New to boards..looking for some advise?

Nocturne

Hi all,
I'm new to here and was wondering if anybody could help me out? I have a special occasion at the end of next month and was looking to lose some weight for it.

I have in the recent past stuck rigidly to a healthy eating plan. It lasted a month and a half, my meals consisted of lots of healthy veg (no starchy carbs- - potatoes wheat etc.) and lean meats. I ate no breads , no refined sugars my meals were cooked from scratch, with no salt added and when I wanted a snack I ate seeds and sometimes nuts in small amounts.

I felt fantastic on this diet and never more healthy my skin was glowing my hair was shiny but I barely lost any weight. My overall weight loss in the month and half was 4.5 lbs. I don't think I was overeating ( it's kinda hard to overeat on carrots and broccoli!!).

So my question is does anybody now where I was going wrong or can anybody point me in the right direction to lose weight this time round?

Im 22 5ft 2" , 10st 3lbs B.M I = 26. My recommended ideal weight is 8st 7lbs .

Id like to lose 10lbs before the event and I know this is pushing it...but I'm willing to try anything, be it a fad diet or not once it works???? Thanks

Melia

Nocturne wrote: »

I felt fantastic on this diet and never more healthy my skin was glowing my hair was shiny but I barely lost any weight. My overall weight loss in the month and half was 4.5 lbs. I don't think I was overeating ( it's kinda hard to overeat on carrots and broccoli!!).

I think this is a pretty good weight loss for a month and a half - you're not very overweight to begin with. I wouldn't recommend going on a fad diet just to drop ten pounds - you say yourself you felt fantastic on this diet, why not keep it up? It would be much healthier, and it's more likely to be a long-term loss. Maybe up the exercise a bit if you want to lose that bit more. Could you post a detailed food diary for a day?

brainyneuron

Hey Nocturne, just wondering, did u do any exercise in that 6 weeks? I know that my weight loss definitely slows when I'm not exercising. Try and go for at least 20-30mins walk a day (or if thats too much 3-4 times a week). How much water are u drinking? Try for 1.5-2 litres. Also you didn't mention fruit, are you eating any? Nuts are v high in fats/calories so don't eat every day, small amounts are fine but fruit is better for you!
Could you post a typical day of eating-breakfast, lunch, dinner etc...would be easier for me and other posters to comment then (I'm not an expert, am interested in nutrition but only amaterly Have lost 3 stone 5 myself in the last year and a bit-has taken a long time to come off but its definitely staying off this time!) Don't be depressed by slow weight loss, even if u lose half a pound a week, its still a loss. You say your BMI is 26, thats only 1 away from being a normal weight so I guess it'll take more work to lose it. Try not to worry (easier said than done I know!)

Edit: P.S. Sorry some of this has already been said by Melia-I was typing at the time when she posted and didn't see her post till afterwards!

Nocturne

Thanks for the reply. Do you mean a diary for now or when I was on the diet?

Melia

I suppose a day of the plan you're going to be following?

If there's a gym near you, you could join a step class or spinning or something. I just started doing fitness classes recently and it puts me in such a good mood. I'm also more likely to stick to my healthy eating for that day because I don't want to negate my efforts in the gym!

brainyneuron

Nocturne wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. Do you mean a diary for now or when I was on the diet?

Both I guess!
Don't think of it as a diet this time though, this of it as a healthy eating plan for life, that way you will stick to it and not give up after a few weeks (worked for me!)
A healthy BMI for your height is between 8 stone and 9 stone 10 so you don't need to go all the way down to 8 stone 7. Give yourself small goals to reach to start off with so it doesn't seem so impossible (like if you're 10 stone 3 now give yourself a mini goal of reaching 10 stone in 2 or 3 weeks, after that try 9 stone 10 to get to normal BMI)

Nocturne

Thanks for the replies guys. This is what I would usually eat if trying to eat healthy. I wouldn't have the Weetabix all the time ( I dont really like them ) I might have maybe some grilled tomato and an egg instead.

Breakfast
2 Weetabix and skimmed milk
Lunch
Ham or Turkey sliced with plain mixed Salad
Low calorie cuppa soup
Snack
2 tablespoons of sunflower seeds
Piece of fruit
Dinner
Bolognese loadsa vegetables - no spaghetti. /Stew no potatoes etc

Just to answer your last questions, no I didn't exercise much, maybe only once a week..I'm not really into it to be honest. I know it would help but I just cant get myself motivated with exercise whereas I can with diet. Id love to join a gym or go to classes but money it tight right now, as it is with everyone.

I know your saying that I shouldn't try lose to much to quickly, but I would really like to get it down for this event that I'm going to.

Melia I see you have lost a lot of weight..well done! And to be honest brainy neuron 9st 10lb would be great for me. I haven't seen that weight in three years.

Melia

I lost a lot of weight in the first ten months or so, but started plateauing a few months ago - I'd go six weeks without losing weight, or losing very little. The only thing that started the weight shifting again was when I started exercising properly. I always did a lot of walking, but I started going to classes in the gym and using an exercise bike. I really do think it's essential, particularly when you don't have loads to lose. I was the same as you - couldn't really be bothered. But it puts me on such a high afterwards, it's great. It really is worth it - try it for just a week or two and see how it goes. There are lots of ways you can exercise without spending loads of money - you could go walking, cycling, try running, get an exercise DVD to do at home... I'm sure people will have other suggestions too.

As far as your diet goes, it looks okay but depending on the portion sizes, you could possibly do with eating a bit more - I'd be pretty hungry on that. I don't think that could add up to more than 1000 calories.

Half my posts seem to be about how great eggs are but - you can't beat eggs for breakfast. They fill you up for ages. Porridge is good too. If you make soup at home and bring it with you it'll be more filling and nutritious than a cup a soup. If you do it once a week you can put portions in the fridge/freezer to do you until next time.

If you go on a fad diet you'll possibly damage your health, you're unlikely to stick to it and the weight will come back once you stop. If you eat healthily and exercise you could lose up to half a stone in the month you have - which is pretty close to your ten pound goal - and it's more sustainable.

Iristxo

Nocturne wrote: »

Hi all,
I'm new to here and was wondering if anybody could help me out? I have a special occasion at the end of next month and was looking to lose some weight for it.

I have in the recent past stuck rigidly to a healthy eating plan. It lasted a month and a half, my meals consisted of lots of healthy veg (no starchy carbs- - potatoes wheat etc.) and lean meats. I ate no breads , no refined sugars my meals were cooked from scratch, with no salt added and when I wanted a snack I ate seeds and sometimes nuts in small amounts.

I felt fantastic on this diet and never more healthy my skin was glowing my hair was shiny but I barely lost any weight. My overall weight loss in the month and half was 4.5 lbs. I don't think I was overeating ( it's kinda hard to overeat on carrots and broccoli!!).

So my question is does anybody now where I was going wrong or can anybody point me in the right direction to lose weight this time round?

Im 22 5ft 2" , 10st 3lbs B.M I = 26. My recommended ideal weight is 8st 7lbs .

Id like to lose 10lbs before the event and I know this is pushing it...but I'm willing to try anything, be it a fad diet or not once it works???? Thanks

Your diet seems healthy enough for someone looking to stay healthy in the long-term. Just one word of caution: all meat and dairy products have a lot of bad-fats and enormous amounts of toxins unless you buy organic. The fat is bad for you and the toxins absolutely horrendous. Think of you ingesting the growth hormones they give to the cow to make it grow 5 times faster than it normally would.

Also perhaps look into the concept of food combination, that helps a lot as well.

Regarding weight loss, I can't help you. But from personal experience I can tell you that if you follow an 80% reasonably healthy diet that excludes more meats and dairy products even if 20% of your diet is not so healthy you will achieve permanent ideal weight and incredible health benefits.

neuro-praxis

If you lost 4.5lbs every 6 weeks, in 6 months time you'd have lost another 18lbs! That's really good going.

Don't do the fad diet thing...honestly. You'll lose a load of weight and regain it very quickly, and some, leaving you feeling worse than you do now.

Go for a brisk walk 4 times a week and continue to stuff yourself with fresh fruit and veg. Get a bit of protein at every meal and keep your portion of unrefined carboyhdrates small. Watch your alcohol intake too. You will definitely get there.

Nocturne

Thanks everyone for your advice. Im gonna try keep to my diet and start doing a little exercise, I'll post to say what how i did.

Nocturne

Hi, so just in case anybody interested. I'm now down to 9st 10lb...from 10st 3lbs..total loss of 7lbs. I did it by calorie counting not more than a 1100 calories a day. I filled up on veg, didn't eat any bread and exercise lightly for bout 2 times a week. oh.. and i drank a lot of coffee!

I also calorie cycled, maybe 800-900 calories one day and 1000-1100 the next. On the lower calorie days I ate lots if fruit and veg to fill me up and on the other day, i had my treats ( curlywurlys 115kcal!!) and sugar in my tea stuff like that but kept it under 1100.

Ive kinda fallen of the wagon this week but Ill be starting again afresh in another week so hopefully ill lose another 7lbs. The only bummer is that I can't feel any weight loss in my clothes. Think my tummy got a little flatter..maybe. Anyway, Im gona keep trying and updating along the way. Hopefully ill be bikini fit by the summer!

:rolleyes::o

banquet

Iristxo wrote: »

Your diet seems healthy enough for someone looking to stay healthy in the long-term. Just one word of caution: all meat and dairy products have a lot of bad-fats and enormous amounts of toxins unless you buy organic. The fat is bad for you and the toxins absolutely horrendous. Think of you ingesting the growth hormones they give to the cow to make it grow 5 times faster than it normally would. .

Maybe I'm wrong but i thought growth hormones for animals were banned under EU law?

Nocturne

Ye I thought so too.. I just decided to ignore that part of the post. I also disagreed with the saturated fat idea.If you look into it, the link between coronary heart disease and saturated fatty acids began in America in the 40's or 50's, cant rem exactly but the research never really showed conclusively that there was a link. But it began to become common place for the doctors to warn against it just in case and the AHA to campaign to spread the word.
Needless to say the AHA made quite a bit of money for research into the supposed link....

I just don't buy it, sure there's whole populations of people ( inuit) that exclusively on high protein high fat low carb diets and are perfectly fine if not way more healthy then those that live on cheap grain.

Khannie

Congrats on the weight loss.

Nocturne wrote: »

not more than a 1100 calories a day

That sounds very low. Potentially low enough to actually be counter-productive. Just be careful.

Nocturne wrote: »

I filled up on veg, didn't eat any bread and exercise lightly for bout 2 times a week. oh.. and i drank a lot of coffee!

Filling up on veg is brilliant. I would suggest trying to exercise a bit more and eat a bit more. I have always had the best success with fat loss when I keep the calorie deficit the same, but total calories are higher. I'll use numbers for example.....

Let's say I burn 2200 calories a day with no exercise, well, if I want to produce a 1000 calorie deficit (about 150g of fat loss) I'd need to eat only 1200 calories. Personally I'd find that very difficult. Actually, I think (for me) that would be impossible to maintain for any longer than a week or so.

But...if I exercise on that day, say 800 calories worth, I could eat 2000 calories but lose the same amount of fat (possibly more fat as a total amount of the weight lost).

It's just an example, but you get what I mean.

banquet

Nocturne wrote: »

Ye I thought so too.. I just decided to ignore that part of the post. I also disagreed with the saturated fat idea.If you look into it, the link between coronary heart disease and saturated fatty acids began in America in the 40's or 50's, cant rem exactly but the research never really showed conclusively that there was a link. But it began to become common place for the doctors to warn against it just in case and the AHA to campaign to spread the word.
Needless to say the AHA made quite a bit of money for research into the supposed link....

I just don't buy it, sure there's whole populations of people ( inuit) that exclusively on high protein high fat low carb diets and are perfectly fine if not way more healthy then those that live on cheap grain.

Yeah i'm actually reading about it atm. The books called The Diet Delusion. Its basically saying that this vendetta about fat is built upon a very shaky foundation and that it split the scientific community in America. Fair play on the weight loss btw.