Can’t sleep- crying about my weight

[Fussygirlproblems]

Just feeling a bit upset and angry with myself and can’t sleep because I’m upset about it all.

I’ve put on a lot of weight recently and I’m struggling to lose it. I don’t know what to do and I’m really struggling.

I’ve always been skinny and eaten whatever I wanted but as I’ve got older I’ve put on the weight and got carried away and I need to lose around 2 stone now. But I’m really, really struggling with my willpower and I think it’s because I’m a fussy eater and my range of healthy foods I like is quite limited. I’ve seen healthy recipes and tried different healthy foods and honestly I hate most of them.

I like and hate a really weird variety of foods usually for taste and flavour reasons but sometimes it’s the texture that I can’t stand- I’ll list some below;

• I absolutely hate salads or any sort or cold vegetables- whether that’s in a sandwich, or on a salad or side. I like some cooked hearty veggies like Brussels sprouts or green beans and some others
• I hate cheese and all types of dairy,
• I hate meat,
• I like fish but hate all other seafood (prawns, shellfish and so on)
• I hate all pasta dishes and lasagna
• I hate anything spicy or with strong flavours
• I hate curries
• i hate lots of ‘healthy’ things like brown bread, oat or rice cakes, overnight oats
• i hate lentils, chickpeas, quionoa, falafel, hummus and all dips and sauces
• i hate eggs
• I hate cereals, porridge and wheetabix
• i hate most soups apart from lentil

thats just some off the top of my head but there’s millions of other things I hate. I’ve always been a fussy eater and I usually eat white bread, fruit, jam, baked potatoes, fish, and quite often ‘beige foods’ and I have quite a limited group of foods I eat and none of them are great for losing weight. I’ve watched weight loss videos, recipes and read tips online but I hate most of the foods that are suggested. I feel like such a failure and I just want to lose this weight and I wish I wasn’t such a fussy eater.

does anyone have any advice or have been through similar? I’m really upset about it all and worried I’ll never shift the weight. Thanks in advance x

weight loss isn't easy but in your case i would suggest calorie counting on a really good app.
yes entering all your food and eating overall lower calorie, so portion control.
you're own food but limiting your total daily or weekly calorie intake.
and increasing your exercise level slightly.

Dont get sad about it, wake up tomorrow and go for it. Make small changes - fruit, baked potatos, green cooked veg and fish are great for you, work with that first of all!

I've lost almost 70 lbs on the Lose it app.

That’s a great “I hate” list. What’s your “I love” and “I tolerate” list? Perhaps writing those down will help people make suggestions ..

I agree with the ‘tolerate’ comment above. You’d be a bit weird if you liked say salad or brown rice more than bread and jam, but if you can tolerate some of the ‘hates’ that’s where you can make progress.

I think soup in particular is really healthy if you can tolerate it.

I've been doing calorie counting and losing weight. I need to get back on the case after Christmas, but I've found that this works best for me. You can eat foods you like, and no food is off limits. I work out my calories on a tdee (total daily energy expenditure) calculator. I set it to my basic metabolic rate calories, or I can set it to cutting calories if I want to accelerate weight loss, or maintenence calories if I want to pause and eat a little more.
I've definitely dropped the ball since Christmas eve, but going to get back on the case in January. Good luck OP

Do you like bio yoghurt? That and fruit might be good for breakfast.

Fish and vegetables is a healthy meal. It sounds like your goal weight is attainable so don't feel down, you'll get there. It does seem that you dislike an awful lot of foods though?

Firstly no need to be upset. Weight gain happens - life is busy and we get older. It doesn’t define us. You don’t NEED to lose two stone. However, well done for wanting to address your health.

I am not an expert but I have weight trained for 5 years, eaten well but not restrictive or a serious diet so I just include my thoughts which may or may not help.

I strongly do NOT believe in heavy dieting / following a particular diet, or skipping meals. All restrictive and short term. I believe in implementing some easy basics and you’ll see a change. I don’t believe the focus should be weight loss. The focus should be having fun (ie I love exercising or going for a walk to use it as time to listen to my music on my iPod which I love - not because I think oh I’m here to lose weight. Do you like music? Podcasts? Anything to look forward to if you don’t like exercise.) and also feeling good after a meal not sluggish.

Sounds like you have spent a lot of time listing and focusing on foods you hate. Why don’t you focus on the foods you like instead of hate and work with them? you say you like fish and potato’s and some veg. That would be a healthy dinner which is great. What about rice to mix it up? What about fruit? Can you make smoothies for additional veg / smoothie in take? (NOT a meal replacement).

The boring gem of regular exercise. Weight training not hours of cardio. Try joe wicks at home if you want somewhere to start and don’t want to go to the gym. Other basics: up your day to day walking. Can you take a walk at lunch, walk to shop, stairs not lifts - all make a difference. I always March up the escalators on the underground for example. As above make it fun and think about a reason you enjoy doing your daily walk.

i dislike a lot of the food you list too but I eaten well alongside my training (which definitly includes no quinoa - yuck!! - just good normal meals. To be honest my mantra was sensible meals but I just also upped my veg in take at each lunch / dinner - simple - healthy and keeps you full) and the change to my body is immense.

The biggy - alcohol. Do you drink?

Lol bloody hell, what do you not hate? xD

Have you tried all these things recently? Or do you just remember hating them when you first tried them?

What about trying different ways of cooking and flavoring them?

Also if you had a beige diet before going on the diet, your taste buds can be affected. It can take time away from high fat and sugar foods for your taste buds to change. You may find after a detox, you start to enjoy things more.

Fish and cooked vegetables is amazing for you, and if you don't mind repeating foods, you'll do well with that for dinner.

Do you like sweet potatoes? Because baked sweet potato has a lower GI than a regular. Lunches can be covered.

That’s a negative list

Please write a positive one and change your mindset

I wouldn't worry about what you like and don't like. At the end of the day, it is calories in Vs. calories out.

Some will dispute this, but seriously, research it. You need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight. It is simple, but can be hard to put into place if you don't know what you're doing.

I would recommend either seeking assistance from a qualified nutritionist or exploring one of the many Apps and online programmes for help. Don't try and go at it alone - seek advice from professionals.

I use a nutritionist and whenever I want to lose weight, we put me into a calorie deficit where I am tracking all my foods, and I always consistently lose half a kilo per week (on average).

You hate these foods but can you manage to eat them? I voted you are not being unreasonable because my ND child can't eat different textured food. But unless you have the same issue, you are being unreasonable and with you managing to maintain a healthy weight before, you can now.

lentil soup, fish and vegetables
Take exercise you enjoy
Do not snack
Eat as early as possible in the evening
Try intermittent fasting?

Op I started ozempic for weight loss and I've not needed to change my diet and my exercise is like less than a mile walk per day and I am dropping the lbs. I do have pcos and insulin resistance though so it's really helped me.

It's expensive as I do it through manual but I'm also supported with coaching and support to make healthier lifestyle changes that work specifically for me.

I've done all the calorie counting, excercise you name it and found very few things that I can sustain, but I could stay on this for as long as I'm willing to pay really and I've found the coaching really beneficial for making long term habit changes.

Portion control and exercise. Do a 20 min Joe wicks YouTube 5 times a week (assuming no injuries or health conditions preventing exercise).
Think about what you’ll tolerate that’s protein rich and try to have something protein based in each meal. Track calories but include foods you love each day too- you can eat a slice of bread and jam each day and still lose weight if it’s balanced by healthy stuff and exercise.

You hate lentils but like lentil soup?

Maybe it is the way things are prepared you don't like rather than the actual food itself.

I was diagnosed type 2 diabetic in May, I now do low carb (not keto) and have protein for breakfast.

I'm eating this way because I need to control my blood glucose but I have also lost 14 Kg.

Could you try fish for breakfast? Kippers or salmon. It's common in Japan to have fish for breakfast.

Fish tray bake for your main meal, maybe a piece of salmon, cherry tomatoes, roasted parsnips, green beans and mushrooms.

Use an oil spray on a baking sheet (I usually use foil as well) I tend to put the veg in small piles with different seasonings.

For another meal roasted veg.

Roast a tray of vegetables every day and base your meals around that.

Try WW OP. For me it has been life changing.

Blimey, what do you like??
Focus on those and try finding more foods you can tolerate because at the moment you sound childish with your long list of “I hate….”

I've also lost 2 stone using this app - thoroughly recommend it.

What did you eat to put on so much weight then?

I'm sorry you're so worked up about it. Hope you managed to get back to sleep.

If this weight went on very quickly do you think anything could be wrong that warrants a trip to the gp? Or are you aware you were seriously over eating?

Dont stress out about foods. You don't need to eat diet food to lose weight.

I am a proponent of fasting. I'd re ommend reading around it to understand the massive benefits which are far greater than weight loss. For me, its these extra benefits that give me the motivation, and the fact that I don't have to cut back on what I eat.

If you decide to go down the fasting route I highly recommend you try for 'one meal a day' or 20hrs fasting 4 hrs eating, this has a much greater impact on your insulin sensitivity. 16/8 allows you to drip feed for the best part of the waking day, I never successfully lost weight on that.

I had put on a stone over covid, became a rather uncomfortable size 14. Suddenly got the motivation to fast again in November and lost half a stone in 18 days, I've now lost the full stone to become a comfortable size 10 again and it's still going down.

Fwiw in the space of 3 hours yesterday I ate :
Apple
3 crackers with pate
Finest sausages with mash, Brocolli, carrots and gravy
Xmas pud and custard
2 crackers with cheese
Roasted nuts
8 Ferrero Rocher(!)

That's quite Christmas influenced but in terms of calories it's pretty standard for me. Thees no way I could cut calories or go round feeling hungry.

I hope you find a way that works for you. Every body is different, be prepared to experiment and see what works.

Fish, rice and broccoli. Also, suck it up and eat some food you 'hate' if you are really serious about losing weight.

I understand the weight struggle - I've yoyoed for years, tried all sorts of fad diets and sm now rotting with a nutritionist.

The key things she's taught me are to keep it simple, protein and carbs should be similar grams per meal and also let yourself have the occasional treat. She says if all you can think about is eating hot chips then let yourself have a small portion and go right back to healthy eating.

A lot of my meals consist of baked chicken breast, brown rice and broccoli with a her yoghurt dressing. I always feel full but not ugh after.