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AbbieRose

AbbieRose

New member
Hey:hurray:, my name is Abbie and I weigh about 18 st 10, iv always had an issue with my weight and I guess iv never had a 'skinny' stage so iv always seen my weight go upwards which is a shame. Being 21 years old and nearing 19 stone is very very scary so iv decided to take it upon myself to try to something about it. I want to try lose some weight so that I can feel more energetic and be able to feel more confident within myself as I used to use food a lot to comfort eat. Im a bit confused on what to do though because I don't really eat too much and still the weight doesn't budge. I try to exercise at the moment but I struggle due to shortness in breath, pains in my legs and the feeling that Im going to faint if I walk too fast. If anyone could give me some advise or some simple exercises I could do that would be great. I thought I would pop up a general meal plan that I would usually have as im little for altering my eating routine but if anyone could give me any advice that would be amazing.

General food plan:

Breakfast:

Cup of tea/Glass of water for breakfast

Dinner:

Tuna sandwich and about 3-5 bananas to last me until tea time

Tea:

Sunday dinner - 3 sausages, 2 spoonfuls of mash, 2 Yorkshire puddings and a large helping of veg (Carrots, Broccoli, Parsnip)

Drinks:

Probably would vary but typically it would be 2-3 cups of teas and maybe a glass or two of water


In regards to exercise I guess I do about 20-30 mins of walking per day



 
Take it slow with the exercise at first and gradually add more routines as you settle in and adjust. Don't push yourself too hard, this is a marathon after all and not a race. Don't be discouraged if some weeks you weigh less and others you weigh more, it happens. Walking is a good start. Not sure if you have a pool or not, but swimming is excellent for training and exercises. A lot of exercises can be done sitting right at your chair. Knee lifts, throwing punches. Or even a video like Tae-bo -- -- very basic, but can work up a sweat and you don't need to worry about keeping pace, focus on the technique.

As far as eating, that seems a bit light but I'm curious to see the results you get. It can be tough after lose the weight and not be prepared lifestyle wise to stick with it. Just a thought, hope yours works out though!

Welcome to our community, look forward to your progress!
 
Hi Abbie!
Welcome to the forum, I'm new here too :) and also 21 years old! I'm just learning myself but a little advice I can give you is make sure you eat something for breakfast, just water and tea is not enough to get your day going. Try a protein like eggs or Greek yogurt. The bananas will help with muscle recovery but be careful a banana is about 112 calories, times 5 that's 560 calories of carbs and sugar. Start out easy maybe just try walking a few times a day or taking a lap in the pool (easy on the joints). You've got this girl!! We are all in this together :)


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Thank you all for the quick responses, I have the intention to take it slowly in regards to exercise due to the pains I encounter when pushing myself too much but sadly no I don't have a pool, would have been great if I had! :p I will take your advise on those exercises though dudeitstime.

Autumncrossing - I know I need to eat breakfast but due to university and IBS, I find that breakfast is difficult to manage hence why I tend to binge a little on bananas through the day while im studying as I find these keep me full and I can eat them during my study time over the course of the day. I think the hardest thing for me is because im a student I have to budget both money and time so sadly a lot of what I should be doing ends up getting compromised and this is something I want to improve if possible :)

2 weeks ago I was eating terribly, I used to skip breakfast, not drink much at all and I wouldn't eat at uni unless it was a tuesday which id eat a large portion of noodles on the odd occasion, when I got home I would be so tired so I would order takeout and thats how I would pretty much live. So as you can tell, my diet has changed dramatically just hoping to see the results xD the only type of bad food I seem to have is subway but even then I only have a 6 inch and its packed with veg so it keeps me going the full day.
 
I also have IBS and I'm currently working on my undergrad at university so we have a lot in common :)! There are ways to get around the budget, I know it's tough but there's super cheap proteins out there like lentils, eggs, tuna (which you're already eating!) that are also low calorie! You have many choices just because you're on a diet doesn't mean you are stuck to only a couple foods. Whatever works best for you is the way to go!


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Yeah, my dietitian recommended that I try having scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast and maybe a small bowl of porridge but its finding the time haha :) I'd love to hear what kind of things you tend to eat so I could maybe follow something similar, really want to ditch some of this weight :jump: I struggle when looking at labels as apparently I should consider more then just calorie intake but I feel like I get confused when I stray from this :p
 
Hi Abby, welcome to the community.

I'm rather new here myself, and I'm sorry to say that I think that diet plan sounds horrible! It may work as a crash diet, but in the long run, you need something sustainable, or you'll just gain all that weight right back. (Unless you plan on living on bananas for the rest of your life).
 
I know people may say that my diet plan is not enough but I really do feel full and I don't see the point in eating more if I feel full. Today my meal plan has been as follows;

Breakfast:
2 slices of toast

Dinner:
1 tuna sandwich and a low fat slice of pizza

Snacks:
1 bag of crisps

Drinks:
330ml of sparkling water
2 hot chocolates
1 200ml glass of semi skimmed milk


For tea I was thinking either a bowl of low fat soup or just another roast dinner :) if I get hungry before then I have a banana sat on my desk :)
 
It's not always about feeling full but becoming healthy, if all you eat is carbs and you try to work out your body will have a hard time building muscle because of lack of protein (and I don't necessarily mean big old man muscles ;) but lean muscle too.) you might also start lacking in nutrients which could be very detrimental to your health in the long run and make you feel tired and sluggish. Not necessarily eat "more" either, because lean proteins like chicken, fish, eggs, etc. are generally lower calorie than your carbs so even though it feels filling you are actually eating less! You got here somehow in the first place, if eating like this didn't keep you fit before you are likely to encounter a set back again. That's why it's so important to eat a good balanced diet so that all your nutritional needs are met. I'm no expert but I'm sure others here can explain it better :)


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Well tomorrow I'm going to start my day with tuna, eggs and a little bit of toast. Hopefully over time I will see a difference, ill also try eat more chicken as its something I enjoy but don't really touch often. Thank you all for the advice and kindness, I get weighed in on Friday so hopefully ill have lost a pound or two :) managed to walk home today and halfway through the walk my legs started to hurt less, maybe its a sign xD
 
Hello,
I am new here myself. Protein is really important as we lose weight, especially for maintaining or building muscle.. Please try for some more. :)

Also, have you tried using a calorie calculator to figure out an appropriate amount to be eating for weight loss? Looking at your menu, it seems pretty sparse. You might not be getting enough nutrients as another poster mentioned and without enough energy intake you could risk your body burning muscle instead of fat. There are other health risks as well with not getting enough intake for our bodies to support healthy weight loss.

Some good sources of protein:
Chicken Breast.
Lean Turkey (I make a mean pot of Turkey Chili 1 Cup is about 200 calories) I usually have two cups worth in a meal for 400. It also is a good source of protein.
Fish
Almonds
Peanuts
Eggs
String Cheese (1 stick, good as part of a snack or by itself as a snack)

Whole Grain Crackers (I like Trisuit myself) are a great snack as well, I have it with a little peanut butter.
 
hey guys, just a little update. I decided to take your advice on eating more protein so iv bought myself some eggs, chicken and tuna to try boost my protein intake.

Breakfast today was two slices of toast and two slices of bacon

Lunch has been an Omelette with fresh chillies, tomatoes and turkey with a helping of brown rice packed with Mediterranean veg with a sprinkle of cheese :)

Is soya milk a good source of protein?
 
Way to go!!! As far as I could tell soy milk seems to be a good source of protein and it's low calorie (I don't drink it so I had to do some research.). I looked up the nutritional value and some brands have up to 11g of protein in it, although the medium seems to be around 6g or so. Just be aware if you have hypothyroid issues (a common health problem in overweight individuals) to avoid soy products. Almond milk is another excellent option.


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SO, the big news! today was weigh in day and iv managed to lose 3 pounds this week which brings me down to 18st7lb aka 117.6kg!
This morning I didn't feel like I looked any different but losing 3 pounds is amazing news especially when I had felt like I hadn't lost anything. This week my aims are to slowly reduce portion size in some way, either this be by using smaller plates or even just reducing my carb intake, I hope to see 3 pounds next week also :) Have to say my legs are starting to feel a lot better too, managed my walk today and felt hardly any pain, it was more a discomfort so hopefully I should continue to see improvement!

Here are the gold stars I earned this week :D
View attachment 22664
 
Okay so I thought I would post an update.

This week has been awful, due to be coming down with illness I ended up having a lack of appetite alongside a really bad craving for sugar so its safe to say this week has made me feel like iv taken several steps back but im going to restart and try again. I have still been moving around as much as possible though, just didn't want to check the scales this week as I feel like it would throw me off rather than motivate me so this week im going to try really hard to swing back into drinking a lot of water and eating healthy. Any motivation right now would be great because ignoring cravings is hard, especially when others are eating a particular way and I don't want to seem rude or unsociable by not accepting to join in etc.
 
I hope you are feeling better! Start back slowly since your body is still recovering; don't feel bad about trying to eat healthier around others! Perhaps if you told them why you are refusing the unhealthy food it will make you feel more comfortable and you can gain some support from those around you, who knows you might even make a good impact on their life too!


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Hi Abbie

I am new to the website and came across your post :). I hope you are feeling better now and that things are going well for you in terms of eating and exercising. I myself had quite a poor diet before I decided to change it and have now started to lose weight. I feel very informed 10 weeks into my weight loss plan regarding the kinds of foods I should and should not be eating. If you ever want to message me, feel free as I know how difficult it can be to work out what foods are best, and especially as different people say different things! I can just help with regards to what has worked for me. I lose on average three pounds a week so hopefully I know what I am talking about :D. One thing I will say is that I also never used to eat breakfast and now I do. Now it feels like my most important meal of the day as it kick starts my metabolism and means I am less likely to snack throughout the day. I only have one or two Weetabix and milk but it has made a massive difference for me.

I have realised that the most important thing is to not go hungry! If you are hungry then you must eat, just make sure it is something healthy like fruit. My mum suffers with IBS and so I can understand that there are things you just cannot eat, and it will make the diet side of your weight loss that little bit harder, but still 100% achievable :). In terms of exercise, it sounds like you are doing great! Starting off at a 30 minute walk most days is how I started out, and it's all that is needed alongside a healthy diet to ensure weight loss.

Best of luck Abbie

Lisa :)
 
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