I weigh everyday if I am 'dieting' unless I'm in a binge mood them I'll ignore them then step on them days/weeks later and scream

Veggie does that help to keep you on track? I don't think I could do it as no change or a gain would do my head in.

I hate them too but can't stay away from them and end up weighing myself several times a day I wish I could just put them away and not weigh myself for a month then get a nice surprise when I do but i've tried that and I always end up fishing them out of the closet

I am going for a "once a month" weigh in! Which pared it down to once a week last month. I just have to resist this Friday...

I've managed to stay off them for 10 days so far,but i'm sure a hear them whispering to me from the cupboard " go on you know you want to, just a quick look". My period is due next week so the sensible part of me knows it would be crazy to weigh myself now. (even though it's never stopped me before)

I only weigh-in once every 6 - 8 weeks. It's nice because there has ALWAYS been a loss, and I never get de-motivated by my the numbers on the scale. My personal trainer is very anti-scale -- she's only concerned with inches and clothing sizes. Because I strength-train with her 3 days a week, I'm adding muscle (+ lbs) and losing fat (- lbs) at the same time, so my actual *weight* drops fairly slowly. I like to encourage fewer weigh-ins for everyone...the scale is ALWAYS your *friend* then.

Hello Shush,

I can totally understand how you are feeling. Yo yo dieting is such a pain in the butt. I have dieted on and off since I was 18. I started dieting when I was just 12 stone, and after 19 years of yo yo dieting I am not 23 and a half stone My problem being that I would diet, then lose weight, then say stuff the diet, gain the weight loss back and gain more weight besides that.

My major weight gain was when I was first married and had a baby. I had the baby weight, and then we found out the baby was deaf, and I did a LOT of comfort eating. My husband started being the creep that I never knew he was, so more comfort eating. Then the divorce, more comfort eating. Then really bad health leading to three major surgeries for me. More comfort eating AND no exercise. I weigh more now than I ever have and it's my body that is making me stick to this latest diet.

I got MRSA after my surgeries, and I have wounds that won't heal any time soon, and although they are nasty, it's my weight that is the most debilitating thing. My ankles and legs hurt, my back gives me a lot of grief, I can't do the simplest of jobs without ending up in pain or out of breath. If I don't diet now I know I am going to end up disabled. A disability through ill health is one thing, but through my gluttony it's another, and it's time I did something about it. So I find myself here.

My tip to you is to perhaps write lists of what you can't do at the weight you are now, and what you will be able to do when that weight comes off. If you have physical pain because of your size, then keep that foremost on your mind. And the one thing I have to learn to do, and you as well if you are a comfort eater, is to learn that it's false comfort. It lasts while you eat, but when the guilt sets in and the scales rise, there is no comfort at all.

Good luck with your weight loss journey, I am sure WE can stop the yo you cycle once and for all.

Hugs,

Ammi

Ammi I don't know what MRSA is but you sure have been through enough I wish you good health and happiness for the future

Thanks Kathy for your good wishes, I could certainly do with some good health. MRSA is an antibiotic resistant infection that you pick up in hospitals and some people have died from it. Luckily I didn't, so I am thankful for that.

Hugs,

Ammi

Hi Ammi
Great idea about the lists - I want to lose the weight this time because I was starting to find it easier not to move and that was starting to look like a downhill slope. What kind of plan are you using?
E

Hi E,

Thanks for your reply, yes it does get to be a worry when you feel ok about doing nothing because you can't. I have spent a lot of time in bed since my third surgery in January. I gained a LOT of weight, and I too started to just not do things and thought it was ok because it was down to my surgery. But I was lying to myself. My weight is more debilitating than my wounds, and I know it. I told my kids that we couldn't go to a theme park this year because I am too unwell. But it's because I am too fat, and I won't pay the entrance fees just to stand around and hold bags. I realised that I don't do a lot only because of my weight and it's not fair on my family. So that's on my list of reasons to diet.

I am using the WW points system starting at 36 points. It works for me, but I tend to stick to the same foods and then get bored of them. So I need to learn to vary my diet and stick within my points range.

Good luck to you, and be really honest with those lists.

Hugs,

Ammi

Hi Ammi
Doing much the same - on WW 28 points but seem to be happy enough on around 25 a day. Was getting bored but eating a lot of spicy salads now - finding tabasco to be a lifesaver! Also find that buying clothes that actually fit (size 20) and treating myself like a human being is making a big difference and stopping me blaming myself for my weight. I have stopped buying bread and weigh pasta, rice, etc. This seems to make a big difference as I would have to wait 15 minutes to cook up more if I insisted on eating more.

Anyway - the message would seem to be - treat yourself well and you will lose the weight.

E

Oooh you were lucky Ammi hey I found a nifty little pts calculator online this morning..you enter the cals..fat grams and fibre and it tells you how many pts there is in it i'm not doing pts at the moment but you never know next week could be a whole other ball game if you want it let me know..its only a small program and real easy to use

Paul McKenna also tells you to chuck the scales! I do Rosemary Conley's diet and in her books, she focuses more on the tape measure than the scales, but recommends if you do weigh, it's once a week, same time of day, wearing same things, etc. I do weigh once a week.

One tool I use online is FitDay.com. Unlike similar sites, it's free - you might take longer with it in the UK as you have to feed stuff that's not already in the database, in manually - but then it calculates your calories for you, also grams fat, carb, etc, so you can take a good hard look at what you eat and adjust it gradually.You can also feed into FitDay your exercise - it figures out how much you burn and I've foudn that to be a great incentive. It also lets you put in your goals/mini goals then tells you what you need to lose each week to get there.

Ah my other tip is - put your chockie/treats in the freezer! By the time it's out and defrosted, you might have distracted yourself - plus it makes it more conscious. Also, if I'm hungry (and my danger time is around 9pm at night), I tend to exercise then - to a DVD (if the kids are in bed) as I go off eating after exercise.

The other big thing I learned from Rosemary C which you could use with any diet, not just her's is... find out your Basal Metabolic Rate. Mine's around 1500 cal a day. The heavier you are, the more cal it will be. Eat that and NO LESS every day, so your body won't go into panic mode and stall. I've seen a lot of people online eating round 1000-1200 cal a day and even if you were 9 stone, that would be too little! You can find free calculators online - just Google. Then stick with that. Your basal rate is what you eat to just stay alive, at the weight you are now. As you lose weight, you can adjust it downwards. But you'd be surprised how many calories you can allow yourself - and if you exercise, maybe even a bit more.

Love this thread, am learning loads from it!

PhatP x