I've come to the horrible realisation that I have to put some effort in to lose weight. It doesn't just fall off without me doing anything. Since my recent low-weight point I have put about a stone and a half back on. I am resolute that I never want to let it creep up like it did before, so Action This Day.
I'm terrible at the discipline of counting calories, or points, or anything that requires a notepad and pen. I like to think that this is because I buy a lot of fresh food that doesn't have nutritional information on it, so I'd have to weigh things and so on, but in practice it's because I can't be bothered.
So, I went to the doctor to see if there is any magic fix. He offered some evil pills which stop your intestine absorbing fat but a) I have a moderately low fat diet anyway and b) what goes in must come out... yuk. So I turned those down and we had a bit of a chat. What I want is something that dissuades me from snacking. I had a tummy bug just before Christmas and actually quite enjoyed the feeling a few days later of "I'm not actually hungry and I'm not going to finish this plate of food". So, inspiration struck and he prescribed me Celevac - methylcellulose pills which have Absolutely No Side Effects Ever.
The way they work is that you take 3, chewed, with warm water about 30 mins before a meal, and the cellulose then expands in your stomach to make you feel a little bit full, so you don't feel the need to eat as much.
I've tried them for a couple of days so far - not "religiously" i.e. not before breakfast, lunch and dinner, because I know my Snack Alert times. I think that there's also an aversion effect too. Should I have some of those pills or should I just not have that snack instead?
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Did the doctor actually prescribe the Celevac or just steer you in their direction? I wondered because it seems to be available at Holland & Barrett for less than the cost of a prescription ( though obviously I don't know the details of what you have got)
There are lots of things you can do to change the amount of food you intake, without having to resort to scary pills.
* Eat more slowly; it takes a while for the brain to register that you are full and often it causes one to over eat.
* Don't eat anything after 8pm if you can possibly help it; it is important to burn energy after eating, instead of going to sleep.
* I don't think you drink many fizzy drinks, but cut them completely if you do, they are bad.
* Ideally, get down to eating smaller, more frequent meals. Five medium meals a day is better than three large meals, and it helps to combat hunger.
* If you go to the gym, try and work out in the evening after your meal instead of before; leave an hour or so after eating before exercising. You will burn far more calories doing it this way.
Pills were prescribed - I got 280 pills for £5 (Scottish Prescription price) so it works out cheaper than the prices I've seen online (e.g. £4 for 112). Doctor actually prescribed them, after some discussion. He said that they aren't used much but they seemed to fit what I needed.
Good advice, Max. I've tried most of those already but with varying success ;(
In theory yes there are loads of things one can do to lose weight. However I would say that in 15 or so years of working in a sports centre, I have yet to see a fat person exercise their way into being a thin one. Do keep us advised on the weight loss .
I missed a couple of points that I meant to include first time around:
* Eat foods which are high in protein like cheese and milk; they will fill you up quicker and (by and large) are good for you.
* Stay away from large quantities of pasta, pizza, potatoes, for carbs are bad unless you are working out heavily.
The only times I have lost weight, it has been in one of the following ways:
Walk at least 3 miles a day in full site clobber (steel toe-cap boots as slimming aid) and take no food to work with you and buy all items from a person (site canteen)who makes rude comments if you buy sweets. I lost weight steadily this way.
OR
Keep a food diary, write down everything you eat, and go to the gym. This is fine if you have the time.
Main problem here is sitting at desk all day, chocolate available from machines, and a lady in the shop who always points out the special offers on snickers bars.
for fairly obvious reasons, she-who-doesnt-visit-blogs is the only member of the family whose advice on these matters would be worth taking - why not hmail her some time?
I lost 4 1/2 stones at one point. I just ate less... but my willpower is weaker now, not my tactics. My hope is by giving myself a mechanism and a routine I might kick start the willpower. Maybe.
The problem is the time of year and the dark evenings. Definitely a time for comfort food and not salads.
Homemade vegetable soup comes into category of comfort food,though.
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