to not know what to do about my eating habits or my weight?

[FeedMyFaceWithJaffaCakes]

Hello everyone.
Posted this a couple of places, as really need advice.
I have tried SW (slimming world) three a few times and failed every single time.
I'm quite fat. 5'4 and (I haven't the nerve to get on the scales) but probably about the top end of the 12stones...
I think the reason I'm failing is because I don't eat very much, is in I eat little potions of good and healthy food. Even though some of it like chicken, tuna jacket potatoes, leafy salad and avocado I love. I just don't always feel hungry. Sometimes I go days without eating anything, especially If I'm tired/stressed/anxious (delete as appropriate!) I enjoy big meals if I go out (to somewhere like nandos approx. Once a week) and will always have three courses if there's something I fancy if we go to a pub (that's probably more like once a month though)
I've never ever eaten breakfast, I leave the house at 6.15am every morning and the idea of eating then makes me feel physically ill. I'm sure I don't drink enough either.
I love chocolate and biscuits and cake and can easily eat a share bag of malteasers to myself.
I don't do any exercise at all and I hate all forms of exercise, except swimming which I do quite like.
I'm a nurse so I do spend all day on my feet but I'm not really sure that counts!!
So really, I'm just asking, do you think I should try SW again?
Or is there another diet healthy eating plan that might be more effective?
I know I need to do something, but I'm not sure of the most effective solution.
Because I can't go on like this.
I want to look beautiful in my wedding dress. 

[Whoknewitcouldbeso]

Sounds like your problem is sugar OP.

[toffeeboffin]

Get rid of the sugar. Crack cocaïne is worse I swear. Too addictive and destructive.

Lower carb, high veg, high protein. I'd include sweet potato and lentils too but purists will say not!

[toffeeboffin]

Oh yeah.

Try MFP for a week.

Good luck.

[theycallmemellojello]

I think if you want to lose weight you need to cut out the chocolate and biscuits (and sugary drinks and alcohol if relevant). Prepare healthy snacks to have instead so you're not caught short. But then if you just stick to three healthy meals a day (mid morning breakfast?) I think you will lose weight, especially if you are on your feet all day.

[HermioneJeanGranger]

You're welcome

I would try and buy the following

Lots of fruit and veg
Noodles etc. for stir-fry
Lean meat (chicken, turkey) and things like prawns.
Fish (mackerel, salmon, haddock, tuna)
Brown bread/rice/pasta.

[FeedMyFaceWithJaffaCakes]

Okay so I have so far in my basket:
1 packet of baby leaf salad
2 X avocado
Cucumber
Spring onions
Packet of stir fry veg mix
Beansprouts
Potatoes
Strawberries
Rasperries
Cherries
Stir fry sauce
Packet of 4 chicken breasts
Sausages
Prawns
Smoked mackerel
Rubarb and custard yoghurt from yeo valley
Plain granola (no icky bits)
Mr Kipling Angel slices
Those teensy cans of Coke
Ribena
Sparking water


Anything else?!

[MrsMook]

Another vote for MFP. Log everything that goes past your lips, a sweet here, a drink there...

I gained weight quickest when I worked in a hospital. I was tired from being on my feet all day, so had a coke here, and a chocolate bar there... on the wards there were chocolates from patients.

Sugar is addictive in that it'll pick you up very quickly and then be followed by a crash. It will also mess up your appetite. It's also quite a quick habit to break. It's best to avoid sweetness and not substitute with sweetners as they trick your body into acting in a similar way.

Vegetables, protiens and foods with a low GI index are also good. Go for more complex carbs which satisfy for longer. If I snack at something like a babybel, the fats and proteins satify much longer than the sugars from a biscuit for a similar amount of calories. The biscuit will lead to hunger and more calorie intake.

Building in some regular exercise like a brisk walk or swimming is also good for energy levels and firing up your calorie burn.

[MrsMook]

Looking at the list, there's some good foods there. I'd aim to wean off drinks with sugar/ sweetner, but you've got a good first step there.

I mainly drink water and fruit teas now. I used to drink hi-juice squashes and coke when out, and it stacks up! It can take a while to change your taste. I now find my local tap water pleasantly sweet! (Except at work where Lord knows what happens in the pipes, but there's fruit tea for that)

[TooExtraImmatureCheddar]

Put back the Coke, the Ribena and the Mr Kipling. Do you drink a lot of Coke to get through your shifts?

[thenightsky]

Look at the Low Carb Bootcamp thread... I think a bootcamp is starting next week. I did it 2 years ago and lost 30lb. Kept most of it off.

[Saxons]

My fitness pal us the way forward. That way you can work out how much you are really eating.

Don't rely on walking/running for weight loss. It's secondary

[Howdoesironmanwee]

Ditch the coke and ribena. Addictive and unbelievably bad, devoid of nutrition. Ditto angel cake slices.I'd lose the granola too tbh. Unrated, unsalted nuts, dried (unsweetened) mango.
Eggs, lots of eggs. Boil a batch and snack/braakfadt on them. Make yourself eat something good first thing. Drink lots of water. Keep a bottle somewhere you can swig it, set yourself challenges.

[confusedandemployed]

I never got on with SW. Lost lots on WW years ago but the only thing which has completely changed my eating attitude is 5:2.
It's not just about the fast days: on your non fast days you don't want to undo all your hard work...so you eat better. You almost instinctively choose better options (hummus and veg instead of crisps, Nakd bar instead of a biscuit) because you recognise that protein fills you better than carbs (and has more nutrients). So you find you eat very sensibly.
And on 1 or 2 days a week, anything goes. Except you're so much more conscious of what you put in your mouth. So you enjoy what you eat but you no longer binge. But because you can have what you want, you don't need to binge.
5:2 with MFP. I will never change now, I've found my happy way of eating.

[Industrialhelicopter]

2 X avocado
Potatoes
Stir fry sauce
Sausages
Smoked mackerel
Rubarb and custard yoghurt from yeo valley
Plain granola (no icky bits)
Mr Kipling Angel slices
Those teensy cans of Coke
Ribena

Dump all of the above (or look closely at the calorie content as can vary) if on a diet.

[CrazyOldBagLady]

I know someone who lost a load of weight by simply not drinking coke. They were up to about 2 litres a day.

OP I think you should try cutting this out, as well as most of the cake, biscuits and chocolate. Maybe just have a weekend treat and eat 'proper' food mid-week. If you do that for a few weeks and then get back on the scales you will soon see whether that's your culprit.

If this doesn't help, then you should probably find a way to burn off more calories and go swimming/walking/jogging 2-3 times a week.

[cardibach]

If alcohol is so full f calories, can anyone explain this? I was drinking way too much wine. I gave it up for a bit at New Year and haven't drunk any this week. I also paid attention to eating healthily, and definitely are less sugar and general crap (and quantity). I've lost nothing at all in a week. How is that fair? I've also done a bit of walking.

[ExasperatedAlmostAlways]

I'd recommend downloading my fitness pal, if you are sometimes going days without eating or eating very little then eating big meals out, your body will be holding on to all the calories and storing it for days you don't eat.

You need to make yourself eat every day three meals a day. My fitness pal will work out the calories you should consume to lose weight and you type in what you eat and it works out the calories for basically everything.

You also need to drink more water. Your body needs enough fluid to break down fat to use as energy when dieting.

Iv been doing it since Monday and have lost six pounds so far. Alot is just fluid retention to begin with but after should be a steady two pounds a week hopefully from past experience.

[Howdoesironmanwee]

Because it's only been a week...

[Jackkac]

huel.com ?

[Howdoesironmanwee]

Oh god please, no supplements or such nonsense.
Also do NOT ditch the avocados, mackerel and potatoes. I despise when people demonise real, mineral rch food, what utter shit.
Eat food. Actual food. Not processed rubbish. Eat it regularly, don't skip meals. Drink water, loafs of it.
The body doesn't recognise processed food as food/nutrition, it stores the calories it can't use as fat alright though.
If it doesn't rot, don't eat it.

[manicinsomniac]

Have you ever added up and averaged out your calories over a week?

Because I really don't get how you can go for days without eating anything but not be skinny. It doesn't make sense. Especially as you are so busy. It doesn't seem likely that you could be eating say 2500 calories a day in junky snacks.

At the very lowest mental ebb of an eating disorder I was fasting for 6 days then bingeing like hell on day 7. I ate unbelievable amounts of crap on day 7. But I was still really skinny because my average calorie intake was still low.

Just eating too much junk shouldn't mean you're fat if you're not really eating proper food at all. Have you had your thyroid checked?

[sleepwhenidie]

A second 'don't ditch the avocado, potato and mackerel' from me - plus everything else Howdoes said.

If you do nothing else this week, aim to ditch the Coke as a start, you are likely to get headaches if you go cold turkey so half your intake on the first day, then again a couple of days later, continuing until you can let it go completely.

[CrazyOldBagLady]

Agree with Howdoes, suppliments aren't needed, you need to eat nutricious food. Also cutting out potatoes, mackerel(?!) or avocado not necessary, all very good for you.

[ExasperatedAlmostAlways]

Cardibach, how much water have you been drinking?

Op, ditch the sausages. Go for linda McCartney red onion frozen ones if you must eat sausages. Or get bacon and trim all fat, you can have that with beans and egg.

I'd get frylite spray as well instead of oil to fry stuff.

Ditch all the sugary stuff in your basket. Coke. Ribena, the cakes etc. If you need a bit of fizz drink sparkling water with a dash of sugar free cordial. If you are craving a cake eat a piece of fruit. Frozen grapes are really good too!

[ExasperatedAlmostAlways]

Limit potatoes and swap for sweet potato but defo defo keep mackerel and avocado. Instead of thinking of it as a diet, try think of it as changing your eating habits. Don't keep treats etc in the house but if you want one occasionally and have enough calories left on myfitnesspal then go to the shop and get a single bar of chocolate or whatever so less temptation to eat the lot.