Trying to loose weight, where am I going wrong?

[VA1983]

I don't know if anyone can help me but I'm trying to loose weight but keep gaining it instead! Is there anything wrong with my daily diet:

Breakfast: porridge with a banana
Lunch: ham and tomato sandwich on brown bread, carrot sticks, grapes, yogurt
Dinner: eg chicken, noodles, stir fry veg
Evening: biscuits

If I gave up the biscuits do you think I would loose weight? Or is the rest of the day not great either?

I think a box set would work and a nice herbal tea. Although I work 5 to 7 evenings a week from home so I'm not sure if the box set is practical. It would be something that is a real treat though. Maybe the herbal tea while I'm working could work (instead of the pack of biscuits that I usually have beside me!)

What is the fry light oil like? Is it just normal oil in a spray?

hideous stuff, oil mixed with water/alcohol or summat

I don't think changing a small amount of proper olive oil for chemical crap will make the difference anyway.

How big are you (BMI?)

IMO, if you want to eat carbs freely, you need to do exercise.

I manage to stay within a healthy BMI range by walking/swimming a lot.

Cannot cut carbs out, as I go shaky and sweaty and even vomitty if I go low carb.

So I NEED carbs for breakfast, and with every meal.

Basically have carbs/vegs/protein for most meals, that works best for me.

Are your meals satisfying? If you eat a packet of bics maybe not?

You'll just have to find a way of eating and moving that woks for you long term (forever). For me that is:

toast (white or brown, 1 or 2 slices)with peanut butter or eggs, or yoghurt with muesli/fruit or even the occasional bowl of Crunchy Nut with milk when I fancy it.

lunch: Sandwich or baguette with ham, salad and mayo, or bowl of pasta with tomato sauce and grated cheese, or a McDonalds (no sweet drink though, have tea with mine) or baked beans on toast, Vegetable and noodle and chicken soup, or (my fave) a baked potato with prawn mayo/chicken tikka/tuna sweetcorn

Dinner:
Spag bol, curry, chilli, meat and 2 veg, sausages mash and cabbage, that sort of meal.

For pudding I usually have fruit (about 1/4 water melon yesterday)

I find that if I eat like this I don't crave snacks, and don't spend a lot of time thinking about food. I also feel I don't deny myself anything (hence admitting to the occasional Crunchy Nut or McD) and I don't get weird cravings. I am 6 ft and do 1-2 hours moderate exercise a day (like walking the dog, tennis, swimming) so I gather my diet may not suit you.

But just to give you an idea of another person's "normal"

I always feel faint when I look at MN-ers low-carb diet plans

You need to start exercising, do you have young DC? If so could you push them round the park or something each day to start getting your exercise up? Would you have time for a workout DVD once or twice a week?

Your diet to me looked OK until we got the the whole pack of biscuits. The biscuits have got to go, I think getting rid of them alone will help you lose weight as they are probably near your whole day calorie allowance.

I have tried low carb in the past as I felt bloody rough so it didn't last long.

Try and find an exercise that you can do, even a walk around a park or something each day. Some of the home DVDs are fab. Pole dancing lessons? I done them before pregnancy and they are great for toning up.

I think your diet is ok but the biscuits have got to go, when you think 1 custard cream has about 65 calories if your eating the whole pack that is a massive chunk out of your days calories.

What do you drink in the day? Some drinks have a ridiculous amount of calories

My diet looks like this ( I eat 2000 calories as I'm breastfeeding at the moment)

Breakfast either porridge, overnight oats or 2 poached eggs with 2 grilled bacon rashes and I always have a banana

Lunch I have either a chicken breast with a large salad, cheese and pickle wholemeal sandwich or a slice of crust less quiche with salad and I normally have a pot of plain Greek yoghurt too

Mid afternoon snack carrott, pepper sticks and sometimes a few nuts

Dinner chicken and veg stir fry, cod baby potatoes and greens, sausauge and bean stew, tagine and cous cous, jacket potatoe with tuna/beans.

Dessert I either have 2 scoops of ice cream of 1/4 of a melon

I only drink water, coffee black, a Diet Coke now and then or some fruit squash. I do have wine but maybe 1-2 times a week.

I walk the dog with the double pram most days and when I feel up to it I will take uppole dancing lessons & Zumba again

I have a 3 year old and 6 year old. I work in the evenings 8pm-10pm from home sat at a desk and from September will be working mornings when the 3 year old is at preschool. I somehow need to find time to fit in exercise. I have a couple of hours after lunch where I will just have the 3 year old so maybe I could do something there? After school is too hectic with cooking dinner etc although I could walk the DC to school and nursery (next to each other) 15 mins there and back, 3 times a day. I usually drive. Thank you so much for all the tips, keep them coming! Tonight I'm going to try my first night without biscuits!

Looking after kids all day then working nearly every evening sounds exhausting, I'm impressed!

Walking the kids to school seems a good start. I know that walking for a few minutes doesnt burn loads of calories, but even small activities each day can improve your long term health a lot.

Yes it's exhausting, probably why I turn to biscuits lol. I'm hoping next September once the youngest is at school it will be easier and all pay off. Hopefully.

Well that was easy
It is clearly the whole pack of biscuits, what kind?

When you binge, you're trying to relax and get your brain soothed, so you need to find an alternative. But the amount of calories you are getting from biscuits, don't be surprised if you need to eat more in the day after packing in that habit.

Chocolate biscuits

I've managed so far tonight without them but I've started to feel hungry eeeek. What's a healthy low calorie late night snack? A banana? Nuts? Popcorn? Cereal? Toast? I guess anything is better than a whole pack of biscuits?

I've grabbed 2 slices of malt loaf and some hot sugar free Blackcurrant squash. Probably not great but I'm sure a lot less calories than the biscuits. If I can do the weekend without biscuits then I will join my fitness pal to work out the rest of my food.

Could you try a sweetened Ryvita? Just one with some reduced sugar jam on it. Might satisfy your cravings without being too awful for you. I think it's a question of retraining your brain.

Definitely reduce the biscuits and I'm sure you'll see a difference. Drink loads of water and try to incorporate some exercise, even walking or stretching/resistance/light weights, every day for general health benefits.

Try to eat good quality dairy, not necessarily low fat, as higher fat (butter, yoghurt/milk) will keep you fuller for longer.

Choc biscuits as in digestives or some kind of chocolate cookie type thing? That is a lot of calories so you will need to adjust your day so you're not hungry in the evening. I have a kind of informal no specific diet thread running at the mo, I'll link to it if you want to join.

Bourbons, cookies, chocolate digestives, whatever I have in, my dds eat two each after school and then I polish the rest of the pack off after they go to bed. Normally about 10 biscuits I imagine, I try not to count! That's great if you could post your link thank you I'll take a look.

*Breakfast: porridge with a banana
Lunch: ham and tomato sandwich on brown bread, carrot sticks, grapes, yogurt
Dinner: eg chicken, noodles, stir fry veg
Evening: biscuits *

Voyons.
Breakfast is fine. Ditch the sandwich for lunch and have boiled egg and tomatoes, cucumber salad and tuna, green beans and chicken, you get it. Grapes No, eat a pear.
Dinner. Chicken (or steak, or sole or turkey breast , ....) is fine, noodles and stir fry, sorry no. Have a nice spinach salad, cabbage with anchovies, grated carrots, celery with prawns and mango, ....
and the biscuits, don't buy them. Buy blueberries, or strawberries or melon and what about an orange? Pulled and cut into pieces, it's a lovely dessert.

Here's the link
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/weight_loss_chat/2688265-A-weight-loss-thread-for-just-eating-less

I think this week has been a good week, bar my horrible day today that I ranted about in Chat and got no replies, lol, but I still think ill show a loss this week. I am losing my sweet tooth and believe me, if I can, you can

Thank you!

I had the exact same problem as you, eating healthy but not losing any weight because I would polish off about half a packet of biscuits, I went cold turkey and have lost nearly a stone I also stopped drinking my favourite decaff mocha drink at work. Those were the only 2 real changes I made as I'm not one for exercise so it's worth giving it a go and try cutting out biscuits all together, good luck

That's interesting. If I just cut out the biscuits and hot chocolates I would probably loose weight then. It's so hard as they keep me going! I'm not doing very well so far this week I need to try harder. I just weighed myself and I weigh more than what I did when I was 9 months pregnant with dc1 so there is my motivation.

I've cut out grains and sugar. I manage most days without them!

I'm a bit of an all or nothing person, and there is something about sugar and wheat together that my body finds an intoxicating mix. Once I start, I cannot stop.

I think its a bit of an addiction, TBH...

You could make your own pop corn (from kernels) and munch on that.

well, that's easily solved! Stop buying biscuits, or eat just ONE.

eat more during the day so you don't get snacky in the evening. Spread meals out. Eat when hungry, not by clock.

no food is unhealthy per se, but a whole pack of biscuits a day - 100 cals per biscuit, 15 biscuits, 1500 cals. You only need about 2000 calories a day...