Feeling like it's the impossible at the moment.

[Creamplease]

Hi all,

Is there anyone who really felt like they couldn't shift the weight and they were destined to be fat forever, but then lost the weight?!

Background about me, I was a fat teenager, then discovered jogging and loved it, my weight dropped to 10 stones. And at 5'9 I was happy (ish).

A year later I got pregnant, gained 4 stones, then kind of stayed at about 12ish stones. 3 years later I was pregnant, had a mmc and in my grief put on 2 stones in the space of a month. This leaves me at 14 stones. I then get pregnant and go up to 16 stones. When DC2 is 3 months, I bloody go and get pregnant again! Determined not to put on weight, I still put on weight. Fastfoward now, DC3 is 6 months, I weigh 17 stones.

Im so embarrased. From the size 10 I was, I am now an 18, though I am refusing to buy 18s and squeezing myself in to size 16 leggings.

I am so frustrated with myself. I have no will power, I am currently making cookies at 9pm because I feel a bit stressed. Oh I am also a single parent due to their dad being the biggest prick (another thread), so I am tired, have no opportunity to go jogging.

I have done EVERY diet under the sun. I'm so crap! Please can someone tell me a story of feeling exactly like me, but then something clicking and then you had will power and lost all the weight?!

I'm not the same as you but didn't want to read and run.
Number one: you WANT to change. That's the most important thing ever.
Number two: baby steps will get you there. You're not going to drop 4 dress sizes overnight, but you can do it bit by bir.
Number three: work out what you can do that will fit your life. Exercise DVd when kids in bed? (I have no babysitter option either and that worked well for me) walking with buggy rather than car for some journeys, maybe try a cOmputer thing eg wii fit if you have one.
Do you have a smartphone? There are some great free apps out there (eg myfitnesspal)
What you need is a combination of support from mates (either IRL or on here) and an understanding of what lifestyle changes you can make tht you can stick to rather than a true "diet" where you are denying yourself too much too quickly. I hope you can find something that works for you.

Oh, and last thing is ask your GP if you can have your thyroid function checked with a blood test. My cousin went up 6 stone (1.5 per child) and it turned out her thyroid was packing up. Thyroid treatment and some diet and exercise, and a few years later she is back to her pre-baby weight. There is always hope!

I am quite like you - but I think I'm climbing out of it!

My children are 16 and 14; I'm 5'7" and just over 15 stone. In the past two years I've dropped from 17 and a half stone so very gradual. I've also made my eating habits my main focus, rather than weight loss. So I'm still over weight, but I have (mostly!) good eating habits.

I'm not a serial dieter - I have had some success with WW in the past, but I now know that I just have to avoid diet plans like the plague as I get obsessed for a day and then start to resent them, and then break them with a vengeance.

Having dropped a couple of stone I know that I've got to knuckle down now. I'm 47 but I refuse to accept that losing weight is too difficult. I really want to be slim again and I'm bloody well going to do it.

I don't have money for gyms or stuff like that - but I do have a dog and he needs walking. So I walk on average three miles two or three times a week. I also use the Wii - do you have one of those? And as the previous poster said, a smartphone can be really useful - I use Endomondo to track my walks and calories burned and Sparkpeople to track calories.

You can do it - but stop panicking is my main advice. You need to change for life, not just for the weightloss period. I did this in my twenties through manic exercise and Jenny Craig and it's unsustainable.

Spend some time thinking about what you can do to make some small changes. Plan your day's eating and show yourself respect by sticking to it (this is a concept I got from Gillian Riley's excellent Eating Less).

You've got a lot on your plate, but don't beat yourself up. Give yourself one good day of eating well and moving lots, and see how it feels! Then do it again xx

PM me if you want a diet buddy.

Thank you for your replies.

I have an iphone, I use diet fitness pal, plus I just downloaded another one, but can't remember the name. I also have a wii plus shit loads of exercise dvds. I need to be strong, and in the evenings do the exercise straight away!

I feel a bit embarrassed about asking for my thyroid checked... i'm sure it is just because I have been a beast! And the doc will probably say the same!!

I like what you say danebury about respecting yourself is a good one.. I'm going to start slowly! I can do it!

I too feel it's impossible at the moment - I'm a stone heavier than you and don't have baby weight to blame, just me being greedy and lazy really! DH and I plan to adopt next year though so I need to get my weight down or it'll never happen so I'm looking at being sensible with food and being a bit more active. It's a nightmare though, I'm a sensible adult with a responsible job and home to manage so controlling my eating and exercise shouldn't be beyond me, but it does feel that way.

No real advice to be honest, just wanted to say I know that "impossible" feeling very well.

cream, don't be embarrased about asking for a thyroid test: it's a fairly common problem and it's totally worth a check to make sure it's not contributing. If you feel embarrased asking a male doctor is there a female doctor or practice nurse that you might find easier to talk to about it? Then when the result is normal you will at least know that you're not missing a treatable cause.

I like the idea of "showing yourself respect" too: it's a bit easier to do when I don't have a cupboard full of crisps and biscuits though! (having children who I want to show a good example to is also important: I'm having a job at the moment to not get "mummy's dieting" into their heads when I've got three stone to lose (to get me back to a size 16).