To not have realised how over weight I am? :(

[Lostandlostsomemore]

Always been a size 10 pre kids, never weighed myself but maybe around about 10 stone as not very small framed boobs 36d.
Had my son 4 1/2 years ago and my daughter 3 years ago and remember on my last weight check before having her I was 16 stone and appalled.
Walked everywhere with the double pram as didn't drive and over 2 years was back down to a size 12 still horrible saggy stomach from 2 c sections but generally wore dresses so was fine.
Learnt to drive as moved out of London and although I don't eat large portions I don't eat the healthiest of food as just don't bloody like it.
Weighed myself today and 12 stone 13. Awful :( I knew my dresses felt a bit tight but still buying a size 12 so didn't think it was that bad.
I work evenings so literally impossible to join a gym as my 2 nights off a week I want to see my husband and kids and we live somewhere that you have to drive everywhere and now neither kid will get in a pram anyway so that's not going to work.
Am I going to have to starve? I have my brothers wedding in December and clearly have a good 3 stone to lose

Can i ask why speed is of the essence?

The op's brother is getting married Helenadove.

Yep, it's 80% food, 20% exercise that shifts weight. A drastic change to your diet, not rocket science. Fruit, veg, water. You may need to relearn feeling hungry. Not starving yourself. But not eating pastries every day. Y

I am still quite toned from all my years of training pre kids.
My stomach still has a faint 4 pack until the bottom when it then resembles a kangaroo pouch.
My husband says apart from that I look the same as when we met, I do carry weight quite well as a little spreads everywhere not just in one place but the pouch alone probably weighs a stone it's disgusting.
I will cut down on the sweet stuff I tend to eat that late at night after work as I'm hungry but too tired to make something to eat and then what would I eat at 1230 at night? But I will try to start moving more the car has been a big factor in it

Oh i see. In general though I think we are too used to seeing "Lose 3 stone in a month" type articles. Its everywhere which has normalized it but its not a sensible way of doing it.

And if someone got gallstones now (two docs told me i got it due to losing weight too fast) the waiting list is a darn sight longer than what it was 12 years ago.

I do have a few pairs of size 12 jeans that do up, they are the stretchy type though, proper trousers I would get a 14 but dresses easily a 12 as boob size now only 36c and not big hips or anything.

I would highly recommend a plan to stick to for a couple of weeks. It made me realise I had been near constantly snacking! And the choice of foods made such a big difference, a slice of toast would leave me starving an hour later, but a handful of nuts and blueberries was much better for going 2/3 hours without needing something. You just need to find a plan that you like the sound of and can stick to without making yourself miserable!

Oh i love blueberries I chuck them on my plain Weetabix in the morning along with strawberries.

If I see one more person claim that diet fizzy drinks are bad for you without providing any proper evidence I think I'm going to spontaneously combust.

I'm drinking a load of Pepsi Max at the moment because it contains more or less zero calories and tastes like a treat. It works wonders. And I see no reason why it would dehydrate you more than tea or coffee. I feel the caffeine in both of those far more. And even they don't actually dehydrate you.

On Wednesday my breakfast at 9am was a plate of pork ribs and chicken wings. i was not hungry until 5pm. protein keeps you full.

Drinking diet fizzy drinks doesn't help re-educate your palate and stop you craving sweet things.

And they taste vile anyway (and give me diarrhea).

I wasn't questioning, I was trying to say she is small and bot overweight and giving an example how differently people carry weight.

for the same reason try cutting out fruit for a few weeks.

Bunbaker i found my IBS symptoms eased after stopping diet coke Still get flare ups but its rarer.

Drinking diet fizzy drinks doesn't help re-educate your palate and stop you craving sweet things.
So you say. Do they work against this, though? I seem to be managing just fine, so that's my sample size of 1 versus your sample size of 1, presumably? What if you don't crave sweet things in the first place?

And they taste vile anyway (and give me diarrhea).
I can't stand most diet drinks but Pepsi Max is palatable enough for me. And doesn't give me diarrhoea.

I had my wake up call in June. I turned 50 and Dh bought me a beautiful bath robe and it wouldnt go round my arse. I knew I was fatter than I should have been but had no idea how fat i was.I have never dieted and didnt own a scale

I went on one of those 40 day reset programs as i ate very little and healthy,everything from scratch, no junk food,seldom snaked etc, but was still fat so figured where these target the metabolism it might work. I have lost 2 1/2 stone in 40 days. I feel great, I was never hungry

I still have a stone to go,Ill redo it in the spring.

Looking after the children from 6:30 then working from 7pm until 12pm is pretty punishing on your body.

Is there any way the children can go to pre school at the same time and you can go to something low adrenalin like yoga or Pilates, even if this is at home. You could also use this time to make things you can eat late at night that won't put your body clock even more out of sync. I am not sure what would be ideal but perhaps fruit, having eaten a good meal around 6 with the children.

Do try to get out and walk with the children during the day, fresh air and low adrenal exercise. Given you are only sleeping for 5 hours a night, your hormones must be struggling to function. Is there any chance that your DH can cover an extra hour or so in the morning for you? And do give your self a break at the weekend, your long term health is not worth risking.

Agree with advice about cheap exercise bike, you can probably get a cheap second hand one. I use my exercise bike every day now for 20 to 30 minutes. When I first started I only did 5 minutes at a time on the easiest setting, it's still exercise. Don't think you have to do massive amounts of exercise all at one time, fit a few minutes in when you can. This worked for me , combined with an improved healthy diet, now I do a lot more exercise and even have a bike with wheels. Good luck , and don't feel you have to make major changes all at once.

Forget all this vanity sizing, my mother measured 36-24-36 and was a house model for one of the biggest department stores in London, post WW2. She was a perfect 12! I'm a size 8 in most things but am still bigger than her. You are a bit overweight, sorry, not PC, but move more and carry on eating healthily, I'm sure you can do it!

Yes we do as are out at parks and all sorts everyday but we do have to drive to most places no not as much excercise as I was doing whilst walking with the double pram.
My husband leaves for work at 6.30 so no can do, working is probably contributing to me eating crap without even realising just to keep me awake for the drive home but will start having a coffee before i leave instead thanks for all the tips

Smilla please don't self-combust but Google "effects of diet soda", you will find the results of research such as the Nettleton report and plenty of other information pointing to the fact that diet drinks actually make you fatter in the long-term.

In fact, making you put on belly fat is not the worst thing about diet drinks.

I used to drink them daily, but haven't touched one for years now.

Well my start weight was the same as yous and I have lost a stone on 5:2 since mid June. I have barely exercised, less than normally in fact.

I was/still am a wearing a 14 but I rarely wear dresses. My clothes had definitely stretched with me though, I am only now realising how badly they were fitting me.

Not sure if other posters have pointed this out as I have skimmed a little but at a size 10/12 you are unlikely to have a 36 inch back. Have you tried the bra intervention method of measuring?

OP, you sound almost identical to me in many ways including age of DC and working evenings. I'm an inch shorter and about 12lb lighter so probably similar BMI.

I have fallen off the wagon now but in the past made sure that I was out of the house at least one morning at the weekend, with DH dealing with DC breakfast, for a power walk (or even run). I also invested in a 2nd hand Reebok Step and did 10-20 min sessions in the lounge whenever DC were playing nicely/napping/watching CBeebies, with the aim of doing 30 mins every other day.

You have my full sympathy, looking after small DC and then heading out to work nights is a killer, go easy on yourself.

Smilla please don't self-combust smile but Google "effects of diet soda", you will find the results of research such as the Nettleton report and plenty of other information pointing to the fact that diet drinks actually make you fatter in the long-term.

Google anything and you can find pieces of research making conflicting claims.

I googled 'Nettleton diet soda' and read the abstract (which doesn't seem to suggest anything like what you're saying). This also led me to this:

advances.nutrition.org/content/5/6/797.abstract

'Two categories of these beverages were reviewed. Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) include soft drinks, colas, other sweetened carbonated beverages, and fruit drinks with added sugar. Artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs), also referred to as non-nutritive sweetened beverages, are marketed and used as a replacement for SSBs for those who want to reduce sugar and caloric intake. The totality of evidence to date demonstrates a pattern across observational and experimental studies of an increased risk of weight gain and obesity with higher intake of SSBs. However, it remains difficult to establish the strength of the association and the independence from other potentially confounding factors. The primary reason for unclear conclusions regarding the robustness of any effect of SSBs is due to the heterogeneity and methodologic limitations of both observational and experimental studies on this topic. Although some observational studies have suggested that ASBs may cause increased risk of obesity and cardiometabolic diseases, there is no clear mechanism for this pathway, and the epidemiologic studies are highly inconsistent. An important issue with the observational studies on ASBs and obesity or disease risk is reverse causality bias, with higher-quality studies demonstrating this possibility.'

Your cortisol levels are probably high as you are not getting enough sleep really. Cortisol apparently makes you store fat in the stomach area in particular. This is where mine has piled on which I know isn't particularly healthy.