Yikes...how the HELL do I do this & why for the love of God did I let it get to this?

[yikeshowdoidothis]

Oh God.

Have to lose nearly 5 stone in order to have IVF. Why the hell did I let myself get to this size?

Time isn't on my side due to my age. Realistically I've got 6 months. Off to GP next week but last time I went I was told that the main way of not eating rubbish was to not buy it in the first place. As if I didn't know that?!

Managed to lose 4lbs in a week through being sensible, how on earth do I keep this up for soooooo long?

One bad day & I will have blown it completely. I'm an "all or nothing" gal.

How on EARTH do I stay positive?

I go to one of the weekly weigh clubs and have had a lot of success with it (I lost over 6 stone before I stopped going, recently rejoined to pick up my motivation). One of the really useful things I picked up there, as most of my problems were to do with attitude and motivation rather than not knowing what to do, was that assuming you eat 3 meals a day, there are 21 meals a week. One bad meal means there are still 20 good ones. One bad day means there are still 18 good ones. I also made sure I planned in treats; unlike many I can't do without chocolate, cheese, alcohol and bread. It isn't a long term solution. I just make sure I factor it in so I don't splurge out from eating salad after salad after salad.

And never let anyone tell you it isn't hard work because it is. Just think about what is in it for you at the end. For me - I'm young and want to be healthy, not morbidly obese. For you - the IVF. Focus on that.

good advice from aiming. also picture yourself in 3 years time. do you want to still be childless because you didn't qualify for IVF or do you want to be normal weight and playing with your child? focus on what you want. See yourself there at a normal weight with your partner and child and use that daily to motivate you. Imagine yourself tucking your baby into their cot at night. really feel it.
If a diet club is something you'd do then i think with so much weight to lose it would be very helpful. they are great at helping combat all or nothing thinking and any other issues that may come your way.

It will be hard work but it is doable. people lose weight all the time. why have you only got 6 months?

Is there a practise nurse you can see - they're generally more supportive & understanding than the doctors.

Use www.myfitnesspal.com to record your food and exercise.

Plan your menus and make a shopping list from that - and keep to it

Shop online

Set yourself small targets (7 pounds at a time is far more achievable than looking only at the near 70 pounds total) and non-food related 'rewards' when you reach each goal.

Walking is a great way to kickstart exercise routines

Aiming I used to go to SW but now with work commitments, the cost of the meetings & fuel & a very time-consuming puppy, I can't make it to meetings any more. I hadn't actually thought about the 'remaining meals' situation. In my head, that makes a lot of sense, thankyou.

Blackcats Thankyou for throwing those thoughts my way. I will keep them at the forefront of my mind when I feel a craving coming on. I have left it as late as possible, due to being unable to accept this eating disorder, but now that I'm ready to face it & try & deal with it, all the hospitals have told me I am pushing it time-wise.

Wyn You are right....the nurse whose shoulder I always cry on is an absolute gem, she is a true angel. Thankyou for reminding me of her being able to help. I have made an appointment to see her.

Smiles Thankyou for your advice. I have set myself 5lbs at a time. I can only access scales at a specific workplace once a week. I don't own any. I do walk for 2-3 hours every single day & have done relentlessly for 9 months now but I don't think I'm walking quick enough as I didn't lose a single ounce before I started to eat less.

I haven't looked at myfitnesspal yet...not sure if I have time to keep a daily record if that is part of it. Will have a nosey at it now.

With regard to non-related treats, I need inspiring please as I don't have that much disposable income due to saving for IVF costs.

It has been proven that the most effective way to lose weight (other than exercise and cutting back, obviously) is to track what you are eating every day. So I would consider something like myfitnesspal (or Spark People or any of the other tracking sites) to be essential to successful weight loss.

Well done on the walking - can you speed it up or vary routes to add in extra inclines?

I've got (fell out of a newspaper a couple of months ago) - but haven't done it yet as I'm waiting to dog sit for my sister next month - a 28 day walking programme that looks really good.

Have you got a bike? Cycling is great fun and a good cardio exercise.

There are many home exercise routines on Youtube you could do.

The conventional theory is that weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise.

If you're crafty or have been in the past can you start a new project? Keeping hands busy is a good aid to stopping 'mindless' snacking

Non Food Treats: low or no cost

Visit a museum or art gallery
Pedicure & Manicure at home - £shop do nail varnish etc
A new book and the time to read it
New clothes - either Primark or charity shop
Visit local or not so local park/forest etc
Pamper time with long bubble bath (again £shop for bubbly stuff!)
Check out local cycle routes and go on a day's ride
Buy a cheap pedometer
Earrings/other jewellrey (there's lots of cheap fashion/costume bits about)
Wait to have your usual haircut/treatment until a target is reached
Sometimes giving ourselves some 'time' to do nothing is a really nice treat
Decluttering the house a room at a time
A day in the garden

Good luck and I know you can do this :)

Track what you are eating, absolutely everything.
My friend is on her way to 5 stone in 6 months so she can get IVF soit can be done. She is however ruthless about what she eats and will not give in to temptation. She si doing SW as well. I was going to but it is more expensive than WW so I will stick with that.
Set yourself small goals so aim for half stones which you should get to within a month and give yourself some pampertime treats. Arty hobbies are good as you don't want to spoil your work with chocolate stains and it does keep your hands busy.

Good luck, it can be done and you will succeed

I really recommend My Fitness Pal. It has completely stopped me eating little bits of junk and it has also enabled me to be realistic about what I have "earned" through exercise - eg acknowledging that actually a massive fried breakfast isn't burnt off by a half-hour stroll with the pram

To lose a significant amount of weight you really need to up your activity levels rather than just starve yourself. I tend to mix "fun" exercise (walking, swimming) with the effective yet boring types (spin class, gym) so I am always doing something different.

Good luck.

Another vote for MFP, I think that's a good starting point because it starts to make you conscious of what you're eating. Like you I'm on a last minute weight loss programme to try and concieve DC2 (I'm 40 and 20lbs overweight). Like you (I think, maybe I've read your post wrong) I have an eating disorder. After my recent miscarriage I went to the doctor and now I'm on a wating list for CBT which I really think will help. Could you ask for something similar?

In the meantime I'm back in the gym, logging everything on MFP and trying to hold my nerve. Watching the Olympics helps lots - all those people persuing their amazing (and on paper, unachievable!) goals and winning. Really inspiring stuff.

Good luck!

Oh I forgot to say... due to broken weighing scales at home I'm just weighing in at the gym where it's all measured in Lbs. It's quite good - I'm rewarding myself with each 10lb marker hit... new pair of jeans when I hit 170, a facial when I get to 160... 150 is a treat in itself, as it's when my BMI gets back into the "normal" zone.

It's easier to think of hitting your 10lb goals than the big one

I used to look at pictures of clothes I liked and saved them into a folder called something like 'For when I'm healthy and thin!' Then when I was REALLY tempted by something, I'd look at that folder. I also used to write down the calories of what I was eating, fill up on fruit and vegetable and leave the house if I couldn't shake off the tempting feelings of eating something I didn't need. Walk up and down stairs rather than escalators/lifts when out and about; just say 'no' to all sweets/cakes/fat stuff other people try to shove at you. Aim for little milestones along the way to keep you motivated. E.g., if you know it's someone's birthday or a night out, give yourself a goal for then and a treat (new outfit or shoes!) if you reach it.

Good luck! You'll do it - you've got a very worthwhile reason for doing it.

Whatever diet you wind up doing, join one of the groups on here for constant support. I'm following the low-carb Bootcamp thread and have lost nearly a stone (in 8 weeks with much cheating). I am a proponent of low-carb/paleo/primal eating, because I really do find it works and I'm not hungry and eating cream/cheese/meat/eggs/veg etc suits me because it's bloody delicious. I lost the first half stone in about 10 days, but then life intervened (family events etc) and I cheated a lot, so it slowed down. If you're interested then I highly recommend reading John Briffa's Escape The Diet Trap.

Apart from the diet itself, the best thing I did was join the Bootcamp thread - we do a weekly weigh-in with a spreadsheet to record weightloss, but best of all, there's always someone around to chat and hold your hand when you need it. There are support threads on here to suit every type of diet - have a look and join the one you like best!

Things I found helpful -
Portion control. I use a smaller plate [8'' diamater] and that amount of food is now the right amount for me.
Cook your own food, that way you can control what goes into it. No ready meals, takeaways etc.
Instead of following a 'diet' I eat the type of food that I enjoy. I have adapted some recipes [eg less oil, less salt] just to be generally healthier.
If you want to snack then make snacks as healthy as possible, and make them part of your daily diet instead of extras.
I don't drink alcohol myself but if you do then you might want to look at your intake.
Good luck!

I am also Bootcamping, it is fab. My hunger pangs ahve all gone, I no longer snack and it is just so easy. I dont know why I resisted low-carb for so long!

Thankyou all for your advice & taking the time to help.

I have upped the walking to a power-walk with inclines & am keeping a note of everything I eat. I've cut out carbs completely & have had nothing for 2 weeks now.

I do feel psychologically better for not eating rubbish but cant feel any difference in my clothes. This is where the problem always starts - I don't notice having to use the smaller hole on the belt or I don't feel that my jeans are looser so I give up.

Off to doctors & nurse this week - NEED to sort this out. I NEED to be in control.

Crunch point, here I come again.

Buy scales! You can get a decent pair for under £20 and at least that way you'd get a daily Result to spur you on. You won't notice a difference in clothes yet, but you might easily have lost 2lbs.

I find starting the day knowing I'm even 1\2lb lighter keeps me on track and feeling thin so I eat better!

Thankyou all for taking the time to help me.

I weighed myself today & have now lost 6.5 lbs in 2 weeks...I'm assuming that whilst I'm not entirely satisfied that it's the 5 stone I NEED to shift, it's a big step in the right direction.

The GP has referred me for 12 free weeks at WW which hopefully I will be able to start imminently - hoorah.
She also said I could see the nurse for support if needed.

Exercise - due to shiftwork I'm struggling to exercise daily but when I do, its power-walking my puppy for at least 1 hour, twice a day. I'm unable to swim or cycle due to a spinal injury. This means that should the IVF be successful, I will have to go for a C/Section...but hey, that's insignificant in this scenario.

I have access to "professional" scales at one of my workplaces but I make sure I only stand on them once or twice a week.

Am I right in thinking that approaching that monthly time, the scales may rocket sky high?

No, but your weightloss might stall just before/during your period (which gets disheartening) but then you'll get a big loss afterwards.

Weigh yourself more! It's a good incentive. You seem (like me) to be someone who needs to see RESULTS to keep going. Daily weigh-ins give those results. And if you haven't lost or (oops) have gained 1/2lb, you immediately know to get back on track that day.

6.5lbs is great -- you're no longer "5 stone overweight", you're only 4 and a half. You're 1\8 way there! You just have to do what you've done just seven more times and it will be ALL OVER. :)

no, God my maths sucks. You're 1\10 of the way there.

I haven't read it all but got up to where you said you weren't noticing a difference in your clothes.

I need to lose my baby weight and have been on mfp for 3 weeks and started exercising, at first 3 times a week I now do 6 times a week, 3 of those are insanity workouts (look on YouTube).

I have lost NO weight, however, my scales (19.99 from Lloyd pharmacy) do weight, body fat, muscle mass, water mass and bone density. I also measure. This week alone I've reduced my body fat by 10 percentage points and increased my muscle mass by about 7 percentage points. I also lost 1/2 inch from my waist and 1 inch from my hips - in a week! Actual loss if you have a high percentage body fat can take a while to kick in as you lose fat but gain muscle which is denser. However, your BMR increases as you gain more muscle making the weight loss easier.

There are a few of us from here who are friends on mfp - if you join look me up if you want support my username is the same as on here. It's so easy to track on a smartphone as you can just take a photo of the barcodes of foods you've eaten or look them up and it works all the calories, fat etc out for you.

Yep you're right when I say I need to see results in order to keep the motivation going.

Am I right in thinking that with WW, I will be told how many points to consume & that each food type is allocated a specific number of points?

hugandroll what's MFP please? Sorry if I am being thick. I do have a smartphone.

MFP is myfitnesspal.com - Either via pc or mobile app.

It's free, you enter your details, aspirations, goals etc. and it allocates you a set number of calories a day.

You then enter your food and exercise (exercise gains you extra calories to be consumed) daily and record your progress.

The database of foods is enormous plus you can enter your own recipes.

A bit like online shopping, it's most time consuming at the start but as soon as you have your 'regular' foods in your personal database it takes no time at all.

Thankyou for clarifying what MFP is.

Lost 8lbs to date.