I’ve lost 52 pounds but I’m just kinda over it now

This was me, 35 years ago. WW for six months, I lost about 30kg. I was SO SICK of measuring my food every day.

So I stopped, and put it all back on and more.

Can you take slower approach and eat a bit more of what you like? Perhaps also add more exercise? You sound you are having a hard time at the moment.
How did you put the weight on in the first place?

I hear you!!

It's such hard work, daily slog of calorie counting and sometimes it is just miserable!!

If I was you, I would book that night off, go to the pub, enjoy yourself, have the cake, eat it, enjoy it and then the next day have a slobby, lazy day, watch a film, have popcorn.

Then get back to it, draw a line under the weekend off, it's done, you enjoyed it, it was great but now time to get back to it.

It really is needed sometimes and that's ok, we're human, perfectly imperfect and allowed to have fun.

I have this book. I haven't read it all yet, but it is helpful and it might help you. I know exactly how you feel, but I think it will lead to you just putting it all back on again unless you do something. Equally it will be impossible to remain in diet mode for life.

This might sound obvious so sorry if so. But have you tried finding healthy snacks you really love and can look forward to. My favourites atm are melon with prosciutto. Or tomato mozzarella and basil. Or goats cheese with fig jam on pear slices (can add some prosciutto here too or walnuts).

Just really luxurious things which are not bad.

To me, a diet is restricting my intake from my usual daily eating habits to something more healthy and portion controlled. IE my usual daily intake would be coffee and pastry for breakfast, bag of crisps/bar of chocolate as a mid morning snack, meal deal type of lunch, constant tea and biscuits and large portion of say spaghetti bolognaise & garlic bread for tea along with snacking in the evening. Going on a diet would mean restricting my usual food intake to a coffee and pastry for breakfast, maybe a sandwich and a drink for lunch and smaller portion of spag bol for tea with a little treat in rhe evening. That to me would be on a diet. And it would work, if I stuck at it and was consistent. When people say diet, they don't necessarily mean porridge with water for breakfast, salad for lunch and salad for tea with no snacks at all.

I think you have done brilliantly, amazingly well. Pause. Don't go and eat or undo your good work, but find some way of acknowledging and celebrating. Take three days of eating healthily - not over-eating - and then go again. And as other posters have suggested, take frequent breaks - without putting weight on - on your last journey. You just need to let the last year sink in. If you hadn't done what you have done, you would be more miserable. You have spent the last year actually looking after yourself and it's a tremendous achievement!

it makes sense though.

Diets don't work! When you take "diet" in the sense of restricted food intake to lose weight, they don't work because people put back on the weight as soon as they stop, believing it's a temporary fix.

Diet as in, the kind of food you eat, is just how you eat, your lifestyle and way of life.

If you are in the mindset that you are temporarily restricting food and punishing yourself until you can over-eat again, it wont' work long term.

If you decide to live a healthy life, for ever, then it's just becoming your normal, not a punishment.

I agree. The tracking app is brilliant because it doesn’t judge good and bad calories. Some of the things I previously avoided it turns out are fine! I’ve had takeaways and all sorts being just a bit careful. No intention of giving up wine either, and other diets over egg it to put you off drinking any whereas the tracker is just honest about the calories.

OP, one thing that helps me to stay focussed is to think that it’s not a temporary diet that a fat me has to follow. Instead, I frame it and almost believe that I am healthy eating person who just makes healthy choices for my well being. I hope that makes some sort of sense. It’s about belief that I am / can be that slim and healthy person that has motivation and resource, instead someone why just tries to have ago.

You are on a diet so how can you say diets don’t work and then go on one?
if you have been intentionally losing weight then you have been on some kind of a diet

Thing is though, you need to make life long changes to your eating if you want to keep the weight off. The changes you have made to lose the weight are not sustainable if they are making you miserable and obsessed with food.

You would do better to lose weight more slowly, but in ways you can keep up. Your goal should not be to lose weight, but to make life long sustainable changes to how you eat. If you manage that, you will stop being obsessed with food rather than becoming more obsessed.

I’n talking from my own experience. It was hard work and took time ( about a year to change my obsession with food and compulsive overeating) but it’s worked for life ( did it about 25 years ago).

It’s been life changing.

Excellent- strong in mind and body, which equals maintaining a healthy balance.

When I had to lose weight, Saturday was my treat day, so I’d have wine, a nice dinner and maybe some chocolate. Looking forward to that really kept me on the straight and narrow. You can’t and mustn’t deprive yourself of everything because it’s just not sustainable.

Mannnnnn, i feel you! Down 40lbs in 8 months, got 8 left to go and it all just stalled 2 months ago. Worst bit is, in certain clothes/certain light/ certain times of the month i think i actually look pretty good. But in others (and more usually) i definitely look like I've still got weight to lose. What I hate the most is how much this governs my mood. If i'm having a 'thin day' its happiness and rainbows, singing in the shower. If i'm having a 'fat day' its doom, gloom and misery. Its utterly ridiculous. Ive no advice other than to say health and longevity are priceless, so we should try to find motivation in that. But not on Fridays, fridays are for cheese.

This is difficult to hear but you will never be able to eat like you did before. Ever. If you revert then you will gain back all the weight.

you need to change your mindset from all the things you are abstaining from to what are the foods that I eat. What does my nutrition look like going forward.

if you think of this period as something that ends you will pile the weight back on.

truth is once you reach the size and weight you are happy with the difference in what you will eat to maintain is nearer to what you are currently eating than what you ate before.

firstly a smaller body requires far fewer calories to exist than your body did at 70-80lb heavier.
secondly if you ate one portion of fish and chips a fortnight and one piece of cake a fortnight you would not gain weight. But if you are restraining yourself thinking once you’ve lost that 20lb you’ll be able to eat what you want when you go out and have takeaways once a week and snacks, you are going to undo all your amazing work.

the fact is you will need to continue with much smaller portion sizes and healthy choices for ever

Congratulations OP.

Can you not have the odd treat once a week. I eat well most of the time but do treat myself to a bit of sweet, share a portion of fish and chips with DH, the odd glass of wine.

it is not all or nothing.

I lost a lot of weight over two years but I didn’t diet on a Saturday - I found I didn’t actually go crazy but knowing I was free to eat the cheesecake helped reduce the need for it

Are you saying you did that without the exercise programme as well?

You are amazing and I wish to find half your discipline 👏🏾.

Sounds like you’ve reached a plateau. Has the weight loss slowed down and maybe you’re losing heart because of that ? I lost around six stone a few years ago and that took over a year. When I plateaued and found it difficult to lose the last remaining weight I went into weight maintenance mode until I found my mojo again and the last of the weight came off when I restarted - slower than before but it came off. It’s not easy OP and you’ve done really well so far. Don't throw it all away for pie and chips and a pint that will only give you momentary satisfaction.

Have you considered using a tracking app? I use nutracheck which I find fantastic. I can plan my whole week out so that I only have to really think about it once a week and I can tailor my calories to have easier days occasionally.

I can send you a 30 day free trial link if you like? (I get nothing for it, it's just a bonus of membership!)

Having lost a total of just over 4.5 stone I have to say I agree with the experts that it has to be a permanent lifestyle change, rather than diet.
I relaxed at the beginning of the year, after maintaining for 4 years.
I’m now 16lbs heavier. 😭
Over a stone that I’ve got to lose all over again. No fish & chips or cheesecake is worth how miserable I currently feel now I can’t get into any of my clothes tbh.

Diets do work. You can't lose weight without a calorie deficit. What you describe is a diet - you are plainly creating a calorie deficit overall with what you eat.
If you're doing that without paying a lot of attention to detail, that's fine, but to be honest, you're quite lucky in that - other people need to really write down what they eat to make sure they are hitting the calorific goal. Absolutely no reason you can't have the odd uncounted day though, or eat a cheesecake and make sure that the other stuff you eat that day brings your total intake to the right level.

I've spent most of my adult life in this battle of wanting to be skinny but wanting to enjoy life. I only hover just between normal weight and overweight so not massively overweight so maybe this is my balance and my compromise.

Have some cheat days op! You’ve done a fantastic job 👏👏👏