Health versus being Thin

sugar_fiend said:
Hey Nic, wow thats a great loss. Hopefully I'll be where you are in a years time! I'm 5ft 2, starting out at 15.5 stone hoping to get down to about 9stone (if not less).
If you don't mind me asking, did you do it all through calorie counting? Any tips? And is there anything about the way you went about your weight loss that you would change (for health reasons or otherwise)?
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Hi there!
I did do it through CC yes, but I also completely overhauled my diet too. Out went all processed food and I stuck to a high protein, low fat diet with lots of meat, fish, fruit and veg. Also cut out were starchy carbs - so that's white bread, rice and pasta. This way salt and sugar were massively reduced. I didn't cut out alcohol and so still drank white wine and to be honest only started exercising in the latter half of the year!
Portion size was also a big thing for me as I could eat a massive amount so downsizing was quite hard at first and I could've cried with hunger sometimes! But I learnt along the way to fill up on veg and protein to keep me fuller longer and my stomach gradually shrank too.
This is what worked for me and I know it sounds quite hardcore but it was all or nothing. I know some people can't live without their daily chocolate fix but up until Christmas I hadn't had any in 11 months! The same can't be said for my wine though so that's my vice! I've found though that since eating a few chocs over Christmas (Celebrations etc.) I feel bloated and also hungrier. I've also put a few pounds on - I'm now 8.13. Very annoying but my own fault. The stupid thing is I was never a big chocolate/cake eater anyway so I don't know why I bothered!
I'll just have to be careful for a couple of weeks now and hopefully they'll soon drop off as I think it's probably a combination of sweets, the gym being closed and being pre-menstrual that have contributed to the gain!
How many cals are you on and how are you finding CC? :)
 
That sounds like a really healthy way to lose the weight! Its basically what I'm aiming for but I'm not quite there yet. I originaly said 1100-1200 cal a day but have only hit 1100 once, so I'm now going for 1000. It seems easy to fill up when what your eating is low cal!
Chocolate has been cut out (although if I ever reallllly want some, I'll let myself), have massively cut portion sizes and I'm choosing fruit and veg and making meals+sauces from scratch. I've cut out white bread already, and will be buying brown pasta+rices when what we have now runs out. I'm limiting portion sizes of carbs but can't imagine not having any. Ideally I want to keep it as low carb as possible. Wine is allowed, until what I have runs out (xmas presents haha), then will probably stick mostly to vodka+diet mixer if I fancy having a drink.

Tarotwoman, I agree we should all have our little treats. Life is for living :D
 
You'll do it! The trick is not to look too far ahead either - small steps are the way to go! I never looked beyond my next weekly weigh in and this loss, no matter how big or small (or non!) spurred me on for another week.
 
Nic68,

The weekly weight loss does spur you on for the following week. I'm a bit split on how far ahead I look; on the one hand I tell myself that this is for life, hence the 1000 cals for food and 300 for treats. But on the other hand I get up in the morning and don't look futher than sticking to it for that one day.

Sugarfiend

Can't imagine my wine supply ever running out, but the vodka + diet mixer always goes down well too, the good thing being I can have a double for the same price (in cals) as a small glass of wine.

Tracey
 
Reading what you have written I have to check this isn't the AA forum..... Only joking I know you are not really all a bunch of alcoholics.

Vodka neat is the way I do it. I actually don't like the taste of alcohol so it is a quick shot or three and that is me done for the night all of about twice a year! I wish I felt the same way about chocolate and could say I don't like the taste but that is just wishful thinking on my part.
 
Oh, it's not just alcohol I like, it seems to be everything that has a lot of calories in. I don't think I've ever craved a stick of celery or a diet yogourt. And I quite like the neat vodka too, out of the freezer so it's all thick and gloopy. I don't like red wine, whisky or any other dark spirits though. If all alcohol was like that I wouldn't drink.

Tracey
 
Hi
Well I have to agree that I like pretty much anything with calories, except the alcohol! I think a big reason I have been able to stick to me diet is because on Go Lower I get two chocolate brazil nuts as a treat. If I didn't have them to look forward to I don't know what I would do.
 
Hi Tracey

I think that has been part of my problem in the past. I thought I can't eat treats and then I could never stick to the diet properly.

The brazil nuts are part of the Go Lower diet so they must be eaten. I can't waste them now can I?
 
I'm glad to hear you're all enjoying your treats.

Wouldn't it be great if you could train yourself to crave healthy food rather than massively calorific food.
Or to really fancy a glass of water rather than wine (can't see that happening).
 
Cakeless - I'm not really doing daily treats either, but If i fancy something I'll think about it, have a glass of water or something and if I still want it then I'll have it. I think for me its important not to outright ban things because that's far harder to stick to in the long run. Although I have to make sure I give myself a limited amount (e.g a small bowl of something like popcorn/crisps rather than sitting with the big bag ...)

How do you mean your diet unhealthy at the moment?
 
I dont think I diet in the healthiest way at all! I just eat what I want until I've had all my allowed calories. I still eat processed foods etc. A lot of people would say this is bad, and yes it probably is, in comparison to someone who eats a nice healthy diet regularly, but in comparison to what I would normally eat it is way healthier (than chinese, mcdonalds, indian, kebabs, subway......)

I normally eat some fruit each day and I make more of a point in doing so now and I also eat veggies but not as much as I should.

The way I see it is that the biggest health risks imposed by food are caused by being overweight and by having too much saturated fat. So if I can stay at a healthy weight and eat less saturated fat then thats a hell of a lot better than filling myself full of kebabs!

Ok, I'm not going to be the healthiest person in the world but if I can reduce the biggest risk factors I'll be quite happy with that.

It is for vanity that I want to lose weight though, when i lost weight before, everyone always said how fantastic I looked and now ive put weight back on I just want to get back down again.

I think vanity is a good thing in this respect though, because if that is what urges people to lose weight and in turn become healthier and more confident then I dont think there is anything wrong with that.

x
 
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I think quite a few of us have not always dieted in the healthiest of ways.

SugarFiend I know what you mean about the crisps. I used to quite easily do a family size bag over an evening and then feel gulity when I realised I had finished the bag! Well done you for sticking to a small bowl.

I must admit because my treat is actually part of the Go Lower diet which I am sticking to really well, I sooo look forward to it and it is great motivation for me to know I will get a treat later.

Yes Tracey you are right. Somebody has gone to a lot of effort to put my treat into my diet so I can't waste them. Are you following me again tonight?

My main reason is also vanity but it keeps me motivated. I know in the long run losing weight will be better for me health wise but looking slim to everyone else is my goal.
 
I'm definitely not always eating healthy foods, but I try to look at it now as if i want something bad, then at least i'm going to eat a normal (ie. healthy persons) portion or smaller.
I think part of the reason I've stuck to calories this time (without 3/4 being made up of chocolate on any days haha) is because I'm allowed to have a little of what I fancy.

A good motivation to make healthier choices is that you get more to eat that way - I was amazed when i realised how few calories mushrooms, which I love, have and would much prefer 100g of those (cooked in a bit of tom puree or something) to a teeny tiny calorific equivalent in chocolate. This sounds obvious, but I really hadn't thought about it like this before.

I'm rambling a lot today...

SuzyK - i think the majority of people would be lieing if they said vanity played no part in wanting to be slim!
 
Hi Suzy, yep I'm following you round again while my tea is cooking.

klizw, if you're eating less saturated fat and losing weight, you're gona be healthier as a result. Being overweight is not healthy so you're going the right way.

Cakeless and Sugarfiend, I think it's a matter of what is best for you personally. I like to have treats everyday and am quite happy with just small treats - if I don't have them I binge. I have friends though that like you find it easier not to have them at all.

Tracey
 
I would rather be healthy than thin, no matter how soul destroying it is. If someone said to me "I'm sorry but if you lose one pound you will be unhealthy and at risk", of course it would be hard to stay at my size but I would do it. I have thought the other way in the past, done really dumb things to my body and have come out the other end hurting my body and gaining more weight. I am never actually been a healthy weight but I still get that losing weight and being a size ten doesn't solve everything in life.
 
For me the end goal is health. I have been fat since I was 11 and I have never really minded that much as I could always look OK. The real push to lose weight came because I was in pain and had sleep apnoea.

Having said that I would be prepared to follow a diet that wasn't that healthy if I lost weight fast although I wouldn't want to do it for very long. When I was dieting on real food I mostly stuck to healthy stuff but sometimes I would have a day where all my calories were ice cream.
 
Oh dear, I've just read about all your treats and counting calories and it's really gotten me wanting chocolate covered nuts and I feel like my diet's useless!

I've just had a glass of water and am thinking more straight now.

Not going to have chocolate (I'm too scared) and my diet's fine, I just don't count calories but before I buy anything I read all the labels, therefore I know it's fine before I eat it.

Phew. Bit of a panic there. Realy still do want those chocolate nuts :(
 
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