Fussy eater

I don't think it was that harsh. Let's get serious here, you have to work hard and sometimes do things you dont' like to do if you want things to change in regards to weight or exercise. I mean, seriously, I have never enjoyed lifting weights or running but I do them religiously to maintain my weight and try to stay in shape. It's all about sacrifice and being strict with yourself. In terms of vegetables, hard not to eat them if you want to be healthy really----they can't all be that bad can they?

Hi Leeds230 welcome to the forum and well done for making this massive step.

As others have said just make some small changes at first and you'll work your way up, I know it's absolutely freezing at the mo but definitely try doing a 20min walk around the block first thing before work to get your steps up or is there any chance you could walk or cycle to work, if you're only a mile or 2 thats a do-able walk 2-5miles is cycle-able for a beginner.

As for food STAY AWAY FROM ASDA COUNTER PIZZA those things are lethal lol I would guess the pizzas to be between 1200 - 2000 cals for the big ones, I go for the pizza express ones which are usually on offer and not too bad for the cals if you have half.

Also get rid of any junk snacks in your house, biscuits, chocolate, crisps as it's so easy to go grab a bag or a biscuit if you're just infront of the box not thinking about it. I know you have kids who may complain but it'll be good for them too

As for trying food, maybe see if there's any local council run healthy eating cooking classes, they might be free or reduced if you're on any in work benefits too (I used to enroll people onto college courses in York many moons ago)

My fave new vegetable is butternut squash (it tastes half way between a carrot and a potato to me and is half the cals of potato)

My fave recipe is butternut squash chips

peel a butternut squash then cut into chips/wedges spray with some one cal spray and sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika then shove in the oven at 200 degrees C for 20-30 mins or until soft in the middle. They are an awesome alternative to chips, count as one of your 5 a day and are super healthy and low cal

Good luck hun x

Thank you very much. My other major problem in life is that I have been in a crap job for 4/5 years now, I hate it and am trying to find a way out at the moment. My self confidence has been very low for a long time, possibly for longer than me being in this job. I think the way I feel in my head is a big issue for my comfort eating etc. My weight is something I do want to change but is in amongst a lot of other things as well, which I think is why I find things hard.

I don't really care for vegetables - I have tried some but just don't like the ones I've tried. I'm not fussed on peas but will eat them, I don't like swede or broccoli, cabbage or cauliflower (that's all I can think of at the moment). Fruits - I don't like oranges, not keen on apples, I don't mind peaches, again can't think of anything else at the moment.

Yes to pizza though we have recently acquired a brand new asda with a pizza counter and I find every time I go to asda I want a pizza. I don't always have veg on top tho - I will have mushrooms and don't mind pineapple but not too keen on the latter.

I think I will have to force myself to have more fruit and veg as that could be the only way to help myself.

I live in Worcester, UK but have never heard of the store you mentioned. I have got a couple of games for my husband's Xbox - Zumba and dance but don't often use them as I find I'm just not very motivated.

It stinks to be in a job you hate. You're going to find that as you take control of your health, you start to take control of your life. Health breeds confidence! Take little steps, vow to try new things, get out and walk... It's SO free. And it's fun. Being here on MFP is awesome. STAY here and learn and thrive!

Oh I do zumba on my xbox kinnect it's a really good workout! I know it's hard to find motivation at first but it'll get to be a habit after a couple of weeks, just look at some of the girls from the success stories page if you really want some reasons to get motivated.

I don't understand people who allegedly want to lose weight or eat healthy, but insist they must be able to do that on a diet of brownies, pasta, white rice, and milkshakes. Come on.

Vegetables are amazing, and how can you dislike every fruit? Seriously, as someone stated, there are many delicious fruits.

I tell you what annoys me, your two comments which are ridiculously unhelpful and very intimidating for a beginner, people have to start somewhere she's here and asking for help, so stop lurking/trolling and give some advice if you've got some.

I don't understand people who allegedly want to lose weight or eat healthy, but insist they must be able to do that on a diet of brownies, pasta, white rice, and milkshakes. Come on.

Vegetables are amazing, and how can you dislike every fruit? Seriously, as someone stated, there are many delicious fruits.

Well, to be honest, OP can lose weight eating only brownies, pasta, white rice and milkshakes, as long as she eats them in a calorie deficit.

I don't understand people who allegedly want to lose weight or eat healthy, but insist they must be able to do that on a diet of brownies, pasta, white rice, and milkshakes. Come on.

Vegetables are amazing, and how can you dislike every fruit? Seriously, as someone stated, there are many delicious fruits.

I tell you what annoys me, your two comments which are ridiculously unhelpful and very intimidating for a beginner, people have to start somewhere she's here and asking for help, so stop lurking/trolling and give some advice if you've got some.

Thank you for this - it's not great to get rude and unhelpful comments from people, especially when I'm someone with low confidence already!!

Your welcome, trust me you'll get some people with the whole tough love attitude on here (which I think is totally inappropriate and intimidating when you're finding your feet) they see it as a wake up call and don't realise they're being harmful in some cases as it is a huge lifestyle change, you don't need to be barked by a drill instructor day one. Just ignore the attitudes they mostly mean well but don't express themselves very sensitively or constructively.

How about walking for exercise.... have a friend or hubby walk with you. Do you like smoothies? Low fat yogurt and fruit is a great sweety without a lot of calories. I've beern to Leeds, loved it. You have better winter weather than we have here in PA,usa,but I love to walk out side. Doing an exercise class with mates might be fun. Hate to exercise at home alone. I do ride my exerbike while I watch tv in the evening... I forget im moving my legs... i get so caught up in the show! I just kep going. Then when the adverts come on I pedal faster till they are over.

Don't be discouraged...best of luck.

Excuses will get you exactly where they should .. no where. Excuses are not acceptable if you are really serious.

Money .. sorry not a valid excuse. You don't need a gym membership to be successful.

I assume you have 2 legs .. use them. Go for a walk. No one ever got fat walking. It is great exercise.

Re your fussy eating thing .. well sorry, unless the food makes you physically sick (which I doubt), you need to eat more fruit and veggies. They are good for you .. and soon you will love them.

I wasn't very fit 4-5 months ago when I started but have made very good progress .. you can too, as long as you don't continue to accept the excuses.

Good luck.

Thank you Ninkyou for your reply. It doesn't sound harsh at all, more realistic!

With regards to having a walk at work, I don't have a lunch break as when I went back after maternity leave I didn't incorporate this into my working day - I work 9am-2pm three days a week, 9am-3pm and 9am-1pm the other two days (mon-fri). Once I finish work I have to, some days, rush to my car to go and fetch my son. Certainly if & when we get some better (drier) weather I will try to take my son to the park more often, at the moment here it's so wet all the time! Other than that I ought to really get the 2 games out that I've got and use them as exercise as well.

With all due respect; you have to take responsibility for your life. I read a lot of " I'll aim to ", or as in this post " I'll try to ", which is not a good attitude for an adult woman with a child to have.
What would keep you to walk, or go to the park with your son....I think only you.
Why can't you make up your mind and say " yes, I will find half a dozen of veggies I can eat ", or " yes I will do something with my son three times from Mon-Fri and at least once a weekend ".
I know from my own experience that when I say " maybe ", or " I'll try " that 98% of the time it won't happen. I also think that in that I am not an exception. I now make decisions ( like walking 45 minutes at least five times a week ) and when I stick to them for a given time, I reward myself. These days it's audio books ( which I get from free websites ), so I am not bored when walking....and you know what ? It works !

Exercise-wise, having a concrete goal to get you up and moving can be helpful. If I'm not mistaken, Worcester Race for Life is on the 6th July. You have more than enough time between now and then to be able to do a couch to 5k programme to be able to cover the distance - start by building up walking, and work up to jogging/running. (And I know you've said it's raining a lot at the moment - that's true, but it's OK to get rained on; you just come home and change.) I'm not surprised you're feeling breathless and generally run down at the moment since you're physically carrying around a fair bit of extra weight, and your mood sounds pretty low, too - but I think you'll find that if you get some exercise into your daily routine, you'll start to feel a lot better about life.

I'm the exact opposite. Other than kidneys and celeriac/celery I will eat pretty much anything. Which is why I'm here :laugh:

I'd start on something small, rather than trying everything at once, it can be overwhelming. I started by quitting smoking, then reducing alcohol significantly and then I started gentle exercise before moving on to my diet.

For the exercise, I got DVDs and exercise books from the library. I'm also on a tight budget, and was too self concious to join a gym at the time. If you would like to join a gym or start a class at some point, the local leisure centre and the library are good places to check and are much more reasonbly priced than other places. The leisure centre and the library near me offer reduced rates for memberships/ free swimming/DVD rentals if you are on certain benefits, not all of which depend on income (carer's allowance, disability living allowance, for example) and I swim for free. I go to a gym attached to a college near work, I get an NHS discount and it costs £12.99 a month. I used to spend more than that a week on *kitten*.

Trying a greater variety of fruits and veggies may help and trying them more than once (it took me years to accept mushrooms into my life), which isn't easy this time of year as some of the more interesting stuff is tasteless and expensive. For veg, you could chop them into very small bits and add to food you do like, as a start off. You could try preparing it in different ways too - baked fruit, veg curry etc. Again, the library is great for cookbooks and you can always check what's popular/easy on Amazon and then reserve it at the library.

Taking some time out besides your singing, if possible, may also be helpful, it's not easy when you have a child, but being kind to yourself and giving yourself non-food treats makes things better. Being defeatist comes with the territory of low self esteem, but I can say from personal experience, becoming physically healthy has made a vast improvement to my mental health. It has not been a cure all, but if you told me 2 years ago how much better swimming would make me feel, I wouldn't have believed you.

Good luck, hope you stick around.