Small things to change to help lose weight

[MrsFabuloso]

Ok, so I am terribly overweight, DH is over weight too and we both want to and need to lose weight, but I am also almost 32 wks pg. I am ashamed to admit that I have hit the 100kg mark and I'm terribly embarrassed I have let myself get so big. I have thought of a few things that I can do for myself right now that won't make too mcuh of an impact, pg wise, but will help me at least be healthier.

Like:
No more sugar in tea/coffee. I only have one or half a tsp of sugar in either coffee or tea, and never any more than 2 cups of either a day, but it will make a small difference to cut that out.

Drink 2+ ltrs water a day. I usually do have that much or at least close to it, but I will keep track of it properly and definately do it each day

Eat the reccommended 2 & 5 a day of fruit and veg

Eat less butter on toast and bread! 1 tsp, measured is ENOUGH!! And only if I need to use it (liek for vegemite toast!) No more slathering on the butter with everything

No more juice/cordial. I don't drink alot of it, maybe just one glass a day, but it's something I don't need.

No more chocolate or junky foods every 2nd day! Make a day for having junk and ONLY have it that day!


Now I am not focusing on losing weight now, becuase that is just stupid and futile while I am cooking a baby. Especially at the end of a pg when baby grows so much!! But I do want to be healthier. I can't exercise at the moment since I have issues with my back and hips. I stuggle to do daily chores let alone go for a walk around the block! But at least if I ahve some control over my eating habbits again, I will hopefully find it easier to continue when I have bub.

Anyone have some more simple to do (but not huge impact) suggestions?

[Babyluv]

Hey Hun,

Good on you for wanting to make some healthy changes.
For me I found that cutting out alot of sugar made a huge difference for me. I've never been big but I lost 5 kg's just by cutting sugar out of my tea/coffee, not eating lollies, soft drinks etc. I also watered down juice when I had it, half juice half water. I was really cautious of the sugar content in foods and this really helped me but then everyones body is different. I remember seeing it on Dr Phil, his wife was saying that the spare tyre round your waist was caused by sugar so I gave it a go and lost it.
It's tough at first, because you're body will crave those things, but give yourself 2 weeks and you won't want them anymore
Good luck xo

[Jas]

to add to that I would say get a light butter, devondale do a good one

definitely ditch the juice..you wouldnt believe what you are drinking there in calories, sugar etc and buy diet cordial and thats fine to drink.

[Babyluv]

Oh and be careful eating diet foods, like diet yoghurts they can have double the amount of sugar.

[MrsFabuloso]

Thanks girls, I do try to avoid diet stuff. I can't stand the taste of it mostly anyway, like yogurts. I don't like diet cordials or soft drinks if I do have that stuff it will be the full sugar stuff, just limited to once every few days or so. I don't drink alot of it anyway, I have water the majority of the time. Plus, I try to avoid processed stuff too, so the diet stuff is usually fairly highly processed. If I have diet yogurt, its the Jalna one...yummy! But pretty expensive, and we have a pretty tight budget at the mo!

[Babyluv]

I think you're fine to have a glass of normal cordial a day, I drink cordial now and it's not too bad, It's never made me put on weight. I just have one glass a day with dinner and drink water most of the time too. I find the more sugar you have the more you want. Don't go cutting out all the sweet things you love all at once or it will be too hard, but little things like sugar in your tea etc, slowly does it bit by bit. ANy little changes you make will make a difference.
Good luck hun, you can do it

[jackrose]

I have just cut out sugar in the last month and without changing anything else in my life it has made a difference! I read "The sweet poison quit plan" and I was really inspired to make a lifestyle change and ditch sugar. It has been really easy now that I understand fully where sugar is hiding and why it is so bad for us. I would highly recommend reading it or just "Sweet Poison" - I managed to find a copy at the local library. I would also suggest that if you find it hard going to cut sugar out (I know that the tiredness of pregnancy made it really hard to make changes like this) try cutting back slowly rather than cold turkey. Just a little less in your tea, watered down juice etc until you don't need any anymore. If you are a hard core type person, you can certainly go cold turkey though!

Congratulations on making real steps to develop healthier habits, you are really inspiring!

[Babyluv]

I feel inspired now too lillias!!! Being pregnant i've slipped quite a bit, sugary foods are so easy to eat when you don't feel well.
Going to have a bit of a google on that book

[Babyluv]

Quick question Jackrose, does the sweet poison quit plan say to substitute sugar for artificial sweetners? I eliminated artificial sweetners because of all the health concerns, I also used to get constant migraines from them.

[FabFiona]

For me it's portion sizes. You'd be amazed at how much more you eat than your body actually needs. We started Lite N Easy recently and was blown away at how much smaller everything was. For example a bowl of pasta was literally 50% than if I had made it myself. I used to eat reasonably well but just far too much of it.

So if I were you I'd think about the quantities of what you are eating. Try and reduce your portion sizes to what your body actually needs and see if that gets you anywhere.

Good luck!

[Babyluv]

Yea I heard somewhere that it takes your body 15 monutes to register that it is full, so by the time you feel full you've most likely eaten more than what your body wants or needs.

[MrsFabuloso]

Babyluv, pregnancy has been an excuse for me too. But it shouldn't be. While I was breastfeeding that was another excues too. But I am so terribly overweight now, I just can't ignore it any more. DH is getting really tubby too and though he's a big man anyway it's just not good. My kids aren't eating well because we aren't eating well. When they see us eating crappy foods, we can't say no to them eating it too ,it's not fair, so they eat crap too. I try to make sure they have healthy beofre crappy stuff, but they're having more junk than they should and more than I want to be giving them.

So if I were you I'd think about the quantities of what you are eating. Try and reduce your portion sizes to what your body actually needs and see if that gets you anywhere.

Good luck!

Ohh, yes, portion sizes!! I have done L&E too, really amkes you realise how much more youeat than you should and teaches you how much less you can suvive with!

[Kazbah]

I've been using a bread plate for all my main meals, and looking at the portion sizes. Following the recommended 90g for meat and 1/4 plate for carbs and the rest fresh veg has really made a difference to our diets and our wallets!

I know this also sounds weird - but just don't buy junk. If you're wanting snacks, broccoli / carrot / celery with hommus is good, yummy and cheap!

And menu plan, menu plan, menu plan. I'll see if I can find you one of my old menu plans and send it through, it really makes a difference. For me, just knowing that today's snacks were going to be x, y & z made a difference. If you're getting nuts for snacks (or anything else) that you're buying in large quantities, then decant into smaller servings when you get home. So if you're hungry, or DH is hungry, there's just one packet / container to grab as opposed to weighing out a "small handful" cause that never works when you're hungry

Good luck!

[jackrose]

Quick question Jackrose, does the sweet poison quit plan say to substitute sugar for artificial sweetners? I eliminated artificial sweetners because of all the health concerns, I also used to get constant migraines from them.

You won't necessarily need to replace with artificial sweetners, and if you have such a reaction, I would definatly not. You will have to reduce sugar the old fashioned way!

The plan suggests substituting artificial sugars IF you eat a lot of sugar and are really hooked - and then only as an interim measure to help you get off 'the junk'. Eg, if you drink coke or soft drink every day and it has become a habitual part of your lifestyle such as every time you relax after work or as a reward when you get the baby to sleep etc. If it is tied to your lifestyle the author suggests breaking the sugar habit by replacing that sugar drink (or food) with an artificial substitute for the few weeks it takes you to get sugar free. After about 3 weeks of not ingesting any sugar (ie in obvious sweets but also added sugar and secret sugar in things like tomato sauce, mayonnaise, some breads, spreads, cereal, juice, etc) he maintains you will no longer desire sugar as you would have broken your body's desire for it. At that time you will most likely find that the artificial sweeteners taste too metallic and too sweet and should automatically not want them. I personally did not worry about replacing sugar in my diet as I didn't eat that much of it and found my sugar was not really related to lifestyle, more just an ongoing munching habit!! I merely avoided all processed sugar and all foods with added sugar and slowly cut down the amount of sugar in my tea day by day. After about 10 days I was easily turning down tim tams, drinking tea without sugar and for the first time in ages, seeking fruit and veggies as snacks.

And that is what I have found to be really interesting! I have never dieted but have often tried to take a healthier lifestyle approach. I've stocked the house with fresh foods, thrown out the chocolate and sweets etc and attempted but have always failed. The right stuff just did not cut it when it came to satisfying a craving. I found I would inadvertently be eating sugar without realising it as an added in other foods. Reading the book really highlighted how sugar controls your food intake, your mindset and your health. Now the restocked fresh fruit and veggies are cutting it and I am finding it easier and easier to hear my 'inner voice' when it comes to food intake. It helps with portion size too. As the others have mentioned we eat far too much really and really need to cut back on portions. I always found this incredibly hard as I was able to just keep eating. Sugar does that too. It throws off your satiation point so you don't register when you are full. Plus it causes you to always have that gnawing hunger feeling, 'I'll just eat this biscuit to tide me over' sort of mentality. Once you have been without sugar for about 3 weeks (I think the book suggests) your on your way to rebalancing your inner measure of hunger and can make it between meals without the over the top need to snack, plus, when you are full, you naturally desire to stop eating.

I've been getting off the stuff since the end of October and finally I am beginning to see changes in my appetite. In the interim I kept nuts and seeds around to control those sugar cravings. It is really cool to not feel the need to have a cake with my coffee every day, to walk past aisles and aisles of sugar packed products in the supermarket and not be interested and to be proud of myself too. My eyes have also opened to how much processed sugar there is out there!! I have a whole new appreciation. I walk into a cafe and half the products are off the list for me! The glittering packets of chocolate and gum in a service station or the checkout at the supermarket look like a hilarious joke rather than a temptation, it is so liberating!!!

I'm sorry for going on a bit about this but the book and the idea of sugar free has really been cool!

[ss_storm]

if you feel hungry, have a drink of water, and then see in 10 mins or so if you are still feeling hungry..I've read/heard that a lot of the time when we think we are hungry, your body is actually trying to tell you it's thirsty. Of course since you're pg you'd still need to make sure you were eating enough for the two of you
I'm trying to lose all my post-baby weight and have been walking every day since she was born but hadn't lost anything. I've now cut out soft drink/juice and only have water, plus a cup of tea at breakfast. Trying to not eat horrible snacky junk food (gets hard with chocolate cravings though!), and to not buy it in the first place! DF is terrible though, he just doesn't care and will bring home whatever. Going to buy some nice fruit today so I can eat that instead of a biscuit or something else.

[Fleur]

I'm reading the Sweet Poison Quit Plan too, sugar is my biggest, biggest weakness - I knew that for ages, but this book is a real eye-opener.

Artificial sweeteners I only use when i have to, I have gone cold turkey in my coffee, no cordial or juice at all, and diet soft drink only when I really have to. That stuff is not good for you either, but I have to break a cycle first, you know? Then I will kiss all that good bye as well.

You can get a no added sugar, low fat icecream (but it is Peter's, which is Nestle )

I am reading more & more labels above all, it's amazing what you don't realise you are putting not your mouth (well it was for me anyway ;p)

Also portion sizes, I have huge protion sizes & this is actully the hardest thing for me to cut down, not what I eat but how much of it.

ETA - re the sugar - I had done really well at cutting it out, but after a yucky couple of days I slipped up... and it was AMAZING how much my want's / cravings for certain foods reappeared, like nothing had ever changed.
It is so so true that after a little while off it you won't miss it as much, and equally true that if you go back, the desire for certain foods will reappear.

[MummaSue]

There is a really good book called "I can make you thin" by Paul McKenna. He looks at only eating when you're hungry, eating slowly and enjoying your food and stopping when you feel full. So simple but it works so well. I lost heaps of weight that way years ago and have stayed much slimmer than I ever have been. It's not about changing your diet as such (although, he does say that eating healthy is important - which is a given) but it's more about the cognitive and emotional side of eating. It's excellent and I still refer to it even now. It's so easy to get into the habit of snacking when bored, upset etc.

[Babyluv]

Fleur what's wrong with Nestle?