If you never used to stick to a diet and now do, how did you change?

[tortoisesarefab]

I need to lose 2 stone and have needed to lose it for about 3 years. I have tried ww, sw, 5:2 and haven't stuck to anything. I stick to it for a bit and then get fed up and put it all back on again. I am starting sw again but am already thinking in the back of my mind that it won't work! Help me change my mentality and lose this weight!

My worst habits are snacking in the evening time, I do drink alcohol at weekends but thinking of cutting this out except for special occasions. The other thing I struggle with is lack of routine as I work shifts, I can't go to the gym on certain days, can't commit to a sw class.

Tales of weight loss success would be fab

[Runningupthathill82]

Here are my thoughts:

Stop thinking of it as a diet, and start thinking of adopting a permanent, healthy lifestyle.

Ditch "diet" foods, slimming clubs, fast days and the like, and instead eat nutritious food in appropriate portion sizes. No snacks unless you're genuinely hungry. Never have crisps, biscuits, cake, fizzy drinks etc in the house - rubbish food serves no purpose whatsoever other than making you bigger!

When you're doing this forever, there's no such thing as "cheating" so no guilt. If you overeat one day, make up for it the next.

To get an accurate idea about how much you're eating, keep an honest and accurate log on My Fitness Pal, and log everything.

...that's about it! I am currently maintaining my ideal weight of 9st 7lb, after losing around a stone and a half.

[Runningupthathill82]

Oh, and exercise. Move more. Run whenever you can - I run home from work most days, plus a 45 min run most lunchtimes, as I can't get childcare in the evenings.
Do bodyweight stuff (push ups, plank etc) when the children are asleep!

[Paigesmummy89]

The thought of loosing weight brings me one step closer to getting pregnant again

[PopcornFrenzy]

I took a picture of myself in just bra and pants, that shocked me into action. I put MFP on my phone and am tracking everything, I'm not dieting I'm changing my whole lifestyle, I'm moving more and eating less. Seems to be working.

I've lost half a stone in 2 weeks

[tortoisesarefab]

Thanks, some great advice, I especially like the view that junk food serves no purpose! I need to change my whole outlook on food. I see food as a treat rather than a need.

I am also trying to get moving more but find walking to work difficult as I often need to drop kids off or pick them up. I am going to have a think tonight about how I can make exercise a daily thing.

And yes, paigesmummy trying for another baby is a motivating factor here too. Good luck with your weight loss

[SenatusPopulusqueRomanorum]

I agree with Running. Diets don't work. Smaller, "forever" changes do.

My weight has yo-yoed a lot in the past 14 years, but it has never gone back to my highest (I was 16st 2lb when I got pregnant with DC1).
I have recently realised that even though I have always given up on my "diets", a few good habits have stuck and made the difference.

Here are a few :

In 2001 I gave up all sugary drinks (Coca-Cola, juice, coffee with sugar...)

Between 2008 and 2012 I gradually gave up sweeteners.

In 2013 I massively reduced what I consider a "normal" portion of carbs with my meals (I used to eat a plateful of rice, now I have about 3 tablespoons).

In 2014 I ditched the carbs for breakfast (most days I don't have breakfast because I am not hungry, but if I am then I will have eggs instead of toast).

So even when I am in an "overeating" phase (I have eating disorders) my diet is much healthier overall than it used to be.

[Kahlua4me]

Well done on returning to sw. Staying to group each week certainly helps as does realising that it is not a diet but a new way of eating- for life.

It is ok to have snacks and blow outs occasionally as long as you get back on track afterwards.

I lost 3stone through sw last year. It took me a year and I didn't stick to it all the time. It was always in my head though.

Is you start now and lose 4-7lb per month that would help you reach your target easily by Christmas!

One saying that helped me is "I am not a dustbin"!

Good luck

[Thumbwitch]

I've never been one for dieting, but my weight has steadily crept up over the last few years, beyond my various "I MUST do something about it" targets. Then at the start of last year, I realised I no longer had a jawline, my face just merged into my neck - and this kickstarted me into doing something.
The Low Carb Bootcamp was just starting, and I'm aware that sugar and carbs are my besetting sins (especially chocolate) so thought I'd give it a go. In the first 10 weeks, I lost 1.5st, which was brilliant - but then Easter happened and I fell off the "no chocolate" wagon in a big way. By the beginning of this year, I had put back on a stone from continued chocolate inhalation and a general inability to pick up the "low carb way of eating" again - but come this new year, here I am back on week 4 of the low carb boot camp and half a stone down already.

I like it because you don't have to feel constantly hungry; in fact one of the advantages is that the foods you eat generally make you feel fuller, if anything.

It's very good for reducing belly fat, which is where the largest proportion of my excess weight sits, and being over 40, and with a family history of type II diabetes, reducing this is a main aim for me.