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100lb to loose - how to even begin
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10-04-2013 12:44PM#1Hi all,
I have been reading the threads here looking for difinitive advice and am still at a bit of a crisis.
I am nearly 17 stone - yep - its official well 16. 7, 8 9 or 10 depending on the weather. I have never in my 40 years ever cared or worried about what i was eating and have no idea where to start. 10 years ago a friend introducedme to slimming pills and i lost 5 stone - they took them off the market then because they worked!
I did need the help but since then I have since put that 5 back on with another one a a half for good measure.
I commute to work - 2 1/2 hours a day: have an office job where i sit for 8 hours without moving :eek: then go home have dinner and sit on the couch for another 3 hours reading or gaming on my laptop.
I have just spent 3 weeks on the atkins diet and whilst a major meat eater am sick of the thoughts of atkins - i lost 9lbs and since the weekend have put back on 2 or 3 again depending on the weather.
other half is type 2 diabetic - i am obviously heading in the direction and waiting fro the call. I have bought numerous books, p holford, eva whats her name blah blah blah ....... I tried slimming world but had to give it up as it did not fit in with family life as it meant getting home a couple of hours later every week.
I read on these forums how easy it is for those of us who are obese to loose weight - maybe i am misisng that gene but I can't see it. Yes - I ate myself into this state and will kill myself if i don't change my habit of a life time.
I went to my GP back in November and begged him for advice and help and he told me to join WW. I explained the last time i joined i joined with a friend and became really competitive - he says competitive is good. But all i ate was mushrooms and tomatoes for 12 weeks and starved the rest of the time to beat my friend!
In the mornings I grab a black coffee on the drive in, then get into work and have another black coffee, i tried porridge but need a bowl of it as opposed to 35g, I tried peanut butter and banana on a bagel, tried boiled eggs - the thing is - i need to be told exactly what I can eat because I cannot open a box of special k red berries without eating the whole thing - i find it really addictive.
If i eat breakfast at 7:30 am by 10 I am starving and try not to eat anything and have another cup of black coffee. I have lunch at about 12:30 a wrap, goats cheese salad, noodles - leftovers from the night before, not sandwiches - dont like eating them. Then i leave work and half an hour in to the drive stop off and get a packet of crisps and a bag of jellies - tried bringing an apple and it stopped me stopping and have not stopped off for a while. but by the time i get home i am starving and have an hour and a half before dinner is put on the table. while i am making dinner I probably eat a dinner as i am so hungry.
can you help me and suggest food that is low carb - i tend to be fuller on a high protein diet i think.
Breakfasts:
snack suggestions
lunch suggestions
and how to fill the gap between 12:30 & dinner at 6.
I cook everything from scratch and up to recently had been drinking a couple of nights a week which has stopped
I know for some people its easy - knowledge is power - when you know the answer life is easy. But when you have so many different books and all the research floating about its hard for someone to know where to start.
Any advice would be appreciated and i have a very thick skin so fire away0
Comments
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For a start, small steps. It seems like you're trying to change your entire life in a day, and it doesn't work like that. You should choose to see this as a lifestyle change, not a diet. Preparation is key.lazeedaisy wrote: »i lost 9lbs and since the weekend have put back on 2 or 3 again depending on the weather.
Put the scales away. You don't need them yet, and you shouldn't weigh yourself more than once a week at the very most. Weights, especially womens, fluctuate on an hour-by-hour basis, and you'll drive yourself demented looking at it.lazeedaisy wrote: »
I went to my GP back in November and begged him for advice and help and he told me to join WW. I explained the last time i joined i joined with a friend and became really competitive - he says competitive is good. But all i ate was mushrooms and tomatoes for 12 weeks and starved the rest of the time to beat my friend!
Using competition as motivation can be great, but set yourself a fitness goal as opposed to a weightloss goal. Aim to walk 3km by the end of the month, for example. Do this with your friend.lazeedaisy wrote: »
In the mornings I grab a black coffee on the drive in, then get into work and have another black coffee, i tried porridge but need a bowl of it as opposed to 35g, I tried peanut butter and banana on a bagel, tried boiled eggs - the thing is - i need to be told exactly what I can eat because I cannot open a box of special k red berries without eating the whole thing - i find it really addictive.
For 1 week, have porridge instead of your usual breakfast. Special K is not the best for a healthy lifestyle. A bowl of porridge should be about 35 or 40g, and should be more than enough to fill you and keep you going till lunch time. Use milk, or water, or a mixture. Add seeds, or berries or yoghurt for flavour. Mix it up every day. This can be your first change. 1 whole week. 7 days. Just 7 meals. That's not a lifetime, right? If you're hungry, then have a cup of tea or drink water.lazeedaisy wrote: »Then i leave work and half an hour in to the drive stop off and get a packet of crisps and a bag of jellies - tried bringing an apple and it stopped me stopping and have not stopped off for a while. but by the time i get home i am starving and have an hour and a half before dinner is put on the table. while i am making dinner I probably eat a dinner as i am so hungry.
:eek: A bag of jellies?! Every day?! Why are you waiting so long to have dinner when you get home? You're after getting into the habit of eating in the car. It sounds like it's not the food your mind wants, but the completion of the habit. Have a snack ready for when you get home - some unsalted nuts, some boiled eggs, some carrot sticks.lazeedaisy wrote: »I cook everything from scratch and up to recently had been drinking a couple of nights a week which has stopped
It's great that the frequency of drinking has stopped - see, you can do it! Set small goals - don't aim to lose 100lbs, but aim to lose 10lbs by the end of April, for example. You'll get a great buzz from meeting that goal. Small goals make it easier. On a Sunday night, write down what you want to achieve for that week e.g. "I choose not to eat sweets in the car". Then you can tick it when you have completed a week of this.
Have a read of the Nutrition 101 thread, there's loads of nutritional tips there regarding how to go low carb. Join a food tracking site like MyFitnessPal, and keep track of EVERYTHING that you eat. Get rid of all the junkfood in your house and car.
Do you think you could prepare a meal plan for a week? Porridge and raspberries for breakfast, chicken with a mixed leave salad for lunch, chilli with turkey mince for dinner, apples and nuts for snacks. This is just an idea, but hopefully it should give you an idea.0 -
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lazeedaisy wrote: »Hi all,
10 years ago a friend introducedme to slimming pills and i lost 5 stone - they took them off the market then because they worked! I did need the help but since then I have since put that 5 back on with another one a a half for good measure.
Avoid slimming pills - there a quick fix and where taking off the market for a reason. You put the weight back on right? so they obviously weren't that great :rolleyes:then go home have dinner and sit on the couch for another 3 hours reading or gaming on my laptop.
Use one out of your free 3 hours to do some exercise - gym, fitness class, walk, run etc, and use some of the time to food prep.I read on these forums how easy it is for those of us who are obese to loose weight - maybe i am misisng that gene but I can't see it. Yes - I ate myself into this state and will kill myself if i don't change my habit of a life time.
Losing weight isn't easy. It requires hard work, dedication & commitment no matter what size you are. It just comes off quicker if you are a good bit over weight but it doesn't make it any easier.I went to my GP back in November and begged him for advice and help and he told me to join WW. I explained the last time i joined i joined with a friend and became really competitive - he says competitive is good. But all i ate was mushrooms and tomatoes for 12 weeks and starved the rest of the time to beat my friend!
Lose weight for yourself , not for anyone else. Work at a pase that suits you, and do a diet that suits and will work for YOU.
In the mornings I grab a black coffee on the drive in, then get into work and have another black coffee, i tried porridge but need a bowl of it as opposed to 35g, I tried peanut butter and banana on a bagel, tried boiled eggs - the thing is - i need to be told exactly what I can eat because I cannot open a box of special k red berries without eating the whole thing - i find it really addictive.
Nothing wrong with having black coffee, I think One cup in the mornings is enough though. Try having green tea for a hot drink.
You don't need a bowl of porridge, you just think you need a bowl. 30-40g is plenty to be eating.
Try adding fruit or nuts to make it more filling but I think in your case you should have a protein based breakfast (more filling and will keep you full for longer).
Have eggs - omelet ( make with loads of veg & some ham/chicken maybe), eggs scrambled, poached, boiled. Loads you can do with eggs.
Avoid all cereals - laced with sugars and salts and won't fill you.If i eat breakfast at 7:30 am by 10 I am starving and try not to eat anything and have another cup of black coffee. I have lunch at about 12:30 a wrap, goats cheese salad, noodles - leftovers from the night before, not sandwiches - dont like eating them. Then i leave work and half an hour in to the drive stop off and get a packet of crisps and a bag of jellies - tried bringing an apple and it stopped me stopping and have not stopped off for a while. but by the time i get home i am starving and have an hour and a half before dinner is put on the table. while i am making dinner I probably eat a dinner as i am so hungry.
If you eat a more nutritious filling breakfast you most likely won't be hungry by 10am.
Drink plenty of water in between this time.
If you are hungry snack on a chicken cooked chicken breast, tin of tuna, some salmon, hand full of berries, or yogurt or a hot drink (green tea).
For lunch stick with salad or stir fry. A lot of people think and assume salad is boring and not filling. If you add the right stuff to it I can bet you will feel full and satisfied after it.
Add protein (fish or meat) plenty of veggies & salads(broccoli, carrots, spinach, kale, sweet potato, tomato's, onions, - the list goes on) if you add enough of the right stuff you won't need any breads etc.
Be careful of portion sizes but personally I think a sh*t loads of veg and chicken is a lot better then having a wrap, bread etc.
Motivate yourself to stop stopping at the shop on the way home. You don't need to. don't bring money into work with you to avoid this. Make a hot drink before you leave & have some berries, tuna, some carrots etc to hand to snack on.can you help me and suggest food that is low carb - i tend to be fuller on a high protein diet i think.
Breakfasts:
snack suggestions
lunch suggestions
breakfast - Eggs and/or meat. Poridge.
Lunch - salad (veg/salads & meat or fish) or Stir fry.
Dinner - Again meat Fish & plenty of salad.
Snack - Berries, tin of tuna, smoked salmon, homemade veg soup, nuts, Greek yogurt.
have a decent lunch, plenty of water and a light snack.and how to fill the gap between 12:30 & dinner at 6.
Hope what I have written will help in some way.
Some people on here might have better advise, I'm only giving my advise based on a healthy clean diet - I think it's the best approach.
If you cut out processed foods, sugars and eat clean, get regular exercise you will see results and it will be permanent results. if you don't buy crap you won't eat it. Write out a shopping list each week and get only what's on that list keep track of how much you are eating and what you are eating and how much calories you are eating daily (my on line fitness pal is a great site for this).
Aim to make a life change and not to diet. Don't rush it take it bit by bit.0 -
Hi Guys,
Thanks for the responses.
I have not had any sugar in a month - so thats a small step. We don't eat processed food at home - another step. Believe it or not - I am a hard taskmaster when it comes to managing the families food and when DH was on a diet i managed every bite he ate - i just find it harder to do it for me.
I love the idea of starting small!
why did i not think of that - thank you very much for the recommendations. D'oh
Eating in the car was just a habit - boredome for the hour and a half drive, something to keep me company. but now its Tony Fenton.
I was getting so stressed about food the past 2 weeks - and people are so cruel also, i get shouted at in the street for being so fat. I presume people just dont understand there are reasons for being fat - and for my wie
I live in a very rural area, and there are lovely fields and forests surrounding me. Gym culture is so not part of it yet - sure we are still waiting for broadband!
I read the nutrition 101 and even read some of the very interesting papers on it and will continue to keep an ey on it.
I have started on the porridge for breakfast (i have a scoop i use when making DH his breakfast of porridge, naturally
and it fits 38g so thats a perfect amount).
In my head i want the weight gone almost overnight and since the weight did not go on overnight its gonna take a little longer - only slightly.
I am in this for the long haul, my health needs to be the best it can be and for that i need to put in the effort.
I brought my runners (yes i own a pair - had to shake off the cobwebs and dust) into work. I do get an hour lunch break - just out of habit eat my lunch at my desk. so in 15 minutes I am taking off with my new app Couch to 5k and the determination to stay out for at least 15 minutes - sounds like a very short time - but its a small step.
My two new apps: myfitnesspal and couch to 5K have been downloaded,
Genuinely - I appreciate your guidance as its hard to step out of your comfort zone and make changes0 -
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First and foremost, please understand that what lies ahead of you is a full lifestyle change, not a diet. Back in 2007, I went from 23 stones to about 15 over the span of 10 months, so I kind of know what I'm talking about.
Ditch the DIY approach; A dietitian laying down a tailor-made nutrition plan suiting your tastes, constraints and physical needs will make a world of difference;If you hate yoghourt, for example, a dietitian will be able to recommend a substitute, nutritionally equivalent food you will eat a bit more willingly; If your basic metabolism is slightly slower or slightly faster than average, he/she can adjust the plan accordingly and so on.
Do not listen to anybody that suggests fad diets such as low carbs/low fat and whatnot; They might work on the short term for a professional bodybuilder looking to tighten up for a competition, they never do for effectvie weight loss. As a matter of fact, these diets can lead to very nasty fits of chemical hunger (e.g. the "rabbit starvation") that are impossible to resist and would cause you to actually gain weight in the long run.
Spend a bit of cash to see a dietitian and it will be some of the best money you ever spent for yourself. Also, the fact that you'll have regular checks with him/her will keep you motivated.
I don't know how much this is valid for you with your long commute, but classic "Irish" early dinner times (18.30 or so) are an issue too; You'll end up snacking and pecking between dinner and bedtime.
Of course, you need to introduce regular exercise in your routine. I won't sugar coat it, it will be very though. My advice, once again, is to avoid the "do it yourself" approach; The idea of going for walks or runs in the fields seems attractive, but would only work if you already were a very active person, who enjoys that kind of workout and longs all day for it. Otherwise, there will always be a reason not to go - one day it's too cold, then too warm, then it's raining (we're in Ireland, afterall...), then you're too tired, it's too dark and on and on and on.
Join a gym, and do so not where you live, but where you work; This way you can go immediately after work and before going home; Much harder to make any excuses this way, and much more difficult to succumb to the "cozy factor" (that incredibly attractive feeling of "not going anywhere now" that creeps onto anybody as soon as they enter home after work). It gets too late for your long commute? I'm afraid that's part of the aforementioned lifestyle changes.
Seek a gym that offers trainer assistance to its members (almost all do); A trainer will customize your exercise plan to your specific needs and capabilities.
Do not join any class straight away, it's one of the most common mistakes beginners do: chances are, you won't be able to keep up with the rest of the participants, feel uncomfortable and quit soon enough. Walking 45 minutes on a treadmill might be boring, but will allow you to exercise at a pace you can sustain - and build the stamina to actually join that class you like in a couple of months.
Last but not least, set realistic goals for yourself - as you progress along your weight loss, you'll discover exactly what kind of build you have and what you can aim to. As an example, after being severely overweight for the first 27 years of my life, I found out that my very basic build is quite thick - think rugby player - therefore, I will never be thin in the classic conception of it (even now, I wear XL or XXL sizes).
Good luck
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Hi All,
I genuinely appreciate the replies -
I have not been on because you have all motivated me so much that:
1. I am taking baby steps - this is a health for life not a quick fix
It is too early in my plan to see what works: but i am trying the following and it seems to be working so far - but - very early days:
porridge for breakfast
a snack 4 hours later of 150 calories - with protein: i.e. today was a boiled egg and oat cakes x 2
2 1/2 hours later: lunch ; a half a wholemeal wrap with fresh veggies (which i am finding i love) and a large spoon of cottage cheese - first taste gagged - now i quite like it! :eek:
on the way home in the car an apple
when i get home 2 1/2 hours after lunch - a large glass of water and then as above - I find having food kinda prepped - it makes my eating habits non existant - now this is only the first week, I am taking it hour by hour
I am drinking green tea with lemon also,
Dinner is light - heavy on veg and protein and light on carbs ; yesterday was an omelette with a salad of fresh veg.
Now I don't claim to know it all - but the regular meals in the day helps me a lot - I could not do just breakfast and lunch - i eat breakfast at an ungoldy hour and still take lunch about one! now I have moved lunch to two, and it works for me - SO FAR
I am taking all your advice - I appreciate the time you have given me to advise me
Before it felt too restrictive - you can only eat 3 meals a day ...... they all have to be lettuce but with all the advice i got here I am on my way.
Again - since it is early days - I have realised my lifestyle contributes to my weight and I am in the process of working through six month personal goals - be they silly - like buying a kite and flying it when i can for 15 minutes or serious - like convincing hubby to turn off TV, Laptops and all other devices for one night :eek: is small steps to reclaiming my passion for life,
I have not lost the weight overnight - nor will I - but thanks to the comment below: it has somehow stuck in my gut and just won't go away.
Jenizzle: For a start, small steps. It seems like you're trying to change your entire life in a day, and it doesn't work like that. You should choose to see this as a lifestyle change, not a diet. Preparation is key.
For a start, small steps. It seems like you're trying to change your entire life in a day, and it doesn't work like that. You should choose to see this as a lifestyle change, not a diet. Preparation is key.0 -
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lazeedaisy wrote: »I have not lost the weight overnight - nor will I - but thanks to the comment below: it has somehow stuck in my gut and just won't go away.
Glad I could help! I could do with taking some of my own advice sometimes :pac: Well done on your progress so far, and congratulate yourself on going one more day living more healthily 0
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