AIBU to want a gentler health/weight discussion

[argumentativefeminist]

Want to interact with others and get support/motivation for getting healthier and active, and in the process losing weight. But I absolutely don't want to hear any "diet culture", calorie counting or unhealthy disordered eating promotion. Surely I can't be the only one? Sometimes it seems like every thread I click on is just full of upsetting, unhelpful comments that sound like they could have been lifted from a thinspo website.

I have microwave porridge too. Sometimes with dessicated coconut and sometimes with those linwoods (??) nutty additive stuff. Or the Aldi version!

Yeah pre-measured is handy, though I’m always starving in the morning and when I had a phase of my fitness pal, found I eat about half my daily calories at breakfast time, with a smaller lunch and dinner. Doesn’t appear to do any harm; I’d be snacking like a grazing animal by 10am on a small breakfast.

Checking back in after a pretty disastrous few days of eating. I started group CBT this week though, so hoping that will help me with emotional eating. Now feeling quite bloated and unwell and ready to get back to more normal food.

On the subject of breakfasts, I'm a big fan of eggs, and find you can make scrambled eggs or an omelette in the time it takes to do tea and toast to go with. I also find them more filling than cereal. My problem with cereal is that I find the healthy stuff a bit bland - I think I need to retrain my tastebuds.

Hey lego! Hopefully the group will help and you'll get back on track - it's a good sign that you're feeling like you want healthier food now! I absolutely adore eggs but not scrambled or omelette unfortunately! I might give them another go with grown up tastebuds though 😂 I really like aldi apricot wheats cereal, quite healthy but actually tasty. Like little blobs of jam inside baby wheetabix. And they do lots of flavours!

Lego try putting plain yoghurt, a drizzle of honey and some fruit (dried or fresh) on your boring cereal.
Tomorrow’s a new day 👍🏼

I’ve had an unhealthy day of eating too today (pancakes, chips & ice cream happened) so I need to reign it back in tomorrow.

I love eggs for breakfast - scrambled, boiled or poached. Also like porridge sachets with goji berries, nuts & raisins on top. I tend to mainly have chopped fruit, natural yoghurt with honey and grape nuts sprinkled over the top. Easy, quick & tasty.

Oooh pixie great idea about grape nuts as sprinkly bits! And yes yes yes to poached eggs. Gloopy golden gorgeousness.

Welcome Koko! You're very welcome here, hopefully we can help you feel a little better. I've never tried Pilates but I do yoga and for toning about 15 minutes a week of upper body weights which isn't much but I'm building it up slowly!

koko Pilates is brilliant for a strong core and shifting backache. I’ve never used a circle but do attend a weekly class (great as instructor corrects mistakes you don’t even know you’re making!) and practise at home a couple of times a week.

Weights/body weight exercises are good for toning up, and walking and swimming are good for pretty much everything! If you want to lose weight as well as get strong you probably need some cardio at least 3x a week as well, but I’d focus on movement that makes you feel good if you’re just starting out getting more active.

Good morning healthy and energised people!

I had my hypnotherapy session yesterday, and am feeling good. I feel very positive about losing weight, and don't feel doomed to failure or anxious about it, and I'm not experiencing those self-loathing/punishment/deprivation/guilt that I've felt so often in the past when starting to 'diet'.

I also feel good that I have two more hypnotherapy sessions booked, so I can tweak things according to what's working and what may not work so well.

I'll be eating in accordance with 16:8 as I already find it pretty easy to not eat breakfast, and the benefits of that type of intermittent fasting have what I would consider to be solid scientific foundations. Otherwise, two meals of healthy food, no snacking. I requested no snacking because otherwise I can't trust that one biscuit won't become a packet.

I've been given a technique to dispel sugar cravings/habits and the aim is very much for a healthy positive relationship with food. No calorie counting or low-fat substitutions. Eating like a 'normal person' is the aim.

Exercise is for down the line, my pelvic floor is shit so I can't run. Would love to be more toned as I get slimmer, so I'm thinking swimming and cycling could help with that. For now I'm hula hooping.

I'm glad it went well Agatha! Sounds like you have a good plan in mind, I hope the other sessions help too!

I’ve had a lovely long lie in this morning so I’m feeling very lazy. May have to have poached eggs for breakfast!

Hi Koko I’ve booked in for my first Pilates class next week which i’m really excited about. Also had a go at yoga which is on very early at my local gym. I should be able to fit it in before work, providing I can get up in time. I’m not very flexible at all so hoping i’ll get better.

Agatha sounds like your session went really well. I like that it’s focused on realistic goals and being healthy instead of calorie counting/diets!

Sounds like you're making really good progress Pixie!

I've been moping about for a few days with an awful stomach bug, even water is a struggle. Got some veg that desperately needs using up though so going to attempt some plain-ish veg fried rice at lunch time.

Yes Pixie, the hypnotherapist had a long talk with me beforehand about how I wanted to eat, and how I didn't want it to be about deprivation etc. Maybe one day I'll be able to manage an 'all things in moderation' approach, but for now I need to take an addict's approach to the sweet stuff and get rid.

I can't get along with poached eggs at all, far much like ectoplasm for my liking, but a couple of nicely scrambled one with some smoked salmon? Delicious!

Oh AF, that sounds rotten. Don't re-poison yourself by using reheated rice!

I won't Agatha! I'm very particular about rice 😂 I totally understand what you mean about needing to get rid of sweet treats for a bit because you just can't manage to moderate them - I do quite often do this in stressful periods at uni or I'll end up surviving on Haribo 😳 But hopefully you'll achieve everything in moderation soon!

Ectoplasm? Glad I ate my eggs before reading your post Agatha lol 😂 Agree that scrambled eggs and smoked salmon are a winning combination.

Hope you feel better soon AF x

Thank you Pixie 💕

Found a strange burst of energy to clean the fridge before our holidays on Monday which I guess was useful in a way 😂 how's everyone else's days going?

Hope the fridge energy is a sign you’re on the mend af - sending get well thoughts.

agatha that sounds really positive.

Bit of baby-interrupted circuit training here today, and a 40 minute boring-swimming-pool swim. And dirty takeout pizza this eve - oh well.

I've managed more than 10,000 steps for more than three days in a row. The target is to keep this up for two months. I find this quite a challenge on the days I am at work.

I've fouand pilates great for back pain. When the kids are at school I go to a class once a week and I find it great for reducing the amount of back, shoulder and neck pain.

Morning all. Well done on the steps apples, I find it hard to do 10K with a sedentary job, but hula hooping does register steps, rather marvellously.

Went out for dinner last night and weirdly was able to say a breezy, “no thanks” to the sweets that came with the bill. And I left a big chunk of my meal as I felt full. It felt great.

Morning lovelies! Verbena - well done on the exercise, that's a lot of good stuff! Have you looked into getting an underwater mp3 to make the pool less boring? They're quite pricey but it's not too long until Christmas.. 😂

That's amazing apples! I struggle to even get to 6000 most days. Walking is such a good way to build up your fitness so hopefully if you keep it up you can progress onto some more challenging this as your body allows 💕

I wish I could hula hoop Agatha! I really can't move my hips in the right way. Hope you had a nice meal and it is a nice feeling when you start to recognise when you're full instead of just stuffing it all in!

Morning everyone. Sounds like some good progress is being made. It’s lovely and sunny today so we’re off for a walk soon and planning a bike ride later - think we’ve been averaging around 8,000-10,000 steps. Yesterday was a very lazy day though and didn’t do much at all

Got some appetite back today and using things up from the fridge so had an onion bhaji burger with sugar snap peas and salad - it was quite nice to have something healthy and veggy again!