Weightloss Support

Hiya Lass

Yes, Madeira was beautiful, some amazing scenes and comfortably warm also. The only thing I can moan about was that parts weren't wheelchair friendly such as many toilets that were downstairs or upstairs. I thought that there were EU rules that covered toilets. Our hotel was uphill from the promenade that forced us to get a taxi back at night. Some taxi drivers were rip off merchants, putting a 15% tip on the amount on the meter. Then they didn't have enough change, so they said! Most were pleasant though. 

As for the toboggan down from the palace gardens, yes we did it, got the photo too. I can only describe it as crazy! I don't know whether everyone had such a wild experience, absolutely sure the toboggan was going to smash into the corner of the wall or drop into the ditch at such a speed that if we were thrown out of the basket, the skin of my bare arms would have been shredded! I kept thinking, "do they have insurance?" I don't know whether we had such a wild experience because we appeared to be game for it, all i can say is I screamed at times and would have been happy if they stopped. I think that the two madmen drivers either were very skilled or very lucky. I prefer the former lol. 

Take care Lass, try not to get bored lol xx

Hi  

We went to Madeira last year (just before my diagnosis).  My OH and I go on our holiday with my brother who lost his wife to cancer in 2014.  So it was 3 of us in the toboggan - I knew what to expect, but they didn't  and they were screaming their heads off - lol.  Mind I was wedged in the middle so felt safe as houses :). The toboggan in front of us started sending up smoke from the wood rubbing on the tarmac, so they had to stop (and us too behind them) for them to use rags to stop it catching fire!  So yes, it's everyone who has the wild experience.  A friend of mine had been years ago and then they went to the seafront rather than halfway down the mountain - and she said that was beyond frightening having been back since on the half way down slide that we did.... 

Madeira struck me as a very strange destination being so popular for 'elderly' as it is full of hills, but like you say absolutely gorgeous.

Lass Sorry don't know what was in the ice cream as I polished off the whole tub yesterday - as it was so low in calories - mmmm, maybe that's not the best idea getting that then!!!!  Unfortunately for me, if it's in the house I eat it - if I don't have it in the house I can't, so that's the way I normally stop putting weight on.  Should never go shopping without having had anything to eat before.

hi lass Just read your post thanks --very interesting.    As a 63 yr old chap, my large  12cm lung beast has taken a lot of weight from me 3 stone plus in the last year. I'm having chemotherapy at the moment then going on to a clinical radiotherapy trial

There is lots of info about losing weight but very little about how to put on after cancer. My prognosis has been since the beginning of treatment --- Curable--- and wish this to stay the same but will need to become a lot stronger to return to my HGV driving job as there is a lot of heavy lifting involved. Is it possible you can or a reader help me with this problem.

Good wishes to you and hope you overcome all your troubles.  pchad  

Hey pchad,

I'm sure there are plenty of folks around who have experience of trying to put weight on after various sorts of treatment. So we will definitely be able to help you get to where you want to be!

First question would be, how's your appetite? Have you found you're eating less than you were? Or having problems keeping things down? Anything else? If we know a little more about your eating habits, and why you think you've lost the weight - could it just be muscle mass you've lost for example? - then we'll be able to try and advise on the best way to put it back on again.

Lass

xx

Hi pchad,

As Lass has said, it would be great to know some specifics around your weight loss. If it helps, I can share some of my experience. Following some complications after a stem cell transplant, I was not allowed to eat and was given vitamins intravenously for just over a month. During that time, I lost a significant amount of weight. When I was allowed to start eating again, I found that my digestive system had to learn how to do things all over again. I also had to be very careful with which foods to eat because of infection risk. All in all, eating became a horrible experience, I got very underweight and began to develop negative associations with food. It was quite a scary time - I had never really contemplated it before, but I began to understand how dangerous things can get very quickly.

One thing that really helped me was "mindless eating". It is the exact opposite of "mindful eating" which is often taught to people trying to lose weight. So instead of being consciously aware of everything that is going in your mouth, instead you switch everything off and just put things in your mouth - all the bad habits such as being sat on the couch watching TV are actively encouraged! Anything to switch your brain off whilst you are eating, so that you don't over-think it and don't dwell on it too much. It will take time, but if you treat it with the same discipline as for those trying to lose weight, with time and practice, you will get there and notice the weight going back on.

The way I look at it is that either overweight or underweight, you have a problem with food intake. It is just the problems are the exact opposite - so when reading the advice you get on here regarding weightloss support, my advice would be to do the exact opposite. Eat cake, eat often, don't worry about what is going in your mouth, don't keep a food diary, don't look at fat content, don't weigh yourself, etc, etc, etc. And hopefully with time you'll stop thinking about it and your weight will begin to right itself.

Hope this helps

Greg

Hi everyone, 

I posted on another page asking for hints & tips about getting a reduction to make me symetrical. 

The BCN said last Nov that my BMI was 36 & to get it down to 30. I am sure when I see her in a few weeks time she is going to say I have done well & now get to BMI 25. 

So far I have tried to just have 3 meals a day ...no grazing or snacking... now need another boost. So was directed to this group.

Hey Grandma Star,

From what you've said, I presumeyou've managed to get your BMI down to 30? Or at least down from 36? That's AWESOME! Very well done for that!

Let me see what mine is sitting at just now......... Lol. 41.1. Though that is down from 45.3, so it's something.

I don't know if you have or not, and I know there are quite a few pages, but if you have a read through there are some really good tips. For example, Skyr is a great low fat and high protein option for a meal, with added berries it's lovely. Swapping out meat for quorn - if you're ok with quorn - also drastically cuts calories. What else.... Oh! I discovered a brand called Oatly does a cream alternative and a creme fraiche alternative which is REALLY low cal compared to everything else out there I've checked.

There's no harm in a snack, but make it a piece of fruit. Sometimes a snack between meals will actually help your metabolism work faster and keep on ticking over.

Do you log what you're eating in an app? Or have an activity tracker to see how active you are? I've found both of those helpful in really seeing what it is I've been eating and where the balance might have been skewed.

Whatever you need, we're here to help!

Lass

xx

Hi Lass, 

I have almost got down to BMI 30.  Weight keeps fluctuating around 73kg. Seem to have come to a plateau...

This rain & cold isn’t helping..I really do get cold to the bone & then joints seize up!

I have just been shopping & bought loads of fruit. I have stopped buying bread...I use wraps if I need a packed lunch. I’m trying to drink more but don’t like the taste of water..so have bought some fruit juices in tetra packs ...better for getting away from plastic! That’s another mission I am on!

I have a step counter & use it to keep myself moving, when I need to work on the laptop I try to stand up as much as possible...

Thanks for the boost...any encouragement is great ... 

I have in the past tried practically every diet ever written. Those which have worked have been great but as soon as I have stopped the weight & more has piled on...so I am doing things which I can keep on with ...for the rest of my life...

I am content with losing the weight slowly ...it didn’t go on in a day!

Onward & upward...to a lighter & thinner me!

Best wishes to all who are losing weight....

Hope the weather gets warmer soon ...

Kindest regards to all...

Heya Star,

I've managed to lose 3 more lbs!

Be careful with the fruit juice, it's full of sugar and is actually full of hidden calories. You're better off eating the actual fruit itself as then the body has to work on the fibre of the fruit, rather than just the sugar filled juice from within. You say you don't like the taste of water, is that just water from the tap? What about the sparkling spring water you can get? I'm not a fan of tap water here in Leeds - tap water in Scotland was lovely - so I now buy own brand water. There's the flavoured sparkling water bottles which are like, 4 for £1.20 from Tesco. Or there's the 2 litre bottles of sparkling spring water, 8 for £2.50 in Morrisons, then I add in a splash of diluting juice. The flavoured bottles are like, 5 calories a litre, while depending on which diluting you get and how much you use, it can be like 3 calories a glass.

I've tried so many diets too, but none of them work for me. So I've given up on the prescribed diets and just doing my own thing, finding out what's working for me and sticking with that. So it's very def a work in process!

But you've def got the right attitude! As nice as it would be to lose the weight ASAP, I know that's not going to mean it will stay off. So I'm fine with the slow and steady approach - deep down - even if I sometimes forget that. lol

And yes, warmer weather would be great, anything to get rid of some of this pain!!! lol

Fingers crossed your thinner you continues to come out!

Lass

xx

Hi, 

In haste...I take your point but I disagree with buying water...single use plastic is harming our planet!