Finally weighed in!

[Jay86]

A couple of weeks ago I got to weigh in at a friends house, I found out I weighed 22 stone 2, which was a bit of a slap in the face but ultimately not as much as I had been dreading (I was worried maybe 24 stone or perhaps more by now).

Last week I saw her again and she just told me I could take the scales. She is avoiding them until she gets back down to a size 16, she thinks they are demotivating if she sees them go up. I didn't think much of that until I weighed in again last night and was shocked to see I've gained 6 pounds already and I'm 22 8.

Now I feel a bit demotivated, kind of like any effort I put in during the past month was wasted. Does anyone else feel that way when they see the numbers going up?

I've been walking some more than usual but its making my feet ache, never tried to exercise while I've been this heavy and I can see why so many people just get to a certain size and find it impossible to exercise.

I've been better with my eating for lunches, but have ended up eating out with friends a lot the past few weeks and that just throws me off balance, hence me still gaining weight.

How do you deal with eating out? The temptations and everyone wanting dessert? Surely I'm not the only one who struggles with that, haha!

[sueper]

Hi Jay - well done for getting on the scales. At least you now know what you are dealing with.

Did you weigh at her house first and then at yours? I find if I move my scales the weights can be really different - a good 1/2 a stone different. So it maybe that your weight at your friends was wrong. Try moving the scales a bit and weigh a few times and take the most frequent reading and then try to leave the scales in the same place.

As for eating out, it is not easy but try to build it into your week. Eat less during the day if you know you are eating out and if possible check out the menu online and try to choose the less calorific meal. There is no reason you can't adjust all week to make up for a meal or 2 out. As for desserts, I am a sucker for these too but again, check out the cals and go for the lower ones and consider not eating all.

I tend to have one evening off a week, which is usually a Friday but if I have a meal planned out I scoot it over to that day instead.

It is great that you are walking but if your feet are aching try investing in some trainers - I have some skechers with a bit of a heel and I find these great for walking. I can now do about 8km before my feet ache. I flipping hated getting started and even walked in the rain but it does pay off

Maybe think about drawing a line under the last couple of weeks, look at is as you were getting in training to lose weight. And now you know exactly what you weigh you can really start working on losing weight.

I started out heavier than you and I'm now 3 stones lighter and it really really does make a different.

Good luck and let us know how you get on with your first proper weekly weigh-in

[Jay86 in reply to sueper]

Thank you! Drawing a line under it is a good attitude to have. And you might be right about the scales, it was on a flat bathroom floor in both cases and they are self calibrating so I trusted them but they aren't moving from where they are now so I will get a better idea next time I use them.

As for eating out that's good advice too. Some weekends can be bad though, I can go through a days worth of food in a meal. I will have to try to keep an eye on calories and try to stick to a set amount for a week rather than just see the whole day as a blow out and keep gorging.

Hopefully the next weigh in will be better!

[Jay86]

Yeah, sounds good, but my friends and I tend to eat in places like Harvester and fast food places so I don't know how I would stick to something like that! I'd probably need to know whats in stuff first. They tend to give you calorie ideas now on the menus but its still tricky to know exactly what you are eating.

[Jay86]

I can try, but I can't really help myself but to eat something and where we tend to eat its usually bad ;P

[Hidden]

A good point that Concerned is making here is that lots of these places have menus online. Like writing a shopping list before going to the supermarket, if you decide beforehand what you will eat from Harvester's online menu, then you are more likely to be able to stick to it, and at the very least it helps you feel more in control. Checking menus online and planning ahead is a good habit to learn, and one of many outlined in the NHS 12 week plan, which many of us on here are following (worth taking a look - nhs.uk/livewell/weight-loss...

[Jay86 in reply to Hidden]

Yes that's a good idea, thank you!

[dreamcatcher67]

Weight can fluctuate a lot depending on time of day. Don't weigh too often. I think once a month is plenty

[Jay86 in reply to dreamcatcher67]

Thanks, I have found that, but I'm kind of impatient I like to check too often haha!

[Samryan-19]

Hi I can totally see where you are coming from, I eat out a lot and it is very hard to count calories. Especially when your with a bunch of friends you feel like your constantly looking at the calories, taking a lot longer to order, it just dosnt give your the same feeling. Like others have said, if I know I'm going out for dinner or lunch I try and save most of my calories and only have between 200/300 during the day. I also skip dinner if I have had lunch out as I know I don't need it and I'm just eating because it's dinner time. Try having smaller portions and always leave something on your plate. Also when eating in harvester and places like that they have an all you can eat salad bar, I also order a started as a main because they tend to be smaller. Hope this helps.

[Jay86 in reply to Samryan-19]

That's good advice and it does help. I'm not a big fan of salad or helping myself, I feel really uncomfortable getting up for food. Not only because I feel like people are judging but its simply that I'm big and clumsy and I don't want to have to squeeze past people

[alex7ra]

Tell your friends that you want to lose weight and ask them to help you make sensible choices when you eat out and also try to do other things together rather than just eating out, like going for a walk or the cinema etc. Or agree that you won't all eat out for a month or two and use the money towards going on holiday or having a day out together.

Good luck

[Jay86 in reply to alex7ra]

I personally don't like pointing out to friends if I'm trying to do anything about my weight. They would probably understand I just never feel comfortable saying anything.

[Hidden in reply to Jay86]

There are other phrases people use apart from outright saying they're trying to lose weight. You can be a bit more subtle but have the same effect, and to be honest people notice when you start selecting the healthy options so it's good to have something ready to say. You can say you ate a lot yesterday and are not so hungry today, or it's hard to eat as much in this heat, or you're trying to be healthy (which can be steered into a different conversation than just being about trying to lose weight). It's good to have these sorts of phrases ready. My friends are used to me downing the pints or making my way through a bottle of wine in an evening, which was a source of lots of the unnecessary extra calories that made me put on weight (liquid calories!) These days when I'm trying to drink less I'll say things like I'm trying to drink more water along with my wine, I've gone off beer for the moment, or I just fancied the tomato juice, it's refreshing - just vague things. But once you've said them you do sort of stick to them. And it helps make it easier when you're out with your friends the next time, as hopefully they start to adapt and aren't surprised anymore when you choose the healthy option

[MrsBooboo]

I like harvester, because their is more control of what you want to eat. I will have 2 bowls of salad as a starter with no dressing, no bacon, no pasta and no bread. I usually have the salmon with a salsa dip, side of mixed vegetables instead of carbs. If the plate arrives with spuds on it, I just ignore they are on the plate.