Starting over

DD265

Hi all

I've been here before but a long time ago, and I didn't stick with it. This time though I need to make sustainable changes because 5 ish years on WW have not worked.

I live in England in the East Midlands, married, no kids but plan to start a family in 18-24 months. We have cats, want a dog but the timing - and budget - isn't quite right yet. I have a desk job (software related) but am getting back into running, though I need to build up weak glutes for my body to cope with that. Lucky enough to have a home gym in the garage, when it's not been taken over for DIY purposes!

I can think of any number of excuses for why I'm obese, but it simply boils down to bad habits. Stressed? Make yourself feel better with chocolate. Celebrating? Have a meal out. Bored? Grab a bag of crisps. You name the mood, I'll provide the food. Even when I'm actively trying to eat healthier foods, the portion control isn't there.

My theory is that creating a basic, repetitive meal plan based around macros that I can follow strictly, with no additional thought (until I get bored, then I'll calculate another day/week's worth of food for a bit of variety) will make sticking to this as low effort as it can be. If I then don't buy the chocolate/crisps I can't snack on them and after a short while I won't miss them.

I have friends to run with, and after years of having a personal trainer I know how to exercise, so now it's time to nail the diet.

DD

Dogmom1978

DD265 wrote: »

Hi all

I've been here before but a long time ago, and I didn't stick with it. This time though I need to make sustainable changes because 5 ish years on WW have not worked.

I can think of any number of excuses for why I'm obese, but it simply boils down to bad habits. Stressed? Make yourself feel better with chocolate. Celebrating? Have a meal out. Bored? Grab a bag of crisps. You name the mood, I'll provide the food. Even when I'm actively trying to eat healthier foods, the portion control isn't there.

My theory is that creating a basic, repetitive meal plan based around macros that I can follow strictly, with no additional thought (until I get bored, then I'll calculate another day/week's worth of food for a bit of variety) will make sticking to this as low effort as it can be. If I then don't buy the chocolate/crisps I can't snack on them and after a short while I won't miss them.

I have friends to run with, and after years of having a personal trainer I know how to exercise, so now it's time to nail the diet.

DD

A repetitive meal plan may make you more likely to binge eat. Personally, I eat the same breakfast every day, the same lunch 5 days a week and then dinner and snacks vary.

Also, focusing on macros may be overwhelming in the beginning. Only the calories matter for weight loss purposes.

DD265

Dogmom1978 wrote: »

A repetitive meal plan may make you more likely to binge eat. Personally, I eat the same breakfast every day, the same lunch 5 days a week and then dinner and snacks vary.

Also, focusing on macros may be overwhelming in the beginning. Only the calories matter for weight loss purposes.

Hey Dogmom

I thought that about repetitive meal planning, but figure if I can work out a week's worth, with each day having a different dinner as you suggest, then I have 7 days worth of options to start with. The danger with trying to do more than that - or calculating it as I go - is that I would get overwhelmed. That was also the theory with the macros; if I'm only doing a week's to begin with it shouldn't be too bad. Once it's calculated, all I have to do is stick to that plan.

On the other hand, if I just focus on a reduction in calories, I don't have to feel restricted, I just have to watch my portion sizes... Down the line if I plateau or feel physically 'off', I can look at whether that meal plan is properly balanced according to macros. Something to think about, thank you.

DD

Dogmom1978

Np, and if you don’t have one already, get a food scale and weigh out portions. Make sure the database entries are correct too (lots of inaccurate ones out there).

Best of luck! 😊