Determined not to be fat & forty!

[Musicalmistress]

I’m fat, into the morbidly obese category. 5ft6 and nearly 19stone. I have been incredibly lucky that, so far, my weight does not seem to have had a significant impact on my health but I turn 40 at the end of the year & I want to change. I want to be able to go out running & cycling with DH & DD 11 and not feel embarrassed or that I’m holding them back. I’d love to choose outfits for eldest DDs 21st at the end of the summer & my bday because I like them - not because they cover up my lumps and bumps.
First step - asked for a Fitbit as a gift. I’m do more steps at work than I thought (teacher) but it’s not enough. How do I start exercising without being seen?
Next - I love my food! Going to try eating as healthy as poss most of wk and allow myself something nice on a Sat night. I actually enjoy veg, salads, healthy foods but want quick & easy mid week. Any tasty, quick suggestions gratefully received. Portion size! Good lord they need to be smaller - have bought salad plates to eat off.
Then - alcohol 😱 love rose wine, prosecco, the odd fruity cider. Have already cut out the rose & cider but can I still have a couple of prosecco glasses at the wkend? Switch to vodka & Coke Zero?

Apologies, just realised what an epic torrent that was.

Hello. Not sure what to do about food, but for a quick workout indoors, either a DVD or 10 minutes of stairclimbing (if you don't live in a flat or a bungalow!).

Food: I love the body coach books and also the Tom Daley one for quick and nutritious meals.

Good luck

Well wanting to make a positive change is the first step!

How do I start exercising without being seen?
This part is easy! Exercise at home! I've had a lot of success with Beachbody over the years. They've got free trials available for their VOD service which I'd recommend trying out to see if any of the programs appeal to you. There's also a ton of free workouts and tips available on their blog:
www.beachbodyondemand.com/blog/guide-weight-loss-workouts
www.beachbodyondemand.com/blog/fitness/ab-workouts
www.beachbodyondemand.com/blog/best-core-exercises-from-beachbody-programs
www.beachbodyondemand.com/blog/best-leg-exercises-leg-press-alternative

Food is really the biggest thing. You can't outrun your fork!
Having a cheat day can be a great motivator, but just make sure that "something nice" doesn't throw you completely off track. I would highly recommend counting calories with an app like www.myfitnesspal.com/ to make sure you're hitting an appropriate number for your current weight. Meal prep is a great way to make sure you've got healthy food to eat throughout the week without having to cook/prepare something every day. Beachbody's blog also has a great recipe section worth checking out.

Alcohol is the same deal. That's ALL empty calories. So, if you're going to drink without it impacting your weight you have to fit it into your daily calories. Maybe your glass of wine can be your "something nice," but doing that AND cheating with food is going to get you nowhere fast.

One last tip: drink more water! Most people don't drink nearly enough and it can go a long way in curbing your appetite! This is another area where a free app can help you keep yourself on task. Grab a decent sized metal water bottle and make sure you're getting through it as many times as you need to in the day to get your gallon of water.

What's been your downfall op? Is it portion sizes, or eating crap like chocolate or crisps, or cakes, is it having high fat meals, too many carbs?

You need to focus on what's caused you to gain this much weight. How do you eat, do you snack a lot, eat big meals?

Identifying what's caused the problem is the firs step to solving it.

You need to describe your lifestyle and come up with a plan, a way of eating, and then plan accordingly. If you don't you'll fall off the wagon very fast.

And what do you mean you will eat something "nice"on a sat. What is nice, do you mean high fat or sugar laden or both?

Give up the Diet Coke. All artificial sweeteners are pretty awful for your body. I managed to wean myself off it.

I agree with pp. you didnt get to this size by eating small meals. Are you a secret eater? Maybe you could have some counselling to help understand your unhealthy approach to food. People often use food as a reward but actually its primary function is as a fuel source.

You need to develop a strategy to gradually cut down what you are eating and drinking. And plan what you will eat when you are tired/stressed. It’s easy to eat rubbish.

Exercise will help you feel better but the food intake is more important.

Avoid any form of crash dieting. It won’t work in the long term. As you are pretty overweight now, reducing your food intake will have an effect.

Read some of the weight loss boards on here. Some are pretty inspiring.

Be patient and kind to yourself if you eat a bit more one day than you planned.

Good luck!

#ark plenty of stairs - thanks
#beela - I’ll have a look
#Mivery - lots of tips to try 🙂
#Bluntness - guilty of big portions but can also be a secret binger (bags of crisps & choc) which I’m trying hard to control. My something nice - was just thinking a little bit of something I wouldn’t allow myself through the wk. I guess I need to consider whether that’s worth possibly derailing myself!
#Oddbutnotodd - you’ve got me!

Lots of good, manageable advice folks. Thank you. Will hang around, read some threads & let you know how I’m getting on.

Have you thought about low carb high fat? You lose the cravings for crap and your appetite decreases hugely. You can still have big portions of thr right foods at the beginning as your body adjusts, then as your hunger decreases you can reduce your portions. Easiest diet I ever done.

I'd be really careful on the having something nice on a sat. It's really easy to say fuck it and eat a lot, or have a whole binge day and undo the week, especially if you have a tendency to secret binge.

However if you're low carbing you can have a glass of red wine, some cheese and olives or whatever and you'll be fine. You can also make low carb versions of most sweet desserts or eat things like kale crisps.