I am really struggling with diets!

[allthegirls]

I am so fed up at the moment. 4 weeks ago I started weight watchers yet again. I started off by not teling anyone apart from dh as I didn't want people commenting on what I should be eating but sure enough after the first two weeks I lost 4 pounds and ended up telling eveyone!

I have not been for the last two weeks as I have had rather a stressfull time with other things and when I do I can't stop eating. I have now put on the weight I lost and more!

It gets me really down then I start to eat again. People say if it really bothered me then I would stick at the diets but its just not like that for me. I do feel really down about myself but it is like a vicious circle I feel down, I eat , I feel down, I eat.

Has anyone got any ideas?

No I haven't I'm afraid, but I do know how you feel. I started last June at Slimming World and did really well in the start, losing a stone, then since last September I've been up and down like a yoyo, sadly I'm more up than down. I re-started SW again Jan but just could not stick to it. I've now decided to try a change and am just looking into the South Beach Diet, I've figured if I really grit my teeth for a few months I could loose the couple of stone I want. It is hard and the bad thing is, is soooo easy to put weight on, if only it could come off as quick and easy. Obviously no-one can do it for us, but if you join the on going slimming threads, you'll get alot of moral support and ideas.

Good luck

a carrot stick just doesnt fit the bill does it when comfort food is needed does it?
ive been doing the comfort eating thing as well but am going to try a bit harder next week!
think a lifestyle change is probably better than actual diets(ie change the way you think about food as well as what you eat)
my diet tips would be
1 avoid fried food
2 avoid pastry
3 avoid high calorie low nutrition food like burgers sausage
4 sustitute cheese (ie cheddar) for lower fat edam or cottage cheese
5 use low fat spread not butter
6 if in need of a bicci choose rich tea not chocci ones
7 use a health grill (and choose some low fat alternatives to favorite foods)
8 have a treats day
9 exercise
10 eat fruit as snacks or to satisfy sweet cravings

think ive written this for my own benefit!!
just hope i can do it!!

-think all round healthy eating and exercise should provide solutions not quick fix diets

and drink plenty of water too

the first thing people need to realise about most diets it depriving yourself of what the bodys asking for to which imtotaly against if the body wants chocalate it wants it for a reason so instead if depriving yourself because of diets get a bar of dairy milk and just take two pieces of then dont throw them straight in the mouth eat them as slowly as possible and savour each taste you find the craving goes quicker and you dont eat as much as you would normaly
2 it sounds like you are suffering with a mild depreson and what people are saying to you aint helping its making things worse if possible when feeling down (i do this with my partner who suffers with server depresion) try and get out side and walk for at least fifteen minuites and taking as many deep breaths as possible while outside if you feel you need more than fifteen take more than fifteen take as long as you need to feel calm enough to face things again with out heading straight for food
3 and this sounds the silliest but every morning or night stand infront of a mirror naked and instead of looking for all the things you thik are wrong with you look for all the things are right every body has something they like about them selfs and say i like what i see because.....
4 do yourself a treat box put one bar of choclate or what ever the comfort food is in there and mark it as my treat box but what evers in that box has to last you a week and every time you go to the box remind your self this has to last you a week and do you rwealy need it at that time
5 keep some cut up fruit by you at all time while at home so if you feel like snacking you learn to grab for the fruit
6 and last but not least get yourself a multi vitimin in because is you getting stressed you also getting run down which will make you feel ten times worse so you will find if you can build the body back up you find that you will be able to face some of the things that life throws at you
hth

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I am new to this MN thing but I think I am going to be hooked. I will certainly keep an eye opn the threads from this topic as it is very close to my heart at the moment. Mummytojames, I am definetly going to try some of your advise. I don't think I can handle looking in the mirror just yet but hopefully it will come with time! Going to start the diet tomorrow only because I am having a roast dinner today and have a cheesecake I bought when I was on one of my downer days. I promise I will start tomorrow but will definetly watch this topic and that way I will hopefully stick at it!

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Going to the slimmimg clubs religiously is difficult due to the kids and I also work in the evenings! Maybe I will have to join your club!

Come and join us at Mumsnet Mamas!

You sound exactly like me!! Everytime I diet I become more and more disillusioned and annoyed with myself when it fails. I have gradually put on more and more weight and now I am dangerously overweight.
At the moment I am reading this book called 'Dr Phils ultimate weight solution'. This deals with why you over eat in the first place so that you can fix that before starting a diet. On the Dr Phil show he had some contestants do the diet and gradually they all lost huge amounts of weight.

I am only on page 10 so I have no idea if it works or not so I will let you know!!
I think that dealing with why you over eat is more important that what you eat. I have found that I can be sensible with my eating for a certain amount of time and then I get down and binge. So I am trying to find other ways of dealing with stress other than eating (and spending money).

Where will I find mumsnet mamas, DEMENTED?

Joanneg, I am glad I am not the only one that has this problem!! Spending money is another one of my downer habits aswell!!! Don't quite know what I spend it on half the time as I won't buy clothes unless I really need to as I am forever saying I am going to lose weight!!! Let me know how you get on with that book, I may have to invest in that!! When is the Dr Phil programme on or is it just mentioned in the book??

We're here ! Mumsnet's own slimming club. If you fancy joining us just mail me (as I hold the spreadsheet) at mn.bigmamas(at)virgin(dot)net with your starting weight and target weight. Then all you do is weigh in once a week and send me your loss on a Thursday, it will then be announced on the Friday evening (usually between 6pm and 9pm) on the appropriate weekly thread. We aim to encourage and help each other get to our goals.

Dr Phil is on Sky mix at 8.45am! Silly time. Unfortuantly the weight loss challange is over. There were 13 participants and they lost loads of weight. drphil website look at his website - there is a sub heading called 'weight loss' and the story of all the challangers and the diet is on there. (I must admit Dr. phil is my hero. one of his books helped save my relationship - but that is another story!)

I have realised just recently that I tend to use thing as a means to emotional support (it used to be smoking (gave that up), now it is impulse spending and food). so I really want to crack the emotional side.

Anyway I will contact you through mumsnet with my e-mail address as it sound like we are going through the same thing. It is good to chat about these things I think, with people that understand (my dh is as skinny as a rake!!)

I will let you know how I get on with my book and if it is any good x

It would be great to hear from you! Heres another weird thing, I could do with reading the relationship book at the moment aswell!!!!!!! Oh dear! Will take a look at that website now!

Oh no you poor thing!! The book is 'relationship rescue'. On the website there is loads of info and even some quizzes regarding your relationship that you can do.

It sounds like you have stress at the moment, no wonder you feel down and eat. am e-mailing you know so you will get my e-mail within a couple of days x

Thanks Joanneg. Just done the emotional eating test on the website and scored almost maximum points for the emotional eater. Oh dear!! I am really going to try tomorrow. Thanks for your support! Will definetly have a look at the relationship thing aswell. I think the two are going hand in hand at the moment. Look forward to getting your e mail and then maybe we can be support for each other!!

BTW just reread you post and I tell you what dont listen to people who say that if it really bothers you you would stick to the diets. That is rubbish and if it was true everybody would be slim!

If you have a self destructive relationship with food then dieting wont work because quite possibly you could put the weight back on again. If you tackle all of the issues that are making you overeat and get support from people on here, friends that understand and help you tackle this - then a diet will work. You will do this. people have given you some great tips. I have e-mailed you and we will work out a diet.

Feel for you ALG i am also just the same, I cannot diet at all, the only things i can suggest that i try to do myself (and fail sometimes) is, dont buy loads of cakes, biscuits chocs etc so they are sat around the house tempting you, i have also got into the habit of having just slim fast for lunch instead of my usual cheese sandwhich crisps and biscuit, then try to prepare healthy meal for tea, then i allow myself a glass of wine and small choccy bar on evening when kids are in bed. Main motivator for me was knowing during the day dd would be copying my eating habits. Also, it is possible for you to do exercise, or do you already? Can you get out walking? In giving you my advice though, i'm afraid i have lost nearly a stone, but then put nearly half a stone back on (whoops). Good luck though, and dont beat yourself up about it.

Thanks Harrassedmum. I was a member of a gym up untill this month but have had to cancel as I just have not got the time to do it anymore! I have two dogs so enjoy walking them but it is difficult to do with two kids in tow!! When my dh is at home I get to take them on a good walk!

Had a bad start to this morning, got up and found dd1 had chopped off dd2's hair with a pair of scissors my niece had left in their play room. I have been totally gutted as her hair was looking lovely and just the right length to start putting it up!!

On the brighter side someone phoned up this morning offering me a job interview which I really wanted!!

I have never tried slim fast as I thought I would never be able to keep up with the lack of real food. Maybe I will give it a go! They do lots of different stuff now don't they? Pasta and that type of thing?

Joanneg, what you are saying about emotional crutches is ringing huge bells with me. Mine used to be food, nail biting and exercise. Now it's exercise and impulse buying . DH is going his dinger about the mess I have made of my budget this month and it is all impulse buys. Noooooo, I don't need this as a problem this is worse than the others!

Hi Demented, Have you had a look at the website that joanneg mentioned earlier in the thread. It is quite interesting! I am certainly going to have a look for dr phils books!

It is ahrd to exercise with kids in tow, an slim fast is hard, getting used to not eating, but now im just used to it and eating lunch seems weird! Just gonna try one of those hypnotism things! How sad! Still, you never know!

Twigglet!!! back to your thread and we want your this week weight displayed asap [not so convincing as the Twig but I try