New here and hoping

[Saorse]

Hi new to this - just weighed myself and to horror am 14st 11lb. Need to lose near 3 st to feel back to old self. Amazing how the weight creeps on over the years. I am going to try to be sensible - I know crash dieting and fad don't work so I will have to be patient - not one of my strengths!

[lucigret]

Hello Saorse and welcome to our friendly forum,

You are so right, crash diets don't work, in fact most diets don't work. Here we like to suggest that you forget diets and start thinking healthy life style for life. Forget the diet and low fat foods, that are generally full of sugar and start thinking full fat which is far more satiating. One of the main reasons people give in when trying to loose weight is due to hunger. If you are going to follow the 12 week NHS plan, please note that the 1400/1900 calorie range is a generic number and not for everybody. Please take the time to check what your calorie range is by going to the BMI calculator. Start at the top end and yes it will be a lot of calories, so no need to get hungry

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Wishing you all the best

[IndigoBlue61]

Hello and welcome Saorse 😊

[Pineapple27]

Hi Saorse

Here are a few things that I have noted about how to make weight loss a permanent / long term thing....

If you want this to work for the longer term, you need to think about it as a lifestyle change rather than a diet. That lifestyle change will need to happen a bit at a time and will involve many things : changing your behaviour around food, portion control, emotional eating triggers, increasing your activity levels, trying new foods, making healthy food swaps, etc.

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!

[Saorse in reply to Pineapple27]

Thanks for the advice - very helpful😀

[katy9617]

hello saorse and welcome. I have to say patience is not my virtue either but I have learned that slow weight loss is the best by far. I have kept 28 pounds off for about 3 months because I learned a few good habits and lost it slowly. now, I do have about a thousand more pounds to lose (actually only 70 but it might as well be a thousand some days) so don't let me fool you! this is a wonderful forum with lots of good advice and lots of good motivation. lucigret gave you all the tools you will need to start so good luck! I recommend hanging out with us, reading and posting. it keeps me on track.

[Saorse in reply to katy9617]

Thanks. Really like already the supportive messages. Good to know not alone!