advice needed on diet and mindset

duckielover

hi i have posted here before but am finding it hard lately to keep my mind on the prize of losin weight, i do be good with eatin for a while and try to keep it up with exercise and the weekend arrives and i work awkward hours that make it difficult to eat properly and then i go off and make excuses and eat junk food, lately im startin to do it more and im admirin all the people who lose weight and keep the motivation, i just cant seem to get it into my head that i would be able to do it too, i just have entered a mode of thinking iv tried and not hard enough and failed upon numerous times, im ranting now but ya
my typical diet would be:
breakfast: boiled egg and 2 slice of brown soda bread or weetabix and low fat milk
dinner: fish, or chicken fillet, frozen veg, 2 potatoes
evening: spring rolls and salad or smoked salmon, brown soda bread and salad, drink coke zero, water, diluted orange or summer fruits
snacks: small oranges, tuc biscuits sometimes, grapes, apples etc

junk food enters at the weekend or at times of high stress and when down in the dumps
any advice or stories from people who felt same way would be greatly appreciated

theresaloo

duckielover wrote: »

hi i have posted here before but am finding it hard lately to keep my mind on the prize of losin weight, i do be good with eatin for a while and try to keep it up with exercise and the weekend arrives and i work awkward hours that make it difficult to eat properly and then i go off and make excuses and eat junk food, lately im startin to do it more and im admirin all the people who lose weight and keep the motivation, i just cant seem to get it into my head that i would be able to do it too, i just have entered a mode of thinking iv tried and not hard enough and failed upon numerous times, im ranting now but ya
my typical diet would be:
breakfast: boiled egg and 2 slice of brown soda bread or weetabix and low fat milk
dinner: fish, or chicken fillet, frozen veg, 2 potatoes
evening: spring rolls and salad or smoked salmon, brown soda bread and salad, drink coke zero, water, diluted orange or summer fruits
snacks: small oranges, tuc biscuits sometimes, grapes, apples etc

junk food enters at the weekend or at times of high stress and when down in the dumps
any advice or stories from people who felt same way would be greatly appreciated

Hey, its so easy to lose motivation i have done so loads of times, but i have never given up and have finally found a diet/programme that helps me and that i can stick to, do you have much to lose? If so maybe find a diet/programe that will suit you and that you could stick to and that others are doing so you can help each other, at the end of the day nothing that we put in our mouths is going to taste as good as been slim feels!! I think of that everytime i want to eat something i shouldnt!!

duckielover

can i ask what diet ur doing, well im 5"2 and have let myself go up to near 14stone so i have a lot to lose,

Dotcomdolly

I Found this book Body Fat Solution: Five Principles for Burning Fat, Building Lean Muscles, Ending Emotional Eating, and Maintaining Your Perfect Weight - by Tom Venuto
really helped me sort out my attitude to food & is a great motivational read too. Lots of great advice re diet & weight training too.

duckielover

:Dthanks

theresaloo

duckielover wrote: »

can i ask what diet ur doing, well im 5"2 and have let myself go up to near 14stone so i have a lot to lose,

I joined motivation weight loss clinic, i know some people on this dont agree with it and some people do, but it has worked for me so far and gave me great motivation and has changed my attidude towards food which no other diet has before, thats kinda why i call it a programme because its more than just a diet! I have 3 stone to lose and have lost just over a half a stone in 3 weeks with it, i know how easy it is to loss motivation but i signed up for it and paid the money and im determined to finsh it, it is defo a life style change not just a quick fix which is good as it will help me keep the weight off, i have learned loads already and still have 17 more weeks to go! Hope this helps!!

duckielover

theresaloo wrote: »

I joined motivation weight loss clinic, i know some people on this dont agree with it and some people do, but it has worked for me so far and gave me great motivation and has changed my attidude towards food which no other diet has before, thats kinda why i call it a programme because its more than just a diet! I have 3 stone to lose and have lost just over a half a stone in 3 weeks with it, i know how easy it is to loss motivation but i signed up for it and paid the money and im determined to finsh it, it is defo a life style change not just a quick fix which is good as it will help me keep the weight off, i have learned loads already and still have 17 more weeks to go! Hope this helps!!

would u mind me asking you what your eating and how much that programme would be, cannot find it on website

lachin

Please don't go down the Motivation route. It is so obviously unhealthy and I would doubt it is sustainable long term and that you would keep the weight off. I check here on boards every day and I find the advice great. I admit that initially even after receiving advice that I just said 'ya ya whatever ' ....more protein, veg, etc, eat clean..

I asked for advice, received it but didn't actually trust in it for a while. How wrong I was. Eating clean really is the way to go....if it's an 'ingredient' eat it, if it's one of a list don't!!! I now eat clean 90% of the time ( exclude this weekend when I was on the beer Friday and ate crap all day Saturday and then felt manky!!).

You have to enjoy what you're eating or you won't stick to it. Don't see it as a diet... I love veg anyway but I say to myself also that I am adding to my health by eating them. Don't look on it as deprivation because you are removing certain foodstuffs. Don't eat broccoli if you don't like it, find another veg you like, experiment.

Finally I have cut out sugar and wheat as I personally find them addictive. IMO sugar is the devil! I steer clear, now my alternative sweet treats are something like berries and yoghurt.

I don't follow any particular diet plan, I just stay clear of processed crap, eat clean and feel so much better for it!
Good luck.

Darkginger

lachin wrote: »

You have to enjoy what you're eating or you won't stick to it.
Good luck.

Ain't that the truth! It really is the key to losing the weight and maintaining the loss. I still shudder when I think back to the days I used to have dry toast and grapefruit for breakfast (Scarsdale diet leaves emotional scars!), and I can't even think about buying crispbread, let alone eating the stuff!

Someone on another board came up with an analogy recently that helps me - losing weight is like getting on a train to your destination - some of us will be on fast trains, others on slow ones. Sometimes trains stop in the middle of nowhere for unknown reasons, but you don't get off and start walking, you wait for them to start up again! You will never get to your destination if you decide to leap off the train mid-journey and take a detour back to the previous station...

Frogdog

lachin wrote: »

Please don't go down the Motivation route. It is so obviously unhealthy and I would doubt it is sustainable long term and that you would keep the weight off. I check here on boards every day and I find the advice great. I admit that initially even after receiving advice that I just said 'ya ya whatever ' ....more protein, veg, etc, eat clean..

I asked for advice, received it but didn't actually trust in it for a while. How wrong I was. Eating clean really is the way to go....if it's an 'ingredient' eat it, if it's one of a list don't!!! I now eat clean 90% of the time ( exclude this weekend when I was on the beer Friday and ate crap all day Saturday and then felt manky!!).

You have to enjoy what you're eating or you won't stick to it. Don't see it as a diet... I love veg anyway but I say to myself also that I am adding to my health by eating them. Don't look on it as deprivation because you are removing certain foodstuffs. Don't eat broccoli if you don't like it, find another veg you like, experiment.

Finally I have cut out sugar and wheat as I personally find them addictive. IMO sugar is the devil! I steer clear, now my alternative sweet treats are something like berries and yoghurt.

I don't follow any particular diet plan, I just stay clear of processed crap, eat clean and feel so much better for it!
Good luck.

OP, you couldn't have received better advise than the post I've quoted here. Have a read of the sticky "Nutrition 101" on this forum also.

And your breakfast is tiny by the way, you should be eating more eggs. At least 3 or 4. And cut out the Coke Zero, diluted orange or Summer fruits. Full of sugar and/or sweeteners with a lot of ingredients that are no good for you.

duckielover

3 or 4 boiled eggs what? no way i wouldnt be able to eat that many, and when i dont have an egg i have 2 or 3 weetabix is what i eat for breakfast, thanks for the advice and i really like the train and destination thing, its a good idea and good thing to keep in mind thanks, i dont think im going to go dwon motivation clinic thing but was on 02 treats and there is two free curves classes was thinkin of trying anyone been?!

Frogdog

duckielover wrote: »

3 or 4 boiled eggs what? no way i wouldnt be able to eat that many, and when i dont have an egg i have 2 or 3 weetabix is what i eat for breakfast, thanks for the advice and i really like the train and destination thing, its a good idea and good thing to keep in mind thanks, i dont think im going to go dwon motivation clinic thing but was on 02 treats and there is two free curves classes was thinkin of trying anyone been?!

You can eat 1 egg but you can't eat 3?! Cut down on the bread because it's way too high in calories for the nutrition it contains, and in place of the bread eat more eggs as they contain protein, which is more filling, has loads of healthy fats (good for those who are looking to lose fat) and is full of vitamins.

As for Curves, I've never been, but it's a gimmick. They use machines which work by using your body's resistance, which will be a great workout for the first 2 weeks if you're a beginner, but after that your body will have caught up and be strong enough not to notice any further gains.

BrendanCro

I struggled for years and years before finally losing the weight and keeping it off over the last 12 months. Key differences for me this time were:

1) Tell a friend - make it so you have an additional motivation of not wanting to fail and have your friend know ye failed. A good mate will encourage ye to keep going and someone ye can ring when the urge to eat junk hits.

2) Don't keep junk in the house. Might be difficult if ye live with kids or people who eat loads of junk but I find if it aint in thouse Im 90% less likely to go to the shop and buy it to eat it!

3) As others have said, eat clean. Only natural foods - invest time in preparing lunches and breakfast the night before and bring em with ye to work. I promise in a month you will struggle to eat anything that comes in a cardboard box again!

4) excercise - Not just for the calories it burns but when ye start equating mars bars with miles ye are much less likely to eat one! After a 3 mile jog the last thing ye are gonna want to do is eat a mars bar and ruin it all!

5) Ban your binge food - for me its bread -I can't eat one slice and enjoy it without wanting more and more and more so zero tolerance is in fact much much easier for me.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

theresaloo

duckielover wrote: »

would u mind me asking you what your eating and how much that programme would be, cannot find it on website

Sorry im only getting back to you now! It costs €650 you dont have to pay it all up front, i know its a lot but its working for me, its a 20 week programme, im just finished my 4th week and have lost 10.5lbs so far. What you eat depends on the persons weight, height etc, an example of what i eat would be, breakfast: fruit and yogurt, lunch: crackers ie. melba toast, rivta, dutch crispbread (tesco light choice's), with smoked salmon and cheese (usally low fat brie) and ballymaloe relish, dinner: curry from their recipe and rice, i use alot of quorn mince and chicken because you you have to weigh it and can have more of that then meat, i still eat meat but got to really like the quorn!! Anyway i hope this helps i know some people dont agree with motivation but its not just about the diet they give you, its also about why you eat/binge/emotions etc. Each to their own and what works for some doesnt always work for others but this has defo changed my attidude towards food that no other programme has and believe me i have tryed most of them

Darkginger

It costs €650???? Are you serious? To be told what to eat? When all the information is right here on the 'net? You really paid €650?

Words fail me.

I do try to support anyone's choice of diet, but my GAWD - I am totally staggered by this.

Frogdog

Darkginger wrote: »

It costs €650???? Are you serious? To be told what to eat? When all the information is right here on the 'net? You really paid €650?

Words fail me.

I do try to support anyone's choice of diet, but my GAWD - I am totally staggered by this.

I have to say I agree wholeheartedly with you.

For thousands of years we ate fresh whole foods, and never had to be told what to eat or had to pay anyone to tell us.

It seems to me that people that are in need seem to think that the more they pay, the better results they will get. Sometimes they do not address the underlying problem - education about food. Education on the internet is how I learnt. I didn't look for any miracle page that would change my habits, my lifestyle and my outlook on food, rather it was a learning process of continuous education. I'm still learning, thanks mainly to the posters here.

OP, I would advise you to keep your money where it is and not shell out a penny to these companies. They only care about their bottom line. Instead, educate yourself on the internet and if you stick around here long enough you'll soon learn everything you need to know about nutrition and what to eat and what not to eat.

theresaloo

Frogdog wrote: »

I have to say I agree wholeheartedly with you.

For thousands of years we ate fresh whole foods, and never had to be told what to eat or had to pay anyone to tell us.

It seems to me that people that are in need seem to think that the more they pay, the better results they will get. Sometimes they do not address the underlying problem - education about food. Education on the internet is how I learnt. I didn't look for any miracle page that would change my habits, my lifestyle and my outlook on food, rather it was a learning process of continuous education. I'm still learning, thanks mainly to the posters here.

OP, I would advise you to keep your money where it is and not shell out a penny to these companies. They only care about their bottom line. Instead, educate yourself on the internet and if you stick around here long enough you'll soon learn everything you need to know about nutrition and what to eat and what not to eat.

Point takin but its not just about a diet its a programme about eating habits and to address your underlying problem and also educates you about foods! As i said each to their own, this has works for me, since i started i have lost every week, where as in some other diets i have done i lose, stay the same or put on each week, i have learned so much already and it has really changed my attitude towards food, why we eat, and the effects it has on our bodies! Im just letting people know what is working for me same as you, unfortunitly it came with a price of €650 for 20 weeks, but hey i definitly would have spent that on take aways, drinking etc over 20 weeks so to me its worth every penny!!

Frogdog

theresaloo wrote: »

Point takin but its not just about a diet its a programme about eating habits and to address your underlying problem and also educates you about foods! As i said each to their own, this has works for me, since i started i have lost every week, where as in some other diets i have done i lose, stay the same or put on each week, i have learned so much already and it has really changed my attitude towards food, why we eat, and the effects it has on our bodies! Im just letting people know what is working for me same as you, unfortunitly it came with a price of €650 for 20 weeks, but hey i definitly would have spent that on take aways, drinking etc over 20 weeks so to me its worth every penny!!

Sorry, I didn't mean or intend to target you, or anyone in particular, with my last post. It was more of a general view of the world today that I was talking about.

But my point still stands, I think we'd all be better off learning about diet & nutrition for free ourselves, with the help of the likes of this forum which I find to be a great resource of information and differing opinions, rather than pay a company to teach us.

Darkginger

Yeah, I kind of wanted to take my post back and make it a little less reactionary - but I was just so gobsmacked at the cost! I'm now (quite seriously) looking at setting up a dieting help and advice website because I think 30 + years of experience must count for something - and there must be a bit to be earned from that

Honestly, if it works for you - go for it, and if the cost helps you stick to it, all the better. I just get this shuddering feeling when I see what seems to me to be exploitation of people with a weight issue. Makes me cross

Hope I didn't come across as too unkind, I didn't mean to - but still, €650 is like over 2 weeks income for me!

time42play

Frogdog wrote: »

But my point still stands, I think we'd all be better off learning about diet & nutrition for free ourselves, with the help of the likes of this forum which I find to be a great resource of information and differing opinions, rather than pay a company to teach us.

That is certainly true as far as it goes. But as someone who has been morbidly obese / obese / overweight / and (very occasionally) a normal weight over and over in my life, the problem isn’t that I didn’t know how I should be eating. (Though obviously that has changed over the years!) My main problem with food has always been mental / behavioural, and that isn’t as easy to change.

I think that’s part of what Theresaloo was getting at in her post when she talked about addressing underlying problems with food, and where I think the one-to-one counselling could make a difference (regardless of opinion on what the diet itself is).

My first time on Atkins I ate constantly all day long, all from the list of induction meats and cheeses. It said to eat when I was hungry, and, well, I WAS hungry! Only it wasn’t really physical hunger at all, so obviously I did not have a successful experience. I eat for happy, sad, anxious, depressed, lonely, bored... for any emotion out there my answer to it has always been food and habits of well over 50 years are seriously difficult to break.

Much of last year I spent investigating weight loss surgeries. Only my abject fear of all medical procedures convinced me to attempt Atkins again. So far I’m not doing badly as I’m counting calories as well, but I still have a lot of food issues to deal with. I looked at everything including the hypno-lap-band in another post and a blog written by a woman who decided to eat the portion sizes and foods recommended for people who had the surgery, as well as Orsmond and Motivation. Yes, I wanted the magic pill.

In fact I’d be much better off if I could take a tablet with all my nutrition for the day and avoid food altogether! Magic pills indeed.

theresaloo

I didnt take offence to anyones comments i love to hear what people think and this time last year i would be saying the exact same thing, i wounldnt pay that money! But when it came down to it no money in the world would make me happy but been slim and healthy would and is, i spend years in and out of weight watchers, slimfast etc and have prob spent €6500 never mind €650 by now on them lol!! I did ask about it before i started it on here and did get negitive and positive feed back and i researched it, i didnt just join without looking into it!
As i said it has really changed my thinking towards food, im only doing it four weeks and have not touch a crisp, chocolate, cake etc and i dont want to or feel the need to! If you asked any of my family or friends four weeks ago of the chances of that happening they'd laugh and say no way would she, but hey they are eating their words now lol!! I think for me i seen it as a last resort because i have tried everything else and maybe thats whats motivating me..........its now or never!! 10.5lbs down and 3st 4lbs left :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

theresaloo

time42play wrote: »

That is certainly true as far as it goes. But as someone who has been morbidly obese / obese / overweight / and (very occasionally) a normal weight over and over in my life, the problem isn’t that I didn’t know how I should be eating. (Though obviously that has changed over the years!) My main problem with food has always been mental / behavioural, and that isn’t as easy to change.

I think that’s part of what Theresaloo was getting at in her post when she talked about addressing underlying problems with food, and where I think the one-to-one counselling could make a difference (regardless of opinion on what the diet itself is).

My first time on Atkins I ate constantly all day long, all from the list of induction meats and cheeses. It said to eat when I was hungry, and, well, I WAS hungry! Only it wasn’t really physical hunger at all, so obviously I did not have a successful experience. I eat for happy, sad, anxious, depressed, lonely, bored... for any emotion out there my answer to it has always been food and habits of well over 50 years are seriously difficult to break.

Much of last year I spent investigating weight loss surgeries. Only my abject fear of all medical procedures convinced me to attempt Atkins again. So far I’m not doing badly as I’m counting calories as well, but I still have a lot of food issues to deal with. I looked at everything including the hypno-lap-band in another post and a blog written by a woman who decided to eat the portion sizes and foods recommended for people who had the surgery, as well as Orsmond and Motivation. Yes, I wanted the magic pill.

In fact I’d be much better off if I could take a tablet with all my nutrition for the day and avoid food altogether! Magic pills indeed.

Hey, most of what you said there about the emotional eating and behaviours are covered with motivation, im not trying to sell it to you or anything im just letting you know what they do, but they do cover all aspects of it, they use cognitive behavior therapy, its used to change your way of thinking and in this case towards food, its aimed more towards why we eat than what we eat, but obviously what we eat is important too thats why they give you a diet to follow aswell.
An example would be if your in a situation that you cant control (eg. someone p**ses you off) you then become angry/upset, been angry/upset is an emotion that you cant really control, after every emotion theres a reaction (eg.eating because im p**ed off) you can control your reaction by changing your thought (eg.im not going to eat because it wont help or solve the problem and im still going to be p**ed off after eating) so if you change your thought on a situation you can change your reaction! I kinda sound like Dr.Phil now lol! Im not really good at explaining it but i hope you kinda understand what i sayin! Anyway i just thought i'd tell you as you said you were a mental/behavioural eater and this is what they use to combat it, and as you said its not easy to change, hope it helps!!

time42play

theresaloo wrote: »

Hey, most of what you said there about the emotional eating and behaviours are covered with motivation, im not trying to sell it to you or anything im just letting you know what they do, but they do cover all aspects of it, they use cognitive behavior therapy, its used to change your way of thinking and in this case towards food, its aimed more towards why we eat than what we eat, but obviously what we eat is important too thats why they give you a diet to follow aswell.
An example would be if your in a situation that you cant control (eg. someone p**ses you off) you then become angry/upset, been angry/upset is an emotion that you cant really control, after every emotion theres a reaction (eg.eating because im p**ed off) you can control your reaction by changing your thought (eg.im not going to eat because it wont help or solve the problem and im still going to be p**ed off after eating) so if you change your thought on a situation you can change your reaction! I kinda sound like Dr.Phil now lol! Im not really good at explaining it but i hope you kinda understand what i sayin! Anyway i just thought i'd tell you as you said you were a mental/behavioural eater and this is what they use to combat it, and as you said its not easy to change, hope it helps!!

I do understand what you're saying, I've done CBT twice over the years though I never thought it made much difference for me personally. I still have one of the workbooks around somewhere, maybe I should look for it.

Financially something like Motivation isn't an option for me anyway, and when I saw the crispbread in your diet my first thought was "OMG I could never stop with one!" As a serious carb addict I'm better avoiding them entirely (except for the green veg of course). I can make sandwiches or chips, bake pies, make biscuits and cakes, etc for my other half and not be even slightly tempted. Okay, once the smell of a lemon cake did tempt me, but I managed to fight it, LOL! I'm down about 4 stone, which is less than half what I need to lose, but enough that I'm okay with Atkins and think I can stay with it long-term. I know eventually I'll need to add more calories back in, but by the time I get to my goal I think I only get a few hundred more than what I eat now, LOL.

theresaloo

time42play wrote: »

I do understand what you're saying, I've done CBT twice over the years though I never thought it made much difference for me personally. I still have one of the workbooks around somewhere, maybe I should look for it.

Financially something like Motivation isn't an option for me anyway, and when I saw the crispbread in your diet my first thought was "OMG I could never stop with one!" As a serious carb addict I'm better avoiding them entirely (except for the green veg of course). I can make sandwiches or chips, bake pies, make biscuits and cakes, etc for my other half and not be even slightly tempted. Okay, once the smell of a lemon cake did tempt me, but I managed to fight it, LOL! I'm down about 4 stone, which is less than half what I need to lose, but enough that I'm okay with Atkins and think I can stay with it long-term. I know eventually I'll need to add more calories back in, but by the time I get to my goal I think I only get a few hundred more than what I eat now, LOL.

If you have done CBT before then scrap my last post because its hard to explain but im sure you get it! Wow 4 stone that is brillant well done! Stick with atkins if it works for you i tried it and couldnt do it so fair play to you! It just takes such a long time to lose the weight but sure if i started last year i would be at my goal now so i wont be saying that next year because i'ii be at my goal hopefully!!

nic2ie

Darkginger wrote: »

It costs €650???? Are you serious? To be told what to eat? When all the information is right here on the 'net? You really paid €650?

Words fail me.

I do try to support anyone's choice of diet, but my GAWD - I am totally staggered by this.

Its a lot of money but if its working maybe its worth it, all i'd worry about is spending all that and after the 20 weeks piling all the weight back on.