Suggestions, please

Dragonfly1 I am in exactly the same situation as you, I have stopped smoking for 1 year now and the pounds have piled on. I have joined WW online to try to lose some, I have problems walking so we are both in the same boat

Stop eating sugar.

And me! I've lost 4lb but still weigh 14st. Need to lose 7lb in next 3/52 before holiday.
JaneA I don't eat sugar.

I have switched from fruit yogurts (with sugar) to plain, natural ones. They are delicious. I just add a teaspoon of jam.

That will help won't it Jane?

Is your jam the sugarless diabetic stuff jingl?

If you only have a teaspoon it probably will, Jingl. I think most fruit yoghurts contain about 3 teaspoons

Good advice janeainsworth I did not realise how much sugar I consumed until I gave some of it up. I was drinking 5-6 cups of tea a day at work each with one and a half tsp sugar. I drank my way through at least 4 litres of lemonade a week (and I don't mean sugar free either). I decided to practise what I preach to the DGC (who have very little sugar in their diet) and gave up sugar in my tea altogether and stopped buying the lemonade opting for fizzy water instead. The weight has literally dropped off !

Dragonfly1 I lost 3 stone 10 years ago and although I have put back on a stone over those years I still feel a reasonable size, so this is what helped me.

Ate everything I always have done but just smaller portions
Halved a cake with DH when out (now I only eat a third)
Have a skinny cappuccino instead of full fat
Kept alcohol for Fri - Sun
Watered down any drinks such as fruit juice
Ate sugar free or fat free sweets when I needed something to chew
Had a selection of fruit in for when I wanted to nibble in the evening.
Walked every day

It took 18 months but was worth it.

There was a light bulb effect when I realised that diets don't work, but a change in lifestyle needs to be for life.

Best of luck.

Trouble is I don't take sugar in drinks, rarely drink either alcohol or anything except flavoured water and don't really eat sweets or chocolate - although I'm partial to a bit of cake or a biscuit with my evening coffee. I can't eat big meals anyway, so don't tend to have big portions. I think I must just be eating the wrong things. Am so fed up - feels uncomfortable and looks even worse. Before I stopped smoking I was a steady size 12. Now even 14 is tight round my middle. What do you think of WW online newist?

Why not try writing everything, absolutely everything, you eat or drink down for a day. Then analyse it for sugar, fat and total calories. You may be surprised where extra calories are coming from. Then you can do swaps for equally tasty things, but without the damaging content.
It might work for you and you would still feel that you were eating enough. Good luck. X

Dragonfly1 a few years ago when I smoked I lost 3st fairly easily over a year, now I am finding much harder but I have lost 3kg in 5 weeks, I never have sugar and rarely have cakes biscuits or processed foods. I now have ryvita, never with butter, instead of bread, carrots instead of potatoes apart from the odd baked one. I find exercise difficult but I do try to just move about a bit more. If I have over indulged I make a no points meal which with a bit of effort can be very tasty, another thing is because I pay for WW I try harder because I don't want to waste my money, so yes it works for me with a bit of will power

Good idea J52, I'll try it. Probably deluding myself and consuming far more calories, fat and sugar from other sources than I think I am. Today I've been mindful of what I do eat, and have had chicken and salad for tea, celery and Ryvita for lunch and 1 slice of bread for breakfast toast with low fat spread. As I've never had weight problems before I can only think it is the stopping smoking - maybe I've been eating more to compensate! Thanks hit all your advice ladies.

*for

WW online plus meetings worked for me over the past year (lost over 2 stone). I am not yet where I want to be and, due to a couple of short holidays and visitors over the last couple of months I have lapsed and put on a few pounds again. That is probably because I have not been going to meetings and have not kept track online.

I need to go for a weigh-in, I always think I can do it on my own but I can't.

Ps you have to eat enough, Dragonfly, to keep your metabolism ticking over well.

Good luck, you and your daughter can keep one another motivated. DIL helps me, she always asks how much I lost (or put on)

PPS you can always have lots of virtual on here if you really can't manage without cake ...

Cheers rose. I'm keeping note now of everything I eat and drink to see where I can make changes, and DD and I may well try WW.

My DiL has an app on her phone which she's been using. I'm not sure exactly how it works, but I think it helps her count out fat, calories etc for the day. She's aiming to lose almost 8 stone!! - and she's been brilliant at sticking to it and so far has lost 2 1/2 stone in just a few months. She's also reduced portion sizes, as she was practically tripling what she should have been eating.

The best thing about the app is that you lose weight steadily, a little at a time, so your body has time to adjust and doesn't respond by drastically changing your metabolic rate.

She looks great at the moment, really much healthier and definitely much happier with herself, plus everything is less effort without the excess 'baggage'.

I lost 3 stone over a year. Started with 5/7 then adapted it to suit myself. What worked most was giving up bread, butter and cheese. I still have a stone to lose but have lost the knack of dieting.

I always hanker after things I shouldn't have eg cheese and chocolate, so find it's better to have them in strict portions and count them.

I find Alcohol is my downside with real ale it does add weight plus Chinese take aways or other fat related meals.
Walking is good if it is possible depending your general state of health to do it.
Do not smoke, smokers must find it costly now with cigarettes costing the £10 mark for 20.
Mick

I don't drink alcohol Mick, and I stopped smoking eight months ago - and would never start again because as you say, it's costly. And I don't want to spend my retirement hooked up to oxygen! But it is the bread, butter, cheese, as apricot mentions. Not that I eat much cheese - maybe twice a week - but I do like toast and butter for breakfast.....

rose - what would be a sensible portion of cheese? I'm afraid when I do eat it, I over-indulge!

Dragonfly1, according to WW a sensible portion of cheese such as Cheddar is, I think 40 gms, about the size of a matchbox. Someone suggested grating it to make it look more, or I suppose Edam or similar would be lower in calories so you could eat more.

Whatever, it puts paid to a decent Ploughman's lunch!

You really have to be in the right frame of mind, I think, which I was but I seem to have lost the inspiration at the moment.