New to the diet

[MrsM87]

Hi all, I am new here and hoping for some encouragement! I am about a stone overweight and am a real yoyo. My massive downfall is the amount of chocolate I eat each day. I went on citalopram for my anxiety early this year and I have been feeling good recently, and my appetite has grown which is a problem! I just cannot resist sugary treats. I have tried low sugar versions or fruit instead but it doesn't do it for me! I try to have healthy meals but also eat out too much. I would like a baby next year so trying to get in my best shape possible. I already exercise at my gym club about 3 times a week.

[Nsky24]

You join a fellow chocoholic ! Me, bad really, well sugar addict, my only advice is to buy mini bars of fab chocolate, I buy Aldi , it comes sealed in mini bars, in my mind one bar is enough, if it was a big bar I'd think differently!

Maybe some choc drinks would help? Personally I'm not a fan of them, the option style ones, up your fluid intake, largely fab herbal teas, almost no cals, and not as boring as water, although I' m sure the 'guru' guys would say water should be enough.

Divide your day into 5 parts, b'fast, mid morning snack, lunch, snack and dinner, and then plan it around your 1500 cals.

Remember a portion of protein is 100g, do stir fries, lots of veg, cut back on the carbs, you'd be amazed what a 1/2 portion of rice looks like, and yet I would eat a portion, if I wasn't careful enough.

Do you have good accurate scales, bought some digital ones, so no cheating for me...............

Good luck xx

[andrewleeone]

Hi Mrs M! You sond a bit like I used to be. Chocolate was my drug of choice when stressed. You'll have no problem losing a stone on the 12 week plan. Its about changing our relationship with food, learning loads and making better choices. I've got a bar of chocolate in the kitchen cupboard - been there weeks and weeks, but I've decided my health is more important than a very short term fix!

You might need to go cold turkey for a day or so to get the sugar out of your system. Once its out and your blood sugar and insulin levels are back to normal you don't crave sugar. Not at all. Not a bit. 24 hours of very minor discomfort. Believe me its with it, and aren't you worth it.

Once your off the sugar get rid of as much of the stuff from the house as possible. (Someone bought me the bar I've got so I feel reluctant to just chuck it out, but there is nothing else sugary or snacky in the house apart from some almonds.)

If I can do it, so can you!

Enjoy

[Hidden]

Hi MrsM87, I swapped my chocolate for very dark chocolate e.g. Lindt 85% or the Tesco Ecuadorian, which you can also get in 50g bars. Dark chocolate is good as you get the same hit but because it's less sweet it sort of clags in your teeth and you don't end up eating as much. I have a couple of squares broken up with a few sultanas and a herbal tea after dinner. Things like liquorice tea or twinings buttermint are naturally sweet. This ritual seems to fill the gap for me. You could also look at things like choc-covered rice cakes, options hot choc, nak'd choc n orange bars, or just avoid it altogether. But it's good to make sure you don't feel like you're denying yourself anything. Like Nsky says, factor in snacks throughout the day, this will ward off temptations. Good luck, you can definitely do this.

[MrsM87]

Thanks everyone those tips are brilliant. I've never thought of breaking the day down into 5 parts before so that will be handy. And I may buy small bars of dark so I can have a couple of squares when I need. Need to get off thr dairy milk haha! xx

[elliebath Maintainer]

If you only have a stone to lose, double check your BMR online. Depending on your height age and activity level you may need a lower calorie intake than most people on here. When I got down to within a stone of my weight I could only have 1300 cals day and the weightloss slowed right down to 1/4 pound per week ..... but I got to target eventually. Good luck, and especially as you plan to have a baby soon😊

[2jaiz]

I too was a chocoholic. I found that if I let myself get too hungry that was when I was looking for it. Now I eat regularly about every 3-4 hours so that I never get hungry. When I eat it doesn't have to be much but I always include some protein.

I use dark chocolate - I melt a couple of squares in the microwave and dip strawberries or other fruit in it. That way I get the chocolate plus some healthy fruit.

The other thing that works for me is to mix a tablespoon of light cream cheese with a teaspoon of cocoa powder and teaspoon of Splenda (sucralose) - it is delicious and the protein in the cream cheese helps to make you feel full.

[Jo-belle]

Hi MrsM87, I too am a chocoholic and eat far too much of it. I decided to give it up last week. It's not easy, but it is worth it. Mixed nuts are a nice snack alternative to sugary treat's, or you could try something savoury. Good luck ☺

[lorig17]

Dark Chocolate was the thing that helped me. I can't eat a lot of it where as I would eat a whole bar of milk chocolate. Good luck.

[NiCherry]

Hi, MrsM!

A little trick that works for me is to break the chocolate up in to bite size pieces and freeze! As its frozen, it lasts a little longer.

My treat for tonight is a chomp bar, at 110 calories, will last me all evening as I've cut it in to about 20 pieces!

[tilly02]

Hi there your not alone the biggest down fall is chocolate once you have a piece the more you want fruit doesn't do it for many of us but plenty of veg and I found a small amount of apple crumble with custard made with water helps when I feal like chocolate or some chopped fruit with a good yogurt on worth a try

[MrsM87]

Thanks so much for the encouragement and tips everyone! Today I managed to avoid milk chocolate and had lots of fruit, and 2 squares of dark choc! Hopefully I can continue like this

[elliebath Maintainer]

Do keep an eye on the amount of fruit you eat, the sugar content is also quite high and so cannot just be eaten freely. Counting EVERYTHING is the only way to go , dreary as that sounds!

Protein is the best "filler" I found. Eggs became my best friend when I was losing weight and even now , in maintenance, I mostly start the day with 1 or 2 eggs , small brown toast, greek yoghurt and it satisfies until 1pm ish. Or I make a smoothie with a choc flavour protein powder (from holland &barrett) , half water/milk, half banana all whizzed up in a blender. Filling and lasting effect.