weight loss looking for a way forward

[redbelle]

I have been struggling to lose weight for so long and some times I lose a couple of stone but I am a person who turns to food to just get through the day. I decided to try again and started 2 days ago. Just need some support from people who wont judge me.

[IndigoBlue61]

Hello and welcome to the Weight Loss Forum redbelle

First of all, there is absolutely no judgement here. You are most definitely not alone in in yo-yo dieting. The answer is to stop dieting! Try to focus on making positive changes to your eating behaviour. You may like this article on emotional eating helpguide.org/articles/diet...

To help you find your way around, and enjoy all the things we have on offer, please read the Welcome Newbies Post here healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

Take your time to read it carefully as it has lots of useful information.

I also recomend coming onto the forum regularly, daily if you can, reading posts and replying to others, or just letting off steam. Being part of a community is proven to help weight loss. Why not join our daily chat thread ‘What’s Happening Today?’ healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

For your own privacy and safety online we suggest that you lock your posts by selecting ‘followers in my community’ when you write a new post. Please read our security post here. healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

Out of interest, can I ask how you found us?

Best wishes for your weight loss journey

Indigo 😊

[redbelle in reply to IndigoBlue61]

Thank you for your kind words. I found you through the NHS website.

[IndigoBlue61 in reply to redbelle]

You’re very welcome 😊

[Lily59]

We won't be judging you redbelle!

Welcome, by the way

I turn to food when bored, stressed, unhappy. (Except when really unhappy , when I cant eat at all )

It is not uncommon to use food in this way, but it is something we need to get control of, as it makes us overweight, and in the long run, unhappy!

[redbelle in reply to Lily59]

Thank you for your reply to my post. I have had quite a bit of support already and it is making me feel good and positive about losing my extra weight. Well done on your weight loss.

[S11m]

Hi, redbelle , Welcome

You will get a lot of support here... many of find it harder to maintain their target weight than initially losing it.

I hope that you will find my "Thoughts on reducing fat" interesting and helpful:

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

[redbelle in reply to S11m]

Thank you for your reply to my post I will definitely look at the Thoughts on reducing fat. Well done on losing a stone.

[Pineapple27]

Hi there redbelle and welcome. There are so many people here who will have started here by sharing a post similar to what you have - so nobody will be judging!

You can do this! Sort through your cupboards and get rid of anything that might derail your effort. Don't think of it as wasting, but think of it as helping you to refrain from being tempted by food that will hinder your weight loss journey.

Make a shopping list of healthy foods. Look up some healthy recipes - things you might not usually eat. Include lots of vegetables, tines of beans, sachets of pulses (lentils). Some fruit, but try to stick to the less exotic (lower in sugar) fruit.

Make a list of all the reasons why you want to lose weight. Find a picture of yourself that you don't like because you think it makes you look big. Stick the picture and the list somewhere where you'll see it often (in the kitchen - you can remove it if anyone visits!)

You haven't mentioned that you have any long term health issues or disabilities that might make your weight loss more of a challenge. What's more, by losing weight, you will be avoiding the chances of developing a long term illness or weight related illness (high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease).

The hardest part is taking the first step, and you've done that by joining some sort of support group (Weight Loss NHS!).

Sometimes….. our biggest barriers to doing something we really need to do (but perhaps aren’t keen to do) are the excuses we find as to why we can’t do them, rather than finding the solutions to overcoming those barriers so that we can succeed.

Because of my disability, this is something I’ve had to do all my life – attending mainstream school, training as a secretary, working, getting married, living on my own, having a baby, etc, etc. So you would have thought that I would have this skill mastered by now!!

But on this particular issue (reducing the amount I ate and increasing my exercise) the barrier was somehow bigger than anything else I had had to deal with before. It had developed over many, many years to become the size of a small skyscraper.

As determined as I am to achieve things in life, I can also be as determined to IGNORE things that I don’t want to do or tackle…. or face. Fear of the unknown perhaps, and a real belief that I might fail.

You have to know from those of us who have lost weight successfully that it works. It really does. But you have to want it to work and you have to make it work. For this journey to succeed, you have to give it your all. Give it your all and you will be rewarded.

My weight loss journey has so far lasted six years (as of 24th February 2018). I started by logging and weighing food religiously. Just as the site prescribes. Slowly and surely I realised that I had been eating way too many calories and that my portion sizes were far too large for a small person of 4ft 9 inches who doesn’t move much at all.

Once this realisation had dawned on me and the weight started to drop, I was determined to complete this journey.

I lost 2 stone in a year. I then started (slowly and begrudgingly) to exercise. First swimming for an hour a week, and then kitting out my garage with some cheap bits of equipment and using them.

When I was interviewed for a Podcast on weight loss / exercise and disability I was describing my journey and the various tools I have used to make it a successful journey (logging food, portion control, calorie counting, 5:2 fasting, exercising, support from other people, recipe database, forum). These tools combine to help me along the way. But it is only myself who can make them work for me and there is a little more to add into the mix.

But I realised that my best tool by far has been commitment and modifying how I behave around food. I stopped finding excuses as to why I was overweight and why I couldn’t lose weight. I’m disabled aren’t I? I can’t exercise can I? I’m in too much pain, I haven’t the time, getting washed and dressed is exhausting enough (etc!)

ENOUGH!!! Enough of those excuses, enough of the pain. I have broken through the barrier of allowing these excuses from stopping me. Because they were just that. They were excuses.

It is harder for some of us for whatever reason. We’re busy, too old, in pain, unable to exercise, have children, too short, have an illness, work too many hours……. BUT in fact if we have those additional barriers, we just have to work at it harder than most.

It’s not impossible. I have proved that to myself. People who have known me for years have no choice but to believe it too. They’ve seen me go from 14 stone to under 10 stone. Reduce from a size 24 to a size 16.

It works.

BUT you have to work too. You just have to keep on working, keep on plodding along, not let one bad day, one calorific meal - one piece of crackling..... stop you in your tracks. Pick yourself up and just keep on plodding along.

You will get there. It will take months, it may take years. You may fall off the wagon completely for a time. And you will realise one day that this is a never ending journey. You will need to do what you learn to do on here FOREVER.

I've been on my weight loss journey for over 6 and a half years now!

It will get easier. You will experience changes in the way you think about food, the way you deal with food. Food is a temptation and it will always be EVERYWHERE. You will need to learn a different way to act around food and a different way to think about the food you eat. You will learn to respect the food and make better and healthier choices. You need to learn about mindful eating and modify how you behave around food.

You can do it if you really want to. And there is a whole lot of support here to help you to succeed.

[redbelle in reply to Pineapple27]

Thank you so much for your support. I feel inspired by your out look to losing weight. I do put up barriers, I've decided to write down the things that hold me back. I have arthritis in many of my joints and I use the excuse of being in pain often as not to exercise. I'm about 5 stone overweight, tired most of the time. Taking on board some of what you said I will write a menu for the week and a shopping list. I've decided to order on line because I find shopping too tempting. Thanks again

[Pineapple27 in reply to redbelle]

I'm so pleased my post helped. I have a physical disability that severely impacts on my ability to do most things, including walking. Having lost over 4 stone, I feel so much better, my pain is reduced and I am far more independent and mobile - and confident! I've also experienced an improvement in my balance and I fall over a lot less.

I just wish I'd knuckled down and done it a lot earlier in my life

[Pineapple27 in reply to Pineapple27]

It's easy to write down the things that have changed during the course of my weight loss journey, but believe me that making all of those changes took patience and perseverance!

I've got a blog you might like to have a nose at - flidfit.com

[redbelle in reply to Pineapple27]

I just clicked on your blog are those the recipes that helped you slim? I may copy a few. I loved the before and after photos, my you have done brilliant. I have a fitbit one of the old ones it lets you know your steps I've put it on today. I don't walk far at the moment, I used to walk a lot until my arthritis got bad. Yes that excuse, I am settling myself a target of 5000 steps a day for the coming week.

[Pineapple27 in reply to redbelle]

Glad you liked the blog. Yes, I cook a lot and really love cooking - share a lot of my recipes on here. Whilst cooking, I don't think about eating - crazy but true!

I am happy if I manage 3000 steps a day On 2,500 today and it's 5pm....

[Lily59 in reply to Pineapple27]

What an inspiring post! x

[Ali_B62]

Hi redbelle, I can certainly share where you are coming from re the emotional eating. Food is a go-to for many of us. I just wanted to say that maybe now you will find a healthy food that tastes divine that could replace your higher calorie comfort eat or you might develop more of a feel for portion control which will help you not to put weight back on again. Wishing you a tasty weight loss journey!

[redbelle in reply to Ali_B62]

Thank you for your comments and good wishes. This is day 4 for me and knowing that I've made the decision to change has made me feel kind of free.

[Bungiecat]

I have done the same as you I just look at myself in the mirror and remind myself why I want to loose weight Gail

[redbelle]

Love your name tag it brought a smile to my face as I thought of a cat doing a bungee jump. Its so good when people let you know your not alone. Being overweight has made me lonely just one of its awful side effects. Well done with the weight loss.