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?

Yikes, I really would not do WW if I were you. I would definately carry on low carbing, there are hundreds of threads on here that will help you. Also you could get India and Neris Idiot Proof Diet and also their cook book, however if you follow the bootcamp low carb threads on here there is plenty of information to get you started and keep you going. If you switch to WW now I think you might gain weight and also go back to craving sugar etc. Low Carb is definately the way to go!

Eeeek that may be problematic....I got a free 12 week voucher referral courtesy of the NHS that I have to commit to.

I have signed a contract & given consent that the NHS can use my statistics for their use. I had reached breaking point, been battling with this daily for about 22 years. If I break the rules for non-attendance or gaining, I won't get any more help from the GP apparently.

I weighed myself again today & the scales said I had lost a total of 9lbs to date, in 3 weeks.

I am eating a lot less, no carbs whatsoever & doing a load more exercise.

I'm sure you'll be able to 'adapt' the WW 'philosophy' and still keep to your own now proven weigh (sic) of eating :o

You are doing brilliantly! Well done.

Can I ask what you're eating, that there are no carbs? Do you mean no pasta, bread, rice etc?

Ask away!
Eating meats, fish, fruits, veg, fibre-rich foods such as Weetabix and fat-free yoghurts, fat-free cottage cheese, Ryvitas.

Haven't eaten bread, crackers, butter, pasta, hard cheeses, potatoes or rice for about 3 weeks.

Started WW yesterday and the leader was so lovely, I had a bit of a breakdown.

Sounds like a great start! I haven't done WW (but have had good results with SW and LL), but would say in its favour that it'll be priceless to have that real life support to keep you going. Low carb and MFP are all well and good when you're starting off and feeling positive, but there's nothing like regular meetings with other sympathetic people to pick you up during the darker times and get you over those hurdles to make this a success. Five stone in six months is not impossible, but it would be very hard to do it alone, which is why they've given you the free sessions. Definitely stick with it and keep up the great work!

Yikes although you want to do ww I would really encourage you to read the low carb threads - you have got off to a really good start but there is still a lot of sugar in what you are eating particularly the cereal and "low fat" yoghurt which is the devils work for any diet. If you continue with sugary or fake sugary food you will keep craving it. If you go complete low carb clean the weight will fall off easily.

Can I recommend Eating Less by Gillian Riley. Have a look on the Amazon reviews. I think it makes a lot of sense.

oh crikey, sounds like I need to get off the sweetener/sugar addiction as well as dealing with everything else.

I have one yoghurt a day, I've not had any cereals for a few days.

By the end of today I would have had a portion of mixed melon, a nectarine, 1/4 pint of semi, salmon fillet & salad, grilled lamb & loads of veg, a WW bar or Alpen bar etc & one Mullerlight & a can of sugar-fee Sprite, 3 coffees.....is this still too much sweet stuff?

It's too much if you're thinking about low-carb. You're not eating anywhere near 'no carbs whatsoever', I'm afraid. Weetabix, low-fat yoghurt, fruit, alpen bars, semi milk - all loaded with carb.

This is (imo) the problem with WW/SW etc - calorie-based diets still allow you to eat sugar/sweeteners in pretty large quantities which means that you never tackle the reason for the overweight in the first place. The salmon/grilled lamb and veg - brilliant! Diet foods (sugar-free/fat-free bars, drinks, yoghurts etc) - really, really not so brilliant.

However, given that you're tied into this WW commitment... is it completely non-negotiable? Can you tweak the WW plan so that you're not eating the artificial crap and concentrating on protein, good fats and veg instead?

Please come and have a look at the low-carb threads. They are SO supportive and the food is AMAZING

Btw, I'm sorry if my last post sounds negative - I think you're brilliant for what you're doing. But I reckon there is a better way - real food (plus butter! cheese! full-fat yoghurt!), not artificial food. Plus you break your addiction to sugar, your cravings and you don't feel hungry. Honest.

You could always just pretend you're following WW, surely?

I am not as far down the fertility referral line as you, I am waiting for a referral for Clomid at the moment. I am worried that it won't work though so I want to lose weight to help it, and also in case I need any further treatments.
I started mid-May on slimming world, and I have lost 2 stone 1lb so far, I have another 3 stone 6lb to go for my bmi to be under 25.
I don't eat "diet" products, just lots of lean meat, veggies and fruit, but I don't exclude carbs, although I do have whole grain rice etc instead of white. I don't eat much bread. My one "vice" is diet coke however, which I know is not good for me but I like it, and it's a crutch for me.

I just want you to know that you are not alone in struggling to lose weight for fertility treatment! I know we will get there in the end. When I struggle, I just think how I will feel if I know that the reason I couldn't conceive was because I didn't have the willpower to change my eating habits. It guilt trips me into not eating junk, because my DH desperately wants another baby as well, and I don't want my DS to be an only child, he is almost 5 now :-(

Yikes you are doing brilliantly but I completely concur with tea - if you took out the melon, nectarine, alpen bar and the muller light and replaced with a babybel or hunk of any cheese or celery and cream cheese, celery and peanut butter or some ham some avocado, prawns etc etc it would make the diet far easier in the long run! If you keep eating sugar in the fruit and cereal bars you will continue to crave it and will hold onto weight

yikes Well done on losing 9lb! Another 5lbs, and that's the first stone gone, and a fifth of the way to your goal - brilliant!

Can I recommend India Knights and Nerys Thomas's Idiot Proof Diet (bright pink book) for low carbing? Can be bought v v cheap on Amazon, and can also buy a cook book that matches the diet. I found the book friendly and encouraging, and the diet easy to follow.

At beginning of this year I had 7 1/2 stone to lose, and so far have lost 3. Would have been bit more but haven't stuck rigidly to the very low carb during last 2 months (difficult personal circumstances), although still minimal carbs and haven't gained anything. However, I'm restarting properly again in September, and am confident I'll lose another 2 stone by christmas.

There is a great, supportive, funny, informative forum called pig2twig, which is fantastic, and free

I've never successfully lost weight before, and it's been completely wonderful.

I didn't really notice a big difference in the way my clothes fitted until I'd lost about 20lbs, so you'll be taking in those belts soon!

Concur that sugary foods and drinks are full of carbs, and diet coke can seriously stall weight loss. Anything ending in -ose is a diet buster on a low carb plan: glucose, fructose, sucrose; after all, that's what carbs 'do' - they are broken down by your body into glucose for fuel, so sugars are simply carbs fast tracked into your body. My weight loss diet consists of proteins and veg mostly, and 2-3litres of water per day. Sounds a bit dull, but I love it - there are masses of good recipes to try! Oh yes, and can eat cheese and add cream to things, yummy. I'm never hungry, and feel full of energy, with clearer skin.

(have turned into low carb diet preacher!)

Wow, thankyou all for posting. Sounds like I need completely re-training on food nutrition. I had no idea about carbs being in the things I was eating. I am so thick.

I will invest in the books mentioned, thankyou. Payday tomorrow so will order them this week - hoorah.

Had a horrendous day yesterday food-wise & despite having a lot of negativity in my life right at this moment (struggling to get through the hours to be honest) I need to turn the situations around by channeling my hate & anger into a positive thing.

It was my first bad day in about 5 weeks. In the past I would have used that as a reason to carry on eating rubbish but on here, you lovely people have taught me that I have another 3 whole days before my next weigh-in, which equates to 9 good meals with low level snacks.

Onwards & upwards with the food, my attitude & sod the people in my life who claimed to be my friends but know nothing about the meaning of true friendship.

yikes you are definitely not thick!

We have been told for last 20 odd years that low fat/high carb is the best way to lose weight, and during that time obesity levels have rocketed. So many of us are 'thick' only because we've tried to follow guidelines given to us by various agencies - governments, diet planners, etc - to follow a way of eating that makes many people feel hungry, unsatisfied, and ultimately unsuccessful at losing weight (and often gaining more instead!)

It took me ages to get my head round an almost complete reversal of the old demands in order to accept the low carb ideas, but once I had, it works brilliantly for me.

And as far as friends go, my fatter friends all pretend to be supportive - but, with one exception, have done a lot to try to subtly undermine my weight loss plan - while my thinnner and fitter friends have suddenly become genuinely interested and very supportive. It's been all very odd indeed

You just stick to your goals, they're amazing!