That last half a stone

AnnieB82

Hi there,
I have been trying to shed that stubborn last half a stone of pregnancy weight for the past almost 8 months, but it just wont shift! I'm new to this whole weight loss thing as I was always naturally slim pre-pregnancy no matter how much I ate. I have completely given up chocolate, but I will eat at least one sugary treat a day (e.g. 2 rich tea biscuits if I'm particularly disciplined). I eat a large bowl of cereal with full fat milk for breakfast, usually a toasted sandwich ( use real butter and maybe salami and cheese for a filling) some fruit + youghurt for lunch, and a regular dinner e.g. spaghetti bolognese. I go for at least two long walks a week and also go to curves (2/3 times a week) and do 200 sit ups about 5 times a week.
Do you think my lack of weight loss is due to me using full fat products - as I'm sure you need some fat in your diet - right?
By the way I'm 5'6 and vary between 9 stone 2lb and 9 stone 4lb. I know technically this is not overweight, but I have a very slight frame and my normal weight is around 8 and a half stone. The extra half a stone is mainly on my belly! (small bit is on my breasts which can stay as far as I'm concerned )
Has anyone any tips for shedding that last bit of weight? Any change too drastic and I doubt I'll be able to stick to it.
Thank you!

sugark

Whilst I haven't had a baby, I did lose three stone a few years ago, and I promise you that the last 7 pounds is the very hardest. I think in your case, though, that a few changes would make all the difference.

Firstly, changing from full fat milk to skimmed milk and real butter to a low fat spread will seriously reduce the amount of saturated fat in your diet. Also, certain cheeses are very high in saturated fat so I would limit the amount of cheese that you're eating. Same goes with yogurts, find a low fat version you like. I wouldn't worry too much about not getting enough fat in your diet.

Something to also watch is your portion sizes - are you perhaps having the same size portions as your partner/husband? It's worth investing in a digital kitchen scales and weighing the amount of cereal, pasta, rice that your having. For example, if you pour cereal straight from the box into a large bowl, you could end up having twice the recommended amount (I would have about 30g of cereal as a normal portion. 60g of dried rice would also be considered a normal portion - and that's less than half of what you would get in a typical takeaway carton).

Another thing that really worked for me was varying the type of food I was having at different times of the day. I was in a routine of pretty much having the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day. I started having a more filling breakfast some mornings (bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese or French toast instead of my usual cereal), having a bigger lunch than my usual sandwich (leftovers from home or one of the Weight Watchers meals if stuck) and having a lighter dinner (stir-fry with chicken or prawns, lots and lots of veg with no rice or noodles). Varying things kick-started my metabolism and helped lose those last few pounds.

Hope that's of some help.

AnnieB82

Hi Sugark, thanks for that. Yeah I guess I need to make some changes alright. The not eating carbs for dinner I would find very hard but I'll start off getting some super milk and low fat youghurt. I also eat a HUGE bowl of cereal for breakfast, so I probably should reduce that too. Thanks again!

Khannie

cereal is garbage. Try some scrambled eggs and wholegrain brown toast, or porridge, or no added sugar museli (careful of portion sizes with museli).

Yes, you do need fat in your diet, but it's an easy way to rack up the calories of course.

I'd suggest trying to lower the carbs you take in...more sauce, less spaghetti for example.

Also, lots of veg, fruit, lean meat. Check the stickies both here and in the fitness forum. You'll find a wealth of information on healthy diet, calorie counting and weight loss in general.

AnnieB82

Hi Khannie, thanks - yes I'll read the stickies - just one question: I would find it really hard to give up my cereals, would poridge be any good instead, maybe with some banana?

sugark

I think some cereal are better than others. Take some time to read the labels and try to find ones that are higher in fibre and lower in salt and sugar. That said, I really believe variety in your diet will help boost your metabolism and lose that last half a stone.

So rather than banish cereals altogether, how about you have it only once or twice a week? Less of an upheaval than saying "I can't eat that". Have porridge two mornings a week, and maybe a toasted bagel with banana, or low-sugar jam, or (like I had this morning) a little bit of Xtra Light Philadelphia and smoked salmon. Another morning, just have lots of fruit and a piece of toast.

There are mini-frozen bagels that you can get in Super Valu (and non-frozen mini-ones from Dunnes) which I find really handy for the mornings (the normal size one are a bit much for me on weekday mornings, I'd have those maybe one morning on the weekend).

It is just a matter of breaking the habit of your usual routine and having the cupboards stocked so you have a few different options.

AnnieB82

yes, you're probably right, I'm probably freaking out as I've eaten cereal for as long as I can remember. I never knew variety was meant to be good for metabolism - I thought it could only be increased with exercise... Anyway I happen to love bagels too, so I think I'll give it a try. ( Along with adding bouncing on my mini trampoline to my exercise plan!)

By the way - fair play to you loosing 3 stone

Khannie

AnnieB82 wrote: »

I would find it really hard to give up my cereals, would poridge be any good instead, maybe with some banana?

Porridge is great gear for filling you up for very few calories. I find it a bit boring myself to be honest.

The problem with most cereals is that they're high gi, have added sugar, etc. and of course you're getting calories from the milk that you could be using for, say, an extra egg. When I'm trying to lose weight for a fight I'll generally try to avoid getting any calories from liquids.

As sugark points out; Don't kill yourself either. It's important to enjoy what you're eating. Because I find porridge boring, I tend to make american style pancakes out of oats and what not (rubadub showed me the light ). Have a search in here for the recipe. There are plenty of options for a tasty and healthy breakfast.

Good luck!