Starting with a healthy September!!

[toofatwontfit]

I really need to lose weight and I have decided that I am going to change my diet this month!! We went shopping yesterday and for teas we are going to have:
fish, potatoes and salad
spiced chicken, rice and vegetables
2 different types of curry made with Quorn quicken and rice
fish in butter sauce, potatoes or mash and tinned peas and carrots
I’ll have a look what we have in the fridge and cupboard to decide on the other 2 nights meals/or see if we need to shop again

For breakfast I will be having porridge everyday as it’s just easier to not have to think about it

I thought I had some slimfast in to have for lunches but it’s past the best before date so I’m not sure what I’m doing for lunches yet but I’m sure that there will be something in and if I keep it to 300 calories or less it should be okay 🤞 If all else fails I will just have porridge again 🤷‍♀️

For snacks/desserts I have got strawberries, pears, bananas and low calorie yogurts.

There will be no takeaways or fast food this month.

I am going to limit myself to one drink of Dr Pepper/Coke a day - I know that I should just stop drinking it altogether but I need to be realistic or it isn’t going to work.

I have to do this!!

You can do it, obviously different for everyone but this helped me.

Work out your BMR and then work out a reasonable calorie deficit to begin with, you can increase this in stages, far more likely to be successful and adapt to a new lifestyle by doing this that's maintainable rather than just going straight to an arbitrary number or straight to a significant number.

Plan meals the day before and take note of macros, aim for an equal protein/carb split and then make sure to have fats too. Use a tracking app if easier like MFP, some find calories restrictive but it can be freeing too; I bet in your mind theres foods you've told yourself are forbidden, but as long as within calories and you've hit your macros nothing is out of bounds- just balanced. By focusing on hitting a protein target for example not only will you be better satiated (being less hungry means won't be as tempted to lapse), but the calories you have 'left over' won't be enough to mean you're using 1000 calories on a share bag of crisps to the detriment of your overall health, it means you'll probably have 1-200 to have a bit of what you fancy. I found much more success by doing this and accepting days didn't have to be perfect, just much better and more considered made a huge difference.

Obviously focusing on whole foods as much as possible brings a myriad of benefits, I add some sort of veg to every single meal, even if it's just a handful of plum tomatoes or a salad with dinner as a side instead of chips etc. I'm generally a fairly hungry person so for me high volume, low calories (and high goodness!) works wonders- still have pasta and rice but bulked with veg, lots of stir fries etc. Always have some cooked chicken in the fridge to add to wraps, omelette etc for lunches.

It sounds like a lot but it's second nature now, I lost 6 stone and have maintained now for 5 years. I did supplement with exercise not for weight loss but for overall health, would consider thinking about steps and strength training but again, achievable and work up. Having unrealistic goals leads to failure more than small changes that add up over time.

I'd also switch out the low fat yoghurt for 0% Greek Yoghurt. This is high in protein, and doesn't have any chemicals in- it is an acquired taste but with fruit tastes good and is super filling for the calories.

I mix the 5% and 0% together!

I've never thought to do this, sounds good!

A 6 stone loss is amazing well done!! Keeping it off for 5 years must feel amazing as well!!

The NHS BMI calculator says that to be at the top end of the healthy weight bracket I would need to lose 9 stone and 2 pounds which is just sounds impossible to me 😰 I think I would be happy with a loss of 4-5 stones if I could keep it off though!! I suppose I can re-evaluate this if I can actually manage to lose that much though 🤔

I think the thing with treats is that I find it really hard to just have one/a normal portion 😬 I think I would do better having a cheat/treat meal or a dessert ect. but I don’t know how it would really work/how I’d fit it in/how often it should be ect. It’s probably best if I don’t have any for the first few weeks-a month to get used to eating healthily though isn’t it?

I have started tracking my calories (or at least the best I can as not everything has labels) and I’m hopeful even if I am getting hungry 2-3 hours after meals 🤷‍♀️

I’ve just done an early weigh in (supposed to be on Sunday) and I’ve lost 3 pounds in the first 5 days!!

make sure you eat enough protein and importantly make sure you still have your treats! it becomes difficult if you completely cut everything 'bad' out. I love chocolate and its my downfall so just buy the smaller bars etc and keep them in as snacks. there is also a cool business who sells calorie counted sweets and chocolate - on Etsy I believe
keeps you going!

good luck, sounds like you have way more motivation then me at the moment 💪