Any tips on how to keep this up

[janicewheeler]

I've started couch25k today. The first one wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be but I know it's going to get harder. My issue is weight on my stomach and hips. I weigh under ten stone and am happy with my legs etc but I carry my weight on my stomach, I have a belly that I hate and desperate to get rid of ! I bloat really bad (definitely hormonal)

I'd love some tips on how to ignore the cravings for crap 😆 today I've ate boiled eggs and toast for breakfast and a chicken salad for lunch but I'm thinking about carbs.
What can I snack on throughout the day that isn't going to be bad but will also satisfy me until my next meal ? It's mainly the time in between lunch and dinner that I'm going to struggle with.
Any advice would be much appreciated

Well done on starting! I hear really good things about C25K.
What about a banana and a big mug of green tea, that’s what I tend to have mid mornings rather than breakfast, as I’m not usually very hungry first thing in the morning.

When you say you’re thinking about carbs, do you mean you want to avoid them, so need snacks other than carbs?

Thank you! I wish I liked bananas but I just don't, they make me heave !!
I mean I'm thinking about wanting to eat them lol so yes need alternatives ! I will have carbs with my dinner on the night or breakfast, but I don't want to eat any throughout the day, this is bad carbs I mean !

I appreciate this doesn’t really answer your question, but …do you need snacks, or is snacking more of a habit?

For me, the problem with snacking is that it makes me think about food ALL the time. It’s like the option to eat is always there, so subconsciously that’s taking up a lot of my energy. If I only eat at meal times, it’s easier to switch off my brain from constantly thinking about food. Probably worth noting that I tend to eat much bigger meals than you’d find in the average diet plan, but it all balances out because I’m not constantly grazing.

(on a side note, there’s some scientific evidence to suggest that this is a particularly effective weightloss strategy as your blood sugar levels won’t be yo-yoing up and down all day)

Crazzzycat I’m the same. Once I have one snack I can’t stop thinking about the next, and it’s a downward spiral. I wish I had the willpower to stop at one biscuit, but I’ll end up having 5. A friend that was trying to lose weight at the same time as me once told me a particular kind of chocolate bar was the lowest calories she’d found, and so I got it in my head that I could have that and it wouldn’t be so bad. The problem was, I’d end up having 2 because I got the taste for it.
Now, the only way for me is to have none at all.

Try the "No S" way of eating. It encourages you to eat for satiety at every meal but absolutely no snacks at all during the week.

I found it quite easy - so I would swap a sandwich and crisps for lunch for a sandwich, plus hummus and carrots, something like olives and tomatoes, then an apple or orange, maybe even a yogurt too. I was probably eating more calories but they were healthier calories, with more nutrtitional value. I found when I ate properly I didn't want snacks at all!

Snacking is quite a new thing. It's really not necessary.

Try and eat food with as much fibre as possible to fill you up. Vegetables, nuts, legumes etc. Avoid toast for breakfast as it could give you a sugar rush. Well done on your coach to 5k - gets easier the more you run, promise!

Thanks for the tips. I will swap the toast for porridge, that's fiber isn't it?
Is weetabix okay too ?
I'm new to all this so not sure what's good or what says it's good but really has hidden sugars in it ! Is Jordan's cereal full of sugar too ?
I've got homous and carrots for today to snack on and also Brazil nuts.

I think initially, you’ll need to just look at the nutritional info on all the packs and boxes, and weigh your portions if you want to be accurate. For example, cereals tell you the breakdown of nutrients per 100g, or per portion, but they’re assuming a very small portion of about 30g. If you weigh out what you’d usually have, most people find they’ve been having 2 or 3 ‘portions’.

It’s time consuming to start with, but you’ll get an idea of what size portions you should have, and how much sugar is in each food, and then buy different things next time if you think they’re too high.

My Fitness Pal is great for inputting your food diary, and it will show you your totals for the day of each nutrient. Again, time consuming to start with, but it really helps you add it all up.

Plain popcorn or celery sticks are low in calories. Dried fruit and nuts are shockingly high in calories

Thank you. I've got my fitness pal but tend to forget to use it !! Starving again today so definitely not eating the right things

I think over time your stomach will shrink. You'll adapt to less food. Keep drinking lots of water

The cravings do go away. I have been calorie counting for just two weeks and already I can (almost) easily accept that I’m not having chocolate or crisps. I know you can when calorie counting but I can’t because once I have one of something that will be me.

I used to roll my eyes at the people on here who would have ‘a handful of nuts’ or ‘a piece of cheese’ as a snack but that’s actually me now! Who knows if I will keep it up but I’m feeling pretty good and down a few lbs already.

I am normally that person who could eat a whole tube of Pringles in one sitting, a whole packet of biscuits etc so I never ever thought I could stop myself eating these things.

I agree with pp's that if I eat carbs - I want more carbs.

I have to cut them out pretty much completely and then I find after a week or two the craving goes.

I think it's something to do with your blood sugar levels? I find eating lots of veg and protein with small amounts of fruit is best for me to cut cravings. If I get hungry in between meals I have carrot and cucumber sticks or lean ham/chicken.

Is Jordan's cereal full of sugar too ?

Yep I think it is.

For breakfast try having eggs with tomatoes and mushrooms (or any veg) instead of with toast. Or even bacon and eggs.

Try to get rid of the sugar.

Or skip breakfast completely. Time restricted eating is good for you in many ways. I never eat until 1pm despite running 15km every morning. Your body adapts to it and no carb cravings mon morning

I finish work at 4pm and immediately think of snacks. So I divide my lunch into two parts. First part is soup and crackers or a big salad, usually at around 1pm. Second lunch is usually some ryvita with light philly and tomatoes when I finish work.
Danger time is 4-6pm so I try to save calories for then.

The only thing that works for me is not to snack during the day. I also try to save most of my calories for my evening meal as that's the time of day I'm hungriest. A typical day would be:

Breakfast: Black coffee

Lunch: Homemade crustless quiche, salad, piece of fruit

Dinner: Slow cooker chicken casserole, sweet potato mash, piece of fruit or Skyr yogurt

Weekends (i.e. Friday/Saturday nights) I'll also have a small chocolate bar and a couple of glasses of wine in the evening

Hi @janicewheeler - Congratulations on making the decision to move to a healthier lifestyle. I would recommend not changing between diets. That will only mess up your metabolism and create cravings. Honestly, any diet WILL work if you are committed to it. (Excluding specific health conditions of course…) Personally, I lost about 65kgs six years ago doing a keto diet. This was not the Instagram “All you can eat bacon and coconut in your coffee” version, but a hardcore, clinical keto diet prescribed for my severe migraines. Let’s be honest, the weight was undoubtedly a contributing factor, but the other health benefits have been so fabulous, I have stuck with it. It really works for me, but any time I have tested my boundaries and fallen off the wagon, I put weight on VERY quickly and my migraines come back with a vengeance. It’s not worth it.
If you really want to try a proper low-carb diet, you will find the first few days hard going, but after that you probably won’t be interested in snacking. You just have to forget the traditional food pyramid and get your nutrients from healthy fats (avocado, olive oil, small amounts of goat’s cheese, cream, fish oils, (tablets are fine, btw) etc…) Usual protein sources, eggs, meat, poultry, seafood. Small serves of low-carb veggies (basically nothing white like potatoes or grains, or anything that grows underground - carrots, no corn, no legumes or pulses, no fruit *initially, NO SUGAR, juices, alcohol, soft drinks, etc. Drink buckets of water. Try and wait until you’re really hungry until you have breakfast and then have an early dinner. You will find that your portion sizes naturally decrease very quickly and so will your waist size.

Saw a dietician five years ago. Two eggs and one piece of wholemeal toast for breakfast each day. Easy to get to lunch. One nakd bar after lunch, only snack she recommended.