There are so many reasons to be thin(ner)!!!!

[moanybollocks]

N

So why can't I get my act together and LOSE WEIGHT!?!

My health would be better in every sense
I wouldn't worry about fitting in a plane seat
I wouldn't worry about breaking chairs
I could enjoy a bath
I'm sure I'd have a better chance of getting a new job
I could take up sport again
I could buy all the lovely clothes I like
I'm sure DH would fancy me more
My sex life would be better
I wouldn't worry about getting stuck in football turnstiles
My feet would be less fat and I could buy normal shoes

Everything would be better.

WHY can't I do it?

We're our own worst enemies innit!

I lost a load last year that I'd put on very quickly. Then put nearly all of it back on again this year.

What is it do you think that is stopping you?

I agree with this.
So.
Much.

I have a million reasons being thinner would seriously benefit me - but FOOD gets in my way. There's too many nice things!

My only hope of losing weight is being locked in a caged room being thrown a carrot or two.

nodding.

I struggle with the long term advantages of being thin vs. the short term advantage of eating what I fancy.

I'm genuinely gutted about not being able to eat what I fancy. I was around the same weight for 20 years, give or take a stone. Then turned 40 and I can put on a stone a month with ease.

There is only one reason to not lose weight - FOOD IS NICE

I'm so fucking annoyed at myself

What is wrong with me

I feel like an evangelical convert (a whole month in - pride WILL come before a fall...) but you can still eat nice food. Just not as much. Prioritise. Your body (cravings/appetite/tastes) will change if you take control.

I'm 4.5 weeks in and have lost around a stone. I've had yogurt/oats/berries for breakfast, something light but tasty for lunch (sushi/smoked salmon bagel, omelette etc) and a decent evening meal - no chips or pastry though. I've snacked on fruit or those low fat crisp things or had the odd cereal bar.

I'll admit, it's not cupcakes, dairy milk and prosseco but it's not dust and gruel either.

Honestly if I can do it, you can.

PS I know my above post comes very close to the condescending "just eat less" responses that sometimes crop up, but just thought it may help to hear from someone doing that journey now.

For too long I wondered about genetics, metabolism, my relationship with food. I just needed a lightbulb moment and to get on with it - I'm ignoring the "what got me here" and focussing in getting where I want to be. I used to think they were interlinked. They don't have to be. Looking for the "why" can be a delaying tactic and get in the way.

Your post wasn't condescending at all Down Thank you for replying

I already know what I need to do. My 'why' is just 'well, why can't I just bloody do it then?'

I'm making a plan. So far that plan has included ordering a Paul McKenna thing and thinking about how I can diet without using the excuse 'but Dp won't eat what I eat'. I also need to dig out my fitbit. Success so far today though - I stopped at two bits of toast for breakfast when I could have easily eaten lots more

I might also try fast days. Maybe start with one a week.

I'm just thankful I tried my holiday clothes on when I did - talk about shock to the system!

We'll get there.

Sugar is addictive. People are NOT weak-willed just because they can't resist cake. Come on over to the I Quit Sugar thread. I am on week 3 and feel healthier already.

I always do amazing until about 5/6pm ish. Then it goes downhill. If I go out for exercise then I don't usually snack, dinner is just later. But if I don't get out I just eat:(

I should add - I'm not quitting sugar for weight reasons (my weight is ok) - I'm doing it for health reasons. But I cannot imagine NOT losing weight by quitting sugar as I am definitely eating so much better and less. When I get hungry it's a natural sort of hunger because my body needs fuel, not a sugar craving or having to eat because I'm shaky and weak with a headache.... My energy levels are so much more stable. I'm sleeping well and my skin is clear.

I had this problem. I ask myself will it be there /in the shop tomorrow? If yes I know I can leave it. You don't have to give up everything just have less of it. Like if you normally have a whole choc bar only have half, another few weeks have a quarter.

Food is wonderful. It keeps us alive.
I love to plan forward to the next meal - often while eating the current one.
We have evolved to constantly think about food.

What has changed in the last 60 years in the West is that food has become constantly and affordably available.
And we have not naturally evolved to walk past it.

Continue to revel in your enjoyment of food
but start to be selective

look for better flavours and textures and combinations
plan forward to the next meal and save all of your appetite to savour every morsel

so no snacking
no fizzy drinks
no grazing between and after meals
really enjoy the food you choose to have in a mindful way
and give up on the mindless crap that makes you feel bad afterwards.

Thanks all

I do eat plenty of fresh fruit and veg, lots of salads. Just eat too much and have occasional binges. Don't really snack, never have sugary drinks but we can often have double portions of puddings with the trimmings. We're pigs, basically. Definitely drink too much wine, and then pick at cheese, or make popcorn, or then have chocolate...

Thinking as part of my plan I might do a projection of how much weight I can lose this year. Is two pounds a week doable? It's what I've set in my fitness pal (not that I ever manage to stick at it for a whole week)

1 - 2 pounds a week is fair.
52 weeks in a year is a solid target : nearly 4 stone in fact.
Aim for an easy target and exceed it is more motivating than a high target and failing

So, no more second helpings.
Smaller bowls for puddings.
Pudding only at supper, never lunch
and with trimmings only at weekends

and between/after meals, CLOSE THE KITCHEN

Yeah , I that is definitely doable but dont worry if it takes a few weeks for any to go. Mine was painfully slow starting off but all of a sudden it was coming off at a nice pace.

Talkin - I have never thought of it in terms like that. 52lbs in a year - I'd be about the right weight!

Am down a few pounds - trying very hard to not step on the scales.

Anyone find that measuring themselves leads to self sabotage? If I've lost 3 lbs I congratulate myself by easing off the regime, if I've lost nothing I console myself by eating.

So, am doing Non Scale Victories, something I read about on here a long time ago.

So far - I can kind of see where my ribs might be hiding because the second tyre has changed shape somewhat. I have neck muscles and a collarbone emerging.

It's really hard to pay attention to body shape changes when you've spent years avoiding the mirror from neck up.

Its true isn't it, food is lush, I really miss the freedom of being able to eat what I fancy, my metabolism has changed quite quickly and I am having to try to reduce the extent to which I see food as a pleasure. I am following the SW world and survival for me is being able to have some chocolate every day, otherwise I wouldn't be able to stick to it. At the moment I am quite low about a lot of things, including a recent death and not comfort eating is hard. However, it is possible, I am doing ok and have lost 6 pounds in four weeks, I reason that if I can diet when the chips are down, when the chips are up, surely to god I shoudld be able to do it. I am trying to tell myself that if I comfort eat and put more weight on, I am giving myself another problem to deal with and I will feel even lower. Doesn't help when people put photos of things like nutella and salted caramel cheesecake on facebook but hey ho. I dont have much weight to lose, would be very pleased with another 5 or 6 pounds, but the battle will be finding the balance between maintaining the healthier eating habits I have been developing and allowing myself treats now and again. I dont think I will ever not see nice food as a treat

octopus
Nice food IS a treat.
It should always be regarded as such.
You just need to raise your bar as to what you have to do to earn the treat.

A treat happens once a week or once a month or once a year
never once a day : then its normal, not a treat