I like eating more than I want to be thin

[foxrivereight]

So how do u actually lose any weight ? If I ate less I would starve it's more what and when I am eating rather than how much I am eating . I normally only have two meals a day . And I have completely cut out chocolate I haven't touched any for two months . Yet I've still not lost any weight . Thyroid etc all fine so no medical reasons . I really dont know what else to do I've tried every diet in the book but either I can't eat all the stuff on it because it's too much or I don't like the stuff (picky eater)

I'm just so disgusted with myself I've been about 5 stone over weight for about 4 years now . I'm done now I need to get weight off but this sounds ridiculous but I don't want to change my lifestyle . I like it and it would be hard because I have an 8 yo dd and 6 mo ds so my time is completely taken up by them .

But I don't want them growing up with an obese blob as a mother

Sorry for the rambling drivel I don't even know what my question is I'm just so fed up I cry sometimes at how a mess I am

[WorraLiberty]

It sounds like you need exercise...proper full on cardiovascular workouts.

If you don't want to change your lifestyle then I'm afraid you'll always get what you've always got.

[RainbowBelle]

Have you tried slimming classes? Slimming world is good as there is unlimited food so that should help with the hunger.

What do your 2 meals a day consist of? Do you snack in between? What do you like to eat the most? (bread? potatoes? meat? junk?)

[foxrivereight]

Yeah I tried weight watchers but got fed up counting points it takes up too much time .

My eating habits are either :

Morning - two slices of toast or nothing
Evening - normal dinner (ie chicken breast/gammon/pork +potatoes+veg , fajitas , bolognese , steak pie stuff like that)

Or

Lunch - roll with cold meat
Evening - as above

Or

Sometimes I will eat out for either lunch or dinner and if I do thats the only meal I will have that day .

I do snack but mainly on chocolate so thats why I decided to stop eating it . Now I snack fruit and muller lights .

I don't really schedule eating into my life . Sometimes I can go about my day then it gets to about 3pm and I feel sick and I realise it's hunger because I haven't had anything to eat yet .

[BIWI]

You are not eating enough.

If you like food, then why not try following low carb as a way of eating? You will have a calorie advantage, so you can eat much more than you are doing now, and still lose weight. You can also eat yummy food, rather than horrible low fat/low cal stuff.

Go and check out the Bootcamp threads. The next Bootcamp will be starting at the end of April, but there's loads of info on the other threads, and I will be starting a new chat thread on Monday.

[Tortington]

low carbing is the future for food addicts - trust me myname is Custy and i'm an addict.

besides, you eat mountains of stuff and lose weight.

[Floralnomad]

You need to cut out the bread and potatoes . Have you tried the 2 day diet , we are having success with that at the moment ,but it does sound like you eat too many carbs and probably don't get enough exercise .

[extracrunchy]

Weight watchers!! Genius. I HATE dieting and find it impossible to give anything up long term. WW is great cos you can still eat naughty things, you just use more "points".
I managed to lose 2 stone and tried every diet before this with little or no success!

[timidviper]

WW does not educate you about how to eat healthily and sustainably (as in WW is great cos you can still eat naughty things, you just use more "points") They have a vested interest in keeping you eating processed shit food rather than in learning how to eat properly so you never again need to pay for their diet club or their shitty processed food.

Read Dr John Briffa, Escape the Diet trap and it will change your whole outlook for the better

[OrbisNonSufficit]

I lost over a stone by not drinking any alcohol for 6 months (which was about 10% of my body weight, to give you an idea of scale). Be nice to your liver if you want to lose weight is my advice - it's the body's major fat burning organ.

[foxrivereight]

orb I don't drink so that's that out the window

timid yeah I think I will give that a read thanks

[BIWI]

I can second timid's suggestions, foxrivereight. It's a great book and will completely over-turn how you think about food/dieting.

[OrbisNonSufficit]

It's not just alcohol that upsets your liver - painkillers, preservatives, fumes from various household cleaning products, etc etc. So there are other things to target...

Have you also cut out refined sugar (in all its forms)? It's evil as far as weight loss is concerned (I'm sure a big part of the not drinking/losing weight thing was sugar, since I don't really eat it any other time).

[teaandthorazine]

If you're now snacking on fruit and muller lights you might just as well have carried on with the chocolate, tbh. Sugar wise there won't be a whole lot of difference between them.

I would really, really advise against WW/Slimming World etc. for all the reasons already stated. I don't believe they teach an understanding of what food actually does in your body, which IMO is essential if you are serious about losing weight. All this 'pointing', different sorts of 'red days', 'healthy extras' or whatever - it's all marketing bollocks. Plus they'll still have you eating tonnes of sugar.

Low carb is, as custy says, the future. We are starting a brand new thread tomorrow -come and have a look!

[teaandthorazine]

And YES to the Briffa book. It is so easy, so sensible, you will be amazed. Though tbh if you've got 5 stone to lose you may need to be a weeny bit stricter (it's more for maintenance than for losing) but honestly, it will change the way you think about food.

[Southeastdweller]

I agree with the others about you possibly being a carb addict. I followed Briffa's diet for a while but gave it up as it was too difficult as I'm a non meat eater. But I eat a little less carbs now and very much believe that carbs a major part of how we put on weight. Every single person I've met who's also had a weight problem had the same thing in common - we are all carb fiends.

I'm on the 5:2 diet now and not losing quite as much weight as I was when I did Briffa but for me it's a more sustainable way of living.

[FaceLikeAPickledOnion]

I found that just by religiously doing pelvic floor exercises several times a day, I lost weight. Didn't change my diet or do more excersize.

[TheHumancatapult]

check your portion size and try cutting carbs down just for a month and see .Yes first few weeks you may feel more hungry but it gets better
even small changes semi skimmed milk instead full fat etc

I have lost 10 stone almost 9 bar a 1lb )since last June ok i did low calories and low carb but im in a wheelchair and it is possible

[snoworneahva]

I don't think it's a good idea to tell yourself you are a food addict - it's giving up control to food. You might have food control issues but constantly telling yourself you have is a self fulfilling prophecy, IMO.

I would use my fitness pal and calorie count properly weighing stuff too, just for a couple of weeks, just to figure out where you are going wrong, because if you are 5 stone over weight your daily calorie intake needs will be quite high to maintain your weight as it is. You need to know whether you are eating more than you think.

[caughtinagiggleloop]

You should concentrate on making sure that what you eat has a full balance of nutrients. You're cutting down on food in general instead of changing the balance of foods that you eat. That's probably why you're still craving food. For your breakfast you should have some grain (cereal / bread), dairy (milk / butter), fruit / veg (piece of fruit, glass of juice, dried fruit). Lunch / tea / dinner should be made up of protein (meat / fish / egg) with some starchy food (bread / pasta / rice / potatoes) and fruit / veg (salad / steamed or roast veg). Try to split your plate into thirds so that each area is equal. Have a maximum of 2 snacks per day and make sure they're not junk food as they contain a lot of sugar. If you're eating plenty of fruit and veg, there's plenty of water in them and after millions of years of evolution, your body is pretty adept at breaking everything you consume down to its component parts and taking what it needs so you only need to drink when you're thirsty (not sugar loaded drinks), don't add salt to your food as it's added to most of the food we buy already (you can get all the sodium you need by eating a balanced diet) and keep within the guidelines for your alcohol intake and this should keep your calories down and lower your blood pressure. Little changes that others have suggested like using semi-skimmed milk instead of full fat, don't put sugar in your tea, But you have to do more exercise as well. Calorie counting isn't enough on its own. You need to be creating a calorie deficit but cutting down on food by the amount you are doing won't create a big enough deficit and will just make you crave food in the short term. Do something for 30 mins every day that makes your heart race and makes you properly out of breath. Weight drops off more quickly at first as there's more of it to lose, you can increase your exercise once the weight loss starts slowing down and as the exercise gets easier.

Carbohydrate is just the scientific name for sugar and all fruits and vegetables contain it - it's made in plants through photosynthesis. Simpler sugars (found in fruits, vegetables and milk) are used more or less straight away and will satisfy your hunger in the short term but complex sugars like starch and pectin (found mainly in grains and potatoes) are slow release sugars and are more likely to fill you up but any sugar you don't use will be stored as fat. Generally, limiting your calories to only what you need and making sure they are made up of a healthy balance of all the food groups (protein, carbohydrate, vitamins, minerals, fat, fibre, water) is the way forward. You shouldn't cut out any food group altogether but if you try to ensure you're getting all your vitamins and minerals by eating more greenery, you'll still get all the calories you need and they'll be healthier ones.

[BsshBossh]

OP the foods/meals you're eating look fine to me. But you're 5 stones overweight so be really honest:

Are you eating enough?
Are you eating too much?
Are you a secret eater, snacking but not admitting to it?
How much exercise do you do?

Go to this website and input all your data:
scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

Then tell us how much your TDEE is (the calories you need to eat to maintain your current weight).

Then join, for free, My Fitness Pal, and for one week ruthlessly and honestly record every single calorie you eat (you'll need to weigh your food). It's tedious but you need only do it for one week. How does the total calories you're actually eating per day compare with your TDEE?

There will be the answer to you being overweight.

Now you can take steps to reduce.

When I did this exercise last year I worked out I was overeating by 1000 calories per day, sometimes more! It was sobering but it put me in control of my weight and I've now lost 4 stones in just over 12 months and I'm eating loads!

[Babieseverywhere]

Brilliant advice, BsshBossh :)

foxrivereight, I would of said that I didn't eat THAT much but when I started logging and weighing what I did eat, wow my eyes were opened.

In particular I would forget about small things I ate during the day, couple of biscuits here and there really add up.

Plus my biggest issue was poor portion control. Weighing everything and checking correct portion size online or back of packet was essential education for me.

Good luck.

[specialsubject]

brutal mode: eat normally (NHS eatwell plate, 40% good carbs), don't diet, move for an hour a day. Continue for life.

don't make a fuss about this in front of your kids. And don't pass on 'fussy eating' to them either.

that's it. Good luck.

[MrsWooster]

I'd think about the carbs thing too - I've had to do low carbs due to gestational diabetes and lost over a stone during pregnancy (so even more in real money!) I didn't have a clue about carbs, really - thought it was just potatoes and starch but it's sugars really so you can still eat tons of stuff, like protein, fat etc, just steer clear of the "carbohydrates 10x, of which sugars 9x..." type statements on food, which means even healthy stuff like fruit, fruit juice etc, not just cake, and you'll find you can eat plenty.
As a 40 year overweighter/dieter, I would really be wary of WW and similar which encourage an overly close attention on amounts and restricting, which just make you want to eat your own head. I am going to carry on with a version of the low carb thing after I give birth but on the occasional day when I want to eat my body weight in fresh white crusty bread, rock on! (apparently it's LESS QUICKLY ABSORBED -ie better- if you slather it in fat, to whit cold fresh butter. This nugget of advice was the best thing I have ever read. Ever.)

[foxrivereight]

The things about the carbs ... I don't really like meat . I like chicken and gammon and I like beef only if it's in bolognese or a burger . I can eat pork if it's cooked well and when I get sick of chicken but thats it . I can also eat bacon or sausages if I really have to but I would never choose to eat them (I don't even think I know how to cook sausages)

[Floralnomad]

Then eat more vegetables , its the carbs that are the problem . Have the meat just don't have potatoes with it , and cut out the bread . If you must have bread the 50/50 crusts away has less calories per slice than any other that I've found ,although that's probably because the slices are so small . However that helps with portion size