20pc on your food bill.

Set a menu for the week and write a shopping list according to the menu. For example if you only buy 2 chicken breasts you can only eat 2 chicken breasts and this goes for biccies etc too.

How do I know all this and still weigh in at 16st 6lb. Easy because I followed all this advice when I successfully lost 4 1/2 stone. It has all crept back on over the last few years. Today's visit to the doctor and your thread have inspired me now to make a start. I would send you a pm if I new how to do it. Thanks for starting the thread:T

keithsav

Whatever you do, do not 'crash' diet - this tends to make your metabolism slow down to compensate for the lack of calories/energy, meaning that when you eventually 'uncrash', your body goes into storage mode - meaning you end up worse than when you started.

Best advice is definitely to avoid processed foods. We have a bread maker and use this most days - it's surprising how much extra ingredients are in a 'shop loaf' !!!

Cooking from scratch and eating 'normal' size portions of more healthily prepared food is definitely much better than small portions of processed rubbish and you shouldn't feel the need to snack as much.

Also - step up the activity, even if you don't want to join a gym, try using stairs instead of escalators and lifts, walk instead of using the car - park away from the supermarket door instead of right next to it - simple things like this can help.

Most of all - be patient - anybody can lose a lot of weight quickly, but in almost all cases, they will put it back on and more. The trick is slow sustainable weight (should really say fat) loss that doesn't 'shock' your body.

petrichor

Hi miniloopie

Here is a simple way to chart your weight loss progress that may be of help. You can show just the amount you want to lose rather than your actual weight if that's what you want, as the helpful thing is to see the line gradually fall over the weeks . I've lost my weight by calorie counting and healthy eating; there are numerous websites that can help, but I found added motivation and support on the I wanna Lose Weight thread (see link in my signature). We follow a variety of methods such as WW, SW, Cambridge etc etc, but you can just do it your own way as I did. I think that we have some OS folks too :j so please pop over to us and join in.

I wish you success:T

xxxx

miniloopie

Hello! Glad I've managed to inspire someone else too! Mum and I are hoping to inspire each other... !

All good advice there too - we try and make everything HM if poss so avoiding hidden salt and fat - no more packet sauces/ready meals - all good stuff for a healthy eating plan (NOT a diet ) and for the budget... we need to save as much money as poss to afford the house move!

Wow, 4 1/2 stone is fantastic - so if you can do it once you can definitely do it again... I just worked out my BMI with one of those online calculators and Im officially 'obese' with a BMI score of 33.8 :eek: A definite incentive....
Let me know how you get on then - would be good to have some support too - do you use a chart or track what you eat or anything? Any tips would be fab!

keithsav

Hi,

If you're looking for motivation, do not become obsessed with weighing yourself on the scales. In fact, only do this infrequently - lots of things can influence the weight at a time of day. An unexpectedly high (or even low) result can knock your confidence and be very demotivating.

A good tip is too take a snapshot of yourself without much on, then use this as a 'starting point' - body shape can be a better guide to weight/fat loss than scales alone. Comparing this photo with Looking in a mirror will let you know if you're going in the right direction or not.

A measuring tape round the waist is also a pretty good guide, but the important thing is patience !

miniloopie

Keith:
Thanks for the useful info – some great advice in there… Im hoping to change the way I eat rather than going on a ‘diet’ – more of a healthy eating plan really – Ive found that the stricter diets don’t really work for me, and I end up pigging out on something I shouldn’t after denying myself any proper food!

I already meal plan and cook HM meals as part of our budgeting but it has definitely helped us get more healthy! I don’t have a breadmaker but I may well invest… once Ive saved up some pennies, I hear so many good things about them!

I’ve just got a pedometer too so I plan to try and increase the steps I take every week and maintain a good level… working in an office isn’t great but we have a gym here (lucky!) so I plan to increase my use of that too… all good stuff.

Pet: Thanks for the chart link – Ill definitely have a good look at that, I love to see tangible results, it always helps! I shall pop over to the lose weight board too! I didn’t even know there was one… thanks!

miniloopie

keithsav wrote: »

Hi,

If you're looking for motivation, do not become obsessed with weighing yourself on the scales. In fact, only do this infrequently - lots of things can influence the weight at a time of day. An unexpectedly high (or even low) result can knock your confidence and be very demotivating.

A good tip is too take a snapshot of yourself without much on, then use this as a 'starting point' - body shape can be a better guide to weight/fat loss than scales alone. Comparing this photo with Looking in a mirror will let you know if you're going in the right direction or not.

A measuring tape round the waist is also a pretty good guide, but the important thing is patience !

What a fantastic idea! I shall take a photo tonight - though I better find a good hiding place for it, not sure Id want anyone else having a look :eek:
I'll also get the measuring tape out - I was planning to weigh once a week but I take your point, I dont want to become obsessed with the actual weight, Id rather feel/look good than weigh a certain amount!

keithsav

Good luck !

You can do it, you'll save money and feel better as well !

Keith