How do I improve my lifestyle

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Posting for traffic as I'm hitting a brick wall.

I need some ideas as to what to do on an evening that doesn't involve tv or eating.

I'm limited to exercise due to a knee and ankle problem (and I'm overweight which is a cause and effect) but think if I could take up a hobby or something other than tv, that would stop me just mindlessly eating.

Jigsaws are actually fun😊 How about felting or jewellery making or something. Do you like crafts?

I also think it could be life changing to get into swimming a few evenings a week.

I found the only thing that stops the craving to eat is exercise.
i don’t want to feel full when exercising.

I do squats as an easy at home exercise but maybe not best for you with knee issues.
The thing with exercise is you use to find ways of moving your body you enjoy.
for me that’s squats, weightlifting and cycling and the more I do the stronger I feel and the more I want to do and the more energy I have to do it.

online shopping and not buying shiny packets of junk so a snack is an apple or a piece of toast really helps with the binging

what about things like making your own healthier versions of the junk you’re used to buying? Takes more time and investment to make than buying a pack of biscuits/take away

Search nhs knee exercises
Do online yoga

If you have some spare cash - learn a musical instrument

Meant to add swimming but not breaststroke legs

Upper body exercises (with weights if possible).

Try some online courses (FutureLearn or openlearn)

learn how to knit
read a book
take up photography if you can walk outdoors ok.

Swimming, can you cycle?

Could you get a treadmill and do gentle, flat walking in the living room everyday, while watching TV? Swimming starting with once - twice a week? Find a book genre you enjoy and a book series to complete, look for free online courses, a home project such as minimalist or hygge living or whatever you're into. Have you been referred for physio for your knee?

I think you should start with exercising and weight loss (not cutting out, cutting down).

The things that improved my life most:

• Got a dog
• Got a garden where I can grow things
• Reading more; especially non-fiction
• Gousto boxes forcing me to cook more interesting food
• Instigated more time with friends, invited people round for dinner more, be the one who organises weekend trips with friends and family
• Became a teacher, so now work very short hours and get 13 weeks holiday (so evenings aren’t just a time to collapse on the sofa after a too-long day)
• Declutter so my house is pleasant to be in, and I’m more motivated to spend time each day maintaining/cleaning it which again, reduces sofa time

If you are able to walk comfortably and have somewhere safe to do it then audio books or podcasts and walking outdoors are a great combination. For me this is a real treat, plus obviously it counts as exercise.

Alternatively do you have a garden? I discovered a love of gardening around 5 years ago, shortly before hitting 50. I spend a lot of my working day in front of a computer so really relish getting outside and pottering in the garden either early morning or in the evening. Again, I listen to podcasts or audiobooks and it does count as a little gentle exercise.

Sewing! It’s completely absorbing as it requires some concentration, so your mind doesn’t wander to wanting snacks etc.
It’s also really useful to be able to sew! It’s completely possible to teach yourself, and can be relatively inexpensive if you look for fabric and patterns in charity shops.

Growing Veg, if you have limited space just get a trough style planter and grow a row of herbs.
Crosswords
Gaming, either free mobile games, beware the buying extras or get a second hand console.

Loving some of these ideas, thank you. Keep them coming, I'm feeling much more motivated just reading your responses

My knee means any bending is in small doses, I've just started 10/20 min yoga online which is good. I love gardening so might put a lot more into that, although the kneeling down can be tricky. Plus I've always fancied sewing, maybe I could look for a local class, my Mum was brilliant at it and always disappointed I never took it up.

Love the idea of cooking my own healthy snacks - why did it never occur to me

I think I've just got into this downward spiral of feeling blurhhh, feeling fat and sore and it's just easier to sit and do nothing and eat. Which of course makes everything worse as I put more weight on and feel even worse.

Another vote for sewing - it’s easy in one sense because all you are really doing is sewing two pieces of fabric together, usually in a straight or slightly curved line. But actually you need to really pay attention to what you’re doing so get completely absorbed in it. You can get various online tutorials - look at the Stitch Sisters as an example.

Gardening, it's lovely can do it anytime long as it's not raining cats and dogs and you really reap the benefits.

Reading, I read on average 100 books a year. Keeps me sharp and can't sit and snack while reading as don't want to ruin my books.

Adult colouring which is great for mindfulness and keeping your hands busy.

Walking I can't do a lot of this due to mobility issues but I do enjoy a stroll in the sunshine when I can. Always improves my mental health.

Ah so if your mum could sew that’s good! Sounds really weird but when I started sewing (having never been taught), there was part of me that just knew stuff about it, probably through passively absorbing knowledge from my mum. Obviously I’ve had to teach myself a lot but it seemed to come quite naturally 😄