Slim ladies.. for whom staying skinny is secretly a constant battle...Tell me how you do it!!

[Callipo]

So I have lost 3 stone .. Hurrah!! and now I am slim... Hurrah!! And I'm starting to love following you SandB lot and enjoying feeling nice about myself and wearing stylish clothes and looking not too bad at all, though I say so myself .
But shaping up was hard work and I am terrified that I will put it all back on the second I stop concentrating. Over Christmas I stopped working on it for about 3 days and gained 2lb. So I need to hear from slender ladies who work at it - not those who are naturally skinny - but those who can tell me how they stay mindful without being obsessed.
I've posted here cos my motivation is to stay slim for style and beauty but do tell me if I need to scurry back to Big/slim..

Lost about a stone and now a 10/12. Seem to be maintaining it by doing about 4-5 classes a week at the gym and fitting in any other kinds of exercise when I can e.g. a few situps while dinner cooking etc. Also, I find that if I eat too much bread, I feel heavier so usually (not over Xmas period!) try not to eat bread every day. I can't bear to weigh myself that often but I have stayed this weight for the past 5 months now by doing the above. (Just been out for dinner and eaten tons though but going to the gym in the morning).

My top tip is to massively cut down on carbs (spuds, bread, cereal, rice, cake etc.) and fill the gaps on your plate with extra protein and veggies.

I don't worry at all about fat or calories.

A bit like notyummy said, it's not a diet, it's the way I now eat, and it has made it so easy to maintain my weight.

I ate what I wanted this week, though - what would Christmas dinner be without roasties and pud?! But I immediately bloated up......

My SIL is slim but has to fight to stay that way. She always look miserable and refuses to sit anywhere but next to my DB at the table so that she can slide food out sideways to him.

In short, she has an eating disorder and is prematurely ageing herself. She is younger than me but looks older, has loads of blotches and wrinkles and dry, dull hair.

Pick a weight you feel healthy and strong at and stick to it.

I'm quite slim (size 10), although I have got a tummy after eating far too much this Christmas!

I think the key is just having a healthy attitude to food and exercise in general.

I'm probably going to lose half a stone over January, because I always do, but not because I diet. It's just that, other than at Christmas, I don't snack at all.

I don't eat much processed food, we simply don't have crisps or chocolate in the house. We have bowls of fruit, and crackers and cheese if anyone wants a snack.

I have breakfast every day, then lunch and dinner. Rarely anything in between.

I walk, and swim. My back's been bad, but normally I play a bit of tennis and do yoga - nothing crazy though.

Good genes (5'9", 9 st). I eat real food regularly 3 times a day but don't use food to console myself. Very little exercise. No sweets.

My tip is to keep an eye on the weight and take action once you have gained 3-5 lbs. Don't let it creep up! Go on a very strict eating plan for 3-4 weeks to lose it if it creeps up!

I used to be a fat teenager but have been able to stay a 8-10 all my adult life- through constant willpower!

I am now in my 50s and weigh the same as I did at 21.

I just make a huge effort to eat healthily! And for the last 3-4 years have made a huge effort with exercise.- walk 3 miles 5 x a week up hill.

If i can't get out, I try to do 20 minutes of toning exercises in the lounge! Press up,s the plank, squats and dumb bells.

I have a lot of food intolerances which is a pain but what it does mean is I cook from scratch, don't eat wheat ( so no ckaes or biccies) and no dairy either ( so now cream.) I also cannot drink alcohol.

My daily menu is a bit like this:
breccie- always 1-2 eggs and either 3 oat cakes or 1 slice gluten free toast.
lunch- a salad with lots of veg and either prawns, tuna, sardines, cold chicken OR home made soup, then a piece of fruit.
dinner- lean meat, fish, etc etc- with veg, stir fry, etc.
I eat fish and oily fish 3 -4 times a week, and red meat roughly once every 3 weeks.

low GI during week plus calorie counting (no more than about 1800ish cals a day)

then eat whatever the hell i want at weekends :o

plus pole dancing classes fitness classes once a week and a few sit ups every day to attempt to keep the tummy toned!

i Joined Weightwatchers 8 years ago after the birth of DD. I find that it educated me about food - its not a diet. I now follow it a couple of times a year for a few weeks if I find I am putting on weight - I set myself a threshold of 9st and if I go above that then I track points for a while. I weigh myself once a week - no more. Even when I am not actively tracking points I find i tend to stick to the same kind of eating habits - lots of fruit and veg, fish seafood - carbs maybe three or four times a week at dinner time - the rest of the time salad or cooked veg. When I eat lots of treats like at this time of the year I find I don't feel as well. I exercise three times a week but I do classes that I enjoy - I honestly don't think the exercise makes a huge difference in terms of calories burned but I do it for fitness. I am a size 10 and stayed that way for 9 years - I was a 14 before which is not huge but I was unhappy with that as I am only 5ft. Well done on the weight loss!

watching with interest....

lovemygirls - i am exactly the same as you only i have let my body do the 10 st 7 thing, and i am bloody fed up as a size 14.

its so silly as all i need to lose to be a happy bunny again is a stone, actually less - about 10lbs would do it -sounds so easy doesnt it?

not any more! i just cannot shift the weight back off. i spent all of my 20's and most of my 30's dieting, ive just lost the will totally but i feel tubby now and i hate it, just not enough to diet! i do exercise regularly, and it hasnt made a jot of different to my weight.

i also seem to put on weight really easily, a few days of not thinking about what i eat and a few pound goes on. I mostly maintain this weight but im not happy at it, would love to drop those few pounds around my middle.

ive not gone mad over xmas, but ive eaten pork pie and pate etc, i know that if i weigh myself now ill have gained a few. If i go back to how i normally eat then it will come off naturally.

if im at home i tend to live on cereal a couple of times a day, and eat a proper evening meal with the family.
if im working anything goes.
i think this may the crux of my problem!

bloody well done OP on the weight loss. motivate me please!

I am a natural endomorph and am very fat at the moment BUT in my late teens early 20s I gradually lost about a stone and a half and got down to below 9 stone and maintained it effortlessly by cycling to work (a 25 minute bike ride 10x a week) and swimming 30 lengths twice a week.

Exercise, exercise, exercise.
A good breakfast...porridge, poached eggs, soup for lunch and a decent evening meal.
I don't need to lose any weight, but have lost 10 lbs this year through going to the gym and eating well. I feel so much better, and haven't gone mad over Xmas. When I eat "party " type food I actually feel really sick...hate the claggy feel.

There is no secret.Its a lifestyle change

1. Find an exercise programme that works for you -that you enjoy and fits witn your life

2.find a Healthy eating plan that works for you.

The main thing is that you relaise its ( probably) your old lifestyle that made you overweight and so you need to change it. You cant go on a " diet" for a while, lose weight and go back to what you did befroe, or you will pile the weight back on.

I have an underactive thyroid so i have to work hard to maintain my weihgt. I run and go to the gym. I dont eat many carbs but lots of fruit and veg. I eat no cakes, bread or biscuits ( because im wheat intolerant) but i do have chocolate and red wine.

I would still like to lose half a stone but off my tummy, not my face!!!!!

vicar

This if im at home i tend to live on cereal a couple of times a day, and eat a proper evening meal with the family.if im working anything goes.i think this may the crux of my problem!

is possibly the problem.

swap the cereal for eggs for breccie, or porridge with skimmed milk.
lunch- salad with cold meats or prawns, sardines, tuna etc.

And what about portion size of your main meal?

Soundls like you are eating too much of the wrong things and also missing out on a lot of vits and minerals by simply having cereals.

I'm a size 8/10. I find alcohol and I don't agree, I have it just on Friday night with dh and very rarely other times. I find I'll pig out on pringles and rubbish once I've had wine or beer. I find keeping lots of fruit to hand, lots of herbal teas, so much nicer than the bloated feeling... hth

Now I may appear pretty vain to say this (so apologies, but you asked for honest answers). I was say my natural size and weight is about a size 14 and 11stone. I can seem to eat and eat and eat and stay at that weight. When I first met my husband I was 9 and half stone and a size ten. I put on that stone and a half in 'happiness' over 5 years. So then I decided to lose it because I just didn't feel 'me'.

Like you it took many months of effort. And now I don't want it to to go back on. I do eat pretty much whatever I want, but only a smaller amounts. I am very mindful of portion sizes. I also try and balance a 'bad' meal (ie fry up or meal out) with two or three angelic healthy meals.

I do weigh myself at least 3 times a week. Which I know you shouldn't. And if after a while of me being up 'up' a couple of pounds and is hasn't come off again (like it would if it were poop, PMS or water) I have a few no carb days and it seems to drop off again.

TBH I don't think you can ever relax totally unless you are happy to put weight back on. It doesn't need to take over your life though. Eat what you want, but watch the scales. If you see a pound or two creep on, lose them again. Because losing a post Christmas (3 days for me) feast that caused a 3lb gain, is easier than losing a large amount. 3lb can quickly turning into 7lb if you feast for another week! And losing 7lb is at least a months work for me, whereas 3lb is around week or so and far less daunting.

I weigh every day, first thing in the morning.

Just part of my routine, doesn't take over.

This time last year I was 16 stone. I've been maintaining 10.5 stone for about 4 months now, and it is honestly easy, because I've changed the way I look at food and eating. Didn't even over eat at Xmas dinner - ate to fullness then stopped.

I did drink an entire bottle of Bailey's in two days though.

But basically, I know I will have to watch myself for the rest of my life - I got to be that size through 20 years of terrible habits and comfort eating. That kind of habit is very easy to slip back into. I like being slim, and want to stay that way.

I'm a tall 12-14, weigh 11 stone - so not skinny, but I am at a happy size and weight for me. I have been a size 8 pre-kids (chain smoked and hardly ate, so not healthy) and a size 20 before (compulsive eating and sitting on my arse while a SAHM). I like the weight I am at now and know that if I start creeping up to 11.5 st my clothes feel tight and my tummy starts hanging over my jeans. No!

I stick to this weight or thereabouts by eating less during the week (breakfast, light lunch, healthy dinner, fruit as only snack) and then relaxing it a bit at weekends. I walk everywhere and do the 30 day shred 3 times a week - more if I am feeling a bit flabby. I can gain half a stone in a week (but takes a montht o get rid of it) so I do try to make up for any blow outs asap (ie. have gained 5 lbs over Christmas, so will be shredding 5 days a week from jan 1st!).

It isnt hard anymore, really. I dont feel like I am battling constantly anymore (for a long time, I did). I just try not to be too hard on myself if I am slack one week or overeat or whatever, but take practical steps the following week or two to shape up a bit. Its become second nature, really.

Good luck!

I'm pretty fit, size 8 and about 8st 12 at 5ft 5". I was about 11st this time last year, have maintained my current body weight for about the last six months.

I'd add another vote for lots of exercise that you enjoy and makes you feel good - for me that is kickboxing twice a week plus two sessions of weight training + 20 mins cardio intervals in gym, plus maybe a swim or a run on the weekend.

Also I agree with avoiding processed food, especially processed carbs. I rarely eat cereal these days, breakfast is eggs or porridge with fruit, sandwiches also rare (though I do have a slice of wholemeal toast if I have eggs). Pasta is an occasional indulgence rather than regular meal. Emphasis on protein based meals rather than carbs - but I never ban carbs, or anything, completely. Other than that I eat what I like, including wine and dark chocolate every day. As long as I keep up the exercise my weight doesn't seem to change, if it did creep on a bit I would probably cut down on dinner, usually my biggest meal, I'd drop the wine and carbs, a few evenings for a week or two.

I am 5ft, around 8 stone and a size 8-10. Am naturally petite but have some curves which I like.
I have been heavier though and have to work at staying trim. My tips and tricks are:

1. Plenty of water - it staves off hunger
2. No snacking
3. 3 sensible meals - watch portion size and choose healthy options and only eat when hungry
4. running or swimming a couple of times a week
5. view chocs, cake and pudding as treats - not a daily thing!

At work, I sit next to a woman who is a size 20 and moans the whole time about how she eats nothing. She tells me the reason she doesn't lose weight is cos she doesn't eat enough to get her metabolism going. She is rude about me everytime she sees me eat something. The reason I am not fat is because I don't over eat and am strict with myself!!

I wish all the Mners who go on WW Slimming World, Paul Mckenna, Slim fast and all the other short term 'diets' could read this thread and see there are no magic short term solutions, only a change in attitude and habits long term

Well done on losing the weight :). My recommendation is exercise, including some strength training, not just cardio. You don't have to bulk up (in fact you won't unless you really try to), but as you get older you lose muscle and it's important to keep it, otherwise the weight will creep up again. Also, muscle burns more calories so it will keep your metabolism going.

Definitely agree on the weight training redwing, for me I think that is what keeps those calories burning, probably more so than the cardio. Having more muscle increases your calorie burn, even at rest. Top tip !

well done on losing so much weight.im a size ten and eat far too many sweet things but i walk everywhere,and imean everywhereaveraging between 1 and 3hrs a day.then i seem to be able to eat what i like.good luck with the maintenance