Paul McKenna's No Pain, No Pain, Non Diet for those who really want to lose weight. No calories, no syns, no humiliation, just shedding stones amongst friends. Thread 8

[Solo]

The Golden Rules that will aid you on your journey with our like minded support system:

1. Eat what you WANT
2. Eat when you are HUNGRY
3. Eat CONSCIOUSLY
4. STOP eating when you are satisfied and full

This weight loss system is about re-educating your body; learning to listen to it and in doing so losing weight and inches. So forget diets; they may work for a while, but they aren't permanent solutions.
The Paul McKenna system works and is easy to maintain.

I've C&P'd our previous threads links as they are helpful.

Here are the book choices on AMAZON which is all you need to get started! they aren't compulsory, but they do help! it's something to refer to.

This is the tapping technique EXPLAINED - this can be useful to combat cravings.

Please feel free to join us. We are friendly, supportive and successful but we're not hungry!!! so come on in and start living your new life today!

Rosylee - I say if you're hungry - eat. Irrespective of what time it is. and anyway, if you go to bed hungry you won't be able to sleep. You don't have to have a 3 course meal, just enough to feel satisfied.
(I'm a relative newbie so I may be off the mark here but this is what I would do)

Hi all - had a very good day. I can't believe how little it takes before I feel satisfied. I've noticed that I seem to want to eat little and often - I feel hungry again maybe 2 hours after eating. So I suppose I'm eating snacks rather than meals. Had a bit of pizza and salad around 7pm and I'm getting hungry now. Usually I'd have my head in the trough - normally eat the whole pizza and then be in and out of the fridge all night.
I'd dearly love to just want 3 meals a day...maybe my hunger will adapt that way the more I do Paul (So to speak!) or maybe this is what's best for me, little and often.

Welcome Rosy :) you are definitely in the right place for turning your life around. We are a lovely bunch of ladies here (you've probably realised that already) and we are non judgemental, we will pick you up and get you back onto the wagon if you fall off a bit...just remember to do the same for me!! .

Do remember to drink water and if you think you are hungry, have a glass of water and wait half an hour. If you still feel hungry after 30 minutes, eat something. I also find that a hot Bovril works wonders or a hot chocolate if you feel like something sweet. Also, try not to sit in front of the tv when you are eating, it'll distract you from concentrating on the food in your mouth and on your plate and you could easily over eat.
Do try to see yourself as a slim you as I found that that was key to weight loss when I got stuck as was admiring myself in the mirror ~ horrendously hard at first, but important!!!
So, get stuck right in.

Not a bad day for me all told, but I must start listening to the cd's again (hooray!!! I found them ).

Morning! Oh I am so tired. Went to bed around 12:30am as I just could not sit at the PC anymore. Up again early so that I can continue with said report. Thank goodness I work from home so I can just stay in my PJ's and try to get through the report. I have until 5:30pm to submit it but there is still loads to do :(

Anyway around 10:30pm last night, I did feel slightly hungry (hunger scale) and so decided to eat something. I managed a small bit of leftover cauliflower with cheese and two small chicken wings. This is still far less than I would normally have so even though I was eating late, I felt that overall I probably had less than I would normally have in an ordinary day! I felt in control which was good.

I do think that I will have that glass of water next time, just to be sure. I have been luckier than most. My cravings are never for sweets, cake, chocolate etc. I do enjoy them but put chicken/pork/lamb in front of me, then I cave. Thanks to the person who came up with the term "mouth hunger". For years this is what I have felt and have been fighting but had no way of expressing what I feel.

Here's to another good day Pauling. I really feel that I can do this. Thanks to all of you for your support. I know that together we can achieve our goals.

Have a great day everyone! Will pop in every so often today.

Hooray for finding the CDs solo!
Rosey I think you're off to a good start. Working out when you're hungry vs when you're thirsty or bored comes with practice!
I was definitely comfort eating after a disagreement with DH yesterday :( Not working and feeling ill is not really helping. Have resolved to make more effort again from today and go for a walk each day to get some exercise and fresh air. Sure it'll help with Pauling and my frame of mind :)

hi i need help to stay on PMK - since yesterday i've felt like i can't be bothered with it (and all last week tbh, since i've had this bad cold). I don't know if the listening to the cd is doing anything - i listen most mornings but its not as if anything is happening. I can't be bothered eating slowly - i normally read the paper or a magazine when i eat - except at dinner at night.

I lost 2-3 stone on ww last year i got down to 9st 7lb (I'm 5ft 7ins) - it was too thin for me, and then i crept up to about 10st and stayed like this for ages. I was obsessive about what i ate and i weighed myself every day. I'm somewhere round 11st 7 lb now. Maybe because of this i'm at this stage of not wanting to be bothered.

I don't know what i should do or what i want to do

crazynell I can't just eat without doing something else, I feel a bit daft. But if I am watching telly or whatever whilst eating I still try and focus on the food while I'm eating. Also I don't do the endless chewing thing, but I do trying and really notice the taste. In the book it does say that if you only take one thing from the whole book it is to 'eat consciously', so if you are not doing that this may explain why you are not feeling the benefits?

Have you tried listening to the cd at night instead before you go to sleep? I think that I'd feel that I was wasting part of my day if I listened to it in the daylight! It's really hard to motivate yourself when you are ill so try and be a bit easy on yourself too.

Sounds like you are doing well Rosylee I also found it hard in the first few evenings, as I felt like I should be eating. For whatever reason that sensation has just disappeared! Maybe the CD working it's magic? How are you getting on with the exercise? I feel almost compelled to do some each day, which is slightly bizarre. Plus I did a fitness class last night for the first time in about 20 years! It was great and very positive to do something new that involved moving!

You've just inspired me to go for a little walk Havealittlefaith. Hope you are feeling a bit better healthwise this afternoon?

Hi ladies. Hope everybody is OK or at least recovering if you haven't been well.

Crazynell - are you saying you weigh yourself every day now or that you have stopped doing that?

I know that PMK says don't do it that often but I think it can be motivational. There was an article in Good Housekeeping a few months back that was written by a dietician and she basically trashed diets and advocated the PMK way (without the CD obviously because that is PMK's USP). The only thing that she differed on was how often you should weigh yourself. She reckoned you should weigh every day so that you are motivated by the successes and you are mindful of the gains.

I am also 5'7" (and also look too thin at 9st 7lb - 10st 4lb was my ideal) and I find that it has always needed a lot of weight gain or loss for me to notice the difference in clothes or in the mirror. That means that if I lose 7lbs nobody including me would know and if I put on 7lb nobody would notice either. That means that if I leave it 2+ weeks to weigh in I could do myself some serious weight gain damage before I was aware of it. I am tending to at least weigh weekly at the moment although if I feel things aren't going well I hide my head in the sand and weigh less often.

You have had a cold and they do make you hungry but once you are over it trying weighing more often if you aren't already. Even if you then don't think about PMK all day at least you don't forget about it for weeks at a time. You will have another reminder the next day or whenever, when you get on the scales.

But really I do sympathise. It can be boring just thinking about it all the time. I do so hope that I can stay on the wagon long enough for it to become second nature and for me not to have to think about it. Or maybe thin people do think about what they eat a lot and I just need to get used to it!

HI LW and BBB i used to weigh myself every day when i was doing ww and for about 6 months afterwards. i've stopped it now. I agree about the weight loss or gain not showing easily - people are always telling me i don't look o/weight or even now at about 11 7 they tell me i look too thin - its my long hollow legs, you see :) i know whats the right weight for me - we all do

When was the article in GH -or who was it by - i'd like to read it

Perhaps i'm a bit run down after the cold and feel a bit fed up

Crazy and bbb I LOVE weighing myself every day, it's all part of the fun! I also measure myself as it's always nice to see the difference in inches too!

Just ate a (smallish) baked potato with tons of cheese and ate it 'consciously'. It was devine!

I'm also 5'7" (or at least a fraction under) and anything under 10st makes me look a bit odd, and my head look too big for my body! That said Ive not been that weight for a looooooooooong time .

Well, I have to say that I have been motivated to be more active, even if it is only MY idea of being active. I have marched on the spot, done push ups against the worktop, and used my 9 year old daughters 2.5 lb dumbells. I also did 20 steps on the bottom of the stairs. I know its not much but it is more than I have done for a year or more. I do miss watching TV while I eat but I have seen for myself that I eat significantly less when I eat and do nothing else.

I have not weighed myself as my scale is broken. I weighed at the GP a month ago, so I know what I weighed. I plan not to bother weighing unless I get near a scale but I will know how I am doing by my clothes. I will miss not weighing weekly and seeing progress so might pop into boots once per month or so

I haven't been under 11stone for such a long time that I don't know for sure but I reckon I would be presented with the classic face/arse dilemma if I go too low now. Lose too much and I wil end up looking even older than my years, which is not good. My face isn't actually that fat despite needing to lose several stone so my poor arse might have to stay largish to protect the face which can't afford the loss. Blimey at this moment in time a size 14/16 would be a miracle and I'd settle for that as a happy medium.

Not done too badly today and I have still only eaten 2 creme eggs since the Lent ban on chocolate was lifted. Don't want to slide down that slippery slope to eating chocolates and sweets every day and undoing all the good I do by sticking to the rules for the rest of the day. I shall try and save it for the weekends and still resist if I can.

I got a pack of two vanilla slices on Saturday. I ate one on Saturday night, and I've just eaten the other. This is unknown!! Normally I'd have scarfed them both at warp speed one after the other and hardly tasted them.
Interesting to really taste it and eat it slowly...I love the vanilla taste but I did notice that it was incredibly sweet. Almost too sweet. Can't believe I said that.
faints

- 'classic face/arse dilemma', that is so funny bbb I know exactly what you mean.

It's weird how things taste different isn't it Malory, I've been finishing off some low fat but supposedly 'luxurious' yoghurts, and they just taste so bitter to me now. I'm still very impressed at your ability to eat them over different days. Not tested myself that far yet...

Fab work on your exercise Rosylee, slow and steady is definitely the best way forward on these things rather than going mad, injuring yourself and never doing it again!

Hi all. You all seem really motivated and at the least, supported ~ which is lovely. I have no tv and no internet for some reason, so am on my phone which is no fun!
I haven't stopped today and plan on the same tomorrow. Hopefully the net will be ok and I can read and post properly :)

Morning!

It's great to see how well people support each other on this thread and I truly thinks it makes all the difference. Well done Malory and Bertha. It is great to feel in control over food instead of the other way around.

So today is my birthday. I am 36 today. Gosh time just flies. It is disappointing that I have got to this stage in my life being so overweight. I never enjoyed my twenties as I was overweight, and my thirties are going by faster than the twenties. BUT, it stops here!!!! I refuse to let weight and food rule my life anymore.

Before I started writing this post, I was going to tell you all how worried I am because we are going to a Chinese buffet for lunch in lieu of my birthday. I was worried about over-eating. But just typing this post has made me realise that I don't have to over-eat because it is buffet! After all I can always go again. I used to think that since it is a buffet we should make the most of it because we paid for it!

I hope I will maintain this line of thought when I am actually in the restaraunt.

Have a great day all. Solo hope your internet gets sorted.

Happy Birthday Rosylee .

Happy birthday Rosy :) I am sure that you can control the urge to ignore your full feeling. Just think; if you continue to PMK, you can be lovely and slim AND healthy by the time you are 40...not that far away really! And you could throw a party wearing a wow factor dress! I wore a wow factor dress for my 40th party and was slim...i fully intend to wear a FAB dress for my 50th in 2 years time! I will be inviting you all too btw.
No internet or tv yet .
Have a great day everyone.

Happy Birthday Rosie

I'm on day five of really having a go. I've noticed I've given myself much smaller meals (although I did scoff a lot of easter egg after dinner last night). I've been able to leave a little bit on my plate most meals. Not AT ALL motivated to exercise but I've been stuck in with DS the last few days as he has "the vomitty bug". It all still feels like an effort though but I think once I start to lose weight I'll feel more motivated. Is that how it was for you?

I have listened to the CD every day but I never take in what he's saying after the first 15 minutes! It's a mystery to me what that last bit is about

Little one stirs, I must go...

Hello everyone, and Happy Birthday Rosie!

I have been really struggling, too much food around over Easter and too many broken nights. I listened to the CD last night for the first time in ages, and I do feel better today.

happy birthday rosy. I'm sure you will be ok at the buffet, just take your time, eat what you want and stop as soon as you're full.

I've hit my first snag. Mindful eating takes time! I find it hard to make myself sit at the kitchen table and just focus on the food with no distractions. I have improved my habits though, i used to eat brekkie and lunch whilst on the internet, now i sit at the kitchen table and for breakfast browse the paper or a mag and for lunch i usually manage to put down anything and focus on the food only- not every day for lunch though. Dinner is ok- i've always eaten dinner the proper way. I do know this is a priority and say that to myself but we all have busy lives . Anyway listening to the CD most days and hoping to keep improving. I got into the habit of having seconds for breakfast and that's stopped. I'm also eating dinner more slowly.

Question about when you first started this. Were any of you amazed at how little food it actually takes to make you feel satisfied? I cant believe it..I must have been a right pig before. I need to lose 5/6 st (but am aiming for 3st, I'll be happy enough with that) and I've been telling myself for years that because I'm big I need to eat plenty or I'll 'starve' (eye roll). However the truth is that my body still only wants a much smaller amount of food, probably the sort of portion sizes I ate when I was maintaining my weight around the eight and a half stone mark....

Oh gosh yes Mallory I was shocked! I've been surprised to be fair at how much it varies day to day, I guess based on variation of activity - I need more when I go running! But some days I really don't feel the need to eat much at all. I realised how much I was eating for comfort.
I am definitely starting to improve. I feel much more energised today. Going for that walk as I promised myself to buy some new curtains and bedding for the house - I think we're only a week or so away from getting home [grn]

even!

Well, I am back from the Chinese / Indian Buffet and I have to say I feel bloomin' marvellous! I have never eaten so little at the buffet table before. Granted I ate more than I did at lunch yesterday BUT, while I stopped at the "pleasantly satisfied stage" yesterday, I did progress to "full today" but not stuffed. I ate 1 rib, 1/2 chicken wing, 2 chicken tikka bites, 1 pakora, 1 smallish serving of mutton curry, with rice, and 4 bits of chicken curry pieces, 1 table spoon of pasta salad. To end off, matchbox size chocloate cake. Now that may sound huge, but it is only a fraction of what I would normally have. Around a 1/4 I would say. It was a chore though sitting around watching hubbie and daughter plus her friend eat as I was already done! Usually I have finished before others as I eat too fast now it's because I ate so little. My husband commented twice at how surprised he was at how little I ate (he's given up supporting me when it comes to losing weight).

Which brings me to the point Malory was making that it actually takes so little to satisfy the body. I was definitely shocked to see that I could be satisfied with so little. I mean last night is a case in point. Normally when I cook a chicken curry, I always have about 4 pieces of chicken (thighs), but last night I could only manage one. So I ask myself why on earth was I having 4???

I will admit to using my daughter's small knife and fork, which forces me to also put less on the fork and thus into my mouth. Smaller bites do also help me as I then eat even slower :)

I have begun though to realise that there is now no need to prepare the huge portions I was "in case it's not enough". I am slowly getting the message that I need a lot less food to feel satisfied, so now I prepare what I actually need. It means my food will last a lot longer and maybe I will save a bob or two as well!

Now my friend is coming over for cake and tea. I would not have bothered to buy cake, but she insisted. I will have something, but I hope that I can stick to the same plan as my lunch.

Will fill you in later. And sorry if I am hijcking the thread but I have no one else to talk to re this as my friend has no real weight issues.

Hey don't worry Rosey you're just excited about seeing a positive change in yourself! Sounds like you're off to a great start. Happy birthday!
Well I went for a short walk. Did get rained on but also got some sunshine so all in all, it was good. Found it a bit depressing that a few weeks ago I was running that route and further, but hey it's a literal and metaphorical step back towards that.