Hi all,
I was using this forum loads last year and found it really helpful. I stopped using it earlier this year during my uni exams and just never got back into it due to moving house and starting a new job etc. I thought that after uni I would start to lose some of the 5 stone I put on in the last 4 years but I seem to start dieting and quit within a couple of days, sometimes I don't even last that long. I have gotten to the stage where I hate myself, I hate that I'm so weak and seem to think that junk food is what I really want, even when my body is almost screaming to me to stop. I desperately want to get back on track and shift about 6 stone, but I think I need a bit of a kick up the backside to get started - I don't seem to be having too much luck doing this by myself.
Does anyone out there have some pearls of wisdom? I don't know if I'll cope with screwing this up again. Plus I have a huge wedding to go to in May, in a castle, and I don't want to turn up to a family do looking like a potato. Again.

WWAB.. welcome back, we missed you, we're all here for you, come into the chat thread and tell us about your days, good and bad... you can do this, we're all in the same boat, merrily rowing along

I've been on many diets over the years & found that no diet ever works! What I have found that works is a new healthy life style! Diets are just to restricting which causes most people to feel deprived or they become bored with the foods that their diet allows. Also diets have a beginning and end, and many people (once they reach their goal) will return to their bad eating habits, the very same bad habits that caused their weight gain to begin with.
For me I just decided to eat healthier foods, I do still have the occassional "bad" food but when I do I have less of it than I would have had in the past. This is a new life style which I know I can stick to for the rest of my life and it's working very well. I mainly shop the outside isles of the grocery store & stay away from the middle where all the prepackaged processed foods are. Lots of fresh veggies, some fruit but not to much as the carbs and natural sugars in fruit (google GI index for info on that) can cause insulin spikes. Lean meat, poultry and fish. For breakfast foods I usually have cream of wheat, oatmeal or an eggbeater omelette with lots of salsa. I also track everything I eat just to be safe but have found that with my new way of eating I actually have trouble getting in enough calories because I'm actually eating more now than I was before! A good place to track your food intake is http://www.fitday.com I used this one in the beginning but am now using another one which I can't post here as it is blocked by this site. Here's a good calorie calculator that will show you what you should be eating calorie wise http://mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598 just enter your information and it will tell you how many calories you need to maintain your current weight, subtract 500 calories from that and you will lose 1 pound a week, sorry I don't know how many stone that would be. Good luck to you and enjoy the wedding. If you have any questions just send me a message I'd be happy to help.

hey wanna wear a bikini, i remeber you from last year.
look i have had some problems to sinc ei was last on here, i only re-joined this site about a week ago, and re joined my diet lifestyle about a month ago. I took time out because i had a very stressful move, like yourself, and put on about a stone in weight.
It is hard to stayb on track, but unfrotunetly life will get in the way of our diets. But your hear, welcome back, its great to see someone i recognise.
Everything that has been suggested has been great, but if u want a diet buddy, im happy to help, we can email or message each other daily, and keep an eye on each other and help motivate each other when the other is suffereing.
Im currently having a tough week trying to stay on calorie track because i am writing an essay, but im trying to keep the diet at the same time. its juggling the 2 stresses in my life really :-s
just gotta keep thinking, why u want this, and u have done it before, and u can loose again. need some strength girly, u can do it, we are all here to help u find that strength :-)

Well I managed to haul my lazy butt to the gym at 6.30 this morning so feeling a bit better, hope I can keep it up. Thanks for all your input. I'm hoping that I had to hit rock bottom to pick myself back up again.

All the best wwab - we have all be there, some of us are still there! Time for a change speaks sense but don't beat yourself up about it - May is a long way away. You have to get past Christmas and all - oh I see you are in Scotland - well you have Hogmanay too!!! Just concentrate on eating healthier options and losing maybe 1-2lb a week. I am not sure if you are working or not but maybe having something like soup for lunch - homemande or out of a can (check calories) and having plenty of veggies for the evening meal.

There will be days when you think sodi ti - only a McD or pizza will do but let these be an occasional treat not a right everyday - maybe eat good all week and have a good roast dinner to look forward to or a pizza at the weekend.

I have been having soup for lunch - well it is cold at the moment so it is quite comforting!

If you do fancy chips and you are ok at cooking why not make the Slimming World chips that you grill and make your own burgers. I am not a great buirger fan but then I actually hate having it in a bun and ask for it without the bun and have a veggie burger with salad.

It may helpt to do a food diary (without cheating!) put down everything you eat. It will stop you in your tracks - especially if you write downt he calories/points/syns/fats etc depending on whether or not you are following a regime or not.

If you are not a member of any diet club such as ww or slimming world you could still follow their recipes if you need some ideas - check on their websites but I have to warn you that some weightwatchers products may be low on points but high on Slimming World syns (as I found to my cost!!!).

Drink plenty of water too. Some people say a drink of hot lemon in the morning is very good.

If you lose 1 - 2 pounds a week you will look great at the wedding.I have found that counting calories and planning every bite I take has helped me . It was not planning that made me overweight. If you eat fewer calories and exercise you will lose weight. good luck.