Is it my age?

Trinity

Feel like I dont belong in here but any advice would be appreciated!

I'm 10st 7 lb (with clothes/shoes) and 5ft 3.

This is about 2 stone heavier than my normal weight without diet/exercise.

Could this be middle aged spread? I'm 33.

Its extremely depressing. After my first child was born my weight dropped to 7stone, which granted was too thin but why hasnt it shifted this time after my 2nd child? I havent been this heavy except when i was pregnant. But I cant really blame it all on the pregnancy as this weight started to creep on a couple of months before i even got pregnant. Not as much naturally!

I have never exercised but have always been active as in always on the with housework and running after kids etc. I have always had a poor diet due to fussiness i.e dont like salads, veg or pasta and the food i do eat i like to enjoy. I dont really eat meals as such I grab a couple of sandwiches a day mostly.

My problem is trying to find time to get to a gym with 2 children, if i really tried i could probably go once a week. I wont force myself to eat food i dont like though.

Is once a week enough to shift 2 stone and will it take forever? And whats happening to my body that it wont shift this fat on its own?

I'm not into crash diets or pills as i have kids to look after so collapsing is not an option!

Any advice appreciated, i realise at my age i should know a bit more about health and fitness, but I never really had to diet before. Although i did try a few that lasted a few days, because like a lot of girls i thought i was fat, looking back i was far from fat. I went through a phase as a child were i piled on a huge amount of weight for no reason, i was huge but that went after a couple of years without any effort, besides i was too young to diet but the teasing etc left a lasting impression and i never wanted to be that big again.

davyjose

This is about 2 stone heavier than my normal weight without diet/exercise.

Could this be middle aged spread? I'm 33.

Is it your age?

I'd hazard it's more likely to be this:

I have never exercised

I have always had a poor diet due to fussiness i.e dont like salads, veg or pasta and the food i do eat i like to enjoy. I dont really eat meals as such I grab a couple of sandwiches a day mostly.

if i really tried i could probably go once a week. I wont force myself to eat food i dont like

I always say about people who "eat what they like" during their twenties and never seem to put on weight, is that they're fat people waiting to happen* - some day they're just going to expand. And they do, always. You'll never get back to 7 stone without some kind of effort, which, by your post, you seem not to be wiiling to make. You have to make changes to lose the weight, that's all I can say to you.

*Not saying you're fat, but going in the wrong direction anyway.

Trinity

davyjose wrote: »

Is it your age?

I'd hazard it's more likely to be this:





I always say about people who "eat what they like" during their twenties and never seem to put on weight, is that they're fat people waiting to happen* - some day they're just going to expand. And they do, always. You'll never get back to 7 stone without some kind of effort, which, by your post, you seem not to be wiiling to make. You have to make changes to lose the weight, that's all I can say to you.

*Not saying you're fat, but going in the wrong direction anyway.

Yes definately going in the wrong direction but looking for someone to point me in the right direction. I'll never be a fitness/health freak but I am willing to go to the gym once a week babysitter permitting! It might not be as much dedication as some of the others that launch themselves into the gym 7 nights a week but my responsibilites wont allow that. But obvioulsy i want to do something.

I barely eat as i said a couple of sandwiches, that cant be many calories, eating any less and i'd be starving myself completely. So do i eat more but different things? Eating more means more weight no?

I run around like mad. This has always been my lifestyle though. Does that not count as exercise of some description?

I'm just at a loss where to start really. BTW I dont want to be 7 stone i'd even be happy with 9 stone.

Everyone says its harder to shift the weight after 2 kids (2 C sections). But obviously not for everyone.

Up since 7am and so far have had 2 slices of toast and about 5 cups of coffee so i'm not exactly over eating.

brianthebard

A couple of sandwiches is starving yourself. There's a sticky at the top of the forum about weight loss and diet. No eating more doesn't mean more weight, unless what you eat is bad.
yes the "running around like mad" counts as exercise but if you are doing the same amount as you were a year ago, why should your body need to work any harder? Its adapted to that stress and can now add weight to itself while you continue doing that exercise.

Trinity

brianthebard wrote: »

A couple of sandwiches is starving yourself. There's a sticky at the top of the forum about weight loss and diet. No eating more doesn't mean more weight, unless what you eat is bad.
yes the "running around like mad" counts as exercise but if you are doing the same amount as you were a year ago, why should your body need to work any harder? Its adapted to that stress and can now add weight to itself while you continue doing that exercise.

Thanks that makes sense. I'll have a look at some 'healthy' foods but do find they are an acquired taste

I'll pop up the gym and get assessed too. Back problems and stomach problems since section a year ago so will probably have to take it easy til i get used to it.

wasabi

TBH exercise isn't the key to weight loss, it can help but it's far from the be-all and end all and once a week gym visits aren't going to do much for you. Even visiting the gym every day is no guarantee of results if food isn't right.

You'd be better off sorting out your food intake and maybe getting an extra walk in once a day. Maybe look at doing something like buying the Precision Nutrition package (http://www.precisionnutrition.com/), lots of info on nutrition there and the recipes are mostly very palatable, they won't have you choking down plain broccoli and chicken or similar. Better than spending the money on a gym you'll barely use.

Khannie

Trinity1 wrote: »

Up since 7am and so far have had 2 slices of toast and about 5 cups of coffee so i'm not exactly over eating.

Jesus christ. That's not good.

As brian said, a good look at your diet is well in order. The stickies here are superb. I've lost over 2 stone using them. Don't expect the weight to fall off. It goes on slow and comes off slow.

If you're not into eating a lot of veg, some painless ways I'd suggest might improve your diet a bit:

No added sugar museli
Scrambled eggs and wholegrain toast (maybe some beans too)
Porridge. Stick a dollop of jam in it if you feel the need.
fruit
nuts + raisins
omellete with some veg in it (ham, onions, mushrooms, sweetcorn, etc.)

The one thing I'd say is to make sure you get a decent breakfast and preferably has a decent bit of protein in it.

Also, you don't need to go to the gym to get exercise. Is going out for a brisk walk in the evening an option? How about cycling places with your kid / kids? (my little one _loves_ going on the seat on the back of my bike). Try to think of alternatives to the gym.

I know you feel like you're constantly on the go, but it's rare that activity like that will get your heart rate up enough to positively affect your fitness in my experience.

Anyway, good luck. Let us know how you get on and any changes you make.

Trinity

Thanks a lot guys. I had a sandwich last night and had to force it into me. I think what happens is i go too long without food and then feel sick so can barley stomach anything. I get up at 7 and dont eat til around lunch time, thats my first meal. And then I wonder why i am weak, tired and anaemic

Its crap being this fussy. I think growing up in the 70's/80's all you were offered to eat was chips or potatoes veg and meat, and the odd stew!!.

Trying to get my kids into everything while they are young and luckily enough they love veg, my 8 year old loves broccoli and carrotts and baby eats anything so thats one less worry.

Running around certainly doesnt make you fit, i painted my house and am still aching days later, every muscle :P

Serafijn

Khannie wrote: »

Jesus christ. That's not good.
How about cycling places with your kid / kids? (my little one _loves_ going on the seat on the back of my bike). Try to think of alternatives to the gym.

Khannie has hit the nail on the head here. If you can do stuff that involves your kids then it's more likely you'll have the time for it, and if it's something the kids love they'll make sure you stick with it! What about those mother & baby swim classes, playing football in the park on a saturday, even a regular brisk walk down to the shops in the morning.

Have you thought of trying something like Weight Watchers? I was on a similar type of scheme for a while involving a daily points allowance and it gives you structure to your eating and also ideas as to what you can eat instead. The one I was on (GI Plan) has a list at the back of the book with the points values for most common foods, so if I was feeling peckish I could just flick through and see what food had just 1 or 2 points, or look at the bread section to see what kind of bread was lowest and make sure to buy that type.

There's a load of stickies over in the Food and Drink -> Nutrition forums on healthy eating, and iirc a few threads recently about Weight Watchers which might be of interest.

Remember that making a few changes really isn't that hard, you just need to commit to them!

Good luck