advice please ladies

[TaniaL]

soooo I'm a plus size girl and i'm sick of it now. i have an underactive thyroid too which doesn't help i'm not saying this is the reason why i am big because it isn't i've just got a thing for sweet food ha!! i've been looking online at home workouts but i cant really see ones that i trust that people have lost weight from doing. i cannot go to the gym as my son is only part time nursery 3 hours a day and i have no other childcare support for me to go later at night or in the mornings - i have started cooking all my meals from scratch and it is true what they say it's cheaper to be fat ! my shopping bills have literally doubled from healthier eating. i have now started taking the long way home from nursery so now it takes me 35 mins rather then 10 minutes. is there anything anyone could advise me on how they lost all their weight? i know it isn't an overnight thing and i am determined to do it!! but sometimes i will need that kick up the jacksy to keep me at it :)

Weight loss is mostly diet. Cutting portion sizes makes a huge distance. It’s very easy to underestimate the calories we consume.
Work out your TDEE and reduce the calories by 20% to find a target to help you lose weight
tdeecalculator.net/
Join My Fitness Pal or similar to loaf and track your intake. You could eat any food-nothing is off limits, you just need to not exceed you daily total. There can be more calories in a sandwich than in a carefully portioned roast dinner. Logging calories helps you make better (not necessarily expensive) choices.
Good luck.

@Pinkshrimp speaks senseon the calories. Dieting is almost all about food, not exercise. Exercise brings other benefits but food is the key. I would add the need to emphasize on mental health, as well as diet.

It will mean different things for different people, but for me it meant:

1. Prioritising sleep. I set myself a bedtime and stuck to it. I also used meditation (these days, the Calm app) and found that 10 mins slow breathing and mind emptying almost always had me ready to go o sleep straight after. You need proper sleep to me mentally fit but also because lack of it can interupt diets in all sorts of ways

1. Reducing stress. Not always as easy done as said but I looked at the things that caused me stress in my life and made plans to remove, reduce, or tackle them in a structured way.

1. Love yourself. Sounds hippy but I do not think you can "self-hate" your way to a place of happiness. It's not good talking to yourself about how fat you are, how disgusting, how lazy - or whatever. You cannot punish your way to success. You must love and support yourself as you would a friend, with encouragement and regular reminders of what you've done well.

1. Exercise for mental health, not just for calorie burn. For me that means lots of time out in fields, walking and (VERY slowly) jogging with the dog. The calorie burn is not the point; the fresh air, escape and joy of the open space is the main reason. It doesn't have to be this. Before I had a dog and lived in the city and worked long hours I used a Wii Fit to do yoga and physical games that I enjoyed. Surfing, golf, clay pigeon shooting, horse riding, gym, dance classes, free-style dancing in the kitchen when you're cooking, gardening, etc. Whatever floats your boat (sailing ) and gets you in a good mood. If you're at home and want a workout then Yoga with Adrienne is good - but there is also other youtube yoga channels for bigger bodies if Adrienne is too flexible for you at the moment. Couch to 5k training on your way back from nursery, maybe? I love Zombies Run! which is a game you listen to basing your running around escapaing from zombies - but I am weird .

Remember that whatever you do should be something you are happy to do forever. So it needs to suit you. Weight loss itself is the easier part. The real success is keeping it off, so don't do anything now you are not able to do after the weight is gone. Make it about lifestyle, not just about diet.

Thanks ladies, I've decided I'm going to do the couch to 5k and make sure I calorie count and make most of my meals with 80% been veg on my plate or salads x

Quick question is there any ideas on the best running trainers? X

Exercise is the most important thing to weight loss. I've done it all. All the slimming world, C9, juice plus, etc.

The thing I learnt is that exercise is more important than the diet fad you pick. I have a HIIT dvd. When I want to shift a lot of Wight in a short amount of time (after childbirth for example) I do that every night, or I do an hour on an exercise bike at home, or I do exercises with weights and it falls off. Squats, lunges etc.

One of the things people don't understand is that diets do nothing unless you are toning, building your stamina, pushing your lungs and heart to be more active and walking up your muscles.

I'm currently pregnant. My previous two pregnancies I ate really well but had almost zero exercise in my life. I was a gentle 'coffee morning, TV mum' I got HUGE. This pregnancy we now have a dog. I eat all day. ALL. DAY. and night. I go through packets of chocolate bars and cheese. I have a two course for meal every day at work, plus snacks and then dinner and a lunch box of food before bed 😂 but I'm the slimmest I've ever been because I go for walks up and down hills with him every day, sometimes twice a day. Sometimes I take the running buggy with baby in so I'm pushing 2 stone as well.

Get on the toning and muscle building and don't focus so hard on the food you eat for weight loss. Obviously eat healthily and drink often to keep your internal organs from premature ageing but throw some sweets and cake in there as well!

X

Quick question is there any ideas on the best running trainers?

To start, the best ones are cheap ones. They serve a purpose while you are finding your feet (see what I did there?) and learning a bit more about how you run and what you want from shoes.

The topic of shoes can run and run but to boil it down, your decisions (other than price) are:

1. Highly cushioned or flat and fast. As a beginner, especially a heavier one, then go for cushioned every time. Something like this is more expensive than you need but you can see the cushioning there:

www.northernrunner.com/shoes-c133/cushioning-running-shoes-c192/dyad-11-womens-d-width-wide-road-running-shoes-black-ebony-green-p5756

1. One that support your stride type. Some people over pronate (their ankle leans inwards). Some under pronate (their ankle buckles outwards). Some are neutral. Different shoes give different support to help correct pronation and you might already know what you do, based on your stride. e.g. I have a stride like my Dad's - we both under pronate and so my shoes tend to wear on the outer sole first. However, if you are not sure then pick a neutral shoe.

1. Waterproof or not. I prefer not. Your feet get wet (which is miserable but the trainers dry quickly once you are home. It's perosnal choice, though.

1. Road or trail. Road shoes have smoother soles designed to grip to pavements. Trail shoes have jagged soles designed to grip better on rough ground. Sounds like you want road for street-running.

That's it, really

New Balance shoes tend to be decent for the money and cheaper (more like £30-£40) than others. Mountain Warehouse have their own range that are a bit cheaper still and whilst I have never tried them, they tend to get good reviews.

I am the opposite of @Sciencebabe . I lose weight more easily when I control my calories (1200) but am sedentary- a steady 2+ lbs per week.
It gets really complicated for me when I do my sport- as I HAVE to fuel enough to have the energy to do it and then I also feel hungry afterwards and tend to eat back way more calories than I burn. It's still worth it, to be fit and healthy.
Exercise obviously does burn calories- but as OP has said, her opportunities for exercise aren't great. In those circumstances, focus on your diet.
Focus on portion controlled, calorie counted, moderate carbs. Use My Fitness Pal to keep track of your diet and get a cheap set of kitchen scales to help you watch your portion size. I'm not sure healthy food IS inevitably more expensive, especially if you are eating less food overall.

Yes some good advice here BUT I lost the 3 stone I needed to and have maintained for many years with Paul Mackenna (I Can Make You Thin) Silly title , but the rest is common sense very easy, just changing your lifestyle, accepting yourself No self hate.

Oh and no calorie counting . We're all different!