will I lose weight like this?

[waitingforsomething]

I am around 1.5 stone heavier than I should be, a year after having my second child. I have a sweet tooth and I like carbs which obviously contribute to the problem. I think snacking is my issue rather than portion size. I'm hoping to kick start a bit of weight loss but I don't want to follow a strict diet - my daughter notices what I eat and notices if my dinner is different to hers, she's only young so I don't want her even to be thinking about this.
My plan is: breakfast; 2 weetabix with semi-skimmed milk
snack if hungry: Tangerine, cup of tea
lunch: 2 ryvita with 2 boiled eggs and a couple of cherry toms
dinner: a small portion of whatever is for dinner with reduced
carbs. (tonight for example, turkey meatballs in tom sauce
with cous cous)

Do I need to do something stricter than this to lose weight? I have easy access to a swimming pool so will also plan to use this twice a week.

[MephistoMarley]

Depends on how many calories you're eating and whether you create a calorie deficit or not. Swimming is great for health but it won't contribute to weight loss.

[waitingforsomething]

what exercise can assist with weight loss?

[MephistoMarley]

Well any exercise is good but it's calorie deficit you need which won't be achieved with a couple of swimming sessions a week. To see weight loss from exercise you'd have to exercise for a long time pretty much every day. It's not about the type of exercise, it's the extent and intensity.

[fishonabicycle]

Exercise doesn't really help a lot with weight loss. It helps by increasing your muscle mass so you look better and also burn more calories all the time.

[plutoisnotaplanet]

The short answer is no, you wont. Reason being it's not sustainable to eat a restricted diet long term. You'll find yourself craving and scoffing more unless you branch out a bit :)

[QuimReaper]

If you stick to that then I should think you would definitely lose weight - can you stick to it? Seems like an awfully light lunch, I'd be wary of the 4pm witching hour, and be prepared with something to snack on. Perhaps something like half a carton of Covent Garden vegetable soup, which is only about 100 calories but very satisfying.

[steppingout]

I had a similar problem - wanting to lose weight but not framing it as a 'diet' (and really not wanting to cook more than one meal a night). I used My Fitness Pal to record calories so I knew I wasn't going over and other than that ate the usual evening meals but with a smaller portion of carbs, a bit more protein and lots of vegetables. I agree that the lunch sounds a bit light - could add soup or a big salad? I found lots of good recipes on BBC Good Food that kept lunches a bit more interesting and filling. I aimed for a deficit of 500 cal a day with the odd day off - took a bit under six months to lose 1.5 stone and I didn't feel like I was restricting myself to the point of feeling hungry. I agree that exercise won't necessarily burn much, but I also did the couch to 5k and I found that exercise actually helped me make better choices about eating. Fitter than I've been in years too. Good luck!