Where am I going wrong?

[Zarlum]

I'm completely new to this forum so sorry if this is in the wrong place, but I am struggling and I am restarting...

When I was 16 I was a -little- overweight and I tried to diet but I just couldn't lose weight, I'd cut out chocolate COMPLETELY, Didn't take any sweets, Stopped drinking soda etc etc.

Now I'm 18 and I have a BMI of 31.75 -sigh- and I'm 5'5" I'm suffering from extreme lack of self confidence and since the UK is having a heat wave where I am, I feel really determined to try and again. The problem I have is exercising; I have very large 'Man boobs' and I hate exercising in public as it's terribly embarrising. Recently I've been going out with a few freinds and playing football for 4-6 hours on and off. I've been doing this since monday, Got on the scales just now and I had gained 4 pounds. See this is where I normally quit. I've heard it's normal to gain weight but I really just can't process that because I've been doing at least 2 hours of non stop football/running after A boomerang I've also cut out all things I thought were making me gain weight rapidly.

So I've thought - If I keep record of exersize and what I eat and post it here; maybe you guys could point out what I'm doing wrong.

I think not having breakfast could be something to do with it, but would having no breakfast really be to blame for a 4 pound weight gain in a little over a week? Also it's not just this 4 pounds I've gained, Since christmas I've been gaining like 1/2 pounds a week I'm not stressed as life hasn't changed at all since 4 years ago....

Also, when I do try eating breakfast I manage one spoonful of weetabix and feel sick and physically can't eat any more.
So here it goes

Breakfast: skipped...
Lunch: Small Sausage Roll from the fresh Deli place.
Tea (Dinner): 4 Slices of 'Wafer thin Turkey ham' + 2 boiled eggs + 2 potatoes + a fresh tomato
Snacks: 3 small pieces of shortbread
Drink: 3 litres of Volvic water, 500ml Pepsi Diet
Exersize: 2 Mile (30 minute) walk
30 minutes of on and off football / boomerang chasing.

My average day:

Breakfast: None
Lunch: Ham + Cheese on a Large Brown 'Bin lid' / batch / bread.
Dinner: 4 Slices of 'Wafer thin Turkey ham' + 2 boiled eggs + 2 potatoes + a fresh tomato OR Chicken and Potatoe Waffles
Snacks: 2-4 Sandwiches :break_diet:
Drinks: 2-3L Volvic, 500ml Pepsi Diet occassionaly
Exersize: Daily 1-2 mile (15-30 minute) walk
30 Minutes on Wii Fit

What would you advise me to change and what should I change it too? I've been looking around endlessly on the internet for help but everything I found involved paying for a DVD/book.

I have heard protein shakes are good to have as breakfast? Which one would you recommend?

 

[Iris]

Sounds like you need a hug. I'm told I give good ones, but not sure they translate well over the web. I'm sorry you're feeling so down on yourself, but please, don't despair, it's all within your control to change and it sounds to me like you've already cracked the exercise side of the equation, so credit yourself with that! All you need to do now is sort out your diet, and it's doable because there's loads of foods out there to help you. There's a stickied thread (not sure if it's this forum, hope it is) that's from 'Cook Yourself Thin' and it gives a great list of low calorie foods to give you a bit of a starting point on stocking up on healthy snacks.

What do you need to change? Well, I'm not an expert, and I don't like to demonise any one food (everything in moderation!) but man, the sausage rolls will not do you any favours at all. Sausages are very high in fat, the pastry they're in is very high in fat, and I'm not sure they contain much in the way of good nutritional anything. Have you tried sushi? I shied away from it for a long time, but it's bloody delicious and relatively low in calories if you watch your portion size. Very satisfying and extremely good for you, too!

Now, the breakfast issue. It's all personal choice - if you can't stomach a breakfast, then you can't stomach a breakfast. But I do think you'll leave yourself open to being ravenously hungry by midday and then grabbing something calorific and ultimately unsatisfying, like that sausage roll. Could you try a couple of boiled eggs and toast soldiers in the morning and just see how you get on? They're easy to eat and very nutritious and will keep you going until lunch. Team them with a little bit of lean ham and maybe some baby tomatoes and you're gold. Don't fret if you don't like weetabix, it's not my cuppa tea either. I suppose porridge is a no-go, too? How about beans on toast? Kippers? A nice tub of fruity yoghurt and a bowl strawberries? Is there anything you can think of that you'd be able to enjoy in the morning? If so, try it. If not, you're just a brunch man and that's the end of it. But make it a healthy brunch! Good protein and carbs, some veggies, some fruit. If you're on the go then subway would be healthier than a sausage roll - just watch the dressings and the fattier cuts of meat.

Your lunch and dinner menus don't sound too bad to me at all and it sounds like you're splitting up your meals nicely. The issue seems to be snacks. Sandwiches aren't the devil incarnate, but not all sandwiches are created equal. If it's white bread with butter and full fat cheese and mayo... it's going to be very difficult to lose weight on that kind of stodge. A light option of, say, smoked salmon and light philadelphia, or boiled egg salad with some Helman's extra light mayo and lots of cress, or even a sugar-free jam and banana sandwich - there are good healthy options out there to choose from. I'd keep an eye on my bread intake, though. Sandwiches are more-ish and bread is easy to overeat. If you can stand rice cakes, they're only around 30 cals a slice, they require lots of chewing, and you can top them with things like philadelphia extra light, smoked salmon, light slices of turkey breast, ham, roast beef, and lots of salad veggies. Your fruit and veg intake does seem low. Got to make friends with them, I'm afraid. It has to be done. Broccoli is a beautiful vegetable and you can eat a massive bowl of it for less than 100 calories. It'll bulk out any meal and trust me, after a while you will fall in love with the stuff. I mean it! Well, I hope you will. Try substituting fruit for some of your usual snacks, too. A big juicy apple with some light cheese, lovely bowl of strawberries with a low fat yoghurt on top, nice slice of pineapple, or a good old banana. Fruit is a major weight loss helper and it'd make a healthier choice for you than some of the foods you've selected.

Shortbread. It's gorgeous, isn't it, it's also one of the highest sugary snacks/biscuits you can possibly eat, in terms of fat and calories. Shortbread isn't going to help you. If you need a sweet fix, you could have roughly 3-4 Alpen Light choc fudge cereal bars for the price of one moderately sized shortbread biscuit.

I hope some of this is useful to you - it's difficult to know where to start, everybody's different and you have to find the plan that works well for you. I think you've made a good start, though, it's mostly just some tweaking (sausage rolls and shortbread!) that needs to be done. Just one last thing - don't let fluctuations in your weight get you down. If you get fixated on the scale you can become demotivated when it doesn't cooperate. My best advice would be to weigh yourself only once a week at most, once a fortnight would be even better, I think. Give yourself a chance to put a healthy eating plan into practice and I'm sure you'll get the results you deserve.

Best of luck!

 

[bronski]

Hey Zarlum! Welcome to the board, first off By joining, you clearly want to make a difference, so big congrats on that!

Bless ya, it's tough to feel so down. Especially at your age, I was the same. Even though you'll have days where you'll feel like it, you won't be the only one going through this, and you certainly won't be the last. Just always remember, even in the hardest times, you're not alone, and there are so many people - here and off here - that will help you all the way and always be rooting for you

You asked what you're doing wrong. Don't ever look at any "bad days" or "wrong foods" as anything wrong. Like Iris said, putting food and actions into these two basic catagories create unhealthy views of food. It's OK to have the occasional chocolate bar, so long as you work harder the next day or go a little longer at the gym.

Looking at your days, your exercise is down to a T. Keep enjoying it, and exercise won't ever seem like a chore.

With the food, breakfast is highly recommended. Again, to borrow Iris's words, you won't end up starving before lunch, and it'll balance your blood sugars. Something very bland or light, like dry toast, a low fat cereal bar or a piece of fruit will do good.

I guess what you need to look at is economising your calorie pound. Like the bread; 3 slices will come to just over 300kcals. Then add the filling (ham, cheese, butter = approx. 350kcals) and that could come to about 650kcals. Instead, you could have an apple (50kcals), a bowl of porridge with a tablespoon of honey (235kcals) and a bowl of rice and veg (227kcals) for less than that 650kcals. It's all about how you "spend" your calories.

Do watch the calorie dense foods. Sausage rolls are very high in fat, partly thanks to the pastry, partly thanks to the sausage itself. Shortbread, too, is very sugary, and again thanks to the butter involved, they are high fat foods too. Shortbread is amazing though, especially the caramel variety! That doesn't mean they're off limits, far from. Just limit them, and if you do have a sausage roll for lunch one day, have a lighter snack and dessert. Nowadays there are loads of "Good for You" brands of things like sausage rolls in Sainsburys, Asda, Tesco and various other supermarket giants. Weight Watchers also has low fat caramel shortbreads too, so it's worth shopping around!

You have made a great start already! And I hope that the advice Iris and I have left will help you out. I recommend starting a diary in the diary section, so you can keep track of your thoughts, feelings and experiences on your journey. Good luck, babe! I look forward to hearing how you do

Bron

 

[XlosingitX]

welcome yr in the right place

 

[appleshape]

I was never a fan of brekkie, I can't eat early in the morning without being sick-or so I thought. Start slow and work your way up to a proper breakfast. I started out with yogurt and some nuts and even that was a struggle. I;m a big fan of protein shakes for breakfast because they wake up my metabolism and fill me up but no to the 'icky' point that solid food does.

As for exercise, if you don't want to join a gym exercise at home. I have never been a member of a gym in my life-I just make the best of what I have at home-use stairs for press ups, paint cans if you can't afford to buy weights. Search around online and you'll find plenty of sites where you can download workout plans. Apart form that the only advice I have is to weigh and measure yourself once a week and once a week only. Hope this helps