Morbidly Obese and Mortified.

Wesser

I would recommend slimming world . They really coach you from week to week with good advice and solid dietary advice and support. I do not think that once off advice from A stranger on the internet compares.

Seth Brundle

sammysnail016 wrote: »

do you know the name of the programme?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2016/37/obesity-the-post-mortem

Dial Hard

readytosnap wrote:

Just thought I would mention, I HATE drinking water, I could gladly drink 6 pints of Guinness but 1 pint of water eeeuuurrgghhh, the other half drinks loads of water, I really need to flavour my water but then I guess that is defeating the purpose.

Try drinking sparkling water instead. I hate the mouthfeel of still water but drink sparkling by the bucketful.

sammysnail016

Wesser wrote: »

I would recommend slimming world . They really coach you from week to week with good advice and solid dietary advice and support. I do not think that once off advice from A stranger on the internet compares.

I actually joined it before and stuck to it for a week, I wouldn't mind that as I easily give up! It's actually on my way home every Thursday so I might look into joining. Have heard great success stories from there

bee06

OP, since you have PCOS you should start reducing your sugar intake as much as possible. Instead of white bread, pasta etc change to wholewheat.

Spanish Eyes

Dial Hard wrote: »

Try drinking sparkling water instead. I hate the mouthfeel of still water but drink sparkling by the bucketful.

I also love fizzy water, but I had to cut down, it can contain a humungous amount of sodium (salt).

But I still have two 500ml bottles a day. That's half of my usual consumption! The rest is tap water from a glass jug in the fridge. So cold and refreshing.

Only have a cup of tea in the morning, and it's water really after that..

_Brian

sammysnail016 wrote: »

Thanks Brian, have the app downloaded. Do you use it? How do I calculate calories? Finding it tricky - do you need to weigh everything?

In the beginning you might need to weigh stuff but quickly you'll have a set of foods that your familiar with.

I used it last year to drop 8kg and have kept rock solid at my target weight as the app taught me which foods were killing my intake and which I could have more freely. For me one carb free meal a day worked a treat, I have a large salad with some cheese and nuts added for lunch at work every day. Weekends I have scrambled eggs no toast as my carb free meal.
Exercise wise I didn't really change much, I do walk a good bit anyway, lunchtimes, evenings and weekends as like yourself I have an awful sedentary job.

You mentioned water, I add the jiff lemon juice for cooking to mine, or just sugar free diluting juice, I rarely drink straight water. Aldi do have a reasonable carbonated water, six bottles for less than €2, 375ml I think, I like them, drink them on alcohol free nights.

Terrontress

I lost a lot of weight through running. I saw people doing the Parkrun and decided I wanted to be one of them. I then did the c25k programme off the NHS website with the aim of joining the Parkrun. I'm now about to do my 70th this coming weekend, and have made several friends through it.

You'll never be first or be last at your parkrun, but when you run 5k non stop, cross that line, and stand as an equal of all the other runners, you will feel like Mo Farah.

anewme

sammysnail016 wrote: »

I actually joined it before and stuck to it for a week, I wouldn't mind that as I easily give up! It's actually on my way home every Thursday so I might look into joining. Have heard great success stories from there

sammysnail016 wrote: »

Finding it grand but today I came to work and stopped for a sausage sandwich, my thoughts were like "oh f**k it" I give 0% will power and my heart isn't in it and then in another sentence I really want to lose it and get healthy.

Its a constant battle

Ok I am going to be harsh here. Call it tough love. The only person who can change this is you. If you want to lose the weight seriously and not just moan about it time and time again, you need to get the willpower from somewhere. You either want to genuinely lose weight, or you want to eat sausage sandwiches.

Im annoyed with myself at the minute - I've put up over a stone and a half through bad eating and drinking too much wine and generally being a lazy sod. So, I've set myself a challenge, I don't want to be carrying this weight, so I am going to lose it. It will be hard, it will mean giving up drink (no harm anyway) and any type of crap for the short-medium term and it will mean going to exercise class when Im wrecked after a long days work. But I will do it. Theres no question about it. I will post back here in 6 -8 weeks and say the weight is gone. That's how much I believe I can do it and how much I want to do it.

Ive lost weight in the past when I was determined and I've tried to lose weight and was a bit "meh" half assed. Only when your head is 100% in the game will it work for you. Only you can answer if you want it more than you want the sausage sandwich and no amount of support on here will help you.

Dtp1979

Wesser wrote: »

I would recommend slimming world . They really coach you from week to week with good advice and solid dietary advice and support. I do not think that once off advice from A stranger on the internet compares.

Yeah, You'd probably learn more about nutrition on here

Hopeful2016

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Yeah, You'd probably learn more about nutrition on here

A class like SW might be very helpful for the op as it's clear she struggles with willpower and motivation even if you don't rate their nutritional advice. Tho a lot of what they advocate is fruit, veg, protein and portion control so I'm not sure what's wrong with that. The support of the group, the regular weigh ins and the general structure of following a plan (any plan is preferable to making decisions such as sausage sandwiches on a whim) might be the start the op needs as long as she commits to it for at least the medium term and gives it a chance.

There will also likely be people there who have lost considerable amounts of weight, who may have started at 17 or more stone and this would surely be an eye opener for the op. If others can do it, so can she. There is nothing stopping her but herself.

Random strangers on the internet are not going to keep her motivated during the tough weeks when you are losing slowly or plateau while a group face to face environment might.

eviltwin

I'd be wary of any plan that allows you unlimited rice but tells you one slice of bread is a problem. It's not a long term solution. They are there to make a profit, nothing else.

anewme

eviltwin wrote: »

I'd be wary of any plan that allows you unlimited rice but tells you one slice of bread is a problem. It's not a long term solution. They are there to make a profit, nothing else.

I did Slimming World before and would not do it again - I feel I've outgrown it nutritionally if that makes sense. However, for someone like the OP, who has a fair bit of weight to lose and needs the group motivation and routine of weigh ins, it certainly has its place and I would not discount it, especially for someone starting out.

Hopeful2016

eviltwin wrote: »

I'd be wary of any plan that allows you unlimited rice but tells you one slice of bread is a problem. It's not a long term solution. They are there to make a profit, nothing else.

Yeah, that's where you need cop on. Portion control is vital for long term success regardless of what plan or diet you're on. And to be fair they stipulate that 1/3 of your plate must be fruit/veg so if you were to eat unlimited rice then you'd have to match it with veg.

It's better than the op's current situation and we're here to offer her advice, not nitpick because you don't agree. It's up to the op to make the decision of what route she wants to go.

Alf Veedersane

While I agree there are a lot of flaws in the advice from many SW amd WW places, the OP could potentially benefit from the good elements such as the accountability and group support.

There's nothing stopping anyone learning more about nutrition outside of them and applying some critical thinking to the advice given at meetings or in the group literature.

Dial Hard

Spanish Eyes wrote:

I also love fizzy water, but I had to cut down, it can contain a humungous amount of sodium (salt).

I don't know what water you were drinking but mine contains 12.8mg of sodium per litre. That works out at 0.03g of salt per litre. Not something I consider to be an issue.

learn_more

OP, this thread may be a duplicate of another of your threads , but it's a duplicate of many threads by many other posters, with the same problem, looking for advice.

Look, your in at least a good starting position that at least you accept you have a problem. Sometimes I look around me in the supermarket and I think that some couldn't care less about their health.

There came a time in my life I wanted to gain muscle and loose fat. I got into that late life and I am did quite well. In fact I complelty changed my physique, over a number of 2 to 3 years.

If there was one thing I can attribute that success to it is education. Education about what exactly is in the food that I eat. And that means that I know , when I buy something to eat, I know EXACTLY, what's in it.

That just took simple research on the internet. If you don't understand what food macros are ie the basic components of food, the percentage of fat/protein/carbs, of any foodstuff, then I can't see how one could manage their daily calories if your not fully aware of what that means.

That means in practice, if I pick up a bag of nuts, that I know whether it is full of protein, or no protein. Whether they are 100% carbs , or no carbs whatsoever. Whether they are high in calories, or few calories. And to be able to say that for every single thing I eat or drink, whether it's cheese, pasta, chips, broccilli, fish, and so on, that I know generally what they are made up of, and why it matters.

It does take some time to learn these things but it's doesn't take that long and it's not hard. It's just basic nutritional information. When I think about the amount of time we all have to spend in school and college to get by, that we don't seem to be taught these basic fact's about food, it really irks me. It's no wonder there is an obesity crisis in this country.

On a thread like this some will say you need to eat this instead of that. That instead of this. But that's no good, you need to know YOURSELF why your eating this instead of that and you will never need again to refer to anyone else's opinion as to what you should eat. You can't just look at a meal and and use someone else's opinion if it's healthy. You need to KNOW the ingredients. You need to able too look at a meal yourself , say one you never had before, and judge whether it's good or bad for you. You need to be your own nutritional expert. You need to become the person who is able to give nutritional advice to others.

I won't labour the point any further which is obviously that before you do anything you NEED to education yourself about nutrition. It's absolutely the most important thing if you are to loose the weight. I'm sorry If I'm waffling on but I think it's just so crucial to success.

allthedoyles

Simply google ''foods to keep you fuller for longer ''

realitykeeper

sammysnail016 wrote: »

I weighed myself the other day and I am 17.4 stone.

I am disgusted with myself. I obviously know how I got here, takeaways. chocolate, wine and deli's.

My health is also at risk, I have PCOS from it and also developing sleep apnea. I am on anti depressants and feel like I am so far stuck in a rut I can't get out.

I am with my partner for three years and we are taking about babies and our future so that should be a goal for me.. but I can't shake my bad habits.

He is a great support but apart from spoon feeding me he can't do any more ~ My diet is an absolute disaster ~ I have an office job so my exercise is zero also.

We really want to start clean eating but I sabotage myself in everyday.

Any advise welcome. X

Hi sammy. You can eat as much as you like provided you eat the right things. Ultimately your thoughts determine what you become, so make a deliberate decision to think about exercise and green leafy salad.

pconn062

Running is not the right activity for people who are 17+ stone. It places too much stress on the joints when you're that weight. Walk until you get down to a lighter weight and then running can be gradually introduced.*


*I am a running coach, coaching athletes as well as couch to 5ker's.

sammysnail016

learn_more wrote: »

OP, this thread may be a duplicate of another of your threads , but it's a duplicate of many threads by many other posters, with the same problem, looking for advice.

Look, your in at least a good starting position that at least you accept you have a problem. Sometimes I look around me in the supermarket and I think that some couldn't care less about their health.

There came a time in my life I wanted to gain muscle and loose fat. I got into that late life and I am did quite well. In fact I complelty changed my physique, over a number of 2 to 3 years.

If there was one thing I can attribute that success to it is education. Education about what exactly is in the food that I eat. And that means that I know , when I buy something to eat, I know EXACTLY, what's in it.

That just took simple research on the internet. If you don't understand what food macros are ie the basic components of food, the percentage of fat/protein/carbs, of any foodstuff, then I can't see how one could manage their daily calories if your not fully aware of what that means.

That means in practice, if I pick up a bag of nuts, that I know whether it is full of protein, or no protein. Whether they are 100% carbs , or no carbs whatsoever. Whether they are high in calories, or few calories. And to be able to say that for every single thing I eat or drink, whether it's cheese, pasta, chips, broccilli, fish, and so on, that I know generally what they are made up of, and why it matters.

It does take some time to learn these things but it's doesn't take that long and it's not hard. It's just basic nutritional information. When I think about the amount of time we all have to spend in school and college to get by, that we don't seem to be taught these basic fact's about food, it really irks me. It's no wonder there is an obesity crisis in this country.

On a thread like this some will say you need to eat this instead of that. That instead of this. But that's no good, you need to know YOURSELF why your eating this instead of that and you will never need again to refer to anyone else's opinion as to what you should eat. You can't just look at a meal and and use someone else's opinion if it's healthy. You need to KNOW the ingredients. You need to able too look at a meal yourself , say one you never had before, and judge whether it's good or bad for you. You need to be your own nutritional expert. You need to become the person who is able to give nutritional advice to others.

I won't labour the point any further which is obviously that before you do anything you NEED to education yourself about nutrition. It's absolutely the most important thing if you are to loose the weight. I'm sorry If I'm waffling on but I think it's just so crucial to success.

Hi thanks for the comment, your absolutely right - I was actually online tonight look up "clean eating" and trying to get back to basics. Where did you start, just by reading labels etc? I once heard if you can't pronounce it or spell it don't eat the ingredient! Any good websites you could direct me too, I have looked at nutrition Ireland and that to get me on the right track - makes a lot of sense - there is a girl on Facebook called "thenakedblondie" she went from 24 stone down to 12 by educating herself on food. Has to be admired

Dtp1979

If it dosent grow in the ground, walk in a field, fly in the sky or swim in the sea then don't eat it

Imnotthehulk

As a chap who was 20+ stone (at 5 foot 10) a few years ago, I can only really recommend what I did. Previously I had been in a gym but it didn't do me much good, was only when I started on with a personal trainer who set me up with an eating plan as well as an excercise plan that things started to click into place.


If you can find a PT that is recommended here or by friends, who will help you understand the importance of nutrition, possibly with food diaries and weekly weigh ins (that I had) it might do the world of good.

Will add that I was pretty clueless in the gym, did a lot of cardio on threadmill and such, but didn't really have a clue about foods or proper exercise.

linpoo

sammysnail016 wrote: »

Hi thanks for the comment, your absolutely right - I was actually online tonight look up "clean eating" and trying to get back to basics. Where did you start, just by reading labels etc? I once heard if you can't pronounce it or spell it don't eat the ingredient! Any good websites you could direct me too, I have looked at nutrition Ireland and that to get me on the right track - makes a lot of sense - there is a girl on Facebook called "thenakedblondie" she went from 24 stone down to 12 by educating herself on food. Has to be admired

The naked blondie followed slimming world to lose the weight. I think a good place to start is only eat foods that are grown or have lived and cook it healthily, it automatically cuts out processed foods and you're eating healthy. I try to follow that but I will allowed myself 2 slices of Bgood bread or a befree wrap per day aswell and I have skimmed milk in tea.

Most take-aways can be made to be healthy too if you search Google :-)

Hopeful2016

sammysnail016 wrote: »

Hi thanks for the comment, your absolutely right - I was actually online tonight look up "clean eating" and trying to get back to basics. Where did you start, just by reading labels etc? I once heard if you can't pronounce it or spell it don't eat the ingredient! Any good websites you could direct me too, I have looked at nutrition Ireland and that to get me on the right track - makes a lot of sense - there is a girl on Facebook called "thenakedblondie" she went from 24 stone down to 12 by educating herself on food. Has to be admired

As the poster above me said, she lost it at SW. It clearly has its bashers as is evident from this thread but these groups have their place and some people do very well following such plans.

Ultimately nothing is going to work unless you stick with it and give it a chance.

Gadfly Girl

''I'm sorry but that's an absolutely terrible idea. :mad:
Before a couple goes about making babies they should both be in a good, healthy state to give the best possible opportunity for a healthy pregnancy. Its well established that overweight mothers are less fertile and have more problematic pregnancies and greater chance of an unhealthy baby. An obese father can also result in epigenetic effects on the baby. So BBM what you are suggesting is downright bad advice and irresponsible.

OP please don't let ye try to get pregnant until you, and your husband for that matter, are healthy.
Use that goal to your advantage, promise yourself you want to give yere baby the best chance and make it a target that you will only get pregnant once you are healthy.''

Above is inaccurate advice. Obese women have healthy pregnancies and children every day of the week. There are many other factors which combined determine such types of high risk pregnancies. Age is in fact a far more salient factor for example.

OP what height are you? You've gotten lots of advice here all good but not much of it aimed at someone who has several stones to lose. Don't put pressure on yourself to try high impact fitness routines at this stage. The food you put in your mouth is 90% of the work. It is important to eat from all food groups and include large quantities of vegetables. Avoid overly processed foods, excess bread and cereals as well as sugary things, including hidden sugars such as in Ragu jars etc etc. I cannot recommend Slimming World enough for people who need to learn the skills of healthy eating, non-judgemental support and a long-term sustainable healthy lifestyle. Dieting won't work, feeling deprived won't work and hating your body certainly won't work. Eating healthily is part of self-care, something that we do when we love, respect and care for ourselves. Taking a holistic approach there may be other areas of your life that you need to address in parallel to your nutrition. With PCOS it is likely to be harder to lose weight but certainly not impossible. A slower weight loss may be helpful in allowing your skin time to adjust as well as your mind adapt to your newly reforming body. The main thing is to not give up and get back up again every time after any blips, this is how you will succeed!

Lots of the good advice here will be more beneficial to you as the weight begins to go and slowly increasing your activity levels at this stage with gentle walks (even 20 mins) or swimming which is low impact this will help build a sense of achievement and be the formative steps of your new fitness journey. As the weight goes through correct nutrition movement and exercise becomes more and more enjoyable.

I wish you every success!

learn_more

sammysnail016 wrote: »

Hi thanks for the comment, your absolutely right - I was actually online tonight look up "clean eating" and trying to get back to basics. Where did you start, just by reading labels etc? I once heard if you can't pronounce it or spell it don't eat the ingredient! Any good websites you could direct me too, I have looked at nutrition Ireland and that to get me on the right track - makes a lot of sense - there is a girl on Facebook called "thenakedblondie" she went from 24 stone down to 12 by educating herself on food. Has to be admired

What are the macros of a cauliflower?

Get back to me when you find it out.

Musketeer4

linpoo wrote:

I know a lot of people who have lost a lot of weight going to Slimming world. And for the larger people who have a lot to lose it seems to fall off them quicker. Might be worth looking into.

linpoo wrote:

Another one I'd Bodyslims which seems to have good success too.

Actually I would discourage programme such as those types of places. Slimminh world, weight watchers, Educogym etc. They are weight loss systems and are all about "dieting" but they are not healthy in the way they have like points systems for different foods.

They also tend to be crash programmes and then there's no follow through.

Far better if going to a regular gym with a good knowledgeable personal trainer who can teach you how to exercise properly, get fit and strong, lose weight and teach you about good nutrition rather that hand you some "diet".

Chuchote

OP, the trick is to replace current habits with new ones. And they have to be pleasurable. Cut right down on alcohol, and do something like "Friday night is wine night", with "wine night" meaning one bottle between two, savoured slowly rather than guzzled. Don't snack, but do have (small, nice, healthy) desserts. Throw out (or put away if precious) your plates and buy smaller, green plates. (Weirdly, if you eat from green plates, you eat less.) Eat salads with every meal. Drink water with every meal.
And exercise - get on the bike, which won't make you thinner but will make you fitter, and will be a real pleasure once you get into your stride and you're flying along gently. Cycle with a good technique, which means using the gears to keep your legs turning at all times, rather than puffing with effort then freewheeling then puffing with effort again. If you have a car you can bring your bike somewhere beautiful but flat - Slane and Clane, for example - and cycle in solitary happiness. This is nicer for your knees than walking, which is tough on the knees when you have weight.
Swimming is great too - you may not lose weight, at first, but the fat will turn into muscle; you'll realise it after a month of cycling lengths when your trousers are too slack, because your waist is firmer.
And get a thorough medical, to make sure you're in good nick otherwise.
You can do this, and you can have a good time doing it!

Alf Veedersane

Musketeer4 wrote: »

Actually I would discourage programme such as those types of places. Slimminh world, weight watchers, Educogym etc. They are weight loss systems and are all about "dieting" but they are not healthy in the way they have like points systems for different foods.

They also tend to be crash programmes and then there's no follow through.

Far better if going to a regular gym with a good knowledgeable personal trainer who can teach you how to exercise properly, get fit and strong, lose weight and teach you about good nutrition rather that hand you some "diet".

They're not crash courses in weight loss and they're not about dieting. Are there flaws in the advice? Absolutely, but they do attempt to give people the tools to make better choices. You're not given a list of foods...just points for each so that you eat less of the 'worse' foods, which is no bad thing.

They also make you accountable, i.e. you count your points and if you're honest, you see where you were for a day in relation to a where you intended to be.

And the idea is that it teaches people to eat sensibly and sustainably so there shouldn't need to be a follow through.

While I disagree with how they set up the points for some foods, I think they have their place and what you've said about them is pretty inaccurate, with respect to it being a crash course and handing you some diet. The points system is in no way different to tracking calories, in principle either.

sammysnail016

Thanks everyone for your sound advise, its defiantly something I am taking on board. This weekend we are going to go down to Waterford and cycle the Greenway, its nice and flat and I used to love cycling so maybe that's a start! I will think about SW, make small changes.

Does anyone plan their food for the entire week or just day by day? I know my sister plans her food for the week so on Monday she knows whats she is eating on Friday!

Alf Veedersane

sammysnail016 wrote: »

Does anyone plan their food for the entire week or just day by day? I know my sister plans her food for the week so on Monday she knows whats she is eating on Friday!

I batch cook on a Sunday that covers from Monday - Friday because it just makes life a hell of a lot easier. I also have a good idea of what I'll be having in the morning, lunches etc during the working week.

Having food ready a couple of days in advance really reduces the risk of ending up in a shop buying whatever.

Chuchote

sammysnail016 wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your sound advise, its defiantly something I am taking on board. This weekend we are going to go down to Waterford and cycle the Greenway, its nice and flat and I used to love cycling so maybe that's a start! I will think about SW, make small changes.

Does anyone plan their food for the entire week or just day by day? I know my sister plans her food for the week so on Monday she knows whats she is eating on Friday!

Have a lovely cycle, that's brilliant!

We more or less eat the same every week, though it wasn't deliberate, it just came about by routine. Roughly speaking, roast chicken, roasted on lots of veggies, with boiled spuds on Sunday; fish on Monday, with rice and broccoli, cold chicken on Tuesday with rice and baby green veggies, on Wednesday chicken stock made of the bones and a chicken lentil soup (you guessed it, lots of veggies, also some quinoa) made from the stock; oily fish on Thursday, with potatoes or rice and veggies; fillet steak with spuds and veggies on Friday, with a bottle of wine, and Saturday's often pasta with tomato sauce. Actual days vary from week to week, but mostly those are the meals. And sometimes the oily fish or the pasta is replaced by a seafood risotto with courgettes, dried mushrooms and peppers in it, in which case we'll have a second bottle of wine, white this time.

Musketeer4

Above is inaccurate advice. Obese women have healthy pregnancies and children every day of the week. There are many other factors which combined determine such types of high risk pregnancies. Age is in fact a far more salient factor for example.......!

No it is not bad advice. Sure I fully accept that obese and overweight couples have healthy babies day in day out. The majority will be just fine. What I am saying is that despite the previous sentence such couples will nonetheless run a higher risk of complications during pregnancy and a higher risk of having a baby with problems. It is an indisputable fact. For example, there's a greatly increased risk of gestational diabetes, higher risk of neural tube defects, higher rates of miscarriage.
https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/Who/clinical/natclinprog/obsandgynaeprogramme/guideobesity.pdf

To intentionally become pregnant while knowingly in a very unhealthy state amounts to negligence and recklessness in my opinion.

Op, good work with the Greenway cycle, I've been meaning to do it myself all summer but haven't gotten around to it.

With cooking meals what I do is batch cook a week of dinners in advance. Sometimes I might cook 2 weeks worth of dinners and freeze it all. I tend to stick to quickly made salads in work for lunches.
Breakfast is 2 eggs and porridge usually plus some meat if I'm going to go to the gym at lunch time.

Golden rule is try to stick to stuff that grows in or walks around a field and you won't go too far wrong. Anything that's marketed as high this or low that or has some other "selling point" has been doctored and interfered with and it's best to avoid. I find its practically impossible to get natural yoghurt in most shops - its all "low fat" or "fat free" and full of sugars - so its not natural, its fiddled with, doctored and interfered with. You need fat in your diet. Simple. Excess sugar is much more harmful.

sammysnail016

Chuchote wrote: »

Have a lovely cycle, that's brilliant!

We more or less eat the same every week, though it wasn't deliberate, it just came about by routine. Roughly speaking, roast chicken, roasted on lots of veggies, with boiled spuds on Sunday; fish on Monday, with rice and broccoli, cold chicken on Tuesday with rice and baby green veggies, on Wednesday chicken stock made of the bones and a chicken lentil soup (you guessed it, lots of veggies, also some quinoa) made from the stock; oily fish on Thursday, with potatoes or rice and veggies; fillet steak with spuds and veggies on Friday, with a bottle of wine, and Saturday's often pasta with tomato sauce. Actual days vary from week to week, but mostly those are the meals. And sometimes the oily fish or the pasta is replaced by a seafood risotto with courgettes, dried mushrooms and peppers in it, in which case we'll have a second bottle of wine, white this time.

Sounds delish! What time is dinner?!!

sammysnail016

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

I batch cook on a Sunday that covers from Monday - Friday because it just makes life a hell of a lot easier. I also have a good idea of what I'll be having in the morning, lunches etc during the working week.

Having food ready a couple of days in advance really reduces the risk of ending up in a shop buying whatever.

Do you find you eat the same thing every week? We do, it could be chilli, spag bol, roast chicken or steak! never varies, maybe that's why I go off track I am not looking forward to dinners

meme74

sammysnail016 wrote: »

Does anyone plan their food for the entire week or just day by day? I know my sister plans her food for the week so on Monday she knows whats she is eating on Friday!

I try to plan Mon - Fri and have half an idea for the weekend but play it by ear a bit more on the weekend.

I try to batch cook on a Sunday evening usually things like chilli, spag bol, stews or curries. Anything you can cook in a pot in bulk and freezes well. Then I just cook the sides on the day such as the spaghetti or rice and always bulk up these dishes with loads and loads of veg when making them.

Chuchote

Sammy, could I make a suggestion? Go to your doctor and ask to be referred to a dietician - not a nutritionist, mind, but a proper dietician.
Here's a piece from this week's Irish Times about dieticians and their advice: http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/13-things-dietitians-wish-you-knew-1.2771043
I wouldn't personally hurry to get pregnant while I had a fair bit of weight on; very heavy mothers are at a higher risk of having a diabetic baby. You don't want to do that to your kid.

Musketeer4

^ well said.

Alf Veedersane

sammysnail016 wrote: »

Do you find you eat the same thing every week? We do, it could be chilli, spag bol, roast chicken or steak! never varies, maybe that's why I go off track I am not looking forward to dinners

They might not be hugely different, alright. That's not something that bothers me all that much to be honest. But you can make up a couple of different dinners at the one time anyway. I'd have one on and be prepping the next.

Estrellita

Sammy, only you can do this for yourself, you need to work up the determination to change your lifestyle. You are going to have to be honest about your efforts, and don't be one of the people that says 'all the diets never worked', when you never fully committed.

Don't 'diet'. Change your lifestyle and attitude to food and fitness for good, because diets are temporary fads, and inevitably weight will return. Every time the sausage sandwich calls, try to remember what buying clothes feels like. If that doesn't work, use your other goal, the baby you want. Pregnancy is like an assault on your body, so you need to be body ready and fit. For both you and your baby.

Go at this with anger, and stop convenience food buying. I understand you might be rushed, you might be too tired after work to make something from scratch.. but tell the scales that? The excuses must stop and you will get the result you want. When weight starts to slip off you, you will be motivated to do more.

Good luck with your lifestyle change

Musketeer4

Slimming world is better than nothing I guess but it is "faddy" and short term in nature. You hear of people doing programmes at it. If you are on a "programme" you've already lost in the sustainability stakes.

Crossfit would be better from the point of view of it being a longer term thing that will be sustainable and you'll make good progress if you stick with it. You will be encouraged to break your limits much more in cross fit which will boost self esteem no end. Nutrition advise is based on balanced diet tailored to what your body needs rather than some high points low points thing which subtly implies that such and such is "bad" and you should be ashamed to eat it.

Alf Veedersane

Musketeer4 wrote: »

Slimming world is better than nothing I guess but it is "faddy" and short term in nature. You hear of people doing programmes at it. If you are on a "programme" you've already lost in the sustainability stakes.

rossfit would be better from the point of view of it being a longer term thing that will be sustainable and you'll make good progress if you stick with it. You will be encouraged to break your limits much more in cross fit which will boost self esteem no end. Nutrition advise is based on balanced diet tailored to what your body needs rather than some high points low points thing which subtly implies that such and such is "bad" and you should be ashamed to eat it.

SW isn't a programme. It is a plan that encourages healthier eating. That's it. I'm not sure how you can compare SW to CrossFit. One is related to diet, the other exercise. Nutrition advice isn't a given.

But it's not really any different to calorie counting. Are Mars Bars bad because the have higher calories? Do you feel ashamed if you indulge in something that has a lot of calories? The principle of points and calories aren't that different.

But it's getting off topic.

SW is a tool that could be useful. Educating oneself on nutrition would also be extremely beneficial.

Exercise of any description should also be factored in. Anything that the OP would do and continue to do because they enjoy it.

JonDoe

Alcohol is probably one of the biggest problems for impeding weight loss, the reason being is it keeps your liver busy for 2-3 days after a few units. One of the liver's main functions is to process fats, if it can't then they go into storage.
Another thing you could look at is a Ketogenic diet, it's counter intuitive but you're basically eating 60/40% fat/protein with a few veg thrown in and little or no carbs (DRINK lots of WATER), it switches your body from running on blood sugars to ketones produced from fat break down. If you try this you'll need to cook everything yourself from scratch, it's time consuming but once switched over you'll not be hungry.

Zillah

JonDoe wrote: »

Alcohol is probably one of the biggest problems for impeding weight loss, the reason being is it keeps your liver busy for 2-3 days after a few units. One of the liver's main functions is to process fats, if it can't then they go into storage.

Um, I don't think this is accurate? Your liver processes alcohol at the rate of one unit per hour, so unless you drank enough to kill yourself ten times over it does not keep it busy for 2-3 days.

Your point is kind of correct, though. Because alcohol, fats, and fructose are all processes in the liver the more you have at once the worse it is for you. That's why the takeaway after a night out is so bad,.

Gadfly Girl

OP it's worth bearing in mind that losing several stones of weight is a different process than losing 1-2 stone and or building muscle. Whatever type of route you take to clean and healthy eating be sure to get support and advice from people who have either personal or professional experience of losing several stone weight. Some of the advice you're getting is setting you up for failure at this early stage of your journey but will be excellent to start to apply as your weight improves. Losing this weight is a total lifetime commitment to taking care of your health and food intake as a priority. There is no scheme or magic solution, it will be an ever evolving process. Slimming World is not faddy at all, it is more of a clean eating tool for dummies as you progress you can continue to make better and better food choices and build on your newly learned health skills. The SW class format can be cringey and there is no need to purchase their bars or books but the support of others in a similar situation and the simplified way to learn what to eat and healthy cooking skills will benefit you a lot. However as with anything you will get out what you put in, you must actually want to do this and you need to truly believe that you can. You can absolutely enjoy your meals but their will be some level of effort required. Having at least a few meals prepped will help avoid turning to fast and processed foods when you're busy or tired. It doesn't need to be repetitive but personally I tend to love the meals I eat and unintentionally have several dishes that appear on the plate regularly. It is also important to eat regularly, with breakfast being of huge importance. Many people with poor nutrition don't eat regularly and then binge on awful foods.

It's good that you're thinking about all this but really you need to commit to change, even start by promising yourself to follow a healthy plan for one week 100% no cheating yourself. I bet that one good week would spur you to keep going! Don't worry about blips along the way just don't quit e.g. as I've heard said before you wouldn't slash all your tyres on your car if one was flat.

Chuchote

Yeah, alcohol is the hidden fattener The doc shocked me by telling me that there were nine spoonfuls of sugar in a glass of wine :eek:

I have a skinny friend who told me that he had been a balloon until he stopped horsing back the pints.

And the latest revelations about the sugar industry are astounding: http://www.thejournal.ie/sugar-study-2978364-Sep2016/

Edit: where do you live, OP? Could maybe suggest some nice cycles.

eoinzy2000

Reduce your calory intake. Dedicate yourself to it. IF you get pregnant, don't think that its an excuse to eat badly again. It is a common misconception that cravings and gorging is justified because youre eating for two. You should eat more responsibly and cleaner because of it. If you want it, do it. Don't buy rubbish food in your weekly shop. If its not in the house, you cant eat it.Walk every day. EVERY DAY. even for just 20 minutes. not doddle, WALK. fast and hard. get rid of the scales. scales are lies. its inches you want to lose. Smaller portions, regular walking. GET USED TO BEING A BIT HUNGRY. make it normal. GADFLY GIRLS advice above is probably the best advice you are ever likely to get.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Honesty is the most important thing here OP. Be honest with yourself and your reasons for doing things. It is easy convince yourself and lie to yourself. Its good to make a fresh start, but you have to move past the start and move to the actual work part.

sammysnail016

Go at this with anger, and stop convenience food buying. I understand you might be rushed, you might be too tired after work to make something from scratch.. but tell the scales that? The excuses must stop and you will get the result you want. When weight starts to slip off you, you will be motivated to do more.

Good luck with your lifestyle change [/QUOTE]


Thank you, If I put the effort into the weight loss that I do into making excuses I would be there by now!

Gonna plan meals for the week starting from tonight, will keep you updated!