General Discussions

owly_2001 · 01-04-2012 19:44

Hi,

I'm fairly new here although I may have posted in the past at some point. I've not really had a problem with weight but that's not to say I don't need to lose any. I am overweight but it's just never bothered me, I am what I am, is how I've always thought.

Now though I've reached a crossroads because I've started to develop pain in one knee and one hip. I know this is as a result of lifting and supporting my elderly mother so many times and I'm taking steps to reduce that by getting her a riser recliner chair.

However my weight will be making things worse so from that side of things I need to lose weight.

I'm also going to a wedding at the end of June and the outfit I'd most like to wear would look better if I was slimmer.

Now the problem I have is that I am pretty much on the go from early on in the day until very very late at night. I am up and down stairs loads of times a day. I hardly ever seem to sit still and sometimes I miss a meal.

With the good weather I pushed my mum in her wheelchair half a mile to the shops and back last week and would do this regularly if the weather remained sunny.

So with so much activity why am I not losing any weight ?

I'm 5ft 10in and 17st.

I've been reading up on things today and it says things like doing lunges and squats to get rid of excess fat from the stomach area but with my knee problem I couldn't do those things so what's left ?

Should I just revert to eating more vegetables and filling myself up on those and just portioning my plate differently ?

Also how much weight could I reasonably be expected to lose between now and the end of June ? Just so I have some idea if I would get away with wearing the outfit I'd like to wear at the wedding.

Owly x

Community Leader on:-

http://www.slimmingworld.com/healthy-eating/non-vegetarian-menu.aspx

von66 · ‎02-04-2012

I know there's no justice in the diet world.

Stress could be a reason our bodies hold on to fat like they would have done in caveman times. The other thing is maybe you're not eating enough. You have to fuel you're body in order to burn calories.

Try keeping food diary for a week to see when, what and where you eat also right hunger scale just from 0-10 to see if its hunger or stress/tiredness.

Is there any chance of getting any time off for yourself?

Hth

von x

sparkling-sunshine · ‎02-04-2012

Hi Owly,

It sounds like you are getting plenty of exercise but you need to be combining that with a healthy diet in order to lose weight.

My advice would be to either follow a plan such as slimming world or weight watchers. They don't suit everyone and personally I am much more in favour of sw. I've been following it since March last year and have lost 3 stone. I've not always been 100% and have had weeks on end in that time where I ate what I liked and think I'd have lost more if it wasn't for that. Slimming World is more of a healthy eating plan where as with weight watchers there are points to count.

If you prefer not to follow a plan you could try healthy eat. Things like swapping white for wholemeal bread, changing to either skimmed or semi-skimmed milk, getting rid of the chip pan and avoiding take-aways and convenience foods. Keep treats of chocolate or crisps to a minimum. Even things that you think are healthy often have hidden calories and fat in. EAting more fruit and veg and portioning your plate differently will definitely help.

Slimming world give a free 7 day menu plan that might give you some ideas.

I think how much you can lose by the end of June depends on how commited you are. I would say realistically if you were to follow slimming world or something equally as healthy you could expect to lose 24-28lb. Most people find their first or second week sees a really good loss and then they tend to lose 1-2lb a week. They say this is a healthy rate and one where you are more likely to keep it off.

Having a goal when you are wanting to lose weight is a huge incentive and the outfit you've found sounds just the thing. Also setting mini goals helps. Things like your first half stone, first stone, a new top, going down a stone bracket all give us a boost.

Exercise is really important and some people find they can lose weight or change their body shape by exercising alone. I'm one of those that holds my heands up to being exercise shy! I'm very inactive. I do have a gym membership but it's very rare I use it. All of my weight loss has been down to diet alone.

As Von mentioned, a food diary is a good idea. Even if you only do it for one week. By writing it down you may be surprised by what you are eating. Some of the ladies on the sw board do it and it means if they're going wrong somewhere then someone can point it out to them.

One thing that really helps me is to write a menu plan at the start of the week. I'm quite a disorganised person and if I don't plan then I can find myself grabbing something quick as I'm so hungry and it's just easier. If I know what I'm having in advanced this doesn't tend to happen. Once I fall off the wagon I tend to struggle to get back on. It's strange really because I love sw meals, feel better for eating healthy and love seeing the numbers on the scales go down. You'd think all that was enough to keep me 100%. My problem is cans of coke, chocolate and convenience food.

If you decide just eating helathy is for you rather than a specific plan then it's still worth popping over to the slimming world and weight wtchers boards for meal and snack ideas.

Good luck and what ever you decide let us know how you get on and keep us up to date with your progress. Hearing how well others are doing is always a good boost.

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owly_2001 · ‎02-04-2012

Hi Von,

Thanks for replying. You have reminded me of another question I've had which is why when people are not overweight they often say that they live on their nerves which keeps them from putting on weight. Considering the stress I've had how come this living-on-my-nerves rule doesn't apply to me ?

I can get out for about two or three hours if I make sure mum is occupied and has things to watch, eat or do.

I was getting respite and day care but both have turned out to be so stressful with the way they were with mum that it's less stressful to keep her at home. The brilliant day centre she was originally attending was closed due to the cuts. It was council run and excellent. All the private ones which social services were funding for us have proved a disaster.

My current arrangement is to spend time with mum as much as is possible under the circumstances. She has dementia so I reach stages where I retreat upstairs to my living space to read or come on here.

I don't often have meals with her as she tends to offer me her food which I never accept. It's better if she's left alone for hers and I am left alone for mine.

I might just try keeping a food diary. That could be very interesting.

Owly x

Community Leader on:-

owly_2001 · ‎02-04-2012

Hi Sunshine,

You are probably right there about needing to eat more healthily. I have a problem in not really having the space to cook as well as I'd like to and if I have someone visit me we do tend not to eat in. Perhaps I should start looking at healthier options when I'm out. I enjoy a carvery because it gives me a chance to have a full roast dinner which I hardly ever do at home just for mum and I. They've started a takeaway carvery which would mean I could bring one back for mum.

I don't know if sw or ww have eating out options. I know I eat a fair amount of ready meals because they are quick and easy.

I prefer semi skimmed milk so that is something I use all the time. I do like white bread though but not sure I eat a lot of it as our loaves start to go off before we get to the end of one.

I like to vary our diet though, so we have a full range of foods. This week I have a delivery of fresh fish arriving with smoked haddock and trout. We have had salmon fillets which I steam.

I only do oven chips as I don't have a chip pan and I tend to grill anything rather than fry it. I think the only thing I will fry are eggs and we don't have those very often at all. Poached or scrambled are the ways we have ours.

I don't eat fruit at all. I keep trying at times but it's not something I particularly enjoy unless I turn them into smoothies which I do like but I don't always have enough fruit in to turn into a smoothie.

I've been cutting chocolate right down if not out because after valentines day and my birthday a few weeks later I got a lot of chocolates and it could have contributed to my increased weight. Well, no could have about it. lol

I did do well in the past from portioning my plate differently as it also made me think about the veg I was having and not just plonking it on the plate.

Thanks for the link for the 7 day menu plan. I think I am going to need to rethink what I currently eat.

Will reply to the rest of your message in a little while. Got to shoot off to get ready for a district nurse's visit.

Back soon.

Owly x

Community Leader on:-

von66 · ‎02-04-2012

Living on your nerves doesn't apply to me either on the plus side at least if we ever go back to caveman days we'll live out a famine

I noticed you said you eat a lot of ready meals which considering your circumstances is understandable. Unfortunately they also contain a lot of fat, salt and sugar for a measly portion. Is there anyway you could cook something fresh which will last a couple of days. Mince is usually good make it how you like and use it for cottage pie, chilli, over jacket potato or even in wraps.

von x

owly_2001 · ‎02-04-2012

Hi Sunshine,

Following on from where I left off.

I have a wii fit that I might try using again. At Christmas I bought myself one of those dance activities for Broadway so that might also help because I can do these things privately which I prefer to do.

Oh I was drinking coke every time I went out and I think it was affecting my teeth so I've stopped drinking that now. I have J2Os instead but I don't know how much better they are. I go out roughly about two evenings a week. Sometimes three.

Trouble is also that when anyone comes to visit they bring goodies to eat. Last time a friend came she brought two slices of cheesecake for us to have with a cuppa while we nattered. If I get to go shopping with her then we'll have something like a baked potato.

I don't know that I could do a menu plan for the week. I usually get a load of ready meals and then go out to the freezer of an evening to see what I feel like. The freezer is in our outside shed.

I may not follow sw or ww but as you say it could be good to get ideas for meals from the boards about them.

Thanks for all your help.

Owly x

Community Leader on:-

x_sam_x · ‎02-04-2012

Hi Owly,

Sooo much stuff in there... Starting with the living on your nerves thing. Stress affects different people in different ways and people cope with stress in lot of different ways so we're talking about everything from erratic eating or over eating to hormone issues to some people being jitterbugs and others withdrawing into themselves. So even though two people are both living with stress they can have totally different outcomes. As we age things change too, without training the ratio of muscle to fat changes as our muscle mass decreases over time so even if you were doing the same activities now as you were 10 years ago you might only be running to stand still, iyswim

I would have a look at your diet first, you are on the go a lot which is great for your overall fitness and your health but if you rely at times on processed food, snacks instead of "proper" meals, skip meals or eat at irregukar times it can all make a difference. In terms of J20 v coke there's not much difference in calories 275ml bottle of J20 has 132 calories whereas 330ml coke has 139 calories. It sounds a lot like you're eating more than maybe you think you are, I agree that a food diary could help (although it's the Hawthorne effect, as soon as you start writing things down you might start to alter your behaviour). Ready meals can have lots of fat, salt or sugar in them, the amounts quickly add up to an intake that's higher than you'd like.

I think you do right to avoid slimming clubs, I have very strong negative feelings about them and feel that delving into them some people end up with less of an idea about nutrition and a less healthy view of weightloss than before they started. But I do think weight watchers in particular have some decent recipes. There's no need to make it complicated though even if you're rubbish at cooking. If you have a microwave bags of frozen veg are quick and easy, as is fish and stuff like that. I don't know if a slowcooker would be of any use to you but they can be useful to make home-made ready meals with very little skill or effort - chop(or buy pre-chopped veg), stick it in the cooker and off you go.

In terms of exercise the wii could be your friend, it's quick and easy to set up you can play on it for as long or short a time as you have and it's good for days when you can't get out of the house due to bad weather or whatever. I did a little wii fit experiment recently and although I didn't particularly enjoy it at times I did lose weight pretty quickly. It's not to be sniffed at!

That's more than enough for now, there's so much in your posts I've probably missed tons! Good luck.

"When in doubt, choose change"

von66 · ‎02-04-2012

Oh quick thought have you got a slow cooker if not I'd invest in one if you can. There's loads of different sizes I use mine several times a week. Throw anything in it from casserole to soup or even small chicken or joint then its ready for dinner. I use frozen veg in mine which is fine. If I do stew I always use canned tomatoes as well.

You could make enough for a couple of nights.

von x

owly_2001 · ‎02-04-2012

Hi Von,

I used to have a slow cooker and I don't remember throwing it out so it must be somewhere. The trouble is when I moved in with my mum we ended up with doubled items and I've been getting rid of various things but it means a lot of the items I used to have are still boxed up somewhere. I filled the lower cupboards and then put my large table in and I think my stuff will be in the cupboards that the table is blocking.

The way things are going I may end up having to buy new things and when the old stuff surfaces take them to the charity shop or something.

Soup sounds like a good idea. I have a magic bullet that I use to make smoothies and that could be used to make soup I think.

Owly x

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