All I do is drink wine and eat takeaways

[BooFuckingHoo2]

Pretty much every night

I’m getting fatter by the day but I’m also in a local lockdown area so there’s nothing else for me to do.

I’m really down about the fact I don’t have a partner/kids and I’m down about the fact I’m overweight.

Food and alcohol are the only things that make me happy at the moment and 6pm where I pour myself a large glass of wine and order a pizza is my relaxation time. I feel like if I gave this up I’d be utterly miserable, but I know I’m doing my body damage by carrying on like this.

Does anyone have any tips?

I think you need to find a really nice outdoor place, get into walking and download some Netflix on my phone!

I’m the same—if I’m at home and bored I will just eat, eat, eat. Impossible to stop! But I walk and watch Netflix, can spend hours on it and stops the snacking!

When we went into lockdown, I was exactly like this, drinking and eating comfort food. Then I realised I could use the commuting time I saved to exercise and finally lose the extra 2 stone I'd been carrying for the last couple of years. The hope was I'd emerge from lockdown like a butterfly from a cocoon!

I gave up drinking, started tracking calories and exercising daily, I've lost 1.5 stone and when Lockdown started easing and we were able to meet up with people, the comments I got from how much weight I'd lost, how great I looked far, far outweighed the enjoyment from wine and takeaways.

Is crochet more fun than knitting? I like keeping busy rather than mindlessly lying on the sofa watching TV.

Opinions are divided on the relative merits of crochet and knitting . I do both. I can see that knitting is perhaps harder, but I learned to knit first and crochet later, so I still find knitting easier! I think crochet is quicker to learn.

I'm still a beginner crocheter but I made a huge blanket/throw during lockdown. It was a 'crochet-along' pattern - the instructions are released a bit at a time, so loads of people are making it at the same time and doing the next, different, set of rows as they are published iyswim. I really enjoyed it! If you join the knitting and crocheting site Ravelry, there's a whole community on there - you can join a kal/cal (knit along/ crochet along) thread and chat about stuff, or just find nice patterns. I'm a real fan, as you can probably tell!

I read a really good piece of advice recently about looking after yourself as if you're your own child.

Would you feed your child junk food every night? Of course not, because you love them. You would give them healthy food and take them for walks, help them take part in hobbies and take good care of them. And you deserve all those things for yourself as well, because you're equally valuable.

How do I start crochet? Do I need to buy some equipment/a book?

Also thanks to those who suggested a book group, do you know how I join one?

I’d quite like to join a dog walking group, but again I’m stuck on where to find one!

I just need to do things which don’t involve alcohol in particular as all my ambitions of healthy eating go out of the window when there’s alcohol involved. It’s really hard with living alone as I tend to get quite lonely in the evenings.

How do I start crochet? Do I need to buy some equipment/a book?

All you need is a crochet hook and some yarn. You could get a book, but there's so much stuff online! YouTube is good for basic 'How To Crochet' videos. You might find a particular YouTube crocheter whose videos you like. Once you've got the hang of the basics, there's Ravelry for patterns, or lots of other websites. Coastal Crochet is the website whose blanket I made.

Be warned: U.S. and UK crochet terminology are different (to the point of being actually contradictory!), so stick with either UK or U.S. patterns (or ones which have a conversion). I do UK crochet.

Be kind to yourself, your situation is difficult. AND it is depressing right now.

Lots of suggestions here, all of which will make some difference, but just taking a small step in the right direction (one where you are kind to yourself and your body) is all that is needed.

Don't go all dramatic with 'cut out wine completely', start with a 'glass of wine on a Friday after work only' type of approach.

*How do I start crochet? Do I need to buy some equipment/a book?
*
Bella Coco on YouTube is fab!!

Also try yoga or Pilates, again loads of free stuff on YouTube (Yoga with Adriene or Lottie Murphy for Pilates) I find it fills an hour in the evening and totally relaxes me

Hello July me! As someone suggested above I stated C25K in July, no exaggeration I was breathless walking up the stairs and couldn't run the 90 seconds in week one. Seven weeks later I was running 5k and I now run 4 days a week with a longer run on the weekend. I can justify the now once a week takeaway and my mental health has gone from a 3 to an 8 on good days. I also took the time to become a self-proclaimed master pizza dough maker and call it a hobby so I now have that instead of a takeaway pizza.

@ahhwoofwoof that’s amazing - how did you become a master pizza dough maker? Did you need a pizza stone?

Take up cooking and eat healthier. It will take up some if your evenings too. You can cook in advance and refrigerate or freeze if you don't want to eat late. There are lots of healthy meals you can put together much quicker than waiting for a takeaway. My DS watches loads of cooking videos on You Tube. I taught him to cook but he is now a real foodie and knows a lot about different ingredients. So turn food into a hobby as well as making your diet (and yourself) healthier.

Its really fun and easy, I have a pizza stone but actually find I get equally good results from a pizza tray, the round metal trays with holes in the bottom, cheap as anything from the supermarket.

I tried lots of different recipes starting with Delia's easy quick dough and progressed with this one, www.mozzafella.co.uk/#recipes
Then mixed it up to make the perfect dough using the Ooni pizza app which has a calculator to help you perfect the balance of your ingredients.

Honestly, it's better than any delivery and you can make really healthy choices with the toppings, lovely and fresh ingredients.

Ooh yeah, homemade pizza with lovely fresh ingredients. Doesn't have to be terribly unhealthy! I make my dough in the breadmaker .

If you're into the idea of mastering some cooking stuff, check out the 'Pasta Grannies' page on FB. It's amazing! I can't stop watching their videos. Absolutely ancient Italian women making pasta by hand. They obviously have decades of experience, but most of it doesn't look that difficult, and the results look delicious!

I'm making homemade gnocchi this week and dh got a pasta machine for his birthday, which is great for making the thinly rolled stuff but the Grannies use a rolling pin.

Have you tried borrowmydoggy? You might meet a new dog and develop a long and beautiful relationship.

Re: Bookgroups - try seeing what your local independent bookshops do. Lots of the ones near me have zoom book groups that they are doing. MeetUp might be a good place to try as well. Google MeetUp bookgroups near where you live.

My top tip for anyone wanting to feel happier is check out Ryan Heffington's Instagram dance class.

It's slightly odd timing for the UK as he's in LA, but I think his Sunday-night one is doable. And you can watch recorded ones on Instagram TV or whatever it's called.

Basically he plays some great tunes and makes up moves and gives them silly names, and you leap about, sing along when required, dress up/use props, and come out of the class feeling 100% more cheerful. Or I do anyway And a side effect is you might get healthier and fitter.

He is a bit sporadic about them and doesn't do them every week, but keep an eye on him on Insta. And as I say, there are a fair few recorded ones available.

Quite seriously, I have found it good for my soul.

@WhereverIGoddamnLike

You've got to make a choice.

You're creating your own misery right now; getting drunk every night and eating foods which make you sluggish and give you no real energy will be making you feel awful. Then, because you feel awful, you drink more and order more junk the next night.

Try to start a but if a routine. Maybe do an online exercise class if you've space in your living room. Or organize with friends to have zoom chats in the evening.

Its really hard, but start with one day. Just say to yourself that tonight you will not drink and will cook something with vegetables. Dont think about tomorrow and the day after; just today. Did something active, make something nice and fresh to eat and dont drink.

This.

Take it one day at a time. Find the exercise you enjoy. I like step classes and they don't take up much room. I can have my favourite music blasting in my headphones.

And like another poster says, it takes a few weeks to make a new habit.

I appreciate you want to detox. For me, when I need to change, I try to make a new habit.

You need a healthy hobby and to eat better... COOKING!
I would recommend you just plunge in to it, you can learn the most basic cooking skills in an interesting way on YouTube you can also learn to absolutely master cooking skills and cook incredible dishes.
I would recommend finding a style of video you like, try binging with babish and Bon appetit they both break down the cooking process in accessible ways.
If you want a challenge could you show us a picture of something You have cooked and give us the recipe?

Hi OP.

That must be quite hard but you’ve got to be kind to yourself.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a glass of wine and a takeaway now and again but yes, it’s damaging to do it so often.

Try and start a plan. E.g you could say you’ll have homemade chicken curry on Monday and then a lasagne on Tuesday.

Try and have a healthy diet, you’ll feel better for it. Protein, fruit and veg etc. Drink lots of water too.

Get plenty of exercise. An hour a day. Make sure you’re sleeping properly at night.

You’ll feel so much better. Cut out the junk food and the alcohol and you’ll have way more energy

Checking in ahead of the dreaded Friday night

I’ve had a really good week - no alcohol or takeaways but I’m seriously feeling the urge tonight.

I’m scared if I start I’ll be back in that vicious cycle, plus I’ve lost some weight this week and I don’t want to undo all that hard work.

Be Strong OP!!!

Full sympathies and congratulations for reaching out for help!

I think you need to give your body time to flush away the cravings. What works for me is no alcohol for two weeks. Same with sugar and grain based carbs. The first few days are bad but then the cravings disappear after two weeks.

You can do it! And afterwards (for me at least) my body naturally resets to health food, small portions.

@Trut thank you.

I’m hoping by having a detox it will help curb the cravings for future but my god tonight they are strong

Oh gosh, I understand! I remember the number of cups of teas, coffee, unsweetened cocoa I had to curb the cravings. It does work. Maybe a special drink -I used to have sparkling water with berries and mint as a ‘reward’ on Fridays 😀 made a ritual out of making it. Arranged some popcorn and nuts and olives on a nice tray. And made sure I went to bed early, so no time for weakness.

And eggs are your friend. So easy to make and super filling