Small healthy changes

[MintheMiddle]

Hi,

So I've officially got to the "enough is enough" point but I don't want to do too much too soon iykwim?
What are some small changes and adjustments that I can make that give me a good step in the right direction?

I have been keeping track of my calories and haven't under eaten and they're worked out correctly for my height, weight, activity level.

Thank you!

What’s your current weight and your goal weight?
Without knowing what you’re already doing, it’s hard to advise, but there was a similar thread earlier and the advice I gave was to make a list of small changes and just pick a few to start slowly, and build up.

For example:
Switch from white bread and pasta to wholemeal
Google some healthy recipes and when you find some you like, make a shopping list for the ingredients and stick to it.
Don’t buy any crisps, chocolate, biscuits or cakes on your next supermarket shop.
Cut down fizzy drinks / sugary coffees.
Cut out takeaways or reduce to once per fortnight.
Put all junk snacks away in a cupboard so they’re out of sight.
Work out the best time of day when you can fit in some exercise. Just go for a walk if you’re really out of shape, and build up to running. Maybe do Couch2 5K?

There are lots of threads here you can follow or join, lots of good advice and support. Good luck!

If you don't currently eat a lot of veg, introduce a new vegetable every week.

If you don't currently walk a lot, try to incorporate a walk every day- starting with 10 mins and working your way up.

As PP mentioned it would be helpful yo know what you already do

I am calorie counting, but what's really working for me and I think I'll be doing long term is trying to cut down on carbs at lunchtime / for snacks. So rather than bread at lunch I'm trying to eat things with more veg and protein/fat, so for example soup, frittata or a cooked lunch. For snacks I'm doing veg sticks with quark / home made hummus (shop stuff is really calorific). I don't think it counts as low carb as I'm eating porridge for breakfast and having carbs with dinner as normal. However, I'm finding for me it's true that more protein / fat and less carbs at lunchtime helps keep me full for longer and cut the afternoon urge to snack. I don't know when your problematic time of day is, but would tweaking the meal you have before then be a small enough step you'd consider it?

For me I’m just trying really hard to break the snacking habit. I haven’t got much self control at all so I’m trying to train myself to get used to not snacking a lot. It’s taking a LOT of will power. I could bust 5-700 calories a day on snacks without trying. So that’s my focus.

Hi,

Thank you for all your replies!
@SingaporeSlinky @BrimfulOfBaba @CrabbyCat

They've really helped, currently I try to limit the crabs and prevent "double carbing" my meals, if I have porridge for example in morning I will have something more snacks and salad based at lunch (porridge keeps me rather full)

I always have at least half my evening meal as veg/salad. I have cut down the pasta/rice and weighed everything meticulously.

What I'm going to try is upping my water to at least 2L a day (I prefer adding sugar free squash and it really helps me drink more) and trying to get in my 10k steps and slowly work it up to doing the c25k runs.

I seem to struggle with thinking of food ideas especially for lunch - breakfast is usually fruit and Greek yog, porridge with apple or berries, scrambled egg on slice whole meal toast, fruit and fibre cereal with chopped banana or blueberries.

Any ideas? 😁 I'm not vegetarian or anything so all ideas welcome

Sorry should have mentioned, my current (measurements?) are 27yo female, 5 foot 6, 13st 3lb, not active (hence me trying to get some more steps in)

My goal weigh ideally is between 11st 4lb - 11st 7lbs (i feel comfortably at that weight and would love to be thinner but I can have a bit of a 80/20 at that weight and still feel happy)

Thank you

Do you like soup? I find egg in the morning (plus cereal) and then soup with salad at lunchtime is a good way to keep full. Also apple and cheese mid afternoon is my go to snack!

I can’t have a large bag of crisps in the house as I have no self control. Portion size is my issue.

I find if I eat breakfast late and dinner early I eat much less overall. Dinner at 6 (like an OAP!) means I feel fuller sooner, don’t snack beforehand, and then don’t need to eat afterwards for the evening.

@Leftbutcameback

Do you like soup? I find egg in the morning (plus cereal) and then soup with salad at lunchtime is a good way to keep full. Also apple and cheese mid afternoon is my go to snack!

I can’t have a large bag of crisps in the house as I have no self control. Portion size is my issue.

I find if I eat breakfast late and dinner early I eat much less overall. Dinner at 6 (like an OAP!) means I feel fuller sooner, don’t snack beforehand, and then don’t need to eat afterwards for the evening.

I do actually like soup, I end up feeling hungry very soon after though! My main one is biscuits, chocolate, cake, me and my DP could happily sit on an evening and devour a pack of sweets and still be snacky for more!

It's taken a lot of willpower to knock the habit, I'm also a coffee fiend (from a coffee shop) so I'd have any opportunity to go for a latte with 2 sugars, have started getting sweeteners instead and try to stick to coffee on a weekend as a treat.
If I'm feeling peckish for a sweet treat I do like a hot chocolate and mini marshmallow but they're full of sugar (the marshmallows) so no wonder I'm not seeing a loss having at least 30 grams of mini marshmallows a night thinking I'm being good 🙃

Something I heard earlier this week was, when you feel hungry and fancy a snack, ask yourself if you could have an apple. If the answer is "no", then maybe you're not that hungry. If it's "yes" - have the apple. It's hard to overeat apples - not so hard to overeat crisps, biscuits, cakes and so on.

Think about what you're drinking as well as what you're eating.

I don't exactly intermittent fast, but I never eat anything after dinner until breakfast the next day.

Try to prioritise sleep - lack of sleep is associated with being overweight which is thought to be because of the effect on your hormones.

Cut out as much processed food as possible. "Real food" is more filling and more nutritious. After a while, processed food of any sort starts to become steadily less attractive.

Look for Dr, Giles Yeo's video on Youtube where he explains how different foods affect our digestion and contribute to weight gain. (Dr Yeo is principal research associate at the Institute of Metabolic Science at the University of Cambridge) and one of his specialities is brain control of body weight. He would argue that a lot of advice commonly given about weight loss is misguided or just plain wrong. His advice can be summed up as:

"Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants" .

You can have hot chocolate (even daily) as long as you’re allowing for it in your calories. It’s important you go for something sustainable long term and that doesn’t mean cutting out everything you enjoy. Or you could make hot chocolate your Friday night end of week treat. There are probably only 100cals on 30g of marshmallows so I doubt that’s seriously derailing the weight loss.

If I’m having soup, I try and add protein such as chick peas, cubes of cheese or tofu, or maybe some whole meal seeded bread on the side etc. you could add chicken or some other lean meat since you’re not veggie.

Could you try gradually cutting down on the sweeteners in coffee? There is some evidence that they stimulate appetite, although I don't think the research is conclusive yet. Try going down to one sweetener, then cut them out entirely. You soon get used to the taste and come to prefer unsweetened coffee. (If you're up for trying a plant milk, I find coconut milk adds a bit of natural sweetness to coffee.)

I’ve cut down on coffee too, so I used to have maybe 3 or 4 with sugar per day, now I have one, and I actually enjoy it more because I see it as a ‘treat’. The rest of the day I have plain water, and one green tea usually.
I eat dinner around 6pm and then only have water after that, so I’m essentially fasting until I eat the next day, which I try to push right back. I don’t actually get hungry until about 11am, even if I’ve been to the gym, but as a pp said, the longer I can hold off, the less I eat in the day. Most days I just have 2 meals and zero snacks. It’s the only way that works for me.
And yes, a hot chocolate with marshmallows isn’t going to do you much good. Maybe try a banana or other piece of fruit? But also allow yourself to be hungry sometimes, you do get used to it and now I’m not even hungry (or peckish) in the evenings.

Oh, and the other tip I heard was (if you want to go down the "treat" route) to allow 7 treats per week, rather than one a day. That way, if you fall off the wagon one day, you can make up for it in the next 2-3 days without feeling like you have somehow failed (with the risk then of giving up entirely).

Of course, if you are having "treats" every day, you might also question whether they are actually "treats" or simply habits.

Of course, if you are having "treats" every day, you might also question whether they are actually "treats" or simply habits.

Or things you enjoy and don’t want to give up. If you’re eating a small packet of crisps (for example) as a small less than healthy something you really like on the background of a generally healthy diet, they’re not going to make a big different.

I always plan for snacks. That helps me stay in control. Seven snacks a week wouldn’t work for me. They’d all be gone in the first day and I’d be craving them counting down until the next week started. I can see how it might work for others though. I just go with every day is a new day and it doesn’t matter what’s gone before. No guilt or trying to make up for “bad” days.

@coronabeer - that’s such a good point. For me, now, they are no longer treats but something I have everyday

Looking back the only time I’ve managed to successfully lose weight over the last 10 years or so has been when I’ve had dental work which is meant I’ve been restricted on what I could eat. The first time I had invisalign braces So I could only eat at meal times and had to brush my teeth afterwards put my brace in and then wait for the next meal time. I do remember being really hungry in between meals.

Then last year I had an implant which meant for a few months whilst the temporary one was in I could only eat quite soft food. I didn’t consciously watch what I ate, and had quite a lot of cheesy mash and rice pudding, but just being able to eat less than usual obviously meant I didn’t eat so much of everything.

Thank you so much for all your replies!

That's the thing, because I'm having a coffee a day it's no longer a treat it's just routine of going to get one after dropping DS at nursery. Damn you Costa for opening right near me!

I'm trying to work out my calories to see if I'm having too little. I have three different figures and no clue on which to stick to!