Bench
Full Member
Looking at the kinds of foods which SW categorise as 'syns' really opened my eyes to the reasons why I'd struggled to lose weight in the past (And also fits perfectly with one time in my life when I actually did manage it for a brief time - seems like I've been on this before without even knowing it!).
I've been frustrated for years about the fact that I percieved myself to have a "healthy" diet yet unable to drop below 16st without massive efforts. Even while I had my old post-college job at a supermarket which was basically 40hrs/wk of excercise, I didn't lose any (And I'm sure I must have been burning an extra 1500 calories per day just through non-stop walking/movement/lifting).
Some of my misconceptions all seem really clear now anyway - I've always been a huge eater, and always assumed deep-down that this is the main problem (Although at times I suspected it might be a medical disorder). A couple of years ago I decided enough was enough, and forced myself to live off 1500 calories a day (Mostly salad plus 5 boiled eggs and some vile, disgusting whey protein bodybuilding shakes which taste so bad they can put you off food for hours) and 5-6 hours a week at the gym. I did this for 3 months and lost 3 stone - it actually felt fantastic, but didn't last long before I got fed up with the drudgery and put the whole lot back on almost instantly. Of course, it makes sense now that the reason I lost the weight was what I was eating rather than the amount; and I probably ate so little that I actually slowed my weightloss (I always waited til i was really really hungry before actually eating something).
On the flip side, after giving up my short-lived crash diet, I went into even worse, revolting habits which involved eating entire family sized pizzas plus entire tubs of ice cream in a single sitting (I got good at hiding the amount I ate from my housemates, who are all slim gym bunnies). I also managed to get through 2 huge bowls of muesli every day - I thought muesli was nice and healthy, and couldn't possibly be causing me any problems. Along with fruit smoothies and orange juice (again, I thought those were really healthy too)
The past couple of months before signing up to SW I tried going back to a less extreme diet, but didn't cut out the fruit juice, and didn't reduce the size of my breakfasts either. I'm now shocked to realise that the fruit juice and muesli are two things which I thought were so healthy all this time, and have actually been holding me back or even putting weight on (I'm also shocked to learn that Innocent Veg Pots are 6 syns each too - I thought those were wonderfully healthy. lol).
On the plus side, it means that moving to SW involves minimal change in my eating habits - my lunch/dinners don't really see much change except being conscious of using oil and bottled sauces. I can live without fruit juice no problem. Smaller cereal bowls are more of a challenge, but I can at least use that as Hx + syns. I'm probably eating far more now than I have since before christmas too, but what I'm eating is making me feel far happier and more energetic already. I've already lived so long without chocolate/cakes/etc that I don't even think about them unless someone waves it under my nose. All I need to do now is get away from all those people at work who fill the office with cakes & biscuits.
Anyway. that's my essay - thanks for reading! I think I needed to get that off my chest like its an AA meeting or something! lol. I've read some interesting stories on these forums, so I thought I'd add mine
I've been frustrated for years about the fact that I percieved myself to have a "healthy" diet yet unable to drop below 16st without massive efforts. Even while I had my old post-college job at a supermarket which was basically 40hrs/wk of excercise, I didn't lose any (And I'm sure I must have been burning an extra 1500 calories per day just through non-stop walking/movement/lifting).
Some of my misconceptions all seem really clear now anyway - I've always been a huge eater, and always assumed deep-down that this is the main problem (Although at times I suspected it might be a medical disorder). A couple of years ago I decided enough was enough, and forced myself to live off 1500 calories a day (Mostly salad plus 5 boiled eggs and some vile, disgusting whey protein bodybuilding shakes which taste so bad they can put you off food for hours) and 5-6 hours a week at the gym. I did this for 3 months and lost 3 stone - it actually felt fantastic, but didn't last long before I got fed up with the drudgery and put the whole lot back on almost instantly. Of course, it makes sense now that the reason I lost the weight was what I was eating rather than the amount; and I probably ate so little that I actually slowed my weightloss (I always waited til i was really really hungry before actually eating something).
On the flip side, after giving up my short-lived crash diet, I went into even worse, revolting habits which involved eating entire family sized pizzas plus entire tubs of ice cream in a single sitting (I got good at hiding the amount I ate from my housemates, who are all slim gym bunnies). I also managed to get through 2 huge bowls of muesli every day - I thought muesli was nice and healthy, and couldn't possibly be causing me any problems. Along with fruit smoothies and orange juice (again, I thought those were really healthy too)
The past couple of months before signing up to SW I tried going back to a less extreme diet, but didn't cut out the fruit juice, and didn't reduce the size of my breakfasts either. I'm now shocked to realise that the fruit juice and muesli are two things which I thought were so healthy all this time, and have actually been holding me back or even putting weight on (I'm also shocked to learn that Innocent Veg Pots are 6 syns each too - I thought those were wonderfully healthy. lol).
On the plus side, it means that moving to SW involves minimal change in my eating habits - my lunch/dinners don't really see much change except being conscious of using oil and bottled sauces. I can live without fruit juice no problem. Smaller cereal bowls are more of a challenge, but I can at least use that as Hx + syns. I'm probably eating far more now than I have since before christmas too, but what I'm eating is making me feel far happier and more energetic already. I've already lived so long without chocolate/cakes/etc that I don't even think about them unless someone waves it under my nose. All I need to do now is get away from all those people at work who fill the office with cakes & biscuits.
Anyway. that's my essay - thanks for reading! I think I needed to get that off my chest like its an AA meeting or something! lol. I've read some interesting stories on these forums, so I thought I'd add mine
