h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This is tragic - I have never had a weight problem, but since splitting up with husband 5 weeks ago I have put on about 5 lbs. Everyone told me that when you are stressed/miserable/depressed etc. you loose weight, so how come, whilst suffering from these miseries I have the further ultimate insult of weight gain? OK, I am partial to Haagen Daas and Galaxy (but not on the Dawn French scale) and I have to be careful with chocolate due to bad migraines.

I desperately need some advice on how to get rid of my extra bottom before Christmas - and please don't suggest extra exercise as I have a broken foot which is very restrictive.

Me it is other way round, I end not miss meals when feeling depressed and unhappy, and when stressed at work. Also my drinking changes from pints of cider to large scotches.

I cannot say what happens when I am happy as it is so rare

C Hawke

Rainbow, it sounds like you're having a bad attack of comfort eating. Anytime I'm depressed or stressed, I have the same problem. I don't seem to actually eat any more, just substitute all the wrong things. The only way I can describe it, it's like my brain is subconsiously sending me messages like, 'go on, you deserve a treat' and treat, to me, automatically means food (and scotch and beer and anything else going I know I really shouldn't have)

I'm afraid I can't offer you much advice, this problem is still the baine of my life. Two suggestions that have been offered by others here are good loud upbeat music (works well for stressed out days) and finding a non food treat as a substitute.

Of course, it could just be that you've put on a little weight because you're not as active as usual with a broken foot. Either way, 5lbs is not cause for alarm! Just try to tackle it now, before the problem does 'grow'.

My report for this week 2lbs gone!!!! See, I told you all that line would go down again this week. Now all I need to do is make sure it goes that way again next week...

There are some more tidbits of advice on the page to this forum http://www.h2g2.com/A481754

(It is not linked to this forum because the conversation started first, the entry evolved out of it. So I've decided to post it every now and again for you all)

Rainbow, would a dog be the answer? You have to walk it, which would be exercise. you could take the kids with you and just talk - if they'll come. That may be what you all need - some kind of a vent. Sorry if it's impractical or you're allergic or something. Only trying to help. If you like the idea, maybe you could at least borrow a dog to start with.

No, unfortunately, walking a dog isn't the answer as I'm not supposed to walk any further than necessary. No, the broken foot wasn't the cause of the weight gain - it is the result of several disasterous operations over the past 2 years, which have resulted in a foot that won't mend and the weight gain is only very recent.

I try not to comfort eat, but I do comfort drink (tea with milk and sugar during the day and vodka and coke in the evenings!!).

The problem is I am very petite, so 5 lbs is a monstrous amount for me to gain and it is very obvious. Unfortuantley, with Christmas just around the corner, all my well-meaning friends will visit ladened with chocolate to cheer me up and then everything will go completely 'pear-shaped'.

I have tried starvation, but then a blasted cooking program comes on the telly and I'm running for the fridge....

I know what you mean about the operations. That's where my weight's come from. Gall bladder removed this year, 5 years ago hysterectomy and in between another - as it turned out totally unnecessary - operation where they accidentally damaged my intestines and I was lucky not to have to wear .. sorry don't know the English word .. a container to collect your bits and pieces, because you can't go to the toilet yourself.

A hysterectomy will make you very depressed. In fact it can make you suicidally depressive.

So. How do we get out of the hole? I'm working on it.

thanks, tc, for posting the link again. don't know if anyone else has done this, but i've put a link on my page so i don't have to go searching for it when i need it.

i've done badly this week, since i've posted my last loss, i succumbed to the calling of the local taco bell. followed up the next night with some really greasy (yecch) fried chicken. i'm working on it again, (just finished a lo-fat granola bar for snack! s'mores flavored - mmmmmmmm)

even tho i know what it is i should be doing to lose weight, my willpower has taken a permanent powder. it is very difficult to motivate myself to physical exertion. i did want you to know, tho, that seeing the chart on the entry is a great inspiration. visually seeing the weight go down, instead of just looking at slightly smaller numbers, makes a world of difference.

If you find you must comfort eat, try fruit instead of chocs. Learn how to knit or crochet so that you've got something to do with your hands while watching TV
If you know a slimmer, give her/him plants or flowers for Christmas, rather than food.

Alas, my four sons break-up from school today and so from now on I am going to be cooking hideous amounts of food non-stop. It's like expecting an alcoholic to work in a pub and not drink.

It's never normally a problem, but I don't have a hope of shifting the excess weight with all that food around.

Hi People,just reporting my loss this week, if we can call it that, I have lost only half a pound this week - Mum's cooking is to blame!

Rainbow, I understand about the depression,it took me 5 years to get over mine. I too had a problem with my weight then, however I was drastically underweight although I was still eating the same as normal. Sometimes I think our bodies have a mind of there own,you may not be consuming any more or less than before, but due to the circumstances of the lives we are living at the time you may be noticing these things more to take your mind away from other more frightening matters. Whatever the event look after yourself first,do not starve yourself this is not going to help you loss weight but will make you feel crap.

Keep smiling
R :O)

Rainbow - I always feel I'm stabbing in the dark, but I do thnk about you a lot and try to make helpful suggestions. If you have four kids, they can't all be under 3, so they're old enough to support you if you want to lose weight. Make it a game for them, and it might become one for you too. Don't forget you're only cooking for 5 now, so you can change your way of thinking.

One of the best antidotes to depression is to look ahead and have targets. A good spin-off may even be that your boys twig on to this idea, too, which might stand them in good stead in later life.

Rainbow - I always feel I'm stabbing in the dark, but I do thnk about you a lot and try to make helpful suggestions. If you have four kids, they can't all be under 3, so they're old enough to support you if you want to lose weight. Make it a game for them, and it might become one for you too. Don't forget you're only cooking for 5 now, so you can change your way of thinking.

One of the best antidotes to depression is to look ahead and have targets. A good spin-off may even be that your boys twig on to this idea, too, which might stand them in good stead in later life.

Thanks for your kind suggestions. Unfortunately, my sons (aged between 10 and 16) have been brought up in a male world where diets are silly girlie things along with lipstick, shoes and shopping. They're really not interested in whether I starve myself or gorge myself just so long as they have plenty of food on their table. I don't mean to sound harsh, but for fit, active boys, the problems of weight gain are not something they can understand.

OK they are healthy growing boys, but they may not be machos deep down - not after they've seen what you have been through. You have them to yourself now - make the most of it. The law of averages tells me that at least one will maybe be interested. He might take an interest in food, or he might draw a graph for you (in addition to the one in the entry here). They could get more involved in the shopping, and become aware of thngs like fat content, as well as price and other criteria involved in buying this item rather than that one. Trying to work with the kids on a project like that can only bring benefits. Give their brains something to do in the "hols". If all fails, send them to me. Mine are sort of the same age.

This one should bring back memories - the toddler's diet

http://www.h2g2.com/A268896

Hi guys. Can I tell you my tale and join the group in its quest? I have been yo-yoing since 16, when I had an appendix operation which made me pile on the kilos. I have tried everything imaginable to try to get back to a healthy weight range, except facing my emotional problems with eating...

At the moment I am (wait for it) 98.5 kilos (please don't ask me to translate this to pounds and stone, coz I don't know how), the heaviest I have ever been in my life. As I stand at 5.3 in my stockings, this is NOT a good look...

I started my quest again at the beginning of this week, and am feeling more confident than I ever have that I can do this. You see, I have got a diary where I log down everything I eat, how much exercise I do and how I felt that day. This means any "trouble spots" can be spotted before they cause me to eat badly, such as depression, anxiety. I can also look out for social functions, and "save" points (i am following Weight Watchers eating plans) for then.

What I don't have at the moment is a support group that is going through the same thing, so imagine my surprise and delight in finding you guys!

I have utmost confidence that I will be able to do this. So chalk me up on the graph, here I go!

(My goal is 1-2 kg per week. We'll see how I look and feel when I get to goal weight as to when I stop!)

Thank you so much for the reference to the toddlers' diet. Cheered me greatly- as I've managed only 1 pound this week. (However I have been to a staff Christmas party and a free Nepalese dinner, both with quite a lot of alcohol)
Dear Rainbow, All boys should be able to cook. Go on strike for a week. Hand over most of the food budget to them (you have to keep some for your lettuce leaves).I suggest the first week of the New Year. Tell them about it over Christmas.
Put simple cookbooks in their stockings (if you've stopped giving them stockings, bring back the custom - they can always do with new footie socks)
My sons are now 24 and 28 and proof that this works. Go on, give it a go

As I worked full time for seven years (up to May this year) it was sink or swim for my three. My husband refuses to learn to cook, or he reckons he'll just end up doing it all the time. He also refuses to learn to iron for the same reason. To do him justice, though, he does do a lot around the house - we have a lot of renovation work going all the time.

I just came along to this thread to heave it up to the tops of lists again and to remind you that if you don't post any weight loss, I shall register it as no loss, which would be a pity if you had lost some and wanted to see it on the graph.

Graph needs an update, too - I am trying to catch up on Christmas post, and my e-mail traffic has speeded up since our German meet, too. So every time I sit at the computer with good intentions, I get waylaid. At least I'm not eating while I'm doing that!

Well, it looks like my problem is over, seeing as my husband promised some money 4 weeks ago to pay all the bills and hasn't paid it, I think we are all going to loose a lot of weight (along with the house/car etc) over the next few weeks!!

I knew that when I saw this conversation in the list it would depress me but being masochistic I had to take a look to see how you were all getting on.Damn it!how I hate diets(and food programmes).I just wish someone would prepare my food for me the way I prepare everyone else's
Meals.I might be able to stick to a food plan in that event.
On second thoughts maybe not.