Help me please!!!

Idina

Hi all.

I would appreciate any help anyone can give me.

Basically Im 35 yo female spotty, about 1.5 stone overweight & fed up!
Im 5’2’’ in height & 10 stone 8llbs. I was almost 12 a while back but went down to 10 8 and was pretty happy until about 3 months ago.
Im not looking to be a stick insect but I want to lose some of my flab & clear up my skin. I seem to hold most of my weight around my belly – its awful. Just 1 huge spare tyre.
I try hard with my food. Im not lazy I try to get out for a 50 minute walk maybe 4 times a week but quite obviously Im doing something wrong as I haven’t lost a llb!

My typical days food consists of:

Brekkie:
- 2 weetabix, or all bran or readybrek with low fat milk, maybe with a cereal bar or an apple later in the morning
- On the weekends maybe 2 sausages grilled & 1 egg

Lunch:
- Sometimes soup with about 3 rivitas
- Or a salad consisting of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, pepper chicken or tuna & a teaspoon of lf mayo – oh and a few chickpeas and avocado
- 2 slices of brown bread toasted with beans
- A salad bowl from with shop with beetroot, chicken & tomato & broccoli with feta cheese

Dinner:
- Dinner is usually 1 medium sized potato or oven fries, some meat maybe boiled ham, roast chicken, a chicken kiev or steak with veg.
- A stirfry with noodles
- The odd time for a treat maybe a curry or pizza

These days Ive discovered fruit & yogurt! I love it – mango, melon & kiwis with a yogurt of somesort which I never used to eat!

I eat very little bread, pasta or rice. I will admit to bar once a day – a twirl or a packet of smarties. Which I know isn’t great but I do hang for it every night!!! Can anyone please please give me some insight into where Im going totally wrong! Where am I fooling myself!

doctorwhogirl

Hi Idina!
What I'll say first of all is that while it's great you're getting the walks in, I definitely believe that losing weight is more to do with the kitchen than the gym! Diet is the first thing to address. I'm not an expert but have lost weight myself thanks to the invaluable support on here.

I'd say first of all read the stickied threads here
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055157091

It has great information about the basics of diet.

Then I would use a calculator to figure out in or around how many calories you should be eating. This is important because you do not want to make a drastic cut to you calorie intake that you can't maintain You want a nice slow and steady loss that you will be able to maintain for the future. So just a small reduction in calories, especially because you haven't a lot to lose.

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

Just a few observations on your diet and a few things you could maybe change around? In my very humble opinion now, mind you!

Idina wrote: »

Brekkie:
2 weetabix, or all bran or readybrek with low fat milk, maybe with a cereal bar or an apple later in the morning
On the weekends maybe 2 sausages grilled & 1 egg

All the bold stuff is carbs, and more carbs. Now everyone is different but personally the more carb heavy my day, the hungrier I am and the less weight I lose. Try and get more protein into your breakfast. ReadyBrek is ok but it's very processed. Would you try porridge? Or Oat Bran (I oat bran). They're carbs too but more complex carbs that will keep you fuller. I add protein powder or egg whites to my porrisge to give me some protein.
Scrambled eggs are a great idea too! I have mine with spinach done in the microwave and some wholegrain toast/crackers if I need a bigger breakfast.

Lunch:
Sometimes soup with about 3 rivitas
Or a salad consisting of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, pepper chicken or tuna & a teaspoon of lf mayo – oh and a few chickpeas and avocado
2 slices of brown bread toasted with beans
A salad bowl from with shop with beetroot, chicken & tomato & broccoli with feta cheese

Depends on the brand of soup you're having but a good option. Homemade is best and very easy to make.
Salad sounds AMAZING! and bang on in terms of protein/carbs and healthy fats (avocado) But I'd make it myself- much cheaper!!!
2 slices brown bread with beans is ok the odd time but again you've no protein there and beans can be full of sugar! But it's ok the odd time! Others may argue to get rid of bread (gluten) altogether, but it's what works for you. I think complex carbs are fine in moderation but you'll get a substantial amount of carbs from your veg and fruit.

Dinner:
Dinner is usually 1 medium sized potato or oven fries, some meat maybe boiled ham, roast chicken, a chicken kiev or steak with veg.
A stirfry with noodles
The odd time for a treat maybe a curry or pizza

Get rid of the oven fries. Processed and full of crap. Not a good idea to have regularly. If you want chips, make your own in the oven with sweet potato! Much nicer and better for you. Sweet potato is better for you because it doesn't give you a sugar spike like a white spud, so again, you'll be fuller.
Roast chicken and boiled ham grand. Chicken Kievs (I assume you mean shop bought) aren't great. Lot of saturated fat.
Fill, fill, FILL you plate with veg. Veg is your friend! My dinners are 2/3 veg usually and I'm always satisfied. Green veg best; brocolli, spinach etc...
Stir Fry grand just watch noodles as they are high in cals.

Snacks: These days I've discovered fruit & yogurt! I love it – mango, melon & kiwis with a yogurt of somesort which I never used to eat!
I eat very little bread, pasta or rice. I will admit to bar once a day – a twirl or a packet of smarties. Which I know isn’t great but I do hang for it every night!!! Can anyone please please give me some insight into where Im going totally wrong! Where am I fooling myself!

The yoghurt and fruit is ok, but just watch your portions of fruit as while they are good for you, they are high in sugar. Yoghurt wise go for greek youghurt for higher protein. Or natural yoghurt.

Everyone needs their treats so don't feel bad but it's about finding healthier treats! Instead of the smarties or twirl try some dark chocolate? I thought I didn't like it but I love it now. Aldi do a fab one that's 85% cocoa. Or Tesco do one that's 74%. The higher the better as it means less sugar and other crap. They kill the chocolate craving. I have stuff like oat bran pancakes and almond butter as my tea/treat in the evening and I love it!

Again, these are just ideas but the important thing is work out how much around abouts you should be eating, then work from there. I weight a good bit of my food so that I watch my portions as even healthy food can lead to weight gain.

Best of luck!

Idina

Hi Docotorwho girl,

Sorry for the late reply but thanks so much for the advice. Its great of you to take the time & I am going to read thse stickies now!
Yip Im concious of cutting down on carbs but its all so handy isnt it - its hard to cut it out!

Idina.

Paddywiggum

some alternative advice:

stop eating breakfast. its called fasting.

have your first meal at approx 1pm, but only fats and protein.

shift your carbs till later in day, 5pm - 9pm.

stop eating at 9pm, giving an approx 16 hr fast till 1pm next day.

the bodyfat will literally drop off you.