Healthy New You: Your Change For Life

Original post by hiller

Hi! I think this is a great idea and I like this thread already from the first post :smile:

I am generally happy with my body (it has taken a while to come to terms with that) so I am not necessarily looking to lose weight, just to have a more consistent eating pattern/style and to try to avoid sugar cravings and being able to stop myself from eating scary amounts of chocolate at one go. Any tips?? I seem unable to stop myself.

Another inspiring website with workout videos and nutrition tips is bodyrock.tv. Zuzana, the woman who is in the workout videos is the most muscular woman I have ever seen and their workouts are short but brutal. If you like to be sore after a workout then I definitely suggest giving one of those a go! You will, however, need a stopwatch or interval timer for most workouts. I did actually buy one and find them very useful also for running intervals -- which is a good way to build stamina when running.

Anyway, I have tried lots of "lifestyle changes" with different types of habits but none seem to work for me. Maybe I don't commit enough to any of them but I feel like I can't really stick to any "rules". I feel like I have plateaued after reaching my optimal weight and now I'm slowly rolling downhill again. I don't know if this is the right thread but I just htought I'd put that out there.. and I'm wondering if anyone else feels the same way!

Despite this I have decided to give myself a few rules that shouldn't be too difficult to maintain: 3 meals a day, only water/tea in between, carbs only for lunch, and sweets only on Saturday. Fingers crossed that I can stick to this!!

I used to have a serious sweet tooth and got really bad sugar cravings, to the point where I'd have to have a small packet of sweets or a bar or chocolate every evening, and I was the type of person who if someone gave me a big bag of haribos or a box of chocolates for my birthday I'd eat the majority of them in the space of a day :redface:

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Just over 2 months ago I cut them out of my diet, I found it difficult for the first couple of weeks but after that my sugar cravings started to go away, and I honestly don't miss sweets or chocolate anymore. I went on holiday last week, didnt eat sweets or choccy but I did have a dessert every night (I don't eat desserts normally) and it was nice to have sugary sweet puddings, but I felt satisfied and didn't crave more. So maybe if you cut sweets/chocolates out completely for a while, when/if you start eating it them again you'll be able to enjoy them as a small treat once in a while rather than eating loads in one go.

The best thing to do though to stop you eating loads at once is to just not buy loads of it - just get one small chocolate bar, not those big sharing bars or multipacks. If someone else in your house is doing the food shopping and buying chocolate, ask them to hide it and not put it in the cupboard so you won't have to see it.

About the 'rules' thing, I personally think a lifestyle change is just about being healthier in general, if you have strict rules it just becomes a diet and you may end up resenting it, plus it's difficult to fit rules in with life - social events, staying at a friends and having to eat what they have in the cupboards etc. Just try to chose healthy options, be active, tell friends/family you are trying to eat healthily but if you are in a situation where someone cooks you a meal that isn't so healthy, just watch your portion size.

Reply 1862

Z-6H820

I'm watching Supersize vs Superskinny Kids on 4od and it's made me realise you don't even need to over-eat by very much :/ ... this boy (I think he's 10 or 11) is meant to have 2,200 calories a day but has 2,500, and he's 11 and a half stone which I think they said is 2 stone overweight. 300 calories doesn't seem that much extra a day! I suppose if you have it EVERY day for years it's going to add up though.

Reply 1863

Nut.

Original post by conway!

I'm watching Supersize vs Superskinny Kids on 4od and it's made me realise you don't even need to over-eat by very much :/ ... this boy (I think he's 10 or 11) is meant to have 2,200 calories a day but has 2,500, and he's 11 and a half stone which I think they said is 2 stone overweight. 300 calories doesn't seem that much extra a day! I suppose if you have it EVERY day for years it's going to add up though.

If a person ate 250 calories over the amount that they needed every day for a year, they would gain just under 2 stone, so you're right, it doesn't take much. That's the equivalent of approximately one Muller Corner yoghurt!

Even when people are fit and at a weight that they feel is right, they should still weigh themselves/ take body fat percentage/ measurements (or however else they measure their fitness and health) about once a month.
That way, even if a person is eating 500kcals too many, they'll only gain 4lbs over the month, and that's easy enough to lose! :smile:

Reply 1864

Original post by conway!

I'm watching Supersize vs Superskinny Kids on 4od and it's made me realise you don't even need to over-eat by very much :/ ... this boy (I think he's 10 or 11) is meant to have 2,200 calories a day but has 2,500, and he's 11 and a half stone which I think they said is 2 stone overweight. 300 calories doesn't seem that much extra a day! I suppose if you have it EVERY day for years it's going to add up though.

As someone said, it does build up over time, since he has probably been eating like that for a long time.

I love that show, though, the insane things some people eat. When they eat takeaways for morning, afternoon and night - I both wonder how on earth they must feel mood-wise and how they have the money to keep doing that. Plus, I actually like Dr Jessop whereas when I used to watch You Are What You Eat I just wanted to punch that whiny shrew Gillian McKeith.

Reply 1865

hiller

Original post by Shockolate

I used to have a serious sweet tooth and got really bad sugar cravings, to the point where I'd have to have a small packet of sweets or a bar or chocolate every evening, and I was the type of person who if someone gave me a big bag of haribos or a box of chocolates for my birthday I'd eat the majority of them in the space of a day :redface:

.
Just over 2 months ago I cut them out of my diet, I found it difficult for the first couple of weeks but after that my sugar cravings started to go away, and I honestly don't miss sweets or chocolate anymore. I went on holiday last week, didnt eat sweets or choccy but I did have a dessert every night (I don't eat desserts normally) and it was nice to have sugary sweet puddings, but I felt satisfied and didn't crave more. So maybe if you cut sweets/chocolates out completely for a while, when/if you start eating it them again you'll be able to enjoy them as a small treat once in a while rather than eating loads in one go.

The best thing to do though to stop you eating loads at once is to just not buy loads of it - just get one small chocolate bar, not those big sharing bars or multipacks. If someone else in your house is doing the food shopping and buying chocolate, ask them to hide it and not put it in the cupboard so you won't have to see it.

About the 'rules' thing, I personally think a lifestyle change is just about being healthier in general, if you have strict rules it just becomes a diet and you may end up resenting it, plus it's difficult to fit rules in with life - social events, staying at a friends and having to eat what they have in the cupboards etc. Just try to chose healthy options, be active, tell friends/family you are trying to eat healthily but if you are in a situation where someone cooks you a meal that isn't so healthy, just watch your portion size.

So wise!

Thanks a lot! It's good to hear from someone whose had those cravings... You've got a point.. I think it's more important to be healthy because in the long run, that's what matters! Thanks for the tips, I really do appreciate it!

Reply 1866

Vulpix

Original post by Shawshank

Ridiculous. The guidelines didn't even exist 50 years ago, so howcome since coming to the public eye is health on such a decline?

Even the broscience filled menshealth was able to admit the lipid hypothesis was never technically proven:
http://www.menshealth.com/health/saturated-fat

Anyway I'll stop posting about it. I might do a proper diet experiment/blog and post it on here, just for something anecdotal.

Because 50 years ago we didn't have a Maccy D's on every street corner or pump animals full of growth hormones to make them bigger. People also had more active lifestyles because there weren't as many cars etc. You can't link it to the NHS, because apart from anything else the same thing happened in America.

Reply 1867

username163092

19

I think what people are forgetting is basic statistics - just because X increase with Y doesn't mean there's a causal link. Hayfever and ice cream sales increase at the same time, but that doesn't mean that ice cream causes hayfever.

Reply 1868

Vulpix

Original post by HZHY

So I've been trying to stick with this for a couple of weeks or so now, and have seemed to hit a point where I can't get below 15st 2lbs. What I really want to know is what would be a realistic healthy weight for somebody like me who is never going to be the world's slimmest person. I'm around 6ft 1 and quite well built, and was wondering whether this would change the target in any sense. Any help would be appreciated, as I'm keen to be as slim as possible before I head off to university.

Are you a boy or girl? According to your BMI then around 13 stone would put you in the upper end of the healthy range, although if you're pretty muscly then it can change things. As long as you look and feel fine then you're probably ok though, you don't need to rely on BMI too much! If you read the thread then you should find a lot of good advice and if you have any specific advice on fitness or diet then feel free to PM me, or for better advice then try asking one of the regular's!
As for not being able to get below a certain weight- it's called hitting the plateau, and I would try increasing the amount of exercise you do and if there's anything else in your diet that could be improved then try that too!
Good luck!

Reply 1869

Original post by Vulpix

Because 50 years ago we didn't have a Maccy D's on every street corner or pump animals full of growth hormones to make them bigger. People also had more active lifestyles because there weren't as many cars etc. You can't link it to the NHS, because apart from anything else the same thing happened in America.

Also, virtually all of the top slots when it comes to obesity are countries in the Pacific (some with over 90% obesity rates among over-15s), partly due to a cultural belief that the larger the better, but also partly blamed on a rise in inactivity (they used to hunt for food and also now have more in the way of TVs) and the abandonment of a traditional diet of fruit, root vegetables, pork and fish in favour of a more 'Westernised' diet consisting of foods like canned meat, more flour, mayonnaise and sweets, among other foods that are imported and are now prefered by locals.

I'm not really into this debate, I always just thought it was really interesting how bad the obesity levels are in the Pacific but it's virtually never brought up, they focus on the USA as being the fattest place in the world when it's not.

Edit: Big Meets Bigger is on Youtube, finally!

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 1870

Shawshank

1

Original post by Vulpix

Because 50 years ago we didn't have a Maccy D's on every street corner or pump animals full of growth hormones to make them bigger. People also had more active lifestyles because there weren't as many cars etc. You can't link it to the NHS, because apart from anything else the same thing happened in America.

Reply 1871

Vulpix

Original post by Sorani

Also, virtually all of the top slots when it comes to obesity are countries in the Pacific (some with over 90% obesity rates among over-15s), partly due to a cultural belief that the larger the better, but also partly blamed on a rise in inactivity (they used to hunt for food and also now have more in the way of TVs) and the abandonment of a traditional diet of fruit, root vegetables, pork and fish in favour of a more 'Westernised' diet consisting of foods like canned meat, more flour, mayonnaise and sweets, among other foods that are imported and are now prefered by locals.

I'm not really into this debate, I always just thought it was really interesting how bad the obesity levels are in the Pacific but it's virtually never brought up, they focus on the USA as being the fattest place in the world when it's not.

Edit: Big Meets Bigger is on Youtube, finally!

Actually I didn't know that obesity was a problem in the Pacific so thanks for mentioning it! Might have to look that up, it sounds interesting.

Original post by Shawshank

What? I don't know what part you're face-palming at.

Reply 1872

Original post by Vulpix

Actually I didn't know that obesity was a problem in the Pacific so thanks for mentioning it! Might have to look that up, it sounds interesting.

Yep - Nauru is the fattest place in the world, with 94.5% of the adult population overweight. The next of the top five are Micronesia, Cook Islands, Niue and Tonga, those are all above 90% as well.

I can't for the life of me recall what it was in, but I saw one of those BBC3-style documentaries where someone went to Tonga. I think it was a pair of people and the man was quite slim and the Tongans out and out said that was strange to them. To the women there, the real definition of masculinity is a large man. So there is the pressure to be bigger for them.

Reply 1873

xoxAngel_Kxox

OP

21

Original post by Sorani

Yep - Nauru is the fattest place in the world, with 94.5% of the adult population overweight. The next of the top five are Micronesia, Cook Islands, Niue and Tonga, those are all above 90% as well.

I can't for the life of me recall what it was in, but I saw one of those BBC3-style documentaries where someone went to Tonga. I think it was a pair of people and the man was quite slim and the Tongans out and out said that was strange to them. To the women there, the real definition of masculinity is a large man. So there is the pressure to be bigger for them.

I watched that! In Health in first year uni. Never quite worked out why, as it could have been summed up in 2 minutes :biggrin:

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I've had an okay day today. Managed to get out for a little walk in between all the showers, now ready to watch Doctor Who and X Factor.. WITHOUT the usual bar of chocolate that I used to eat last time X Factor was on TV (I mean last year, not last week). I used to eat a family sized bar to myself. What a pig I was.

Reply 1874