Actually disgusted with myself

[Jumpingjosephene21]

I'm so disgusted with how fat I've let myself get during lockdown. I drink too much, I'm sat at a desk all day and I eat crap. I've always struggled with my weight but before lockdown I would walk, exercise and eat OKish. Now I just seem to have lost all self control and routine. And it shows. I've put on at least two stone in lockdown. My face is bloated and my belly is massive.

I don't know why I'm posting. I just need a kick up the arse to change my habits. I'm stuck in a big rut. Can anyone help? On an average day I eat a lot of bread and carbs. I snack on junk like crisps and biscuits and I drink maybe 3-4 nights a week which is also empty calories.

[userxx]

Jumping in the boat too and fear it might capsize. Life changes needed starting this week, not only am I carrying extra timber my bones ache, I need to sort my shit out.

[TheRealHousewife]

Hi @Jumpingjosephene21 firstly congrats on setting out your stall to change. Secondly you’re not disgusting, you’re human and we all sometimes struggle.

I’m on this thread. Come and join us. No rules as no one size fits all. However the ladies are encouraging, positive and supportive. Good luck 🙂

[Emmapeeler2]

I have done the same OP but echo thst you need to be kind to yourself. This year has been shit and lots of us have put on weight.

I had a bit of a wake up moment in October when none of my clothes fit, and I haven't drunk for all of November, except one glass of wine on a Saturday. It's helped a lot. Maybe start with that? I also cut down crisps and biscuits, but haven't cut them out (because I am human!). The alcohol alone will make a quick difference.

I think something like slimming world is good for controlling weight loss without cutting anything out you can do it online.

[heydoggee]

Intuitive eating could really help you, I feel.

Please don't call yourself disgusting, mainly for yourself and your own self esteem, but also because there will be people reading this who are much bigger than you and, well, you can imagine how that might make them feel.

[Gregariousfox]

The only way I've learned to wean myself off carbs is to go cold turkey. It takes a week or two just to rid yourself of the craving, particularly sugar-based snacks. Then once you've reset then it's easier to take or leave them.

Also, sleep makes a massive difference to me. If I'm tired I always crave carbs as a way to boost energy.

Can you get yourself in a better exercise routine. I find it easier to do-opt a friend into going for a walk as it makes me go.

[Lindtballsrock]

If you’re a crisp lover I really recommend only buying the relatively low calorie crisps, there is so much choice of crisps that are less than 100 calories a pack....frazzles, walkers baked, ringos, Pom bears etc. I eat at least one packet of crisps a day and am still losing weight.

[Bluntness100]

Op it’s still a month to Xmas. You can make a difference in a month. Think about how you will feel on Xmas day. Do you want to keep gaining and sit feeling sluggish and uncomfortable, struggling with what to wear, and then hit the new year even bigger?

The trick to loosing weight is you need to want to loose the weight, more than you want to eat the food or drink the booze.

So get naked and have a look in the mirror. Or put some of your fave clothes on and look. How do you feel . How will you feel if after Xmas and new year you’re another stone, stone and a half heavier? What do you wish to look like? How do you want to feel?

That’s how to get the motivation. Give yourself a hard dose of reality. Then crack on and get it done. 💐

[ErickBroch]

My most helpful tips from experience are

1. Don't have the food/drink in the house
2. If there is a time when you normally eat/drink most - distract yourself. Could be a long walk, exercise, anything

[CookieDoughKid]

I think as soon as you can, put coat and shoes on and just get out of the door. Rain or shine. Do it every day. Everything else can wait. Aim to walk 5k a day. You'll find a huge benefit from this.

[Bookworming]

I hear you! But the key is put for a walk first thing, it'll set you up for the day.

Stop buying the booze, it's a nasty habit and you've got to stop that. Most other things will fall into place.

Good luck.

[MaudesMum]

I was very much the same in Lockdown 1, but haven't been in Lockdown 2, and am therefore slowly chipping away at the weight I've put on. For me there have been two big differences. Most importantly, I'm on the Low Carb bootcamp thread, where there are lots of recipes and support - come and have a look! The best thing is that because everyone is focussing on the great food you can eat, it doesn't feel like a diet that deprives you. Secondly, I upped my levels of Vitamin D significantly, especially as its so hard to get outdoors enough at this time of year. And that seems to be making me feel a lot more positive overall.

[Dragongirl10]

Op if you are at a desk all day could you pre empt the bad eating by sorting your food for the day first thing before you start.
7am breakfast huge porridge with strawberries/blueberries.
10.30am nuts and coffee,
Good quality soup for lunch with rye bread, (have lots of soup, a spicy one is more filling oddly !)
3pm oatcakes with almond butter/ryvitas with almond butter.
Etc..
.deciding in advance what you will be eating, and having it to hand can be hugely helpful, (especially if you get rid of all else !)

Also have a non food treat each day that you focus on, ie 7pm favourite tv programme/bath/workout if feeling energetic.....anything you like to do.

My weakness for snacking is evenings, so at this dark and miserable time of the year l go to bed early, telling myself how good l will feel in the morning, after a lovely sleep and how much easier it will be to get up when the alarm goes off at 6am....and how much less l will crave junk food when less tired.....usually l can convince myself!

I gave up drinking some years ago because it gave me blinding headaches, it was so easy as l associate pain with wine!! What helped is;

When you are tempted to drink, focus for 5 minutes on just how horrible it will make you feel tomorrow, really think about how awful it will be as you wake up, exagerate in your head if you can....

The desire to drink really goes away fast!

[LITHIUMcomeasUare]

Me too.

I use to go to the gym 3 or 4 times a week for short sessions of 30 minutes. I stopped going in February due to a severe asthma flare up, then covid came and told to shield and so have been. My eating and drinking are through the roof and I have put on 1.5 stones in that time!

I cannot motivate myself at the moment though. I think lots of us are like this

[DillyDilly]

This will work, go low carb. Cut out all bread, biscuits, sweets, chocolate, fizzy drinks, anything with processed sugar. Go cold turkey on it, but drink plenty of water and add a teaspoon of salt to your food over the day until your body adjusts. Stay away from fruit for a week or two other than berries. Eat non starchy veg. Avoid pasta and rice.

Snack on olives, a few nuts, piece cheese, sardines or tuna in oil or brine, with lettuce leaves, avocado. Eggs are great - boil, poach, fry, bake. Or an omelette with peppers. Lots of fish, chicken fillets, lean meats. Avoid processed foods.

Really - high protein food, then fats and lesser amounts of carbs. You will see a difference in a few weeks.

Ditch the sugars, it’s the only way really.

[Pinkcadillac]

The same happened to me, OP. What I have done is change my habits in phases. My goal is to be confortable doing intermittent fasting + low carb.

The first week, I changed my morning routine: a half an hour walk before sitting at my desk and only coffee and a glass of water for breakfast. Lunch at 12.30, rest of the day no major changes except less wine and another short walk.
Second week, I changed my lunch: I switched to salad, ham, cheese , tuna, hard boiled eggs. Two squares of 70% chocolate.
Third week, I brought my dinner forward to 7-ish and started having grilled fish, a chicken dish or vegetable soup, some cheese (not too much).

I only have wine on weekends. Now I am on my 5th week and I'm trying to increase my level of exercise.

I can fit into my jeans again and my face is less puffy. It has been slow, though.

[Labobo]

OP, do be kind to yourself. It has been a horrible, horrible year. I have watched someone close to me develop anorexic tendencies because food was the only thing they could control in this godawful mess. I'd far rather be two stone too heavy than two stone too light.

I've lost weight during lockdown, and started by eating whatever I wanted but exercising hard. After two weeks of just getting into a fitness regime, I added some more sensible eating habits. Very slow progress but no dieting and I do feel a lot more positive. Would this work for you? Just book 10 mins a day at a suitable time and do an online yoga or HIIT. Build this up to 30 mins a day over a couple of weeks. You'll notice the difference in your strength and suppleness, your energy will pick up and you'll start feeling more connected to your body.

[BaconAndAvocado]

Stopping the booze will make a huge difference. A close friend has lost 11 pounds in 2 months by just cutting it out.

Good luck OP.
It can be a hard cycle to break but once you start losing weight it will become easier.

[Dohrehmee]

Me too. I’ve put on so much weight. Dint go to bed early so too tired to exercise before I work. I’m wirking from home so don’t do any exercise. I just want to eat all the time. Will eat chocolate in the morning, Abd I just can’t seem to stop at a small
Piece . I am so bloated and my belly is a football and my bum Abd love handles are huge. I just dint know what to do. I start off with good intentions but they go away.

[cardswapping]

Be kind to yourself. I find what works for me (still early days) is to work only on ONE issue, otherwise I am overwhelmed with the task. Pick one and give yourself support (sound mad but do it, say you will be your friend along the journey - and be your friend) to do it.

For example I tackled the drinking. Did the free 30 day thing with Annie Grace/the Naked Mind. I did not work on eating/exercise, or anything else. Just that.

I am not working on my constant snacking. Just that. Nothing else.

I find breaking it down this way works for me.

Good luck!

[Labobo]

Forgot to say - keeping a food diary via an App like MFP or similar is SO useful. It shows you which foods trigger a binge. I just don't eat bread any more. Quite like it - it can be nice but if I eat it, half an hour later I want to eat everything in sight. If I don't, my appetite stays stable, so it's just not worth the hassle. Same goes with refined sugar. I almost never eat anything with refined sugar. If I do it's a pudding after dinner, so there's less danger of bingeing all day long. But avoiding sugar during the day really curbs the kind of crazy, craved bingeing.

[morningtoncrescent62]

That's a lovely update, @Jumpingjosephene21. It's good to hear you sounding positive, please let us know how it goes.

[WishingHopingThinkingPraying]

But have you enjoyed it? I've put on a bit but am looking at it as my free for all/indulgence period. I've enjoyed letting myself have anything I wanted. At some point I'll have to pull it back. But I really don't want to think I had no fun getting a bit fatter, I did. It was a pleasure.

So don't regret what has been. Just decide this next period is about something different, bringing it back to a healthier position.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Order 1mg melatonin tablets off piping rock.com, I take one at night and the 9lb I gained during lockdown fell off. I just wasn’t hungry at all and even during winter I haven’t put any weight on.

[iloveeverykindofcat]

Not to sound like an evangelist but honestly OP I would drop the booze. I didn't need to lose weight but I was definitely drinking too much in the lockdown before this one and since I've stopped I feel so much more balanced and can look at things with greater clarity. It knocks onto your sleep and general mood in ways you don't realise until you stop. You'll probably lose weight too.