Saying NO to diets and YES to a healthy life!

[Bonnie152]

Hi everyone, where to start!

I've been overweight and constantly trying to lose it since I was about 13. I'm now 27 and sick and tired of the cycle. I've forgot what it's like to actually just eat normally, I'm either strictly on a diet or going mad and overrating. I'm the heaviest I've ever been (now a size 20 pushing 22: not sure of my weight, I'm too scared to look!).

I've done so many diets in the past in a bid to lose weight and failed that I've come to the conclusion that a diet is no good for me. I want a long term, healthy lifestyle. I want to drop the weight steadily, eat mainly good things and not deprive myself too much. I know I need to up my activity level too.

I have 2.5yr old DD and 8 month old DS and desperately want to be a healthy mum for them and do not want them growing up in a 'slimming' environment as I did and it's affected my relationship with food in a big way.

I'm starting as I mean to go on, I've done a 20 min workout this morning which actually felt really good.

Does anyone want to join me making small changes towards a new lifestyle?

Hi ForeverLexicon

Well done for getting back on track. I hope this thread will be helpful too. I think I'm going to take the plunge and ban the scales. I've just put them in the cupboard now.

The problem with scales for me is that, as others have said, I take the first weight loss as a sign to slack off and then put the weight back on. The only two times I have lost significant weight and kept it off I have not used scales at all - only weighed myself after the event. I think that has made me focus on what I am eating and getting that right rather than what I weighed. It also meant that because I had no specific weight goal I just gradually eased off the pedal, but didn't make any real decision to stop. Most of the healthy habits remained - though of course over time they have been eroded hence being here!!

Good luck everyone for today. We have friend of my DS over to play for most of the day. He can be hard work and wind my (very wind up able) DS up so I am not expecting a stress free day. Will try very hard to drink tea and think calm thoughts rather than reach for the snacks!

Afternoon all!

Well done everyone lots of sensible eating going on!

BeCareful - You did so well in the day time, try not to beat yourself up over a little wobble. I think everyone has the slip back into old habits. I'm a sucker for evening nibbling unfortunately...DH and I had got into a terrible habit of snacking on chocolate, cake etc. The last few nights we've had strawberries or made our own popcorn which seems to be doing the trick.

Foreverlexicon - Welcome to the thread! The more the merrier! It sounds like you have done so well to get to where you are :) you are so right about diets, they really do create obsessive behaviours around food which is so unhealthy. This way is just making gradual changes to be a bit healthier and more active (though you seem really active already so that's brilliant!) and hopefully the small changes will reflect in our weight. Great that you will have your girlfriend to cook for soon too, I find cooking for my family does encourage me to think about healthy choices more. But like you meals are generally fine it's the sweet treats in between that aren't!

MoreVeg - hope you are surviving with DS and friend! Mine are still very small so have that joy to come! I don't have any scales so will not be weighing either, like you say it can have quite a negative impact. I will go more on how I feel and how my clothes fit.

Well so far so good today! Crumpets & a watermelon, spinach and strawberry smoothie for breakfast. A tuna and cucumber sandwich, yogurt and grapes for lunch and some raisins to snack on. I've made a wholemeal dough base for dinner for us to have pizza and will serve salad with it. Going to pack on lots of veggies to the pizza too. I feel my day has been slightly bread-heavy but generally healthy and 'normal'.

Took the kiddies for a walk around the forest which was lovely to get some exercise and they are zonked now and napping.

Off to my friend's house tonight for a catch up and cup of tea. She's usually quite a bad influence food-wise so will have to resist overeating.

How's everyone else's day going? :)

Hows everyone doing. I am doing ok, have been having the odd treat thing but am definitely eating less and more healthily - although tonight I am out for drinks and a meal with my friend. Today have eaten:

1 Nature valley bar
10 almonds
A carton of Covent Garden skinny soup
A kellogg square with caramel and chocolate

Think if I can carry on eating relatively sensibly I will gradually lose weight.

Fab thread! Please can I join?

I am on another weight loss thread too - I want to lose at least 6st. I am going slowly, as I have disabilities that make exercise hard.

I KNOW that banning stuff like chocolate is not going to work for me - it just makes me think of nothing else - so I'm just cutting right down.

I love focusing on the positive, there are lots of wonderful foods around that make me genuinely happy, so I should remember to get them!

Hi Fuzzpig - welcome

I'm so pleased mumsnet is back up again! I really missed this thread on Monday night when it was down. Couldn't post last night but will catch up tonight later when the kids are in bed . Hope everyone has had a good day.

So, got a bit more time now.

The last few days have been good. Have managed to avoid the usual afternoon snacking - even when DS had his playdate (which in fact turned out much better than expected). I have been feeling really hungry in the afternoon though! I'm going to persevere with the not snacking though as I am hoping that the hunger will lessen (or I will better be able to ignore it) once my body gets more into the habit. I know there is a risk that I will find it too tough and relapse spectacularly, but I am allowing myself to eat well at mealtimes, and have the occasional treat, so its more about timing than depriving myself overall. I just want to get into healthy habits I suppose - and grazing is definitely not a habit that works well for me.

Where do others stand on the snack/no snack issue??

Hi all!

Welcome fuzzypig! I hope you find this thread useful and supportive

Glad to see how positive everyone is feeling!

Doing ok here though definitely struggling in the evening...always feel I need to munch on something when we settle down to watch tv. A habit I need to try to get out of!

I've been trying to eat quite mindfully and pay attention to when I'm full...all too often I'll just mindlessly be spooning it in and then still feel hungry.

Have started doing some yoga with YouTube videos which I'm quite enjoying, might look into a class.

Having my hair cut at a nice salon in town tonight so that'll be a nice boost I hope

Well done everyone, let's have another positive day making good choices!

Well done everyone!

I don't feel I've done a whole lot differently yet. I seem to be scared of saying no to myself in case I regress and binge but if I don't change nothing will!

Having said that, I have said no to some little things I didn't fancy too much that I may of gotten if I wasn't being as aware, such as someone brought some eclairs into work, I had one but resisted a second, and a few things like that.

Had a big family dinner and I picked what I wanted which weren't the best choices BUT I picked ice cream for desert opposed to my usual cheesecake/brownie so probably lower calorie than that and also only had about half.

Exercise is virtually done beyond riding 1 horse as my other is injured and short walks with the dogs - have a nasty cold which is knackering me. I've also got pirisformis syndrome which has been stopping me from running ect and sports massages and physionhavnt helped, back to the doctor today so will hopefully some up with a plan (praying I won't need surgery!).

The main change I want to implement this week (I weigh in on Wednesdays) is using low fat Mayo instead of normal (I love love love Mayo but I use too much of it so need to swap it out really) and stop eating chocolate on a daily basis. That didn't happen yesterday so will try harder today!

Well done everyone, keep going :)

Have a look at this article, about a recent BMJ study:-

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150826204214.htm

It's interesting that it seems to be suggesting a total reversal of decades of dieting behaviour. Perhaps its not so surprising though, as those decades of dieting behaviour have increased the obesity epidemic to critical levels .

Is it really that simple; eat good nutritional food for your health? I guess that also means limiting sugary 'foods' and drinks as they have no nutritional benefit, but also means including some fats as they are beneficial. Well I never!

The mantra has got to be keep it simple: protein + veg + a complex carb - cooked from scratch. Limit any processed foods as they usually contain all sorts of additives, sugars, salts 'preservatives' etc.

I am wondering whether to start making my own bread too. I was watching Bake Off last week and it all looked quite simple (except the Lion - that was amazing). Do any of you bake your own bread? At least then I would know exactly what was in it.

Hi all.njust checking in quickly as am on holiday and only limited access to wifi. I need this thread though to keep me on track!

stopfaffing I bake my own bread sometimes. I don't have a bread maker but it doesn't take too long, although you do have to be around to let it rise then bake. I like that it doesn't have many additives etc but I don't make too often because I'd end up eating too much!

moreveg I'm better with no snacks. If I snack, I won't cut down the size of my main meals accordingly, so it's just extra calories. I'm a terrible picker, so I'm much better off making myself stick to three meals. I know some people work better with little and often, though.

Bonnie enjoy your haircut!

I've not done too badly the last couple of days. We're in Italy on holiday and so far I've avoided most sweet stuff and carbs. Just trying to not go overboard on the wine! I failed spectacularly the first night but was restrained last night. I also downloaded a yoga app before we came and I've done a couple of short workouts plus been swimming. Too hot to do much more though. Off to a pizzeria tonight so it will be damage limitation!

Enjoy your holiday SpangleMaker - lucky you, sounds lovely. You will feel great when you get back if you manage (as you are) to eat sensibly whilst you are there too. Keep up the good work

I think I need to be the same with the snacks. Managed that today so I'm happy.

Interesting article StopFaffing. I agree with what they are saying. But for me at least I think I need to do a bit more than going for nutritionally worthwhile foods. Although I do have a tendency to overdo puddings and other sweet things which following their advice I should cut down (obviously!) - I also just tend to eat a bit too much I think. Eating for emotional reasons and also because its just there.

I have baked my own bread quite a bit in the past - after I got a bread maker. I have got a bit out of the habit recently though. The children love home made bread so I should do it more really. Its not difficult with a bread maker - and it does feel good knowing what you are putting in.

Hope you are pleased with your new hair Bonnie

StopFaffing - thanks for sharing the article. Definitely some good points to think about!

Spangle - Hope you are enjoying your holiday so far. It sounds like you're doing really well :)

Hi everyone else.
Just popping quickly on my laptop (app seems to be down at the moment).

With regards to snacks, if I'm hungry I do eat a snack as I find if I go too long without it makes me overeat badly at meals because I'm so hungry. I try to make healthy choices though like fruit, nuts, nakd bar etc.

I to occasionally make my own bread. It is pretty simple and like others say it's nice to know exactly what has gone into it. The only problem is when it comes out of the oven it's so tempting! It's very hard to say no to freshly baked bread!

After a good week of mainly being a bit more sensible I'm feeling much less bloated than normal which is great. I'm enjoying meal times much more and really savouring everything I'm eating.

Hope everyone has a good day! Will try to pop on a bit later when the little ones are napping :)

Thanks for the article :)

Would welcome nuts being cheaper as mentioned in the article! I think most fruit and veg is pretty reasonable but nuts are really expensive. I wish I could get DS to eat them. DD loves most nuts and will happily munch on a handful of seeds as a snack.

I've had a really bad few days foodwise, felt really depressed and that makes it harder to make good choices, which makes me feel worse... vicious circle!

I think you can get nuts in Poundland sometimes, I am going to keep a look out. Dont be hard on yourself Fuzzpig, I am exactly the same when I feel depressed which has contributed to me being heavier than I want to be. Today I want to stuff my face just because I am tired.

Try not to be too hard on yourself Fuzzy. Like you and Octopus I'm an emotional eater too. It's all a learning process and we'll get there together.
I've actually got a Paul McKenna book about emotional eating somewhere which I shamefully haven't even read but have had about a year! Will have to dig it out!

Will have a look for nuts in Poundland - great tip! And I agree they are really expensive.

Thanks folks (and for the Poundland tip too!)

Has anyone heard of the EasyLoss App? I've been using it successfully for about 6 months. It's along the lines of Paul McKenna, but I much much prefer it. There is a FB support group, and some of the losses are truly outstanding. Yet it doesn't feel like a diet at all, simply because nothing is forbidden. It cost me £4.99 and all that I've lost is 24lbs!! Worth a go?

easyloss.co.uk/virtual-gastric-band/

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2831286/Woman-tried-diet-available-finally-loses-4st-recovers-post-natal-depression-using-4-99-HYPNOSIS-app-described-virtual-gastric-band.html

Bonnie, interesting what you say about mn app as mine won't work either. I have to access mn on my phone via an email notification about replies to threads I'm on. Maybe we should delete the app and reinstall it. Anyone else having problems with app?

Hi all, I have let myself down today, meals have been healthy but ate loads of a cake that the boys made and some Cadburys chocolate bites. Not even emotional, time of the month and I find sometimes with sweet stuff unless I am buying one portion (eg a choc bar) that I keep picking. New day tomorrow

Evening everyone.

I know that feeling so well Octopus. Don't be too hard on yourself - tomorrow is another day and we all have days like that. I know how frustrating it is when you are trying so hard though .

ljc Well done for losing 24lbs!! Great work.

I have tried EasyLoss too. The first time I used it I started the virtual gastric band and I did lose about half a stone, and pretty quickly. But I found I slipped back into my old ways after that. Probably because I got on the scales and was pleased with progress and slacked off (a regular problem for me). I did find that as soon as I started listening to the app I found it easy not to snack, and to eat much less than I was before. But somehow because it was meant to work on you subconsciously I think I relied a bit too much on not feeling like over-eating. Over time I found the urges came back. Maybe I didn't listen to it enough - I suspect after the first few weeks I didn't take the time to listen every night. Do you do that ljc?

I have also tried their BikiniBody app which I think is aimed at people wanting to lose smaller amounts of weight. I didn't find that had so much impact.

But I do think hypnotherapy can be very powerful. I used it to prepare for, and during, labour with DD and it worked very well. I often think it would be good to have a hypo track that could be tailored to exactly my food issues. The virtual gastric band track felt a bit drastic for me so I only used the starter track - perhaps that was my problem - but I didn't want to mess up my eating any more than it might be already. Would be interested to hear in other people's views/experience.

I am feeling rubbish today, period pain, no energy, really feel that I can hardly be bothered to move. I have eaten:

1 Nature valley bar (pack of 2)
10 almonds
2 pieces of 7 seed hovis with sugar free peanut butter

I feel guilty as if I have eaten too much when I have done no exercise (apart from a bit of housework and a short dog walk) and I feel desperate to eat junk - I know I'm going to have to work really hard to stay off sweet stuff today. Also was at least a kilo heavier this morning just cause I've had a couple of not as good days - I just wish I was naturally skinny but dont we all. Onwards and hopefully downwards.

Sorry for the negative post, I haven't done too badly food wise today apart from a triple choc cookie from Morrisons. I haven't done much exercise as I have been feeling rubbish all day.