Want to lose weight

I'm 15st 7lbs. I need to lose weight. Until a couple of years ago I was stuck at 10st for years. Unfortunately my doctor had to prescribe me anti-psychotics and I never felt so hungry in my life. It was like food became orgasmic for me. I started munching like never before. At worst I think I was 17st.

The penny dropped and I stopped eating so badly. However my weight has remained static. I spend most of my day sitting at a computer. I don't know where to start to begin losing it. I ran a search here and found a Weight Watchers thread so I'm thinking of that. What do they do exactly? Any help/advice appreciated.

ogriofa

Hi Jazmine Massive Somewhere,
I know enough to know that I know nothing... and I'd be very slow to take advice from strangers, strangers that aren't doctors and don't know your medical history.
I'd get onto your GP. If you are still on medication a diet, or certain types of diet mightnt agree with you.
If you're gonna do it, do it right.
You sound like you're motivated - sounds like a plan to me - go for it

Evil-p

Jazmine Massive Somewhere, Congrats on losing a stone and a half already. I would highly recommened Weight watchers. Its a very slow controlled way to lose weight and you can eat an awful lot of food on the plan, its just a case of knowing the point values for what you eat. For instance most veg are 0 points so you can have a nice cut as meat and as much veg as you can eat, untill you're full without blowing your diet. All WW leaders will asume zero knowledge for a new member so don't be embaressed about not knowing everything. They will usually stay back after class with you and explain when you need it!

I disagree with ogriofa in the sense that you should be wary about changing your diet. I have yet too hear about healthy eating causing someone harm. Obviously though slow sensible weight loss is key to keeping it off long term!

Best of luck:)

AnonoBoy

Just changing your diet won't do it. You need to exercise too.

Julesie

In theory weight loss is simple, in practice a little more difficult.

You can read up on theories, miracle cures, excercise plans, diet regimes until the end of time and it won't diverge from the key fact that weight loss is a result of consuming less calories than you burn. All diets (WW, Aitkens, South Beach, etc.) are based on this no matter how they dress it up.

If you are looking for long term weight loss it needs to be built into your daily routine as something you can maintain long term. A pound of fat is approximately 3500kcal. That means to lose one pound a week you would need to create a deficit of 500kcal each day. If you split that between 250kcal less food and 250kcal more exercise it is very manageable. 250kcal for example is a 500ml bottle of coke or a Kinder Bueno. 250kcal excercise would be 20mins on any piece of gym equipment at a decent pace or any other form of exercise you'd prefer.

There are some great resources already on boards and I would urge you to read this post where Gem sets out how to calculate your current breakeven level of calories (i.e. the amount you can consume on a daily basis and not lose or gain weight). This is the figure you need to subtract your deficit from to determine how much you can eat on a daily basis.

Best of luck with your attempts... remember there is no mystery to it just a bit of hard work.

Dizzyblonde

OP Weightwatchers is really good and if you stick to it you definitely will lose weight. If you're able to exercise too you'll lose it quicker. (I don't have any connection to them, this is just my personal opinion)You don't have to cut out any food groups but you have to be sensible about amounts and portion sizes.
I can't make it to meetings so I got their At Home pack and do it myself.
Give it try, once you shed a few pounds you'll start to feel really good about yourself.

wexford202

Weightwatchers has helped a few people I know. I think it might train your mind better on how you look at food rather than the likes of lipotrim where you stop eating and almost starve yourself.

It is one of the more healthy ways to lose weight.

Maybe ask your doctor for advice before you start anything and see what he/she recommends.

walshb

OP, can you tell me some more about yourself. What height, and are you male or female?

Weight loss is theoretically simple, but practically it can be very difficult.
You really need willpower and passion and the biggest problem
is psychological.

It's funny, any time anyone is dieting, what topic consumes them more
than anything? Yes, food. They just cannot stop bloody talking
about it, what they eat, what they don't eat and what they want to eat.

The most important meal is breakfast, as it is what starts the body and
fuels it for the hours before lunch or dinner. Boiled eggs are a real filler and
will make it easier for a person fuller for longer. A good sized breakfast
is important, but not too much. I would say a couple boiled eggs on toast and a bowl
of cereal.

You can alternate your breakfasts day to day.

Remember, to lose weight, less must go in than comes out.
Also, early nights is amazing and will stave off hunger.

I have often went to bed feeling a bit hungry and when I woke, that hunger
wasn't there. Try to limit the eating you do later on in the evening. Say, after 8
do not eat or drink unless really necessary.

Plenty of fruit and vegetables, but again, not too much. It's amazing how some
folks will gorge on healthy food and then complain that they are not losing weight.
Quantity plays a role and if you are ingesting too much of ANY food, you will
not lose weight, and may actually gain.

Also, try not to ban foods from your diet. Chocolate in moderation, chips in moderation,
and other less healthy foods do not need to be banned. Banning them only makes you crave them
more and then obsession kicks in.

Also, weigh yourself on the same scale each day or each second or third day.
Allow yourself a "cheat day" to keep sane. By cheat day, I mean, maybe get in that
pizza or take away for a particular night. It's a reward and will make the task
that little bit easier and more enjoyable.

Key points. Eat less, exercise and early nights. When in bed and dozing means that
you are free from eating and gaining and when you awaken, the hunger won't be there.

ManOfMystery

OP,

Asking for advice on weight loss is like venturing into a minefield. I posted on, and read, a few different threads on other forums about weight loss last year. Some of the replies were helpful, some were hugely complicated to a beginner like myself, and others simply didn't make sense. Some people said I should cut out carbs completely, others told me to eat more carbs but to increase exercise. Others said I should exercise every day, others said this would cause my body to hoard fat in the long run and wouldn't be beneficial. Basically a lot of conflicting messages.

In the end, I took the simple approach.

Eat less, and eat healthier .................... and exercise more.

It's really no more complicated than that. I started off by changing certain things in my diet; I cut out crisps and chocolate during the weekdays. Instead of crisps with my lunch, I have an apple and a banana. I stopped drinking coke and other fizzy drinks and started drinking water instead, more often than not with a sugar free orange dilute to make it a bit tastier. Most evenings, I try and eat chicken or meat with vegetables, but I don't have potatoes, chips or any other carb-heavy accompaniments. There's a lot of tasty things out there if you make the effort to look for them - I could eat corn on the cob all day long as its so tasty, and its not unhealthy for you, for example. For breakfasts, I cut out fries and heavy breakfasts like that and have cereal and maybe some yoghurt instead. Add fruit to it if you want. Still tasty, but much healthier. Don't skip breakfast whatever you do - it's the fuel your body needs to burn fat during the day.

Excercise-wise, I joined a gymn and try and go at least 3 evenings a week after work. I cycle for 30 mins, then go on the treadmill or crosstrainer for 20 mins. Also started doing some light weights; both to look better and build muscles, but also because a stronger muscle base helps you burn fat more.

I'm not in the habit of weighing myself, but after a few months there was a noticeable difference in my build and clothes were slack on me. Family and friends remarked in a difference also.

Unfortunately due to recent erratic working hours (basically a 5-month long project I'm working on), my gymn and diet routine has taken a hammering and I feel I've put on a little weight again - but I'm hoping to get back into my old routine next week and lose it.

Discipline really is the key. Whatever you do, stick at it. It's easy to do one week of something and not see any results, then write it off as not working - but it takes longer than that. You have to give your method at least a month to see any noticable difference. When you do start to see results, it's easier to put in the effort then as you're getting something for your investment.

Still allow yourself some treats at the weekend as it's hard to maintain motivation otherwise, but don't go too mad. It takes effort, but any time I'm hungry and tempted to grab crisps/chocolate/etc, I try and go for something healthy instead.

Good luck

LegacyUser

Try to keep it consistent, don't go too mad at the start. I would aim for a 1 kg loss per week as an absolute maximum. Increase exercise gradually so that it becomes a normal part of your routine.

Try not to do to much at the start or you'll only lose interest.

With a bit of exercise every week (increasing in effort/duration) it won't be long before you lose those luxury kilos.

peepeep

Eat less.

Exercise more.

That's it. You don't need to pay WW or any other group to tell you what food to eat or not eat - you already know this. Fruit + veg = good; crisps + chocolate = bad.

MyPeopleDrankTheSoup

AnonoBoy wrote: »

Just changing your diet won't do it. You need to exercise too.

See this is an example of the dis-information you can find on the Internets. This is completely wrong, exercise just lets you eat more food. The only exercise you need is weight training to keep as much muscle as you have. After struggling with my weight for years and reading loads of crap on the net, I found one stickied thread on bodybuilding.com which I would recommend 100%:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=113693871

- Workout 3 times a week with weights.
- Eat 1g protein / lb lean body mass.
- Reduce calories to lose 1-2 lbs / week.

That's all there is really.

Thanks for all the replies and the info. I'm quite worried however after doing some googling on the medication I'm on. I can't find a single result of someone losing weight while on them. Weight gain seems to be a common and huge drawback for them. What a pity that my doctor didn't mention this to me at the outset :rolleyes: I always used to look down on overweight people because I thought them lazy and gluttonous. Anyway thanks again.

Agent J

Here is a podcast i listen to and have found usefull.

http://www.fat2fitradio.com/

It doesnt advocate any form of fad diet and isn't commerically sponsered afaik.
Its approach is pretty much

-Forget about fad diets
-You have to have a calorie deficit to loose weight
-More then 1/2bls pounds a week is bad long term.
-Don't be scared of doing weights. Muscle tissue burns more calories just exisiting (So when you are just sitting at a computer you are using more energy just exisiting if its a bunch of muscle!)

(Actually its pretty much what georgiecasy said)

They tend to go through a lot of other alernative methods that people have used and why they are bad idea. Would suggest you look back through the previous shows and pull any usefull titles you see.

I came down from 18stone to just under 15st over the last few months and with doing weights and such i feel better then ever but be warned

1)It will take time
2)You will trip up from time to time, get back up and get on wih it.
3)It will be worth it

Good luck. Im off for a run!

pepsi1234

Hi OP,

Like you I also took a course of anti-psychotics and had the same everlasting hunger. It really was awful but I stuck with it because the meds helped me an awful lot. The weight just seemed to creep up without me noticing and before I knew it I had gained about 15 kg (about 30 lbs).
I am in the process of losing it and I'm doing really well, following a few basic rules and changing how I eat.

OP, could you perhaps post the contents of a typical breakfast,lunch,dinner and snacks + beverages? Maybe we could give you some pointers.

To start, I will just state the obvious - a proper diet and exercise will help you lose the weight.
Having said that, I think you should be concentrating way more on the diet than the exercise. For a whole year, I went to the gym twice a week and did great hard workouts. I made little changes to my diet but not enough. Most importantly, after the exercising I would be STARVING and would eat lots more when I got home. So basically for that whole year, I stayed the same weight. So, in my experience doing the exercise was discouraging.

So what I did was change my diet. I changed to a high protein, low-carb diet in a nutshell. I ate plently of vegetables. I cut out all sugar containing foods ie. sweets( would have chocolate every so often though), yoghurt, even fruit, breakfast cereal etc.

I start off each day with a small breakfast, then a big lunch (with plently of carbs), and a small dinner with plenty of protein. If I felt hungry I would snack on (sugar-free) polo mints or some tea of coffee (w/o sugar of course) <- didn't think I would like these drinks without sugar but after the initial 10 mugs I don't like sugar in them anymore

The weight has been dropping off me and now I am doing some light exercise which is accelerating the process.I love doing weight training as muscles burn the most fat apparently. I do some reps of a 10kg dumbell before bed. This has worked for me - I've lost 14 kg so far and am normal weight now (even slim and getting defined). However, this is not a healthy balanced diet in the long run. You should be getting about 150-250 g of carbs a day (as a guide one cup of rice/pasta is about 60 g, 1 slice of bread is 15g)
Ask anymore questions if you would like me to elaborate.
I've just started back on the medication recently and have got everything under control unlike before.
Good luck OP and I hope you achieve your goals

Thanks for posting that. Am I to believe that you had to go off the antipsychotics before you could lose any weight?

As regards my diet well I've cut down. I still live at home and mum makes the meals so I don't have much control over that. Like all mothers she gives large portions and is offended if you don't take it. But since the penny dropped last night that I'm obese and 3 stone overweight I don't feel like eating anymore. So far today all I've had is a vegetable burger from my local chippie nothing else and thankfully I don't feel hungry at all. I think the shock is keeping it at bay.

Amongst other things my mum cooks steak and chips, stuffed porksteak, bacon and cabbage, roast beef, stew, bangers and mash, spare rib on Fridays ....should I go on?

I'd be afraid to go off my medication. I'm not schizophrenic or anything serious like that thank God but I did have a "mild psychosis" a few years back. Not something I'd like to repeat.

RyanAsh

OP - the only way to lose weight is to take in less calories and burn fat. So that means a controlled diet and exercise. A controlled diet should be not starving but eating little and often (every 3-4 hrs) not after 6/7pm and healthy food....noting fried, no chocolate, minimum sugar, deffo no chips or takeaway burgers (veggie or not they are full of fat). You should be taking in protein and fibre with all carbs as it slows the release of blood sugar helping to stave off the hunger for longer. Little and often means ur body doesn't think ur starving and go into survival mode and start reserving energy. Get a gym to do you an exercise plan - its easier if an instructor makes you do stuff than trying to make yourself do it. And be realistic about what you can do....if you can go to the gym 3 times a week then the plan should reflect that and not be every day and you end up not going half the time. you should be in there 3times min a week tho but maybe other easier activies outside it, like walking to and from places or I find swimming and yoga very good but to be honest if you want to burn fat you need to be doing high cardio exercises, getting your heart rate right up there to fat burning levels. Also creating muscle is a great way to start to burn more calories since they burn more than regular tissue so include weights. You can't allow yourself a 'cheat day' as someone suggested because basically you'll undo probably about 2days work....do that for 3month plan and you've made it a 4month plan! You might have to reign in mammy and make your own food....try explain what you're trying to do, im sure she'll only want you to be happy with yourself. I would totally recommend investing in a steamer (got mine in Lidl for 20quid)...you can do fish and veg in it in about 20mins, or chicken and its yum and healthy. Like a previous poster said, brekkie is the most important meal of the day and including protein here (eggs) will keep you fuller for longer. Oh! a great tip is to use a smaller plate....its phycological but i swear it works...oh! and i totally recommend the weightwatchers yogurts....they are delicous and a practically guilt free snack! The main thing to have is patience. Also if you're doing weights you might not see any change on the scales since its denser than normal tissue so the measure you should be using is body fat analysis (a special scales can do this measurement) and also the fit of your clothes. Good luck to you!