What is a healthy weight and how do you maintain it?

[PLAOH]

Hi all.

As I'm sitting here watching the rain pour down at my window (good old British weather ), I'm gutted there is no sunshine but secretly relieved. Why? well bad weather means I can hide another day behind my coat. Sad as this may seem, and I can't quite believe that I'm being so honest and open here for all to read :o , but as someone who has been struggling to lose weight for 9 years, I dread the summer.

Summer for me means having to expose flesh when I would rather cover up :lol: It also means feeling hot and bothered and generally hating everytime I have to go out. Is this just me or do others feel the same?

At school I was called 'beanpole' and before I met my partner and had children was 11 stone, which for my height (5ft 11) was slim. Now I'm carrying an extra 5 stone and desperate to change the situation. I so badly wanted to come over to the geek stand at Excel, but couldn't bring myself to :o Being overweight is effecting many parts of my life, except nails :Love: and as I've hit rock bottom, wanted your thoughts and views.

I've tried every diet (sorry Sandi, I even fell off that one :o ) and as my hubby points out, I never stick with anything (except nails :Love: ) Do you think that diets work? Is it just a case of self control and everthing in moderation? For those of you who consider yourself at a healthy weight, how do maintain it and for those who have dieted, is it the fact that you will always be on a diet?

I was reading a book by Susie Orbach and the main tools are to eat only when hungry and stop the moment you are full? I'm not sure I'd know what genuine hunger is :Scared:

The rain has now stopped and the sun is trying to break through the clouds. I look forward to your thoughts and comments as I embark on a new chapter. My daughter makes her First Holy Communion on 12th June this year. I would so love to enjoy the day, instead of dreading it.

Loux

 

[Debs]

Oh Lou, I know exactly where you`re coming from here. I am exactly the same although plenty of people who don`t really know would think differently.
I went on a training course last week and there were 2 life coaches on the same course and they tried to help me. They told me to look in the mirror several times a day and say to myself "I am lucky", can you imagine??????
I hate looking in the mirror and I`m not in the habit of lying ot myself because I`m really NOT lucky.
I`m overweight, ugly and for the most part, Have no confidence!
The only confidence I have is in my love for the beauty industry
So where do we go from here? I have no idea, but you`re not alone.
I know that doesn`t make you feel any better but maybe we`ll find the answer and be able to lose weight some time soon. BIG HUGS!

 

[buttonmoon]

http://www.weightwatchers.co.uk/health/asm/calc_healthyweight.aspx

http://www.weightwatchers.co.uk/health/asm/calc_bmi.aspx

x

 

[Fab Freak]

Hi Lou
You are not alone I feel the same. I am nearly 3 stone overwieght and have a wardrobe full of size 10&12 clothes which I no longer fit into.

I have been to slimming world and it worked but I just cant give it the commitment it needs due to work.

So now I am reducing my calorie intake.

I don't eat sweets or cakes etc but I defo drink to many calories ie Wine! and have no more than 3 packets of crips per week so it's obviously the size of my meals which is keeping the weight on and lack of exercise.

So last week I started having my meals on a side plate or if pasta in a small cereal bowl rather than my huge pasta bowls - as you can only fit so much in and once you've finished you realise you are full and that a smaller amount is fine. But I am finding that 30/40 minutes exercise every day ie walking for me is really helping. I have found that now I notice my tummy rumble :o when I am hungry

Funnily enough it's my nieces Holy Communion on the 19th June plus I am off to Royal Ascot so it is my goal to be able to wear something I feel comfortable in as I have lost those unwanted stones.

So you aren't alone :Love: am I there with your to.

So chin up chuck you can do it, think about that lovely dress you will be buying come the 17th

 

[buttonmoon]

i was always 9st (5ft 4")
11.5st when i was pregnant
had daughter and was 9st again

i joined weightwatchers last may and was 10st 11.5lb!!!
i was gutted
so i lost 17lbs which took me to 9st 7lbs
i was chuffed
went to leeds festival in august and ate like a pig
supposed to start back on ww when i came home but i never did-
so last week i weighed 10st 6lb-almost put it all back on!!
(wasnt the fact i wasnt dieting anymore- just eating takeaways, bars of choc, crisps, chips etc etc every single day!my own fault)

so i started again on monday (sneaky peek on scales tells me i have lost 4lbs in 3 days!)
u tend to lose average 2lbs a week on weightwatchers
it becomes a habit after a while and a way of life

i am allowed 20 points a day (18 when im under 10st)
so i could eat 2 big macs all day (bout 9 points each) and thats it
or i could find low points options (chicken nuggets i think around 3 points)
if u want to be full you have to switch to healthier stuff -lot of veg is point free or low points
but u can still fit in snacks and treats everyday (2pts for a curly wurly-yey!)

i think to be determined and stick with a diet, you have to be ready and willing (like giving up smoking)
it has to be the right time

i wont be on a diet for life but hopefully will learn make the right choices when it comes to food

im going to a wedding in july-i will be 9st!
just watch
good luck!

xxx

 

[buttonmoon]

http://www.weightwatchers.co.uk/index.aspx

http://www.weightwatchers.co.uk/community/mbd/index.aspx

the last one is ww forum- ask these girls for help-theure great
xx

 

[jordinaildesign]

Firstly, big hugs to you 2 :hug: , in fact MASSIVE hugs :hug: :hug: :hug: cos I know that horrible horrible feeling and I wish I could make it go away for you. Let me tell you my story...

I was always big for my age, never like the skinny kids but by no means overweight, but I got ill when I was 11 and to skip the massive long story the end result was I was put on the pill (yes at 11) and my weight ballooned! By the time I was 13 I weighed over 11 stone which at 5'4" and still a child was not good! I used to be so self conscious and hated the fact that everybody in school was "normal" despite eating like horses! In turn I stopped eating and my focus was entirely on food. At one point I was surviving on 1 piece of bread and a few slices of cucumber every couple of days! I don't know why, but not even this worked because I was still overweight!

The thing that changed my life was getting in with a new group of friends who loved me regardless of my size and we'd go walking round shops and playing on the field, generally more active things than I used to do, and because my friends weren't the shallow, 'look at the state of that' type of people I didn't mind, in fact I enjoyed it. This led to me becoming happier and food was no longer my focus!

Skip forward a few years, I'm now 24 and weigh about 8 and a half stone and I'm like this because if I walk a lot, and if I want something to eat, I'll eat it, if I don't I won't. If I fancy crisps I'll have crisps, a lot of the time I fancy salad and veg too. If you just relax and listen to what your body's telling you it wants then thats the best thing you can do. I know its easy to say and SO SO SO difficult to get to, but when you do, and I know you can, it feels great!
I really hope you can draw on my experience and if you ever need anything, to chat etc, you know where I am. :hug:

PS Sorry for the MASSIVE post! :o

 

[Teena_B]

Hi all.

As I'm sitting here watching the rain pour down at my window (good old British weather ), I'm gutted there is no sunshine but secretly relieved. Why? well bad weather means I can hide another day behind my coat. Sad as this may seem, and I can't quite believe that I'm being so honest and open here for all to read :o , but as someone who has been struggling to lose weight for 9 years, I dread the summer.

Summer for me means having to expose flesh when I would rather cover up :lol: It also means feeling hot and bothered and generally hating everytime I have to go out. Is this just me or do others feel the same?

YES! I work in a really hot office, and I hate having to wear skimpy tops, but I just can't cope with the heat.

At school I was called 'beanpole' and before I met my partner and had children was 11 stone, which for my height (5ft 11) was slim. Now I'm carrying an extra 5 stone and desperate to change the situation. I so badly wanted to come over to the geek stand at Excel, but couldn't bring myself to :o Being overweight is effecting many parts of my life, except nails :Love: and as I've hit rock bottom, wanted your thoughts and views.

I've tried every diet (sorry Sandi, I even fell off that one :o ) and as my hubby points out, I never stick with anything

This is my husband's view of me, it's one of the things that has come between us, to an extent we don't know where we're going relationship wise. He has no faith in my being able to stick to anything (hello, been married 17 years, if that's not sticking to something I dunno what is!)

(except nails :Love: ) Do you think that diets work? Is it just a case of self control and everthing in moderation? For those of you who consider yourself at a healthy weight, how do maintain it and for those who have dieted, is it the fact that you will always be on a diet?

I became a slimming world consultant. With them I lost weight & got down to a size 10-12. I gave that up due to stress, gradually I've got back to a size 18. I feel like a whale. BUT - when I lost the weight, I shifted the emphasis on my "deflated balloon boobs" and flabby skin, so I still couldn't show my body with pride.

I was reading a book by Susie Orbach and the main tools are to eat only when hungry and stop the moment you are full? I'm not sure I'd know what genuine hunger is :Scared:

The rain has now stopped and the sun is trying to break through the clouds. I look forward to your thoughts and comments as I embark on a new chapter. My daughter makes her First Holy Communion on 12th June this year. I would so love to enjoy the day, instead of dreading it.

Loux

Can I lose weight at the moment? NOT ON YOUR LIFE! I had the training, I know exactly what to do, but at the moment cannot do it. There are far too many problems in my life, I truly beleive it has to be the right time, other influencing factors can play such a role in this. I WILL LOSE WEIGHT AGAIN, but not now. First, I wanna get my life sorted out, then have a successful business, then be a competition winner in nails, then I will lose the weight!

When I lost the weight before, it was my only focus. I had no other issues to deal with. Also, if you get past the first 2-3 weeks, you stop yearning for the less healthy food, you really start to enjoy your healthier foods!

 

[buttonmoon]

At one point I was surviving on 1 piece of bread and a few slices of cucumber every couple of days! I don't know why, but not even this worked because I was still overweight!
:o

this didnt work cos if you dont eat enough, your body thinks you are starving it and doesnt kno when the next meal will come, so it goes into starvation mode and holds tightly to every last bit of fat in your body

doing ww, u must eat all of your points within the week or u may gain weight (sounds weird but true)

also you can gain bonus points by doing excercise

and try 2 drink 2ltrs of water a day as this really helps weight loss
x

 

[colorflair]

Hi Lou,

You really are so not alone I am also trying to loose weight and like Louise have a wardrobe with my 10/12 that no longer fit - having children is a wonderful thing but they sure did make me pile on the weight!!! don't give up we will get there and please do not worry about what others will think half the time we are so worried about what our friends, family or strangers are thinking and most of the time they are completely oblivious to what we are feeling!!! chin up go out and enjoy the sun, like Louise said walking is a great way to exercise, when I feel down I just think look at people like Dawn French now she is really a sexy lady!!

Debs!!! what are you like - I am a proper lurker but read every post and you kinda get a feeling about people and when I see you have posted I know it is going to be a nice, warm, helpful post and when I just read what you wrote I thought no way you are such a beautiful person and your photo is lovely I cannot believe you feel that way.
Please do not feel that way - you really are a sweetie :hug:

Hope you all have a good day

Hugs
Jeanne

 

[Tilly Ann]

Hey girls!!

Sorry that you are all feeling a pooey!!!!

Just thought I'd suggest the GI Diet!! My boyfriend always whitters about it and I finally tried it and I can say it is GREAT!!! I loved it!!
It's more about changing your eating habits for life instead of just a weight loss diet!!!
I don't really weigh myself I just go by how my clothes feel!!!
I used to get picked on at school because I was a size 12 instead of the usual size 8 or 10!! I don't think 12 is big at all!!!!
Now I have tried this diet I don't think I'll ever try another!!!!
It can be a bit annoying to stick to and some foods that you think are really good for you are actually some of the ones that you should avoid!!

http://www.gidiet.com/en-gb/

Here is the website for you to have a peek at!!!!
Hope you find it a bit helpful!!

Cheer up ladies!!! It's what's on the inside that counts and I think we are all Fairly Fabulous!!!!!!!!!!

Best Wishes

Tilly Ann xx

 

[PLAOH]

Oh Lou, I know exactly where you`re coming from here. I am exactly the same although plenty of people who don`t really know would think differently.
I went on a training course last week and there were 2 life coaches on the same course and they tried to help me. They told me to look in the mirror several times a day and say to myself "I am lucky", can you imagine??????
I hate looking in the mirror and I`m not in the habit of lying ot myself because I`m really NOT lucky.
I`m overweight, ugly and for the most part, Have no confidence!
The only confidence I have is in my love for the beauty industry
So where do we go from here? I have no idea, but you`re not alone.
I know that doesn`t make you feel any better but maybe we`ll find the answer and be able to lose weight some time soon. BIG HUGS!

Hi Debbie,

Thank you so much for being honest and for replying. It just goes to show that you don't really know how people are feeling. I would never have put you down as someone who felt like that. Your posts and your picuture tells such a different story. :Love:

Like you I feel very confident in my work, just wish I could inject it into other areas. Probably sounds really silly but I can go to a complete strangers house and work on their nails, but freak at the thought of attending another course :o :o What a mare an I :smack:

With regard to the life coaching, I have heard that before. I'll make you a deal, if you talk to yourself in the mirror, then so will I. You never know, it may work :biggrin: :biggrin:

Lou xxx :hug:

 

[PLAOH]

Hi Lou
You are not alone I feel the same. I am nearly 3 stone overwieght and have a wardrobe full of size 10&12 clothes which I no longer fit into.

I have been to slimming world and it worked but I just cant give it the commitment it needs due to work.

So now I am reducing my calorie intake.

I don't eat sweets or cakes etc but I defo drink to many calories ie Wine! and have no more than 3 packets of crips per week so it's obviously the size of my meals which is keeping the weight on and lack of exercise.

So last week I started having my meals on a side plate or if pasta in a small cereal bowl rather than my huge pasta bowls - as you can only fit so much in and once you've finished you realise you are full and that a smaller amount is fine. But I am finding that 30/40 minutes exercise every day ie walking for me is really helping. I have found that now I notice my tummy rumble :o when I am hungry

Funnily enough it's my nieces Holy Communion on the 19th June plus I am off to Royal Ascot so it is my goal to be able to wear something I feel comfortable in as I have lost those unwanted stones.

So you aren't alone :Love: am I there with your to.

So chin up chuck you can do it, think about that lovely dress you will be buying come the 17th

Hi Louise,

Another geek who's downfall is wine :lol: T

Thank you so much for your post. Reading all these replies has given me a warm feeling inside :Love: I haven't seen you post on here for a while, if it's ok with you I'll keep in touch with pm's

With regard to the smaller clothes, I was in two minds whether to get rid of them all. Everytime I open the wardrobe and find most of it doesn't fit, it only makes me feel worse. I also think that WHEN not IF I lose the weight I would probably want to buy a new wardrobe anyway :biggrin:

Sending you positive vibes for your weight loss :hug:

 

[PLAOH]

Just a quickie to say thank you for the support.

Colorflair, first of welcome to the board, I notice you are newbie and thankyou for your support. Buttonmoon54321, I will check out the links and good luck with your weight loss. Funny enough, onew of my ladies yesterday, Gill, suggested that I join her at WW. It was very sweet of her :biggrin: but obviously means I do look large :lol:

Clare and Teena, again thanks for the support and Clare I got your message this morning re the postage. :biggrin:

Tilly Ann, I have heard about the GI diet, I will also have a look. I think as a family we need to overhaul some of our eating habits.

Anyway I've done it. Yep I've posted my mug on the screen so I'm now exposed. I figure that until I love me big, I won't make the journey to slimmer. I'll go now before you are all sick :o

 

[Lily]

Hiya

the one i reccomened is slimming world

Have a look at this site!!!! its brill

www.pontandcas-slimming-world.co.uk

You will get loads of help and advise on this site!!!!!

Amanda

 

[PLAOH]

Hiya

the one i reccomened is slimming world

Have a look at this site!!!! its brill

www.pontandcas-slimming-world.co.uk

You will get loads of help and advise on this site!!!!!

Amanda

Hi Amanda,

Thank you for the link.

Hope you don't mind me asking but have you had to diet in the past? My reason for asking is I'm interested in the views from those who haven't had a weight problem (not that I'm not interested in your views, god I'm pants at trying to write things down, :o much easier if I saw you face to face :biggrin: :Love: ) I was listening to radio 2 a while back and they had a debate on overweight people. Anyway at the end of the show they read out some of the listeners views on this subject and the vast majority said it was down to will power, eating just three meals a day and exercise.

I suppose if it just down to this,then I'm trying to understand why I sabotage my efforts :?:

 

[Lily]

Hi Amanda,

Thank you for the link.

Hope you don't mind me asking but have you had to diet in the past? My reason for asking is I'm interested in the views from those who haven't had a weight problem (not that I'm not interested in your views, god I'm pants at trying to write things down, :o much easier if I saw you face to face :biggrin: :Love: ) I was listening to radio 2 a while back and they had a debate on overweight people. Anyway at the end of the show they read out some of the listeners views on this subject and the vast majority said it was down to will power, eating just three meals a day and exercise.

I suppose if it just down to this,then I'm trying to understand why I sabotage my efforts :?:

Hiya

Right, for yeras i could always eat what i wanted, although i have always ate healthy!!!!!!

I was usualy about 8 1/2 to 9 stone......then i had my daughter and found i wasnt as active as i was..................a little weight started to come on but not that much really. I went up to about 11 stone gradually but i wouldnt say i was fat!!!!!

Looking back at when i was 8 1/2 stone i looked terribly ill and gaunt where as now i look alot heathier. I would like to loose a few pounds but nothing major!!!! I think at the moment their is so much stuff in mags sayiong you have to be a certain weight and i think its a right load opf twaddle!!!!! I was a slimming world consultant and this is not a diet but an eating plan and heathy eating!!!!!!

I know ladies that stick to the plan and exercise but cant loose weight and this is usualy down to their metabolism!!!! they may be a little on the large side but be healthy at the same time!!!!!

I dont struggle with my weight as such but i am not happy with my shape, if i could just tone up i would be happy!!!! I do eat healthy, but i do like a glass of wine on an evening!!!! and working the hours i dont tend to get a lunch break as such so i eat late at night!!!!!!

I have tried diets in the past like Atkins, Cabbage soup and grapefruit but thy are not healthy, we all need a good balnce of fats, carbs, protein and fruit and veg!!!! These are just fads cos you look ina mag and ant a figure like kylie!!!! I thinks mags are giving the wrong impression on our children at the moment!!!!

Going back to ma having to diet i would say no not really but the presure of seeing stars in mags put a lot of pressure on me as a teen as i wasnt what you would call a popular girl at school (i wasnt fat) just not popular!!! so when i was about 14 i was about 8 stone and i thought i was fat and i did suffer a little with anorexcia and i did once loose just over a stone in weight in one week!!!!

So i try to eat healthy and be a little active but not deprive myself of anything as this tends to have the opposite on some people, like cutting out sweet thing then all of a suden your sugar level will drop and you will gorge on anything sweet!!!! this is not healthy!!!!!

HTH

Amanda

PS sorry for all the spelling mistakes i am typing really fast inbetween clients

 

[Just Jo]

Hi Lou,

Yea I do know where you are coming from ... I am about 5 stone overweight and i hate it! It does dictate everything you do in life everyday and like you i love the sun but dread it also coz it means hunting for something to wear that i dont look hideous in. My confidence has hit rock bottom and i think in my nails too coz i so want to interact with others but just think they will see what i do - fat and old! I have booked to do a day next week with other people and am really excited but really scared too coz of what i will look like compared to everyone else.
Lou I dont have the answers ( i have even thought about surgery) I have slimmed using slimming pills for years and they have left me in a mess physically and mentally so dont go down that route please.
The only way is too eat less and more healthy and excercise more - i think we all know that lol - but you definately have to be in the right mindset and that is the hardest part. I think I start a diet every week lol but knowing that i am going to fail so I guess thats why i always do. My mum used to tell me that I could set my mind to do or get anything i wanted (i so love a challenge) and I always succeeded - except in losing weight - didnt make sense coz it costs nought, infact costs a damn site less than what i eat lol
Anyways i am not going to go on anymore except to give you :hug: :hug:
Take care xxx

PS Debs you always come over a beautiful confident lady on here and your piccy is lovely

 

[Teena_B]

In response to Lily's post:

I think at the moment their is so much stuff in mags sayiong you have to be a certain weight and i think its a right load opf twaddle!!!!!
I AGREE! I'm always moaning about this very same thing!

I was a slimming world consultant and this is not a diet but an eating plan and heathy eating!!!!!!
I WAS A SLIMMING WORLD CONSULTANT TOO! I also beleive that this is a very sensible way to lose weight. I also think it suits most people, if they take the time to get used to it, and to adapt to it, AND IF IT'S THE RIGHT TIME FOR THEM TO LOSE WEICHT. I am a very sweet toothed person, and I did it, my sister in law is a savoury toothed person, and she did it! My brother in law is a diabetic, he lost weight, and controlled his diabetes better while following it!

These are just fads cos you look ina mag and ant a figure like kylie!!!! I thinks mags are giving the wrong impression on our children at the moment!!!!
WELL SAID! I've suffered with bulemia, I was 8 stone at the time (I don't tell many this, only my best friends!:hug: )

So i try to eat healthy and be a little active but not deprive myself of anything as this tends to have the opposite on some people, like cutting out sweet thing then all of a suden your sugar level will drop and you will gorge on anything sweet!!!! this is not healthy!!!!!
AGAIN, WELL SAID! I don't beleive in cutting out your fave foods, you end up wanting twice as much!

see, I told you I knew what to do, just have too many other things on at the mo!

love to all the Geeks, you are lovely whatever shape, size, colour, race, sex, etc etc you are!

 

[PLAOH]

Hi Amanda,

Thank you for the pm and for your honest answer.

I do agree with you concerning the celebs and magazines. There is too much pressure to be "perfect" like the pictures and if I could be airbrushed I too could look that good. When we went shopping for my daughters Communion dress, she chose a dress that has capped sleeves. Her response to the dress with thin straps was " i don't like my shoulders being shown, they are too skinny and white" and she's only nine

Your comments have been helpful as I'm swaying more to healthy as opposed to slimmer. For my health I need to lose weight. My knees hurt when i get up off the floor. I couldn't genuflect in church last week (utter embarrassment) and I can't run with my children. I have never eaten particularly healthy, but before I met hubby never had to worry. Now I don't always get time to eat when I need to so then tend to hit a sugary fix when I feel faint. Then once I get that hungery and start eating the sugary things, I find the binge is in full swing.

I have tried Sw some years ago and I did lose weight. I think in order for me to succeed, my family needs to look at eating habit.