Overweight and can't stop eating

[Patbutcherismyhero]

I've put on over a stone and a half in lockdown but I didn't realise just how bad I look until my dp took a photo of me yesterday. I really feel mortified.

I lost quite a lot of weight on slimming world a few years ago and intend to go back when groups reopen properly but I think the issue is with my new working arrangements. Being at home I constantly snack and prepare more food than I would in the office where I'd just have my packed lunch. I'm also doing a lot less steps.

Does anyone have any magical weight loss tips or meal plans they could share? SW inspired ones ideally.

I really do feel mortified with how much I've let myself go.

So I used to be the same.

I think there are those people in the world who can do moderation with food and then there are those whose metabolisms treat certain foods like crack and just go at those foods with no ability to stop. This is the difference between insulin sensitivity and insulin resistance.

My initial advise would be to forget calories and work on your satiety. If I put in front of you two plain chicken breasts I would bet you would struggle to eat them. However if I put a whole pizza in front of you I imagine you’d easily eat it all. That’s because that combination of fat and carbs is highly palatable to the body and it craves more of it. So as a starting point prioritise protein. This is where preparation would be invaluable. You could do things like have hard boiled eggs in the fridge ready to go. Cold meats. Left overs from dinner last night. You need to learn new habits that allow you to fill up on protein first, fat second, carbs last.

My day looks like a coffee in the morning made with coconut milk (it’s extremely low in carbs) no sugar. Lunch is something high protein like fish or today I had a slice of high protein bread with avocado, salt and pepper. Dinner will be a small portion of whatever’s going usually. I make my DP
who is also low carb the following dishes frequently ... chicken curry with cauliflower rice, slow cooked lamb done in the slow cooker with sweet potato mash and green beans, mussels with fried root veg, pan seared fish and asparagus, slow cooked ribs, crispy duck with mangetout, spring onions and a few pancakes. I could be a lot mite elaborate with our food but I’m not a great cook although I am getting better. I pretty much never hungry and feel SO much better. My DP who was a huge cynic has lost a stone and now has every having felt like crap for as long as I’ve known him due to an auto immune condition.

Anyway I know this stuff takes new habits and I know those new habits require thought, preparation and willpower in the early stages. But maybe give it a try 👌

• My DP who was a huge cynic has lost a stone and now has energy having felt like crap for as long as I’ve known him due to an auto immune condition.

I can only speak from my own experience but my diet was very much like the OP's. I did WW and I did lose a lot of weight. But it taught me nothing about changing my habits, or teaching me about how different foods affect the body - a lot of what I ate wasn't healthy and it did nothing to address the craving for carbs. I put back on all the weight I lost.
What I'm doing now is trying to break the craving for crisps/cake etc. I'm eating calorie dense food that's healthy, so meat, eggs, fish, vegetables (not many root veg but lots of other veg), berries, nuts, some dairy. I put dressing on salad, use oil or butter on food. I'm conscious of portion size, obviously (because you do need a calorie deficit to lose weight), but I'm not starving hungry like I was before.
I don't think I'm cutting out any food groups tbh, unless beige carbs count as a food group!
I've lost a stone really quickly and that's highly motivating when there's a lot to lose.
I'm not a person (historically) who can have a biscuit and not 3 or 4 - I find sugar difficult to resist and I used to get all wobbly if I didn't eat frequently. That's stopped now. As a nice side effect my skin is looking great too.