18st 3lbs and Getting Married in 18 Months Time.. Help Me.

[SlimbobJones]

I've NC'd for this, new start and all that.

This is a massive cry for help, I'm completely broken and I'm not sure what I need from you, but help me :(

Last Christmas I weighed 19st 1lb, the heaviest I've ever been although I've never been under 15st. I'm 5ft 5. I'm 25 years old and have no children.

The photo is me at 19st vs me at my current weight, 18st 3lbs and I managed to shift that with weight watchers and keep it off mostly, although that was nearly a year ago now. The photo is just to illustrate how much of a problem I have on my hands more than anything.. I'm not shy about it, it's a body I feel completely disconnected from at this point.

I weight 18st 3lbs at the age of 25 and I'm getting married in 18 months time. I don't want to be uncomfortable on my Wedding day with everyone looking at me thinking "oh god isn't it a shame she's so fat"... the thought of that makes me feel physically sick.

SO I figure I've got 18 months now to turn my huge backside around.

Right now, my body fat percentage is 52.7%. I'm currently more fat than human.

I've re-signed up for weight watchers so I'm tracking my food, but my problem has and will always be binge eating. I can happily put away a tube of Pringles and half a pack of biscuits in 1 sitting.

How on earth am I going to do this?? When should I eat and what? There's just so much to get my head around I guess I just need some hand holding :(

If you're still with me after all that rambling, thank you. Sorry, and help :(

[QuimReaper]

You're doing brilliantly OP!

I just wanted to say that "less carb" is definitely a great approach. I've never joined in properly on the "low carb bootcamp" type threads because they encourage "low carb high fat" which works amazingly, but only if you really stick to it; and frankly I want the freedom to eat carbs on the weekend or in restaurants, and obviously the combination of high fat and high carb is disastrous. But as a PP said, I found that just cutting a huge block of not just calorific, but highly moreish food options which don't fill you up for long (bread, pasta) out for a large chunk of the week (I aim for two fast days, and two low-carb days over M-Th) automatically put a blocker on lots of my bad eating habits.

[PacificDogwod]

You are doing so very well.

Please do not feel 'pressurised' in to whatever worked for any of us - you have to find your own and unique way.
'Less carbs' (and avoiding empty carbs where possible) is what worked for me - no diet as such involved and I cannot get on with counting either calories or points.

Just keep on keeping on. Day by day, meal by meal and little changes will make a big difference really soon.

[SlimbobJones]

Morning!

Yesterday was a success by all accounts :) No binge, dogs got a good walk, we found a wedding venue and my sister out of the blue texted me and asked if I'd like to join the gym with her because she's also struggling with weight at the moment (although she's a lot smaller than me!) and she's my chief bridesmaid, so wants to get it under control before the wedding too :)

It's only day 3, but I'm feeling positive and haven't hit "the wall" yet. I havent really battled any significant cravings but I think that's a success in itself?

These are the "rules" I've (sort of) settled on:

• Track all food on Weightwatchers app and stay between 38 - 48 points a day. (when you do this, you get a little sticker on your calendar to say you stuck in your "tracking zone" so although my points allowance is 41 at the moment, there's wiggle room)
  

• One day at a time. Don't think about the week or the month, just think about getting to the end of the day, That's enough.
  

• Avoid empty calories. Food is fuel not a friend, you cannot "feed your soul" with food so fill it with music and books and dog walks instead.
  

• Food is not a reward: If you are proud of yourself, treat yourself to nails, facepack or a hair cut NOT a pizza.
  

• Less carbs, more protein.
  

That's it really, anything you think I should add?

[GingerAndTheBiscuits]

This is not a diet, it is a way of eating.

[SlimbobJones]

GingerAndTheBiscuits good shout.

Thought I'd post my food for the day :) This leaves me with 9 points left so I'll probably have a glass of wine later :)

The cuban hash is a Levi Roots Recipe and it's full of veggies. It's made with 5% fat pork mince. Lunch is a ready meal, I know this isnt the best thing ever but I don't really get a lunch break so it has to be fast. Next week I'm going to try making and bringing in soup :)

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

Well done OP!!! Love the rule 'you cannot feed your soul with food so fill it with music/books/dog etc' YES! I am so trying to do that at the mo!

[Eolian]

Brilliant work OP! And a good set of rules.

[Dowser]

I think the easiest way to lose weight is go gluten free.

Wheat probably makes up 25 per cent of your diet if you eat bread, pasta or cake, pizza.
My yup said eat protein if your hungry, craving...so keep some cooked chicken in the he fridge.
For a lot of people wheat and dairy can cause a lot of symptoms like bloating, sinus problems etc.
I drink herb teas, lots of veg, protein , eggs and a tiny bit of fruit.
I'm not stick thin either.
I'm about 10-7 to 11 st and a size 14.
Oh I'm 5-6 tall

I dieted to about 10-5 for my wedding last year. Dress is snug on me now.

I don't get weighed. If my legs swell up I could put 4-5 lbs on straight away.

A treat is a tonic with a splash of gin or a couple of squares of dark chocolate.
Going to a wedding in May so will have to get it off for then.

[Dowser]

My dh makes a green veg soup and adds a pot of aldi pease pudding ( it's just lentils and salt ) for protein.
Dead easy to do and very tasty.

[SlimbobJones]

Dowser i don't think it's healthy to eliminate any particular food group from your diet unless you have a genuine intolerance, which I dont :) I'd also find gluten free pretty hard to do, it certainly wouldnt be the easiest option!

[Ebbenmeowgi]

You can totally do this op! My partner was pretty overweight too but he's lost a stone and a half in about a month already! He, like you, has just set his mind to doing it. He's been exercising more and keeping a food diary to keep track of what he's eating. And having a protein packed breakfast, which makes a huge difference - usually now for brekkie we have porridge with nuts and omega seeds and sweetened with dates and banana. Or we'll have fish and/or eggs - banomelettes are amazing! It's just 2 eggs with mashed banana (sometimes with oats, berries or dates, so good!).

[Dowser]

I agree and I wish I didn't have too but since wheat has changed radically in the last 30 years , two crops of two feet high a year instead of one of four feet high my poor old digestion system can't cope with the new stuff.
At least I don't torture myself over having cake, if I do my body tortures myself for me. ;-)

[Ebbenmeowgi]

Also I'm a chocolate addict who loves cakes! I've been switching over to healthier recipes though to make snacks/desserts - vegan dessert recipes are usually pretty good (like choc ice 'cream' made from cacao, avocado and banana)

[Dowser]

Sounds good ebb n
Have you a recipe please

[SlimbobJones]

THnaks guys :)

Today is going ok but I had an early meeting and didn't have breakfast until 10am, I was hungry and it's thrown me off for the rest of the day! I'm craving like mad!

Any tips? Does anyone else find if they eat at different times it screws them up?

[GingerAndTheBiscuits]

It's okay to feel hungry. It's not something that you need to fix by eating. I've had to overcome this one big time!

[SlimbobJones]

Hey :)

So I managed to get through the day without binging but it was bloody hard work. Actually sat on my hands at one point

On the plus side though, today was the day my sister was supposed to come to the gym with me (my first time in 2 years and before that I used to just be the fat girl on the treadmill in the corner, she has had a membership for a year and has been once!) but she cancelled on me.... I WENT ANYWAY

Absolutely loved it. I paid to have a personal trainer session and she told me cardio is pretty useless for weight loss on the scale that I need it and I'm going to hurt myself, so she got me on weights instead

She's written me an entire plan to do at the gym 3 times a week and I have a daily set of yoga poses to do in the mornings :) she said I did really well and I'm clearly determined because she asked for 15 reps but dropped it to 10 when she saw I was struggling, but I pushed and did 15 anyway :) i was proper proud of myself!

I've come home to DP who's run me a hot bath, cooked my dinner and it's clean PJ AND clean bedding night :)

Happy days!

[SadSock]

That's bloody brilliant, well done OP!

[Eolian]

What a star!

[SlimbobJones]

OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WHAT HAS THE EVIL GYM WOMAN DONE TO ME.

I can't walk, I can lift my arms at the shoulder and I feel like I've been punched in the gut repeatedly... WAAAAAAAH

I just sneezed and genuinely feared I'd wet myself because I have no abdominal muscles or pelvic floor left... DAMN YOU PLANKS! DAMN YOU!

By far the worst is my legs. DP wanted to DTD last night and I was all willing until I tried to move my legs and just froze there unable to lift them at all. DP laughed and made very insincere sympathy noises... the bastard .

I'm sitting at my desk at work genuinely measuring up whether it's worth getting up from my seat at lunchtime to eat, or whether I'd rather eat my own hands....

[tissuesosoft]

Congratulations on the wedding!
To really up the weight burn more calories than you eat at the gym/running etc, diet doesn't work without lots of exercise. Couch to 5k is amazing and you can always repeat the weeks until you're ready to move up. Slimming world is great- hated the points system with weight watchers.

[SlimbobJones]

tissuesosoft that's interesting, everything I've read says that diet is 80% of it, and exercise only contributes about 20% max to overall weight loss.

The research I read was also backed up by my PT last night who said that cardio is actually pretty useless for massive weight loss because it does very little to improve the efficiency of your body, and just focuses on short term calorie burn. Also at my size I could really hurt my knees and shins from running even on a cross trainer She said fat burns 1-3 calories per pound per day, whereas muscle burns 7-10 calories per pound per day so for long term sustainable weight loss you should warm up with about 10 mins of cardio, then smash out weights for the rest of the hour to build up lean muscle mass. When I get down to around 12-13 stone, I should then swap to doing 30 mins cardio and 30 mins weights :)

[Cguk81]

Well done slimbob, sounds like you are doing great! I wouldn't discount cardio...it is without a doubt good for you to get your heart rate up and your body moving. It does burn calories, improves your health and helps build muscle and burn fat. Although saying that if you are already dog walking a couple of times a day then that's good cardio if it's at a good brisk pace. Well done on getting started....the can be getting hardest part!

[Eolian]

In any case, smashing out the weights for a good session if you're fairly unfit might kick in a bit of cardio - you can get quite sweaty and raise your heart rate that way. I agree about the diet /exercise thing. Running makes me fitter and more toned (and more sane ) but it doesn't make me lose weight if I am not controlling what I eat.

[SlimbobJones]

Apparently I'm not actually that unfit for my size which I guess is down to all the dog walking

She wanted me to run for 1 minute, I did 1 min 30 secs. She wanted 10 reps on everything and I did 15 so I'm think I'm fitter than I think I am and probably a bit fitter than I look!

Hauling this much weight around with you all day does give you a certain resilience to muscle pain!