Trying to be healthy (and lose weight as a bonus!)

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laurenweird
laurenweird Posts: 11 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hello everyone, I am 25 years old (nearly 26) and a mother of two and currently a full time University student.

I have always been on the fairly big side (can't ever remember being smaller than a size 14, around 12 stone at my lightest) and my weight steadily increased to 13 and then 14 stone.

Last year my dad died, and that coupled with my first year at University had me comfort eating (I eat when I am sad, happy, bored etc) and I've piled on the weight and I am now just over 17stone at 5foot8inches in height.

Last Christmas my partner of 7 years finally proposed and we are due to wed next August and want to be a, not necessarily slim, but a bride with a lot less weight than I carry now! I aim to lose around 2 pounds each week which should have me looking pretty dandy on my wedding day :D

I also want to improve my health as my diet before was littered with fizzy energy drinks, processed food, crisps and takeaways. The thought of fruit and veg repulses me.

For the past 4 days I've done pretty well, I've been blending fruit in the mornings so I'm eating a different variety each day, I am cooking my meals fresh (mostly) with plenty of vegetables and I am controlling my portion sizes. It's been going well!

But now I am towards the end of day 4 and I feel myself breaking - I WANT that takeaway, I WANT those snacks.

Soooo.....I came here to sort of, distract myself a little, and maybe it'll be supportive for me in the long run!

So yes, hello! If anyone wants to share their experiences or anything I'm all ears :D

Lauren xx

Replies

  • Will_Run_for_Food
    Will_Run_for_Food Posts: 561 Member
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    Hi, Lauren! Congrats on your engagement. If a wedding/honeymoon isn't a motivator, I don't know what is :)

    When you're making changes, the first few days can be tough. Try to hang in there, you're doing great! Start off my setting smaller, short-term goals like losing 1 lb this week. Once you start to see progress, you will be more likely to stick with it and the cravings will start to wane.

    Also, there's no need to make drastic changes all at once. Take it one step at a time. Maybe allow yourself one takeaway meal per week until you simply no longer want it anymore. Make healthy choices when you DO get takeaway. But don't completely deny yourself of everything - you'll only binge later and you won't have fun.

    Bottom line: Take it slow (you have time) and make lifestyle changes that you'll be more likely to stick to. And remember - it's all about math. If you consume less calories than you burn, you'll lose. That simple!

    Good luck to you!
  • SimaN2014
    SimaN2014 Posts: 23 Member
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    There is nothing wrong with doing a takeaway sometimes. It's all about frequency and portions. It's probably unrealistic to think that you will never, ever, ever again, ever do a takeaway, and/or that you won't between now and your big day (congrats, btw!)

    What I would do / have done: pre-log it. You want the takeaway for dinner tomorrow? Go into tomorrow's diary and put it in. See how many calories you have left for the day. Eat less for breakfast and for lunch. Or, reduce the portion of the takeaway. Or plan in some exercise (remember to be conservative logging exercise calories). It's great to eat healthy, but it's important to also find a way to live with exceptions to the "perfect" food choices, because that's just our practical realities. Pre-logging lets you weigh the tradeoffs and prioritize what you eat in the day.

    My example: we have a great chicken place near work. I used to eat 1/2 roast chicken, maybe 50ish fries, salad with dressing and on an extravagant day a small desert. Now, I still go there once a week, but now I eat 1/2 roast chicken, no fries (I'm not hugely into them and if I have a couple, I have 20+ and it adds up fast), salad without the dressing (the dressing there is meh...), no desert. The chicken skin though? Oh yeah, I'm right there gobbling it up. Fantastic flavour. If I want some fries, OK, I have them, but then either I go for a walk after lunch (time permitting), or I have a small portion of fish & salad for dinner. Basically, I've prioritized in my regular meal the parts that are important to me personally and I go with that. Take out pizza? same thing. I eat half of what I used to and I do it on an intensive exercise day. Just a couple examples. My point is that it is better to find a way to make it fit for you than to try (and fail) to eat only perfectly healthy stuff for 11 months.

    Another secret: a deficit is still a deficit. If you are aiming for 2 pounds a week, that's about 1000 calorie deficit per day. If you eat only an 800 or 900 calorie deficit one day, you will still be losing... like 1.9 pounds (I'm not doing the exact math here) that week. If you can live with that, or make it up by having a smaller dinner another night and having an 1100 calorie deficit, you will still be on target.

    Also, as Will_Run said, that first few days or week is hardest. You may want to stick to your guns for the week and be really careful, but do know that in the future you can accommodate these things like the occasional take-away if you are careful about fitting them in to your overall plan.

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  • laurenweird
    laurenweird Posts: 11 Member
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    Thank you!

    I especially love the thought of "pre-logging" the takeaway so I can pace myself for the day - and that way in the future I'll be able to enjoy my takeaway (sort of) guilt free! :)

    For the first week or so I want to be quite strict with myself as I'm out of control :o haha, and by that I mean, if I do eat something bad I'll just eat all of it. I have no self control whatsoever, it's really bad. So hoping two weeks of healthy eating will help me to change my ways and then I can allow myself the odd treat. Saying that, meant to be going out for a family meal on Sunday so will be challenged then in to trying to pick a healthy option rather than gorging on massive meals! Haha

    And my Uni friends have already tried tempting me by asking my to come in early and go for a greasy pub breakfast but I said I'd join them for a drink :) Phew, can't wait for two week to be up and then I'll accomodate for such treats. Especially as I don't want my "healthy eating" to affect my social life too!

    Thanks for all the great tips you two! I'll be sure to not be too hard on myself and enjoy treats occasionally :) xx

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