50yo vegatarian with 4 stone to lose.

[Goslowlysideways]

I knind of drift through food with no thought at all. Slowly grazing my way through thousands of calories - no pause -just mindlessly consuming.
Then last weekend I stopped as I had just finished my second massive toffee doughnut of the day and remembered that I had eaten a family bar of galaxy before lunch and I thought WTF am I doing?!
I don't even taste this stuff anymore,I just hoover it up.
So here I am 15 stone 3 lbs and finally saying no more.
I've been eating well all week, lots of soup and I made myself a red pepper and chickpea curry I had a few nights with one microwave popudum.
For breakfast I'm having museli I construct myself which is branflakes, oats, seeds and a few nuts. Then I have it with no fat Greek yogurt.
I've had a few treats but tiny by comparison.
I'm 50 so I know this isn't going to be quick.
I've just made two batches of soup and I'm going to have that for dinner tonight. I've checked in some cannellini beans so bump up the protein.
Tomorrow for breakfast I'm going to have two slices of toast and that will be my carbs for the day.
I'm just trying to think about food and plan delicious things I can enjoy. I need a reset - unplugging!

I've decided I'm going to have some strawberries and cream this weekend. I want to avoid chocolate and too much sugar.

What worked for me lost the 2 stone needed and keeping it off

Intermittent fasting no food at all until lunch. Weirdly don’t get hungry breakfast kicked off my hunger so don’t have it
Normal meals on smaller plates
Hour turbo every morning
No food at att after dinner. I only eat between 12-8 pm
Cut back on junk food snacks but still have them but less

Size 10 again at 46 😁

Keep an eye on your protein....

My veggie 50 y old sister lost 3 stone, fairly slowly, she still has a bit to go. Basically stopped eating sugar. She was thinking what she could change to lower the risk from covid.

Upped her steps. It works.

Well done MrsTSwift!

I am also veggie and think the quite high protein requirements you sometimes see are difficult to acheive for a veggie or vegan trying to lose weight. I deffo don't low carb - some of our best protein is tied up in carbs! ( Beans and rice, houmous and bread, etc). I just try to make as much as possible whole grains. And I think I get plenty of protein.

Everyone's different - You need to experiment a little to find out what works for you. I know 16:8 is great for some - but it just makes me binge. I need three meals a day, careful on the portions and mindful of nutrition.

Also, you've made me want soup for lunch and now I need to go make that.

I would second the calorie counting.

I’ve been vegetarian for 35 years and eat a lot of grains, rice and pasta. I was horrified when I found out how many calories were in the portions of carbs I was eating. I also eat far less cheese these days and drink less.

I lost 3.5 stone over two years and have managed to keep it off. I still weigh food and count calories a year after reaching my target weight.

Me too 👋
Stone and a half to lose, veggie and breastfeeding. I eat WAY too much fruit and sugar.
My plan is
Record every single calorie on My Fitness Pal (I even forked out for the premium version)
Cereals and fibre for breakfast (I have a rectocele so absolutely cannot get constipated ever)
Salad with eggs or mozzarella (once a week, it’s ££££) for lunch
Veg and tofu for dinner

It sounds very restrictive but I live in a country where being veggie is not a thing at all so meat subs like quorn does not exist but I can get 50 versions of tofu 🙄

Good luck!

@Goslowlysideways The worst bit re going cold turkey on sugar is the first 3 days (though others have said 1-2 weeks). After that your body starts to reset and the cravings go away. "Real" food starts to taste different (better) and then when you eat sugar it doesn't taste like food, it tastes rather revolting. At least that's my experience and that of some others I know. But in my view reducing sugar doesn't work well as it keeps the sugar responses going in one's addicted body. Cold turkey is the way.

Re fake meat, I have been veggie since the age of 18 (now in my 60s) and have never eaten fake meat. It revolts me. I figure, if you want to eat meat-like substances, then eat real meat. I've seen forums on the internet where people recount the horrible reactions they've had to Quorn.

My own approach is "don't eat any food my grandmother wouldn't recognise" and fake meat falls into that category. For protein, you can eat all pulses (lentils or beans, huge variety), hummus, dairy produce, nuts, and seeds. Don't go too heavy on the soy/tofu etc as I've seen people who eat a lot of it get hypothyroid.

@Goslowlysideways I take your point about meat substitutes, DH eats meat and we try not to cook separate dinners but just sub in equivalent proteins. I love a good lentil or bean dish but get given ‘the face’ if I produce them too often!

I have a vegan barbecue cookbook which shows how to make seitan and other meat substitutes completely from scratch, it’s really interesting and seems wholesome enough once you get your head around vital wheat gluten!

SheezhasAZ09 that’s interesting about the tofu and thyroid... I pretty much have some form of soya for at least two meals a day.

BeastofBODMAS find the Seitan Appreciation Society on facebook, amazing what people do with seitan!

It sounds very restrictive but I live in a country where being veggie is not a thing at all so meat subs like quorn does not exist but I can get 50 versions of tofu

I’d swap your 50 versions of tofu for my 1000 plant based versions of everything under the sun in a heartbeat!

@BeastOfBODMAS Morrisons deliver to my area but only once a week and it's £5 also I can't find any of those veggie sausages and fish cakes on their website... perhaps they're not stocked at my nearest store? Either way, I'll probably wait till we're allowed to do wildly exciting things like travel 20 minutes to a supermarket and just go for myself

(I know we're allowed to travel to a supermarket, but I'm closer to about 5 others before I get to the Morrisons!)

I would (sadly) second the advice about portion sizes, and being honest about what you eat. It's why WW, SW etc all emphasise how important it is to keep a food diary, because as I know to my cost it's so easy to forget that you've eaten a bit of chocolate/ cheese/ toast, but it all adds up in the end

And I do try not to eat more if I've been exercising, but it's difficult if (for example) I've been on a long walk with the DC, we're all starving when we get back!!

I didn't have a great day yesterday - some pretty awful news to deal with - but still a million times better than I have been.
@MsTSwift breakfast definitely kicks off cravings for me as well. On days I'm not working I don't have breakfast just an earlier lunch. Well done on being size 10!!
@PopUpName I think you're right - sugar is the worst thing.
@FamilyOfAliens well done!!
@Perching
I need to investigate my fitness Pal. I joined Noom for a day yesterday then after a bit of in-depth reading and filling in the endless quizzes I realised it was crap and got my money back.

@SheeshazAZ09 that is a very good approach. I'm cooking lots from scratch. Yesterday was soup for lunch then a lentil cottage pie with sweet potato mash. Yum
@BeastOfBODMAS I need to Google seiten - no idea what it is!
@ClaraTheImpossibleGirl I don't have a Morrisobs near me. I'm definitely going to start a food diary so I can plan everything and be more attentive to what I'm eating.

Everyone is so kind thank you so much X
More soup today - watercress and spinach. I made a celery,onion and leek base then added spinach and watercress. It was delicious.
Then the rest of the cottage pie with roasted garlic sprouts and some peas.
Yum yum yum.
No sugar!!

@FamilyOfAliens I need to Google tofu recipes!!

I'm sorry you have had bad news. Well done for staying mindful of your eating at a troubled time. I think that's a really good sign for your long-term eating pattern. There are always going to be times when, for whatever reason, we eat a bit more or a bit less healthily - celebrations just as much as bad times - but if you can acknowledge this, let it happen but not go mad and binge, then it's easy to draw a line under the occasion, pick up again and continue.

Having said that, a single day of relaxed eating cannot harm a diet, however wildly you go off track, unless you let it by taking it as a cue to give up.

Here's to a better day for you today!

Anyway I've lost 2lbs since Monday - and I've eaten a lot!
I think this is an indication of just how much crap I was consuming.

You have a wonderful attitude, OP. So positive and even joyful in your approach to yourself and to food in general.

Well done on your first 2lb, that’s great! Enjoy your strawberries and cream

@Goslowlysideways sorry to hear your bad news but well done on accomplishing weight loss nevertheless! I agree that those Noom quizzes seem endless

@BeastOfBODMAS
@PurrBox Thank you so much.