Dieting Advice

[catfeeder]

Thanks for the mention, ladies. The reason I raise ‘adding TO’ what you eat rather than starting a restrictive approach is that a nutritionist suggested this at my job during a workshop. This was about lifestyle mindset tricks to make health ‘livable’ rather than the usual stuff of fantasy programs that can never be sustained.

Deprivation by definition is difficult and temporary. Torturing the body with overzealous workouts only trains the mind to resist and sabotage the goal. So when the goal becomes finding simple and sneaky ways to enjoy a change, guess what becomes natural and rewarding?

And inspiring! Feeling stuffed just because you ADD something that enhances flavor to your meals, and enJOYing walks with books or friends that reward you with toned muscle and great blood flow and higher metabolism—this all feels easy to incorporate and become committed to.

Then, before you even know it, your clothes feel roomier while your goals naturally become more stringent. And your whole lifestyle feels desirously protective of your health even as you continually increase your focus on it—by choice rather than by willpower.

EnJOY, Alex, you can do this!

[lostandhurt]

I can see everyone has opinions on this but what is usually left out is step two.  Step one of course is to acknowledge that you need to get down to a healthy weight.

Step two is lifestyle change.  I remember that you love to bake.  You also tend to obsess over things.

It took time for you to get to this weight so how do you think your lifestyle contributed to your current weight?  List all the things you can think of including moods, stress, loneliness or anything really.  You know better than anyone so take some time and list them out. Just not eating as many calories is actually the easy part because it is tangible, the things that lead you down the path of the wrong foods or to large of portions is really the key.

  There is a lot of new thinking on what healthy is and how to stay in that zone.  Educating yourself on a  few simple facts will help you more than you could imagine.  Sugar for example.  Do you have any idea just how many forms of sugar there are and how many foods it is crammed into?  Look into it and you will be surprised.  Understanding how your body works and what it needs is key to helping you make good choices you can make part of your life.

 Everyone else has listed some great advice and you have already said no to the ozempic short cut which turns out has a weird side affect that makes your butt droop.  

 The one thing I can tell you is that your diet or should I say lifestyle choices start at the grocery store and you cannot go wrong with walking as you get started.

 Best of luck, I am sure you can get to a place that feels right for you.

Lost

[Batya33]

2 hours ago, catfeeder said:

Feeling stuffed just because you ADD something that enhances flavor to your meals, and enJOYing walks with books or friends that reward you with toned muscle and great blood flow and higher metabolism—this all feels easy to incorporate and become committed to.

I also think it's good to get to a place where satisfied is enough -not stuffed.  Even from healthful food.

[boltnrun]

6 minutes ago, Batya33 said:

I also think it's good to get to a place where satisfied is enough -not stuffed.  Even from healthful food.

It's a myth that we should eat until we're full.  We should eat until we're no longer hungry.  Big difference.

Also, feeling the sensation of hunger isn't BAD.  It's normal.

And finally, it isn't a terrible thing to leave food on your plate.  Just pack it up and save it for tomorrow.

[Batya33]

24 minutes ago, boltnrun said:

It's a myth that we should eat until we're full.  We should eat until we're no longer hungry.  Big difference.

Also, feeling the sensation of hunger isn't BAD.  It's normal.

And finally, it isn't a terrible thing to leave food on your plate.  Just pack it up and save it for tomorrow.

Yes - when I used to  go to restaurants more I'd often put 1/3rd of the entree to the side of my plate.

It's actually good to feel hunger -as long as you're not shaky/dizzy etc (I can get that way) -it's good to experience the feeling of emptiness and -it's ok! Drink some water at those times.  I used to eat till I was overly full -especially when I ate out a lot.  As I got older that ha bad digestive consequences for me.  So these days I don't and I force myself to eat slowly.  

[catfeeder]

1 hour ago, Batya33 said:

I also think it's good to get to a place where satisfied is enough -not stuffed.  Even from healthful food.

I agree. It's a learning process. When you believe that you're about to eat your typical portion, say a sandwich, it's pretty surprising to feel stuffed by the time you reach half just because of a few harmless vegetables.

I'd never heard of such a thing. I knew all the boring stuff about weighing food and counting calories. I didn't even want to attend this workshop, except my friend was on the Wellness Committee, and she's the one who booked this nutritionist.

So I had no idea that everything I believed I knew would be challenged over the next few weeks with creative ways to think differently and actually enjoy change.

Progress happened so fast just from minor food changes and some walking that I actually WANTED to try yoga, then I WANTED to learn Pilates, then I WANTED to go to strength training. I even WANTED to shop for new clothes, which is a total about-face for me.

[greendots]

Hey Alex,

Great to hear that you want to lose weight!

My first recommendation, go to a competent physician/medical doctor. The reality is that sometimes weight gain can be a sign of an underlying health condition, such as a problem with the thyroid, kidneys, or heart. You want to rule all of that out.

I've gained over 10kg due to an underlying health condition in the past. Managed to lose the weight but have to take a daily medicine to treat that condition. So, please please please first see a competent doctor.

Then, this isn't only about losing weight. It's about changing bad eating habits into good ones.

What matters most when changing a habit is consistency. It's easier to stick to a healthy diet that's yummy if you have a plan/guideline that you can follow through each day. If you already know what you're having for breakfast you've got lower chances of breaking that plan.

Make your life easier and less complicated by having a guideline you can stick to. When I wake up each morning, I already have coffee, bread, hard-boiled egg and soft cheese at hand making my life easier. No need to worry about last minutes runs to the store. And if I really want to switch things up there's always some oatmeal available.

Highlight: Whatever you do must work for your lifestyle and your body. We all have different needs.

Also, I too love desserts and whilst I was dieting at the time I treated myself to some chocolate and a slice of cake. That's okay. 🙂

Beware though as sugar is everywhere, so look at labels. Many packets of, for example, peanut butter, instant oat meal, bread, dried fruit, cereal, granola, ketchup, BBQ sauce and yogurt have added sugar. To make the product "healthier" some replace sugar with artificial sweeteners or syrup.

Nowadays, I avoid unnecessary added sugar wherever possible. I mean, I want my slice of cake. Preferably home baked, hehe. 😉

It's a work in progress; I still have a long way to go. It's worth it!

 

Anyhow, TLDR: See a doc first for check-up to make sure it's not a medical condition. Have a plan so it's easier to stick to. Consistency is the "secret" to changing habits.

You can do this! All the best!

 

[boltnrun]

Also, if you don't buy it you can't eat it. Or, at least you can make it a lot more difficult to get.

If you don't have pastries, ice cream, hot dogs, cookies, etc. in your kitchen you would have to make a special trip to go buy some. And during that time you can talk yourself out of going. 

[Batya33]

One more tip going on the don’t deprive - I sometimes have more time and or more energy to work out longer than I do daily - I work out for a specific time period for a number of health and practical reasons. I’ve never done a shorter c workout but hypothetically I would if I felt sick etc while working out. 
The reason I never do longer is I know myself. If I do that I’ll feel “guilty” if I then don’t go for that longer time the next day. I don’t want to feel that way and I don’t want to feel “competitive “ in that way. So I keep it to the time. 

Similar with food. Let’s say you decide ok today I’m going to have pasta and I’ll prepare this portion. But while you’re eating it you challenge yourself to eat less of the pasta and sub with broccoli.

You are hungry you’re just trying to eat “even less” just like I challenge myself internally to do “even more “.  I wouldn’t do it because you’re setting yourself up for feeling negative if next time you don’t want to have broccoli instead of your pasta portion. and you’ll feel deprived if you force yourself not to finish your delicious meal despite wanting it and being hungry. 
just a thought. Good luck !!