I don't want to diet, but I must lose weight...anyone ever changed the way they eat for good?

[rockinastocking]

If so, please tell me how?

I've gone up and down like a beachball all the way through my thirties and I'm sick of it. I don't get huuuuuge, but I ping between 11st 5 (when I feel great) and 12:4 (when I feel horrible, and where I currently am).

I've done WW, SW, Dukan, Atkins, and I have to face the fact that for me, diets don't work long term. I can't keep it up, I'm too lazy, I love food and I think because I know that they are a rip off and unsustainable deep down, it makes me rebel.

My problems stem from the following :

1. Greed
   
2. Emotional Eating
   
3. A bit of an issue with alcohol (not addicted but definitely need to cut down and find it difficult)
   
4. A partner who loves food as much as I do
   
5. A stressful job that leaves me too busy and knackered to exercise
   
6. A deep-seated antipathy to exercise
   
7. Too many delicious snacks available at work
   
   I need to change, but in a 'for life' way, not do another bloody diet.
   
   Help!

[Masterchuff]

Eat clean. Carb cycle. Lost 7 stone 6 in a year doing this and it's totally sustainable. Only eat carbs post workout and don't eat anything processed. No sugar, no grains. It really is amazing how ingrained it is in me now. I do still have treats and don't feel I'm missing out at all.

[rockinastocking]

7st 6 in a year?

Wow!

Well done, you must feel amazing!

Um...what's carb cycling, please?

[Clg199]

Paul McKenna I Can Make You Thin or Hypnotic Gastric Band. No calorie counting, no banned foods, I've found it makes you feel responsible for what you eat and in control. You can follow it anywhere in any setting.

You have to follow the guidelines - eat only when you're hungry, eat what you want rather than what you feel you should, pay attention to what you are eating and enjoy it, and stop when you're full. Sounds like common sense - it should be, but I followed it and went from 13 stone to 12'6" in a week.

Well worth a go IMO

[rockinastocking]

No grains - does that mean no porridge?

[rockinastocking]

I did try Paul McKenna, but I'm so greedy...it's the only one I'd try again though, as it seems to offer what I want.

Hm. Feel like a lost cause.

[Masterchuff]

Try gluten free porridge from the free from aisles. Much easier to digest. Carb cycling is pretty much just eating carbs after working out. Your metabolism is working super hard after a workout so eating carbs then will not raise your blood sugar levels too much

[Masterchuff]

If you have a big appetite as long as you don't go mad on fruit you can eat big portions and snack to your hearts content(I do!)

[rockinastocking]

Ah, ok.

Yes, gluten does bother me. Might try that.

[rockinastocking]

Would you mind telling me what foods you buy/eat on a regular basis, please Masterchuff?

[HumphreyCobbler]

Low calorie 'diets' are indeed a rip off and will leave you hungry.

I try to eat unprocessed food, no wheat/sugar and lots of good fat. It is not a diet, it is not a fad, it is the way we ate as humans until very recently. You will not be hungry. You probably will feel enormously better.

Briffa's Escape the Diet Trap has changed my life, from yo yo dieting and binge eating I am now a stable weight. I am happier and in control and I do not restrict my eating.

I used Paul McKenna to help me stick to it in the early days too, I found it helpful in adjusting my mind set.

[Salbertina]

Hear, hear! Briffa is my bible

[Masterchuff]

Ok, breakfasts, hard boiled eggs, full fat Greek yoghurt and berries, a banana, snacks apple and almond butter, nuts, seeds, lunch, homemade soups, salads with salmon, chicken, prawns, stir fry. Dinners, Thai green curry(full fat coconut milk), curries, meat & veg. Homemade chilli, homemade burgers, I eat a tonne of green veg, no caffeine. If you are on Pinterest there are loads of fab ideas for food on there! And google for clean eating blogs.

[ShhBoom]

I'm in a very similar position to you OP, expect I have 6 stone to lose! I've tried SW mainly, but have just found it hopeless. I'm trying Paul McKenna's Gastric band as I feel it's the only thing that will work for me. I can eat what I want, when I'm hungry and lose weight!
Maybe it might be worth another shot? I sympathise with you, it's so hard to find something that works & fits in with your lifestyle.

[rockinastocking]

Some great ideas for food there - sounds pretty much like what I eat already, except I punctuate the diet with crap and wine.

I'm going out now to buy Briffa and look for the hypno thing.

Let's do it together, Shboom - shall we start a 'no-diet diet' thread?

I'll be back later, keep the tips coming!

[Masterchuff]

If you can't say something on the label of food or an ingredient is a number, don't eat it!

[2cats2many]

Try MyFitnessPal.com. its free and super easy to use.

I lost two stone and have kept it off for a year and a half.

It totally reset my view of what a 'normal' portion size is.

[deliasmithy]

I agree, diets don't work.
Diets tend to be very large changes that are unsustainable.

OP - I can relate to what you say, these are my food/exercise issues:

1. I'm a goat that loves to graze!
   
2. love carbs
   
3. love cheese more
   
4. portions size = enough for 3 grown men
   
5. job = stress = everyone buys cakes every day at work
   
6. job = no time to exercise
   
7. hate exercise
   
8. exercising gives me migraines = sick days off work = more stress = eating
   
9. eating junk food at the time, is like an emotional hug on the inside
   

10. I think about food CONSTANTLY!

I have done a number of things to start me off on my weight loss journey, and they helped greatly. The things that remain in place now I am plodding along, switching between maintenance and losing the odd half a pound here and there, are:

1. I bought smaller plates
   
2. I serve myself a third less dinner than OH
   
3. If I have been very naughty during the day I eat a small snack for dinner
   
4. I wear a Fitbit (a posh pedometer) every day. £70 but cheaper than the gym etc. I found out I would only do 2000 steps a day at work, we are meant to do 10000 min. I now have a daily goal of 6000+ This has increased how much energy I burn each day without letting me break a sweat.
   
5. I have reduced carbs. I could never say goodbye.
   
6. Every so often I "check" how much I am eating by putting the food into myfitnesspal, as I can start to forget what a normal portion is.
   
7. I worked out my metabolic burn for the day based on weight and height - as I am short and lazy I need to eat less than 1400 cals a day to maintain. This shocked me at first but is my reality.
   
8. I read up on sugar, carbs, protein, and learned about how toxic sugar is, and carbs in general. I no longer buy low fat versions of food (sugar is the enemy, not fat). I stopped drinking fruit juice (look up how many cals in a large glass)
   
9. At the beginning I weighed out portions on the scales. I was shocked by how much I'd been over-eating on everything from cereal to pasta. I don't do this any more, but do take note of portion sizes.
   

10. I sometimes throw all the above out the window, enjoy an over-sized plate of spag bowl on an entirely lazy day, and crucially, I have no guilt or remorse. I enjoy it.

I'm still overweight, and I'm still learning, but 6 bmi points down, and only 3 to go. :D