Why I’m Trying to Lose Weight & How I’m Doing It*

If you follow me over on Instagram you’ll know last week I started a diet. Over the years I’ve started many diets such as 5:2, Slimming World, but only one has stuck and that’s calorie counting, so that’s what I’m doing. I’ve had comments from family and friends telling me I’m beautiful and don’t need to do it, but I do. I really do need to loose weight. To put into perspective, when I was full term with LM I didn’t weigh as much as I currently do.

I went into my pregnancy with an eating disorder (long long story) but knowing that carrying on how I did would harm my baby I tried to eat properly, and when I became a parent my view of my weight and the way I ate changed drastically. I remembered my mother’s paranoia if she went over 8 stone as a child and I didn’t want that for LM. When she was 2/3 years old I was at a weight I was finally happy with and I looked okay (I can only go as far as okay, because I have really bad self image).f Then I met my recent ex. We were comfortable. He said I was beautiful. I happily ate take always, he bought me chocolate every day and I started to put on weight. When we broke up I was unhappy so I comfort ate and then I ended up in a rut which has lead me to where I am today with an extra 2 & a half stone I desperately want to shed.

December 2014, size 10-12
(The last time I was happy with my weight)

Slowly I’ve been becoming more and more unhappy with myself. I’ve stopped caring about my skin, I rarely wear make up or do my hair and I live in hugely oversized sweaters. But I’d say since the summer I’ve got to the point where I can’t even look in the mirror. I disgust myself. The day I went to Paris I received a message from a troll telling me how fat and ugly I was. It shouldn’t have bothered me, but it did, because I know it’s true. And that’s when I knew I had to put in the effort and make the change.

Although I do understand being thin isn’t the route to happiness, and not only thin is beautiful. I need to do this for me. I need to be at a weight that I’m happy with. A weight that makes me want to make an effort and wear pretty clothes again. And where I am right now, it just isn’t it. I’ve got no interest in meeting men or trying to move on with my love life because I really just hate myself. I really hope this is just the first step to being a happier me.

So how am I doing it? I’m calorie counting and fat content regulating. Yes, it’s time consuming and I do have to give up a lot of my favourite things, but I’m on a journey to find tasty alternatives. So these are some changes I’m making;

Start With Skinny Coffee
I was sent a sample of Skinny Coffee to try and wasn’t sure what I was going to make of it, however it’s so much nicer than I thought and for the time being it’s replaced my regular coffee. I have one cup in the morning and it’s supposed to increase metabolism and reduce cravings. During the day I have noticed a decrease in my snacking which has definitely helped me keep with in my daily calorie allowance. I can’t comment on the metabolism yet as I’ve only been on the diet for a week so it’s hard to tell. Fingers crossed!

Cook from Scratch
Something I haven’t done in ages is cook from scratch. I’m ashamed to say that after the disillusion of my relationship I felt no inclination to. However last week I cooked four times, including a few times for my whole family. I really enjoyed myself as I do actually love experimenting in the kitchen. I look forward to settling down to meal plan for the coming week and search Pinterest for some new recipes that taste great, LM will eat and are low in calories and fat.

Switch it Up at Lunch
I’d got into such as rut at lunch time, I was either having Fries to Go or Super Noodles. This past week I did have noodles once, but I used a low salt stock cube.. I also had soup, a few different salads and an omelette. Lunch is definitely what I struggle with the most as I want it to be filling but also not high in calories or fat so I can make an enjoyable dish at dinner.

Find Alternative Snacks
As I work from home at my table I find myself snacking all the time as a distraction when I can’t concentrated. As I mentioned above I haven’t been snacking as much during the day but in the evening it’s a struggle. Thankfully I’ve found the 10 calorie jellies and 90 calorie brownie bars to be a god send. Along with low fat cream cheese on crispbreads and Options hot chocolate. I know I should be eating a bowl of fruit or carrot sticks but that is the sure fire way to put me off a diet, I hate both those things.

No Take Aways
Finally, absolutely no take aways what so ever.

Last week I lost 3lbs which I’m happy with, if I can continue this way I’ll be happy. It’s not all plain sailing, already I’m sick of drinking water and I see no change in my skin (yet) but hopefully filling myself up with water will help in the long run.

Being financially healthy can be just as important as staying physically healthy, so here are some healthy meals you can make without getting into debt – for more information about debt, visit this site.

Do you have a favourite healthy, low calorie snack?

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