Sick of dieting

Wishful-thinking_3

Hi everyone

Although have only just joined up I have been a long time lurker, so before i start with my rant i would like to say HI to you all

I need to write this all down so as i can read it back to myself and try and force myself to sort my life out and also get some replies from you guys to see if im alone in this situation or if there are others like me!!

Basically its all to do with losing weight. I just seem to have NO willpower whatsoever and i really need a good kick up the a$$.

My story goes like this.....

Am a mum of 2 boys, first pregnancy gained 5 stone :eek: , went from 13 stone (was overweight to start with) up to 18 stone full term pregnant - I was HUGE!!!
Managed to lose the weight through a combination of Weightwatchers then Slimming World, then the gym and the odd diet pill towards the end and i got down to 9 stone 2 my son was around 3 years old by the time i had lost it all, this was the smallest i have ever been since as long as i can remember - by the way I am 31 and am 5'7 1/2.
When i was that weight i felt great although in a weird way i still felt big, i was in a size 10 and if im being totally honest a size 10 was verging on the side of to big!!!
Anyway, my dad aswell as a few other family members hated it, they said i looked ill, like i had some terrible illness.

Anyway managed to maintain around that weight going upto 10 stone which i was fine with as my size 10's still fitted and i was comfortable and everyone said i looked better for putting on those few pounds.

Then we had Christmas 2006 and i gained 8lb that month, i just ate and drank to the limit, early January 2007 i found out i was expecting again - we were overjoyed but i was dreading the weight gain, especially after i had just gained over half a stone over Christmas and now i couldnt go on a strict diet as i was pregnant.
I suffered real bad with morning sickness and nausea which lasted all day and night and the only thing that would help ease this was eating - so i did, I gained 2 1/2 stone in the first 5 months of my pregnancy, which is when i decided to join Slimming World as was told i could follow that eating plan whilst pregnant, that was the best thing i did, although i did cheat now and again because the cravings were just too much to say no to - I managed to not put on much more weight and only gained another 7lbs - so 3 stone overall and only 7lb gain in the last 4 months of the pregnancy! My little boy was born in Sept 07 weighing 8lb 3.5oz.

Anyway 6 weeks after the birth of my baby i decided to go back to slimming world, if i remember rightly (dont have my book to hand) i was 12 stone 2lbs when i joined, i managed to get down to 10 stone 10lbs by February but then decided to leave as was also going to the gym 5 days a week and thought i could now just eat healthily with the odd treats by myself!!

Going to the gym was great, was starting to really get into it, i even encouraged my overweight sis to join me and we used to go each day and stick our babies in the creche for an hour, then the schools had their half term and i couldnt go as wanted to take my eldest for days out. I havent been back since, i just havent got the get up and go!! And i dont know why..

My weight has slowly, well pretty quickly actually started creeping up again to 11stone 6lbs!!! :eek: I just love food too much, i cant stop picking at things and its doing my head in.

I decided to have a look at the Cambridge Diet as i have booked a holiday for 8 weeks time and although i am a size 12 i am dreading the thought of getting into a swimming costume in front of my fella, i HATE my body.

So anyway i went to see a cd counsellor last Thursday and started the diet on a fri, i was going to do the Sole Source for a week, which is a week of just shakes 3 times a day - all was great on Fri, Sat, Sun, Monday - even weighed myself Monday morning and it said i had dropped to 10stone 12lb - but then Monday night i just thought sod it i have to eat, i only had a small salmon salad but god i just missed food soooo much and it doesnt help when i have to cook for 3 others and they all have lovely meals.

So i cheated on the Monday night, stuck to it Tuesday day and then last night cheated again, with bread, chicken, salad, homous. Then the same today, had a shake for brekkie and then some celery sticks and homous, then eggy bread with the kids and then some choc digestives :eek: :eek:

What is wrong with me, i so badly want to lose the weight especially before my hols but i just have NO will power, I cannot NOT eat, and the CD diet is like torture but i know it works as have seen other peoples results and i sooo want to do it but why cant i bloody stick to it, why when im on it do i just think of food???

I am soo depressed about this, i know it may sound such a small problem to some but surely there must be others out there that wanna lose weight that just cant get the willpower to stick to anything for more than a few days.

Anyone??

xx

whatatwit

Hi, get yourself over to the oldstyle board, there is a thread on there all about losing weight and most of the contributors are fed up of "dieting" they just want to eat ordinary food and loose weight.
It's very friendly and there is a lot of support.

I'll have a look and then post a link for you.

Here it is.....but watch out for MrsMcawber, she's a real chatterbox...but she does post some fab recipes.

Plum_Pie

I sympathise with what you’re writing as have yoyo-ed myself over the years, although I am now on an even keel and a healthy weight.

I’m going to give you a tiny bit of tough love because, well, it took me a long time to work this out and I wish someone had just told me.

You need to start thinking about what habits you can have FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.

It’s not about LOSING weight, it’s about MAINTAINING a healthy weight.

A woman in my office lost 9 stone 2.5 years ago by going on the Cambridge Diet…however she couldn’t stick to the maintenance plan and has since regained around 6 stone.

I couldn’t stick to a meal replacement diet for 1 day! I imagine you think of food when you’re on it because you’ve spent your entire life eating meals which is what human beings have evolved to do. I’m sure someone from the CD thread will jump on me for saying this. If you can stick to it, fine, I just think for most people, it’s not a long-term solution.

If you're a good cook, which it sounds like you are, if you're serving tasty meals to your hubs and kids, then the Old Style thread is definitely the place for you.

Be kind to yourself and best of luck.

davetrousers

Get yourself Paul Mckenna's Book 'I Can Make You Thin'. It is not about dieting at all it is about eating more slowly and more consciously.

Wishful-thinking_3

Hi

Thanks so much for your replies.

I have read the Paul McKenna book and listened to the CD each night for around a month about a year ago and yeah it did work but then fell pregnant and craved food - so couldnt just eat when i was hungry, i ate all the blooming time!

Its not that i am grossly overweight, i am in a healthy weight range for my height and its me that wants to lose the weight, i mean i know i felt good at around 9 1/2 stone so thats about a stone and a half now to lose, which isnt a lot i know. I just doesnt help when my fella says i am fine as i am and friends say there is nothing wrong with me, but i know how i feel and i feel fat.

i just know that if i dont get this sorted soon i am gonna continue to eat and eat and blow up like a balloon, so i have really got to get this stone and a half off and then maintain that weight - its just getting there as i love food sooo much!

I shall go over and take a look at that thread - thanks so much

xx

Ted_Hutchinson

The plan I've been following. No meetings, no weigh in's, no calorie counting, no exercise plans. no cost no hassle.

While I am sure there are people who doing it the hard way have lost more weight over a shorter period than I have I am sure it will have cost them more time, effort and money than the plan I've more or less followed. The main advantage I have found is that cutting down on carbs cut my cravings for food and booze. Whereas before I was thinking about a snack or the next meal more or less immediately after eating now I can skip a meal without actually noticing I've missed it. Previously I felt I "needed" a drink/sustenance if a meal was due, now I just enjoy eating.

The science underlying low carb eating is set out in this lecture by Gary Taubes. allow over an hour to listen to it all and don't be surprised if you feel you need to listen to it more than once. It's not altogether easy. His book "The Diet Delusion" goes into the issue in much greater detail and the masses of references makes it really more suitable for health professionals. I think it should be compulsory reading for everyone giving nutritional advice.

The point you need to grasp are that Carbohydrates are required to raise Insulin to enable fat cells to absorb more fatty acids. Raising insulin levels allows fat cells to enlarge. Lowering insulin levels means fatty acids can flow from and not into the fat cells.

If there are low levels of refined carbohydrates available your body will burn fat as ketones. Surplus ketones will be excreted on your breath, sweat and urine. (You may want to measure this with a ketostick)

While of course the more calories you eat the harder it is to lose weight, with low carb eating you do not have to count calories or indulge in extra exercise. I have eaten more calories every day since I started this way of eating than my basal metabolic rate requires. Perhaps if I'd restricted calories I could have done even better.

In theory to lose over 2 lbs each week I should have to walk over 70miles extra to achieve that amount of weight loss with exercise. I would love to be able to do that. Maybe if I'd been able to walk that much I'd have lost even more weight but in practice exercise does not make you thinner. but it is good for your body and your brain.

Apart from the ketosticks that are more a novelty than necessary the only item I was not previously using that I bought for this eating plan was coconut oil. You can buy Virgin, organic, coconut oil but that is quite pricey. I found Asian Grocers have it in 500g pots for around £1 £1,50 It contains medium chain triglycerides that encourage ketosis. It splatters a bit in the frying pan but it doesn't affect the flavour of my bacon, mushroom, tomato, & omelet breakfast.

Losing weight doesn't have to be a challenge, it doesn't have to involve being hungry, It doesn't have to involve exercise (though it's good to exercise for other reasons) I've found it most enjoyable and rewarding, I'm particularly pleased that I'm now not suffering from the brain fog that used to make concentrating difficult. I've more energy and particularly so in the morning as I now sleep better (no snoring) remember my dream, wake refreshed. Eating low carb is how our bodies evolved. The presentation here by Loren Cordain explains how recently much of the food we take for granted has become established as part of your diets and how our bodies have not yet evolved sufficiently to cope with these refined processed items.

PS Perhaps if we all ate this way we could reduce Alzheimer's incidence.

bluenose1

I have been on countless diets and for me my downfall is if I have one biscuit/ chocolate it makes me binge eat.
The only way I have ever successfully lost weight is as Ted says on a low carb diet.
After a few days the sugar cravings go and if you stick to the plan you won't be hungry.
I have to be careful though cos just one chocolate can set me back for weeks as I will then eat loads of chocolate/crisps etc.

I think in some people if we eat carbohydrates such as biscuits/pastry etc it make us crave more carbohydrates and that is why most overweight people can't lose weight long term. It really is a vicious circle.

The best advise I think is to follow a low carb diet, the meat will make you feel full up, just eat until you are satisfied. (with allowed foods)

Wishful-thinking_3

Hi

Thanks so much for the replies.

The Doktor Dahlqvist' Dietary Programme sounds to good to be true!! It looks pretty similar to the Atkins diet, which i have never done, but my partner has many years ago and it worked for him.
It amazes me that you can eat the fat on meats etc whereas diets such as Slimming World/Weight Watchers say you must cut off all visible fat!! Not that i eat fat on meats but i would of thought eating the fat wouldnt be good for you.

I agree that a low carb diet does work, but gawd i loveeee carbs, they are my downfall - bread especially, and thats what i tend to cheat with when i cheat, a slice of bread and butter, but then its another and then another or pizza! lol So yes it is a vicious circle as then it is sooo hard to jump back on that wagon.

I think what i am going to try to do today - being day 1 again of my diet! Is stick with the Cambridge diet shakes as i have forked out on them and rather than lose my money i have to blooming use them. So im gonna have 2 shakes a day one for breakfast and one for lunch, and then for tea im going to have a proper meal, something like a chicken or ham salad.

Hopefully i will stick to this for a week and then see what results i have. If i have to have a snack in between do you suggest snacking on some chicken or something?

Thanks xx

keelykat

Hi ya, you need to stop 'dieting' and lead a healthy lifestyle instead. When i tell myself im on a 'diet' and cant eat or drink this and that, i seem to last a day or two then go mad on the food i cant have! I find im a lot better being sensible, allowing myself one take away on the friday or saturday with my husband and i still nibble on a bit of choccy in the week. But i try to eat a healthy breakfast, summer is great for smoothies etc for me and keep tea lightish. Before getting pregnant, i managed to get my weight down by about 10 pounds and was feeling great! I kept active, and ate plenty of fresh fish/vegetables/smoothies n fruit and i really did notice the difference.

I dont do the meal replacements, as it isnt a healthy thing to do.

A lot of ladies do well on weight watchers as you dont cut out everything, but keep things in moderation and use common sense when using the points thing.

Do you like swimming? or walking? some thing that you can do that wont take up too much time (cuz youve got kids) and that you can enjoy.

Good luck, i hope you find the right combination to get to your ideal weight.

keely.

alison999

ive started slim fast again BUT for my meal when i get home i have the same as everyone else but on a kids plate. which means you have smaller portions without really realizing. i also have WHATEVER I WANT on my day off. dont deny yourself things as it will just make you binge on them whenever you do eventually give in and have them. really chew your food and take your time when eating, that way your body will tell you when its time to stop.

Ted_Hutchinson

Wishful-thinking wrote: »

The Doktor Dahlqvist' Dietary Programme sounds to good to be true!! It looks pretty similar to the Atkins diet, which i have never done,

I haven't done or studied Atkins but I thought there was an induction period where you only ate meat or very limited foods. The reason I started with Dr Dahlqvist is because it doesn't require anything complicated or extreme.

It amazes me that you can eat the fat on meats etc whereas diets such as Slimming World/Weight Watchers say you must cut off all visible fat!! Not that i eat fat on meats but i would of thought eating the fat wouldnt be good for you.

It's the fat in food that gives it flavour and makes your feel satisfied. When I fry my bacon/eggs/mushrooms/tomatoes in coconut oil and sprinkle ground linseed on top I know I won't feel any cravings for other food or snacks till lunchtime and I may even be able to skip lunch if I'm busy. It's burning carbs that stimulates your appetite and makes you hungry. When you are running on ketones by burning fat you don't get cravings for food so aren't tempted to have that chocolate biccy or drink.

While you are still eating foods that raise insulin levels because they contain carbs you will continue to burn glucose and remain out of mild ketosis.

The Cambridge diet contains 54 gramscarbs. The sooner you stop eating refined carbs the sooner you will begin to lose weight the easy way.
The Active Low Carb Forum here has lots of other low carb plans and plenty of back up resources.