I don't recognise the woman in the mirror

[RunningKatie]

Stayed at the weekend in a Travelodge. The mirror in the bathroom was frighteningly honest. I had an idea in my head of what I looked like but in the cold light of day, I've realise that the image is from at least 2 stone ago.

I need to get a grip on my weight and exercise levels.

I think I need to lose 3 stone, I've just logged onto mfp and now I need to stick to it. I am toying with the idea of Slimming World for the accountability element of a weekly weigh-in.

I've seen other people mention self-sabotage and I know this is one of my issues, and I eat whenever I am stressed or annoyed too. I'm a SAHP and seem to never find time to exercise, but find lots of time for excuses.

So! Today is day one, I want to lose a stone by the time my dc's start back to school - 8 weeks time.

Any words of wisdom would be much appreciated!

hi Katie. I joined SW after the birth of my second DC last year. I have lost 5 stone in a year and am now at target. I didn't recognise the person I had become but now I don't recognise the thinner person looking back, as it has been over 6 years since I was last at this weight.

SW worked for me as I need the structure of the food plan and the fear of the weekly weigh in. I have tried many times to lose weight on my own but have never succeeded.

I have heard good things about MFP too but what I love about SW is knowing there is always something I can eat if I need to.

good luck with whichever path you choose

I could have written this post runningkatie. I no longer recognise myself, I know I am overweight but I think I am blanking it out. I am so annoyed that after having my little boy I lost the weight and more but I have let it slowly pile back on. I felt ok around 9 stone, still a little over as I have a small frame but I am probably approaching 4 over that now.

I have never been this big and am miserable. I feel like I am not myself anymore. I used to love clothes and fashion, now I feel it is not for me. I feel scruffy and down at heel. I was doing HIIT at home when my son went to bed but have given up for the time being because I am so achy.

I feel like I am sabotaging myself. I have read my mum's WW and SW literature from when she went but I can't see how it works (the new SW where you can eat unlimited amounts doesn't make sense). I am too humiliated and ashamed to go to a group.

I had that same moment when i saw myself in a huge mirror in a shop and thought, i look like I'm wearing a fat suit and I'm drowning in flab!
I decided to change things, overhauled my entire diet and printed off some food diary templates that i found online.
I stick to 1400 calls a day and write down everything i eat.
I (and this is just my opinion, before i get ripped to shreds) think that diet clubs are nonsense. How many people do you know that went once, lost weight and kept it off and never returned to a diet club again?
Do it for yourself, change your thinking write down every morsel you eat, all foodstuffs have nutritional info on them so its very easy to cal count.
In one year i have lost almost 7 stone, i've never felt better, i feel like my body is clean now i don't poison it with junk food.

Hi. And good luck. I totally understand your post. Mfp is great - it really makes you think about what you're eating and the quantity of it!

The key things that have worked for me in shifting a couple of stone are:

Enter EVERYTHING on mfp. Don't cheat. Be honest and learn from it.

Up your protein levels - I will often make an omelette for breakfast filled with anything in the salad box! I take salad or soup to work for lunch with something protein-y too,eg a tin of fish with the salad, hard boiled egg, chicken breast etc etc.

Fruit for snacking. Being organized helps. If I have it in the house or take to work, it keeps me on the right track. Also like rice cakes with hummus, avocado, stuff like that. Don't be afraid of good fats in small quantities.

Try and do some exercise / activity every day. This could be just ensuring I do my 10,000 steps or going for a gentle jog, a class or a high intensity workout at home (there's loads on you tube and only 15 mins of your time)

Don't drink your calories!

Best of luck

I know what you mean popcornpaws - I thought SW would be good for the weekly accountability but i am hoping that keeping honest on mfp will help.

I've talked to my dh about this but hardly anyone else, i'm not sure if it's better to have the support or not.

I've not done any extra exercise yet as we've had visitors but am going for a walk tonight.

I've also avoided the dc's leftovers which i was mindlessly hoovering up. Go me!

I like what popcorn paws is saying. I've been getting bigger and bigger and bigger. I know I eat too much. I feel hungry though, that's what I need to tackle.
I was always a size 10 or 12 at most (I'm 5'6") up to the age of about 36. I never lost it after my 4th pregnancy and now I'm a 16. It's tough getting older and fatter and not looking good in any clothes any more. It really hurts.

I wondered about getting some kind of hypnotism to sort out my appetite. I shouldn't feel hungry when I do half of the time. The problem is I will resist the biscuit/piece of toast/ bag of crisps/oatcake and cheese - whatever it is I will resist it, feel proud of myself, but then the urge comes back and I'm having to resist it over and over and over again. So eventually I give up and eat it so I can stop having to summon up all this energy to resist it all the time and move on. THAT's the cycle I need to break.

I know exactly how you feel. You have made a great start. Good luck, you'll look amazing by the time your daughter goes back to school. I wish I only had three stone to lose.

I've lost 2 stones 3 lbs so far (since new year) using MFP.
I find it really useful especially seeing how many calories certain foods have. ie, I used to snack on bread & butter quite a bit but now I've realised that could easily be 100 calories each time so instead reach for a breadstick or apple.

Other things that have helped me:
small changes which are hardly noticeable like brown pasta instead of white, skimmed milk instead of whole, lower fat / light versions of butter...

smaller portion sizes (70g of pasta instead of 90g)

no / less alcohol

drink loads of water

snack on fruit / veg

no biscuits / cake / crisps etc.

I find sometimes if I have a cuppa when I feel 'hungry' that stops me eating - I think I'm often thirsty (or bored!) as opposed to hungry

I don't do loads of exercise but find walking is good

Good luck!

Thank you for being kind spad - i thought i had 2 stone to lose but realistically 3 would make such a difference.

I've started listening to Paul Mckenna spider, I'm falling asleep part way through but today i felt hungry and remembered his phrase that hunger is ok, so it must be sinking in!

How much water do you drink butterfly? I was aiming for 2 pints a day plus tea & coffee but i've just been reading you should be drinking as many oz's as lb's you weigh. So that's about 9 pints

I've been out for an already booked afternoon tea today so just had a small salad for lunch, also had no mid-morning snack. Am still feeling this is do-able.

Gosh Runningkatie, just 70g of pasta? I have twice that and think of it as a normal size portion.
Can you be satisfied on that?

I'm filling up on veg rather than pasta.

One side effect of drinking more water means a lot of trips to the loo!

So fed up with my weight/size. I'm tall and broad even when slim but was a couple of stone over weight when I feel pregnant. 18 months after giving birth and I'm even heavier than ever. Unfortunately a full-time desk job at a food wholesalers isn't helping, nor is a hubby who is as big as I am and doesn't see that its a problem. I scratch cook everything for all three of us and am very careful about portions. But still seem to be gaining. Totally frustrated.
I want to get on top of my weight for my daughter's sake, we aren't good role models and I don't want her growing up with my food issues.
Devastated when I weighed myself this morning at 19st2. Want to get back down to about 13 st.
Sorry for rambling but, very down and frustrated. Don't know what else to do.

If you are constantly hungry you need to change what you are eating.

I can eat a huge, and I mean enormous plate of spag bol and be starving hungry after one hour. If I eat a steak and a massive salad with cheese and nuts I'm full for hours.

You need to change what you eat, for me more protein and veg keeps me fuller than a load of bread of pasta. Once I have a cookie or cake I just can't control myself and end up eating half a carrot cake! Its better just to not have any in the house at all, or if you need a treat, go out for cake, and just have one slice!

Good luck guys, its hard but worth it.

I went to a step class and there were those horrendous mirrors, floor to ceiling. I didn't recognise the fat lass bouncing around. It wasn't me!

And it really is 80% food, 20 exercise. Look at low carbing, that really worked for me.

Are you able to exercise Blexie? I struggle to fit it in, which sounds daft given I'm a SAHM but with a dh that works away I always have at least one dc with me. I tried exercise dvds with them in the room and it did not end well!

Today I've been on a bike ride so pleased, but my jeans are really tight so that's a constant reminder that a lot more work is required.

Somehow i forgot to log on mfp yesterday so it's reset my logins to 0

I'm definitely following this thread. I don't recognise myself either and I'm always hungry. I know that my portions are too large and I'm snacking on chocolate and cakes. I try to do exercise but that's pointless if the food I'm eating is wrong. I join diet clubs or online diets but don't follow it properly. I really need to get my ass in gear!

I am stuck at a desk all day so don't get chance to exercise much.
I've started to walk to work a couple of days per week, but can't do more days because I have to drop dh and lo off. Trying to cut back what I eat, especially the carbs and get a grip on the bad habits I've acquired.

Right, increasing water this week. The dc's are off nursery etc. so lots of trips to the park. This may help my pelvic floor too!

My clothes are definitely too tight so I also want to faff about less on my phone like i am doing over lunch and move about more. This may mean my house is cleaner too.

Nothing wise to add OP, other than to wish you good luck with you efforts - I might join you.

A couple of weeks ago, I was walking towards a glass entrance door at work, and saw a woman walking towards me. I thought (and I'm not proud of my judginess here) "She's walking uncomfortably, like a podgy person, and that jacket makes her look really dumpy".

Yes, I was slagging off my own reflection, which serves me right . But it made me realise that look very different in my head to how I look in real life!