I must do something about my weight

[SugarSpunSister75]

In a nutshell, I’m 5’4” and was 9 stone 7 in 2022 but I work long hours from home and weight is piling on. I estimate I’ve put two stone on. I was anorexic in my teens and 20s and now I feel huge.

I have no motivation to cook as I live alone. I don’t eat out or order takeaways. My main drinks are water or Diet Coke except for a couple of bottles of wine a week which I can cut out. I very rarely eat chocolate or biscuits.

I’m vegetarian and don’t eat fish or eggs. I hate mushrooms and halloumi. Does anyone have any ideas for simple vegetarian snacks that need almost no preparation?

I probably eat too much hummus and cheese.

Thanks in advance for any ideas and please be kind!

Try cottage cheese. The longley farm one is the best, i like the onion and chive one
I eat baked potatoes, homemade soup, overnight oats/granola with greek yoghurt etc. Swap white bread for wholemeal, i get the small thin loaf, or get bagel ‘thins’ which are nice toasted.

I snack on sugar free jelly, rice cakes, strawberries, or other fruit. The ‘skinny’ chocolate bars are nice too at about 70-80 calories

I love Longley Farm cottage cheese. I lost weight on the Blood Sugar diet before and during lockdown. I know I need to get more exercise and eat more protein. Wholemeal bagel thins are a good idea. Thank you.

How many calories are you taking in to gain 30 pounds in 3 years? You are obviously over eating by quite a lot. You could probably do with being honest to yourself about that in a calm, non-judgemental, fact-checking kind of way.

I had a colleague who couldn’t work out why he was gaining weight - he drank 3 cans of Coke and ate hummous and pita every day for lunch.

switching out coke for water and hummous for soup made a huge difference

bake chickpeas rather than hummus - get the protein and the taste without the oil (air frying would work)

Whole meal bread topped with peanut butter , Bananna & drizzle of honey is filling for lunch ..
Porridge in the morning with Fruit , seeds also filling for breakfast..
Replace dairy milk with plant milk , if you drink cappuccino’s or whatever 🤷🏻‍♀️
Natural yogurt with honey to sweeten & fruit is nice to snack on ..
As other PP mentioned, rice cakes are a brilliant snack in between meals ..
You can get high protein meals aswel made up already, vegetarian ones , they’re ideal as you live alone & work long hours , Grab one on your way home from work..

OK. How much do you actually weigh, as opposed to 'feeling huge'? Given that you've admitted to anorexia, this is really important.

And what do you eat and drink over the course of, say, three or four days? List that out for us, so we can see if we can help.

I drink plenty of water and never sugary drinks, but I need to cut back on hummus and hard cheese.

… so tell us, what are you eating/drinking each day? Meal by meal

I don’t own any scales - I did, but I gave them away in 2022.

I was 9 stone at the end of 2020 after a bereavement, 9 stone 7 in July 2022, 10 stone 7 in July 2023 when I used someone else’s scales. I haven’t weighed myself since then. I wear size 16 tops and size 16 leggings but people tell me I wear clothes that are too big. However I’m definitely size 16 around the middle now and my cholesterol is high - other bloods were OK when they were checked about six months ago.

I have a semi-skimmed milky coffee for breakfast - 116 calories.

I usually have a defrosted ready meal in the evening - an Indian side dish or pasta dish.

I work from home and usually finish around 8 pm, by which time I’m very hungry and if I haven’t defrosted a ready meal I will go to the nearby Sainsbury’s and buy hummus - I can eat a whole pot with a pitta bread or two. Or I will eat a pitta with grated cheese.

I don’t buy crisps, chocolate, biscuits, and try to limit bread. I drink water and Diet Coke. I’ve stopped buying mayonnaise and ketchup altogether.

Perhaps once a fortnight I have a small frozen pizza.

I should probably eat around 1100 calories a day because I’m so sedentary.

OK. Fair enough.

But why haven’t you answered my question?

List out for us - day by day, meal by meal, what you have eaten and drunk, over the last 2-3 days, specifically. Not just ‘generally'.

Friday - milky semiskimmed coffee
Innocent smoothie child size
Litre of sparkling water

Can of Cherry Coke zero

M&S Saag aloo side dish

Saturday. Brown roll with salad and cheese

Milky semiskimmed coffee
2 cups of tea with milk

375 ml white wine
Halt a tub of hummus

Sunday Milky semiskimmed coffee
2 white rolls with hummus
(the other half of the tub)
Vending machine coffee
Bottle of sparkling water

Vegetable madras restaurant
1 chapati
Litre of tap water

I last had a restaurant curry in April 2024 but I am away for a few days.

I will list what I eat and drink over the next few days.

Get rid of the sparkling water and diet drinks, and drink still water instead. I promise you’ll see a difference.

Your meals have Diet Coke sparkling water and coffee one litre of tap water over 3 days

you need to eat more good fresh food there is no fruit or veg and far too much processed food

You’re right, I realised that as I was typing it.

How can you be veggie and not eat any actual vegetables? You are eating too many empty carbs.
What about a veggie traybake or stirfry? Or batch cook daal and freeze if you like Indian food?

You must be so hungry. It looks like hardly any food but lots of empty calories. You need more vegetables and protein. Decent fresh fruit and veg.

All those ready meals are very bad for you. It doesnt take that much time to make a batch of saag aloo and freeze.
i am veggie too.
I eat eggs but I also eat lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans, paneer and tofu for protein. Plus a lot of Greek yoghurt.
You are hungry thats why you are eating carbs.

Can you make a big pot of soup at the weekend? Then have that for lunch or dinner. I make tomato and red lentil.

Also if your fancying cheese grated it rather than slice - you eat less.
Can you make your own hummus? Or make something similar. I buy edamame and make a version with them. Some edamame, low fat Greek yogurt, dill or basil - salt and pepper mash it up and it's lovely.

But low fat crackers.
You need to increase your veg.
I also sometimes make a big salad and eat that through out the week - chop everything up. Feta is tasty to add because you can crumble it and have a small amount but a lot of taste.

Quinoa is great to add to salads because it's filling and packed with protein. I add a stock cube to the water to add extra flavour.
Meal prep at the weekend is very helpful.

Buy yourself some scales. It will help you stay on track. Get the ones that link to an app on your phone. You need to establish where you are and where you want to get too. You may weigh less than you think also.

Eat more vegetables. Eat less carbs. Nourish your body. Ditch the diet coke.

You can do this.

Do you have an energy OP to have a less sedentary lifestyle as I can’t see where much energy will come from in thah diet

I work from home, hourly paid, from 10 am to 8 pm. There is less work in the summer so more time to batch cook/shop for and eat fresh food and exercise, but not much income from in July, August, September.

I will buy some scales when I get home. I need to know how much I weigh to motivate me. I’m over 50, years into menopause and can’t take HRT. It’s difficult to take time off work to exercise because I have to earn enough October-June to see me through the summer months.

@SugarSpunSister75 I think, from what you’ve written so far, you’re in danger of slipping back into disordered eating. You’re eating hardly anything, but filling up on fizzy drinks.

And this:

I wear size 16 tops and size 16 leggings but people tell me I wear clothes that are too big

… suggests that you have a bit of body dysmorphia going on here.

And although I get that you’re working long hours, I think that’s a bit of an excuse not to cook anything. I’d worry less about exercise, because it’s not exercise that’s going to shift any weight (assuming that you need to). Exercise is undoubtedly very good for overall health, but you have to do A LOT of it to result in weight loss. It’s more about your diet.

But also, your diet is important in terms of nourishment, and yours really doesn’t look like you’re getting decent nourishment. Not eating enough, and not eating enough of the right things.

Friday
Innocent smoothie child size
M&S Saag aloo side dish

Saturday
Brown roll with salad and cheese
Half a tub of hummus

Sunday
2 white rolls with hummus
Vegetable madras restaurant
1 chapati

Taking away all the fluid you’ve been consuming shows just how little you’re eating.

Stop spamming the boards @Izzyslimat50