I'm losing the fight!!

Twelve hour fasts sound a good idea, but I never eat breakfast, just a coffee made with milk, but it doesn’t make me lose weight. I wish! In fact I’ve had to start taking a medicine called Pregabalin, and I hate it. It’s made me put on 3/4 of a stone. Weight gain is a well recognised side effect of this medication. I desperately want to get off this medication but I can’t at the moment.

Try having a glass of water to sip on in the evenings. Also a little dot of toothpaste on your tongue will put you off eating anything sweet or savoury.

Have you tried ‘the skinny food company’ they have some low calorie smarty’s on there if you need a chocolate hit. Also when I’m on a serious diet which I need to get on now I’ve always found a large bowl of fresh fruit salad always in the fridge works for me with the evening munchies.

I piled on the kilos over a couple of years and last year I had had enough. I went cold turkey and started fasting. Not eating anything until dinner - which I have around 6pm.

It was hard to fast for the first few days, getting hungry around lunch time. But I persevered and drank lots of water.

I ended up loosing 10kgs and have felt better for it. I've managed to retain my new weight so far.

I'm having to really tell myself not to nibble on sweets, biscuits, etc. Nowadays I have a handful of cashew nuts or raisins if I want to nibble.

One benefit is that my back has stopped itching. I wonder if it was sugar. I notice that it starts up again if I have a few sweet things.

I'm another one who has started comfort eating since the loss of my DH. I lost a lot of weight at the time and after several months without any clothes that fitted me I started eating biscuits and pastries galore to try to increase weight. Now I find I have such a sweet tooth and can't bear to end a meal without something sweet - biscuits specially are my downfall.

How about a large glass of water to sip on and knitting or cross stitch or painting…….something that you have to do with your hands. It could be enough to distract the hand to mouth eating/ picking habits……..I too need to follow this advice in 5he evenings.

This is me definitely in the evenings. I dealt with it by buying box of 6 mini magnums ice creams they do the job to stop the cravings I have one every evening , also pineapple rings with 0% Greek yoghurt it supplies the sweet cravings without piling on the weight.

Go for a walk in the evenings and get into the habit of drinking water when you get the urge to snack.

Take up a hobby that uses your hands. I spend a lot of time on my phone, aran knitting or crocheting blankets. If my hands are busy I can't eat.

I really sympathise as weight loss is hard! I put on two stone after my beloved Mum died just before Covid and have only just lost it all. The ONLY thing that works for me is attending a weight loss group - for me Slimming World. I know what to do on my own but sticking to it without being weighed and held accountable every week I find impossible. Good luck!

Your post prompted a lot of good responses!! Ideas I will adopt myself. Check out T.O.P.S.org for info. I am one of thousands of members worldwide of Take Off Pounds Sensibly and attend an in-person chapter meeting weekly or you can attend virtually. $37 USD annual membership. If you are gaining weight and you think it’s because of the biscuits, cut your portions in half for starters and Nibble instead of bite. Savor them. I’m not kidding. Make them last a little longer. If you have sweet treats during the day, swap for plain fruit or with Greek yogurt, mixed with vanilla and a sweetener for dipping or veggies with hummus so you can feel better about your nightly biscuits. We eaters LOVE to eat, even when we aren’t hungry anymore. So make better, healthier choices and then eat. My go-to nightly treat is a healthy oatmeal, pumpkin, banana, nuts muffin…no sugar. I am now a K.O.P.S. which means Keep Off Pounds Sensibly after having reached my goal. 😉 you can do it!

Another one who just joined Slimming World. Tried Fast800 for a few months and lost ½ stone (3kg), can do with losing another stone to reach a healthy weight.

I m only size 12 and the slimmest at the Slimming Club but I am overweight for my height and carry excess weight round my stomach which is giving me health problems.

My weakness are biscuits and pastries. My husband buy them for himself but I end them eating them.

Don't go down the biscuit aisle. I don't go down the crisps one otherwise I'd be buying them

I’ve got an easy answer to that ….I’m poor … and have to manage on £30 week for food …being poor makes for stress , which gives me stomach ulcers( 4) and that stops me eating . Its lovely little arrangement 😒

I’m proud of you Esmay!!!

Have hypnotherapy- I'm a hypnotherapist and I can tell you it usually works. Plus it's lovely, like a verbal massage.

Oh Saggi, that’s awful. Have you looked in to benefits you may be entitled to?

I’m exactly the same. I find it helps if I have some knitting and also brushing my teeth at 8pm !

I’m very overweight, up and down all my life, I have managed to shift a stone, my biggest ally ? A soup maker ! All manner of fresh veg and fresh herbs and a small teaspoon of crème fraiche into finished soup. I eat when anxious and eat when not !

undines

Have hypnotherapy- I'm a hypnotherapist and I can tell you it usually works. Plus it's lovely, like a verbal massage.

Paul McKenna has lots of hypnotism stuff on utube, including a losing weight one I think. I haven’t tried that one but I’ve done his relaxation tapes in the past.

I'm not overweight but try not to snack in the evenings. I have to walk the dog twice a day - so I go straight after dinner, before I get tired, so the opportunity to snack is limited.

When I get back I'll have a cup of tea, then shower, change and brush my teeth. After that, I'll only have water, as I don't want to brush them again - too lazy. Strangely, teeth brushing seems to get rid of the munchies too.

Still, I'm awake early and tend to eat every three hours or so throughout the day, often six meals. If I fast, I'll get a migraine.

My friend, who's always on a diet, counted my calories and said about 2,500 - but I don't put on weight. I'm just a lot more active than she is - and have 'lucky genes' apparently. She makes salad bowls to snack on, kept in her fridge for when the munchies strike.

My answer is to keep my hands busy when watching TV. I knit or sew. My brain can't cope with more than 2 things at a time now

I have been doing a 14 hour fast now for a few weeks. The fast starts at 10 o’clock at night and finishes at 12 midday the next day. This is because I work from two till eight so this fits in with work and I’ve never been a big breakfast eater, so that doesn’t really bother me.
I still go to Marks & Spencer’s a couple of times a week and have a coffee and a toasted tea cake and I have one box of Pringles a week.
I have been going to the gym three times a week for the last three months as well and I’m slowly losing the weight in nine weeks. I’ve gone from 11 stone 5 to 10 stone 11 so I’m quite happy with that (I am aiming for 10 stone 4 lb)
I don’t like water at also in the morning I have a big glass of lime juice and soda and that’s what I drink during the day..

I suggest a hobby that you can do while listening to your tv. Such as crochet, knitting, sewing or cross-stitch, therefore keeping your hands too busy to be picking at food!

Online shopping is the way to go. Then you dont put anything in your trollley that is bad for you.