Have i left it too late.??? . .

[JustLikeHeaven]

Have i left it too late to try and improve my appearance and self esteem before xmas. . Or 21st to be exact. . . when i have to attend afancy pants party where i will be seeing lots of people i havent seen for years, and some very glamorous ladies. Glamorous but not very nice ladies. . . . I shouldn't care what they think of me or my appearance . . But i do .I used to be considered good looking in my 20s early 30 s. .(or to be correct i felt good about myself) I am now in my early 40s and feeling . . .well Yuk. These ladies were always snobs and i only put up with them as my DH is friends with their DHs. . . Who are all lovely. I dont get it. . . Anyway. .

I am about a stone and a half over weight and suffering from bad skin at the moment. The spots i can deal with but i cant seem to get started on some weight lose.

What can i do at this late stage. I dont expect to lose all the weight i need to but what would you suggest that might help. I have stopped drinking alcohol recently and am eating more as a result. I feel great in one sense but the weight is getting me down and really affecting my self esteem.

Any tips on how to feel better about myself.

Thanks for reading

It's never too late! Please don't think that!

New clothes, a good haircut and maybe colour in a really nice salon and you will instantly feel better In the short term. How about going to a personal stylist at one of the big department stores? I know these things all cost money but if you can spare it, it will make you feel better - it's worth spoiling yourself now and again.

Also start doing a bit of exercise, it will honestly make a massive difference to how you feel in yourself and will also help you tone up or maybe lose a few pounds. Try a few different things and do whatever you enjoy, maybe classes like Zumba or spinning? Or swimming, running or walking if you'd rather work out on your own.

And lastly I know its easy to say but don't worry about those ladies, they don't sound like you should spend time and energy caring what they think- spend it on yourself and making yourself feel gorgeous!

Ps, I know people who have had great success with weight watchers if the weight is the thing that's really getting you down. A stone and a half can go really quickly once you get started.

Good luck!

Not too late at all! I find a few things help me shift weight quite quickly; cut down on caffeine drinks ( I take sugar which doesn't help) replace with green tea which is meant to help weight loss. You can buy bags flavoured with jasmine, mint etc if you don't like the taste.
Cut down on carbs. I only have one helping of bread a day.
Up fruit and veg intake.
This doesn't seem too mych like a diet or depriving yourself and it really does make a difference.

Get your eyebrows threaded - it lifts your whole face

Debenhams have great personal stylists who don't charge.

Think about posture. Mine is terrible but I am 4 weeks into a pilates course and it is making a big difference to the way I hold myself and in giving me a waisline and more shape generally.

If you do only a bit of this you will feel more confident and you will look fabulous. Good luck and keep posting for motivation if it helps.

Thank you very much . I am going to post here to keep myself on track. I hope thats ok. I never thought of threading . . Must look into that and hair color is booked so that always helps. I feel too bloated to go to a stylist yet. . I have some lovely clothes. . . I just cant fit into them

So. . .I am going to:

Drink lots of water
Reduce . . Or rather eliminate carbs
Exercise. . Something every day, even a walk
I am thinking of cutting out dairy too. . As its supposed to help with clearing up acne. ( Though I dont know if this is trying to do too much)
Green tea
Obviously no sugar or anything remotely enjoyable ;)

God this will be tough. I have to do it. I will do it.

you can do it

I find exercise more palatable than dieting too stringently love food too much and found that 2 half hour personal training sessions a week plus some extra walking etc lost me inches in 3-4 weeks. Hard work but as only half an hour feels more doable iykwim? Good luck with whatever you choose to do!

I'd recommend low carbing - people usually seem to get a dramatic weightloss early on! Check out the Bootcamp threads...

Thanks guys.

So today I have just had a cup of apple detox tea... (full of nettle, dandelion etc) convinced myself it tasted ok... and I am going to make some eggs now.

My mood is not helped by a heated discussion (row) with DH this morning about money to be spent on big man in red presents. Every year!! Same crap. Wish one year he would do all this research and shopping around for best deals and see how much fun it is.

Off the point. going to do the 30 day shred DVD later and take out some frustration. I will be slimmer... I will be slimmer... good bye fat arse

Anyone want to join me in my lose weight and spots fast programme?

I have increased my exercise and cut sugar and cake from my diet and lost 5 pounds in 3 weeks.
My skin looks a lot better too.
Sounds obvious but i just couldn't motivate myself to do it before.
I suggest biometric exercises and weight lifting, this will tone and shape you plus more muscle = higher metabolism.
You could try the 30 day squat challenge.
I love squats, my bum had gone from a saggy string bag of porridge to a toned peach.

This is a great 3 day plan for clearer skin and as an added bonus you'll drop some weight too. Funnily enough someone's just mentioned it on another thread. I'm not going to lie, you eat the same thing for 3 days running and you're sick of the sight of salmon by the end of it but it really is brilliant.

Thanks guys. Might try the 3 day one as my diet was awful today. It was carb dairy and sugar free but not good. . Eggs for breakfast, roast beef slices for lunch, some almonds, then some salami for a snack in the afternoon. And dinner was cauliflower, fish.

Gross. i drank two pints of water and did lots of house work but no exercise today. Oh and two green teas

Have a headache now. . . Hardly surprising.

God its dull trying to lose weight

That diet sounds great. Not sure I could stick eating the same thing for 3 days though.

OP! I can heartily recommend Tracey Anderson's Mat Workout. It is broken down into 10 minute segments so you can choose which to do for each workout. I have used it in the past and saw noticeable results after a week.

Not many vegetables

You've got just over 3 weeks so you're not going to lose a huge amount in that time - why not just accept yourself as you are, ditch the diet, and focus on finding a flattering outfit, getting your hair done, & generally making yourself feel nice?

Is getting a facial an option? I've suffered from bad skin most of my life, but always have a nice complexion a few weeks after a good facial (and the effects last a few months). And if you can get a massage too it will make you feel good and help lymphatic drainage --I'm not quite sure what that is but I know it's good for weight loss-
A stone and a half isn't much, I think you should work on feeling good about yourself as much as losing weight. I had this yoga teacher before who was a bit overweight, but incredibly toned and gorgeous with it and happy in her own skin, it made me love my own curves a bit :)
Don't try to lose too much too soon anyway, because even if it works in the short term you will pile it back on again as soon as you stop dieting.

There is a diet called the 17 day diet, that's basically no carbs/dairy/sugar, but loads of fruit and veg and green tea etc. It makes sense to me as diet because it's cutting out all the crap and eating loads of healthy food, I never successfully did it myself because I'm shit at dieting I only ever did it for a day or two, but I have the PDF somewhere if you want me to email it?

Also, if you can do a Pilates class once or twice a week you can get quite shapely around the waist relatively quickly. I felt my love handles firm up after the first class, and gradually rediscovered my waist post three kids without losing a pound.

30 day shred is effective and would definitely make your more toned and energetic in 3 weeks. I started it about this time last year and the results were very noticeable very fast, certainly before christmas. You can do it!

Stop drinking green tea if you don't like it!
There's lots of other teas to choose from.
Fennel is lovely.

Also try making soups.
I make one with carrots, celery,onion, courgette, whatever you fancy really. I chop them into bite size pieces. Tin of tomatoes and chicken stock.
Freeze in portions and keep it for the days you need something quick. It's really filling and there's nothing fatty or creamy in it.
I add chilli sometimes just to give it a kick.

Slimming World is not too onerous, and you could lose half a stone by 21 Dec.

Coupled with the first 4 weeks of the Couch to 5K, you should see a noticeable difference.

The tea went actually do anything worth suffering for: have a nicer herbal tea: I love mint teas.

And home made vegetable soup for lunch every day is Mt preferred diet: root veg or in season stuff, sweated in the pan, add stock, boils until soft, blend.

Get yield to a department store: three first thing they will do is find you some "smoothing" underwear. Then something that flatters your current figure.

brilliant. . thanks All. I need to eat more vegetables, true.

Also i am drinking apple detox tea and its really nice. its not milky tea with chocolate biscuits but then that's what got me into this situation.

And a few people said. . wisely. . that I should try to feel better about myself. I know I should but I just cant when i have a spare tyre and big butt. . . my self esteem is wrapped up in my size. I know that's very wrong but its how it is and I am working on it.

Thank you all. .

I wish I just had 1.5 stone to lose

Hi rita. . . I do understand that. My skinny arse neighbour is always telling me about the 1 lb she needs to lose. horses for courses and all that balls . Xx

Rice diet- three days plain rice, three days rice plus apples, three days rice plus chicken, followed by Ducan (if you manage)- that should help you to lose weight quickly. Just check that you don't have any health problems and promise yourself that you won't indulge after that party!

How are you getting on Heaven?

Hi EmGee. . . hi anyone reading, I am great thanks for asking.

I am trying hard to be kinder to myself and not judge myself or my worth on my appearance. I am focusing on my good points, both physical and all the rest of it. . . but still trying hard not to eat carbs or sugar or dairy. i have increased the fruit intake. . still not great with the veg.

I have told my DH how I feel about this party and his reply was that the skinny ones are miserable and have tiger own issues. . and basically he fancies the pants off me . . . so I am reminding myself of that and just going to try to eat sensibly.

Having said that . . he is going out tonight. . and as i amoff drink. . . I will find it hard not to eat some chocolate later. . kids treats. anyway. . .will keep trying.

I would suggest threading and tintiing eyebrows - makes you look very groomed.

A manicure makes you feel good too.

For skin - try using an electric cleansing brush 3 times a week, jojoba oil added to daytime moisturiser (won't clog pores) and Avene Triacneal for skin at night - this regime has sorted my skin out from very spotty to smooth and clear.

Diet - How about porridge in the morning, and a no cal veg soup at lunchtime then you can have a bigger dinner? No snacks except bananas. If you crave chocolate, nutella thinly spread on a crackerbread is lovely!

I'd also suggest some really decent controlling underwear (everybody wears it these days for parties) and check out the bra threads to see what your real size is, you will be surprised!!

Exercise - just keep moving, put on some music and dance, walk when you can, make it fit in with you. Callanetics video is good (amazon).

Good luck!