Hi, I am 46 and I would like to loose about two stone the Internet states that I am about four stone over weight but any loss would be great. I have mild depression and find it difficult to get any motivation to loose weight hope that I can find some on here. I have found slimming clubs very depressing and not very uplifting! Good luck to us all. X
Monday morning weigh in: Hi, I am 46 and I... - Healthy Eating
Monday morning weigh in
Written by
jodyelliott
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Read more about...
45 Replies
•
The internet is a useful source of information but it can't always be relied upon to tell the (whole) truth. Your best weight is that at which you feel most comfortable, healthiest and happiest. If you feel that aiming for a 2 stone loss is what suits you then go for it 😊.
It may interest you to know that overweight, even obese, people who exercise regularly have a better health prognosis than thin people who are sedentary - providing they have a waist. shape.com/weight-loss/manag... Belly fat is the big killer when it comes to health.
Hi yes that's the problem belly fat! 😕
we can discuss diet if you like but I have to say at the outset that I am not in favour of the nhs guidelines, nor slimming clubs - over the years (since mother started me off at about 12) I have gained too much weight in following them.
It is a sad fact that, if you follow carb reduced low fat diets, the only way to stay thin is to eat less and less as time goes on. There is only so much exercise you can fit into a day to burn off the few calories you put in your mouth. And the fewer calories you eat the less energy you have to exercise.
linlow what do you do? Does it work?
jodyelliott I follow a healthy eating plan with all my favourite foods in smaller portions and have lost weight slowly and steadily. I am finding it totally sustainable 😊 Good luck 😊
Over the years I have followed just about every 'healthy eating' plan going plus gym twice or three times a week plus walking everywhere plus any other way of expending energy I could think of. Every single diet I have followed I have lost weight for the first couple of weeks or so then, as my metabolism adjusted, slowly started to put weight back on. So I am starving myself and putting weight on!!! In the end I decided that my body was just comfortable with being fat, despite what I felt, and gave in.
Then my endo prescribed some drugs that just piled the weight on. Along time ago a similar thing happened and I got to obese and noway was I letting that happen again so I started searching the internet for ways that other folks were finding successful. A lot was to do with calorie control but I suffer from cfs so cannot afford to reduce my energy levels any further than they already are.
Further research led to the association of low fat diet with heart disease, diabetes, MS and various other non-communicable diseases. One thing led to another and I recalled the only time in my life I have ever successfully lost weight and felt at my fittest was by accident when I raised the level of fat intake in my diet.
That led to looking at high fat diets and here I am one week in and already more than half a stone lighter. I am not following any particular diet. Nor have I once been hungry. All I have done is remove almost all carbohydrates except those in (above ground) vegetables, eat more eggs, cheese, butter and coconut oil. The processed carbs I have eaten in that time are 2 small packets of melba toast and 3 slices of tiramisu cake. And I might not have eaten those if it wasn't for the cfs and the fact that I desperately need to do some shopping 
PS the idea was not to lose weight, it was not to put any more on. The last time I was on these tablets I put a stone and a half on and, when I came off them, only lost the stone. My plan was to prevent any weight gain. The fact that I am losing weight is just a bonus.
Fingers crossed you are on the right path now 😊 Good luck and very best wishes 😊
Thank you, I am looking upon every lost ounce as a bonus 😊 all my Christmases come at once!
The way that I lost weight a couple of years ago was that I followed the old hay diet which is naive food combining.I had to make my body more alkaline which this diet does. I cut out all processed food alcohol sugar caffeine etc etc I did this for 8 weeks and lost over a stone I had to follow this for five to aux months untilI had a camera as I was suffering with acid reflux which they now say is functional dyspepsia. As soon as camera came back with all clear my eating went back to normal and all weight went back on!
You should not put on weight if you eat normally. What you are implying is that you have slipped back into bad eating habits. It was a shame that you did not maintain some of your dietary changes and carry on with them. You already know the answer for weight loss because you have done it.
Maybe your depression needs to be addressed. Do you regard yourself as an emotional eater? Recognising what the problem is and dealing with it maybe your real step forward to losing weight.
Hi yes sugar addict and emotional eater I call it the two c's. Celebrate and commiserate. Trying to sort out self worth and getting head sorted. It will come just takes a while.
Sugar, unfortunately is a more addictive drug than heroine. It is more pernicious and, in the long term, equally if not more deadly.
We all have worth Jody. It is just a case of recognising yours.
Are you in the medical profession? Doing an online short course about food is medicine in a couple of weeks. It's a taster in case you want to get into it more. Food matters is a good dvd.
No, I just don't get out much 😉 I did over 20 years in both health and social care but that is some years ago now.
I react very badly to modern medications, even at levels most people wouldn't even notice so I have normally had to look for alternative ways to achieve the same benefits. Over time I have found the benefits to even be superior in some cases - the kefir for instance. 1 medicine to cure 2 problems - who can knock it 🙆
I obviously can't speak for the course you are doing but I can tell you that the subject of food as medicine is fascinating. I am sure you will enjoy it. I am also certain that, as you learn about it, you will find things out that will help you improve your diet.
I'll pop back on later and leave some stuff (I mean links) about sugar for you to look into.
Functional dyspepsia is a fairly new phenomenon so I don't suppose that they have given you much good advice on getting rid of it. Having suffered from dyspepsia myself, though not gone for a diagnosis beyond a discussion with my GP, I can understand how uncomfortable it makes you feel. I treated mine with milk kefir.
A friend of mine had had a stroke and I was looking for ways to build his strength back up when he came out of hospital. I came across kefir during my investigations. He is also coeliac and it has a propensity for healing the gut so I decided to try it before I passed the suggestion on. Imagine my delight when it eradicated not only the dyspepsia but IBS too.
Checkout Dr McBride and her suggestion for ginger tea in this link nourishingplot.com/2015/11/...
And this one on the benefits of kefir whistlepighollow.com/2013/0...
Yes consultant says that I have to live with it!
At least my GP was more sympathetic than that, if no more helpful. But it is true, in effect, functional dyspepsia is a modern ailment brought on by modern lifestyle. It is only by changing lifestyle that change can be brought about and no medical treatment can do that for us.
I am serious about how beneficial kefir is - and ginger tea if it comes down to it. The ginger really helped me cope with controlling the pain, which reduced the misery, but kefir totally eradicated the problem and nothing I eat now brings it back.
It is all about building a healthy microbiome. You'd be surprised how much better it makes you feel when that happens.
I will check it out thanks.
Do, I am sure you will find it worth it.
If you do an internet search you will find lots of people extolling their benefits. You will also find they come in 2 varieties Water or Milk. Water, I have to admit, is a lot easier but, in light of the dyspepsia, I would advise you to try the milk one first (or both if you fancy - I did). It is like a sour yogurt but a spoonful of dried fruit soaked in it overnight gives it unbelievable sweetness.
An added benefit of using kefir, loads of people report this, it blunts the sweet tooth so they find themselves eating fewer and fewer sweet things.
You can find the grains on both Amazon and ebay, though they are cheaper on the latter. At first sight they may seem expensive but they are self perpetuating so you only have to fork out the once.
Cam you buy the milk made up from anywhere?
whistlepighollow.com/2013/0...
as explained on the whistlepighollow site, you can but a) it is nowhere near as effective, containing at maximum only 12 strains as opposed to 30 or more in the fresh made, b) I haven't got a clue who sells it and c) although it is possibly a good way to find out if you like it, it would work out very expensive in the long run. Amazon (and presumably ebay but I didn't check) sell a Kefir Starter Cultures which is a powder version that is similar the store bought one when made up but only contains 7 strains. Although you get about 30 litres out of one pack the outlay is the same as buying fresh grains - so again not cost effective.
This book mentioned in the link in your interesting reply Linlow about ginger tea is well worth a read by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride ' GAPS, the Gut and Psychology Syndrome 'and was recommended to me by a nutritionist at The Haven last year. I already had the book as I studied food and mental health years ago and came across it then. We underestimate the gut and how what we put in it affects our body and behaviours.
We certainly do. What we eat will never cure a broken leg but it can improve the healing time and resolve untold other illnesses and ailments that our medical services just hand out yet another bottle of pills for.
I know I hate it. I react badly to medication and I would sooner do herbal or food to try and sort out any issue. Also watch super juice me 28days by jason vale. I would love to go to his retreat if I could afford it. I juice myself home made veg juices I find fruit an issue I have to limit it.
Hhmmmm 😡 It won't go down well when I say that juicing may not be the best way to lose weight then ??
Don't get me wrong, juice is a great way to imbibe large amounts of fruit and veg that you wouldn't normally pack into your diet, particularly given that modern farming techniques result in what is available these days being a lot less nutritious than it used to be. It certainly works for weight loss in a juice only diet, though how they provide the necessary fibre, protein or fats I don't know - unless the idea is to go into ketosis.
The digestive process starts with chewing - try it, with an empty mouth try chewing as if you've just had a bite of sandwich and feel the saliva build up in your mouth - then your gut is already waiting when your food gets there. Juice just goes straight down and, at best, shocks the system into motion. Then without at least some concomitant fibre the digestive system struggles to extract all the nutrients out of it and it does little for satisfying the appetite. This encourages snacking.
Sweet juices are absolutely fine in controlled quantities but are notorious for piling weight on and causing spikes in insulin levels so your preference for vegetables is a good thing. You should be looking for the bulk to have a low glycaemic load. Check out things like kale, spinach, celery, lemon and ginger. If you can, look to alternating juices with smoothies. These do contain the fibre that will help you feel fuller for longer. You can also add yogurt and coconut oil or ghee for some protein and fats as well as added flavour.
Having said that a juice cleanse (bearing in mind what I said about glycaemic load) is a great way to start a new diet as it trains the brain to realise that it doesn't need all those extra snacks.
And as I promised....
They say that too much sugar is bad for you but that isn't strictly true. Only 50% of it is bad for you and that is the 50% that is fructose (High fructose corn syrup is 55% fructose, Honey is 40%). The rest is made up of glucose, which isn't particularly good in large quantities but is nowhere near as bad and it can be processed as a food source. Fructose can't.
Fructose is addictive and, if you analyse how it is processed by the body, a poison. It also works on the dopamine receptors in our brains with the result that it takes more and more to achieve the same level of reward, just like any other drug. Sugar cravings will even overwhelm other addictions for precedence. And this addiction is built into us at an early age as the food industry aims more and more hard sell at the younger generation. telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrin...
Whilst other addictive substances are controlled by regulation (tobacco, alcohol, drugs) sugar is not. In part this is down to the influence of the large food conglomerates in America. In 2003 the WHO issued a draft report with regard to implementing a global strategy for the prevention and control of the 14 million non-communicable disease deaths that occur every year but pressure was brought to bear by the American government after interference from the Sugar Industry resulting in the final report being very much watered down. It happened again with a UN report in 2010. youtube.com/watch?v=7OuWEBO...
Ghrelin, the hunger hormone, is released as part of the digestive process and indicates to the brain when enough food has been consumed so that the brain can turn off the desire to eat. Fructose interferes with production of this hormone so the brain receives no signal to stop eating. Most foods that enter our system cause a rise in another hormone, insulin, fructose does not and neither can it be processed as a source of energy. It gets to the liver and stays there as fat. This is leading to the rise in metabolic syndrome disorders diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity plus non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cancer, alzheimer's, cardiovascular disease and more.
Robert Lustig's 2013 lecture 'Bad Sugars Addictive and Hazardous to your Health' youtube.com/watch?v=aXlL7yW... discusses the fault in the hypothesis of diet and exercise as a weight loss regimen and why dieters in modern society find it so difficult to maintain weight loss. The science he discusses is gone into in much more detail in another lecture 'Sugar: The Bitter Truth', also available on youtube, but the gist is fairly similar to the information in this one. There are also a number of other video links in the 'up next' column that will prove interesting viewing - I just don't want to overwhelm you with links on here.
John Yudkin, arguably the leading nutritionist of his time, released 'Pure, White and Deadly' in 1972. In it he discusses how the increasing consumption of sugar was causing a health crisis, something that remains just as true, if not more so, today. His book can be downloaded as a pdf from here teethforlife.co.za/images/P...
Fruits and some vegetables also supply fructose but their levels are mediated by the high fibre content and other nutrients they supply. Even so some moderation should be applied to their consumption. Always look to consume foods with a low glycaemic load adrenalfatiguesolution.com/...
A more entertaining version might be youtube.com/watch?v=ONXNKac... the BBC Production -The Truth about Sugar. Though this one doesn't go into the science to any great degree they do do a couple of experiments. One takes a group of people through changing their eating habits and measures the effect on their health and the other tests what happens when you take a sugary drink prior to eating.
Hi Jody,
I've found cutting out processed foods, & eating a clean diet helps.
I eat a lot of soup in the winter, & salads when it's warmer.
I try not to have more than one starchy meal a day, though I do eat a lot of sugar from fruit & healthy oils from nuts. I carry a tub of nuts in my bag, so if I am out & get hungry, I have a healthy option. There's also nuts & fruit on my kitchen table, so it's my first option for a snack, with kefir, or good natural probiotic yoghurt with nuts & fruit.
Mel
my.chriskresser.com/wp-cont...
soups are an excellent way to stave off hunger pangs. Given meat and 3 veg on a plate or exactly the same meal made into soup, always choose the soup itsoktoeat.com/soup-keeps-y...
I'm more of a lentil & bean fan, though my broccolli, cauliflower & cheddar soup is exceptionally tasty!
At last I have found another kefir convert on here. I love kefir, it brings so much versatility to the table and soooo many benefits, don't you find.
I've posted that quite a few times, along with this one: chriskresser.com/kefir-the-...
Going vegetarian/wholefood/clean, 30 years ago, expanded my knowledge & taste for healthy foods.
Kombucha is good, too, & I like a slosh of ACV in my green tea when the weather is warm.
Love the images.
Are they an overnight improvement or a vision of the future 
Just inspiration that there is hopefully some where a thin person trying to get out just got to unlock the head!
Oh there is no 'hopefully' about it! There is a thin person in there- you just have to look in the mirror and see it. Take that image (after you have printed it out obviously), fold it in half, write on the bottom something like 'I am in here' or 'I will get out' then stick it on your mirror so that you can see it every time you use it. AND every time you see it tell yourself 'I am and I will'
You should also, probably, tape a copy to your fridge door and the sweetie cupboard. In fact tape the sweetie cupboard shut!
You have come to the best place these ladies and gentlemen are so encouraging and supportive. I'm just starting out too my first weighings tomorrow and I've found cutting the calories and uping the exersise has helpped when I have stuck to it. Try the group on her weight loss NHS I've just joined in a challenge they do every week which I think will help push me in to more exersise. Good luck Hun and if you need any help or just a chat message me your not alone xx
Thanks a lot good luck
Well done csharman81 and congratulations on joining the exercise team. Good luck on cutting calories. Whether you lose weight through that or not, becoming fitter will improve your health no end. You will find that the more you do, the more you are able to do. The more you are able to do, of course, the better you will feel. Keep it up
Thanks for once losing weight is not a chore did have a cheeky fry up this morning but then I no I'm going Zumba and cycling tonight, normally I'd plonk my Arse on the couch and watch telly lol but now I want to be fit and lose some weight looking forward to clocking up the km and losing a stone we can do this girls 😀😜
Good on you csharman81
Sorry I pressed submit instead of select. I wanted to say....
please don't lose heart if you don't manage to lose that stone. I really hope that you do but your fitness is far more important than your girth. Studies have shown that someone who is overweight and fit has a better prognosis than someone who is 'normal' weight and sedentary. Keep keeping fit 👍
How's it going jodyelliott ? Have you decided upon a plan yet?
Hi no not yet been speaking with a new trainer at my gym who deals with nutrition etc and is aparently a good motivational one as ex marine! Just trying to sort out a date to speak with him and will see. Need to get head in right mindset got a long weekend so going to enjoy it but realise how I need to go forward. Will definitelyhave a gain on Monday due to all things happening over weekend but still. Hope you are ok and have a good bank holiday
Hi I went to slimming world and lost just over 2 stones in 4 months..I've tried lots of diets and not been able to stick to them but SW really works if u stick to it...certainly worth a try.
Not what you're looking for?
You may also like...
Bipolar and trying to loose weight
Hi
I'm bipolar and on heavy medication and find it hard to loose weight. This is not an excuse but...
Need to loose it!
I know I am overweight and just did my bmi which showed that I was 30 and obese! I'm only 20 and at...
healthy eating interested in raw eating
just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes i was horrified my husband is a type 1 so very familiar...
Newbie introduction
Hello everyone, I'm new here have had a rough start to the year, which has resulted in weight gain,...
Need to loose weight
Hi. My name is Karen and I'm 48. I'm looking for ideas of the best food to eat to loose weight....
Trying to lose weight
Starting on weight loss journey AGAIN! Any advice greatly welcomed
Support needed
Crohns and weight gain 
I'm New Weigh Day
