To ask what diet plan has been successful for you?

[xCupidStuntx]

Before you point me in the direction of the diet forum, hear me out. I'd really like some straight talking opinions here.
I've got quite a lot of weight to lose and I've become so muddled up over the years of all the different advice and view points, I'll start one diet on a Monday and change to another by Friday.

What weight loss plan have you found has been very successful for you or family/friends?

I see threads like why do people let themselves get so fat, God I really don't know how I let this happen!

Agree with everyone who says we are all different and there is no ONE diet or WOE that suits everyone BUT the Paul Mckenna Way Of Eating worked for me (I've lost nearly 3 stone and am maintaining) and does for most people because it is about HOW and WHEN (you have to eat when you're hungry which is refreshing ) we eat ,not so much what we eat.

I think exercise works if you are fit and overweight to start with rather than overweight and unfit, so you can already do quite a chunky bit of exercise and burn 1000 cals in one go 3 x a week= 1lb, but there arent that many people who can do that- it's a 10 mile run. Exercise is also good for stopping you putting on weight, not least because the evenings you're out hiking/running/ playing hockey/whatever are evenings when you're not sat on the sofa with a glass of rose and a kitkat. However, I agree you have to attack diet as the mainstay of any weight loss challenge.

5:2 - also did amazing things for my IBS. I'm borderline hypothyroid, so don't lose weight very easily (did WW for 6 weeks, gained 2 pounds) but 5:2 has been brilliant for me. It's also broken the cycle between food and emotion - I don't comfort eat because food doesn't comfort me in the way it used to. Instead, I eat to enjoy the sensory experience of eating.

Weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise.

What works for me is eating in a low(ish) carb way, I cut out the crappy carbs such as bread, pasta, sugar etc.

My other fail safe is to have a bowl of soup as one of your three meals. I generally have soup every day for lunch. Get varied with your recipes though or it gets boring.

Hmm, this is tougher than it looks OP. Most diets will work if you follow them. Starting on Monday, bored and binging by Wednesday, reading about something else on Friday, repeat, repeat, repeat, is never going to work. Trust me, I did that for years!
You might find a diet you do feel you can stick to, you might even lose weight but without changing mentally you are more likely to regain the weight than to maintain.
The best I have found is Martha Beck's book "The 4 day win" which helps you identify a diet based on the sort of structure you like and then sloooooowly guides you into making permanent changes.
Good luck!!

Another my fitness pal fan. List 11lbs in the past 4 weeks bu simply eating less and doing more. I also drink 3 litres of water a day.

I have another 8lbs to go to my target weight. Hope to reach this by December.

Agree with previous poster, you need to find what works for you and stick to it, changing your mind doesn't help

I lost 2st in 3 months with the Dukan diet and still going for one more stone. I chose Dukan because my mum tried it and it worked wonders for her, so I assumed it would be the same for me (my mum and I are very similar) - luckily it was.

I think Dukan is basically a low carb diet too isn't it?

Alternatively just try a low carb (veg only, very little fruit) + low fat way of eating, it should do the trick and it is sustainable long term.

Best of luck!

Dukan is a diet in 3 stages, but essentially it's very low carb and low fat.

MyFitnessPal, and taking a proper look at my portions. I've done weightwatchers (successfully) but it's another subscription service and I get unreasonable about converting calories into points. Most of what I eat is pretty healthy already, so it wasn't like I could just cut out pizza and chocolate, but I was putting too much on my plate and not noticing when I was already feeling a bit full.

I've also got a fitbit, which I would recommend if you've got the funds. Basically, it tracks your activity and sleep levels - can track your calories as well, but as the food database is primarily American, it's better to use MFP and sync up that way. Give yourself a target - 10,000 steps a day is mine, which works out at about an hour to an hour and a half of walking a day, easy when you have to walk to and from the bus, particularly if you throw in a little stroll at lunchtime. I don't go running (crap joints) but I can and do walk a lot, and boosting what I actually do is more effective for me than reducing what I eat.

I joined slimming world just over 6 weeks ago. I need to lose a lot of weight. Starting weight was over 16st. I have been 'determined' to lose weight for the past few years but never done anything about it! This time I gave myself a stern talking to and actually joined properly going to a meeting etc. I have lost over 1 stone in 6 weeks. I have not found it too difficult at all. No calorie counting. Have cut out bread and lots of fat mostly. I have now set myself another target by xmas.
I am also making an effort to try and walk to places.
Good luck!

Anything that you can maintain forever. It's a lifestyle change.

Low carb worked for me. I lost 2 stone after DD was born by following low-carb and the Bootcamp threads. I started off with Escape The Diet Trap by John Briffa, which is more paleo than low-carb exactly, and went from there. I keep meaning to get back to it and lose that last stone, but I start on a Monday and am off it by Wednesday atm. I restarted today because I've spent the last 6 weeks binging on cake, chocolate and toast and although I haven't weighed myself (too scared!) I know I've put on weight.

Shredding really works, on the exercise front. I can see myself looking slimmer after 5 days of Shredding. Must get back to that, too!

Dukan and my fitness pal

Yes arethereany I would say any diet that views fruit as a no no is a no no for me (i lost my weight eating fruit all the time but for breakfast not straight after a meal.)

Also low fat diet food is non-food and for your health .you're much better having some (not much though) good quality meat with olive oil than those shit expensive ready mades. IMHO

Fat is good.

Sugar is bad.

Low carb (keto) diet for me. When I had a wedding to attend and a dress I needed to fit into, I combined it with 5:2 and a 1500 calorie limit, and I lost 17lbs in a month. I've lost 2 and a half stone in total.

Just come back from holiday this week and today I'm climbing back on the bandwagon to start the last little bit. One more stone by Christmas, that's the goal, and if I'm careful I can do it.

As for exercise, I started lifting weights and I saw a big difference in my body shape after a few sessions. It's my kind of exercise - 1 minute of effort, 4 minutes of standing about chatting (once I've got my breath back), rinse and repeat!

Eat meals off breakfast plate so your portions halved. Cut down on carbs have one meal a day carb free. Limit snacking no biscuits etc am really strict in week. Buy exercise DVDs ( davina good) and do 4 times a week I do before kids wake up so shower afterwards exercise done for day. I was 11 stone now toned 9 and half and feel great! Plus the above now normal for me my appetite had shrunk eg used to eat whole naan bread can only manage half now. Good luck'

sqoosh Sadly not all fat is equal though.Most spreads and factory manuf. foods are full of hydrogenated fat and or palm oil which are known to be bad for our health.

Agree about sugar( moderation is the key IMO and E) but sweeteners are worse

No 'diet' ever.

Avoid obvious junk food.
Eat as much as you want of unprocessed food.
Small portions.

That's it, very simplified.

In more detail:
If I fancy 'a treat', have a piece of fruit/veg/plain nuts first. If I still want some chocolate, I'll have some. Often the impulse will have passed.
'Real' food: No low fat nonsense.
Small plates - that really helped.
Don't empty kids' plates.
Move more - I started walking to work.

5:2. Lost nearly 2 stone on it this year.

I lost weight doing 5:2. I ate 1200 calories on non fast days and 500 cals on fasting days. I lost 6lbs in 3 weeks - got straight back on to all my pre dc3 clothes and kept the weight off over the summer (despite not keeping up the fasting).

I have never dieted before, but found this was totally doable. You always know that tomorrow you can eat 'it', so it's not like every day is a hungry day.m

My fitness pal was excellent for counting calories and keeping track of the weight loss.

I would recommend watching 'The Men Who made us Thin' BBC documentary and a rethink about whether any kind of "diet" is a long term solution for being overweight.

The 'eat less, move more' diet worked for me.
So -
Smaller portions (I use a dessert plate)
Cut down on snacking. I still have 2 small snacks a day, usually fruit or nuts.
No alcohol, but I already didn't drink.
I cut down/out all the obvious junk - takeaways, crisps, sweets etc.
I never bothered with calorie counting or low carbing or high protein or low fatting or whatever - I just used my common sense really.
Exercise - mainly swimming, some weights, lots of walking. Just find something you enjoy doing and are reasonably competent at .A bit of variation is supposed to be quite effective as far as exercise goes.