DIET FAILED AGAIN? Thread two. Join us in a friendly supportive thread.

[poorpaws]

Thread two! Feel free to join us. We are a small, friendly group who are very supportive without any judgement.

Thanks so much for the supportive comments they honestly are helping so much.

It's been 4 weeks so managing around 2 pounds a week. 5 pounds will get me into th "16" something stone bracket so that's a good place to aim for at the moment. I don't know how long I have been this big for but I do know the last time I remember being 16 something was when my 9 year old was a baby and the dr told me to lose weight. So that will be a real achievement. I think I stopped weighing myself after that.

I am also over a stone down since June 2021 but I only just started really trying to change and then found you guys.

Sounds like you are doing brilliantly @Zebracat @Theredjellybean and @BeyondMyWits !

Going to the gym tonight and swimming tomorrow night so doing my best to get active as well not just relying on dieting.

Excellent @effiesgoldwig . I don’t know your domestic circumstances, but I found, when I could exercise, that committing to eg 3 swims and a gym every week was helpful. But, I ve been paying membership for the past year and have managed 3 swims, so you can easily do better than that!

Wow I'm so impressed with all my Pawsters 😂

Sadly I'm letting the side down atm, I am always so hungry. We had fish and chips in the sunshine on Paignton beach (actually in one of those shelters overlooking the beach). It was so lovely and the food was delicious. I thought I'd eat less tonight but I've been grazing every evening this week. I'm just going with the flow until I get my medication but I fear a gain next Monday.

Well done to all of you, I am so impressed.

30mins slow walk on the treadmill tonight, a sandwich, salad and yoghurt and fruit consumed following the usual day of soup. Early night for me by my standards. Hoping the scales will reward me soon.

What foods are people eating and what exercising are people doing?

I'm off shopping so will be going up and down a few isles 😂.

@TalkToTheHand123 I’ve been shopping today, so that was 1.5 hours very slow walking!
I have porridge made with milk and water every weekday with an orange or grapefruit. We had beans on toast for lunch,1/3 tin of reduced sugar beans, a dusting of grated cheese and 2 slices of seeded toast, and an apple. No idea yet about dinner, probably veggie soup or veggie curry. I do eat meat, but not every day. I don’t have any forbidden foods, but I calorie count. Had a roast on Sunday, but half my plate was veg with 100 grams of roasties and a modest portion of meat, but I still had gravy and apple sauce. I’m trying really hard this week because I will get weighed by the practice nurse when I go on Friday . Am 98.2 kilos, and want to be 97 something!
I am going to book a swim for tomorrow. Friday will be housework. Exercise is tricky with my hip, but I am trying to be active for at least an hour every day. The thing that makes most difference , I think is that I don’t routinely snack, altho I will have a biscuit if I feel really hungry, maybe once a week. If I want cake, it is instead of a meal, but I dont do that often. I don’t drink much alcohol, maybe 1 small glass on Sunday, and that’s a saving. What do you do?

Last few months I usually skip breakfast and take soup when on a shift, then have a couple of toasties when I get in.

I've had the odd burger, pizza or sausages as a treat when I've been shopping. I've just had a pizza but feel really bloated so hoping this will put me off for good. I think I'm psychologically talking myself out of a lot of carb foods 😊. Although may keep having the odd ready meal (sweet and sour chicken, hot pot etc), but more veg currys and noodles.

I keep saying it but I really need to start getting to bed and sleep a bit earlier, especially after exercising (10pm rather than midnight perhaps) as it causes a lot of unproductivity. I need to keep exercising as it gives me a good sleep.

Think I'm a bit dehydrated too. I often mistake hunger for thirst.

Once I get rid of this bloat and feeling groggy (doing tummy clenches in bed) hopefully I can get beck on programme ☺️

Good evening all.

I had to go to Marks & Spencer's today to try and find a top for DP's Christmas present. I'd seen it online but wanted to feel the quality but they had none in stock.

I decided to try on a pair of jeans, looking in a full size mirror. 🙈 I even took a photograph to send to my daughter to see what she thought. As soon as I saw the photograph and my reflection I put the jeans back and went immediately into the food hall and bought stirfry instead of the calorific meal I was going to have tonight. I look disgusting and my backside is enormous, I'm just very grateful it's not in front of me. The diet is definitely back on.

I've spent the whole evening trying to find this top for DP and I think at this rate his present will be something he doesn't want in a colour he doesn't like.😁

I hope everyone is doing well, and the moral of today's story is never look in a full length mirror, unless you want a fright.

@TalkToTheHand123

I eat porridge for breakfast, homemade parsnip soup and an apple for lunch and the dinners vary, so a lot of chicken, fish, stir fries, jacket potatoes and if I'm in a hurry beans on toast. Supper is crunchy nut cornflakes. BUT it's the amount of snacking I do that sabotages my diet, chocolate, crisps, sweets, biscuits, cake, scones 🙈 it's horrendous and has to stop.

@TalkToTheHand123
I meant to add, no one should ever follow my diet, not even me.

Aww @poorpaws . It certainly is frightening.

I'm planning on starting to calorie count from tomorrow. I was convinced I didn't need to, but appear to be proven otherwise. (I was hesitant as didn't think I could do it, but not got much choice left now but to try anyways 😂).

Your diet sounds ok, unless it causes you to snack somehow? Anyway to keep the snacks at the shop?

@poorpaws .mirrors are the devil. I’m sure you look lovely. Your diet sounds just like mine except for the snacking.I have a Dh who loves a routine, so if I have a biscuit one day, he will then produce a tin of biscuits with every drink. It is really hard to say no. Maybe you need to eat a bit more for your evening meal, but totally stop the snacks, or have snacky Saturdays. Stirfry really doesn’t stop hunger, sad but true.
You are still processing the heart attack, it’s understandable that you would seek a bit of comfort from our usual crutch after a shock like that, but don’t despair, you have already made healthy lifestyle changes. Just resolve to change 1 small thing. Maybe start by simply noting every snack for a week. You could come and tell us about every one! Remember, it’s your thread and your rules, we won’t judge you, it’s just good to bring it out in to the open!

I have 1 more tip. I learnt this from watching my dogs! They have 2 meals a day. Eating them seems to switch on their hunger, they will frenziedly lick their bowls, raid the bin, try and get on the work top etc. so I slow them down, and I slow myself down. I eat really slowly, savour every mouthful, put my knife and fork down between mouthfuls. It has really helped, by the time I get up from the table( always the table!), the food has reached my belly and I’m ok.
Think I’m starting to sound insufferably smug for someone with a bmi of 34. I’ll shut up now.

I'm calorie counting using the MyNetDiary app (it's a bit like my fitness pal but I prefer it)

One thing they said on my weight management referral was to make sure you eat 3 meals a day so that you don't get over hungry and then stuff yourself because you were so desperate for food. And also to make sure you don't go under 1200 cals a day as it messes with your metabolism and slows your weight loss. I'm doing my best to follow this when I can.

Totally agree with @Zebracat that eating slower is a good idea because I do have a habit of just shoving food into my face. I think that's what I've picked up while trying to finish a hot meal when the kids were babies before they woke up.

I'm eating a big bowl of cheerios for breakfast as I've discovered they're pretty low calorie. Tin of soup from Sainsbury's own range for lunch - only 65p a can and around 200 calories for the lot which is pretty good really.

Dinners I'm eating fairly normal things as I'm cooking for the whole family but I'm weighing out my food so I'm eating an actual portion of pasta or rice or whatever instead of stuffing myself with a huge plateful. It's a pain in the backside but it's working so far.

I also have some mini bars of dairy milk with 130 calories in each on the highest shelf in the kitchen so I can have one a day to treat myself and don't feel like I'm deprived.

Aside from that I'm trying to snack on apples and oranges instead of crisps, but if it has to be crisps then it's one packet of skips with only 71 calories in.

I think it helps that it's early days In actually trying so I'm not sick of it yet.

Totally get where your coming from with the self image @poorpaws - I actually think I look ok when I look in my mirror at home, but then I saw a photo of myself taken by a friend last week (in my dressing gown as we were having a pJ party). I looked like an actual sofa. A full sized enormous sofa that could comfortably sit 3 adults and a pet dog. There's motivation if I ever saw it.

@Zebracat re: exercise I've joined the gym and managed 3 times this week - DH is being supportive so far and staying in with the kids (12y, 9y and 10months) so I can go. Did 20 lengths at the pool last night, Pilates on Monday and gym on Saturday. Hopefully I can stick with this as I have managed to find activities that fit around the kids hectic social lives and activities too which is good.

My main worry really is that when I'm back at work in January (finishing mat leave )I might not have the energy I need to devote to exercise, or the desire to leave the kids when I'm already out of the house working full time. Really wish I could be a SAHM but we can't afford it unfortunately. And in the past food has been my coping mechanism. When I'm tired or stressed from work I eat to get the energy to make it through til bedtime.

Sorry they were rather long

@effiesgoldwig . Need pics😂

What do you eat to give you energy @effiesgoldwig ?

Oh goodness my lovely neighbour has been round with her baking. She's a fantastic cook

@TalkToTheHand123 when I'm low on energy I eat cake. And chocolate. And whole packets of biscuits. And greggs sausage rolls.

Which is why I am now on a diet.

Well that is a table full of deliciousness @poorpaws

Get it in the freezer so you it doesn't get wasted, but you don't have to eat it all at once! At least if it's frozen it'll slow you down.

Agree @effiesgoldwig. It does look well dell. It also seems too calorific for me, which reminds me, I'll have to keep out of the parents' cupboard this weekend as they've stocked up on the mince pies.

I've been quite good with the "small" carvery today, just need to keep resisting the sundaes.

Have a cheesecake currently defrosting though🤭

Forgot to mention my mam asked if I'd lost weight today. ☺️ Scales still showing the same. Mirrors seem to show a little loss. Been to gym today. Ready tocrash so may do a few clenches laying on the couch when I get home. A medium / big meal seems to knock me out flat.

@poorpaws don’t know whether to be jealous or relieved that my neighbours don’t do that. That looks fab. Get all your mates round for tea.
I gave yoghurt and pineapple a go for breakfast, it was delicious but I have been ravenous ever since. Cheese and onion cob for lunch didn’t touch the sides. Sausage and mash for tea. Can’t wait.