Struggling in middle age

[Fictionfan]

Hi too much stress at work put on 4 stone in the last 6 years I’m 60 next year and mean to lose the weight by this time next year but it’s daunting!

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone]

Hello, Fictionfan, and welcome to the forum.

This will help you understand why weight loss is more difficult as we get older healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh... and this offers a way forward phcuk.org/wp-content/upload...

You've given yourself a good time span and you can make real changes in that time.

This is a busy forum so we've put all the information you need in this Welcome Newbies post healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh... I recommend joining a weekly weigh in on the day of your choice, and using the Daily Diary for meal planning and sharing ideas.

Apart from that, come here often, read and chat to people, ask questions, encourage others - it will all pay off for you

[BerlinBetty Visitor]

I'm so familiar with this dilemma, Fictionfan ; you have my entire sympathy.

I worked in an environment in which for fifty percent of the time we all laboured under intolerable deadlines and there was a lot of computer-slogging to do, such that over a period of about six years, I piled on the weight.

I think I ate to reward myself and to calm myself down at work, and then at the end of the week (which for me was Saturday) I'd drop off at M+S or Waitrose and reward myself and my long-suffering partner with yummy stuff off their shelves, not all of it healthy. Then of course, I used a big slug of booze in the evening as a kind of anaesthetic. You might not be doing any of that but the thing is that I was leaning on foody goodies to make myself feel better and that's hard to change if the job - and the stress - continues.

If you are continuing to work I'd try hard to look at what exactly you are eating at work, especially as snacks but also the lunch, on or out of the workplace. If you can have some treats to go home to, but try to eat healthily during the day? The other thing is how you spend your lunch-hour, if indeed you have one. Is it possible to get out with a pal or on your own and trot around a bit? Makes all the difference to well-being as well as good for the circulation/blood pressure etc. Lastly, try to take a few of your own snacks in if you experience flashes of hunger. A crisp apple and a few slivers of cheese popped into a Tupperware are so much better than a lump of cake or bickies.

Dreadful confession to make you feel better: sometimes I would eat two small Kit-kats half-way through the morning, and a lump of cake in the afternoon, then go home and snack in front of the telly, and I'd watch anything, anything - even the trashiest of soaps - to get away from thinking of work, and I liked my work. Just couldn't get away from it, and

Food was my Drug of Choice.

It's great that you have decided to tackle your challenges now, while you are still working. You will get oodles of help and support on this forum.

Good luck! love Betty x

[Facingfifty in reply to BerlinBetty]

Thanks for your honest post. Its helpful for my situation where I stop off at a bakery between work sites, and also reward myself with pret lunch and treats at home. I need a new break/reward approach I think as I need to keep working. It used to be cigarettes then nicorettes. Now I just have gum which clearly isn't working to put off the munchies.

[BerlinBetty Visitor in reply to Facingfifty]

Oh this is very hard, Darling. I remember my Dear Old Dad struggling to give up smoking. He managed it eventually but only by buying boiled sweets and toffees, which he'd crunch and munch with an enthusiasm bordering on desperation. He just had to keep his mouth working. He made it in the end, but it was tough.

Do you mean nicotine gum or the ordinary mint stuff? I'm not a great fan of chewing gum: it was the bane of my life when I was working with young people who chewed all day then left their gum under furniture. In fact I used to tell them that they were chewing the Turds of Satan, which at least made them laugh while I was telling them off. However, mint gum is an appetite suppressant. Perhaps it's worth a go, at least in the shorter term.

As for the take-away treats, these have become endemic, and very difficult to withstand. They know exactly how to get you, and some towns and cities, like the cathedral city where I lived for over thirty years, and which catered for lots of tourists, became a veritable fast-food-circus. One by one the interesting, little family-run shops went and the fast food and take-away chains took over. I would say 80% of shoppers were chewing as they walked. It's disgracefully cynical way for councils to go: to up the rate and rents until only food-chains and other big chains can afford their premises. And it makes it so much more diffy for people who are determined to improve their health and fitness, when they have to walk past one food outlet after another.

Make for a love park, say I. Cheat the conglomerates and take your own lovely snack.

BB x

[Barcud 48kg]

Yes, it is daunting, 15 months ago and just turned 60 I started my healthy eating journey and have now shed over 7 stone, so it can be done. You have made a great start by coming here and I would urge you to read the information BridgeGirl has given you and join in as much as you can particularly in the Daily Diary and one of the weigh-ins on a day to suit you. Berlin Betty says 'food was the drug of choice' and I think for many of us that is true, snacking to get a boost, to make us feel better etc, changing habits takes time and effort but is so worthwhile. Good luck with your journey and welcome aboard.

[djsapg]

Hi you have the same amount to loose as me .like you I've put that on but in the last 3 yrs.

[Arty_28]

I hear you and sympathise. I had the same problem till my contract ended at Christmas. Stress is fattening and more! I started a new eating plan a month ago and have just reached a 7 lb loss. Still not as light as I was at easter time but it's a slow steady journey and you will notice nice little things along the way. Today I noticed my sports bra wasn't as tight and I could breathe better. I'm not hard on myself but I am determined. I spent considerable time this summer focused on diet planing and researched what may wok for me in middle age. Importantly I focus on myself and feel a bit selfish at times but sometimes you have to be. Also I suggest looking at your stress triggers and if it's people, look at how you react. Sadly I had to walk away from a friendship because of the way it was affecting me. I think its a holistic approach, not just about meal planning. The weigh in groups on here are great and group leaders have great tips. Good luck with your journey... one pound at a time!