Is it harder to loose weight when you don't have that much to loose?

[ShanahansRevenge]

I am about 5 pounds over the healthy weight...well according to the Boots scales anayway.

In my own ideal world I would be one and a half stones lighter which is at the lower end of healthy for my height, age and build....so...I struggle to DO anything about it.

I walk a lot...around two to 5 miles a day due to no car, but that's all. No other excersise.

I eat some crap...crisps, bread, cheese, choc.

What can I do? I start a day telling myself NO crap today but by the time the DC are in bed, I am so knackered and dispirited that I always feel hungry eveb though I do eat dinner at around 5.00pm. I try to eat apples or dry popped corn but I WANT carbs or choc by arund 10.00pm and so nver loose any weight!

Any tips or advice please?

knock the cheese and choc on the head, full of sat fat. dinner is early, so have a healthier snack later in the evening. tuna and sweetcorn salad? crispbreads and thin slice of ham?

I know cheese and choc are bad...the thing is I CAN'T seem to knock them on the head.

I have been doing better about the choc...by not buying any. But every night by 10.00 I want something carby or sugary...if no choc tthen I will eat peanut butter...short of having no food in for DCs it's so hard!

I suppose i should have the healthy snack houldn't I? I hate tuna..what else? Would porrige be ok?

you could try the shred ...(DVD not food lol)

Ditch the food and have a hot chocolate instead. You will feel satisfied and not as though you are depriving yourself. I drink a soy milk one, but I know you can get those instant low cal hot chocs which are better for you if you are wanting to lose weight.

Drink more water. Try low fat/calorie options for biscuits/chocolate/cake, etc. It's difficult, though, because if you want carbs then that's all you want (I'm the same come 9pm!)

I walk around 3 miles a day (5 x week - school run) and run twice a week (2 x 30 mins). This has helped. Could you add in a little extra exercise?

I recently lost 2st and found the last 4lbs the hardest, so can only agree with you that the closer you get to your healthy weight the more difficult it becomes.

After your evening meal brush your teeth
that stops me snacking
go to bed at 10pm
don't drink alchol - that always leads to cravings for snacks

have more protein in your evening meal?

are you eating a lot of carbs at five o'clock? This always causes a low blood sugar dip at around nine if I do this.

Thank you all...to Humphrey...not a lot...just a serving, rice, pasta or potatoes...maybe I DO have big portions though! I will reduce...thanks for the tips all.

Same problem here - I am good all day and then want to munch chocolate while I Mumsnet. I can't join any slimming club as according to them I am in the ideal range for my height, but I would love to be really skinny for Christmas.

I couldn't face a tuna salad, as someone suggested, at that time of night - it needs to be something sweet. I am very rarely hungry these days, despite walking a lot like you (as my body is used to it) but just need to eat because ... well, I like eating!

How about porridge or a mug of hot chocolate (skimmed milk obviously) OP?

I have sometimes tried barely eating all day so I can eat a lot in the evening, but then I am shattered by the time the children come home from school, so that doesn't work!

Shanahan and Mudand try googling Paul Mckenna I Can Make you thin it works!I'm just in the jeans i haven't worn for 2 yrs. and still loosing!

Thank goodness it isn't just me!! I have probs with biscuits and choc. I cannot stop snacking on them, and feel so bad afterwards. I tried to replace them with a fruit cocktail the other day, and ended up eating two 400g tins!! I defo felt full after that! All the choc is going, NOW!

shift your evening meal further backwards, 5om is very early even with dc. move it by 10 minues every couple of days until you have it somewhere around 6.30pm

M and S Count on Us chocolate sundaes have been a diet-saver for me. I have one every night. Unlike any other low fat chocolate 'replacement', they actually taste chocolate-y enough to satisfy my cravings. The only problems are a) I spend half my life in M & S, b) at £1.19 each I spend rather a lot of money on them.... They do a 4 pack of chocolate mousse that are cheaper. Not sure how healthy all of this, but I can't live without chocolate.

I've been going to Slimming World off and on for the past 12 years. I'm now 51 and I have definitely found it harder to lose weight as the years go by.

At the moment I am menopausal and I am sure that has something to do with it though the SW consultant will not agree.

In my current campaign I had (only) 10 lbs to lose yet it has taken me nearly 3 months.

I'm 5'9" and my target weight is 10st 7lbs.

On previous occasions I swear I could have lost 10 lbs in 5 weeks tops!

However I'm hoping because this time I've lost it more slowly and steadily I will have a better chance of keeping it off.

Evening snacks - I suggest small portion porridge; Crunchy Bran and warm milk; Ryvitas and honey/jam/marmalade/laughing cow light cheese; low fat hot-choc drinks; low fat yoghurts - I find Mullerlights a bit synthetically sweet but Activia Snackpots are nice and quite filling.

Don't be too hard on yourself!

Can you distract yourself from food with a hobby - knitting; sorting photos; clearing clutter in a drawer or a cupboard. Or have a hot scented bath; do your nails/pedicure?

Hope that helps.

izquierda Look at the paul Mckenna thread on here IT WORKS !!

Hi pp thanks for that - think I had the book out of the library once but some idiot had pinched the CD! Will see if I can get a copy. Saw PMcK programme a while ago on TV and know his stuff gets results...well done by the way on getting into your size 12s!!

Thanks a lot izqui You can also google Paul Mckenna there's vids on there!

Please don't start a diet, diets do not work long term.

It is NORMAL to be hungry at 10 if you have your tea at 5.

For me it really worked having a (proper) snack at 5, then dinner at 8, so i don't get the munchies when watching telly, but instead have a nice hot drink.

At 5 pm I would maybe snack on a slice of bread or crackers, some cheese or ham and some cherry tomatoes.

This way I have almost eliminated unhealthy snacking, though some in this anti-carb world would call bread unhealthy, I know I know.

Diets do not work and cause people to jojo, have you ever heard of anyone who did just ONE diet for a few months, and after that was fine?! Oh no, then the weight comes on again as normal ("naughty") eating starts again. Then a new, more extreme diet starts. it is a vicious cycle,and as your weight is almost o.k. I would not go down the diet route, just make some small adjustments.

Better to make some small sustainable changes.

Good luck!

Chandon the thing about Paul Mc is it's not a diet as such ;you change the WAY you eat not (unless you want to) WHAT you eat and so it works really well.

that sounds good then!

It is I've lost 6 kilos and now the problem is nearly all my clothes are getting too big!