Help losing weight

[Supermum12345]

Ever since having my DD who is now 1 I have put on so much weight !

I have gone from a size 12 to a now size 18-20. It makes me feel so low and sad at how big I have become. Today I realised when I came to visit my parents after a few months. My father said Iv gone fat an he's worried that il become even bigger an said I should try an lose weight.

You don't actually realise until someone else says it to you! Now I just feel like crap.

What's the best way to lose weight quick and just overall improve my eating habits. I have never felt so down :(

[Monday55]

Well done to your dad for bringing it up. A lot of family/friends will usually tell you "you're not that big or you look great with curves" which I personally think doesn't help at all.

I would personally start by cutting down on junk food by 50%. Don't cut it out completely as you'll just give in and binge eat the following week. Be content in losing weight at a slow pace as you're less unlikely to give up or get too hungry by cutting down your calorie intake drastically.

Get yourself a kitchen scale and start weighing everything you're eating. You'll be surprised on how many calories some foods have or what one serving looks like. When I eat breakfast cereal I usually eat 2 servings because what they consider to be one serving is tiny and ridiculous. Soon you won't need to weigh your food anymore as you'll be aware of what a portion size looks like.

In terms of exercise as the weather is still good I'd go for long walks and get yourself some dumbbells to use maybe after you wake up or 20mins before your shower/bed. Also youtube is your saviour for free home HIIT workouts.

I recommend the 'fatsecret' mobile app the community on there is very good and everyone supports each other in their weight loss journey.

[Monday55]

I did have paragraphs in my post but the mobile app takes them out sometimes. Sorry

[maxelly]

I think the first thing is to stop feeling like crap! Yes carrying a bit of excess weight may not be the healthiest thing but it's hardly a moral failing or something to feel guilty or ashamed about and your FIL should not have made you feel that way. Having a baby is an enormous deal, both in terms of the strain on your body and the changes to your life, it's hardly surprising that most people put on some weight!

You probably will feel better physically and mentally if you can make some positive changes to your lifestyle but only if these are sustainable, long-term things you positively feel good about doing and are content to make permanent fixtures in your life. Wanting to lose lots of weight immediately is natural but crash dieting is really not the way to go, down that path lies a horrible spiral of misery while dieting then bingeing once off the diet then feeling shamed and disgusting then having to diet again, over and over and worse each time. So I think you need to be realistic that it's going to take you a while to get down to your target rate - a sustainable level of loss is (on average) 1-2lbs a week.

Instead I'd recommend having an honest (but not guilt making!) think about your lifestyle and where you can fit changes in - how do you like to eat, are you a little and often person or do you prefer 2 or 3 square meals a day? Do you need to be able to eat on the run or do you have lots of time/inclination to plan and cook healthy meals? Do you like to eat out a lot? Can you cope with the concept on having occasional junky 'treats' within an overall balanced diet, or do you need to go cold turkey for a while?

There are lots of different plans out there that do work well if stuck to long-term, some examples are low-carb, 5:2, 16:8, weight watchers, slimming world, calorie-counting/My Fitness Pal. There are boards and chat threads about these on the weight loss boards so you can explore a bit and ask questions (lots of very knowledgeable and helpful members). The crucial thing is that whatever plan you pick you need to stick to it long-term (most have modified maintenance plans for when you reach goal weight) so you need to pick something that fits into your lifestyle (so for instance low-carb isn't really for me because I socialise a lot around food and I find it too limiting to have to restrict carbs all the time, I prefer a plan like 5:2 which means you can compensate for heavier eating days with lighter ones), and which still allows you to take pleasure in food and doesn't make you feel miserable and restricted all the time (although being healthy and losing weight does usually mean developing a degree of self-restraint around food and sometimes denying yourself)...

One thing you might be able to do quickly is start to incorporate some exercise into your daily/weekly routine, again it's much better if you can find something you enjoy than feeling like it's 'punishment' or something you have to do to lose weight. Personally I detest the gym and jogging, but I do like brisk walking with headphones in, yoga/pilates, swimming and riding my horses/doing yard work. None of this probably helps that much with weight loss as it's low intensity exercise for the most part, but it does help my general level of fitness and mental wellbeing! I know it might not be easy with a young baby but if you can carve out an hour or 2 a week to do some exercise it might do wonders plus give you a bit of time to focus on yourself. If leaving her is an issue, things like yoga, pilates, aerobics/circuits and HIIT can be done at home from videos/youtube in short bursts in the evening?

Good luck!

[justhereforthecraic]

we have all been there so dont worry ;) !

i battled with my weight and tried and failed with Slimming world umpteen times... would lose weight then put it all back on because unfortunately, the dont educate you in keeping the weight off!

i have now learned that there is no quick fix to losing weight and if you want to lose weight and keep it off, you gotta be patient. Find out how much calories you should be eating to lose weight... calorie calculator on google is good! then track everything!

i do that and try get 10000 steps every day! and since the start of august ive lost 8.5lbs . i sometimes try and throw in a YouTube workout too. I havent given up anything and still can eat the foods i love ( just within reason lol)

it might take you awhile but it will be worth it in the long run!
Hope that helps!