Struggling with diet and exercise

[chocolatecakeandwine]

Morning everyone,

how is everyone doing today!

I wanted to start this thread this is my first ever one and I've named changed. Apologizes if I get anything wrong.

I'm currently trying very hard to get back down to the weight I was 6 years ago, I had 4 stone to lose at the beginning of my weight loss journey I've so far lost 11 pounds but am struggling massively now at the beginning (4 weeks ago) I was so motivated with eating healthy and exercising I really thought I was going to be able to do it but for the last two weeks I've completely hated doing the exercises and keep falling of the healthy eating wagon and eating and drinking all the wrong things. I had a terribly indulgent night last night and have woken up feeling so fat and annoyed at myself! The whole thing is getting me down.

I spend so much time at home on my own with my three young children and the only thing I find myself doing is wanting to snack out of boredom. I've made sure I have plenty of healthy options to graze on throughout the day which I do stick to a lot of the time.

Anyone else trying to lose weight and struggling.

well done on your resolution.

Please don't give up just because you have had one bad day. Just write it off and start again today.

Weight loss is 80% food and 20% exercise. Are you doing any exercise that you enjoy? What are you doing? And when? Brisk walking is fine if you can fit that in , you don't need to do the gym or anything special. Zumba at home from the TV and the kids join in?

When I've tried to maintain my weight, I've just had to avoid having certain foods in the house. I appreciate it's hard if you have 3 young kids. But for example, I'd not buy cake, biscuits, crisps and although I am not overweight now, I never buy sweets, ever. I eat 1 square of 70% dark choc a day and that' s a treat.

I've heard of a few ways to avoid being tempted.

• Go into another room and count to 20 when you are tempted to snack.
• Clean your teeth
• Phone/text a friend.

Just do something to take away the urge to eat and try to imagine the 'new you' as slimmer.

I'd rally suggest you try to stop snacking. Eat 3 meals and make sure you get plenty of protein and fruit/ veg. If you really do have to eat something, have an apple or a few nuts. Snacking is a habit and your body doesn't need that food.

Good luck!

Thank you for your reply I do a lot of walking on school runs 30mins either way and I don't mind that really it's just doing any other exercise that I find so boring and have no motivation to do. I do find the eating is more of a comfort and habit I know I don't need it but find it so hard to stop and I do make sure I have lots of fruit, veg and nuts to snack on.

I feel the same as you. I have two small children too and struggling with the headspace to prioritise healthy but appetising meals. I feel like I come in from work and just want to dive into the carbs.

We have a kitchen/living/dining room we use as the playroom as well, so i'm always near the fridge!

Well done on your weight loss so far.

What sort of exercise are you doing?

Food wise, the only way I can stop is if I don't have it in the house at all. And unfortunately for the kids that means they are only allow snacks that I don't like.

I know what it's like to lose weight then plateau.

Most dieters regain weight.

It's about long term habit changes not what the scales say short term.

Things I struggle with:

-staying active most of the day, most days, I have a habit of sitting as default.

Find ways to change this.

• not doing enough 'zone' minutes. You need 'out of breath' moderate exercise 22nd a every day or 30 mins 5 times a week or 150 mins pwk. I need to keep track of this every day. I need to prioritise this over other things. Work your day around exercise not exercise around your day.

Food:

I like unhealthy food, can't tell when I'm full/ eat for emotions etc

I stopped keeping unhealthy food in the house.

Meal plan. Batch cook. No takeaways. Avoid eating out. Use MFP. Switch to lower calorie options eg tomato based over cream based. Switch to lower fat cheese/mayo.

Avoid alcohol.

Generally eat more protein and fewer carbs/sugar.

Don't think about what you want your weight to be in one month or 3, think about one year or three.

@kegofcoffee I've been doing walking and stationary bike, although I do find the bike boring and constantly get interrupted with the kids needing/wanting something as for the snacks I can't say there's much I wouldn't eat 🐷 so unless I didn't allow the kids anything in the house I'm pretty stuck 🙈

@Aphrathestorm I do between 70-100 zone minutes everyday mom-fri sometimes more than that don't really do anything at the weekend a lot of the time and the weekends are when I tend to find it hard to eat healthy I try to have the mindset of healthy eating instead of ' I'm dieting' but then find myself thinking of what treats I can have over Easter 🐣 😱

I think a big thing is changing the mindset of food as treat.

Long term weight loss is about not wanting 'bad' food anymore. Not going without only to 'treat' yourself later.

Sugary things are like drugs.

The less you have the less you want.

Do you really need to eat any chocolate at Easter? The very slim people I know just don't do Easter chocolate!

@TooEarly4Breakfast good morning I named changed to create this thread it's not my usual Mumsnet name and I only changed it to that because I was feeling rubbish this morning after having a very unhealthy evening last night which led me this morning to create this thread so I could talk about it openly without it being linked to me IRL

@Aphrathestorm I don't think I'll ever be able to get to a point where I just completely cut out all 'treat' food I do enjoy those foods and I can't imagine I'll ever not what them. I do know a lot of slim people who have all the treat foods but as a 'treat' and have a healthy relationship with food and exercise I just have to get into a better mindset of healthy eating 95% of the time and find a way to not see exercise as such a chore and it just be part of my normal routine x

Weight loss is a science OP (in the absence of medical problems such as hyperthyroidism). It’s as simple as calories in vs. Calories out. You have to be burning more calories than you’re consuming.
Have you worked out how many calories your should be eating to lose weight? Once you’ve done that it’s simple to plan really.

One thing that helps me is a method I saw James Smith explain on social media (look him up if you haven’t already, he’s a bit annoying ha, but good information packed, no nonsense videos). He explains using your calories like a weekly budget. If you’ve got £100 for the week but know you’re going out to the pub on Saturday you’ll spend less during the week to make sure you have enough left for a few G&Ts on Saturday. You can do this with calories. If you work out that, for example, you need to consume 1600 calories a day to be in a calorie deficit and lose weight, you could eat 1400 calories Monday to Friday, 2200 calories Saturday and 2000 Sunday. That might mean you can have some chocolates and ice cream Saturday evening or enjoy a big Sunday roast with all the trimmings. It helps me to do it this way so that every day doesn’t feel restricted! And it’s a much healthier way to do it, I think, having the mindset that it’s not just a daily target but an ongoing on.

@Coffeeandchocs thanks for that I'll look him up

OP if you eat healthily 85% of the time, the odd treat is fine.
AND it won't harm your kids to push healthier eating on them. Snacks can be cheese, fruit, or plain no sugar yoghurt. TBH no one needs snacks.

I eat breakfast about 7.30 and lunch around 12.30, dinner at 6-7pm. I don't snack in between. if I am starving, my go-to is an oatcake with almond or peanut butter.

Breakfast is usually one poached egg on a slice of mutligrain toast, or greek yog, seeds and berries, or 1 slice toast with nut butter (no sugar) and a sliced banana.
Lunch I tend to have soup (made at home) or a salad with tinned fish (sardines, salmon) or cheese. Apple or other fruit.

It will help if you create a more positive approach to healthy foods.
For example, when I eat a few almonds or almond butter, I remind myself it's got fibre, healthy fats and calcium. One teaspoon takes the edge of any hunger.

Get your fruit and veg up to 8-10 portions a day and you will not feel hungry and you will lose your sweet tooth. I agree with @Aphrathestorm that sugar is addictive. I can't tolerate very sweet things now.

And stop thinking of this as a 'diet' - it's healthy eating, for life! and get your kids to follow your lead? Stop thinking of calories- just eat plain, non sugary foods and loads of lean protein and fruit/ veg, seeds, nuts, dairy and leave out the refined crap.

I recommend signing up for the ZOE newsletters from Prof Tim Spector - go to Join Zoe- and it's full of science about healthy eating. If you want your own personalised analysis of how your body processes food (blood and poo tests included ) and what you should eat for health, you can sign up - it's about £350 but worth thinking about if you have the cash.

Don't do all the low fat alternatives they are stuffed high in salt and crap. Just have smaller portions. Get ones of those plates, half veg, quarter protein, quarter carbs. Put everything on the plate. Also don't label food as bad /good. Moderation. No need to deny just delay and have it a bit smaller for example. Instead of a huge Easter egg. Have a smaller one but make it luxurious and indulgent. We set ourselves up to fail with extremes. Best of luck.