to be sick of diets and diet clubs...calling all skinny people to help!!!

[ChocolateBiscuitCake]

I have always been, in the words of Bridget Jones, 'a little bit fat'. Three children in 4 years (and copious amounts of chocolate biscuit cake ), I am fed up of being fat and all the effects that it has on self esteem, energy, fitness etc. I have two stone to lose and am 35.

I have tried every 'diet' going and fallen off the wagon within weeks. I have been to WW and SW. I am sick of them. They are limiting, I feel hungry and then when I can't have something, I want it and the 'diet' falls apart.

I am binning it all.

And I am going to eat a normal, healthy, balanced diet with small portions. I am going to start exercising and moving more (my personal trainer started today to keep me motivated...I am lazy!).

In the park this morning there were hundreds of thin people exercising - I long to be fit, healthy and 'thin'. What I want to know is:

to all you skinny people - what do you actually eat?
how much exercise do you do?
how much alcohol do you drink? (I suspect this may be where I am going wrong!!!)
any other tips?

Hope you don't mind me posting here - I doubt there are many skinny people in the slimming club section!!!!

My Fitness Pal.

any other tips?

TBH, I think it all boils down to listen to your body and stop eating when you have had enough. I suspect this is very hard to do when you are used to being on a diet.

I eat a lot, btw, though not really sweet things, I walk but do no other exercise and I drink a glass or two of wine a night (sometimes a bit too big). I am skinny. In fact, I would like to be at least half a stone heavier. And I second My Fitness Pal, it's great (I have gained a whole two pounds using it).

Waiting in anticipation to hear the answers...

I swam every day at 6am. 50 lengths. 7 days a week. Lost 2 and half stone.

Firstly - well done you for stepping away from 'diet' and starting to eat healthy. There is a massive difference. In an average day I will eat:

banana and a nature valley oat bar for breakfast with fruit tea
mid morning a hand full of nuts/seeds and a hand full of grapes/fruit tea
lunch is usually a sandwich or salad, yoghurt/water
mid afternoon some fruit/fruit tea
dinner, grilled chicken or fish with veg or couscous/salad

We drink on Friday/saturday night but a bottle of wine can last us the two nights.

I'm 5ft 6 and just under 10st but I've got a bit of muscle from weights but not a great deal.

I do have treats though! I still have the odd biscuit/chocolate bar probably every other day.

losing weight is about consuming less calories than you burn. If you put in more energy than you work off your body will convert it to fat. Things to avoid are things like grains and bad fats i.e. saturated fat, so anything basically that is pre made so cake, chocolate bars, shop bought pasta sauces or ready meals. Even the ones that are low fat are still not good for you.

Take some time to research some nice healthy hearty meals, take pride in making and enjoying them. Go as colourful as you can with your veg. If you can eat as much veg as you can.

One thing that really, really helped me get my weight under control was understanding how blood sugar spikes affected my cravings for more sugar. The way I eat now keeps my blood sugar levels ticking over nicely all day so I never get cravings for anything and in turn it stops me over eating at meal times. Eat little and often (obviously healthy stuff, not lots of cakes and crisps!) and drink lots of water. I guarantee in two weeks you will be craving less.

Also, I know I mentioned my weight above but actually, weight is a poor indicator of health - eat healthily and you will feel well, once you start to feel well, you'll never eat crap again :)
Good luck!!

I'm not super skinny but I'm not overweight and maintain a steady weight.
Eat - everything in moderation no food is banned, cook from scratch, fill up on fruit and veg, no coffee shop coffees or other treats with hidden calories, no cakes/biscuits etc. kept in cupboards at home so temptation to snack removed. (I still partake of a kitkat at work every day so not horribly virtuous)

Exercise - 3 times a week for 30 mins and walk as much as possible

Alcohol - none except for odd occasions (this makes a massive difference and I was 2 sizes heavier before I stopped drinking regularly)

My biggest tip is that it needs to be a permanent lifestyle change in order to keep the weight off. Diets only work in the short term so you need to find a method of eating and exercising that you can live with for the rest of your life. Diets also in my experience make you obsess so much about food that it's all you can think of which sets you up to fail before you even start.

Good luck and I hope you find a healthy lifestyle that suits :)

Drink lots of water, sometimes you can think you are peckish when in fact you are dehydrated. Also, if you drink it ice cold, you have to warm it up to body temperature before it can be absorbed, so that uses energy.
I eat a bit of what I fancy when I fancy it. Two squares of Dairy Milk will last me all night.
I heartily agree that the "healthy eating plan" works wonders over "restrictive diet plan" (esp these extreme ones where you cut out whole food groups, they are not sustainable and once you go back to "normal" eating, your weight will return)
I struggled with my weight for years, excercised obsessively, binged (but only ever on "healthy" food, never chocolate or chips!) and purged. It took over my life, it was all I EVER thought of, every minute of every day.
It wasn't until I got pregnant and began to eat normally and healthily that my weight stabilised, and once I'd had my baby I was slimmer without trying (in truth I ate for 3 whilst BF) than I'd ever been whilst restricting my diet all those years.
Think before you eat: how do I feel (genuinely hungry, bored, down, upset)
Think about how you will feel after you eat whatever it is you are contemplating (guilty, unhappy, satisfied, stuffed)
Eat things that will give you something back, think of your body as a machine, it will run more efficiently with decent fuel inside it.

And keep posting and working with your PT. You'll get there! :O)

I was you in January! The biggest lesson for me is that exercise is great for making you feel good and for toning, it doesn't help you lose weight. I walkk up to 4 miles / day and swim 2 to 3 time / week. Until I started actually eating less food, I lost no weight. I have done a mixture of SW and common sense and have lost 1.5 st with another 1/2 st to go.

For b/fast I have 2 small wholemeal toast and eggs scrambled with fat free yoghurt & black coffee

For snacks I have 2 x oat cakes or fruit

For lunch I have either the remains of the previous night's dinner, soup, ryvita with hummous / cheese, yoghurt

For tea I have pasta with fish or frittata etcc etc

For snacks I just try not to go wild. I will have bits of chocolate or a few crisps etc but just try to remember that I want to fit my new clothes more than I want the treats

I don't drink much which I think has a big impact as I am less likely to go crazy if I haven't had a drink ) and I no longer have milk in tea / coffee. That has been the biggest change, and I find it helps me remember that I am trying to be disciplined and not to order a milky coffee and cake whnever I go to Cafe Nero.

Hope that is helpful - I had tried and failed so many times I thought I couldn't do it, so if I can manage it anyone can!

i used to be a 10 and eat and drink lots but with first child in asia (ate out every night) i piled on 4 stone. she was only 5 pounds!

breastfeeding for years did't shift the last bit, but i lost the last stone in first trimester of second pregnancy and never put weight on throughout and 9 months after i'm a size 6. still feeding, but not so many calories from me.

i do no exercise but i do walk everywhere and sling a baby up to 6 hours a day. my NEAT is fairly high and i don't stay still much

i eat half what i see many others eat.
half my plate is always vegetables. heads of broccoli vanish in hours in my house...
lunch is often crudites and homemade hummus
i eat bread lightly.
i don't eat out and all meals cooked from scratch
i eat homecooked asian food. lotsof vietnamese stuff
snacks are fruit and nuts
i drink shedloads of water and one big glass before eating
i drink only red wine. most nights, but lightly, as am bfeeding and don't want a hangover

i'm a keen baker and icecream maker and will eat these things alot but only in tiny portions.

something about the second pregnancy made me hate feeling full and stuffed (i was sick every day until i had her) and i've trained myself to be satisfied with far less.

i never do half fat this or low sugar that.

full fat everything in our house. just remember it is what it is and don't go mad.

i think portion size is the main factor behind my losing weight.

see how small vintage plates are. and look at the one in the shops these days.

to all you skinny people - what do you actually eat?
Breakfast - cake, custard and banana
Lunch - 2 sheets of bread and coronation chicken, rolo chocolate dessert
Tea - big plate of pasta, or half a family-sized pie with veg, or 4 sausages with mash and beans etc.
Snacks - biscuits, ice cream, cake etc.
Drinks - orange juice, semi-skimmed milk.
This keeps me at a pretty constant 8 and a half stone with a BMI of 17ish.

how much exercise do you do?
I walk round the park a fair bit, and go to yoga once a week.

how much alcohol do you drink? (I suspect this may be where I am going wrong!!!)
I might have a few glasses of Baileys at a party, but generally not that bothered about it.

any other tips?
My weight is usually fairly static, and the only time I do lose weight is when I am stressed as I physically can't eat then. Like when a family member is ill or I stupidly start googling medical stuff about the MMR jab and freak myself out. This is probably not the best weight-loss strategy though!!!

there's a really good book on the psychology of eating decisions which opened my eyes (eg, why vision, placement, habits, marketing etc) and had great tips for cutting calories in a consistent, but small way, so you don't feel a deficit, called Mindless Eating by prof brian wansinck

cuppatea ? Really?

I'm a size 10 and 8 stone 10. I weigh myself regularly and if I start getting towards 9 stone I do high protein for a few days.

I try to only eat bread and pasta once or twice a week, and as my name suggests, I go for Freddos as my chocolate/sugar fix. They are little but enough to satisfy the craving, I actually eat far too many of them!

I only drink alcohol out of the house (except on Christmas day) and then I go for spirits and diet coke rather than wine.

I hardly do any exercise, but I go swimming sometimes and try to walk and take the stairs instead of doing lifts.

I'm slim rather than skinny but I eat a lot.

I love food and enjoy food and I don't want to not be able to enjoy a chunk of cheese or a bar of chocolate.

The only way I can eat well is to exercise. I know it's a pain but it really is the key.

I run 4 times a week - on three days i do about 40 mins and then one day I week I do a 'big' run - so about an hour and a quarter and that's enough to burn off everything I eat.

i don't do anything else - i can't be arsed doing sit-ups, weights or any of that.

My only other thing is that although I eat whatever I want I don't ever eat to that 'bursting' point - I stop a couple of mouthfuls before then. Eat until you are satisfied not stuffed.

If you can - exercise in the morning. Get it over with.

Smoking kept me skinny, and I didn't even realise it at the time. I gave up about a year ago and have piled on 10 pounds since. Would love to lose it, but not enough to want to start smoking again ( cats bum mouth ).

Wrote a long reply and lost it as was logged out grrr...

Thank you for all your replies - am so sick of the low fat/no fat/no sugar/low carb/no carb dieting crap...

Like so many of your skinnier people have said, I think the key is portions size, being aware of good choices and exercise. Funnily enough, I only eat from scratch but I think I have relied too heavily on diet to lose weight, when actually, I need to move more.

It is going to be a long road - I haven't exercised for years (been pregnant for ever!) and am very unfit. But, like I said, I am sick of the lethergy, the blubber and looking 45, not 35!

Oh and I have never worn skinny jeans...that is my goal!!!

OP I don't eat carbs, not really intentionally it's just I don't really like them, I can live without bread, rice, pasta and most potato based food.

I am a size 8 and I think it is to do with my practically carb free diet, as I eat massive amounts of meat/veg/fizzy drinks/beer/wine/nuts/soups/anything I can get my hands on.

I enjoy pizza, but prefer a stir fry, and they're a great way to get a large meal with not many calories down your neck as it's mainly veg, meat, maybe noodles.

I used to have a subway sandwich every day (foot long) and I put on half a stone in 4 weeks.

My tips therefore to those wanting to lose weight are;
no subways, less carbs (white ones mainly -they have bleach and crap in them) meat meat meat, and subsidise all meals heavily with veg and like someone else suggested water, drink some before a meal and you may eat less.

I eat like the slowest person/wildebeest and so can feel when I'm full. If I'm in a rush I have a tendency to shovel food like I'm at my trough, and then feel bloated and huge.

Cut out alcohol, beer is immense for calories. :)

I am similar to you OP, but have been much slimmer. Exercise is the key for me, and eating sensibly but never low/no fat but the real deal, which means smaller portions but much more satisfaction.

The trouble is if I stop exercising for any more than a week I pile on the pounds, so illness, work stress etc. may mean I gain a stone!

I mean much slimmer than I am now, not much slimmer than you OP

I do my fitness pal, I burn 500 calories a day in the gym, which allows more flexibility with the eating.

@ cocoa

Loads of good advice there OP and all pretty much along the same lines. For exercise I heartily recommend the Couch to 5k program. It's a fab way to get into running if that's what you fancy. I play netball twice s week and run 5k twice a week which seems to keep me at the right size

OP, you need this thread.