Don't want to be fat and 40!

Kwiecien

Hi. I'm 39 years old, female, work full time (shift work) married with no kids .

In the past decade my weight has crept up from 9 stone to 12 stone 6lbs. (I'm 5'8" tall). My clothes size is 16. My thighs chafe and wobble, i feel heavy and uncomfortable sometimes.

My cousin is trying to sell me a very expensive Clean 9 aloe vera diet which i can't afford 😕

But all the information out there is confusing. Whole grain or paleo? Macrobiotic? Atkins? Vegan?

Or should i just save up for the aloe vera?

What works?

Stheno

What do you eat and drink on a typical day?

Kwiecien

Stheno wrote: »

What do you eat and drink on a typical day?

Usually cereal and toast in the morning. A cereal bar or croissant mid morning. A sandwich and soup later. A few biscuits for the afternoon slump. Dinner varies, could be spaghetti bolognaise or stew or steak and chips.

When I'm on the late shift if i don't eat chocolate or other ****e i feel sleepy. I have terrible habits to be honest.

Aineoil

I've lost a significant of weight by cutting out sugar.

You would be amazed at the amount of sugar in food, even healthy foods.

I don't drink orange juice any more, no yoghurts, no biscuits, no fizzy drinks. I do have sugar cravings at time so I eat a square of chocolate with 80% cocoa.

I thought I was being very healthy by eating loads of fruit, but fruit while it has has a lot of fibre, it also has a lot of sugar.

Dinners these days are salmon with loads of veg especially carrots. Carrots taste so sweet when you cut out sugar.

Hope this helps.

Alf Veedersane

Kwiecien wrote: »

Usually cereal and toast in the morning. A cereal bar or croissant mid morning. A sandwich and soup later. A few biscuits for the afternoon slump. Dinner varies, could be spaghetti bolognaise or stew or steak and chips.

When I'm on the late shift if i don't eat chocolate or other ****e i feel sleepy. I have terrible habits to be honest.

There is no diet that you need to follow. Certainly don't waste your time, money and hope on Clean 9.

You have an idea what your terrible habits are. But in some instances you are making excuses for them. You don't need chocolate to keep you awake.

There is a lot of carbs there. Nothing wrong with carbs but they just make up too high a proportion of your diet. More protein and fats instead of carbs in some places will keep you fuller for longer.

You can also start tracking what you eat on MyFitnessPal to give you an appreciation of what you eat.

Kwiecien

Kwiecien wrote: »

Usually cereal and toast in the morning. A cereal bar or croissant mid morning. A sandwich and soup later. A few biscuits for the afternoon slump. Dinner varies, could be spaghetti bolognaise or stew or steak and chips.

When I'm on the late shift if i don't eat chocolate or other ****e i feel sleepy. I have terrible habits to be honest.

You're basically eating carbs all day there and if I was eating that many I'd be falling asleep until my next hit. They're also full of sugar.
Eat some eggs or porridge for breakfast.
Cut out the mid morning snack to establish if it's just a habit or if you're genuinely hungry. Cut it out for a week then you'll know.
Eat the sandwich OR the soup and some extra protein. Tin of tuna or salmon maybe.
Dinner seems ok but weigh your portions and check the calories.
Actually log all your calories and see how they look.

No, do not buy faddy expensive diet nonsense. You can do this just fine on your own.

I used to be one for the cereal bars and croissants and frankly there are days I would still love a chocolate croissant ... but then I remember I'm going to be starving 5 mins later and probably feel like crap after eating one anyway. I wouldn't give up my eggs for breakfast now
If I still want something sweet I'll have fruit or one of these yokes https://www.lilyobriens.ie/sultana_chocolati_cluster.aspx

ThisRegard

Don't want to be stating the obvious, but what exercise are you doing?

lazeedaisy

Do you exercise?

I recently took up Zumba, I now do it 3 times a week and it's fun, I have dropped from a 20 to a big 16. 18 is too big on me.

I don't have bad eating habits, but personally I found the lack of exercise was my downfall.

Don't go for quick fix diets, they work for a week but you will be sick of it in no time,

Download myfitnesspal app and track your food and exercise. Even walking initially would be good. It's great weather at the moment for being outside.

It's all about sensible eating habits, and incorporating exercise you could do and to keep doing for the next 30 or 40 years. it's future proofing your life by implementing changes you can live with, again personally I found carbs were dead for me so I eat a high protein diet.

I start the day with porridge, fruit and yoghurt. It keeps me full until lunch time, which is home made soup, very filling as I use chunky veg and no bread with it, or salad and lots of fresh veg. I always have an apple in the car for the drive home, and the days I am going to Zumba I will have a peanut butter sandwich in the car on the way home, as I cannot eat before class or a banana, whatever suits.

Dinner is always meat, veg and potatoes the other 4 days a week.

I love dark chocolate and have 2 Lindt truffles from the freezer when I need a hit, but it's not that often as I can live without it.

I would recommend slimming world initially to show you how to eat well and loose weight. It's not easy initially, like any change, but the payoff is great.

It's hard to take in so much info, hence the recommendation for slimming world. In no time you will know the difference between good and bad choices, and you will feel the better for it.

Good luck, and I wish you well on your challenge,

lazeedaisy

So when is your birthday?

Kwiecien

I don't do much exercise to be honest. i would love to start jogging but im just too feckin wobbly at the moment. I always admire /envy those gorgues toned people who run.

I'm very big busted though and probably wouldn't find a bra to fit.

Kwiecien

lazeedaisy wrote: »

So when is your birthday?

Christmas.

RonanP77

Exercise is key here, walking, cycling or swimming would be a great start. Keep an eye on portion size and listen to the more knowledgeable posters on here say about carbs etc.

You don't need fancy or expensive diets. Less food + more exercise = weight loss. The extra added benefits of exercise are more energy and better sleep.

Kwiecien

Kwiecien wrote: »

I don't do much exercise to be honest. i would love to start jogging but im just too feckin wobbly at the moment. I always admire /envy those gorgues toned people who run.

I'm very big busted though and probably wouldn't find a bra to fit.

If you really want to make this happen, you need to make it happen, and nevermind the bra excuses.
Food first, but you need exercise also.
Find one and start the c25k program. Do it in evenings if you like, nobody is going to look at you

lazeedaisy

You must take the first step. The first steps will take some effort, maybe pain. But after that, everything that has to be done is real-life movement.
Ben Stein

The couch to 5 k is a great app, find a free one on your app store, it's about learning to run a 5k from scratch, or from sitting on the coch, hence the name. C25k.

All you need is a comfortable bra,

You can make the changes, just take the first step.

Alf Veedersane

Food preparation is key, especially when you work shifts. It's all too easy to get some rubbish from a vending machine or get something on the way to work.

But you can prepare something healthy and tasty - there's always a perception that healthy food doesn't taste nice - in advance and bring it with you.

You need to stop making excuses though. Believe me, I know what it is like to justify bad choices. But you know they are bad choices so treat them as such and not enable the choices.

Bazzo

You've already gotten some great advice but just to add a couple of things from my own experience:

Healthy food isn't necessarily what you might consider healthy food. As long as you're not frying everything in tonnes of oil you'll find a reasonable portion of most traditional foods is actually fairly healthy food! Baked, roasted, grilled, stir fried(with a small amount of oil) are all great ways to prepare dinner. I usually cook enough for a couple of days at a time so all I have to do is prepare some rice/potatoes/pasta to go with it when I get in.

Exercise is important, and just as important is keeping a diary/log of goals and achievements. If you're taking up walking/jogging then log how long you walk/jog and how long it took you every time you go out, it only takes a minute. Do the same for weight loss & goals. It really helps keep you motivated by giving you a picture of how far you've come.

I don't go in for any fad diets to be honest, all the information you need is readily available on the internet for free.

CaptainAhab

OP check out the info here - I have had good results following the guidelines on this website.

http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

Hope it helps

armadillo86

Hi OP,

I was in a similar situation to you 6 weeks ago... Unhealthy, bloated, unfit, unconfident and just plain fed up with feeling sluggish and overweight.

I debated for ages whether or not I should join a gym because the very idea of setting foot in one terrified me. Eventually I decided to bite the bullet and I found a gym that does classes and a 6 week diet and exercise plan, with weekly meal plans and weigh ins with support from the trainers every Friday evening.

I started off small, only doing two classes per week (my first spinning class I didn't think I'd make it out alive) and built up my stamina from there. This week (my 6th week) I managed 6 classes and feel absolutely amazing, my energy levels are through the roof and my mental health is transformed. I'm truly a convert to the benefits of regular exercise, it doesn't just change your body shape but you become a more positive person in other areas of your life too.

Regarding the sports bra situation, I'm quite top heavy and I bought an Enell sports bra online. They're expensive (around 60euro) and not very attractive because they basically squash your boobs down but I found that I needed the industrial strength to stop myself from getting a black eye!! I don't even think about my chest when I'm doing jumping moves now so definitely worth the investment.

One of the biggest changes for me was cutting out sugar from my diet. It's been mentioned a couple of times above but it's insane how true it is! I compared one of my food entries from this time last year on myfitnesspal and I was eating up to 100g of sugar per day, while on a "diet". I bought into the whole eating 1200 calories a day thing, eating things like low fat yogurt, cereal and granola bars which are portrayed as healthy but are full of sugar. No wonder those diets inevitably failed, I felt sluggish, hungry and tired all of the time.

Now I try to keep my sugar under 20g per day and have increased the amount of protein I eat, trying to get in at least 100g per day. My energy levels have increased so much and I rarely feel hungry anymore. I'm not crazy about vegetables so that part has been a struggle for me but I eat a lot of lean meat like chicken, turkey, salmon and lots of eggs, porridge and greek yogurt. I take so much more notice of food labels now, in particular sugar and salt content (too much sodium makes you retain water).

Also, it's SO important to drink enough water. I was only drinking around 1.5 litres a day and experienced a stall in weight loss in week 3. My trainer suggested bumping up my intake to 2.5-3 litres per day and the weight started falling off again almost immediately. It's annoying having to go to the bathroom more often but your body will get used to it.

I'm in no way proclaiming to be a nutrition expert but just wanted to share my experience with you. I started off at 11stone 12lbs (female, 29, 5ft6) and today I weigh 10stone 11lbs - so I'm down just over a stone in 6 weeks. Not only that, but my body fat percentage has dropped by over 6% and I'm not considered in the obese category for bodyfat anymore. I put most of that down to cutting down dramatically on sugar, I used to be a complete chocolate fiend but realise now it wasn't doing me any good at all. Remember 80% diet, 20% exercise.

Sorry for the crazy long post but just wanted you to know that I understand the position you're in. If I can do it anyone can!! All it takes is that first step. Best of luck with it

Precious flower

Exercise wise take baby steps. Why not do some basic squats while cooking the dinner or just waiting around for something (start standing straight then move down as if you are going to sit in an invisible chair, stand up, repeat)? Get out walking if you don't feel comfortable running (it'll be easier on your knees too given your extra weight. Go walking for an hour or a half an hour every day. Go for a small walk around on your lunch break if you can and slow increase your speed. A little bit every day will add up! Make the effort to take the stairs, park a bit further back when going somewhere so you have to walk a little bit. Get friends to go walking with you. You don't need a gym membership. Maybe join a class if that would motivate you but if you just round up some friends and go swimming or walking, that would work just as well.:) Housework counts towards your exercise too for certain!

Similarly try to take baby steps with your diet because no matter how much exercise you do a bad diet will cancel all your hard work out. Don't try to go cold turkey because you'll most likely just give up faster.
Breakfast: For starters try to have something more filling in the morning. The reason your snack in mid-morning is junk is because your body is not being satisfied correctly. Try eggs (but don't ave a fry up!:p), porridge or even weetabix and some Liberte yoghurt (that isn't loaded with sugars and it is high in protein). If you like toast in the morning, have wholemeal and keep it to one slice if you can (bread has quite significant amount of calories and not a whole lot to show for it). Or try beans on toast.:)

Mid Morning snack: Have a homemade salad or fruit something small to tide you over until lunch. Lunch: Have something filling. It doesn't always have to be meat. There are many vegetarian dishes on-line that extremely healthy and are filling. Don't assume filling food always has to equal meat. But if you'd like you can easily go into a fish shop and get cheap fish that no one ever buys that is sustainable and just as nutritious (sardines are a good example of this but there are many others if you ask).

Dinner: Again you don't have to have meat. Look up some vegetarian dishes online that are filling. Watch your portion sizes though! Take notice of how much you are eating you'd be surprised. If you are having meat it should only be a portion as big as a phone. Try and cut down on the carbohydrates at the table and incorporate more vegetables and lentils (beans, peas etc). They will soon fill up the plate but will be low in calories. You mention steak and chips. Sub the chips for some frozen vegetables (frozen veg is actually has more nutrients than fresh often because it is frozen straight away).

Afternoon snack: I would try and stay away from this but if you have to (baby steps remember) try to have some good yoghurt, or a glass of milk. Don't over do it.

With these changes and some exercise you'll soon find you won't be sleepy and you'll feel far more energised.:) The reason you were slumping was because you body is running on high sugar foods or foods that are digested quickly and your blood sugar goes whack so it demands you reac for something sugary to replace it. May I ask how much sleep are you getting? Poor sleep can really screw up your eating habits.

Precious flower

Oh also BE CONSISTENT! It's all about how consistent you are. That's why it's important to take baby steps because then you are making gradual changes over time, that are realistic and therefore you are far more likely to keep at it.

Bench Press

The biggest challenge you will have is changing your diet, as that is the key, eliminate sugar and processed carbs, you will see a massive change in your energy levels and motivation, the exercise will follow and you will actually come to love it. I never bought this whole diet thing up unitl recently, I am not overweight by any means, but I lost 16 kilos since January by changing my diet and exercise. it is not easy initially of course, but it will be worth it, a bit of will power is all it takes, good luck. and just to add, I am not starving myself or anything, I eat as much meat, veg, fruit, nuts and dairy as I like, even butter and cheese spreads! so it is not like you are living some sort of monastic, horrible lifestyle eating horrible food you don't like

OP I've been where you are, it's not a nice feeling, and it's not easy to started on making changes no matter how much you want to. I know all this. It is possible though.

No fad diets, no detox programmes, just good decisions, good planning, and healthy food. Take the time to read the stickies at the top of the forum, they contain invaluable information.

Cut down on sugar and carbs, cut out processed food, and for me the most importain one of all: be prepared. I'm online at 8am on a Sunday morning because I'm planning my food for the next two weeks. It will take me an hour to plan and write out shopping lists but that hour will save me from myself*. If the food is in the fridge and I know that's what I'm supposed to be eating today, that's what I will eat today. Don't make complicated recipes, keep them quick and simple so that you can't justify it being quicker to get a take away.

Exercise. Exercise will make you feel great about yourself, and it will make you want to eat better.

Set yourself reasonable small goals, not "I will lose two stone by June", the goals you should set yourself should be small and achievable. Daily goals are best for me, "today I will stick to my food plan 100%". "Today I will bring extra berries or nuts to work in case I get sugar cravings".

Best of luck OP, you can do this, as many of us here have done before you, you just need to believe you can



*the reason it will take me this long today is because I'm moving away from my winter food plans and making new ones with new summer recipes - once you have a decent bank of recipes this process because much faster.

Kwiecien

Thanks everyone for your great advice. I've no excuse now.

Aineoil

May I add again that sugar is the unhidden ingredient in many foods.

I forgot to mention water. Initially I found drinking water very difficult - I used to have to drink the fizzy water and I

was particular about it too - only San Pellegrino for me.

These days I drink Volvic (nice clean taste) water with a good dash of PLJ.

PLJ is a lemon (sort of) cordial. I buy it in my local Supervalu. A glass of water with PLJ stops my cravings for crisps.

Do you know sometimes I think I'm hungry, but I'm just plain thirsty.

Hope this helps and all the advice on this thread has been great.

Kwiecien

Thanks everyone for the advice. I have joined Slimming World. I'm drinking 3 litres of water every day. I feel much better than I did when I started the thread.

Kwiecien

Update - I'm down 11lbs now! Delighted.

JillyQ

Kwiecien wrote: »

I don't do much exercise to be honest. i would love to start jogging but im just too feckin wobbly at the moment. I always admire /envy those gorgues toned people who run.

I'm very big busted though and probably wouldn't find a bra to fit.

Have you tried fit 4 life. I Started in January and am down two clothes size already. Its how most runners have started off. Remember all of those toned people you see out running had to start somewhere. You should google your local group. I promise you it is worth it.

Oasis1974

CaptainAhab wrote: »

OP check out the info here - I have had good results following the guidelines on this website.

http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

Hope it helps

That site is complete BS avoid it.

jacksie66

This post has been deleted.

galljga1

jacksie66 wrote: »

I've cut out carbs and sugar for the past month. I've lost 2 stone and I feel amazing..

Holy crap. In one month? What weight were you to begin with?

jacksie66

This post has been deleted.

CaptainAhab

Oasis1974 wrote: »

That site is complete BS avoid it.

Will you go away shur the website's message is similar to what many posters are saying in this thread: cut out the sugar and processed carbs.

Oasis1974

CaptainAhab wrote: »

Will you go away shur the website's message is similar to what many posters are saying in this thread: cut out the sugar and processed carbs.

Buddy if you want some Dr Nick Riviera with his 10k members telling you to eat full-fat diary and the fat on meat then that's you prerogative. Avoid sugar correct the rest utter garbage. Site should be shutdown :rolleyes:

ezra_pound

Oasis1974 wrote: »

Buddy if you want some Dr Nick Riviera with his 10k members telling you to eat full-fat diary and the fat on meat then that's you prerogative. Avoid sugar correct the rest utter garbage. Site should be shutdown :rolleyes:

What's wrong with full fat dairy?

I never go near low fat junk.

GunnerBlue

Oasis1974 wrote: »

Buddy if you want some Dr Nick Riviera with his 10k members telling you to eat full-fat diary and the fat on meat then that's you prerogative. Avoid sugar correct the rest utter garbage. Site should be shutdown :rolleyes:

Lol, clueless.

Oasis1974

GunnerBlue wrote: »

Lol, clueless.

If your a bunch of obese people who need a wacky bloke to tell you to pig out on high fat foods then go for it. And yes eat as much of it as you want.:P

Oasis1974

Oasis1974 wrote: »

If your a bunch of obese people who need a wacky bloke to tell you to pig out on high fat foods then go for it. And yes eat as much of it as you want.:P

And if we're a bunch of people who are not obese, and who are strong from weight training, or who are training for a marathon or a triathlon, or people who just know what good nutrition is?

What then?

nc19

Kwiecien wrote:

What works?

Diet and exercise.....

nc19

Lots of water

Any time you feel hungry outside of meal times drink a pint of water

nc19

nc19 wrote: »

Diet and exercise.....

I'm pretty sure she knows that it's "diet" in fairness. I think she was hoping for more information than that.

Well done on the 11lb OP, that's great progress

Kalman

Kwiecien wrote: »

Hi. I'm 39 years old, female, work full time (shift work) married with no kids .

In the past decade my weight has crept up from 9 stone to 12 stone 6lbs. (I'm 5'8" tall). My clothes size is 16. My thighs chafe and wobble, i feel heavy and uncomfortable sometimes.

My cousin is trying to sell me a very expensive Clean 9 aloe vera diet which i can't afford 😕

But all the information out there is confusing. Whole grain or paleo? Macrobiotic? Atkins? Vegan?

Or should i just save up for the aloe vera?

What works?

Don't want to be fat and 40!
Not a lot you can do regarding the 40 thing.[it there is, let me know] As for the fat, I would forget aloe vera, Macrobiotic, Atkins, Vegan etc, etc.


There is no substitute for good exercise . Walking, cycling and swimming are excellent. [and cheap] I cycle everyday and it works for me.

JillyQ

Kalman wrote: »

Don't want to be fat and 40!
Not a lot you can do regarding the 40 thing.[it there is, let me know] As for the fat, I would forget aloe vera, Macrobiotic, Atkins, Vegan etc, etc.


There is no substitute for good exercise . Walking, cycling and swimming are excellent. [and cheap] I cycle everyday and it works for me.

Same here i walk at least twice a week and run twice a week i have built it up to 5 k each time im out. But I also watch what i eat.

Oasis1974

Not being rude when i say obese but no where on his site does he say to break a bead of sweat in some sort of exercise and hes a trained MD(we hope). Some of his wording is appalling " So, no counting or food weighing is necessary. You can forget about the calories and trust your feelings of hunger and satiety". Thats crazy talk from a supposed MD and his breakfast menu suggestions:

• Eggs and bacon
• Omelet
• Leftovers from last night’s dinner
• Coffee with cream
• A can of mackerel and boiled eggs
• Boiled egg with mayonnaise or butter
• Avocado, salmon and sour cream
• Sandwich on Oopsie-bread
• Cheese with butter
• Boiled eggs mashed with butter, chopped chives, salt and pepper
• A piece of brie cheese and some ham or salami
• High-fat yoghurt with nuts and seeds (and maybe berries)

Yes folks get the jar of Hellman s or Cheese with butter() out have another dinner from last night or god forbid only a few berries...

armadillo86

Great job OP, so happy you're on track!

armadillo86 wrote: »

I started off at 11stone 12lbs (female, 29, 5ft6) and today I weigh 10stone 11lbs - so I'm down just over a stone in 6 weeks. Not only that, but my body fat percentage has dropped by over 6% and I'm not considered in the obese category for bodyfat anymore.

Just an update on my weight since I wrote the above post 6 weeks ago - I'm now down to 10stone 2lbs... The weight loss has slowed down a little but it's important to not let yourself be ruled by the scales and take it one day at a time! I'm a little more relaxed about my sugar intake now and not being as strict, still making sure to get plenty of protein in and that keeps the hunger at bay.

Had to give up the gym for financial reasons but found a free fitness channel on YouTube called Fitness Blender and they have hundreds of free full length strength and cardio workouts that you can do at home, I highly recommend them if you don't want to join a gym. Keep it up!!

Katgurl

Omg that's great progress. I'm pretty jealous actually, I'm the same height as you and when I was that weight I was definitely svelte. Are you finished and maintaining or do you still want to lose more?

DarkoT

Kwiecien wrote: »

Hi. I'm 39 years old, female, work full time (shift work) married with no kids .

In the past decade my weight has crept up from 9 stone to 12 stone 6lbs. (I'm 5'8" tall). My clothes size is 16. My thighs chafe and wobble, i feel heavy and uncomfortable sometimes.

My cousin is trying to sell me a very expensive Clean 9 aloe vera diet which i can't afford 😕

But all the information out there is confusing. Whole grain or paleo? Macrobiotic? Atkins? Vegan?

Or should i just save up for the aloe vera?

What works?

Well you have many healthy and not very expensive diets that you can try at your own, I assume your work means sitting all day in a office, so I recommend you at least 30min or 1hour of workouts a day. In two months you'll feel happy again