What exactly ARE you supposed to eat?

[minniemummy0]

I want to lose weight. A lot of weight. I want a second baby and I don’t want to go through the whole pregnancy considered high risk because I’m morbidly obese. (I had a relatively easy pregnancy and birth actually, no GD, worse thing was a lot of difficulty getting a cannula in, no one could find a vein, and a second degree tear). Despite the fact it was, objectively, very straightforward, I found the whole thing traumatic, I think because it was over-medicalised. I’m not criticising them, they acted properly, but I had a LOT of appointments, I wasn’t able to go midwife led in a birthing pool which I’m still gutted about, I had to inject with heparin twice a day from my first appointment at the hospital I six weeks post birth, and I was heavily pressurised I have an epidural as it would be better to have it in early if I were to have an emergency caesarean, which they acted like was practically a given. I’m sure my ability to breastfeed was also affected by my weight, I found it very hard to position her and latch, which was an enormous disappointment. I think I have developed some sort of health anxiety stemming from this.

Now I don’t want another baby just yet (mine only 7 months old). But I refuse to be morbidly obese when I try for another.

The thing is, I really don’t know how to lose weight anymore. People say, oh everyone knows what to do, they just don’t have discipline/time/motivation. But no, I genuinely can’t work out how I should lose weight. I’ve successfully done weight watchers in the past but I find the current system so complicated I feel crippled with anxiety every time I try to plan.

I tried Slimmig world but I HATED the meetings and I just don’t have time as they were nearly two hours.

I just don’t know what to eat and how to eat healthily. Yes I Could count calories. But how do I choose what to eat, how to balance different food groups, what things really ARE unhealthy and what is a fad. Are carbs bad for you? Is sugar? Are protein shakes something people should really be drinking? I really actually don’t know.

I wish there was a scientific diet. That tells me what to eat and in what quantities. And is healthy for humans and will help me lose weight and is sustainable.

I feel, so so down about myself and my body. I want to feel fit and healthy. Please help!! Please don’t judge me for being so overweight and stupid. I know I’ve failed but I need help.

Blood Sugar Diet.

Buy the book for less than a tenner and don't waste your money on any of the other things. Eat real food, and delicious food. You won't feel hungry. You'll lose weight at a fast, motivating pace and feel better than ever. Life changing.

There's no perfect diet...only the food that works best for you. To get there it's a great idea to keep a detailed diary of how different foods make you feel so you can learn what works for your individual physique.

Different people respond differently to different food. IMO it's more about learning your responses...does food make you feel energy spikes and crashes, give you a sore stomach, headache, feel hungry again within an hour or so of eating etc. Or does it make you feel nourished with no soreness or cravings shortly after.

Figuring that out by experimenting with food rather than just blanket banning stuff and forcing yourself to eat according to whatever diet plan you choose can help you to feel more positive and confident in your choices.

I lost my baby weight doing the 5:2 diet, purely by joining the threads on here and following the incredibly sensible advice. I’ve kept the weight off for 2 years too. I hate having to think about what I’m eating all the time so it was perfect for me - either eat healthy food or eat nothing. When I started checking the calories on things as well I realised just how many I was consuming in things like cold, greasy fish fingers eaten as I scraped the plates from the kids’ tea. What a waste!

Good luck!

I think if you try to do anything too suddenly you're setting yourself up to fail. Youve already said you have a bad diet. Think of making changes in small sections. Week one replace all sugary drinks with sugar free squash or similar, try to replace chocolate with fruit. If you cut up fruit into small pieces and keep it in the fridge it's easier to snack on especially if you mix it up. Cutting down on carbs is going to help, bread, potatoes, noodles etc. Try and aim for a gradual lifestyle change but in my experience an overnight sudden change never works.

Have you considered weightwatchers? You don’t have to go to the meetings, you can do it online. There’s an app that calculates everything for you and records it for you. I’ve lost three stone so far this year doing it this way.

Prep from scratch, even cakes and biscuits, less artificial shite for your body to process

No ready meals, high processed foods etc

Plenty of water and fruit/veg, carbs aren't the enemy. Try to limit sugar intake by cutting back on crap food (sweets etc) but don't completely deny yourself. My typical day;

BF
Scrambled eggs on whole meal toast with avocado OR porridge with nuts and berries OR muesli with Greek yogurt

Snack
Apple & peanut butter
Greek yoghurt with berries
Hummus and crudités
Celery with cheese

Lunch
Soup (fresh)
Salad with meat or cheese & drizzle of balsamic vinegar
Omelette

Dinner
Meat & veg with low fat sauce/gravy
Bolognese
Veg lasagne
Cottage pie
Salmon and broccoli bake

Maybe 2 chocolate truffles if I fancy a treat or a small glass of red wine

Plenty of water.

Don't have shit food in the house, if it's not there, you can't eat it

Get the michael moseley blood sugar diet book. It is a medically approved way of eating with some serious science and research behind it. It can also help you shift a lot of weight quickly if you want to and helps deal with the effects of being overweight on your blood sugar. I have found it really sensible and logical.

If you want to lose weight quickly and if you have stopped breastfeeding, here's what worked for my bestie, who lost nearly 20 pounds in three months:

• Keto (or paleo, if you love fruits) - no need for calorie counting, you just should stop eating when you are satisfied

• Intermittent fasting (eat only 8 hours a day, say from 11am to 7pm, but only when you feel hungry)

• 3 litres of water a day

If you don't want to get into keto/paleo, then you MUST really work out a healthy diet chart for yourself which does not include white flour, white sugar, and processed meat. This, really, is what eating healthy means.

Hi Op

Just to say I sympathise. I am currently the heaviest I have ever been and feel miserable. I feel like I no longer know how to eat properly I have been told so may things. For instance, I was told I was prediabetic but after another blood test I was told I was in the normal range - as a result of the first test I was told to cut out all carbohydrates. I actually don't eat many cabs anyway (don't like potatoes, rice or white bread and already replace pasta with courgetti anyway), however I did like muesli and scrambled egg on wholewheat bread for breakfast and I'm assuming I now can't have these so struggling with what to eat at breakfast, I also really like couscous - are they really that bad?!

Good luck OP, would be great to hear how you get on. There's been some great advice on this thread which I may be pinching!

xx

xx

If your major issue is feeling crippled with not knowing what to meal plan - it might be worth paying for sessions with a diet coach / PT who specialises in weightless and will do you an exercise and meal plan.

Or try one of the VLC diet food replacement things.

I agree with PP that a plate like below may keep it simple and help focus your mind on what to eat
I remember hearing the diet plate woman talking on woman's hour years ago and basically half of whatever you eat should be vegetables. The Matalan one is v popular at the mo. Site said they'd sold more than 100 in 48 hours. It's only £3 and cheapest version I've seen. Avon do one too

Check out the LCHF bootcamp threads, you would be welcomed and supported by everyone there.
The food is delicious and easy to prepare, there are lots of recipes and inspiration from people who have been low carbing for a long time. The food is easy to get your head around with a set of rules that make it very easy to work out what you should be eating.
This is the perfect time for you to ditch your disordered eating so that your little one can share the delicious foods you're eating as dc discovers the world of real food.
Please come and chat to us, you've nothing to lose but lbs.

Plant based, whole foods. No animal products, processed food, sugar or alcohol.

Not only will you lose weight, you will be healthier than ever before.

If you liked the old Weight watchers system, then I would recommend looking into calorie counting. You don't have to worry about what to eat really, as long as you stay within your calorie amount. Apps like my fitness pal are really useful.

If you don't like the slimming world meetings, could you try online.

I understand where you are coming from. It's difficult if you've been overweight for some time and not really sure how to have healthy eating habits or a healthy relationship with food. I found slimming world useful for teaching me about healthy eating habits and now I just kind of eat similar to that on my own. I just try to eat more home made from scratch meals, fresh fruit and vegetables.

Michael Moseley's Blood Sugar Diet is really, really good, and very healthy, so fine if you're planning on getting pregnant. They do an online course if you want it, but I lost all the weight I wanted to just using the book. It sets you up with a way of eating so that you won't regain the weight.

Make it easy on yourself and have:
Breakfast - A bowl of porridge made with skimmed milk and a piece of fruit
Lunch - A bowl of soup and a roll
Dinner - Lean protein (grilled meat or fish) - 1/4 plate, veggies (1/2 plate), carb (baked potato / sweet potato / cous cous / rice) - 1/4 plate.

Snack - yoghurt or piece of fruit or a hot chocolate.

Drink water and limit tea and coffee if you put milk and sugar in them. Avoid excessive snacking and don't use lots of dressings / sauces. Avoid pastry, cakes, chocolate bars, crisps, etc..

You can use an app like "My fitness pal" to track what you eat and work out the calories you are eating and then you can work out other options that fit in. However the above diet is my "go to" if I want to lose weight. I find it easy to plan and prepare (if a bit dull after a week or so).

What happens at slimming world meetings?

They last about 2 hours, while the Leader goes around the room and chats with each person about "their week" - it's excruciating. She tries to flog you SW products, and talks about Muller Lights and rice cakes a lot.

I joined up for about 6mths to lose some weight for a holiday - I did lose weight, but I preferred WW - I find the plan easier (although I don't know what the new plan is like) and the meeting were shorter, and less, er, like school.

I hated Slimming World meetings, but I recently tried again as an 'online only' member and it has gone really well. I am losing slowly but steadily. I also got a FitBit and make sure I do my 10000 steps everyday. It has made a huge difference for me.

I find that I've distilled the SW principles down a bit so I'm not constantly checking the app:

1. lots of veg/fruit with every meal/snack
2. choose low fat
3. avoid sugar
4. never have more than 1/3 plate as carb (potato, rice, pasta)
5. limit bread, cereals, nuts, cheese and milk to one small portion a day

You could try sticking to those and see if they work for you.

I think it's also important to log your weight weekly - whether in a book, on a free app, or some sort of subscription system like SW.

if you really don't know where to start, I would do something like Dietplan or Janeplan. I've been pondering it for a while as I suspect there's something wrong with my portion sizes!

At this stage I would set yourself a plan which starts with cutting out the obvious nasties and increasing the good stuff for the first two months. After that, moving to an even healthier eating plan. I would suggest buying Michael Mosley’s clever guts book.

I note that you eat a lot of takeaway and drink lots of fizzy drinks. I would for the first month choose whichever of the two is easiest and cut that out completely. No diet fizz either - just water or tea / ordinary coffee. No sugar in drinks at all. Next month, the other one - so if you chose takeaways in month one, fizzy drinks in month two. Try to walk briskly for half an hour a day (or if you’re already fit, another form of exercise). Try to eat more fruit and veg - raw is good! Carrot sticks / cucumber / tomatoes as well as veg in meals.

After two months, choose a diet plan which most resembles ordinary eating. Good luck.

Haven't read the full thread, but why can't you just use the old system of Weight Watchers if that's worked for you in the past?

Or go and see a dietician via your GP and ask them to come up with a meal plan for you.

Sugar = very bad
Fat= ok if healthy like avocado and nuts in moderation.
Carbs= ok if non refined in moderation.

Mostly I'd say try and eat 3/4 vegetables (potatoes are a carb not a veg) and have a little bit of the other stuff on the side.

Make it easy on yourself and have:
Breakfast - A bowl of porridge made with skimmed milk and a piece of fruit= CARBS
Lunch - A bowl of soup and a roll = CARBS
Dinner - Lean protein (grilled meat or fish) - 1/4 plate, veggies (1/2 plate), carb (baked potato / sweet potato / cous cous / rice) - 1/4 plate.

Snack - yoghurt or piece of fruit or a hot chocolate. CARBS

This menu is mostly carbs. No need for so many carbs for a morbidly obese person.
The dinner looks ok but leave out the potato etc.
Have 150g greek yogurt with 50g berries, or poached eggs for breakfast.
Cottage cheese with raw vegetable crudites for lunch.
Dinner looks ok but leave out the carbs.
No need for snacks.

Was going to come on and say what Freaklikemeee said about Weight Watchers and using the old system that worked for you.

I agree with you about their current system. I only want to lose a stone and their new system is just putting me off going as it looks very restricted and a bit 'miserable' if that makes sense.

Also think GP might be your best first step.

Wish you luck.