A
female
age
30-35,
anonymous
writes:Hi im wondering if anyone can help me...after i put on a stone over Christmas i decided to do something about my weight and joined weight watchers. Since then i have lost a stone but it was with many ups and downs; i would have one good week and then lose focus and put on, it was yo-yo-ing and im not sure thats the best way to do it. When i had a good week it didnt seem to spur me on, i just got a bit complacent and thought 'well a pizza wont hurt...' or something and then the next week it would show.I am tempted so easily by food, chocolate especially. I have found that now i have lost the weight i cant eat as much and it makes me feel quite ill when i do BUT i still eat it. When ive been exercising or had a good few days i 'treat' myself but it ends up being a horrendous amount. Just this evening i went dancing with a friend and then ate about 1000 calories worth of chocolate after. Im feeling pretty sick and bloated right now but i just couldn't seem to help myself. I hate myself after.I feel that even though i have lost some weight (i need to lose another stone) my mind frame hasnt changed regarding healthy eating. Some days i will eat healthily and it feels so good but then i get stuck in a rut for a while. I am at uni at the moment and i leave for the summer vacation in a few days and will be going home. How am i going to cope there? My mums homemade cooking is DIVINE but i just dont think im going to be able to continue with the weight loss there.I love my shrinking body and i really want to lose the next stone but its like my mind is split; on the one hand im up for losing weight but then on the other i seem to be my old self, i still comfort eat when i feel down and cant seem to stop.I dont want to put the weight on as i was really boardering being too big.Has anyone got any advice on how i can change my mind frame? Any motivational ways to stay on track, either at uni and when i go home? I really want to change it and not be so weak when it comes to food. I want to eat to live, not live to eat. Food should not hold this power over me. Ive watched many programmes on obesity and i know what it does to your insides ('you are what you eat' and all that...) so why do i still do it?Any advice is welcome :)
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female
reader, anonymous, writes (18 June 2011): The other advice here is already really good, but just one thing to add, you mentioned you go to uni, do you have a university gym? I found with my own weightloss that going to the gym didn't just help me get fit, but also helped me stay motivated not to each so much (or too much of the wrong thing) because I didn't want to ruin all my hard work at the gym. You don't have to count calories, but if you think to yourself, this chocolate is 500 calories, and I just had to work out for an hour to burn that much, then you can talk yourself out of snacking when you don't need to. Good Luck!
A
female
reader, k_c100 +, writes (3 June 2011):
 Well I am currently on Weight Watchers so I know how you feel! Are you an online member, or do you go to classes? I am online only, and the tools they have on there are excellent, if you are not already using it I suggest you sign up to the online service as it really helps you keep on track.
Having to enter your food daily means you can see how many points you have used and how many you have free, so it stops you from having those blow outs.
I am very much like you, I love pizza and I love chocolate, and I do find it very hard to resist. Now I am on Weight Watchers I have cut out pizza as it is not worth the extra points, but I cannot live without chocolate! Perhaps a better idea for you is to allow yourself to have a small amount of chocolate daily, so it is not such a 'treat' and you wont consume loads all in one go because you have deprived yourself of it for so long. Snack size bars are great, my favourite at the moment are cadbury's fudges, they come in a 6 pack from the supermarket and are only 3 pro points each, so I will have 1 or 2 of them a day depending on what else I have eaten.
The great thing about Weight Watchers is that you dont need to deprive yourself of anything, so nothing is forbidden, the best way to work with this is just to have little bits of what you like so the points are not too bad!
As for your mum's cooking - tell her you love her food but you need to lose another stone so you would love it if she could cook healthy things over the summer, give her some Weight Watchers recipes to try and that way she still gets to cook for you without blowing your diet! The online resource has thousands of recipes that are really enjoyable, print her out a few of those and that should keep you on track. And if your mum doesnt want to lose weight and is worried about the rest of the family suffering on these Weight Watchers recipes, it is very easy to make the portions for the rest of the family bigger. When I have been cooking my Weight Watchers recipes, I stick to the portion recommended on the website, but for my boyfriend I'll add extra in for him so he is full and not starving like I am most of the time!
For instance last night, we had a poached egg salad with parma ham wrapped breadsticks, it was yummy but I stuck the allowed portion from the website. Whereas my boyfriend had extra salad dressing, double the breadsticks that I had, 2 eggs rather than one, and extra sundried tomatoes so he wasnt missing out and he was very full at the end of it!
One thing to try and accept though - you enjoy food, and there is nothing wrong with that! I am one of these people that LOVE food and wine, I adore everything about it and I really enjoy cooking and eating. I will never be one of these people who only eat because they have to, and it sounds like in your case you enjoy food too so dont beat yourself up about this! You may never be a 'eat to live' person, and there is nothing wrong with that. Dont try and change yourself because you will be fighting a losing battle. All you need to do is learn to control the love of food, and only allow it to come out on occasions.
At the end of the day, despite the ups and downs - you have lost a stone! Thats fantastic! That means you CAN lose weight, you have suceeded therefore this shows that even when you are not consistently good, you can still lose weight. Imagine what would happen if you actually stuck to the diet full time for a month or 2? The weight would drop off!
Plan a reward for when you reach your goal weight - what are you going to do when you lose this next stone? How about treating yourself to a new dress in your new dress size? Or is there something you have wanted to do for ages but have never go around to it? For some the idea of reaching your goal weight is enough to motivate you, but for people who love their food, sometimes the taste and satisfaction from food can outweigh the idea of losing another pound or 2 that week - so we cave in because we know how good it tastes. So give yourself a planned reward for when you get to that weight, something you really really want which will spur you on.
One other thing - try not to have any of your guilty pleasure foods in the house, and try and get your mum to not buy it when you go back over summer. So only have the snack size chocolates so even if you have a bit of a blow out, the worst that can happen is you eat a couple of 100 calorie snack size chocolate bars! Dont have pizzas, crisps etc in the house as these only tempt you. If there is nothing naughty in the house to eat, then you cant be naughty can you!
And finally - just remember you have done amazingly well already, so you CAN lose weight and there is nothing stopping you from getting to that goal weight. Yes you might have a bad day, we all do when we just feel like a yummy meal and a few glasses of wine - that cant be helped, we are human after all! But if you limit those kinds of days to once a week at the most, and if you do have a bad day then make sure you get up the next day and channel your guilt into doing some exercise and having a very good day. Weight Watchers allow those extra 49 points per week for those naughty moments, it is not as strict as sticking to your 29 (or whatever your allowance is) per day, you dont have to beat yourself up if you have a slip up one day.
I hope this helps and good luck!
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A
female
reader, Anastasia  +, writes (3 June 2011):
 Hey, congrats on your weightloss!! It is a huge challenge but you should be extremely proud of yourself that you have lost that stone!Losing weight is a big struggle. It takes discipline, motivation and ALOT of will power. The only way to do it is to have portion control, eat right and exercise. You mentioned that you are an emotional eater....what triggers it? Do you eat when you are down only or when you are excited about something? If you find what triggers it....you might be able to control the trigger. Secondly, you are going home soon, let your family know that you are embarking on an adventure to lose the weight....you have lost a stone already and really would like to continue your weight loss for your health reasons...kindly ask your mom and your family to cook accordingly, not have unnecessary cakes and sweets and chocolates around for you to be tempted with. A family plays a big role in this ...they can help motivate you or be there for you when you have your weak emotionally driven moments. When you feel down or excited, call your mom, or a friend, talk instead of eating = ). At home, get your family out for outings, walk ..hike, play badminton or any outdoor family games...you spend time with them as well as burn calories. And to be honest, you will get that chocolate fix urge..it will bore into your little soul....have just one block so the urge passes...not the entire bar...just enough to satisfy the craving devil...= )I hope this helps, I myself am struggling to lose 2 stone and it is a battle and a half to be won...I slip sometimes...and sometimes I go a week being really good. IF you want someone to share your challenge with...email me and whenever you slip....I'll motivate you to get right back on that weight loss horse.Good Luck...you've lost 1 stone...you can do this!
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A
female
reader, angelDlite +, writes (3 June 2011):
 well done for the weight loss, you need to understand that the first bit of weight is always the easiest to lose and then the loss can slow down a bit - don't feel bad about this - it does NOT mean you are doing anything wrong.
you can lose your craving for chocolate forever by not eating it for just 21 days - this is true - i have done it.
avoid refined carbs - these naughty foods will not do much for you in terms of nutrition but they WILL make you crave for more of the same, which is why i don't agree with the 'one crisp/chip/cake/biscuit etc won't hurt' - they will give you a sugar high and subsequent 'crash' which will leave you craving something sugary to get your level back up. carbs also stimulate the production of insulin, which is known as the 'hunger hormone' it regulates your appetite. avoid WHITE bread/pasta/rice. - brown is fine and good for you. keep potatoes to a minimum - for the same reason. sweet potato is much better.
make sure you get plenty of fruit and veg so your body is getting the vitamins and minerals it needs. protein rich foods are good for filling you up longer.
increase your serotonin levels (which will keep your appetite level as it should be) by eating foods rich in tryptophan (turkey, nuts, milk, cheese) this will also improve your mood and prevent any comfort eating
eat slowly, this will enable you to TASTE your food and will give your brain time to realise that your stomach is getting full.
drink at least 2 litre of water a day (liquid in your food and in beverages will count toward this if you are not a fan of plain water)
i read a book by a hypnotist called paul mckenna and he says that a good way to avoid your favourite naughty food is to get into the habit of very vividly imagining it on a plate, mixed with something horrible that you would NEVER eat ( i thought of crisps, on a plate, with hairs tangled around them! and that definitely stopped my crisps cravings)
something that works for me is this - if i eat something naughty i will make myself do something that i don't like to do - i will get the bus (inconvenient) to work and back the next day instead of simply being able to jump in my car and drive there. so find something that irritates you and use it as a punishment for times when your will power is a bit wobbly.
don't be too hard on yourself though, you still need to enjoy life and enjoy food, if a diet is too boring it is hard to stick to
x
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A
female
reader, RedAthena  +, writes (3 June 2011):
 Congrats on the weightloss! You sound so proud and SHOULD be! My suggestion is to keep doing the things you learned in Weight Watchers! Tell your Mum before you return home that you LOVE her cooking, but you really want to stick with program. The great thing about Weight Watchers is you can EAT real food and still enjoy the things you love.Pick what you REALLY love about Mums food and watch your portions. Save up your points to enjoy it! Then stock up on what really works for you and keep a food journal.Take a picture of yourself lookign wonderful (even if you are not at goal, your progress is a visual to keep you going! Wear something that makes you feel amazing that you COULDNT wear at the beginning of your journey)Find other things to do when you feel tempted and learn some skills such as "No Thank You" but looks great. Let your Mum know you are not rejecting HER, only the extra calories your body does not need.Keep a journal and write to yourself the exact words you wrong above and ADD I CAN DO THIS! You already showed yourself you can! Put a picture of a goal of something special you want to buy, or do when you get to goal! Is any of your Moms food worth how that will feel to acheive?You just have to give yourself the tools and ask those around you to support your new healthy lifestyle. After they see how great you are doing, they may even join you!Good Luck and Best Wishes!
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