What is your coping strategy?

[Melly35]

Hi all, I have spent my entire adult life being obese and infertile. I decided 2 years ago that I wanted to make changes in my life and the first thing I did was give up smoking. Now 20 months later I am pleased I am now a fully fledged non smoker, however I gained 5 stone 6 lbs doing this. I am naturally a worrywart and think that I have exchanged the security blanket of smoking, to eating. I really want to lose weight and was wondering if anyone on here has any coping strategies that they use instead of raiding the fridge or the treat draw at home?

[GoogleMe]

The treat drawer idea is probably something to put out for the binmen after Christmas!

Does your lifestyle allow for a dog?

You could try putting healthy treats in the fridge eg blueberries.

You might like the book Beyond Temptation by the Boss sisters. It's not a weight loss book but about controlling overeating.

I find having a glass of water and cleaning my teeth help. Some people find it helpful to have regular healthy snacks. It doesn't work well for me. If I get peckish, I will often get on and have whatever meal was supposed to come next (and give some thought to why the meal before didn't last well)

One thought I have from your post is that if you have PCOS, that may be driving your hunger/mood which then affects eating as well as affecting your fertility. It might be worth looking into the kind of eating plans that other women have found helpful for PCOS.

[novice24]

Join weight watchers. Then you will get the support to help with your worrying and the confidence to eat good food and never be hungry. I joined 11 months ago and have lost 4 stone and feel fantastic! Only 1 stone to go. Take control. If you can give up smoking you can definitely do this!!

[Windswept1]

Well done for giving up smoking. That is the hardest thing in the world to do. I did it about 20 years ago and put on weight. It is only this year that I have addressed my weight loss and improvement in fitness.

Look at all the information on this site and note there is a new WLCW1 open now to start on 6 January.

nhs.uk/LiveWell/weight-loss...

There is a lot of help and support on this site.

The key for me was (and still is) to plan meals and calorie count them, weigh pasta and rice to get correct portions,use smaller plates and don't get too hungry to help you avoid extras. Treats are ok if within your calorie limit but should not be part of your daily eating at the expense of a healthy diet.. (I don't have treats in the house as I can't resist, so only have a bag of crisps or whatever when I am out)

Good luck on your journey.

[runningmam]

Number 1 on your "to do list"... get rid of the treat drawer!

Keep temptation out of reach then if you really crave something, you'll need to go out for it. Have a look at "myfitnesspal" I find that logging everything I eat, keeps me on track and even makes me begrudge using up calories on unnecessary food.

Visit this site regularly. The mutual support of like minded people is irreplaceable.

[Hidden in reply to runningmam]

Well done for giving up smoking I recommend calorie counting - portion size is key plus exercise. I've always allowed myself a treat every day (usually chocolate) but counted it in.

[Melly35]

Thank you for all your advice guys, Step 1 will be to get rid of the treat draw, I would love a dog but working two jobs means it would be really unfair to it as it would spend so much time on its own. I will however have a look at weight watchers straight after christmas. I think taking up walking will also be good for me and it is something I would be able to both comit too and manage regardless of my time constraints with work. Thank you again, and I will keep you posted

[Loobie1605]

Hi, we'll done on giving up smoking, it proves you can do something if you set you mind to it. As for putting on weight, I wonder if like me you suffer from PCOS, which has been triggered by a hormone imbalance due to produvcing too much insulin. Weight gain can be dramatic over a short period in time an my dr said it can be caused by stress, major changes in your life. Symptoms are weight gain especially around the tummy, facial hair, infertility and the inability to lose weight especially if you eat plenty of 'healthy foods' such as fruits and veg. If you produce too much insulin, your body is unable to get rid of excess carbohydrates, that it doesn't need and stores them as fat. Normal diets don't work as you are encouraged to eat too many carbs. I did the Atkins and lost 7 stone. It can be a very extreme diet and it has changed a lot since. I just cut down on processed carbs and ate whole meal rice and pasta occasionally, cut out all veg that grew beneath the ground, and found berries were the best fruits as lower in natural sugars. It can take a long time, but I found that my infertility had been caused by having too much insulin which has an effect on female hormones. Can't promise that it will have the same effect on you but anything is worth a try. And I agree cleaning my teeth helped as hated the way food tastes afterwards. Good luck and let us know how it goes

Les

[Penel]

Has your doctor talked about cutting down on foods that affect your insulin production? Going for low carb or low GI foods seems to be recommended to help with PCOS, and should help you lose weight too. This came up a little while ago. healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

If you cut down on carbs, especially sugar, you may well find that your cravings for treats goes away.

Good luck.

[Graham75]

Try some Lying or sitting and do some deep breathing with counting down. I find this helpful. Good luck