Thread: Want to try but scared of failing

I have tried slimming world in the past but have never lasted very long. I have always lost my weight with ww which I love, but ever since I had depression and anxiety( still have the anxiety bit) my eating habits have become very poor.

i used to eat incredibly healthily and I want to return to those ways and lose the 3 stone excess I have. I was thinking that slimming world would by nature of the plan, guide me that way.But I am so scared of failing yet again and having another summer overweight and miserable.

The hardest part will be not being able to eat umpteen biscuits which I can get away with on ww (though I shouldn't) and having to plan in advance I guess.

Do you think I could lose 3 stone by the middle of next year - I do go the gym au oboist 3 times a week as well.

juliet

Hello! Just read your post and had to reply! I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety at the beginning of the year and it has been one hellish year. I would eat when stressed, eat when I felt too anxious to go out and eat to cheer myself up or eat to celebrate having a good day. Overall I have put on nearly 3 stone! Just wanted to say I know how you feel. Secondly well done on wanting to do something about it. As far as sw vs ww I cannot offer advice on that but this only my 2nd week on sw and I lost 6lbs the first week! I think with this the success is in the planning! Hopefully more experienced people can give you advice but what they told me was always plan meals / snacks ahead and keep a food diary! Lastly be kind to yourself and don't be too hard on yourself. Also the people on here are lovely and always about to offer advice. Good luck x

Hi Juliet, welcome! Im sorry to hear u are having a rough time. I can empathise with how you feel. I always think that having an eating plan gives me a focus and can help with feelings of anxiety. However we all know that comfort eating and anxiety are often linked.

I always find that slimming world works well for me and its by far the plan i favour, but we all prefer different eating plans. If WW works for you and u are comfortable with, then maybe thats best for u!!!

However im sure if you give slimming world a try u would see how flexible it can be and u can still have biscuits

Whatever u decide to do if u stick to the plan u wont fail..... How ever if u fall pff the horse just dont give urself a hard time and pop back on. We are all in the same boat hun. This is a great forum full of people that understand and have the same experinces u do.

Debs xxx

Hi Juliet

I've found that SW has really helped me change my eating habits. I eat healthily but never feel hungry, and it has re-educated me about food.

I think losing 3 stone by Summer is really achievable. If it helps as an indicator, I started SW on 31 December 2011, and by May 2012 I had lost 3 stone. I had a particular goal in mind (a wedding I was going to in May), which I think was an extra incentive, but if you are able to get into the SW mindset and really focus, I think your aim is a realistic one.

Also, keep coming on here- if you are ever having a difficult or down day, these forums are a really good place to find support and guidance.

you cant fail at slimming world it is not a "diet to fail on" it is a healthy balanced lifestyle for life that you can come back to when we do have these inevitable little blips just because you have a bad day it doesnt need to ruin your week if you have a bad day twice a week for a year you have still had 260 good days and even if its not perfect 100% its better than having 365 "BAD DAYS"

good luck on your journey i love sw its the only diet that has ever changed the way i think about food ive been on it since jan and cant believe im still going

I was diagnosed with depression last year too and my eating habits have changed since being on the medication.
its not easy but if you remain focused and try to plan ahead it really does help a lot xxx

Hello, I also have depression and have always given up on diets and then feel worse, eat more etc etc but I decided to try Slimming World 10 weeks ago as my only other options is surgery and I love it now as I have the right mind set.

I am enjoying cooking and feeling a million times better than I did this time last year and although I have a long way to go with weight loss I feel more confident that I can do it.

everyone on here is so friendly and helpful x

Juliet, I agree with Debs. If you fall off the horse you don't turn him into steak and have a barbeque; you dust yourself off and get right back on. I think that just about everyone on here has tried diets and failed. Some of us have probably been trying and failing for years. I know that I can speak for myself and say that at one point I decided that I was meant to be fat. There was nothing I could do about it.

If you stick to SW you will lose weight. If I can do it anyone can do it and I know a lot of people say that, but I mean it because I've been obese and dieting for 6+ years. I would diet and diet and sometimes not lose anything for months. In 5 weeks of SW I have lost almost a stone and a half.

And you don't have to deprive yourself. I actually find it easier to stay on track and lose if I don't syn, even though I know you are supposed to have them. Usually I don't bother, but if you can't live without biscuits, you're allowed to have them! Tonight I had a cupcake after dinner.

My advice would be to just give it another try. A serious try. Keep track of what you eat and DO NOT LIE TO YOURSELF! I think most dieters trip themselves up by sneaking too many treats and then pretending to forget them. What's the worst that could happen? Worst case scenario is you'll stay the same, but I don't see that happening.

I think you will find a lot of people have experience with depression and anxiety. I joined earlier this year (coming close to my one year anniversary now) and by the summer I had lost 3 stone. some weeks I do great and the weight falls off, other weeks it is slow, still plodding off though You hit the nail on the head, you want to eat healthily, and with slimming world you don't have much choice in eating healthily! There is a lot of research about the relation between diet and depression/anxiety. Not about being on a diet, but food and it's relation to chemicals and seeing food as what it gives you, rather than just the calories. It should give you a good boost.

Before I started SW I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and my therapist said losing weight may help, as my 2.5 stone weight gain in a year was one of many reasons why I was so unhappy. I started SW in August and its been a struggle but 4 months later I'm 2 stone lighter and so much happier. I still suffer with anxiety and I have the odd down day but I'm so much better than I was.
I found it gave me something else to focus on

Originally Posted by Juliet2012

I have tried slimming world in the past but have never lasted very long. I have always lost my weight with ww which I love, but ever since I had depression and anxiety( still have the anxiety bit) my eating habits have become very poor.

i used to eat incredibly healthily and I want to return to those ways and lose the 3 stone excess I have. I was thinking that slimming world would by nature of the plan, guide me that way.But I am so scared of failing yet again and having another summer overweight and miserable.

The hardest part will be not being able to eat umpteen biscuits which I can get away with on ww (though I shouldn't) and having to plan in advance I guess.

Do you think I could lose 3 stone by the middle of next year - I do go the gym au oboist 3 times a week as well.

juliet

From what you have written, it sounds like perhaps you have been using food as a way of dealing with your depression, which has resulted in the weight gain. I think no matter which 'diet' you choose, it will be best to manage your depression and weight together.

SW will encourage you to eat healthy and will perhaps challenge you to have to change some of your habits like the sweets and biscuits. But I believe in the long run it is better as it teaches you a way to eat healthy which is sustainable for life rather than just being a way of shifting a few pounds like other diets.

Personally I've following sw as a way of eating healthier while pregnant (won't lie I haven't stuck to it much until recently!). Now I've got my head in the right place with it, it is easy to stick to (no weighing, counting etc) plus eating this way does make me feel better in myself and has lifted my mood and energy levels. I'll deffo be sticking with this after the baby!

Try not to worry about how much you will lose by when and focus on making changes for life with a gradual weight loss, so you're not putting unneeded pressure on yourself x

Do you know what, it's really funny that I stumbled accross your thread this morning. I have just been reading the new magazine on my way to work this morning, and I came accross a great quote in it which really struck a chord with me. You might find it useful too . . .

"We all fail from time to time. But without failure, success is not an option"

Hi Juliet
Everything everyone says is so true. I look upon S W as a way of life now, not a diet. I started going to group in January 2011, got to target Nov 2011, having lost 1lb under 2.5stone. It was a slow journey, but I got there. I have maintained my weight now for over 12 months,its just a way of life I dont think about it at all. Yes I have treats, but count them within my syns. Wishing you every success along your journey

The main journey is getting a happy relationship with food

Thank you all for your lovely replies. It is so true about needing to have a good relationship with food and that's what I do not have at the moment.

My depression was caused by me hating my body and my figure which at the time was (I realise now) near perfect (toned, slim, Bmi of 22). THis started leading me into an eating disorder which my doctors would do nothing about - well he gave me Anti depressants which led me the other way and a 4 stone weight gain which made me even unhappier......which led to the comfort eating.
The depression has gone but the anxiety is still there at times and leads me straight to bread and chocolate!

I need to look at food in a different way - not see certain types of food as comfort. I also need to be able to pick foods because I want to eat them not just because of how many calories they have .
I am still debating what to do ( I know what I should do!) but hugely appreciate all your comments.

Juliet