Becoming a better man

zmgakt7uw2dvfs

I need some input. I'm 34, happily married and have a lovely 4-month old son. I have a great job and no financial worries. I'm confident in my dealings with others and know where I want to go. I don't drink or smoke and am very rarely unwell.

But I am lacking in one area - I'm fat. And I'm sick of it. My wife does not complain. I want to get trim for myself. I'm a high performer in other domains and it bothers me that I'm so weak in this area.

I've always struggled with weight, at least since age 12. I've touched on technically obese a few times. I could lose 20kg.

The problem is discipline. I don't eat junk every day. I don't keep biscuits or chocolates in the house. I never consume sugary drinks (including things like orange juice) though I have at least one can of Coke Zero per day.

But I have a massive appetite and it takes me ages to feel full. I love bread. I have tried the whole eating more meals thing. Doesn't work. In addition, I loathe exercise such as cardio and especially weights. I have a treadmill and hardly use it despite telling myself I will. My company provides free gym membership but I never use it.

I'm sick of being fat and was wondering if anyone here has some self-discipline techniques or mental tricks they could share about how to stop being a gluttonous, lazy, ill-disciplined b-stard.

Cheers.

Amirani

First of all, don't beat yourself up about it. Based on your description you're already a great man.

Your attitude to this seems pretty good, so you can definitely do what you're trying to achieve. Attitude is the main thing here. For background, I went from 100kg about 2 years ago to 68kg today - plenty of bumps along the way, but you just gotta keep wanting it and for the right reasons.

There's some good resources in the Nutrition and Diet and Fitness forums here that will give some good tips. At a high level though, there's no tricks here - you're going to just have to get used to eating less and moving more if possible. Don't do a crash diet, do it gradually. A good place to start might be counting your calories - find out how much you're consuming in a typical day and then drop that number by 200 every week or something until you're at a level that supports weight loss. Tracking everything you eat is probably the best self-discipline tool there is when it comes to control how much you eat. Try to eat foods that will make you fuller for longer, so more protein, complex carbs etc.

Exercise is great, but if you really don't like it then maybe just try walking a bit more or something?

Rubberchikken

fit in as much walking as you can to your daily routine. you know, up/down stairs instead of life/elevator. you're probably busy with work and family but a half hour of good walking i.e bit our of breath, a little sweaty is a great start.
also, keeping a record of what you eat and drink for the next couple of weeks could be an eyeopener.
alcohol, if you drink, adds a lot of calories that aren't needed. i realise appetites vary and some people have large appetites, but this can be retrained. but just as the other poster said, there's trick to achieving this, just plenty of hard work and patience.

good luck

StupidLikeAFox

Giana Millions Magnesium wrote: »

But I have a massive appetite and it takes me ages to feel full. I love bread. I have tried the whole eating more meals thing. Doesn't work. In addition, I loathe exercise such as cardio and especially weights. I have a treadmill and hardly use it despite telling myself I will. My company provides free gym membership but I never use it.

Would you consider picking up some casual sport? I also hate running/cycling but if Im playing a bit of astro I will run the bollox out of myself. I find its easier to push myself when there is a bit of competition involved, instead of just running for the sake of it. Im ****e at soccer btw, so don't let that put you off

Alternatively, get into using podcasts while you are on the treadmill - be it drama series, professional development audio books etc. Pick ones that are approx 20 mins long or so, that way you aren't just zoning out/bored during you're workout, you are taking your mind off the exercise you are doing. You can look forward to the next podcast instead of dreading the chore of a workout. It is still gonna be a bitch when you start off though, but no pain no gain as they say

dollyk

My friends husband lost 8 stone.
Took him a few years, He just got up one day and walked.
He started walking everywhere, and every 4 weeks he made a change
to his diet. eg he cut out coke/crisps in 8 weeks.
His head was in the right frame, and he said it was doable because he wanted it so bad.
He is waiting to have excess skin removed.
But he says he is so proud of himself.
So just start one day, and keep on track, Good luck OP.:)

Nonoperational

I would strongly recommend using myfintness pal. Aim for 2000 calories per day and do some exercise. If you put some effort into it you can eat very very well at 2000 cal per day and coupled with exercise in 6 months you'll be a different man.

frozenfrozen

if you don't like exercise, do you have a garden or even do you burn wood in the stove? buy a trailer full of rounds or other wood that will need to be processed, move and stack it, chop and organise for drying etc. Better than going to the gym because it's not boring and as well as exercise you'll be saving money by processing the wood yourself. As for garden stuff its like yoga with all the bending and squatting and everything you would be doing by planting and weeding and moving heavy stuff around. At the end of the day not only will you have the health benefits but you will be seeing real time feedback of the effort you're exerting which I suppose could help rather than punishing yourself on a treadmill when you don't enjoy it.

then if you get a handle on the amount of food you're eating the weight will come off

newacc2015

Losing weight was little to do with exercise, it is diet more than anything. Do you know how much exercise you need to do to burn 300kcal? It is close to 30 mins of seriously fast running.

IMO you dont have a massive appetite. You are mixing up hunger with satisfaction. If you ate less you wouldnt feel hunger, you would just feel less satisfied. You just need to get used to eating less. You will adjust to it over a few weeks.

If money is not an issue, maybe consider seeing a dietitian who can work through a meal plan for you. They will advise you about how to feel satisfied while eating less.

The J Stands for Jay

I've read a few headlines that suggest sugar free drinks like coke zero can interfere the body's mechanism for recognising that it's eaten enough. You said you drink it and you don't feel full?

Myfitnesspal can stop a lot of snacking. I found the effort of finding out what to enter in the app was more than the enjoyment of the snack so I didn't bother eating it

alchemist33

I lost 35 pounds four years ago and have kept it off. Without going into too much detail, or repeating the good advice of others, changing diet is vital. Keep a diary of what you eat to highlight the pronlblem areas. I was having a takeaway for lunch a couple of days a week and never said no to my wife's baking. I changed to getting smaller lunches -- my local Tesco had some tasty wraps with the calories on the side, and I had no more than 450 kcals for lunch, only letting myself have more if it was fruit. I was hungry for the first week but my stomach got trained and it became no problem then. Exercise helped too but diet was more important.

Maybe the best thing was the regular weighing at the start to prove I could lose weight. I went hard on the exercise and diet the first week and lost four pounds. I needed this encouragement, and then the ongoing encouragement of watching my weight go down on a graph. And then at the end I rewarded myself, not with food, but with M-sized clothes!

CIARAN_BOYLE

I'm a great believer that exercise you enjoy is better than exercise you don't. So sign up for a casual sport as mentioned above.

kupus

Good, youve come looking for help. That there is the most important step. well done.

now you can do a few things, one is keep reading about exercising and read about cooking and reading up on this that and the other.
The other is stop reading this and just go for a walk. Get out away from the keyboard. Leave your phone there on the table and GTFO.
Bring the mrs and the kid with you.

Next start making this as a routine. It takes something like a month everyday before you wire your mind to accept that this is routine and that you actually need it.

After that, start cooking from scratch Eliminate canned goods, eliminate sauces, find out more about seasonings and herbs instead of canned and bottled sauces.
Go to nearest farmers market and find the most ugly distorted carrots you can find and start cooking them.
The difference in taste between them and reg shop bought crap is huge.

Listen its not going to be fooking easy.

but start eating salads, with different oils and different vinegars. in my kitchen I have about 6-10 different oils and 4-6 different vinegars at any one time add in some fresh cheese or yogurt, it means that every single meal is different.
you can eat that before a dinner so your dinner can have smaller portions.
and
eg lettuce, extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, one red pepper, some seeds of your choice, (sunflower, seasame, peanuts, flax seeds(put them in water overnight) and away you go.

LLMMLL

As far as specific advice goes I inly have two things to add:

1. Look at what you're eating. Maybe try replacing some carbs with healthy fats (nuts, avocado etc. ) as they can be more filling but you have to watch out they can be calorie dense.

2. In terms of exercise try HIIT which can be done in 20 mins a few times a week. 5 mins jogging as warm up. Then ten minutes of jogging for 30 seconds, sprinting for 30 seconds. Then 5 mins jogging to cool down. I lost weight faster doing this on the exact same diet. Apparently it's something to do with your metabolism.

But my main point is that you will have to use willpower. I personally don't believe there is any weight loss program that will leve you feeling full.

You will feel hungry, you will have cravings. If you can't handle that then it's not going to work.

After about a week of any change you make though the cravings get less and you realise that not being full is not the worst thing in the world and being a little bit hungry is perfectly normal.

johnnyskeleton

Giana Millions Magnesium wrote: »

I'm sick of being fat and was wondering if anyone here has some self-discipline techniques or mental tricks they could share about how to stop being a gluttonous, lazy, ill-disciplined b-stard.

I take it that you didnt get your job, your financial security nor your family life by tricks or self discipline techniciques but by constantly working on it on a daily basis? Its the same with controlling your diet. There are no real tricks or schemes or anything like that it really is just eat less.

The fact that you dont drink or smoke helps a lot because a lot of peoples bad habits stem from nights out/hangovers etc.

As others have said use my fitnesspal and stick to it rigidly. Dont cheat or underestimate what you eat. Just set your target weight and measure every meal.

People have said that losing weight is mostly diet and that is true, but exercise is important for general fitness and its as close to a trick as I can offer - if youre tempted to eat a load of bread after dinner, try to go for a walk or a run instead.

Kal El

Giana Millions Magnesium wrote: »

I need some input. I'm 34, happily married and have a lovely 4-month old son. I have a great job and no financial worries. I'm confident in my dealings with others and know where I want to go. I don't drink or smoke and am very rarely unwell.

But I am lacking in one area - I'm fat. And I'm sick of it. My wife does not complain. I want to get trim for myself. I'm a high performer in other domains and it bothers me that I'm so weak in this area.

I've always struggled with weight, at least since age 12. I've touched on technically obese a few times. I could lose 20kg.

The problem is discipline. I don't eat junk every day. I don't keep biscuits or chocolates in the house. I never consume sugary drinks (including things like orange juice) though I have at least one can of Coke Zero per day.

But I have a massive appetite and it takes me ages to feel full. I love bread. I have tried the whole eating more meals thing. Doesn't work. In addition, I loathe exercise such as cardio and especially weights. I have a treadmill and hardly use it despite telling myself I will. My company provides free gym membership but I never use it.

I'm sick of being fat and was wondering if anyone here has some self-discipline techniques or mental tricks they could share about how to stop being a gluttonous, lazy, ill-disciplined b-stard.

Cheers.

How do you feel about betting buddy, Ive always found it a great motivator for myself. Like for example if I lose 5kg, I allowed myself buy that ps4 game I wanted, if I didnt lose it I couldnt get it. Now Im sure you have something you enjoy that you can use as a motivator .
Good luck either way buddy

Nonoperational

newacc2015 wrote: »

Losing weight was little to do with exercise, it is diet more than anything. Do you know how much exercise you need to do to burn 300kcal? It is close to 30 mins of seriously fast running.

IMO you dont have a massive appetite. You are mixing up hunger with satisfaction. If you ate less you wouldnt feel hunger, you would just feel less satisfied. You just need to get used to eating less. You will adjust to it over a few weeks.

If money is not an issue, maybe consider seeing a dietitian who can work through a meal plan for you. They will advise you about how to feel satisfied while eating less.

That is true, but I am a firm believer that exercise encourages you to live a healthier life. I find that if I go to the gym, I might only burn 250 calories, but I will be far less inclined to do the dog on it with junk after putting the effort in.

pumpkin4life

Trumpett:

I went from being overweight to normal weight by:

1: Eating and drinking low carb. Ketogenic/paleo/atkins, all be grand. I eat meat, green veg, eggs, cheese and low carb peanut butter.

2: Lift weights a few times a week. Stick with compounds, so deadlift, squat and bench.

I don't count calories, I eat as much food as I want and I'm around 10-12% BMI as of now. This seems to be controversial advice because a lot of people want to look like they're helping, rather than actually helping. I've been really heavy, I've been there and yeah, it's fùcking shìte out and you'll get some passive aggressive lads along the way, but don't give up and stick with it.

Best of luck.

Kal El

pumpkin4life wrote: »

Trumpett:

I went from being overweight to normal weight by:

1: Eating and drinking low carb. Ketogenic/paleo/atkins, all be grand. I eat meat, green veg, eggs, cheese and low carb peanut butter.

2: Lift weights a few times a week. Stick with compounds, so deadlift, squat and bench.

I don't count calories, I eat as much food as I want and I'm around 10-12% BMI as of now. This seems to be controversial advice because a lot of people want to look like they're helping, rather than actually helping. I've been really heavy, I've been there and yeah, it's fùcking shìte out and you'll get some passive aggressive lads along the way, but don't give up and stick with it.

Best of luck.

Id be the same when I work out, my diet isnt that restrictive. Im not trying to be a body builder/model. Just eat right and work out, not really rocket science

eeguy

Sign up for a boot camp course or a gym with classes.

You don't need motivation, you just need to turn up and the instructor will do the rest.

zmgakt7uw2dvfs

I don't count calories, I eat as much food as I want and I'm around 10-12% BMI as of now. This seems to be controversial advice because a lot of people want to look like they're helping, rather than actually helping. I've been really heavy, I've been there and yeah, it's fùcking shìte out and you'll get some passive aggressive lads along the way, but don't give up and stick with it.

Around five years ago I was unemployed and single. To kill time I did loads of exercise and went primal. I'm definitely a person who thrives on low to carb. I also didn't count the calories and the weight fell off.
One of the reasons I was successful is because I had nothing else to do - I was in complete control of what I ate and when.
But when I started working, I lost that control somewhat. How do you manage in terms of lunch and business travel (if applicable)?

ongarboy

I'd suggest running. Yes, it takes a degree of discipline and motivation to exert yourself especially in winter when it's dark and cold but what I love about it is you start and finish the second you leave and arrive back at your front door with just a lovely hot shower to look forward to after. A gym can involve up to 30 minutes or more trekking to or from and togging out etc. You'd have a great 30 minute run workout completed by the time you found parking at the gym!

Secondly, the feel good endorphins that are produced cannot be over estimated enough. I always feel so much better after a run, even if it's just being pleased with yourself that you did it.

Finally, I find after a work out, the desire to binge or eat junk later that day never seems to be there.

I started off doing a lot of run, walk, run walk and out of breath but then I could see the length of time and distance running grew and grew with each additional run until I was able to comfortably run 10kms without stopping/walking. Admittedly, I was never overweight but I have in fact gotten leaner, lost about a stone and also the small bit of belly fat that was there disappeared. I still wouldn't have the greatest diet and definitely drink more than I should at weekends but the bit of exercise (running twice weekly) keeps my weight and figure at bay and it does give me a psychological mood boost as well which is perhaps the biggest plus for me!

pumpkin4life

Giana Millions Magnesium wrote: »

Around five years ago I was unemployed and single. To kill time I did loads of exercise and went primal. I'm definitely a person who thrives on low to carb. I also didn't count the calories and the weight fell off.
One of the reasons I was successful is because I had nothing else to do - I was in complete control of what I ate and when.
But when I started working, I lost that control somewhat. How do you manage in terms of lunch and business travel (if applicable)?

So whats worked for me very well:

1: Psychology and mindset. I hate the idea of counting calories because that means restriction. Restriction means using up valuable willpower and using up willpower means you have a bad day and then you binge on junk food and you don't hold to the diet. So, instead of saying "I'm not allowed to eat high carb foods" you say to yourself "I'm allowed to eat as much delicious steak, cheese, whiskey, tomatoes, eggs etc as I want". *

2: Lunch and business travel. Stick with salads, salad bar and cheese if your place has a canteen. If not, lunchbox with food the day before. If you're at a restaurant, order the biggest steak you can get. If you're going drinking, order whiskey straight. No one's ever batted an eyelid with myself tbh. The few who do = "yeah I'm involved in a lot of sports and this is my diet for it". Problem solved if you're worrying about it. And you don't have to go nuts with zero carbs. If someone offers you a bit of office birthday cake, no problem at all like.

If you're genetically blessed you can probably afford to go with around 100 carbs a day. A genetically predisposed towards obesity lad like myself should probably stick with 50 carbs or less a day.

*I've found this a really good way to give up addictive stuff in general. If you can substitute one addiction for another much smaller one or fool your brain so there is no willpower involved and youre in self indulgence do what you want mode, its far easier to give things up.

drunkmonkey

Giana Millions Magnesium wrote: »

The problem is discipline. wondering if anyone here has some self-discipline techniques or mental tricks they could share about how to stop being a gluttonous, lazy, ill-disciplined b-stard.

Cheers.

Buy yourself a Fitbit charge 2

Might not be the best smart watch but it's got what you need. It gets heart rate, calories, sleep, activity reminders and trackers bang one.

The activity reminders and trackers are excellent, might not suit athletes but it's what you want getting off the blocks.

Not sure it'll get you running but it'll give you little goals that add up daily and a way of tracking your food, that might be enough for the weight to drop. Your burning a good few calories a day by just being dad, you'd be surprised how much.

It's also a handy watch, can see who's calling without looking at your phone, tells the time and date, breathing exercies goal alerts, get off your ass reminders.

Santa Cola

If you are tempted to eat bread or any other carbs just eat one or two hard boiled eggs that are ready for you in the fridge. The hunger will subside.

Merowig

Hi

- get a checkup with your doctor - overweight can cause additional health problems - he can perhaps also help with a diet plan
- consider to fast - e.g. Fridays and Wednesdays no carbs / no meat - and/or just one major meal
- drink more water - that helps with the hunger
- snack on fruits and/or nuts if necessary
- track your calorie intake and your weight daily - e.g. https://www.myfitnesspal.com/ - this can help perhaps with motivation as well
- track your activites / how many calories you burn - e.g. with a fitness band
- go for a walk with colleagues after lunch and always take the stairs not the lift
- running / swimming - if you are extreme obese be careful at the beginning because the weight can have impact on your knees / joints
It is not important at the beginning that you are fast - speed will come with time - but that you run constantly
- I've got a Garmin Running watch and use their website and smashrun.com to track my runs - that way I am more motivated
- Make a habbit of any sport activity - it takes ~21 repetitions to get into a habbit - block some time and do it till it becomes naturally
- find someone to run with you/walk with you - that makes it more likely you will continue to do it than doing it alone
- consider fasting after the New Year or now before Christmas

Reesy

Hi OP,

I'll try to add a little to the good advice above. I've lost a stone and a half in 3 years, and I really like not being fat.

For me, exercise has been important in losing weight - not so much directly (as the other posters say, it takes a lot of exercise to burn those calories) but because it's helped me be mentally strong, which in turn helped me reform my diet. I've a serious sweet tooth. With the good feelings from exercise (for me it's running, about 3x / 20 miles per week) I've been able to stop eating processed sugar between meals & I've cut down on desserts.

EDIT: One more thing - I'm weighing myself every Monday morning & keeping the results on a spreadsheet. It helps keep me focussed on the task of losing weight, and makes me feel great to see the line on the graph go down.

Good luck with it mate.

Lux23

Exercise is only about 10% of the battle, it is great for keeping you occupied but you really need to examine your diet and find where those empty calories are hiding. Before you do anything start keeping a food diary for a week or so and work out how many calories you're eating. Then have a look and see where you can cut back. I suspect you would a couple of stone by doing that alone and maybe when the weight loss slows down you can look at low carbing or something. Would you understand nutrition? For instance, would you know a couple of scrambled eggs are way better for you than a bowl of corn flakes?

Jawgap

Giana Millions Magnesium wrote: »

I need some input. I'm 34, happily married and have a lovely 4-month old son. ........

If it was me, I'd be focusing on this bit - what sports / activities would you like your son to participate in? And then I'd get involved in it now so when he comes for him to take up running, football, gaelic sports etc you're 'ready' to play with him and participate in the running of whatever team or club he joins......

.....that would be my long term, over-the-horizon goal.......

.....then I'd walk it back from there and think about interim goals etc, then short term goals then daily goals.....

pea be

For me, the motivation came from visit to doctors. I weighed 14.5 stones (in my head I was about 13 stone!). Shirts & clothes had become gradually tight, and I was more sedantry both at work & after work over the last fee years ..... Plus I was talking to the doctor about a  heart complaint just as I was turning 50.Anyhow I first counted calories (I wasn't too accurate as I often estimated weights and calories).When I saw how much I was eating (in my head I was just about eating the minimum I needed each day) it gave me a baseline I knew was away above what I needed to maintain, never mind loose weight.First few months I didn't change my diet, which is reasonably varied, doesn't have to much proceeded food and usually includes 5-a-day. I just ate smaller portions, and walked the dog twice per week (about half hour walk). My weight dropped a couple of pounds. I left weekends "free" to eat what I liked. I also kept daily totals for calories, and weighted myself twice per week ...just after getting out of bed - Monday morning and Saturday morning. I was now feeling ok with 2000 kcals per day rather than the 2500/2750 kcals that I started on.That spurred me on a bit, so for the next couple of months I cut out biscuits and sweets during the week (in my head I didn't really eat sweets ... But in reality I was eating 6 to 8 biscuits every day along with cups of tea, and at least 3 bars of chocolate plus a couple of packets of sweets per week!) Again I kept weekend free to eat what I wanted.This was bloody hard! I absolutely craved sweets, biscuits and chocolate and often didn't make it to the weekend (or the weekend stBut the recording kcals per day helped motivation, and even if I had a bad day, I would still aim for a good weekly average.This made the biggest difference, and I lost over stone over 6 months ...and felt as though I could happily live easily on that diet.Next step had been to cut the kcals down again during the week, and up the walking to 3 or 4 times a week. I've even started doing a fast (ish) day per week. Again, weekends are still free, but I am less inclined to gorge myself with sweet things.I've really noticed my appetite is a lot less, and I would now feel uncomfortably stuffed if I was eating 2000kcals per day. So in 10 months I have lost 1.5 stones without too much effort (excluding the sugar withdrawal months!), and I'm at a real 13 stone where i feel much more comfortable in myself. I'm on an eating pattern I feel I can easily sustain.So my aim is to maintain/get back to this weight shortly after Christmas. And longer term aim in the new year is to maintain this weight and get a bit fitter ... As in my head I'm still as fit as I was when I was 30 >;o)

Waestrel

OP, look into intemittent fasting. Simple google search will throw up numerous good articles. Do a 16/8 fast,will shed those pounds.

Galwayguy35

I was also very overweight until i was a teenager, I cut out chocolate and fizzy drinks and started walking every day.

It wasn't easy at first because when I was carrying so much weight I felt I didn't have the energy to walk but I started small and as the weight came off I was walking nearly 6 miles daily and 25 years later I feel better than ever.

Best of luck OP you have taken the first step in looking after your health.

evolving_doors

You like bread.. get a good bread maker, compare the ingredients, start to add nuts and seeds if you like. Make yer own sandwiches for lunch (thick as ya like). No matter what, aim to make yer own lunch every day. Don't go crazy recipes from the getgo, keep it simple first then start experimenting a little as you get used to the habit.

The fizzy drinks... get some miwadi and sparkling water, it's the same sensation/taste as fanta so it should trick yer mind.

yoppy

If it doesn't walk around, grow on a tree or in the ground stay away from it, when having your brekkie/dinner/tea, if it doesn't fit in a mug you're eating to much. If you give a mug sized portion with milk or water 5 minutes in the belly you won't be hungry.

Bring a tub of something....beans will do, around with ya, have a spoonful when hunger strikes. Couple of spoonfuls and glass of water will get rid of hunger pang.

You don't want to be starving, try and stay just the right side of I'm hungry. If it's bedtime and your starving, not ideal, have a few beans.

If you stick to that weight will just keep falling and falling.

Exercise - theirs really no need if it's just weightloss you're after but be no harm to tighter up, build a bit of muscle and get a bit fitter for the kid.

Do this set of vids, it's nice and varied, it's only 22 mins, it's not that demanding, all you need is dumbells and chin up bar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRyLrIcsIH8

You could have it and a quick shower done in a half hour! It's a 6 day a week programme, aim for 3 days week one then get stuck in week 2, you'll get to like it.



And actually diet wise, you can eat what you want (ideally no pure trash), if you have a hankering for a slice of batch and butter then have it, but if it doesn't fit in a mug (1 slice) then don't eat it.

It's all about the size of the amounts you take in.



If you want to lose the weight you will, if you don't you won't.



Start now and don't stop till you can hit your goal, it very hard to restart. And when you have it lost you can't go back doing what you're doing now. You're tubby for a reason.

Be very careful of even 1 pound going back on when you finish. 1 turns into 3 before you know it.

Find your balance and keep it.

D'Agger

Giana Millions Magnesium wrote: »

How do you manage in terms of lunch and business travel (if applicable)?

This is a big issue - work & travel can define your eating habits and it can be difficult to buck the current trend & start to consistently eat healthy. I'm lucky that my employer has a healthy canteen that allows me to eat porridge for breakfast & a big salad for lunch which I love.

Prior to working here - it was much more work, I had to get up earlier to prepare my porridge at home, I needed to stay on top of the shopping in order to make sure I had what I needed, when I needed it. I had to prepare lunch and if I was travelling, I had to get up stupidly early to prepare my lunch. The effort put in there was the difference between eating a homemade tuna salad with some brown pasta and eating a hot chicken wrap in the shop down the road.

It takes a big effort but you turn it into a routine of doing a shop, doing your meal prep & then you're good for most the week.

I highly recommend looking into a slow cooker - they're cheap, you can chuck something like a chilli or Bolognese together in 15mins and let it cook for the afternoon - your lunch is done for the week.

donaghs

ongarboy wrote: »

I'd suggest running. Yes, it takes a degree of discipline and motivation to exert yourself especially in winter when it's dark and cold but what I love about it is you start and finish the second you leave and arrive back at your front door with just a lovely hot shower to look forward to after. A gym can involve up to 30 minutes or more trekking to or from and togging out etc. You'd have a great 30 minute run workout completed by the time you found parking at the gym!

Secondly, the feel good endorphins that are produced cannot be over estimated enough. I always feel so much better after a run, even if it's just being pleased with yourself that you did it.

Finally, I find after a work out, the desire to binge or eat junk later that day never seems to be there.

I started off doing a lot of run, walk, run walk and out of breath but then I could see the length of time and distance running grew and grew with each additional run until I was able to comfortably run 10kms without stopping/walking. Admittedly, I was never overweight but I have in fact gotten leaner, lost about a stone and also the small bit of belly fat that was there disappeared. I still wouldn't have the greatest diet and definitely drink more than I should at weekends but the bit of exercise (running twice weekly) keeps my weight and figure at bay and it does give me a psychological mood boost as well which is perhaps the biggest plus for me!

I'd second this. I know some people say they hate running/jogging. But once you've gone out a few times regularly, a lot of people get hooked, makes you feel better generally, as well actually being fitter. Unlike other exercise where you have join up or buy equipment, all you need is running shoes (dont have to be expensive), a tshirt and a tracksuit pants or shorts. And you can walk out your door any time that suits you. The hardest thing is leaving the house.

But, I understand its not for everyone. But how about your commute? Is it possible to cycle it? That way you'd get daily exercise twice a day, and it wouldn't impinge on your schedule as you'd be commuting by other means at that time anyway. For someone starting out, a cycle-commute under 10k is do-able I think.

daithi7

-Drink more water with meals (helps regulate your appetite & keeps you hydrated)
-Eat more veg and greens instead of simple carbs I.e.bread, potatoes, chips, mash, pasta, rice, etc, etc
-Fruit (& nuts& seeds) instead of desserts/crisps/sweets/biscuits
-Eat lean protein rich foods (fish/chicken/lentils) and good fats e.g. olive oil, omega 3/6, etc, etc instead of saturated fats out of preference
-move a little more daily (ideally 25 mins of aerobic exercise every day or other day) e.g. swimming, running, cycling, dancing, etc, etc, etc
-stretch and breath every morning and night for a few minutes e.g. maybe every time you brush your teeth say
- enjoy your new body and energy levels, this will help you stay the course
-Good habits are as easy to get into as bad habits, getting them going for you is the real challenge

Good luck and if you discover any other unlikely helps, please let us know !! :-)

daithi7

-to reduce portion size, reduce the size of your plate, this works
-Also leave the pots & pans with cooked food in the kitchen, rather than on the dinner table, so you have to get up to get a second portion (it takes about 10 to 15 minutes to feel anyway full after eating)