New Start.....

[PatchworkDreamer]

Hi I am new here although I first logged in a while ago. I did a book camp (at my local gym) in July and have kept going to the gym for five mornings a week. I do classes as I need someone to shout at me or I just give up when I should carry on. I have not lost a pound and so have to do something with my eating which is out of control. Sweet is my big problem, if there was a cke diet I would be laughing however there is not and so 1400 cls it is (this sounds very low!) Any top tips would be warmly received (about the eating plan and not my spelling!!)

[Activity2004 Visitor]

Have you ever tried ZUMBA?

[PatchworkDreamer in reply to Activity2004]

I have not, but being a two left feet sort a gal I am not sure it is for me. Added to this I do my exercise at 6.30am before I am awake and aware of what I am doing! The gym side of things is fine as we do a real mix of things each morning tiz my eating I need to control.... Plus I work in the evenings which is when the local Zumba classes are. Thanks for the comment though.

[Chefmel]

I heard good ways to curb sweet cravings but that are low cal include:

Freezing grapes (they turn almost into boiled sweets)

Keeping blood sugars high but from healthier sources, drinking plenty of fruit juice/ eating lots of fruit.

Low sugar chewing gum.

These days you can get really low calorie sweet popcorn, the whole air-popped lowcal popcorn thing becoming a bit of a trend these days.

Oh and also I find low fat toffee yogurts are a good way of curbing sweet cravings.

[RobLandsdown91]

Hi PatchworkDreamer,

Welcome to the NHS Weight Loss Forum here on HealthUnlocked!

We hope that you'll like it here as it's a really inspirational, supportive and motivational place!

It's absolutely great that you are already going to the gym FIVE days a week

I would like to point you in the direction of the 'Pinned Posts' section to the right of your screen (the bottom if you are using a mobile device), there you can find some of the challenges that are being run at the moment, some recipe ideas and other useful posts, including the "Welcome Newbies" post which contains lots of info for people just like you, Newbies!

Above that is the link to the NHS 12 Week Plan, have a look, and a read and see if it is something that you would like to follow!

The Monday Weigh In is run by Zest and moreless each Monday, a lot of us here use it to share our weights on a weekly basis and recieve support from other members. if you follow them, you can be notified when they post the weigh in, they are also the forum admins. The most recent weigh in, can be found in the "events" section of the homepage.

You can also find the "Topics" section to the right of your screen, there, posts are grouped together for easy locating.

Finally, all that remains is to wish you a great first week on the forum

Best wishes,

Rob

[PatchworkDreamer in reply to RobLandsdown91]

Thanks I will take a look.

[PatchworkDreamer]

Thank you Chefmel I will try the frozen grape thing. Low fat usualy means loads of artificial sweetner which I am not keen on I am going to have to cold turkey the sugar addiction.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone]

Hi and welcome PatchworkDreamer

I would suggest putting your details into the NHS BMI calculator, for a more accurate daily calorie range and eating as many of them as you can, while still losing weight. This allowance will reduce in line with your weight, so you don't want to be going hungry from the get go!

I understand your sugar addiction, because I, too, was a sugar addict! My only hope was to go cold turkey, as you've suggested. It sounds drastic, but to be honest, after the first few days, it was a piece of cake!! (pun intended!) I'm now free of sugar cravings, which is bliss!

Some people are able to eat a little, but I'm not. A little leads to a lot, in my case. You need to work out which category you come under

I don't eat artificial sweeteners either, as your body can't tell the difference between that and real sugar and will demand more!

You've been given all the pertinent information, I would advise you read as much as possible, because there's a lot of very useful information to be gleaned from the various posts. You'd be very welcome to join our exercise challenges too, as it sounds as if you're pretty physical!

Wishing you all the very best as you start out on your journey and if you have any other questions, don't hesitate to shout for help

[Andy221lb]

Like you I like sweet! It is often advised that lots of fibre keeps you full, but thats not the point! Even when full there is always room for pud!

My wife sometimes has a big bowl of strawberries or raspberries, I didn't realise, but they are really low on calories! Its not cake, but I am going to try....

[kalahuchi]

Hi PatchworkDreamer

I can echo moreless's wise words as I have had exactly the same experience with sugar. I cannot have a little and had to go cold turkey but I don't miss it and your tastes' change quite quickly; a couple of weeks' ago I had a cream tea while on holiday and the sweetness of the jam really made me shudder which was unexpected to say the least. Good luck x

[IndigoBlue61]

Hello PatchworkDreamer 😊

I have nothing to add to all the excellent advice above, but just to say if you like sewing as well as patchwork it really helps to curb the nibbles as you can't sew with sticky fingers 😊

[PatchworkDreamer in reply to IndigoBlue61]

Ha ha I am a very "tidy" eater when it comes to cake etc. even when sewing

[IndigoBlue61 in reply to PatchworkDreamer]

Hehehe 😂