weight loss

[Lucyrock97]

Hi,

I am really struggling to lose weight... I weigh 9 stone 12 lbs and my normal weight use to be 8 stone 7 lbs. But over the last few years with exams i have gained a stone and a bit. I'm unsure whether this could be to do with the 'pill' but I am trying to eat 1200 calories a day and walk at least 2 miles.

I am also trying to get into running but i am finding it hard to motivate myself atm :/ I was wondering if anyone has any advice to help me lose weight or any tips?

I also can't eat wheat but would really appreciate any food recipes

Many Thanks

Lucy

[Hidden]

Hi Lucy - I also can't eat wheat- this can be an advantage in a way though - easier to say no to offers of cake and biscuits. For running I really recommend couch to 5k Re calories - have you checked your recommended calories on the NHS BMI checker? I find the best amount of calories to sustainably lose weight is actually a bit higher than the 1200 you're aiming for, more like 1400-1600, especially if you plan to do a lot of exercise. But everyone's different. Good luck

By the way - check out the 'welcome newbies' post in the right hand column under 'pinned posts' - loads of great ideas there

[Penel]

Hugh FW has a cookery book called "Light and Easy", which has wheat and dairy free recipes. They're not too extreme! I can't eat gluten, so no wheat, rye or barley for me.

It can be an advantage as Ruth has said, and you can just base your meals around lots of different veg and protein.

If you like to cook your own food, you could try having a look at recipes using chickpea/ gram flour which is used a lot in Indian cooking. I use the flour to make pancakes for breakfast. You could also look at Italian recipes using polenta, and American corn bread.

Good luck Lucy and don't cut the calories too much.

[Hidden in reply to Penel]

I was looking at your mention of those gram flour/buckwheat pancakes on Lowcal's breakfast thread. I'm definitely going to try and get some gram flour. I'm getting bored of oat flour - even though it's cheap! Hope you're enjoying your culinary adventures Penel

I still haven't got to the bottom of my wheat problems. I have to say Hugh F-W's book was a great recommendation though - made it all seem much less 'weird' to be restricted like this

Have you come across the Amy's Kitchen products?

[Penel in reply to Hidden]

Hi Ruth

I hope you do have a go at the gram flour pancakes, they've become a firm favourite with us. The cheapest place for flour I've found is in an Indian supermarket. This BBC page gives the calorie count.

bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chic...

Wheat seems to be a problem for a surprising number of people, it seems to be just to difficult to digest for some people. Glad to hear you liked Hugh FW's book, I know exactly what you mean by it making the restriction seem less 'weird'.

I haven't come across Amy's Kitchen products, but I have treated myself to a copy of Deliciously Ella, although I'm not a vegetarian. Still enjoying my culinary adventures, thank you, but also still trying to shift the last few pounds. 😖

[TheHud]

You don't say how old you are or how tall. Your weight does not seem over in any way, still within healthy limit's even for a short person. The pill will put weight on only because estrogen is a pain like that Things will settle down after a while as your body adjusts, so don't worry about it.

The age is important because I think everyone will agree, you hit the end of your teens and BOOM, the staying thin game is over, its just about body changes for many people only a few are natural racing snakes

Take care and keep doing what you are doing, perhaps just up your exercise a bit. You do not want to start the diet Yo Yo, its not a good way to live

[Rose-A]

Hey, I'm in a similar position (although my starting and goal weights are about a stone more than you), but just found that now I'm a bit older and having been through uni and now in an office job for a couple of years, the weight can creep (and stay!) on much easier than only a few years ago.

Of the 1200 calories you are eating a day, is it relatively healthy? I ask because I know I'm really bad at not eating a lot of calories necessarily, but the calories are all pretty 'bad' - i.e. chocolate, cream, bacon etc., so although I'm not eating that much overall, my intake is not balanced at all.

I also feel your pain as far as running goes. I hate running, I was a dancer for many years and my knees get quite painful when just on a treadmill/out for a run. Instead, I am trying to get back into my dancing - going to salsa one night a week, and starting training for boxing again. It's something a bit more interesting (for me at least) than running, and I think sometimes just pounding out the miles doesn't work for some people.

[Lucyrock97]

doctors prescribe a weight loss pill?

[Fran182716 in reply to Lucyrock97]

They wouldn't prescribe a weight loss pill for someone with less than 2 stone to lose, healthy food in sensible portions should get you where you need to be ☀️

[Venusflytrap]

The first thing is to check your ideal weight within the BMI range for your height. Just google BMI to find it. At the moment I am trying to get down to the middle of mine, having been below the top end for more than a year. There is more than a stone difference between the middle and the top for my height. The next thing to understand is that it is easier to lose weight by cutting back on what you eat. Exercise is very good for you, although there is no more benefit to running than there is in walking except that in an hour's running you will have covered more distance ie used more energy, than if you spend an hour walking. You can also walk in whatever clothes you are wearing, whereas you probably need to dress specially for running, especially your shoes. Where exercise absolutely wins is when you are dieting. Our bodies have a tendency to cut back on activity if we eat less. This is to conserve weight. But it means that dieting is likely to lower your metabolic rate. The exercise will help to keep your rate up.

The main thing with avoiding wheat is to plan your meals round other carbs. So consider potatoes, rice, couscous, polenta, oat biscuits, rye bread, if that is OK for you. Gram flour used by Indians when making onion bhaji is a good option too as it is made from chickpeas. For cereals, porridge oats, whether in porridge, muesli or flapjacks would be a good option. Try googling gluten free recipes on the Internet, loads will come up. The NHS site gives great diet advice including how many kcals per day will support weight loss for different heights. Good luck with your plans. It is worth keeping your weight within the healthy BMI range for life, if you can. So many illnesses and conditions are linked to periods of overweight.