Desperately trying to lose weight..

PocketWatch

Hi, em I've been trying to lose weight since Christmas but I just keep caving in and stuffing myself with all sorts of unhealthy foods. I would like to lose about 15 lbs to get down to a weight that I'd be happy with but Im wondering does anyone have any advice on how to stop myself caving in and just keep eating and eating

Im really fed up atm, and its affecting my life in other ways as Im feeling low or angry with myself for falling off the diet and I dont socialise half as much as I used to. I'm a 17 year old girl and want to actually enjoy life, but at present I'm not at all and I hate being this way and desperately want to change.

This is my average day and I would be so grateful if people could comment and give advice on how to change + improve it.

Breakfast : scrambled eggs (2 eggs + a little milk) & 1 piece of toast with butter.

Morning snack : piece of fruit/veg with humous

lunch : small salad (lettuce, tuna, sweetcorn)

afernoon snack (when i return home from school, this is when I ruin everything!) : apple + peanut butter and I usually reach for a second one + veg and humous + chocolate biscuits + maybe a sandwich.
I honestly just cant stop myself.:(

Dinner : depends really, its not too bad though normally enough protein not too much carbs and plenty of veg.

Night snack : more chocolate + bowl(s) of cereal.


I tend to eat well in school then come home and binge and let go completely, also is the rest of my diet ok? am i eating, enough/too much/etc?

Help would be really really appreciated

Crasp

It doesn't matter what you eat, as long as you burn more calories than you take in.

Your diet, in my opinion, isn't all that bad, even including all the **** you eat. I mean that stuff isn't good for you, but it doesn't sound like you eat all that much of it.

It could be a good idea to eat a more substantial meal in school to keep you goin for longer, so that you're not hungry when you get home.

RobAMerc

hi pocketwatch,

I'm no expert but I see you eat the likes of chocolate biscuits + bowl of cereal.
Now I'm not going to tell you what you already know - but whaty I am going to tell you is that them and perhaps the fruit and sandwiches you are eating are causing your blood sugar levels to go nuts and then drop like a stone causing you to crave like crazy.

I suggest you look at a low carb / low sugar diet. Check out the South Beach maybe or Atkins ( updated versions seem better ). What you'll find is by not having the sugar you'll not crave the sugar ( after a day or two ). You'll suddenly feel better, with more energy etc and it gets a lot easier as you see the weight drop off and your motivation grow.

I find I have no probelm staying away from suggary foods - unless I let slip and have something without thinking about it - I'm then on a sugar rollercoaster for the rest of the day.

cut all the sugar, it'll make a big diff !

teacosy

RobAMerc wrote: »

hi pocketwatch,

I'm no expert but I see you eat the likes of chocolate biscuits + bowl of cereal.
Now I'm not going to tell you what you already know - but whaty I am going to tell you is that them and perhaps the fruit and sandwiches you are eating are causing your blood sugar levels to go nuts and then drop like a stone causing you to crave like crazy.

I suggest you look at a low carb / low sugar diet. Check out the South Beach maybe or Atkins ( updated versions seem better ). What you'll find is by not having the sugar you'll not crave the sugar ( after a day or two ). You'll suddenly feel better, with more energy etc and it gets a lot easier as you see the weight drop off and your motivation grow.

I find I have no probelm staying away from suggary foods - unless I let slip and have something without thinking about it - I'm then on a sugar rollercoaster for the rest of the day.

cut all the sugar, it'll make a big diff !

RobaMerc,
Perhaps you'd be better finding out the BMI of this 17 year old girl before you start recommending diets like Southbeach and Atkins?:mad:

totoal

You getting much water in?

RobAMerc

teacosy wrote: »

Pocketwatch,
Perhaps you'd be better finding out the BMI of this 17 year old girl before you start recommending diets like Southbeach and Atkins?:mad:

I didn't mean to suggest Pocketwatch go on Atkins or Southbeach, I meant they should check out what their teachings are re sugar and cravings. I may not have explained myself properly.

btw - BMI is a silly measure. I know plenty of people obese by BMI standards who are low body fat and seriously fit and healthy. I also see little wrong with Southbeach or Atkins provided they are used intelligently. A 17 yo is well capable of doing so imo.

Pocketwatch - you'll also need to start getting regular excercise, what goes in must be burnt off as energy or it'll go on as fat ( put simply ).
check out the C25k program, its a great start

pecker1992

PocketWatch wrote: »

Hi, em I've been trying to lose weight since Christmas but I just keep caving in and stuffing myself with all sorts of unhealthy foods. I would like to lose about 15 lbs to get down to a weight that I'd be happy with but Im wondering does anyone have any advice on how to stop myself caving in and just keep eating and eating

Im really fed up atm, and its affecting my life in other ways as Im feeling low or angry with myself for falling off the diet and I dont socialise half as much as I used to. I'm a 17 year old girl and want to actually enjoy life, but at present I'm not at all and I hate being this way and desperately want to change.

This is my average day and I would be so grateful if people could comment and give advice on how to change + improve it.

Breakfast : scrambled eggs (2 eggs + a little milk) & 1 piece of toast with butter.

Morning snack : piece of fruit/veg with humous

lunch : small salad (lettuce, tuna, sweetcorn)

afernoon snack (when i return home from school, this is when I ruin everything!) : apple + peanut butter and I usually reach for a second one + veg and humous + chocolate biscuits + maybe a sandwich.
I honestly just cant stop myself.:(

Dinner : depends really, its not too bad though normally enough protein not too much carbs and plenty of veg.

Night snack : more chocolate + bowl(s) of cereal.


I tend to eat well in school then come home and binge and let go completely, also is the rest of my diet ok? am i eating, enough/too much/etc?

Help would be really really appreciated

my suggestions for you

Eat porridge in the morning instead of eggs... pinhead ftw ( great start)

throw some cheese (fat) & 1 slice of bread into your salad at lunch ( feel fuller longer)

hummus/veg and only hummus & veg for your snack before dinner

as you stated dinner seems ok

your night is where it all goes crazy......bowl(s) does not sound good......you need to practice some control here......

so at night i think the eggs & 1 slice of toast would be better than chocolate & cereal

notice that theres no major change..except a few small cuts...you have 4 meals and 4 good meals here.......we have cut all the junk.....& what seems like a very unnecessary sandwich before dinner;)....i think the problem lies in that you have a low fat low carb lunch leaving you very hungry..you need if not both at least one in every meal........im sure most will agree that's why you have a pre dinner binge...at night just discipline yourself and you should be ok..there is no major problem from what i can see.....best of luck & keep in touch for other tips

PocketWatch

Thanks everyone so much, thats all really helpful info

I just find it so hard to discipline and motivate myself but I know I need to work on that so hopefully I can get better at it.

Also to the poster that said I should do excercise, I acutally have been running 3/4 times a week but I've recently dropped it down to 1/2 times cause I've been feeling really low thinking whats the point when Im just gonna ruin it all with an eating binge later!

And totoal, I drink some water but I find it hard to drink lots at school cause I seem to need the bathroom every other class!

metamorphosis

I'd also consider looking at the idea of why you actually keep on eating when you are not hungry all the time - emotions?, worries?

Looking at this while making better eating habits will greatly help

pajomaginty

Hi Pocketwatch,

Are you doing any exercise?, Maybe join in with some school team sports?
You seem to know exactly where you're going wrong too, which is at least something.
Why don't you use this thread as an actual blog/food journal? This will bring accountability into play(obviously you could lie, but the scales wont!!)

PocketWatch

I seem to eat out of pure boredom, I don't really have an excuse... or when I'm worried or nervous about something I just eat.

The only sports my school plays are basketball & hockey and Im quite small and quite frankly Im no good at basketball and hockey you have to have played for at least 2 or 3 years and I've never played it much before. I do run though so Im going to try and keep that up..

I've decided to do the Better Body Challenge on the fitness & health forum for 10 weeks and then just go from there, hopefully I will have established much better eating and exercise habits by then!

Any ideas how I can stop myself reaching for food everytime I'm bored? I just don't seem to realise Im doing it and then just keep going.

Bottle_of_Smoke

PocketWatch wrote: »

I seem to eat out of pure boredom, I don't really have an excuse... or when I'm worried or nervous about something I just eat.

Address this or yo'll be fat for life

bluefinger

hi op.

1 The best advice i can give you would be to start a food diary. You could keep some kind of fitness log on here and seek constructive criticism from other users. Just be honest about how much you're eating.

2 Maybe learn to distract yourself when you get bored, learning to do this could have huge repurcussions for your life. There was a great study done on this Here

3 After this if you educate yourself a little on nutrition, specifically what your daily calorie intake should be, this one here should do. if you eat less calories than you burn you should lose weight.

4 Don't expect it to happen overnight, give your self a realistic goal.

5 Take it one step at a time, cut out or add in one thing per week perhaps.

6 Take a little exercise everyday, brisk walk or light jog.

7 On the information about food you posted depending on what sort of diet you go for, remember that it might be best to eat most of your calories in the early part of the day and taper your intake as the day goes on, ie have a good breakfeast and lunch but light dinner as you won't get the chance to burn the calories at night. Also you could substitute a couple of small things like having wholemeal toast, only use egg whites for your eggs, low fat milk etc.

good luck.

pajomaginty

PocketWatch wrote: »

I seem to eat out of pure boredom, I don't really have an excuse... or when I'm worried or nervous about something I just eat.

The only sports my school plays are basketball & hockey and Im quite small and quite frankly Im no good at basketball and hockey you have to have played for at least 2 or 3 years and I've never played it much before. I do run though so Im going to try and keep that up..

I've decided to do the Better Body Challenge on the fitness & health forum for 10 weeks and then just go from there, hopefully I will have established much better eating and exercise habits by then!

Any ideas how I can stop myself reaching for food everytime I'm bored? I just don't seem to realise Im doing it and then just keep going.

I'm guessing your parents do they shopping so cut it out at source. Don't go cold turkey, replace certain foods with healthier options, what helps is foods that have the same sort of texture, theres not much joy replacing chocolate with natural yoghurt!!

You have to have a plan and stick to it!!