hello im new

[sandiek]

hello im new to this forum. i saw it on the nhs website and decided to join up for inspiration. so hello... im sandie, im 21 and I am a mother of two beautiful children. I used to be a healthy 9st 9 before I had them and I am now 6 st over weight, I know I need to loose the weight but I have no motivation at all so im hoping that joining this forum will give me the inspiration I desperately need

[Howchum]

I'm new too and just also posted looking for motivation. I've been a yo-yo dieter all my life and I'm about 5 stone overweight. Have you tried joining a group? If you've been a healthy weight before then you can do it again!

[pinkymoo]

I think the key is you yourself wanting to change and then taking small steps to change. Change a few things st first and when you're used to them then change some more. I'm now on week 8 of my new healthy lifestyle (not a diet as I intend to keep up the being healthy after I've lost the weight). So far I've lost 1st 11lbs. 2 more weeks and I'll havd broken the 2 stone marker.

You need to learn to change for good not just for a few months or so while you're lossing. This is the way I'm looking at it anyway and it seems to be working. I'm not denying myself things that I want like chocolate but I am having them in moderation ( 6 little choclates instead the entire bag!) and I'm finding that I want them less than before. In fact this evening I've been out to the supermarket and bought myself some cabbage as I've bee craving it the last couple of days. Probably the only time I've craved something that's good for me!

Welcome to the forum both of you.

[BarryP]

Hi sandiek,

I am new as well.

started week 1 today.

Good luck!

[SimonM]

Hi sandiek

Best way to gain control of your weight is to understand how it works.

Its all about burning more calories than you eat. So simply you need to get yourself a healthy diet and count the calories and a regular exercise program to burn more off. Try ptprograms.com.au for some free cardio exercise workouts.

How our metabolism works

Our metabolism is like a fire, when you start a fire you put x amount of logs on. To keep the fire burning you have to add some logs every couple of hours. This enables the fire to keep burning, same with metabolism.

Regular fuel

If you kick start your metabolism in the morning with a big breakfast it realises it can now start to burn energy, feeding it every two hours or so will keep using fuel so your metabolism has been sped up. If you don't feed the body regularly it will think you are starving it so it will retain body fat in case of emergencies.

Last meal each day

You want to make your last meal of the day your smallest because you are getting ready to shut your body down for rest. If you have excess fuel to burn it will automatically store as body fat, so try and eat three hours before you go to bed so food can digest and go easy on the carbohydrates.

Things to remember

1. Eat a big breakfast to get your metabolism going

2. Eat 4-6 meals per day to keep up metabolic rate

3. Stay between 30-40g of fat per day for females (30 to lose weight) and 40-50g for men (40 to lose weight)

4. If you want to eat your ice cream or chocolate allow for it in your 30/40g per day

5. Eat your smallest meal at night 2-3 hours before bed

6. Allow yourself one day per week where you can eat what you want

7. Learn what are good foods and how much fat is in them

8. Put large variety into your daily diet

9. Don't punish yourself for being overweight. Reward yourself for getting on to better health habits

10. To burn body fat try to exercise 3-4 times a week

11. Enjoy life, don't be so hard on yourself

[behappynow]

Welcome...have a good first week...remember to eat breakfast...not a snack...will help you in having more energy with the children...