What do you eat if you're trying to lose weight?

[Dillpickles]

I've managed to lose all of 1lb in almost three weeks so feeling a bit despondent.

So, do you eat in a way if you're trying to lose weight? Any tips appreciated :-)

Some of the suggestions on this thread are at best unsustainable, at worst damaging.

The healthiest way to lose weight is simply to count calories, make better food choices and enjoy treats in moderation. Otherwise you won’t be getting enough nutrients and you’ll lapse regularly because you’re restricting the foods you enjoy.

If it’s doable, 10k steps per day will really help you to lose weight too. Even if you can’t do much other exercise. It keeps your NEAT up, it’s good for your body, and it’s good for your mental health.

You need to get your insulin under control if you want sustained weight loss - the obesity code by Jason Fung is a good book that explains all about it. If you are eating a calorie deficit but all the things you are eating are keeping your blood sugar raised then you won't lose weight. So low carb protein rich food and green veggies are what you should be eating.

I honestly think you don't need to weigh stuff and calorie count and log everything, if you are new to this it just makes everything really complicated and if I had been trying to do that while looking after my 3 when they were little it would never have worked. It also requires essentially turning weight loss into a hobby which many people with tiny kids simply don't have the time or energy for.

My very simple suggestion: Eat a good quality breakfast with protein and wholegrains (eg egg on wholegrain toast, or granola with nuts/seeds and yogurt) and then for the rest of the day, every time you want to eat, Eat Veg First. Have a huge bag of salad leaves in the fridge, and at lunchtime eat a bowl of those (with a bit of lemon/olive oil) BEFORE you decide what else you have. Then you'll be less hungry for other stuff and will have had lots of good nutrients.
Cut up a huge load of veg sticks for the fridge every couple of days so when you fancy a biscuit it's just as easy to have carrot or pepper, and eat that instead.

When you fancy something really sweet, eat fruit if the veg isn't cutting it, instead of turning to the chocolate cupboard.

At dinner serve up your plate so it is half veg, a quarter protein and a quarter carbs/grains.

After dinner go back to Eat Veg First whenever you fancy a snack. With hummus if you like.

These things really help me cut out the unnecessary and mindless chocolate and biscuit snacking without having to think too much about it. Good luck OP!

I use calorie counting but eat healthy calories, so v little fat and carbs and max lean protein fruit and veg. I make sure I've got plenty of v low calorie stuff in to eat if I get the munchies- celery, pickles, rice cakes, frozen peas and sweetcorn, tinned tomatoes. I drink plenty of water and tea. Today was a typical day: breakfast was porridge made with water, zero fat yoghurt, walnuts, blueberries and banana
An apple and a Cafetiere of decaff coffee, oat milk
Homemade mushroom soup with three multigrain ryvita
Two tangerines
An apple
Two cups of tea

Course you can have it. You can have whatever the fuck you want love but you know, eating bread isn’t a great choice for weight loss for most people. There are better alternatives

Granted though, it is not the actual devil. I stand corrected.

🙄 backatcha.

If I could 'enjoy treats in moderation' I wouldn't need to be on a diet in the first place 🤣

Bread that is, reply fail.

@SarahJinx

Course you can have it. You can have whatever the fuck you want love but you know, eating bread isn’t a great choice for weight loss for most people. There are better alternatives

Granted though, it is not the actual devil. I stand corrected.

🙄 backatcha.

Bread is evil. Period.

Keep carbs, sugar, fat to a minimum.

No more than 2 pieces of fruit a day. Include some lean protein and lean dairy (e.g. lean meat, light cottage cheese).

Eat loads of non-starchy veg (e.g. carrots, cucumber, lettuce.... not potatoes). I always aim for my plate at lunchtime to be at least 50% salad and my plate at dinner time to be at least 50% non starchy veg.

Watch out for hidden fats in things like salad dressings etc, and use a minimum of oil spray when cooking (vs regular cooking oil).

Pretty much the same as I usually eat but I cut down on empty alcohol calories and exercise a lot more (at least 20 minutes of out of breath exercise daily).

@ritalinda

To me it sounds like you're starving yourself then eating crappy stuff when you do eat. You must be eating more than you think you are if you're not losing weight because your description sounds barely enough to feed a fly. Have you always had problems with weight and eating? It sounds a bit disordered and I'm not trying to be mean I'm wondering if you might be worth contacting someone who could look at the whole picture with you?

You're not wrong, some days I was literally starving hungry but sod all progress to show for it at the end of the week.

That's what I don't understand. I have been deliberately, purposefully eating so much less than before. My diet used to consist of mainly junk snacks which I have completely cut out. I don't have any of that anymore so baffled as to how I'm not losing weight.

No eating disorder, just desperate to lose weight as I feel very unhappy with my body at the minute. I've really let myself go.

Today's intake was:

Banana and small amount of Greek yoghurt for breakfast, cup of tea no sugar.

2 x 90 calorie fibre one bare for late lunch, cup of tea no sugar.

Small portion of homemade chicken curry with basmati rice which I didn't finish.

Cup of tea.

I don't know how many calories that amounts to but there's no way it's over 1200-1300.

Oh god it's so boring isn't it.

Here's mine:

Eggs, Scrambled and also hard boiled
Homemade Lentil and veg soup
Salads made with a lot of protein and chick peas
Baked potatoes, sweet ones also
Homemade apple sauce
Cottage cheese
Roasted veg

Cut alcohol, bread, pasta, rice. And obviously cakes, puds, etc etc

I don’t think you’re eating enough. If you like fruit and veg and salad you can eat loads of that, plus eggs, fish, chicken and so many other things. Just eat good stuff, and those calorie bar things aren’t the best either. I don’t think you can sustain this?

I don't know how many calories that amounts to but there's no way it's over 1200-1300.

^

If you're not burning more than 1300 then you won't lose.

Personally if I were you I'd take a look at BIWI's low carb boot camp over in the low carb section.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/53-steps-to-help-lose-weight-from-ditching-the-pasta-to-standing-while-you-watch-tv-0jdkzq3h0
Behind a pay wall but you can read it for free if you create a log in

I am trying to have fewer carb based meals. I can't do very low carb, I can't deal with the headaches.
I do MFP. I can't keep it up for weeks it's too boring. But it does help.
OP I'm no expert but maybe focus on half a stone initially? A big far away target can be disheartening and half a stone would be a great start and would make a difference.
I have no idea how you are not losing but your meal of crackers doesn't sound very satisfying.
Have some protein!

The dangerous thing for me in these comments is the “a handful of nuts”. That way lies ruin. I love nuts. If I’m not having crisps etc then I’ll want nuts. And if I go for a handful, it’s going to end up being like a greedy massive handful. Then another. Mmm nuts.

I'm absolutely rubbish at this, I'll never get anywhere at this rate.

My diet has always been quite restricted in terms of what ill eat, bad habits from childhood I assume. I have a very set amount of things I like and will eat so find it hard to deviate from that.

Things I like and enjoy are hearty foods with red meat such as shepherds pies, spaghetti bolognese with cheese and garlic bread, lasagne, enchiladas, steak. Then sweet things like chocolate. Biscuits. The latter of which I used to eat alot of.

None of those things are particularly healthy and most are very carb/sugar heavy, so when I cut those out I'm stuck on what to eat and end up eating very little of anything which inevitably leads to any diet I attempt then failing.

I don't eat fish, not massively keen on vegetables but I'm trying to eat alot more of them now as it's a must. I don't eat cold meats in salads or things like hummus.

If I don't like something I just can't eat it. Is that disordered? Perhaps so.

I do like fruit. Small mercies.

I forgot to add I have protein powder to make protein shakes. I was having those as a meal (lunch) replacement when I started but the taste is awful, strawberry.

The most successful and sustainable weight loss I have observed looked like this:

Breakfast: one single serving of plain Greek yogurt and two cups of black coffee.

Lunch: grilled chicken (breasts/thighs/chicken burger), or BBQd pork chop (cooking method, not BBQ sauce), or left over steak slices. Paired with a large serving of vegetables, usually roasted Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, or asparagus. Sometimes lettuce wraps or a baked potato with salsa and black beans for variety. Generally this was the largest meal.

Dinner: Similar to lunch, just picking something different than whatever protein and veggies they had for lunch. Sometimes ordering in but following similar guidelines (protein and veg heavy, no fatty sauces, cheese, or breads).

Snacks: a large carrot, one string cheese, small scoop of cottage cheese, handful of nuts. Only one snack per day (two if really hungry/struggling with the diet).

Condiments: Lots of hot sauce, mustard, pepper, balsamic vinegar, everything bagel seasoning, and chopped chilis. Moderate olive oil and salt and low fat mayo. This person doesn't like citrus, but I think lemon or lime juice is so good on roasted vegetables.

Etc: no alcohol during the week. Less disciplined eating on the weekend, but still mindful and tracking calories. For example, picking a grilled chicken on wheat sandwich with no cheese or mayo instead of a double cheeseburger when out for lunch. Drinking on the weekend allowed, but more moderately than before.

Water: after morning coffee, lots of large Mason jars of ice water. Putting the water in a fun container helped for some reason.

Activity: More than before, but not extreme. One 20-30 minute Peleton ride or 3 mile walk or 60 minute bike (beach cruiser style bike, so not intense) ride every other day.

I personally couldn't stick to this, but it was impressive to see and very effective. It required discipline and accepting the boredom of a certain rotation of meals, but the weight fell off without being ravenous or needing to binge out of feeling deprived since the weekends were more relaxed, food-wise.

Things I like and enjoy are hearty foods with red meat such as shepherds pies, spaghetti bolognese with cheese and garlic bread, lasagne, enchiladas, steak.

^

Honestly, this is adaptable.

Shepherds pie: add veg to the mince-onions, diced carrots, peas. Then serve the Shepherds pie with veg in the side.

Same with bolognese... Ad loads of veg to the sauce. Instead of cheddar, have it with parmesan. Instead of garlic bread, maybe have a toasted pita with a smear of garlic butter? Those garlic baguettes are really high in cals.

Lasagne = use the added veg sauce, maybe add a layer of spinach put cottage cheese in the cheese sauce instead of full fat cheddar.

I cut wine. And don't eat much after breakfast.

I reduce carbs, don’t snack in the evenings, and don’t drink any alcohol. The first time I lost weight a couple of years ago, I lost NOTHING in SIX WEEKS! Then it fell off and I lost over 2 stone in 6 months.

Cheese.

It works.

OP you have a 3 month old baby! Don’t be so hard on yourself, and please don’t listen to the bullsh*t people saying they only have one meal a day - hardly a healthy or sustainable lifestyle. You need energy to look after your self and your family.

Try eating more veg, you can generally eat a huge amount for little calories and keep yourself healthy.
100g of the following are roughly
Broccoli = 35 calories
Carrots = 40 calories
Baby corn = 30 calories
Red pepper = 25 calories
Baby potatoes = 90 calories

Increasing your protein is important too. Aldi do protein yogurt pouches (great if you’re in a rush) 25g of protein and only 130 calories.
100g roughly is…
Chicken breast = 110 calories/
5% fat steak mince = 140 calories/ 25g protein
Cottage cheese = 90 calories/ 10g protein

Try and get 100g of protein in a day.

Take care of yourself!