Need to lose 2 stone - addicted to sugar

[Thecatgotmytongue]

I need to lose 2 stone and I'm definitely addicted to sugar, I eat lots of chocolate and sweets.

I've zero willpower, but really want to lose weight. I've followed a low carb diet before, but don't know if I can manage now. My weakness is comfort eating and the last year has been extremely tough.

Anyone like to join me for motivation? Maybe we can exchange recipes, ideas? Weigh in together?

I'm 12 stone 3 and would like to get down to 10 stone 7 or less. I'm 5'7 and 51 years, so age is not on my side!

[Flisspaps]

If you've struggled with low carb before, why not come join us on the bootcamp thread?

[Thecatgotmytongue]

I don't think I can afford to low carb. I tend to live off cheap, quick and easy stuff like bread, salad, chicken in bread crumbs, quiche, bought shepherd's pie, with lots of chocolate thrown in.

[stressedandalone]

Glad you are ok!

Your diet sounds very similar to mine, I know bread is very bad for me, but I crave it and eat it pretty much every day because eating anything else takes more money and preparation than I can currently cope with

[Thecatgotmytongue]

Exactly! I used to make big lots of vegetable soup to eat for lunch, but not really suitable for summer. Bread is so cheap and easy and yes I crave it too.

Breakfast is difficult, I don't fancy and can't be bothered with eggs, bacon, that sort of thing. I don't eat yoghurt because I avoid dairy except Lactofree. Difficult.

[stressedandalone]

*TheCat
*
Are you me???

I can only have lactofree dairy

Breakfast for me is usually toast (and an inch of marmalade) if I'm being organised, if not a handful of nuts (and sometimes a chocolate bar if still hungry after the nuts) ideally I need to think of something lacto free which can be eaten on the go.

[Ouryve]

Shame I didn't find this thread earlier.

I'm having to do the same as I am a stone overweight and my already knackered knees aren't liking it.

I'm not doing anything radical though. I've downloaded my fitness pal and connected it up to my fitbit. For a 1lb a week weight loss at my basic activity level it's allowing me 1400 calories. That's basically 3 normal meals, nothing low fat but easy on the carbs (which I don't find hard as my downfall is cake, rather than mountains of spuds). I usually earn 1-200 extra calories from the amount of walking I do and may or may not use them. Usually for wine!

It helps that I've convinced myself that most cake i haven't made myself is disappointing.

And, so far, it's working. I know I've actively been losing weight because I've been shivering in bed!

[Ouryve]

On what you eat, have breaded chicken or quiche with salad or veg but no extra carbs ditto the shepherds pie. Avoid overtly sugary stuff like chocolate, obviously.

Make your sandwiches more filling than bread, so buy small loves with smaller slices, or small rolls or something like German black bread which is very filling.

Full blown low carbing really doesn't work for me for many reasons but reducing the proportion in my diet seems to be the key. I've only exceeded 150g of carbs once since I've been tracking.

[Thecatgotmytongue]

That's really useful, thanks. I actually don't like sliced bread, I only buy baguettes or sour dough bread, anything else gives me stomach ache. I don't usually cook potatoes. And I agree about cake, I only like home made. My downfall is crisps and chocolate and big slabs of bread with butter for breakfast. I need to kick the habit.

I can't exercise due to health problems, but need to make sure I walk every day.

I don't mind low carbing if I could kick the bread, I just don't know what to eat

[stressedandalone]

TheCat if you have back pain I think we may have been separated at birth

I can't walk that far but try to swim when I can get someone to help me get to a pool.

I have only had one chocolate bar today, but DD has made a cake this afternoon...

[stressedandalone]

Up to 2 chocolate bars, a bag of sweets and a slice of cake. I want to stop eating, but it feels like the only way to deal with stress.

[yongnian]

Umm...hand up...several of you are me....I'm actually supposed to be low carbing right now (and have lost and kept weight off very successfully previously) but since Feb I just cannot control my eating at the back ends of the day and particularly when the kids are off school things just go haywire from rocketing stress levels (one dc with disabilities and toddler) - also v tough living situation.
I'm also a good candidate for type II diabetes (all female relatives developed it in later years) so really have tried to beat to sugar cravings but I just cannot get it under control these days.
It's a proper proper addiction.
:-((

[Thecatgotmytongue]

Sorry to hear you're having a tough time too, maybe we can all beat this sugar addiction together?

I need to do anything now! Bf took photos yesterday and I look so fat! Not sure how to low carb right now, for above reasons, but must cut out chocolate biscuits sugar ..

Starting the day with 2 ryvita with goats cheese and some raspberries and a coffee - I'm on holiday, had a lie in

[Thecatgotmytongue]

For lunch had half a pack of vegetable rice with salad and a glass of volvic juiced water.

So far so good ...

[stressedandalone]

So are people trying to cut down or go cold turkey?

I would prefer to cut down, as chocolate is one of my last true pleasures, but I'm not making any progress.

I have cut out chocolate/sugar once before, but fell off the wagon at Christmas and never got back on. But I know it can be done!

[stressedandalone]

So are people trying to cut down or go cold turkey?

I would prefer to cut down, as chocolate is one of my last true pleasures, but I'm not making any progress.

I have cut out chocolate/sugar once before, but fell off the wagon at Christmas and never got back on. But I know it can be done!

[RedMapleLeaf]

I've not had any processed food sugar since Monday, but plenty of fruit and veg and some carbs. It's my first step because the amount of sugar I was eating was ridiculous.

[Thecatgotmytongue]

This afternoon I had half a pack of crisps and a cappuccino. For dinner I had breaded chicken, new potatoes and carrots with gravy and 4 caramel nibbles (Cadbury).

I'm not going cold turkey, just trying to cut back for now.

[Thecatgotmytongue]

I've since had a lot more chocolate nibbles

[StickTheDMWhereTheSunDontShine]

It's cutting down for me, though today's not been a good day as I've had dodgy guts and dodgy guts need warburtons crumpets or similar before they stop grumbling and threatening to explode again!

Your lunch sounded OK cat apart from a real lack of protein. If you're cutting way down on carbs, then you really need to make sure there's protein and fat in there, or else it won't sustain you. If you're going to have a lunch that is just vegetables, then you need a good protein breakfast and to be prepared to have a good protein dinner, or else the chocolate will call you. Remember this is about making sustainable changes.

Are you logging on anything like MFP?

[Thecatgotmytongue]

I haven't been logging on mfp, probably a good idea. Do you set a limit for carbs etc and how many calories do you allow?

I know I'm low on protein. My bf has been ill and I was eating gently with him really, encouraging him to eat. I'm going to cut out the rice and potatoes and stick to veg and meat. Still not sure about breakfast though - I can't face eggs and bacon etc in the morning, but if I don't eat something I'll end up pigging out on crisps.

This morning I had 2 ryvita with butter and cheese because I was late getting up and starving, but then had a packet of crisps and the last chocolate biscuit because "I've got to get rid of them"

[StickTheDMWhereTheSunDontShine]

MFP gave me 1390 calories for a lb a week loss. I spent the first few days analysing my own diet, without crappy snacks and it fell well within the allowance, particularly once steps had been counted with my carbs being nowhere near as high as the target and the fat slightly higher. I swapped round my fat and carb percentages and that seems to work for me, much better.

I'm allowing myself moderate portions of non-white carbs, so my typical breakfast is 50g of Dorset Nutty Muesli with 100ml of light soya milk (the other sort is too sweet for me and I don't like the taste of lactofree on my cereal), plus a small sliced banana, maybe a sprinkle of blueberries and a bucket of strong coffee which has about 60ml of lactofree added to it. That tends to come in around 330cals, 10g protein and 50g carbs, with almost half that being sugars, but almost always keeps me going until lunchtime, 4-5 hours later. If I have something like eggs for breakfast, I inevitably end up with a raging headache (and farting for England).

[KenDoddsDadsDog]

I was the same as you cat and have lost 2 stone with WW. Sugar withdrawal was hard but eating fruit helped . I was dizzy , headaches etc but it doesn't last long . WW has helped me to eat what keeps me full and to balance out the treats that I was having lots of everyday .

[Thecatgotmytongue]

Today I had a slightly better day, although still high on carbs (rice). I had a minor chocolate digestive biscuit attack, and a small pack of crisps, but also had a good walk.

[Thecatgotmytongue]

I logged it on mfp and was 200 kcal over my allowance. That's an improvement for me!