Ive got to lose half a stone!(a stone would be better but Im being realistic!)its gone on since I stopped work when i retired 3 years ago,though Im still pretty active,9 stone seems the new norm and Im in danger of settling for it!The extra is mainly on my tum,so nothing looks nice unless I walk around with it sucked in all the time!I keep trying to just cut out the rubbish,as I have a fairly decent vegetarian diet normally,but Its the extras(chocolate,too much bread,etc)I have real difficulty cutting out,and if Im honest,I eat too much of everything because Im always hungry!My resolve dies at the first hunger pang!I also have a bit of a problem where I can feel ill if I go too long without food,weak,and light headed,so Im scared not to eat a decent amount if im going out(i do a bit of cleaning for people which helps keep me in dogs) Any advice on which diet to try,or shall I just try harder at portion and rubbish control?

Dont get hung up on numbers!
If you have retired it means you are old enough to be allowed a few more softening curves, so be kind to yourself and do not EVER allow your self to fell hungry.
You have to eat regular, healthy meals, the choclate extras are the treats that you are allowed sometimes.

Karen :)

I've recently lost 2 stone with weightwatchers, it's not easy but I'm now at the stage where it's portion control really.  Another tip is sometimes we think we're hungry but can be thirsty, when I start to get hungry I drink a glass of water, it takes the edge of the hunger pangs and a piece of fruit will fill me up.  It sounds like you have a good diet but we all have our favourite things we struggle to give up !

thanks dogz,im 63,and i keep telling myself the extra pounds dont matter-but im a bit scared i might keep piling it on!I dont want to be skinny,as its not that flattering when youre older,and I know Im not strictly fat,as such(just fatTER!).probably thats it,have chocolate as a treat,and not a staple!

well done,mollymoo,2stone is terrific,I can imagine how hard that was.I dont suppose its ever a doddle,although Ive heard good things about weightwatchers.I know I could give up chocolate,its actually wanting to!When I was younger,there seemed more motivation.Still,Ive a holiday coming up in about 4weeks,I ll focus on that!

> shall I just try harder at portion and rubbish control

That really does work.  Do look at what you are eating and more importantly how you are cooking it.  There are things that you can eat in larger portions (like veg) that do a pretty good job at filling you up, I find broccoli and cauliflower are good for that reason as they have substance.  I'm sure you already know what you need to downsize! 

I've lost a lot of weight simply by reducing fat both as an ingredient and for cooking.  I now eat very little processed food too so that I can see exactly what is in the food I'm eating :)

Bread is/was one of my problems but more for what I want on it (or in it), rather than the bread itself - I no longer eat toast for that reason! - and I've swapped my lunchtime sandwich habit for wholemeal pitta bread.  If you think about the things you really like to eat then it's possible, with a bit of creative thinking, to adapt them to a healthier version - or perhaps a rare treat.  I now have a staple of family recipes that I can cook without thinking which do none of us any harm and me a lot of good.  If I want something really 'naughty' I have to earn it first not walk it off after.  My husband and I have a 'pie walk' for that reason.  We have to walk to the bakery, eat our steak pie outside, and walk back.  All in all our pie walk is 8 miles and I think just about makes me feel ok to eat it - particularly if I drop a bit of pastry into a waiting woofer! :)

Porridge is my big tip though for managing the roaring hungries.  If I eat a good sized bowl of porridge with plenty of fresh fruit for breakfast then it staves off the hunger for ages.  I make it with half water and half fully skimmed milk

Good luck

There you go, as I suspected pounds :). Now allow them in they are sometimes required, in the meantime stay as you are with a treat as and when.
Me, I just need to learn treats are not for every day then I will be happpier ;)

Karen

thankyou,dogsababe,i love your"pie walk"!Its a pity the choc shop isnt 4miles away.Porridge it is then,for brekky tomorrow.Worth a try!Spose it wouldnt hurt to have it at other really hungry times,either!

On Jan 1st I started the 17 day diet. I lost 2 stone in 2 months. Theres loads of info about it on the net. I then stopped doing it (its a hard one but excellent results) and didnt put anything on but felt like I couldnt continue it anymore so Ive now joined slimming world. :-)

good luck \Pam its hard but worth it :) I still cant seem to get going with me everytime I get any stress I turn to food and jsut cant eat the right stuff. Unforunately the last 18momnths have been so stress and hasnt ended yet but still hoping to suceed one day and its not lbs I need to lose more like stones !

thanks Tracey,will have a look at it,but i suspect it will be too hard for me!well done on losing 2 stone,you must have good willpower!My main problem isnt really stress,like yours,chris,its more in the evening when im too tired to do anything exept flop with a book,once ive had my dinner and my jaws get in gear,i cant seem to stop eating!good day yesterday,though,heres to another one!thanks,folks!

> once ive had my dinner and my jaws get in gear,i cant seem to stop eating

Fruit is quite good for this time of night.  Grapes are handy for nibbling and pre chopped fruit keeps quite well in the fridge and is easy to pick at.  I like pineapple and the advantage of this is that nothing else really goes with it except other fruit - chocolate really would taste foul !!

Bananas are another great evening food and excellent for aiding sleep - it's the tryptophan

My problem is boredom - on my office days I snack regularly to keep myself from going insane with the tedium. On grooming days I hardly snack at all! Still, I was down to a new low on my latest diet attempt this morning, so I'm feeling quite pleased. And luckily the cake someone brought to the office today had nuts and raisins in which I don't like, so I was saved from eating it, as I can't say no if offered food I like!

Can anyone suggest a breakfast cereal to really keep you full until lunch, apart from porridge. I seem to have tried most that promise to do so but I am really hungry again by 10am

I really don't like porridge. I have tried the 'flavours' porridge and don't like those either. One spoonful and that was it, no more.

Apparently eggs are the best for that - as an ommlette or scrambled, 2 is about the same calories as cereal - no toast though :( 

I don't like the wallpaper paste texture of porridge but love oats mixed with milk and sugar or sweetner like a cheap mans muesli.  If you eat it quickly after adding the milk it is lovely.

Eggs are also very good for you.  I have been eating hard boiled eggs with salt and salad cream on a crispbread.  High in protein, not a lot of carbs so very filling and keeps you feeling full for ages.  Probably not everyones idea of a good breakfast but I tend to have been up for a couple of hours before eating breakfast.

You aren't supposed to only eat Breakfast, lunch and dinner.  To speed up your metabolism, you are supposed to eat little and often.
So for example -
Breakkie - 8am - small bowl of bran flakes with skimmed milk-glass of water
mid morn - 10ish - chopped apple and raisins-glass of water
Lunch    -1pm - Bowl of homemade soup(usually lentil or broth) or salad sarnie and a cuppa
Mid after - 3pm - banana or fat free yoghurt - glass of water
Dinner - 6pm - Whatever you usually have but eat slowly and only eat about half(sometimes helps to use side plates instead of large plates)WATER!
Supper - 9ish - cuppa and a biccy(I've earned it!!lol)
During the day, I drink loads of water(probably 3-4 litres) and especially if I'm hungry.  It really helps fill you up.

I don't like a single thing of those possible meals and snacks - no wonder I have trouble losing weight! :-p

good luck with that,rocknrose,I know muesli is supposed to be filling,but the amounts diet books would have you eat,wont be,and of course,the calories will rack up if you have a big bowl,which might! i have the same problem,so i dont eat cereal,fruit on its own would last me an hour,cereal,even things like 4(yes 4!)weetabix with hot milk would leave me starving by ten.Yesterday,before going to my keep me in dogs cleaning job(which admittedly is flaming hard work for five hours solid) i had a big bowl of porridge and an egg on a slice of toast.By eleven,my stomach was trying to eat itself!So I take a protein drink to last me till i get home(holland and barretts whey protein) That I think is my trouble,I get so hungry that when i do eat,i cant stop! Thanks for all the tips though,everybody,Im going to try to stick to fruit after my dinner in the evening,that wont do much damage!
Isnt it funny how we all have danger times!Mines the evening,my sisters has always been the afternoon,some people eat when bored,tired or stressed!

Dieting isn't about what goes into your mouth, it is about what goes on in your head!! :) :)  Just a tip about the muesli colliepam, if you soak it in hot water, leave it for a few minutes, THEN add the milk, it feels like there is more!!!   :)

Also, you shouldn't be trying to wait till lunchtime.  Have a drink and something(health) at 10ish.  Things that fill you up are good but you shouldn't go more than 3 hours without adding fuel to your tank.  If you do and you feel so hungry that you binge, your body will be starting to store fat.  It's actually harder to lose weight when you don't eat enough(I know, sounds ridiculous).  If you eat smaller portions for your mealtimes and have regular healthy snacks, you will see a difference.
Different exercise should be thought about too.  You body gets used to what you do on a regular basis.  So for example, if you walk your dog 5 miles a day at a fast pace, your body gets used to this.  Changing the exercise will use up more calories.  Swim for example or yoga? and mix it up a couple of times a week.

I've recently lost 1/2 stone. I am still going as i want to lose just over a stone but mainly i am going by the fit of my clothes...i want the clothes in my wardrobe to actually fit me :-)
I haven't gone on any partiular diet, i'm just using a common sense approach. Eating less rubbish and exercising a bit more.
Tips i have used which i find help:
*Use online tools to work out calories - you'd be surprised at how many calories are in some things!
*Try and have a routine so you are eating at the same time every day
*Chew food slowly and really savour every mouthfull-no eating on the go
*Dont buy the rubbish - if its not in the cupboards you cant eat it!
*Dont deny yourself a treat. I tend to eat my useful healthy food at the weekend but allow myself whatever i want for tea on saturday - takeawy or whatever
*Try to plan ahead so meals are arranged in advance.
*Dont feel embarrased to exercise. You see all shapes and sizes in the gym/pool/out running - give it a go. If you are really embarrased do an exercise dvd at home. I prance around like a loon for 40 mins a couple times a week. Nobody sees me so it doesnt matter :-)

I wonder Colliepam, if you suffer from low blood sugar. I know I do and if I don't eat extremely regularly I feet weak, anxious etc Which is why I eat such large amounts of food to keep the feelings away. I can have a lunch of wholemeal bread sandwich, (cheese and salad), crisps, 1 banana 1 apple, chocolate bar, 1/2 pint milk and by 3 I am starving. How on earth can a person be hungry two hours after eating that? Its not as if it was all smarties and coke!

You seem to have the same symptoms as me so it made me wonder.

Sometimes, the more you eat, the more you want!  Stomachs will stretch to accommodate the amount! As I said in my previous post, dieting is a state of mind! :)  It is better to think of it as a 'Healthy Eating' regime for life, with the occasional treat.  Even after all the excess weight has been lost, it doesn't stop there as you have to keep it off!  It is an equation really...what goes in must be less than what goes out ( in the form of exercise) to lose weight!  :)

> It is better to think of it as a 'Healthy Eating' regime for life, with the occasional treat.  Even after all the excess weight has been lost, it doesn't stop there as you have to keep it off!

One needs also to learn the feeling of hunger and welcome it as normal too (whilst not tipping overboard into weak and wobbly or about to binge!!).  Apples are a bit boring but an apple an a cup of tea goes some way to averting a crisis in this house :)

I always think that when a so called 'hunger suppressant' is discovered as a slimming aid, it has to have been developed by someone who has never had a weight problem as how many of us eat/binge because we are really hungry?  :) If we are honest, we binge because we like food!!  :)

Yes,i do have low blood sugar,rocknrose,and I do the same,as regards eating,i can cope with hunger,but not the horrible light headed,weak and depressed feelings.I eat more now than I did a few years ago(and you can tell!)so it doesnt happen as much now,but its the last thing you want on a long walk,or at work.Sometimes Ive noticed I get hungrier quicker if the last meal had a lot of sugar in,say,chocolate after,spose thats the insulin response?Also when Im in that low blood sugar thing and dying of hunger,if a genie popped up and offered me chocolate,cake or a biscuit,id refuse it,knowing it would make me feel worse!(never had to put it to the test though!)Only proper food will do,then!
There have been a lot of really helpful tips posted,i am really grateful,and Im hoping,especially now the sun is finally out(wahey!),that the shame of my lardy tum on show will improve my willpower!

Yes sugar is really the worst thing you can eat, it gives you a quick fix then gives you an almighty crash soon after.

Thats why I try to eat wholemeal bread, brown rice, proteins etc. It doesn't always work, like the emormous lunch I had the other day (in the earlier post) only to get the low blood sugar feelings 2 hours later. Feeling hungry I can cope with also but like you I can't cope with the feelings hypoglycemia (sp?) brings with it. So I keep eating and eating and have crept up a size in jeans lol.

> I don't like the wallpaper paste texture of porridge

I agree, if the oats are too finely milled you get baby food :)

Try using jumbo porridge oats - even after cooking they retain their shape and chew.  Experiment with cooking times too (I m'wave mine for 3 minutes) and you can always chuck in some raw oats before serving

Eating with fruit breaks up the 'gloopyness' and sharp fruits like strawberries and raspberries cut the milky taste

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">> I don't like the wallpaper paste texture of porridge<br />I agree, if the oats are too finely milled you get baby food

Thats exactly why i cant eat porridge. I know its supposed to be this amazing thing to eat when you diet but not eating it really isnt the end of the world. For breakfast i have 45g Shreddies & 125ml semi-skimmed milk which comes in at 222 calories. I have that at 8 am, some fruit mid morning and that sees me through to lunchtime absolutely fine.

Lol Oldilocks I think you have it there! I eat either because I am bored or because I like the taste, you're quite right! The diet companies need to develop something that will make me unable to stomach chocolate or processed sugar in any form, or find me a more exciting office job! :-D

">Lol Oldilocks I think you have it there!

It has taken me a long time to suss it out though!!  :)  :)

Agree with you,when I was laid up after a foot op,I ate for entertainment!I was so bored I welcomed the slightest hunger pang as it meant I could eat!