To ask what the best weight loss plan is?

[superstarheartbreaker]

Eat less , move more? Aside from which, which way of eating is most effective/ healthy?
I'm so confused with all this Atkins, harcombe, paleo, slimming world, 5:2diet.
I'm doing low carb but eating high fat stuff just dosnt feel right. Also missing rice.

Calorie counting and upping the exercise has worked for me. I have kept off 3 stone for a year and a half now. Eating slowly helps too.

BIWI. Like I said I am no expert. I have never been on a diet so to be frank I wouldn't know. My trainer, who as been a trainer for 15 years bangs on about it. I trust him because his a professional and I have seen the results his had with his clients that wanted to lose fat.

I have always trained and kept to the fat loss school of thought. It's worked for me. I am 5"4 and weigh about 9st 9lb / 9st 10lb but I am a dress size 8 /10 on the loose side (not bad I don't think considering I had a baby NYE 2013). Because I train I am lean but I weigh more than I would if I didn't train and was the same dress size and dieted.

I have seen friends yoyo and become obsessed with diets/calories/scales etc. My belief is unless the is a medical reason no one needs to diet. Just stop the processed etc. foods, do more cardio, do the same on strength training and stop getting on the scales. I believe in it because its always worked for me and I like to eat so no way would I be able to diet.

I wanted to share with Op so she had a different view on fat lose. Like I said earlier, each to their own.

I use myfitnesspal, have lost almost 4st. A bit of 5:2 too!

It makes me sad when people like Benchmark don't want muscle, as they want to be as small as possible (though i am sure you don't need my patronising "sadness" Benchmark)

Yet, it saddens me that people do not want to be healthy (being fit, having a bit of muscle and fat) but would rather be skinny.

IMO, exercise is key. Daily exercise releases endorphins, it makes you feel good, it makes you feel less depressed and tired, it gives your metabolism a boost (even if you are resting, it sets the thermostat higher) and makes you look better (IMO, not stick thin but with bit of muscle, and maybe a bit of fat depending how you eat).

If you exercise every day, you can then eat three nice filling meals a day, include lots of veg, wholegrain carbs, lovely unprocessed natural tasty food.

Well, that works for me anyway, I eat well, I eat whenI am hungry, I eat quite a lot of quite nice food. Yet have maintained weight at BMI of 22.5 for over 10 yrs.

But like others have said, you have to find out what works for you. And what you want. I'd rather be strong than skinny, but I know I am an exception.

May have found a kindred spirit in littlepeapod

BravoPotato yes you have. I completely agree with everything you said.

its what works for the individual. It makes me laugh all this I exercise loads and eat a full diet of healthy unrefined food. Bit like ww h&f then? ?? wtf is all this shit about being 'skinny'? Why would anyone want that - just bizarre.

Most people just want to be a healthy weight and there are various ways of achieving this. The biggest barrier I think for a lot of people is emotional/ comfort eating.

Toby why do people that exercise and eat amuse you? What does ww and h&f stand for?

the thing is though being skinny doesn't necessarily mean you are fit and healthy. Adding in the exercise does make you fitter and healthier when combined with a healthy diet.

When choosing a diet, choose something you personally can continue for months in the weight loss phase AND commit to the maintenance phase for the rest of your life.

You can never return to your previous way of eating, because that made you overweight

Every diet plan should include cutting out most junk and alcohol.
Some people have got fat on healthy food though, just too much of it.

If you are very overweight, you need to control calorie intake - exercise alone rarely takes off a lot of weight for women.

It is important to avoid losing muscle and this means intense strength training a few times per week
Having plenty of muscle is as important for health as having low body fat.

Women only look big with muscle if they still have a lot of fat.
E.g. this woman increased her weight by 9lb to be much fitter.

Be proud and be strong

Big picture says it all.

The thing I notice about threads like this is the amount of people who are currently doing x diet or say everytime I calorie count it works for me. The inference being weight coming off and going back on.

I have been guilty of this. I have tried so many things. WW, slimming world, low carb, slim fast, cabbage soup and calorie counting. The only thing that worked for me was calorie counting and exercise but it was unsustainable. I can't spend the rest of my life weighing all my food.

I am currently overweight. I am trying, with a lot of help, to get off the yoyo dieting. I have stopped eating low fat stuff. I have found that I don't get as hungry. In my calorie counting days I would have for example low fat yoghurt for breakfast and be hungry an hour later. Now I have full fat food so yes I am consuming more calories but I don't need to eat until lunch. I am also trying to wat slower. It is really hard to change that but if I can do that then hopefully I can stop eating when my brain registers I have had enough. Of course I still have to address the emotional eating and other issues but I am taking it one small step at a time and giving myself time to lose the weight slowly and naturally.

I think the reason I've always used diet/calorie counting to lose weight is because it's just easier
Working out exactly how much to eat to have enough energy to excercise then exercising enough to burn the right amount of fat while still keeping muscle etc is complex and time consuming, especially after a day at work.

I do generally keep pretty fit though so I don't adopt this approach to daily life, and i do prefer a strong toned body to a weak waif like one.

perfectly

I agree, having said that I started calorie counting in January and probably did it til just before April, I lost 1.5 stone and apart from a few pounds over the half term I haven't gained it back and have maintained

I am hoping that once I hit my target weight I will have re educated myself and will have the tools to lose weight should I overindulge on a holiday or something

I'm not that strict at the moment but I do look at the calories when I am deciding between meals or treats

I lose weight with slimming world, its easy to follow, never feel hungry,encourages me to book from scratch.

BUT as many people have said, it hasn't taught me to keep weight off. I know I have to change my lifestyle for long term maintenance but it hasn't happened yet.

Good luck OP.

Slimming World is the only one I can maintain target weight for years and keep the weight off. It doesn't make you hungry and is basically just healthy eating rather than a 'diet'. I was starving on all other diets, SW I have learned to cook better and eat healthier, love it.

weight watchers healthy and filling or probably slimming world. Eating healthily or 'dieting' not sure what the difference is. That's my point.

i've just started slimming world and have lost half a stone in a month (although one week i was on holiday and drank my own body weight in wine so its really 3 weeks). I'm not being too strict on it, i tend to go slightly over at the weekends but then probably under on the syns during the week and the non holiday weeks i've lost 2 to 2.5 lbs and every week i've had something on like a meal out etc. I quite like it as it doesn't feel like a diet and i could see myself doing this forever

Toby I thought most people on diets (weight watchers etc.) count calories or points etc. When you eat a healthy well balanced meal for your body type and excersive (cardio and strength) you don't need to count calories or points!

The only time I have actually noted calories was a few weeks post giving birth. I needed to understand my intake vs output so I could maximise my training. I needed additional fuel due to increased training.

Great posts from Brave potato and littlepeapod. I couldn't agree more.
I think it's a shame that there seems to be 2 'shapes' of women's bodies - either 'slim' ie like a model, or 'curvy'. What about aiming for a fit healthy strong body?

I am just aiming for a healthy body weight/image

Its been a long time since I have had that but I am realising why more and more.

I am doing a vague MFP with a bit of slim fast too.

Its munching in the evening that gets me, so I've bought some healthy munchy bars and arranged with MFP that I can have a bowl of fruit and yogurt plus a healthy snack bar and a options hot chocolate of a night. I am hoping that will really change things for me.

i've been on the 5:2 feasting diet for nearly 2 years now. it's the only one that works and i think i will stay on it as long as i possibly can. i feel so much better on it too.

read the michael moseley book on it. i found it incredibly helpful.

when i said 'it's the only one that works' i meant the only one that works FOR ME.

eddielizzard Wed 11-Jun-14 09:46:26
when i said 'it's the only one that works' i meant the only one that works FOR ME.

Me too. I have finally lost 1 st of baby weight (baby is 6). It is so flipping do-able.

Low carb works too but I just can't stick to it.

Eat less food. Surefire winner. Dig deep into that will power.