Help!!!!

[Patsy166]

I'm 62 and disabled so excercising is very difficult. I also have Disphagia which is an eating disorder it affects my ability to swallow food. Great for weight loss in some respects because I've already lost 1.8 stone, however not so good because I tend to eat only certain types of foods such as soup. I'm also a chocoholic and eat far too much sweet food. Any advice, support would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[moreless Administrator 7 stone]

Hi and welcome, Patsy

I too am a chocoholic/sugar monster and the only way for me to deal with it, was to cut it out of my diet completely! Some are able to cut down, or replace with sugar free options. You'll find lots of hints and tips if you read the threads

Go to the Pinned Posts section to the right of your screen (bottom if you're using a mobile) and take a look at the Welcome Newbie thread. If you have any questions, look at the Topics below, to see if they'll help you out, or ask on the forum. Join any, or all of our challenges

We run daily weigh-in sessions and you would be very welcome to join, on any day, except Sunday. The thread can be found in the Events section, to the right of the home page, bottom if using a mobile.

Download the 12 week plan, if that's something that appeals to you and don't forget to take initial measurements and photos, as it's a great way of seeing just how far you've come, especially when the scales aren't co-operating fully

Wishing you all the very best with your weight loss journey

[Hidden]

Hi Patsy! Sweet foods were one of my biggest weaknesses when I first started my weight loss journey a few months ago, but those chocolate cravings are actually surprisingly easy to beat, with a little stubbornness. If you can go 14 days chocolate-free, I found the cravings will stop altogether because your body (and brain chemistry) will grow accustomed to getting by without those sweet foods.

A good replacement I found during the first few weeks was ice lollies/frozen yoghurt/sorbet which I made myself using a blender. Smoothies are also really great. I bought a whole ton of frozen fruit and bananas and spent an afternoon separating them into little portion-bags. The top draw of my freezer is now full of those, which means that having a smoothie is almost as easy as grabbing a chocolate bar used to be - a splash of fruit juice, a drop of almond milk and one of those little bags goes into my blender for 30 seconds, and you've got a tasty and refreshing pick-me-up that's only half the calories of a chocolate bar and full of vitamins.

If you like bananas, making banana ice cream is a great replacement for desserts, too - just stick them in the freezer for a couple of hours and then chuck them in a food processor or strong blender for a minute or so, makes instant ice cream without the calories. You can flavour it with frozen berries for a fruity ice cream, or vanilla extract, or mint extract, or even use carob powder (a chocolate replacement you can buy in health shops) to make fake-chocolate ice cream with none of the calories of the normal stuff. If swallowing is an issue for you, this will slip down nice and easy. It's one of my favourite treats.

Best of luck with your weight loss journey!

[Patsy166 in reply to Hidden]

Hi Sparkles

Thanks so much for the tips I'll definitely give them a try!

Patsy

[CheerfulDragon]

I can sympathise with your inability to swallow food. Although I haven't had problems with food (yet!) I sometimes have difficulty swallowing liquids and tablets have to be cut in half.

I'm a newbie to this site. Like you, I'm disabled. I asked about exercise and was told about Mr Motivator's exercises for people with MS. You can find them on YouTube. Search for move it for ms. All the exercises can be done sitting down.

I can also sympathise with being a chocoholic. My solution to eating too much sweet stuff is simple. Don't buy it. Hubby and I do the weekly shopping together and I'm learning to avoid the aisles with biscuits and cakes. He occasionally goes shopping on his own when we're low on something like milk. He knows that he mustn't buy sweet things now that we're watching what we eat, so I have to trust him not to pick up what we call 'naughties'.

Don't get too hung up on avoiding sweet things, though. They're fine from time to time. In fact, I think it's important to have something sweet now and then. Otherwise I can get cravings. It's just a matter of not overdoing it. I'm hoping that my liking for sweet and/or high fat foods will decrease as my diet progresses.

Good luck with whatever you do.

[Patsy166 in reply to CheerfulDragon]

Hi and thanks for all the great tips. I once gave up chocolate and all things sweet for 4 years but sadly caved in eventually. Like you I can't swallow tablets etc so use capsules that I open and put in yogurt. I wish you well in your weight loss journey.

Patsy

[Applebelly]

Soup is brilliant, but make your own. Buy a cheap blender, mine cost under £25. I use loads of celariac, butter nut squash and fresh parsley which I grow in a tub. To spice it up, a squeeze of lemon juice after it's cooked.

I also set several alarms per day on my mobile, and when it goes off, do some sort of exercise.

Well done on your weight loss so far, that's a brilliant achievement!!!

[Patsy166 in reply to Applebelly]

Hi Applebelly,

Thanks for the soup ideas and the praise lol! I'm determined to get down to a healthy weight because of my arthritis and fatty liver disease but it's hard to stay motivated at times, especially doing it alone so I'm really glad I found this site.

Pat

[Applebelly in reply to Patsy166]

Hi Pat,

Fatty liver, ouch! I had to have a gall stone removed, the pain before the op was terrible. What is your dietary weakness? Mine addiction was cheese, but I've beaten that.

Jenny

[Patsy166 in reply to Applebelly]

Hi Jenny

I had my gall bladder out 30 years ago now it was a big op and took months to fully recover. My weakness is sugar I don't have it in tea or on cereal but biscuits chocolate bars are my nemesis lol!