I am a 35-year-old woman, 165 cm, curren
Ask
I am a 35-year-old woman, 165 cm, currently 84 kg, living in Manchester, UK. I do the cooking for my husband and two kids (ages 5 and 8).
Every time I try to lose weight, I end up either cooking two completely separate meals every night (plain baked chicken & steamed greens for me, pasta or shepherd's pie for them) which exhausts me within two weeks, or I give up, eat whatever comforting family dish I made, and gain weight.
Am I considered obese? What should I cook tonight for my family that won't require double-cooking and will help me stop gaining?
Answer
往轻一点走 — the goal is yours, not arguing with it.
**BMI 30.9** sits in the WHO adult obesity population marker band (not a diagnosis; muscle, ethnicity and waist all move that number). I will not give you a target weight, a kg-per-week, or a daily calorie number, and I will not hand you a weekly menu — none of those survive a Manchester school-run week.
Two separate meals a night never lasts — you already know that. One pot, four plates, smaller kid helpings, is the only plan that survives week three.
**Three moves for this week:**
- **Eat (tonight):** keep the shepherd's pie — same pot, everyone eats from it. Halve the mince with red lentils, double the onion/carrot/peas under the mash, use 5% lean beef. Big bowl of peas or salad on the side. Water on the table.
- **Move (tonight):** one 20-minute walk after dinner. Kids on scooters, you walk. No gym needed.
- **Measure:** one weigh-in, same day next week, before breakfast. Not daily.
That's the skeleton — same day next week, same conditions, we look again. NHS Better Health has a free app if you want to log food; your call.