Want to lose weight but feel like everything is against me!

[AuntieMaggie]

I always start out with the best of intentions - buy loads of healthy food and make a great start to the day...

and then at around lunchtime my blood sugar drops so I need to eat something to stop me feeling faint and shaky (I'm taking metformin for polycystic ovaries so think this may be why) or on the off chance this doesn't happen I end up eating the cake/biscuits/chocolate that someone in work has kindly bought me forgetting I'm supposed to be dieting!

(Am I the only one who has ever bought and eaten somehthing on auto pilot without even realising til afterwards what you were doing?)

So what can I do to lose weight but overcome these things that get in the way?

can you take snacks to work? when i am sticking to a diet and crave sugar i have rice cakes spread with nutella. nice but not too bad.

Have you got use of a fridge/freezer at work?

I buy tubs of frozen berries which I mix up with a low fat yoghurt and a broken up meringue. I know it's really difficult to choose the fruit over the chocolate but it's so sweet that it doesn't taste like you're choosing the healthy option and you won't want the chocolate afterwards because it's so filling.

Have you looked into a GI type diet? This might control your blood sugars better so you don't get that slump where you have to eat something NOW. Sympathies by the way, I know exactly what that feels like.

My trick is to eat decent size portions at mealtimes and make sure I have protein every meal.

Have other snacks with you? I need a snack mid-morning even with a hearty breakfast.

I try to have plenty of fruit with me, and usually have porridge with berries for breakfast but even with a piece of fruit between breakfast and lunch some mornings I get to about 12 and I have a slump and then end up eating something like chocolate because I get self conscious about it and want to get it over with.

I put on about 3 stone since having a major op a year ago - at first weight gain was due to PCOS but once it started I thought "if I'm gonna put on weight anyway whats the point?". Before that I ate healthy and stuff but just seem to really be struggling to get back on track.

The snacks you've suggested sound good as they have a little bit more sugar/energy than just fruit like I'm eating at the mo and hopefully that will help head off the slump.

What would you say is a decent portion for lunch?

Carbs are good for staving off the sugar slump. You could have a jacket potato and a small tin of beans for lunch. I know most diets suggest yoghurts for pudding but I find them a bit small (But admittedly I'm greedy) so I normally mix them with something else. Tinned prunes are lovely with yoghurt and so are peaches.

I know it's really obvious but fill up on fluid! I have so many cups of tea during the day and try to drink lots of water. Don't drink your calories though. Save calories for food! Avoid those creamy coffees and frescatas. Fruit juice is quite calorific too.

The less sugar you eat the less you want. Honestly. Eat more protein - v good for keeping blood sugar levels stable and hunger at bay. And eat something every two - three hours mininum. Also drink two litres of water a day. It cuts your hunger and cravings in half or more. A big glass of water, a cup of tea and an apple can be amazingly filling. Eat protein for breakfast with a complex carb - eg scrambled eggs on wholewheat toast or with oatcakes.
Have protein for lunch - eg chicken breast and some soup. Eat nuts or a bit of ham and fruit for a snack.

Also eat more when you snack. So instead of just an apple, have a huge glass of water, and two oatcakes with peanut butter. That will easily get you through to lunch without any slumps. Or have your lunch earlier. Nothing wrong with lunch at 12 and then a snack of oatcakes and peanut butter or hummus and an orange at 2.30-3pm. Once you stop eating sugar you will feel far fewer cravings - that's totally my experience.

Thank you for all your help

I need to be careful with carbs because of PCOS but think thats mainly potatoes and pasta, so wholemeal bread and oatcakes should be fine - will try them.

I normally have a sandwich for lunch with wholemeal bread - either chicken or cheese salad and some fruit or a yogurt at about 12-12.30 and then am starving by 4 or 5.

Well, you would be starving by 4pm. That's normal if you haven't eaten for four hours. Eat something at 3pm and you won't be! Try a yoghurt, handful of nuts, oatcake and low fat cheese, couple of bits of ham and some fruit.
Think:
breakfast
snack
Lunch
snack
dinner

Try to eat some protein at every meal and at least one snack.

I had gd diabetes during my pregnancy and followed the gi diet. The weight FELL off me. I was 8 and a half stone within 3 weeks of giving birth. My normal weight is over 10!

I personally wouldn't eat fruit in between meals without combining it with protein and other slow release carbs. I'd also eat small meals frequently, plus oatmeal and unrefined carbs (granary bread etc).

Have you tried taking cinnamon as a supplement? It regulates blood sugar. You can buy the capsules, but it's vastly cheaper to buy big packets of cinnamon in ethnic food shops and take a teaspoon of that twice a day instead. You could mix it in with some yogurt.

I would also steer clear of artificial sweetners in yogurts and drinks.

If I was you I would also just make small, gradual changes to your diet, without trying to do everything at once over night. Ease yourself into a new way of eating and don't be hard on yourself.

I have to say - from the point of view of someone who's trying to regulate blood sugar, rice cakes are a disaster. Oatcakes are much, much better.

I guess it's about being a bit more creative than chocolate or fruit for snacks.

I haven't tried cinnamon, might try that. Are there any good websites about gi diet stuff?

Plan your meals and snacks in advance so you don't hit that 'totally starving' phase where you eat rubbish without thinking about it.

Oatcakes or Ryvita with peanut butter, dried fruit, non-diet but low fat yoghurt or small bowl of no added sugar muesli plus fruit are excellent snacks.

Don't eat processed foods and try to eat as natural as possible.

Good luck!

I have been eating the zone diet since easter. It is incredibly complicated and a pain in the arse tbh but I have lost three stone and have never once been hungry. I eat every four hours and never eat carbs without protein to balance them (in practice this means drinking a tiny amount of disgusting protein shake and eating a walnut whenever I eat an apple). It takes a lot of planning and it is difficult to eat out but it has worked well for me.

The concept of using protein to balance your carb intake and smooth your blood sugar is a very good one. It stops you getting hungry. It is also extremely healthy.