Poorly chicken

[The Dogmother]

I never cease to be amazed at how some folks just don't understand food, its effect on the body, and how their bodies work; I know 4 women, all friends and all very overweight, one dangerously so. On a positive note, they are all trying to do something about it...

 

One is doing Weigh"Ooops, word censored!"chers, so is counting calories, but the calories she does eat are 'empty calories' and really bad for her - for example eating nowt all day, then 3 doughnuts as her calorie allowance for that day. The rest is mostly made up of processed carbs with very little in the way of protein, fresh or raw food.

 

The other 3 are paying a fortune on these diets which use shakes made with milk and loads of vitamins... substitutes for food, so they don't learn portion control and are so bored with drinking milkshakes that they then binge on 'real' food or chocolate, but that's all processed rubbish

 

None of them does any sort of exercise

 

I get angry with these companies which charge the earth for drinks and supplements, but don't teach anything about portion control and proper, basic nutrition. It just amounts to not eating more than you can burn, eating freshly prepared, balanced food and enjoying it.

 

Sorry, rant over - I feel better now.

[sadietoo]

Totally agree DM. So many people don't seem to realise that their health and weight would be so much better if they concentrated on eating real foods. If your grandma wouldn't recognise it as food ( for my generation's grandmas that would include most confectionary available today!) then don't eat it ! Simple as That. Proper food which nourishes your body doesn't leave you feeling hungry. Oh and forget calorie counting. As you have already noted not all calories are not created equal. Also low fat. Some low fat slimming diets rely almost entirely on carbs and sugar. ....hello type two diabetes! And dismounts soap box ! Sorry!

[Lavenders_Blue]

A friend of mine did one of these fad diets recently - called Clean Nine I think. It seems to involve mostly drinking Aloe Vera juice for (?) nine days which if I remember rightly is mildly laxative. She did the diet because she "couldn't be bothered with faffing around losing one lb a week on Weight Watchers". Apparently she lost 12lbs doing the diet (9 days) which she was thrilled about, but of course had no understanding that it was just water loss, because it is physically impossible to shift 12lbs of fat in 9 days. So of course all the weight went straight back on over the next few weeks. She ended up around £120 lighter at the end of it - some result!

 

It never fails to amaze me how many people ask me how I stay slim, like I have some kind of magic spell that allows me to eat what I want but stay skinny. They always seem disappointed when I say I simply watch what I eat and walk a lot. It's not rocket science, surely?

[Charlottechicken]

She ended up around £120 lighter at the end of it - some result!

 

She lost pounds though!

 

I am always amazed when I go into town, at the size of young girls these days. Growing up in the 70's and 80's we were all strips of wind. Nowadays, because of alcohol, lack of exercise and maybe the pill, girls are so much thicker around the waist, and generally chunkier than we ever were. Also, most people go out shopping and stop off somewhere for fast food or a calorie-laden coffee, things which were unheard of 30 years ago. I would never think to graze on food whilst I was shopping but a lot of folk do, same as the ones who walk around hanging on to a hot drink

 

Also, I think we are now three generations away from actually working on the land to any extent, we've lost touch with growing our own food and what it looks like it a raw state. I'm lucky as mum is a country girl and we used to grow our own veggies in the 60's and 70's. I have friends who have never pulled home grown produce from the soil, and weren't brought up like that either.

[The Dogmother]

I was talking to these girls the other day about my Christmas lunch; one said 'but can you eat cockerel?' as if it was some totally different species from what they know as chicken

 

I am now on a mission to educate

[gavclojak]

I am about a stone and a half over weight at the moment, I don't recognise my body and I hate it. I am on medication that one of the side effects is weight gain and when I spoke to my oncologist took one look at me and said I have typical "tamoxifen spread".....is that better than Middle age spread?

 

I honestly eat well, I walk my dogs daily and walk briskly to work but these darn tablets grab every damn calorie and won't ley it go so I won't be throwing any stones from my glass house :lol

[Charlottechicken]

I am on medication that one of the side effects is weight gain and when I spoke to my oncologist took one look at me and said I have typical "tamoxifen spread".....is that better than Middle age spread?

 

 

I think when your body has had such drastic treatments to keep you well, it is probably going to just do it's own thing (even though you don't want it to!). The main thing is that you are well and eat healthily

[chickencam]

My excess weight was originally largely from an under active thyroid, which has proved hard to shift despite being stable in medication for several years. My only sin is the odd drink at a weekend and a piece of cake about four times a week, otherwise I am very sensible in what I eat. I feel that you can tell the difference between people who are overweight from medical conditions and overindulgence in real food and those who eat fast food and chocolate all day.

 

The junk food eaters tend to be much more pasty looking and much more flabby I.e they look unhealthy. My OH has always been chunky and now has a tummy on him, he eats junk which makes me cross, but he also eats a nutritious diet in his main meals which I insist on. He walks a lot and is never still, he is solid rather than flabby and looks well, has resonance blood pressure etc despite being a smoker too

 

We are pretty healthy as a family and I put a lot of this down to eating home grown vegetables, the most important of those being carrots and the various members of the onion family, we put an onion in pretty much everything. The health benefits of fresh veg are huge.

 

We have a girl in our office who is in her mid twenties and has spent her life eating rubbish and yo to dieting, she has shot her health and metabolism to hell. Another colleague likes long distance running and claims to eat well, but as I have got to know her. Have realised that although she has good intentions and from time to time lives by them, for the most part she eats no breakfast then crisps and chocolate mid afternoon, or sme horrid instant rice or some such. I know that she can cook and was brought up with reasonable food and home grown veg, but she lives alone and just lacks the discipline to cook for herself. She however is the biggest critic of the other girl who yo yo and dad diets.

 

Proper education from a young age about nutrition and proper lessons in schools on how to cook basic healthy food are vital if we are to beat the obesity crisis. Two of my children are great and eat well, my youngest however is like her dad and eats junk at every opportunity and it is beginning to show in her body, she is 16 and very self conscious, but has no self discipline where food is concerned. I make sure that she eats well for her main meals, but my OH does not support me in keeping her off the snacks, he just shares with her at the moment she is nicely curvy but this will not last.

 

Sorry you have touched on a real bug bear of mine. Rant over for now.

[Lavenders_Blue]

I am now on a mission to educate

 

Good luck with that!

 

Charlottechicken you are totally right, there is a world of difference between someone who is overweight but eats well and takes sensible exercise and someone who is overweight but thinks that 3 doughnuts = one day's calorie allowance and is therefore okay to eat and doesn't take any exercise. How on earth can you get adequate nutrition on a 'diet' like that?

 

My mum has had an under active thyroid for donkey's years (on medication) and really struggles to keep her weight down. She eats a very healthy diet and exercises as much as her two replacement hips will allow her to To be honest, in some circumstances (such as illness, medication) weight loss can be a challenge, but the key is being educated about what is a sensible diet and looking after your body as best you can even if the lbs are stubbornly refusing to shift. Which comes back to DM's point which is that so many people seem to be totally clueless about how to eat and diet sensibly and give your body best possible nutrition.

[Lewis]

I know where you're coming from and it's easy for you to criticise but just to stick up for these 'fad milkshake diets', I lost 5 stone on one from January to April, so they do work...

LB, I lost 14lbs in the first week which you may say was all water but then 7lbs, 5lbs the following weeks so I'd suggest otherwise.

 

I know some people do see them as a temporary fix and cheat them but the one I did (Cambridge) has 5 steps to integrate food slowly so does teach you portion control, healthy eating and exercise. The ones you get online obviously don't have these steps and as it's DIY you don't have a consultant to speak to each week to stay on track.

I now eat way more fruit and veg than I did before, quantity but also variety and new things I'd never thought of eating before; I started going to 3 or 4 gym classes a week and felt a lot better for it.

 

Admittedly I maintained until September and since moving to Uni I've put on over half a stone being surrounded by pizza and not watching what I ate but I'm still healthier than I was at the start of the year and am being more sensible to lose it leading up to Christmas

[Charlottechicken]

Charlottechicken you are totally right, there is a world of difference between someone who is overweight but eats well and takes sensible exercise and someone who is overweight but thinks that 3 doughnuts = one day's calorie allowance and is therefore okay to eat and doesn't take any exercise. How on earth can you get adequate nutrition on a 'diet' like that?

 

 

I didn't say that

 

I don't disagree though

[dancing cloud]

Best "diet" I found was walking - just walking. I was a bit stressed after my mother died and found myself looking at relaxing cd's of wave sounds - then remembered I lived only one road inland from the sea ! On with suitable shoes and coat, and off up the promenade.

 

I had plenty of relaxing wave sounds, watched the birds and the plants grow over the weeks, and also discovered that whilst walking I was not sitting in front of the telly eating rubbish and drinking wine after dinner. Less calories in because I was doing something else, and lots more being used - in 2 to 3 weeks my clothes were definitely getting looser.

 

I know not everyone has a convenient/safe place to walk, but most people could get in 1/2 hour a day if they tried. Much more fun than starving and doughnuts, or endless shakes, and a lot cheaper than aloe vera

 

I like the rule of "if your granny wouldn't recognise it as food ..."

[The Dogmother]

You did really well Lewis, and your meal replacement diet sounds like one of the better ones, with integration back into proper food. The ones my friends are on are all just shakes and vitamin capsules.... that much milk every day just can't be good for you.

[Bramble]

I'd just like to add a slightly different view point, as someone who has been overweight all my life (and I do mean ALL of it), apart from a spell when I was verging on underweight. It isn't always as simple as giving up "rubbish", eating healthily, maintaining portion control etc. Well, I realise it IS that simple, but there are other issues which complicate the position for a HUGE number of people ... it's almost an addiction for some people and whereas you can give up smoking, alcohol, drugs etc, you can't give up food.

 

All I'm saying is, yes, I appreciate 110% that on the face of it losing weight and then maintaining the loss is as simple as eat well, exercise and Bob's your uncle - but in practice, there are other factors which complicate that. Please don't underestimate the problems that some people face around food.

[kinsk]

I completely agree.

 

I have done weigh"Ooops, word censored!"chers and it does work but you have to be committed to it and do it properly, not like your friend. You have to be sensible, honest, accept what the faults are in your diet and want to change them.

 

The shake diets are a quick fix.

 

The diet industry is one of the biggest industries in the world and it's success all revolves around the fact that they don't work!!! I can't think of any other industry who's success lies purely in it's failure and it's failure keeps us hooked!

 

I've lost count of the number of diets I've tried over the years before it finally hit me that eating sensibly and some form of exercise is all it's about.

 

We avoid processed foods, prepacked meals, sugar loaded sauces, shop bought cakes, buscuits, snacks etc. We eat food that is recognisable as to where it came from. My husband sometimes complains that we always have a fridge full of food but nothing to eat as it all needs 'stuff doing to it'

 

Like someone else said earlier on it is physically impossible for your body to lose more than 2lbs of fat a week, so any additional loss is fluid or tissue. Plus no one woke up a stone heavier so we are not going to lose it overnight either!

 

I suppose the difference is the motivation for loosing weight. If it is purely for appearance then the how healthy the means to the end is wont particularly matter, whereas if it is to feel better then you'd be more interested in the healthy, balanced route.

[The Dogmother]

I totally understand about underlying health issues, that's a whole different game.

[soapdragon]

This is an interesting thread and its fascinating to hear everyones stories, opinions etc. For what its worth, here's my own personal take on the subject..........

 

It seems to me that the phrase 'going on a diet' is what is at fault. To say that one is 'going on a diet' implies that an eating plan is being followed with the express purpose of loosing weight with the additional implication that, once the weight loss has been acheived, one then 'comes off' the diet.

 

However, if the 'dieter' returns to their former eating habits after the weight loss then the weight will go back on again (after all, their eating cannot have been good otherwise they'd not have needed to loose weight in the first place !) A sound, nutritionally balanced plan is more important (not to say much easier) than weighing every single morsel.

 

From my own experience, therefore, its all about changing eating habits for good rather then 'going on a diet'. I am 50 years old and 5f 5.5' (that .5 is really quite important!!! ) I was a chubby child, slim teenager and, since the age of 18 or so, have varied, weight wise, between 13s 6lb and 8s 7lb. For the last 4 years I have been stable around 10s (I weigh myself every Saturday morning and sometimes its a little more and sometimes a little less.) Thats still, perhaps, a few pounds heavier than I should/could be (as the Wii Fit keeps reminding me ) but it looks OK, I feel good and 12/14s seem to fit just fine.

 

You see, the light went on in my head about 4.5 years ago and I finally realised that it was all a case of balance. By 'going on a diet' I was putting pressure on myself to loose weight and felt out of control whereas, by changing my eating habits, I was taking back the control because I was looking at a much longer term eating plan rather than desperately trying to loose as much as poss as quick as poss!

 

I try and walk as much as poss or use the Wii Fit step or rowing machine for 10 mins per day if its raining or I can't find my walking shoes! This isn't so much to aid weight loss (tho nice if it helps!) but more about keeping fit and mobile.

 

People are overweight for different reasons and there is no hard and fast rule about loosing....as someone has wisely pointed out already, you don't gain half a stone in a week so can't/shouldn't expect to get rid of it in that time frame either. I do think that we put ourselves under too much pressure to loose weight QUICKLY and, when that doesn't happen, its easy to get dispirited and then give up. By taking a longer term view its accepting that it will take time and that, even if youv'e had a bad day with the biscuits today, tomorrow will/can be better.

 

There is new research being done all the time into the mechanics of weight loss and it does now seem that not all calories are equal! Its just a case of finding a plan that fits in with personal likes and lifestyles - that way any eating plan stands a much better chance of working. For example I never eat breakfast (as I am just not hungry in the mornings) which every dietician will say is BAD and will make me pig out later....not so! If I eat breakfast then I can't STOP eating for the rest of the day so I just have a 12 o'clock lunch. Other people may do things completely the opposite if that works for them

 

It certainly does not help that the media are obsessed with diets, weight loss and stick thin models. This just piles the pressure on us 'ordinary' women to conform and its high time there was some sort of regulation - however, thats a whole new thread !!!

 

Sorry if that all sounded a bit Readers Digest

[chickencam]

A very balanced post I feel that to be too slim later in life is just as bad as being overweight. My Dad has always been a small man, but still had a heart attack at 60 and a ruptured oesophagus at 64. The latter nearly killed him, partly because it is a very rare and dangerous thing to happen, but also because he didn't have the body fat to sustain him during the recovery from surgery. He had to be tube fed for nearly a month and then a food replacement liquid diet for a while after that and it took him a long time to introduce proper food again and he still has some problems 8 years later. His weight dropped to 5.5 stone, he is only 5'6" but this is still very low for a man. He still know weighs about 8 stone and is always cold. I have seen this happen to other older people who have become ill. I think that middle aged spread comes on for a reason.

 

The most important thing that I think we can all agree on is that we should all be eating a well balanced diet of food that has had minimal processing.

[The Dogmother]

The most important thing that I think we can all agree on is that we should all be eating a well balanced diet of food that has had minimal processing.

 

Couldn't agree more; my main concern is the lack of knowledge people have about their food, its provenance, and how it affects them.

[soapdragon]

Do you think its time related? Some people seem to be too busy to cook from scratch or think that its difficult. I do get the impression that its thought easier to grab a take away or convenience meal or fill up on packet food.

 

I find it fascinating to stand in the line at the checkout and covertly examine the contents of people's baskets or trolleys !

[Alis girls]

As a nurse I have heard every excuse going. OH has lost 2 and a half stone on WW (online) and I've lost 1 and half. We have plateaued - my BMI is in right range his is still classed as slightly overwt but hes lost the Greek belly. I have always cooked from scratch and now only wt rice, pasta and limit bread. I have to say hes benefitted more than me. He is less puffed and doesnt sweat when doing exercise. I on the other hand got shingles in Feb and am now struggling to throw off a chest infection and asthma and have a bad back. Probably would have felt worse with the blubber I had last yr. I am always cold too as no flab to keep me warm I do tell my pts its not easy and gastric bypasses are not the be all and end all. Frankly if I can lose wt anyone can. The thing we notice is that the last 3 weekends we have eaten a lot more calorie rich food at various dos and not put on wt. Apart from walking and pilates for me I have been bone idle due to feeling below parr. A friend did lighter life and spent a considerable amount of time in the loo weeing She was covered in bruises so I urged her to get blood checked - was fine. these fancy diets are an expensive nightmare. Healthy eating and exercise thats the key.

[Space Chick]

A few bits to add from my perspective:

 

I cook everything from scratch, avoid processed food, eat well with lots of fruit and veg and only complex carbs like brown rice, limited granary bread (homemade) and fresh egg pasta (homemade) but I'm overweight and probably always will be. As I am a diabetic, I've spent time with a dietician who actually thinks my diet is perfect and just thinks my build is the way I am. I exercise well too, so it's not as if I'm not active.

 

Interesting Alis girls what you said about your friend with bruises. A few girls I work with went on Cambridge together. One has lost 5 stone and is doing brilliantly, one was so ill on it that she was signed off work, she went back to eating as she had before and is now 2 stone heavier than she was before she started which they are putting down to it affecting her metabolism, the third girl had terrible bruises and was found to have some clotting issue with her blood which returned to normal after she quit the diet. Personally, I think all of those meal replacement diets are dangerous.

 

My neighbour did lighter life, lost a load of weight, developed a load of health problems and is now obese as has developed an under active thyroid.

 

My cousin is a size 6, she's tiny, always has been. Her diet is dreadful, loads of white carbs, chocolate, cakes, not much fruit and veg, she lives on KFCs and Macdonalds. She thinks because she's so thin she is fine, but I'd hate to see what internal damage she is doing

 

I think if you eat a good balanced diet and avoid processed foods, then that's a good diet, even if you don't lose weight!

[Charlottechicken]

My cousin is a size 6, she's tiny, always has been. Her diet is dreadful, loads of white carbs, chocolate, cakes, not much fruit and veg, she lives on KFCs and Macdonalds. She thinks because she's so thin she is fine, but I'd hate to see what internal damage she is doing

 

A good point.

 

When I was 7 stone I had a bad diet. My weight was compounded by the sweets I ate which made me hyper and kept me slim, a vicious circle. I have a friend who is 51 and stick thin, she hates her look, scrawny is not good when you need a bit of fat to fill the sag out. However, her lifestyle and diet perpetuate her look, just like mine did. Those thin models are not always naturally thin, they have to keep the weight down by fair means and foul because their careers depend on it. Same with those celebs, who may or may not be airbrushed and photoshopped out of reality. They shouldn't be wheeled out as the norm, because they aren't.

 

At school in the 70's there were always a couple of chubbier children, just like there were some really skinny ones, and lots of medium sized ones in between. Now our homogonised diet means we appear to be all morphing into something rather unhealthy.

[The Dogmother]

Do you think its time related? Some people seem to be too busy to cook from scratch or think that its difficult. I do get the impression that its thought easier to grab a take away or convenience meal or fill up on packet food.

 

I find it fascinating to stand in the line at the checkout and covertly examine the contents of people's baskets or trolleys !

 

I do that too

 

I'm time poor, but always try to cook from scratch; I batch bake at the weekend, and freeze it in portion sizes so that we can have it when we need.

[Space Chick]

And I'm sure I'm not alone in tutting at battery eggs in baskets

 

I work full time, yet we haven't had a ready meal in well over a decade. On evenings when I know I will be late from work I will defrost a pre-prepared home made casserole or leave instructions for OH for a simple pasta dish.

 

Even when I'm away overnight, I will leave hubby a pre-prepared meal that he can have with some cous cous or rice and some allotment veg.

 

I take pride in the fact that not once in our ten year married life has hubby had a ready meal.