@swampytiggaa I envy your ability to run and the camaraderie you have with your running buddies. I had that years ago and miss it hugely! I never ran a marathon so huge kudos for that but I used to do 5k and 10k and half marathons on occasion. I found running very calming, meditative so I miss it for that reason too. Since the accident swimming kinda replaced it exercise/meditatively speaking though not friendship wise. I used to swim competitively as a kid so exercise wise I was ok getting back into it. Though I'm nowhere near as fit now!
The effects that's all had have shocked those who've known me since I was a kid as I was always a skinny, busy and active person and it kiboshed all that! I've had more than one person say "I never thought I'd see the day you'd be a heavy person" or similar (my dad actually said "a fatty" but it didn't actually bother me as we had that quite honest/blunt way of speaking to each other). I've not taken offence as I know what they mean and it's been a shock for me too!
Until I had dd in my late 20's I was a size 6-8 (I was almost a 4 on my wedding day cos I was working full time in an active job and running about like a headless chicken organising a traditional white chapel wedding with almost 200 guests in about 3 months! I know what were we thinking?! And no I wasn't pregnant! - we got asked that a lot too! Then fiancé was due to be deployed and there were other factors too that meant we needed to time it as we did) gained while pregnant but then lost it all quite quickly (I was carrying a LOT of water with dd which was proven at the birth! Soaked 2 drs and a midwife when they broke my waters! It was like a bloody tidal wave!) then in dds 2nd year started gaining which was weird as until then all my life I could eat what I like no problem! I was skinny but i ate! Kinda standing joke among my friends and family then which is I think another reason people were shocked when I gained as they were quite used to me polishing off chippy dinners, McDonald's, cakes, massive chocolate bars (there's a family photo of me in legging and a crop top, ribs on show with a snickers in each hand and they were both for me!) and ice creams etc without gaining an ounce! My mum is a fabulous cook inc baking as were both my grans so my siblings and I were used to eating lots of lovely stodgy traditional Scots food and cakes and biscuits etc. My bro is also a skinny - still is! But my sister has always struggled with her weight and used to get very annoyed that I'd be eating way more than her and was still skinny!
Wow! Life story much!
But yea I grew up skinny so it's really hard to get my head around the fact of becoming a fatty!
@CumbrianExile that's why smaller goals are good as something to celebrate achieving. In ww we got gold stars/stickers - literally - when we hit certain points (5% loss, half stone off, 10% off etc) and it seemed silly/childish to me at first but it works! The happy scale app gives you a little celebratory graphic response when you hit a smaller goal and it does give you a boost and the guys here are great for being congratulatory too.
You're a soup maker? Excellent me too. Soup is great for being low cal, filling and nutritious
@Sonmi451 - veggie packed lunch ideas :
The obvious/usual is sandwiches/wraps/rolls, for low cal fillings - spread options - light Mayo, mustard. Marmite, a small amount of pesto all work
Fillings - I like quorn deli slices (so basically fake meat sandwich slices like ham, Turkey, chicken etc there are a lot of different flavours, there's also other brands do the same kinda thing, cauldron or I'm enjoying squeaky bean from Tesco at the moment, currently on the Italian ham but love the pastrami too), cheese sometimes but careful as can be high cal, I get the Tesco mature processed cheese slices I have in sandwiches etc sometimes they come in at 52 cals a slice, or I use grated cheddar but I get the 30% lower fat and just have a little, eggs are fairly low cal too I like boiled egg slices and in a Mayo sandwich with a little black pepper a med egg is approx 70 cals
What I call "flavour boosters" I think ww called them this - so things you can add to make a sandwich more interesting/appealing - sauerkraut (lower cal than coleslaw and fermented so good for gut biome), fresh herbs (I love a "caprese" sandwich - scraping of pesto, fresh basil leaves, sliced tomatoes and a little low fat grated mozzarella and a little garlic grinder), veg (sliced cucumber, tomatoes. Peppers, mushrooms - I know not everyone likes raw mushroom but I do - grated carrot, spring onions...you get the idea, pickles (but be careful as they can be high cal due to the sugar so just a wee taste), spices (regulars will attest I love my garlic grinder, smoked paprika, black pepper, pinch of ground ginger etc)
So you can make very tasty low cal sandwiches etc
Salads - don't have to be boring/limp 70's style lettuce/cucumber/tomato affairs.
I'm not a fan of lettuce it's pretty boring taste wise so I have rocket, fresh herbs, spinach as the leaf element
For the rest of the veggies I like cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers, mushrooms. Sweetcorn/baby corn, spring onions, mange tout. Bean sprouts - depends what I have in
Flavour boosters - same as sandwiches really - herbs and spices, pickles, sauerkraut, but also of course a dressing of some kind. You can either make your own there are loads of recipes online and it's very easy or buy a low cal one I personally love the Tesco low fat balsamic dressing which is very low cal so you can be more generous with it! Or their fat free lemon and pepper dressing.
That's "normal" salads
You can also do pasta or rice salads of course with a little pesto for the dressing (Tesco do a pesto salad dressing too I'm sure other places do too) or with the rice a little soy sauce or Henderson's relish or Cous cous, add Quorn chicken fillets or ham or some grilled halloumi or diced feta etc
One I do that I used to make for dd as a packed lunch is:,
Make up 50g Cous cous with stock, add some diced quorn fillets (love their roasted sliced fillets which are basically like cooked diced chicken), some veg (dd liked halved cherry toms and diced cucumber) and 1-2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce mixed in thoroughly. Keeps fine overnight in a Tupperware dish for lunch the next day.
Soups are great for lunches too. I make soup pretty regularly in the winter. Dds favourite though is spiced butternut squash and carrot:
4 portions
1 butternut squash
1/2 lb carrots peeled and in sticks (I cheat and use a pack of batons)
2-4 cloves garlic peeled
1/2 onion diced
3 sticks celery
Pint of stock
2 teaspoons mild curry powder (but I tend to the mild you may want more spicy)
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
Cut the squash in half and deseed, put the garlic cloves in the hollows left by deseeding
Place the squash and carrots on a roasting tray and spray with oil roast for about 30 mins Ish until soft
In a large pan Sauté the onions, celery and towards the end the spices.
Make up the stock
Scoop out the flesh and garlic from the squash, roughly mash the carrots and add both to the pan and add the stock. Slowly bring it just to the boil but then turn it down to a simmer and cook for about 15-20 mins. Blend and serve with a swirl of natural yogurt or low fat sour cream (this is optional)
It's a very hearty warming soup.
But I'll often just make a "bottom of the fridge" soup just using up whatever veg is not in best condition and add flavourings and spices etc as the mood takes me.
When dd was wanting warming packed lunches I'd also set aside pasta or rice dishes so basically leftovers and she'd have that warmed in the microwave at work for lunch. The aforementioned Cous cous and sweet chilli sauce one also works warmed up.
Stews and casseroles also work as leftovers reheated for lunch the following day. Dd liked my sausage and bean one but it is quite calorific! (She doesn't need to worry about such things!) but a sausage and veg tray bake would also work reheated and would be quite low cal, I like linda McCartney original vegetarian sausages
Oh! They also make a yummy sandwich - part cook them under the grill until browned off, then slice them lengthways and grill cut side up until they're crispy. Use a low cal ketchup for the spread on the sandwich/roll, place sausages on the sandwich, sliced tomatoes and a little black pepper
Jacket potatoes are great for lunches too, I like the McCain part cooked ones that can be finished in a micro (I don't have a micro at the moment so I use a conventional oven)
Toppings :
Cottage cheese and a sprinkle of smoked paprika, sometimes I like to add some sweetcorn too or some chopped up Quorn ham
Ratatouille - either home made or tinned even the tinned is still quite low cal but home made is tastier and very easy to do
Baked beans - someone else oh thread reminded me baked beans aren't super calorific
Chilli - again home made or tinned plenty of options about
Lentil Dahl
Bolognese sauce
Low fat grated cheddar
Low fat butter/spread with a little black pepper
So hopefully that's a few ideas for you to be getting on with
Yikes! Just seen no micro at work but I'll leave those ideas for when you're at home?
With a kettle you can still do Cous cous. Small pasta will cook in boiled water.
You could get a food flask and that could be used for soups, stews, casseroles, pasta dishes etc to keep it warm.