Accountability thread- let’s admit we need to change NOW!

[PamelaDoov]

Starting 2024 at my heaviest ever weight after being pregnant 3 times in 4 years. Don’t actually know how much I weigh as my scales are broken (not from me standing on them), but I know I’m the biggest I’ve ever been. I need people to know I HAVE to lose weight, for my health and my sanity. So I’m gonna start here, with strangers on the internet. So if I keep eating crap and not an exercising, I’ll have to admit it here and shame myself.
I have lost a lot weight in the past before I had kids so I had time to make it my sole focus, not so simple this time around.
Will sort my scales out and find out my starting weight.
Please join in if you also need a good kick up the arse and we can all muck in together.

Count me in, I am actually disgusting with my eating it's shameful, it really seems to have spiralled over the last 12 months and need to be accountable to myself (and hopefully
You lovely folk) for my behaviour!!

It's not even treat food I will
Sit and eat through endless slices of bread or bowls of
Cereal

@NCgoingdry same re unhealthy relationship, armed with a ginger tea and some dark chocolate currently - this is my craving point of weekend (7-8pm) kids are about to slump so it would be wine out of fridge and sofa time for me … I will feel grateful tomorrow for not drinking … must remember that … in fact going to book a early family swim session in now … good
luck everyone for those struggling with any cravings - food or wine tonight!!

Thanks, @NCgoingdry. Being realistic, a lot of it is probably that water weight you get in the honeymoon period, but I'm pleased.

I read Ultra Processed People and it made me very angry. I decided I didn't want to pay for the privilege of eating stuff that had been deliberately engineered to make me unhealthy and addicted. There was a lot of mental clicking and 'ohhhh so that's why!' going on.

I've cut out UPF and am trying to avoid refined sugar. I'm not calorie counting at all and, at this stage, not even really aiming for weight loss, although that's obviously very welcome if it happens. My plan for the next few months until my 42nd in April is to just eat healthily and nourish my body. Once I'm comfortable with that, I may look at refining it to get some lbs off.

Today I've had porridge with chia, strawberries, blueberries, flaked almonds and full fat yoghurt for breakfast. A chunk of homemade soda bread, an apple and some quality peanut butter for lunch. Lentil shepherd's pie for tea. I'm not really snacking but feeling nicely full, probably from switching back to full fat products again.

We'll see how it goes!

@Tiredanddistracted oh it's 100% water weight. After all the Xmas alcohol I had sausage hands and a face like a stretched saucepan.

But I do feel less bloated and I'm gonna roll with it as initial motivation. Next week I'll dust out the workout leggings 😂

The UPF stuff is really interesting - I may order the book. Glad to hear you've found success and your menu sounds delicious.

Saturday night and I'm sitting here shovelling raw kale out of the bag that I've dripped apple cider vinegar into like Doritos - just so I don't open the wine and start throwing peanuts and cheese in my face.

@NCgoingdry 😂😂 you are so strong girl! I am having red wine 😅 but last time I lost a tonne of weight I did it whilst still having a drink/takeaway ONLY on a Saturday night so hopefully I can cheat the system again this time

@Tiredanddistracted ooh I’d love to try lentil shepherds pie, I like finding alternative veggie recipes to try. I try to have a veggie dinner at least once a week

@Jellybean85 oh god we are terrible for that in this house, eating bowls of cereal for a snack. I try not to buy the sugary stuff but DH buys it for a treat even though I tell him not to! Which is why DS has had coco pops for breakfast most days this week when dad has been in charge 🫠

The UPF is so, so bad. I have been doing some serious research into it and I am really, really limiting it, I am proud to say my toddler has had zero UPF this year (ie 6 days but I am still proud!) Last year I did a mega overhaul of our diets and we cut way back, Christmas wasn’t great and now fully back on track since 1st Jan.

I am cutting right back on sugar too. I made muffins for my toddler today and had one and it was so interesting that by using coconut sugar, spelt flour, ground almonds etc I had no big sugar slump and nor did I want to eat and eat more of them. One was fine.

Currently listening to the Dr Chatterjee x Dr Chris podcast- it’s great!

I’m back on the waggon - rejoined slimming world again after finally finishing drinking all the Christmas wine and being 95% jowl and flab.

Really interesting on the UPF, I might download UPP on audible for a good listen next week.

@maybein2022 i just don’t know how to cut out UPF completely when it’s so easy and convenient sometimes, especially when some of it doesn’t seem that bad (but really it is)

@PamelaDoov I would demolish a lentil shepherds pie but my DH wouldn't touch it.

Ah back on the prep. Going to make chicken sausages and roasted veg with a ton of herbs and spices to make it interesting for my work lunches.

Greek yoghurt for breakfast every day. God knows for dinner yet. Protein and salad or veg I guess.

I'm AMAZED I haven't cracked and opened the wine yet. I'm following the I Am Sober app and I've saved myself nearly 4000 calories in alcohol this week. Jesus.

DH is being strict with me - bastard has basically just given up sugary tea and biscuits and has lost 9lbs already.

@NCgoingdry I love chicken sausages, that sounds yummy. You’re giving me some ideas for my lunches! It’s a good job I really like eggs as that’s what I’ll be having a lot of 🤣
4000 calories 😳 it just makes you realise how it’s absolutely not worth it

Stayed the same this week, thought I would have gained as I was still in Christmas mode last week. Back into routine this week, although we still have so much sweets and biscuits left.

Anyone have any easy lunch ideas I can take to work? A sandwich, fruit and yoghurt doesn't seem to fill me. I'm craving comfort food atm.

@PamelaDoov and @Gottoloveatakeaway I'm the same, I think I look ok when I look in the mirror but if I look at a photo of myself I look huge.

Oh I totally get it- it’s SO hard and it’s literally everywhere. Listening to the podcast (and reading Dr Chris’ book) has really opened my eyes. Basically the gist is, it’s not your fault (I mean your as in anyone’s) that you’re addicted to UPF, it’s the fault of your environment and the big corporations who make this food. They also talk about UPF as an addiction, and how, like alcohol or nicotine, some people are able to perfectly well have say one biscuit or UPF bagel once in a while and it does them no harm because they’re not addicted. In the same way some people can drink one glass of wine or smoke one cigarette. For people who have obesity or are overweight, the likelihood is they’re addicted to UPF and why most diets fail is because they don’t treat this ‘addiction’. Honestly, it totally changed my view.

They also acknowledge that you have to have privilege (time, education, finances, resources) to make this change, and that quite simply, for various reasons, not everyone can. It’s a really interesting podcast.

For me, I’ve realised that I am addicted to UPF. My relationship with food is so disordered. I have binged in the past, if I eat one chocolate bar it tends to turn into three. I love cooking and healthy food but I’ve come to realise I just can’t have much UPF in my diet- it sends me on a downward spiral. HOWEVER. I am lucky in that currently I have the time, energy, money etc to commit to this way of living. I am also not going to be able to cut out every single UPF as they’re EVERYWHERE. But I think for me this has to be the way forward.

Can I join? I'll weigh tomorrow but I have prob about a stone to lose. Iam aiming calorie counting and some intermittent fasting, it has worked for me before really well but I have not really been in the right headspace to do it recently. I would like to post my weight and my calories here.....you seem like nice, kind people who will help me be kind to myself. I think for me this is the key - I'm not doing myself any favours with eating junk, and I deserve better than standing at the kitchen counter shovelling in bowls of cereal when I should be in bed......

The UPF thing is so interesting. I am perfectly able to have jusy the odd drink - if I had to cut out alcohol for ever I wouldn't really care. I am UNABLE to have just one Biscuit, it's absolutely compulsive, and I used to have a TERRIBLE sugar addiction and had to go completely cold turkey and had awful headaches and things. I think it's so much more helpful to think of it in these terms rather than just thinking that I'm some kind of awful pointless person because I can't moderate my eating!

Good luck everyone and looking forward to getting to know you all....

I'm late to the party but I will join. I realised how much weight I've put on when I struggled to zip up my coat this morning and it's already a few sizes larger that it should be. My son is almost 5 now but I have never really lost the baby weight. Pre baby I used to do a lot of exercise but as a single parent I just don't have the time and I have also fallen in to some unhealthy eating habits.

I'm going to be more committed to fitting in a workout video once my son is in bed and cutting down on junk this month.

It's so good. I'm not particularly used to lentils as an ingredient but it was easy enough.

Google BBC Good Food lentil and sweet potato shepherd's pie (may have been cottage pie) for the recipe.

Can I ask, if you've lost a lot of weight how did you gain it? Rather than gain and lose, what's making you gain in the beginning? If you don't gain you don't need to keep dieting

@kiwiaddict I can't answer for anyone else but when I get tired and stressed and sad I use food to make me feel better. It doesn't work really (!) but I still keep doing it! It's a vicious circle because then I feel bad about myself for putting on weight, then I don't feel like doing more things for myself because I don't think I'm worth it because I'm fat, then I feel sadder and eat things to make me feel better. And so on and so on.

I've had a really tough year.

@kiwiaddict well I lost the weight for my wedding, then managed about a year of marriage not really gaining much. Then I got pregnant for the first time and it all went downhill from there. My oldest child is 3 and in that time I’ve had other pregnancies, losses, depression, another baby. All whilst working as well. So exercise and dieting has taken a complete backseat. No time and no physical or mental energy. Until now. I’m in the best place mentally that I have been in a long long time so I guess I finally feel like I can look after myself and not use food for comfort becuse I don’t need comforting from anything if you get what I mean.

@PersisFord sorry to hear you’ve had a tough time as well, it’s so easy to use food as short-term comfort because its so readily available. Had a shit day? Fob off everything else, order pizza and watch telly

@Tiredanddistracted that sounds lush with sweet potato as well! Will definitely try it

@Maine234 when you need to overhaul your diet, it takes up so much time and energy! Very hard with kids even if you’ve got help. Honestly if I wasn’t on maternity leave now and was still working i don’t think I’d be doing this, I would be too tired

And also without getting into deep waters....once I had babies I thought about my body differently. Everything about me seemed so incredibly unimportant compared to them. Then there is work. So any kind of self care including eating proper food was so low down my lost of priorities for a long time, I just never had the energy - exactly as you are saying @PamelaDoov and @Maine234 .

Even if I don't lose any weight I would like to feel better about myself, my body and my relationship with food. But to be honest, I think if I manage those things I will lose weight automatically!!!!

Early night for me, and I will start properly tomorrow.

I hope I haven't killed this thread with my moping!!! 68.2kg today which is at least a stone more than the last time I weighed. Am going to try to get down to 65 as an achievable target.

I'm rubbish at drinking water and am eyeing up a Stanley cup....has anyone got one and does the water taste plasticy and how easy are they to clean??

Good luck everyone