Sat at a desk all day - need help to lose weight!

[Charlene1]

I need to lose loads of weight this year. Last Xmas I was the only one in top and trousers at the xmas party as nothing looked right - everyone else was in evening gowns. I look like a Tellytubby basically.
I cannot afford/am too ashamed anyway to go to a class/gym as I don't want anyone to know what I weigh. Weekends are taken up with kids/housework/shopping so have tried and failed to exercise then - just impossible. When I do over exert myself by cycling or running etc, I go dizzy/can't breathe/legs seize up. I fell off my bike as my muscles/legs wouldn't work and I couldn't move my leg off the pedal to stop so I just fell in a wobbly heap.
Mainly looking for anything positive anyone can suggest that will help my current circumstances/lifestyle - especially what I can eat at work. Summer is fine, as I always gorge on fresh fruit then, but that's a long way off!

Typical day of food and exercise is as follows:
Cup of tea at home. Fill up an empty 500ml coke bottle with dash of blackcurrant squash and top up with water to drink in day.
School run: walk/push bike to school then work (3/4 mile to school, about a mile to work.
Low fat yoghurt, cup of tea, banana for breakfast. Sat at desk all day as having problems with nasty colleagues commenting every time I get up from my desk to go the toilet or kitchen etc, so cannot do running up stairs/chair exercises.

Lunch: From the nearby sandwich bar - no other choice of food shop. Usually jacket potato with 2 tbsps of Chicken tikka or ham, mixed salad. Occasionally I will have a white baguette with mint sauce, chicken tikka or cornation chicken and salad. Sometimes have vegetable soup on a cold day. All that is on offer is baguettes, jackets, cold pasta salad, pies, pizza, burgers, flapjacks, muffins, crisps, cream cakes, chocolate, soup and roll. All lovely, but not helping!!!
Have to get it, take it back to work and eat at my desk, all inside 30 mins - so constant interruptions happen as well and I don't get to sit and savour each mouthful.
Usually have coffee to keep me awake.
Cannot have ready meals as colleagues moan they smell everywhere - can't take sandwiches as bread makes me ill; don't like cold pasta. Homemade salad doesn't fill me up, so I would binge on choc and crisps if I make my own!

Mid afternoon, I might have 2 ginger nuts with a cup of tea or a 2 finger "own brand" wafer/kit kat thing if I have choc cravings.
Walk or cycle home (about a mile)
At home I have either a bowl of Fruit and Fibre and a cup of tea; or if I am starving I will have 3 fish fingers, a tbsp of beans and about 6 oven chips or a tbsp of mash.
Have about 2-3 more cups of tea before bed.
No exercise done as too busy sorting out kids/collapsing in front of TV - will dance manically to pop videos if DP isn't there though! I don't get hungry at night really - my only weakness is Extra Strong Mints that I have as a replacement for smoking cravings/comfort eating or if I get really bad PMT, I have dark chocolate in the fridge (eat 2 - 4 squares a time).

Hi, Charlene1. It sounds like you get excersise by walking and cicling. I think may be you need to try to drink more plain water and increase your fruit and vegie intake. Try to have breakfast, lunch and dinner and snack on fruit/veg sticks. For lunch I guess you don't have a good choice at your local shop so probably the best thing would be to take a flask of home made vegie soup. You can make veg soup in less then 30 minutes and it's a very good slimming tool especcially if you don't have it wih the roll or any cheese. If your colleagues are still unhappy, may be have a simple lunch with humous, carrot and celery sticks or salad. you could make cous cous salad with the vegies you like. Try to cut right back on crisps, biscuits, chips, too much tea/coffee (aim to have 3 cups a day if you can). Low fat yougurt if it's a fruity variety is packed with sugar/sweetener, try to go for Greek total 0% fat with a dash of honey or some berries. Make your own salad and use only a bit of home made simple dressing - olive oil, lemon, balck pepper. please, let me know how you're getting on. i'm trying to loose some weight myself and I'm not perfect myself but I know when I was strong the things I've mentioned did work miracles for me. Good luck!

Thanks Fedda - yes, I will let you know how I get on. Hope you can do it too! I will try the water and do some carrot sticks to take. Do you have a recipe for the veg soup? I sometimes make a sort of stew/soup of veg and shred cooked chicken breast into it when it's done, but I don't think it would keep for next day and reheat.
I am trying to eat less at night, hence the potatoes at lunch - I don't like hummus or cous cous - never tried greek yoghurt though. This is why most diets don't work for me as I don't have things like salad dressing/cottage cheese/seafood etc - I only eat plain food!
I have made my own salads but the ingredients go off in the fridge too quick and they don't fill me up - we can't afford to buy special stuff and have it wasted either. Definitely don't have time at the moment to stand cooking eggs or anything in the morning! I could have chicken shredded into salad with lemon/lime/orange on in the summer - that sounds nice!
It's weird as well - I am scared of being left hungry at work and unable to get any food, so I prefer to eat loads at lunch and not eat at night - when I have a kitchen full of food, I don't want any!
I will try at least 6 glasses of pure water a day - it is rare for our water cooler to be filled at work, so a bit difficult there as would have to go downstairs for tap water, and the toilet all the time (other issues with that at the moment!). Weekends should be easier - I am enjoying the Easter break already!

When are you eating your breakfast before work/school run or at work?

I haven't got any specific advice but you should join one of the threads on here and weigh in with them if they do it. I'm on a thread and it does help to hear the successes and weigh in with people and they are all brilliant for support. Especially at the bad times where you just have to eat. I have to admit to being rubbish lately though I'm going to go to a weightwatchers meeting next week so i'll start again then. Have you ever tried a slimming club (slimming world/ww)? they're not for everyone but they do work. You can do ww online so you wouldn't have to go anywhere and it lets you eat what you like aslong as you stick to the points. There's also a core plan which i don't know much about but I believe you get a list of foods you can eat as much of as you like.

Perhaps if you lost a little weight first then you would be able to do the running up/downstairs at work. It does sound like you do good exercise already with the walking/cycling to work & school.

I will link to the thread I use if you'd like. It's the one about lulu losing 3 stone but quite a few people need to lose more.

Good luck

I usually make something like cattots, garlic, celery and oriander - I add coriander when I blend the ingredience so it's still not cooked. I also like beetroot, carrots, garlic and can chopped tomatoes but there is a brilliant section of recipes on MN whi is www.mumsnet.com/Recipes?call=com.mumsnet.recipes.SearchPage&DO_SEARCH=DO_SEARCH&searchText=soup&meal Type=
o know what you are saying about panick of being hungry - i often eat when I'm not hungry if I go somewhere just in case I wouldn't get the food I like. I know it's not a good idea but I'm kind of stuck to it so I understand what you're saying. I think we both should try to break the habbit though as it doesn't do us any favours. One good tip I read about was to brush teeth and see whether you're really hungry. Water is very helpful but I preffer soups in this weather. i honestly just cook whatever is in hand and flavour my soups with spices and some dried herbs avoiding salt.

Charlene, good luck with your healthy eating and weight loss.

Something you said interested me 'I'm scared of being left hungry at work and unable to get any food' Why are you scared of being hungry?

I think sometimes it is good to feel hungry...it tells you you are ready to eat rather than just eating because the clock says so.

I also think its good to stop eating before you get 'full'.. You said a salad never filled you up. Well it won't make you feel the same way as if you had eaten a white baguette with filling in, which will stodge you up. But it will fill your stomach with nutritous food nevertheless.

you shouldn't be embaressed of what you weigh. You are keen to get healthy and that is brilliant.

Oh another tip is to get one of those power balls to sit on instead of a desk chair.

It works your core muscles all the time you are sitting on it, so its 'active' rather than' passive' sitting.