To attempt low carbing?

[VelvetSpoon]

My favourite foods (aside from chocolate, of course) are bread, pasta and potatoes. I eat at least one of the 3, some days all 3 (albeit not at the same meal!).

I need to lose weight because I weigh considerably more than I should. I am going on an activity type weekend in 3 months which will be pretty rough at my current size. I'm also going to a big wedding in 4 months and would love to have lost a decent amount by then.

Oh I also have gallstones which I'm waiting for surgery on. They are pretty quiescent as I'm careful not to eat cheese or butter, or anything deep fried, which tends to kick them off.

So if I low carb, stupid question but what do I eat? My eating is quite disordered and as a result of several SW attempts I tend to 'fill up' on pasta and potatoes.

I know the ultimate answer to losing weight is to eat less, but I do eat emotionally and compulsively so this isn't always easy. I also have a bf who does a lot of exercise and so doesn't really restrict what he eats (and he does virtually all the cooking).

So is it worth trying low carb especially with such a carb heavy diet as mine? Am I likely to be able to stick to it?

I lost 12lbs in 5 weeks low carbing. No bread or pasta or cereal. I still eat potatoes or rice once daily but smaller portions. I make courgetti spaghetti and cauliflower rice, cauliflower base pizza etc, I eat plenty fruit and veg and normal amounts of protein.
The weight loss is noticeable around my middle and l am down a dress size. That sluggish feeling has gone and l have loads more energy.
Give it a go OP, l still have treats of crisps or chocolate once or twice a week but l really don't crave them the way l used to do.

In the run up to my wedding a few years ago I switched my usual lunch for fruit op and managed to lose about half a stone really quickly just by doing that, despite already being quite slim right, (back then I mean - not anymore sadly), cutting way back on alcohol and treats, walking a lot and doing some yoga at home.

I know its a bit old hat these days but the easiest diet I followed was low GI - meant that a bit of brown basmati rice or wholewheat pasta was fine and I could have a pitta bread so long as I was balancing it out with low GI foods - eg tuna/chicken and salad. Also, if you are inclined to binge it would be a good idea to build snacks into your day eg hummus and carrot sticks mid morning and an apple at 4pm, plus a glass of skimmed milk before you go to bed. (Skimmed milk is usually fine as it isn't stuffed with carbs like low fat yoghurt etc and has more calcium.)

OP, I'm honestly not being unkind here because I know starting this process is hard, but you're making a lot of excuses. If there isn't a MFP app for your phone, try Fitbit or Nutrafit or one of the many others. Don't wait until you've lost weight to exercise - just start doing light exercise now (i.e. going for a walk at lunchtime, going swimming at the weekend with your DC, getting off the bus one stop earlier etc etc). Finding these reasons not to do something is a prime method of self-sabotage. You can do this! One day at a time.

Be careful with the cereal in the mornings. I guarantee you're eating twice the recommended portion (the recommended portion of cereal is TINY!) which is almost 350 calories for bran flakes and semi-skimmed milk. Plus it's chock full of carbs and sugar. Cereal is a menace!

I have been losing weight steady whilst building lean muscle almost a 6 pack (3 1/2 Pack) . My weight has gone down by 18 lbs but the main difference has been shape and fitness. I find if I restrict my diet I just end up going on a binge after 2-3 days. The trick is to eat dense foods that make you full, and believe me I come from a family of fat greedy buggers and we tend to crave food. Boiled eggs are really good to have in the fridge as snacks nuts too but watch portion sizes.

Peach, I'm simply stating a fact that MFP isn't an app for my phone, as lots if posters have suggested it, rather than anyone else recommend it. I don't have a Fitbit and can't really afford the cost at present. Not to say I wouldn't get one I just can't go and buy one immediately.

I do some exercise, as mentioned. I'm not completely inert. I do already walk, and I spent several hours gardening at the weekend. When I get a lunch hour I go out for a walk then. I can't swim and I don't have a bike. I've never lost weight through exercise - although once weight loss starts it helps with tone. But there is no point in me trying to do a 30 min jog or steep incline walk now because I'm just too heavy.

Re cereal, I eat low salt/ sugar bran flakes. Having done SW I know what a 30g portion is almost by sight. I could have scrambled egg, but I don't always feel like a hot breakfast. I don't eat yoghurt, and as I'm having fruit at lunch don't want to eat just fruit for breakfast as well. On days where I manage to organise myself some lunch, I'll skip the cereal and have the fruit for breakfast instead.

Re snacks, I do have houmous in the fridge much of the time, and veg. I will bear hard boiled eggs in mind too.

You can get the FitBit app without having to get a FitBit if you're just using it for food logging - there's lots of others out there too. I'd do a google for "best calorie tracker for [your phone]", one will definitely come up.

Could you pick up your level of walking? Maybe do a quick power walk at lunchtime? My DH lost 2 stone in 2 months simply by introducing a 30min power walk into his day! I do agree that exercise doesn't immediately result in weight loss but it does definitely make a difference.

Apologies about the cereal portion size - I was so shocked when I weighed out a correct portion size - in fact I gave up cereal altogether because it wasn't worth bothering with!

I'll see what's in the app store later to download. Hadn't realised that the app could be used without a Fitbit, if it's supported, or if nor something similar is, then I'll certainly get it.

Lunchtime exercise isn't a no but I don't often get a full hour as we often have working lunches, meetings overrun etc. And I'm wary of getting too sweaty when I have to spend the rest of the afternoon in the office.

No offence taken re the cereal, it's probably the only worth while thing I got out of SW knowing what a cereal portion looks like! :)

I've been doing the Blood Sugar Diet, and I actually think it could work for you, though you may prefer to avoid the strict calorie counting at first. I tend to have an apple and a few almonds for breakfast because I'm quite rushed in the mornings. I eat it when I arrive a work. For lunch I have salad that I've brought from home. My favourite is rocket, courgette ribbons, feta, raspberries and pumpkin seeds with a tablespoon each of olive oil and balsamic. Dinner tonight is homemade chicken biryani with cauliflower rice, but sometimes I have chilli, slow cooker gammon with celeriac chips, chicken with chorizo and peppers, low carb sausages or similar. I bulk meals out with broccoli quite often. So, I don't go crazy on the fat, though I try to ensure there's some in each meal to help fill me up. I bought several little containers, so I make lots of lunches at once and then have them stored in the fridge ready to go.

I've lost over a stone, and I've definitely noticed that I'm generally a bit smaller. The Blood Sugar Diet Cookbook has good ideas for recipes. I've also found this way of eating quite sustainable. Twice I've chosen to go "off-plan", and have been able to start again straight away the next day.

Just to update..I've been avoiding pasta, potatoes and bread all week, and already feel better for it and less bloated. I did have half a pitta one day but that's all. I've also stopped having cereal for breakfast every day, am just doing it a couple of times a week, and fruit the rest of the time.

I do feel hungry but I don't think that's a bad thing, SW makes you see Hunger as negative but I don't agree.

You could take soup to work in a flask for lunch it does stop you feeling hungry for quite a while ,is not expensive and takes minimal prep in the morning.We're lucky as we have a microwave so I just have grab a tin(not the most organised at6.30am.
Keep up the good work.

Thanks, I am going to try and make my own soup over the weekend and freeze a few portions, assuming it comes out ok!