I need to lose a few stone..

[confusteling]

I'm 5 foot 8 and a half, I weigh between 18 and 19 stone. I can fit size 18-20 tops, but I struggle to fit size 20 jeans and currently wear a 22. I don't like my body much at all. It's wobbly, I'm covered in stretch marks (even under my arms), I've got intitrigo, and spots/acne, even got hair on my face where there shouldn't be. I'd like to have a body that I'm not disgusted by or ashamed of. I sort of think if I am thin I'll be confident, have friends and maybe even get into a relationship - I'm 22 and never had a boyfriend yet..

I do take medication hat has slowed my metabolism but I can't deny the fact that I have a very unhealthy relationship with food and it's one I want to change. Unfortunately I've been overweight for most of my life so it means changing the habits of a lifetime.

My current diet consists of:

Breakfast - chocolate cereal, s.s. milk, diluting juice. Sometimes fried egg on buttered toast, sometimes a sausage sandwich. Sometimes croissants and jam.

Lunch - roll with Tesco's sandwich fillers and salad and chips or crisps, or a mini pizza/pie with chips and salad. Occasionally soup. Fromage frais or muller yoghurt.

Tea - ready meal from Tescos or ready made stuff (e.g. chicken kiev, fish fingers)

Snacks - lunchbox biscuits or dried fruit, chocolate raisins, sweets, cakes from the bakers, cream donuts etc

On Saturdays I usually have a big bag of sweets (what you find in cinema etc). On Sundays I have pudding. On Fridays I often buy a pack of mini cakes from the bakers (6) and finish the lot.

I rarely buy fresh food or cook simply as a) I'm dyspraxic and struggle to know what I'm doing and b) I'm on a £25 budget a week which barely covers what I need.

Exercise wise I walk when I can, e.g. I walk to uni daily (10-15 min brisk walk) and at the weekends I walk my neighbour's dog, for about 20 minutes at a time. I do spend a lot of time sitting around though. I spend much of Monday-Friday alone and I'm not good at leaving the house on my own, get anxious when I do. I've got a wii fit but I find that it makes me quite dizzy for some reason. I've got an exercise DVD as well (Pump It Up) and very occasionally do that, but only the warm up as I find the actual workouts too intense.

I did manage to lose weight when I was sixteen with the help of my school nurse, lost about two/three stone. I can't remember what made the difference back then though, but I felt good for it and still have all the clothes I bought, lots of size sixteen shorts and t shirts etc. Would love to fit them all again.

I've posted about this before on MNet, never really taken any advice but this time I am determined to make proper changes :)

Any help appreciated xx

[freerangeeggs]

And your stretch marks will fade a lot as time goes by. I had some from weight gain and they're almost invisible now.

[freerangeeggs]

Could you have polycystic ovaries? That might explain the acne/facial hair, as well as the weight. If you haven't been tested you should perhaps ask your GP.

[Sleepwhenidie]

Sorry, last post, I don't think you should think of any of this as a diet by the way, just as changing the way you eat, permanently, for your own sake. Apart from that daily treat, don't think about calories, just think about health. I am pretty sure the weight will start coming off if you concentrate on consuming fresh, unprocessed food and if it eventually plateaus and you still want to lose more, then look again at your daily intake, portions etc.

[Sleepwhenidie]

Fwiw I think you need to change your perception of food...it is fuel and your body needs it, you should put the best possible fuel into your body for your health, if you stop and think what each food you are considering eating will do for your body before you eat it and think 'is it worth it?' you may find yourself stepping away from things most of the time.

We all really really want that piece of cake or takeaway from time to time and it is fine if most of the time you choose the stuff that is good. Refined sugar has absolutely nothing positive to contribute to your body for example, if you start by trying to cut that out, perhaps visualise it as something you really cannot stand every time you are tempted (raw liver, vomit, a part of your body you really hate at the moment) it may help? Warning - the first few days without refined sugar will be very hard, but very worthwhile....

[Sleepwhenidie]

I think 5:2 sounds very effective for many people but OP you need a fundamental change in your diet, it is simply too sugar and carb heavy, so even if you fasted for several days a week you are unlikely to get the results you want if you ate the same as you do now on non-fast days and although you may lose weight, if you stop fasting it would come back on.

You need to make a lot of changes but do a few at a time, or even one, get used to that then make another, this is a change in your whole way of eating, not a quick fix to lose weight ASAP....which is always doomed to failure and a diet 'trap'.

You need (as you probably know) to aim initially to
-cut out sugary cereal (ie nearly all cereal)

• cut out ready meals and pre-prepared sandwich fillers
  
• cut out the cakes and sweets.
  
• add lots more veg and protein to your meals
  

Taking your typical daily diet, how do you feel about

• breakfast-porridge with berries, Greek yoghurt with berries, a few nuts and a drizzle of honey, or eggs, any way you like them with a slice of rye or granary toast
  

• lunch, a protein rich soup and some roast chicken/tuna/egg and raw veggies/salad alongside, a big salad with lean protein. If you didn't have bread at breakfast have a homemade sandwich, roast chicken, egg, tuna, grated cheese, avocado, add on some veg if you can. Avoid sweetened yoghurts, have fruit or Greek yoghurt (or both)
  

• dinner, bake a piece of fish with some veggies, make an omelette with spinach/peppers/mushrooms/cheese/ham, do a bagged stir fry with chicken or prawns. Try and avoid starchy carbs (noodles, rice, potatoes), it will save loads of calories. None of these things are hard or time consuming to cook and can be bought quite cheaply.
  

STOP buying the junk you know you shouldn't be eating so much of, if you are at home a lot you will only eat it (all) . Fill your fridge with fresh fruit and veg.

Snack when you have to, on raw nuts, but no more than a palmful a day, just a few dried apricots, half an avocado, a skinny cappuccino, hard boiled egg, small tin of tuna, miso soup, a couple of squares of dark choc. Have one treat a day at your toughest point (mine usually around 4pm), make it anything you want that is around 100 cals. Have one meal a week when you eat what you like.

Finally, start by walking more, extend your walk by five mins each day and do as much of the exercise vid as you can, regularly so that you make and notice improvements.

Drink plenty of water, may help with the dizziness, if not, see your GP for bp check etc.

[ExitPursuedByABear]

I am the same height as you and was 18stone 8 lbs a few months ago. So far I have lost 30lbs and already feel sooooo much better. I have cut out bread and wine. I think if you read through what you eat you will see what you need to cut out. All the cakes, crisps and sweets will have to go for a start. If you could just manage to lose a bit it would give you the spur you need. Have a look at the 5:2 threads. Do you think you could manage that.