Help me please.

[Shirindo]

OK I'm hoping some of you in the know will take pity on a fatty in the group.

I used to be 15 stone, pretty solid but with a bit of puppy fat on me. I then developed an overactive thyroid and lost 2 1/2 Stone in five weeks. I was losing the weight so fast I developed a bad habit of stuffing whatever I could down my neck to try and keep some weight on.

Thyroid's now sorted, unfortunately it has left me with a lot of a sweet tooth and am eating all the wrong stuff. I have never been in the 'normal' range on the BMI charts but up to getting the thyroid problem I had a body/fat % of 18.

I want to get back in shape but have no idea on diets. I need to wean myself off the sweet stuff, and get a proper balance to my meals. Anyone here any good at working out diet plans? All help will be appreciated.

[disgruntled]

LOL the "fatty" LOL

k.... here is my advice...

first off, am i correct that you are gaining your weight as more of a "beer belly" then getting flabby? (i only had your facebook pictures to go by, but it looked to be the case) if that is the case, then i have good and bad news for you. the bad news is that that type of fat is the most dangerous kind. it is fat that is collecting around the organs and not just under the skin. so uncheck it can lead to heart problems, liver problems and the like. but the good news is that this type of fat is the easiest to loose. once you start eating right and exercising (which you already do, so half way there) the pounds will melt off.

diet tips:

one thing that you can do is substitute your cravings with a more healthy version of the same thing. if you crave chocolate then eat 70% chocolate. you won't be able to eat much because it is so strong, so you have portion control and a healthy alternative in one. if you crave cake and pasteries, i have found that vanilla rooibos tea works well for me. if you crave candy then fruit works well (better i think). and last, if you are a salt craver and like crisps (AKA chips) then i find that either pickles or sunflower seeds are a good alternative.

if you do have to cheat your diet than at least control the portions that you eat. eat less of what is bad for you. your body can take a little hit and still come back. but it slows your progress so try not to.

in general there is a good rule of thumb as to what foods are good for you to eat: anything that takes longer to digest. there are exceptions of course. but in general if you eat things that take longer to digest then nutriants are released slower to the body. this means that you will not get a blood sugar spike and then crash later (and then getting bad cravings for sugar and fat), the sugar will be released steadily. and thus you will feel full longer and not need/want to eat as often.

so what foods do take longer to digest? any thing that has whole grains, fresh veggies/fruit (fruit juice is as bad as pop for you because it releases the sugar so quickly to your body) meats. just stick to non-processed foods and that is a great start. processed food is another way to say already digested food. stay away from diet food that are low fat, they just add more sugar instead which is worse.

i hope that is a helpful start!

also there are some really good british shows that your channels must get because i get the show here in canada:
"you are what you eat"
"turn back your body clock"

[sirdarksol]

All good advice.
A few additions...
This was touched on in the above thread, but I want to reiterate because it's so important: The more natural the form of something, the better. Raw veggies are better than cooked, cooked fresh veggies are better than processed veggies. Canned vegetables may or may not be as good as fresh ones, since they are usually canned immediately after being picked. I go by how much extra stuff is in the can. Obviously, don't do anything dangerous (don't eat raw pork, for example).
Why not 85% chocolate? I'm lucky, and have a place within driving distance that makes hand-made truffles, and they have everything from milk chocolate to 99% chocolate. Disgruntled is right, you can only eat a little bit of that stuff. I usually eat the 85% ones a half at a time.
If it has "high fructose corn syrup" or "enriched flour" as one of its first five ingredients, limit the amount you eat or find an alternative. These carbs have a really high glycemic index, which means your body doesn't have to work very hard to convert it to energy (and therefore, fat)

[disgruntled]

yeah good points!!

i like that you mentioned the glycemic index, it is a very useful tool. i know a bit about it but not much. i would recommend researching it a bit. does anyone here know more about it?

[Shirindo]

Thanks for the advice so far.

I will have to sit down and try and come up with a diet plan.
I'll post it up and get your feed-back if you dont mind.

Many thanks for the words of encouragement too

[reviewer]

There are many, many diets out there. The best thing is:

- Pick a diet you can stick to long term. Nothing "fad" like.
- Expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.
- Exercise is the biggest key to success.

[disgruntled]

Originally Posted by reviewer

- Expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.

i like that you added that. a lot of people get obsessed with a number and get discouraged because they think they should be loosing weight faster.

also keep in mind that as you lose fat you should also be gaining muscle which weighs more. so if you diet and exercise properly you should notice a bigger difference in how your close fit than how much you weight.

[Shirindo]

Aha! I couldn't actualy give a rats behind what weight I was so long as I'm in better shape. I know round is a shape but its not one I particularly like

I am more interested in losing the inches in the right places

[DOCBROWN1705]

Good call.... It's not so much about a number, but more about how you look and feel...
Keep training, and avoid dieting at all costs..... look at it more as a change in your lifestyle...
Diets never work, they are to "short term". I would recommend speaking to a nutritionist about changing your daily eating habits for life, and how to incorporate those changes in a way that they don't feel restrictive.

Cardio, Cardio, Cardio!!! Get that heart rate up!!

[Shirindo]

Originally Posted by DOCBROWN1705

Cardio, Cardio, Cardio!!! Get that heart rate up!!

Does that include watching scary, or racy , movies?