Hi all, I have been a member here for a while, but usually just lurk in the background. I have been trying slimming world this year, and at one point had lost just under 1.5st but have put it back on and more! I have given up with that now as I wasn't getting anywhere and just wasting money.
I am going to give the NHS 12 week plan a go, but I was just wondering whether you had any advice you would give to someone who has never managed to successfully lose a lot of weight (I want to loose at least 8 stone!) who loses motivation easily?
Thanks xx
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sparklestar
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Good on you for wanting to change to a healthier way of eating. I've tried Slimming World myself in the past (numerous times!) but was offered a free 12 week referral to WeightWatchers by a nurse at my GP's surgery - would this be available in your area? I've learnt about portion control, which I didn't with SW, plus I find the meetings provide me with motivation because I really don't want to go there and not have lost at least a pound, also I find tracking what I eat really makes me think what I want to "spend" my points on. I've lost 3st 4.5lbs since July, still have another 4stone to go, so we're similar in the amount of weight to shift. If that's not an option for you, there are free apps you can download that can offer tracking and although I only joined here yesterday, I can already see how much support there is. I also think the key for me this time is to think I am worth it - to like myself enough to eat better and be healthy. x
Thanks for your reply! Unfortunately I can't get the 12 week referral to weight watchers as that is how I started slimming world
I have today joined my fitness pal to help keep track of what I am eating and hope this will help. My biggest problem I think is that I am a self confessed junk food addict!
That's a good start - tracking is a great tool. I like Sueper's idea of an evening off - you could have a treat or two once a week and you would still lose weight - but by not having junk food every day, you will soon get out of the habit and create new habits 😊 x
Hi Sparklestar, I have managed to shed 4 stone in 8 months
My best advice is portion control - find out how much you actually should be having and work towards that. The other is give yourself an evening off now and then (I do this once a week) and then have something you have been craving. Then when you have a craving you know that in however many days you can give into it. Often by the time you have your evening off most of those cravings will be forgotten and you'll be happy to just have a more indulgent dinner
Good luck
Hi Sparklestar. I too have previous form with ... Slimming Magazine Club (long gone now!), Weightwatchers and Slimming World. I have sometimes responded quite well to the prospect of weekly shame... but have usually ended up getting unhealthily obsessive about calories, so these days I just feel demotivated even thinking about going along once a week to be told things I know perfectly well myself!
I'm quite new at this "self-managed system" on HealthUnlocked - and I'm using My Fitness Pal too for tracking - just going in to week 5 tomorrow. I've lost half a stone - and about 1 1/2 stones to go. I think the nice thing about this group is the newsfeed / forums / questions / comments etc. It's effectively a slimming group which is running 24/7 - so if you are having a bad moment / evening / day - you can browse the newsfeed at any time, read and contribute (it's so nice to be able to keep other people going too) and then go about the rest of your day nicely boosted up!
Everyone is very positive and helpful as I expect you've noticed.
So I'd suggest checking in here as often as you can or want to - I think it will keep your head straight and focussed on your goal(s). I feel relaxed and positive, I'm trying to lose weight by Mondays so that I can report my good news to the nice Monday weigh-in team - but I know if it goes haywire they'll be as nice to me as they are to others. I'm trying to exercise a bit more so that I can report good things to the Monday kicking the kilometres group - they are very nice to me when I fail to meet my self-set target each week!! There are other weigh-in etc groups - and I'm sure they'll all be supportive and welcoming to you.
I have tried -and failed- so may diets, it's unreal.... Then I tried the nhs 12 week plan!
I've been on it for 5 weeks, and I've lost 1st 1lb (I have another 8st 6lb to lose) And it's been relatively easy....
The my fitness pal app makes counting calories so simple, its unreal!
My top tips are....
1) Drink water! Lots of it. We often mistake thirst for hunger - and it helps to fill your tum!
2) make your changes slowly. If you change *all* of your bad eating habits in one go, you will end up feeling deprived, so more likely to give up. Do it slowly, introducing one change every few days, it will seem easier.
3) ban nothing from your diet! I know that I will eventually reach my goal weight, and I will want to maintain that weight, which means that this is my diet for the rest of my life.... And I refuse to live the rest of my life with out chocolate, or cheese, or crisps! Simply accept that you want to have a bar of chocolate, but choose a small bar, and count the calories!
4) don't give yourself a hard time of you go off track! We are human. We have days where we just think "sod it, I'm having a big bar of galaxy"!! Treat the next day as a new day and get back to counting!!!
5) keep coming back here! The support and advice from all of the others had been invaluable to me! Just post questioned and updates and respond to others posts. You will soon become one of the family....
Hi Nicherry, regarding "ban nothing from your diet" : I did find that chocolate craving was very hard to stop but I did it and now somehow does not crave for it. I only have very little and not too often. Went for 70% cocoa (dark). Sometimes 80% It is so strong, one small square is enough. Crisps now make my stomach heavy and I think "why on earth did I eat that!). cHeese is another story. I have a couple of very very thin slices 28g total) with a couple of cruskits as a reward when I overdose on vegetable !
Cutting down on alcohol, (completely when I started) I find having drinks with friends, one small glass of wine is enough. I usually add ice cubes (half the glass) to it. I have also discovered that by cutting out sugar, I just don't crave it anymore and on the contrary find things a bit yukky if sweetened. Just don't enjoy it anymore. Amazing.
Conclusion, if you reduce your intake of some food or cancel it for a while, you may find you don't really want it anymore.
Diets are repeat business for "weight loss" company. You will always regain the weight lost and more. Slimming world, WeightWatchers ..... to name a few. The NHS 12 week plan is not a diet. It teaches you to eat healthy and therefore lose weight and feel good. Then you can carry on with your happy life.
Don't lose your motivation. Get into it 100%.
Clear your pantry and the hidden bits around your house.
Plan your meals ahead (it is fun) and only get those ingredients.
Stay away from the supermarket as much as possible.
Prepare daily snacks so you can just grab them when needed.
Cut down sugar and alcohol. Be firm with your friends and relatives.
Set aside an area where you can read your weekly notes every evening (to refresh your memory) and when you enter your statistics. It makes you feel you belong and that it is a serious business! Not just a fad.
Start walking. A bit at a time.
Check this forum once a day and pick up ideas and encouragements.
If you have the ability, download "my fitness pal". People rave about it.
Put a picture of you as in "NOW" on the fridge door.
Choose a small goal as a start : 400 grams a week ? Anything above is a bonus.
Make a chart of your weight and add on to it every week. Colour it in : blue going down, red going up.
Accept it may go up some weeks but go down quickly on others.
And another thing: for every 100 g you lose, put a pound in a jar, when you reach your goals, use it to buy yourself a nice colourful top. The new you.
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