I really don't know 1: how to get my positive head screwed on and 2: how to start.......!!!!! I still want to loose 14lbs and still don't know how to make the first start despite reading these posts and slimming world magazine ( mainly because of gathering ideas for recipes and knowing that their idea is to fill up on free foods, thereby the theory is that one will not feel hungry.)
Problems are these: I just cannot eat a breakfast because I feel nauseous so early and I have to be at work at 7. My first break isn't until about 1 in the afternoon (busy kitchens) and so I just have to grab a bit of toast or eat cereal when I can standing in the kitchen. Or if I'm at home it's the same foods really. I've gone off meat and only seem to like sweet things and I'm suffering a low mindset at the moment so am clueless as to how to start eating a bit more healthily anyway. I'm feeling frustrated over it because it's all very well reading other people's successes and all these recipes ( who's got the energy to cook after a day's work really especially if you've been cooking all day anyway) but nobody suggests ways of how to start from day one, the first hour even.......I go shopping and buy yoghurts, fruit, salad stuff but don't enjoy making myself eat the fruit (!) (yeah...I know.....) 😳 I like the salads, with salad cream, and I like yoghurts and then I need something to feel full up and satisfied! So, I end up spending more money than when I don't diet because I buy both diet food and normal food and end up eating both.
I think I need a personal healthy eating, positive thinking learning therapist/teacher. I think I need a new mind please........
Sorry for this sort of mixed up confused rant 😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳 has anyone had or got the same issues?........
Written by
Chrysanthemum
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1. Join the Daily Diary and see what other people are planning to eat for the following day.
2. Write down the reasons why you want to lose weight.
3. Look at the positives, rather than the negatives.
4. Join HealthyTanja's Happiness Challenge.
5. Think of one thing that you can change, with your eating.
6. Plan to cook at the weekend, or when you're not working and put meals into the freezer.
7. Stop buying those things that you know will set you off on the wrong path.
8. Try having a healthy, homemade smoothie for breakfast, sipped slowly through the morning.
9. If you don't like fruit, don't eat it, except disguised in a smoothie.
10. Make your own salad cream, without nasty additives and sugar and eat it on your salads.
11. Don't think diet, think healthy eating for life.
If you can start with just one of these suggestions, then you're on your way! Don't overwhelm yourself by trying to change everything at once, just take baby steps. Get one thing under your belt and the next one will be just a little easier, until one day, you'll find you're doing all of them!
Oh thankyou for your post. That's so positive, I shall be referring to this and make a start. I like the smoothie idea. I like all the ideas actually. 😄 This forum is great! I'm 60 tomorrow so don't intend on healthy eating tomorrow but I'm building up to wanting to change. I can feel it, do you know what I mean? Thanks again.😄😄😄
Happy Birthday for tomorrow 😊 And I agree about making small step by step changes . . . You can do this 😊
I'm not great at breakfast but when I was working I would make a sandwich, cut into four, and have half just before I started and half at my coffee break. Could you grab a few nuts or dried fruit as you go? My daughter works in hospitality and it is difficult with few breaks and unsocial hours.
Maybe prep some veggie snacks to grab during the day: carrots, sugar snap (this thing that looks like a peas), celery stalk, you can have some healthy deep for it like hummus (I love the spicy one) or guacamole.
Hi Chrysanthemum great name by the way 🌺🌺🌺 I read your post and thought okay how did I actually get started. I remember loads of failed attempts, graphs which kept heading upward instead of downward, wasted money on an unused gym membership, all probably sounds familiar? I got properly started by doing couch to 5k, which only shifted 3lbs (although at the time I massively underestimated the other positive effects of it - e.g. 2 years down the line I'm still running...).
So your post prompted me to look back to my first post on this weight loss forum: healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh.... I think it's pretty typical. I'd just downloaded the nhs 12 week weight loss plan, I was trying a few things out, spotting a few potential issues, getting a few initial helpful replies. But the important thing is I got started, it was my day one post. So my advice is literally just think about your first day. Make that happen, then the next day, then before you know it real change will happen. And make sure to post and reply on here. Peer support is absolutely key, and I've found this site really supportive. Good luck getting started
Hi there. I've accomplished the c25k and it's great. I'm still running although not as much as I should do lately but didn't tackle the eating problem at the same time which is a shame I know. Thanks for your post and support. Will be keeping all posts to read daily until they're firmly fixed in my mind and I'm actually doing it.
Wow congrats on finishing c25k I feel it's maybe too difficult to do c25k and change diet at the same time although many do manage it. From what I remember they both felt like such massive all-consuming tasks to me that I think I'd have struggled to do both together. So don't feel down about what you've put off. Because in the meantime you've been doing other amazing things which have put you in good stead for the next stage
Thankyou. I do feel pleased about the running because I don't usually do anything like that and actually complete anything! Yes, it would have been too much to tackle both things. I do feel though that if I can make a start on the healthy eating road then one will support the other with better results so that's the first positive reason and that can start my 'reason to loose weight list'!😄
Have you downloaded the nhs 12 week weight loss plan yet? I actually treated it the same way as c25k. I knew I'd already succeeded at something through incremental weekly changes so I just applied the same psychology. I treated each week's 'theme' as a focus and then as the weeks went on I became a better eater in the same way c25k gradually turned me into a runner
I totally agree with moreless this is fantastic advice, try just small changes one at a time, each day think of at least one thing that you have achieved, keep active on here, join some challenges and start enjoying the journey
Don't worry so Chrysanthemum , relax and make food your friend. If you are eating yogurts make sure they are full fat to keep you fuller for longer. I use full-fat greek yogurt with a bit of rose Harissa paste marbled in as a salad dressing, it is quite delicious.
On the days when you are not in the kitchen working decide not to eat toast and cereal. Eggs are full of protein and good fat so might be a good alternative. Plan your meals in advance, possibly use a slow cooker so food is ready when you get in from work and you can freeze the left overs for another day.
I don't believe it is all or nothing, just think about the changes that you can make and concentrate on those to begin with. However, no one has any magic and it is only you that can make it work.
Come on the forum regularly and join in. The more you take part the more you will get back. Make food your friend not your enemy, although I would suggest that "diet" foods may well be an enemy you could do without. Have a foodie adventure. Good luck.
----As for some of the points you mentioned, I don't eat breakfast because I follow 16/8, which means I fast from 8pm to 12noon and eat between 12noon and 8pm. I used to try and spread my calories over the day but found that made me miserable - I was watching what I ate all day and never felt really full. Not I have a big lunch and a big dinner with one afternoon snack. At lunch and dinner I eat until I am full!
----Put the fruit in your yogurt, makes it easier
----Ask yourself whether you are an abstainer or a moderator. For most items I am an abstainer, so the only way for me to get a handle on my snacking was to give up ALL sweets etc. I made a rule about it and I never break it because if I break it once I will break it all the time.
----Most importantly, YOU MUST DECIDE! What do you want? Don't say I can't eat breakfast, say I won't/ I choose not to. Realising that all your actions start with you gives you the power to make profound changes. For example, at the moment I eat a lot of bread and butter and have put on 2kg because of it. Now, I could say - I can't help it - because it may feel like that, or I can admit to myself that - I choose to eat this way right now because giving in to my cravings is easier than fight through them. Right now I choose to take the easy route. The difference is that if I tell myself - I can't help it - I loose the power to make changes. If I admit that I am choosing my current path, I realise that I can choose differently and all it takes to get the ball rolling is for me to one evening to make a different choice, to eat something else.
That's an interesting point about working out whether you're an abstainer or a moderator. I've found I'm a moderator. Abstaining sets me up to fail as I eventually cave in big style. Whereas moderation, although challenging, works much better for me in the long term. I've observed on here that we're all different like this too, some people have to completely give up sugar, whereas I can have a little and then put the rest of the cake, choc etc back. And I probably should give up alcohol but actually my best results have come through moderation (although I can't keep a bottle of wine lying around still...)
Hello lgaT. Thanks for your reply. Yes, one step at a time is not so daunting is it and as I have been on a diet for 48 years a few more weeks while I get the hang of making proper small changes is neither here nor there! I love fish fortunately and I went off meat because as I've got older my taste buds have changed and I find meat, on the whole, quite tasteless now but also because at work I have to cook with big bags of meat that, when defrosted, gather the blood at the bottom and it's not at all nice to see or smell, especially first thing in the morning!
If you like fish, I'd recommend easy and fast dinner: fried tuna steak or baked salmon with rice and simple salad to do while rice is cooking (e.g. lettuce, cherry tomatoes cut into halves, black olives, good quality oil olive, you can also add bell peppers - different colours and/or cucumber). Good quality olive oil makes huge difference. I was trying to find some nice salad dressings, as olive oil tasted not good enough, but since I brought a very good from Crete I'm using only it, and it's perfect
If you'd prepare more salad, just add can of tuna in oil, and you can take it to work as a lunch or late breakfast. I love to add feta cheese to it.
Regarding breakfast, you can try green smoothie. You could also try just yoghurt (plain or Greek) with berries (if you like them) or with 1 teaspoon of honey. Do you like any kind of fruit or none of them? Or few table spoons of cottage cheese with radishes?
If you want to feel full, you should eat enough protein, healthy fats, and fibre. Try incorporating following foods into your diet: avocado, eggs, tofu, apples, nuts, peanut butter, salmon, tuna, shrimps - this list is based on my taste and my experience. I've noticed that apple with peanut butter is amazing to keep me going without being hungry. I was very sceptical regarding this snack, but I tried it a couple of weeks ago and it is my main snack at work.
Try to remember that healthy lifestyle is the long way of trial and error, as each and every of us is different, we like different things, different tastes, and different things work for us.
I'd recommend simple thing to start. If you think you diet is poor, start with diet. If you think, you have too little activity, just try to move more. Are you finished C25K? Do you still run? Tackling the weakest point will bring the best effect (in my opinion).
Chrysanthemum, you asked about how people made a start with the healthy eating habit? My motivator was when I bent over in front of my grandson, to pick up something off the floor and he announced "Grandma, you've got a giant bum!" That was on a Wednesday, and I thought right, things HAVE to change! And I downloaded all the info about the NHS 12 week plan, weighed myself on the Thursday morning, decided on an initial target weight and started making changes to my eating habits there and then, and increased my exercise levels by walking greater distances.
You are already ahead of the game, by having completed a 25k run, that's brilliant!
I would advise setting just a small weight loss target to start with; one that's realistic, otherwise you'll get discouraged.
I would also advise reading as much as possible about 'free foods' and ways of healthy eating without feeling you're missing out. There's just so much info out there these days, and so many different ways to shed the pounds, you're almost certain to find a regime that suits you and your work and lifestyle.
Im the same getting started is always the worst. It very boring but I find planning is the best way to start. What do you like to eat??. Put in a tupperware dish the night before so you can grab it when you are on the way out. Even if you just reduce the food that you wouldn't consider diet food, reducing what you are eating will have an affect and if you have it ready then your more likely to eat it. Hope that helps.
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