Newbie 😊

[239steph]

HI all, I'm completely new to this site. I'm 27 in September and 13 stone 11lbs. (Which I don't carry well as I'm a shortie! Last year I joined the gym and managed to lose just over a stone which I've slowly put back on and have a mindset of 'I'll start my diet tomorrow...back to the gym tomorrow' so thought I'd give this site a try! I'm going away in September so I'm using this as motivation to get my backside into gear! Any help/tips/advice anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated! Good luck to everyone else too 😊

[Hidden]

Hi and welcome

I have pasted the advice which I gave to bevers09 recently to save me typing it all out again! I would add that the gym can be great for fitness and for motivation but you can lose weight without it - I only recently got back to the gym and before that I just walked a bit more. It's definitely more about what you're eating...

You have done the right thing in joining this group - lots of support, experience and advice available.

It is daunting to embark on a weight loss journey but just take small steps and you'll get there. Make sustainable changes that you can live with and set yourself mini-goals e.g. 2lbs, 7lbs etc.

I have lost nearly 3 stone in 13 weeks so it is do-able I've cut out junk and sugars, upped my intake of veg and fruit, started drinking a lot more water, cut out snacking (unless I am actually hungry) and stopped eating in the evening after dinner. I still have a long way to go - I would love to say that I am 13 stone - it's all relative!

As you may have seen there's an online weigh-in on Monday mornings - just look out for the post from Prin or Lowcal. It's good for focusing the mind over the weekend! It's optional of course - you don't have to do anything you don't want to do

Mags

[239steph in reply to Hidden]

Thanks so much, will join the weigh in, every little helps and I need the encouragement

[gracie1985 in reply to Hidden]

Do you still eat rice, pasta, bread?

[Hidden in reply to gracie1985]

No, I don't eat any bread or pastry, rices or pasta and I actually feel much better for it. I used to love fresh bread and still love the smell of it when I buy it for my family but I don't actually feel like eating it. Similarly, I used to eat a lot of pasta but I now use veg instead e.g. courgette strips instead of spaghetti. I had a wee helping of rice when out for a (healthy! :-)) curry a few weeks ago but at home I tend to make cauliflower "cous-cous" instead of rice. I get my carbs from lots of veg and some fruits and the fibre in those fills me up. I don't feel deprived and I am v rarely hungry

[gracie1985 in reply to Hidden]

That sounds good. I have also tried the 'zoodles' and cauliflower 'rice'.. but I just don't feel full.

I was scared to eat fruits since 1 apple is like 15g of carbs.

I decided to change to brown rice, bulgur wheat, brown pasta etc

But again I don't like the fact that a portion of brown rice is 77g of carbs.

So when people talk about cutting their sugar intake I don't know if that is limited to cakes, chocolate etc...or if that also includes fruit and unrefined carbs

[Hidden in reply to gracie1985]

Hi gracie. The main issues are with the refined/ processed carbs; I don't count out my fruit and veg grams so don't know exactly how much I take in. I just try to stick to an 80/20 ratio of veg to fruit so that I don't get too much fruit sugar as this can be a problem if you overdo it. I do this even if I am juicing and I also try to get a rainbow of colours of fruit and veg to make sure that I am getting all the goodness that I need.

For feeling full I recommend green leafy veg for the fibre; I eat a lot of spinach, various types of lettuce, pea-shoots, cabbage etc as part of my meals and also in my juices.

I hope this helps

[Penel in reply to gracie1985]

Perhaps try some quinoa in place of rice. Try not to go too low fat, as this can make you feel very hungry.

[Hidden in reply to gracie1985]

gracie, I should also have said that I do eat porridge for breakfast as that's also carbs

[trafford1]

Good luck on your journey I wish you the very best. When I started out I believed I could do it and make a change and I have and couldn't be happier with the results. Sticking with it still and with this community. I wish you all the best x

[239steph]

Thanks so much, the encouragement helps and knowing that other people are feeling the same.

[Stellar07]

Good Luck. I started here yesterday. It's all been positive. I'm an overweight shorty too. It's not easy. We will get there

[239steph]

Fingers crossed 😀😀😀😀😀

[Healthyeats]

Hey I'm also an overweight shortie! I've found that just trying to be healthy and saying no to things that you don't really need has helped, also try replacing fizzy drinks with water, do not try to cut things out all in one go, it leads to a greater chance of "relapse". Hope this helps

[239steph in reply to Healthyeats]

I find its the evening I find difficult as I often snack...I've also told the fella to stop bringing the biscuits in etc. I'll get there. Than you

[gracie1985]

welcome and good luck. I went past overweight some lbs ago, I am obese, tall and my fat stores on my belly and arms ...so you can imagine how round I am