Losing weight.

Wow, well done Ruby, you have done so well, you must feel much better in yourself . I wish I could do that. I guess your forthcoming operation has been a real incentive. How did you change your mind set to do it? Just hoping for inspiration. Full of admiration.

Wow! Well done Ruby! You've just spurred me on to my ambition to try for a Snack Free February. I may just start early. Today seems like a good time!

Well done Ruby. I'm sending you some flowers (no cake or wine ?)

That's fantastic ruby?? Here you are again - inspiring others with your very 'matter of fact' approach to life and the issues so many of us experience ?
Thank you and congratulations ?

Snack Free February has a nice ring to it Nfk ?

Another well done Ruby, so much will power. You will achieve your goal soon.
Good luck

Lol, thank you all for your support but it's the not trying to diet that's doing it. The problem with slimming clubs is that they get you to focus on food which then makes you become obsessed with what you eat. What needs to happen is to virtually ignore food and only use it for fuel for the body. I have gone off sweet things, now don't take sugar in my tea ☕️ since I lost my dad, strangely. Him going made me feel sick so I was only drinking water for a good while, no other drinks. When I was a teenager I would sit with a magazine, chocolate bars and it was my escapism. I have used it as a comfort ever since, maybe now I am on my own, I don't need it anymore. This year is to sort myself out as much as I can medically. I have given all my time to everyone else and now, with the conditions I am now left with, I intend to put myself first. I had my smear last week, mammogram next week, I've been to the dentist and need to go to the opticians. I could just let myself decline, sit here making my son feel guilty for not being here, but, there's a world out there, mine for the taking if I want it. My mother used to make us feel guilty, not do anything with her own life, it puts a huge strain on children to have parents behave like that. No, I'm taking this year for me, I deserve it, I've worked hard for it and I am worth it, just like you all are.

What a great attitude Ruby. 'Chapeau' as they say in cycling

rubylady - you are so right about the problems with slimming clubs and in fact dieting in general for those of us who have an emotional connection with food. Distraction is so much better....a bit more physical activity, take up a craft that needs clean hands (no nibbling) go for a walk with a chatty friend....anything that takes you away from food will slowly allow you to see food more as a fuel. Then you can think about the quality of food you eat.....so much better to make a really wholesome soup full of vegetables than to open a packet....and its a lot more filling too.

Carry on the good work Ruby!

Go for it rubylady, that's just the right attitude to have!

Slimming clubs make you loose money and not much else. 10 years ago i lost 4 stone by exercise, no dieting, not a single change to my diet, still had crisps,chocolate and 6 cans of diet drink, just 1 hour a day everyday of exercise over 6 months. It really was that simple. Now that i dont drink diet drinks,eat crisps, eat more than 1 chocolate bar a week and have no alchohol i have put 3 stone back on !

Well done ruby, you are really turning your life around. Good on yer girl!

Dieting isn't the answer Ruby, you can't stay on a diet your whole life. Slimmin World is great. I wanted to lose a stone for my daughter's wedding 3 years ago (I wasn't really overweight) I found it very easy. I still go but as I'm in my target weight I don't have to pay. They teach you what to eat and what not to eat. Can't praise them enough.

Ruby if you can stick with the 'only eat when hungry' approach it will certainly work. That's you listening to your body - well done ??

rubylady you've obviously found what works for you and suits your lifestyle Just imagine how good you'll feel when the nicer weather comes! I'm starting to assess myself too from today - just caring for myself a bit more as well as my family - and it was lovely to read your posts. Thanks for sharing your opinions and good luck with it all!

Rose

DH and I do the 5 2 diet. Works for us and I find that the times we don't manage it, holidays, visits away etc. I really miss those two days when I eat very little. The rest of the time I eat what I want and we both find that we don't want to eat too much because it doesn't feel comfortable.
DH chose the 5 2, he needs to lose a lot of weight, because in his view to diet was to starve and he could manage to "starve" for two different days in the week. ie he could be miserable knowing that it would all be better the next day.
Me? I just love feeling of lightness I get when I eat only what I need.

That's great news Ruby - so pleased you're finally looking after you after all you've been through! I sometimes think we become regimented in meal times and eat even when we're not hungry just because it's that time - I know i do - I feel guilty saying I'm not really hungry when OH mentions the next meal so end up eating whatever just because it's easier. Hope you continue along the new you path for 2017

I've lost quite a lot of weight recently. I'm doing dry January, which helps, and I have learnt that, for me, one large-ish, protein-rich, meal a day and nothing much else except a multivitamin, a bit of fruit, and tea and coffee with milk, seems to be enough fuel for me to function. My metabolism is fairly low and I know that anything over about 1500 kcals a day is likely to mean weight gain for me . It's not fun but it's just about do-able.

I think you need to keep up the effort to stay slim. I know that one poster on this thread has said you cant diet for your whole life but you do sort of have to in that you have to constantly keep focussed on being healthy. Some practical tips which work for me are:-

-I have a regular diet where I eat similar things in the week (same breakfast, same lunch) and 'ski off piste' at the weekend
-no alcohol in the week
-if I get hungry or want to eat I distract myself until the next meal time with chores, walking or reading
-two very light days in the same spirit as the 5/2 diet. On Wednesday and Thursday I only have soup and a bun for dinner
-I throw away and don't buy tempting snacks like crisps or biscuits
-lots of exercise monitored by a Fitbit. I walk 10,000 steps a day at least
-I substitute gym sessions with useful activities like Hoovering, ironing or grasscutting
-I weigh myself every two days or so and adjust my food accordingly
-I take only one of anything such as roast potatoes
-I leave something on my plate
-if I want a treat I 'go light' elsewhere. On Saturdays I have a big, delicious cake for afternoon tea so have a banana for lunch
-I have regular treats so I do not feel I am deprived and try to over compensate
-I go for foods which are tasty but low in calories like smoked salmon or other fish

These tips work for me.

Sorry, can't not cant.

I don't understand why someone would want to starve the self for 2 days, when you can have a roast dinner

Hi Rubylady

A friend has had the operation you have referred to and had to lose weight a couple of months beforehand. She was so obese that she was having problems with the strain on her heart and knees and whichever diet she would have used would have taken years to help her.

She has done really well, losing weight very gradually and only eating small amounts at mealtimes. I think she has also given up on snacks between meals. The gradual weight loss has also meant she hasn't needed surgery to remove loose skin (as some have had to).

You will feel so much better afterwards and you will still be able to eat the things you enjoy.

Good luck with it all.

Well done ruby, that's an inspiring post. I'm off for a weekend with some old friends after which the unfulfilled good intentions I had for January need to kick in for February.

Congrats, Ruby... that's a hard thing to have done. You go for it!
{hugs}

I don't "diet" as such but as a Type 2 Diabetic follow their guidelines, Porridge & fruit for Breakfast, Light Lunch, mostly salads in Summer, Winter is a bit more difficult but home made soup when possible & nice bread. Dinner is balanced plate of about quarter protein usually chicken or fish, about quarter carbohydrate, love baby potatoes cooked in their skins & half vegetables (which I love). For snacks I often have fruit (2 portions per day) or handful of nuts. Biggest downfall is cheese which I adore but am supposed to restrict.

I don't worry when I go out & eat what I like & occasionally have treats like a nice coffee & cake if I'm out shopping etc.

I always have good quality dark chocolate in my cupboard, it can however sit there for months without me touching it. Crisps also but I buy those mainly for my cat (he loves cheese & onion)

I find it difficult to lose weight as I can't exercise but love being in the garden. Go for it Ruby & I wish you well