Just starting!: Ideally I need to lose... - Weight Loss Support

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Just starting!

Figlet profile image
9 Replies

Ideally I need to lose 2 stone and I always start well and can lose 6 lbs or so but never seem to get any further. I eat healthy food but really struggle with portion control and when I cut back for a period of time, I then get the need to binge.

Any advice on how to avoid this?

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Figlet profile image
Figlet
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9 Replies
gman1961 profile image
gman1961Restart April 2024

Hi figlet,

How to avoid bingeing,I like to keep busy .

Don't have the rubbish foods in the cupboards.

Loads of support and advice on this forum.

Good luck.

Gary

Donnabrookes profile image
Donnabrookes

i have the same problem cut back then I binge on chocolate, biscuits, bread, cheese. But I am starting a fresh today. I am going to fill up on healthy foods veg, lean meat, potatoes, pasta, but plan to have a small chocolate bar or a biscuit within my calories for the day, so I am not going without. So hopefully won't feel the need to binge. Hope this helps. I am work in progress so hopefully it will work for me. Also don't be hard on yourself if you do have a bit more then you should, a new day is just around the corner. Keep trying. Donna

IndigoBlue61 profile image
IndigoBlue61 in reply toDonnabrookes

That’s a really good plan Donnabrookes 😊. Also look at your calorie target as I advised Figlet and the Newbie Club here

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

Best wishes

Anna

IndigoBlue61 profile image
IndigoBlue61

Hello and welcome to the Weight Loss Forum Figlet 😊

Bingeing is often the result of cutting calories too far, so please check your target allowance carefully using the NHS BMI checker, this is often more than you expect but trust me, it works 😊

I'd like to invite you to join our Newbie Club, which we hope will be a good place for you to connect with members, who are also just starting out. If you just post a few words to introduce yourself and respond to others there, you'll soon break the ice. Here's the link

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

You'll find all the information you need to navigate the forum in the header and a link to the 12 week plan, so please take the time to read it carefully.

Wishing you all the best

Anna

Pineapple27 profile image
Pineapple27

Commitment to diet/lifestyle change and resistance to temptation doesn't just happen! It has to be worked at.

The only way I have succeeded this time is to change how I approach food and eating it. I have learned to resist temptation! BUT please believe that this has taken a LOT of hard work and practice!

It's about "normalising" or "modifying" behaviour around food... and I think that with enough "practice" it becomes more and more easy until you get to the point where a behaviour is modified to the point of it becoming the only way!

I am sure that even some people who are not over weight do sometimes over indulge - but the fact is they don't do it very often!

Those of us who are over weight have been used to "treating" ourselves, eating portions that are too large, eating the things that we know are calorific because we can!

It's been a combination of changing all of those aspects of how I behave around food that has meant I have been successful this time.

I have developed a respect for the food I eat. Not everyone has the ability to eat as well as we in the western world eat. We should not abuse the privilege!

I rarely eat "on the hoof" any more, I rarely eat between meals. I take time to sit at a table and present my meals nicely. I take a moment or two to really look at my plate of food before I pick up my knife and fork.

Almost daily I say to hubbie "Aren't we lucky to be able to enjoy such lovely food". I really mean that too, I am not saying it for anyones benefit but his and mine. We should never take for granted having easy access to delicious food stuffs and our ability and love of cooking!

If you log your food - keep track of how many calories some of those "treats" contain, after a while they kind of stay in your head (medium egg = 70 cals, slice of white bread 100 cals, meringue nest 57 cals, 30g (matchbox size) of cheddar, 122 cals)

I do have sweet treats, but I buy my own choice, so things like 2 finger Kitkat, single finger Twix, Club biscuit... these are all around 100 calories. I keep them in a tin and I can have one whenever I want to, but I limit it to no more than one a day and usually with my afternoon cup of tea. That's not to say I eat one on a daily basis (usually about 2-3 times a week). They are always logged into my diary.

If you don't keep a log of what you are eating and the calories foods contain, then it's a bit like trying to travel from one place to another without a map! You might get there eventually BUT it's likely to take you much longer than if you planned the route and used a map PLUS you might take a few wrong turnings and end up going back on yourself!

I have also learned not to plan each trip out of the house to include food. Once upon a time, I'd have included lunch with a trip into town, coffee and cake with a visit to the garden centre.

I now plan or even prepare a meal BEFORE I go out (usually a salad) so that I know exactly what I can eat as soon as I walk into the door... and don't turn to "what I fancy" (usually high calorie carbs that don't keep you full for very long...)

Make a list of the reasons WHY you want to lose weight. Keep it somewhere safe (stuck to the inside of a kitchen cupboard door?) and look at it from time to time, especially when you are raiding the kitchen for treats!

I always ask myself before eating something really calorific "Do I really want to eat this thing more than I want to lose weight this week?". It's called "mindful eating" - being aware of why you are considering eating - real hunger? Boredom? Temptation? Feeling fed up?

Have a glass of water, wait 5 minutes and consider whether you still want the food. Once it's been snaffled down, it's too late and you may end up feeling cross and angry with yourself....

....and that feeling (guilt, failure) lasts for a long time, much longer than the temporary enjoyment of whatever treat you ate....

Oh, and I always remind myself how good the feeling is of seeing a loss on the scales at my weekly weigh in! That wonderful feeling lasts for days! Don't forget how that feels - you need to remind yourself of that feeling next time temptation strikes!

Shaz33 profile image
Shaz33 in reply toPineapple27

Thank you Pineapple27. Just reading your comments has made me join this forum so I could "like" it.

I need to lose about a stone and am hoping that this forum will really encourage me.

Pineapple27 profile image
Pineapple27 in reply toShaz33

Awww, pleased about that Shaz33 ! Welcome and let us know about your progress!

Hi and welcome. Stay busy. Exercise, hot bath, reading..etc. It will pass.

Figlet profile image
Figlet

Thanks everyone, some really good tips.

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