So fed up of dieting

[mmollytoots]

sorry posting for traffic.

Have tried every diet going but my issue is I can't stop eating shit and I fail at counting calories. I had my baby a year ago and I start back work this week fatter than ever I am disgusted with myself.

Does this sort of plan sound good for the future.

breakfast- porridge/eggs/weetabix

lunch- simple homemade sandwich/soup/salad and a piece of fruit

dinner- portion controlled family dinner i.e. curry, spag bol, salmon, potatoes and veg.

Gym three times a week and plenty of water. Does this sound ok for a long-term healthy eating plan

For me the magic kcal number seems to be 1700(ish) (with exercise) for maintenance at a higher end normal BMI. 1400(ish) kcal (again with a fair but of exercise) to maintain healthy BMI low to mid range weight. It sucks.

My maintenance calories are 1500.

I tried mfp but the obsession with calories drove me crazy.

also with slimming world I didn't like the receipes or most of the food you would eat on slimming world i.e. mushy pea curry, pasta and sauce, mullerlights.

You know what I did? I stopped worrying about it. Stopped obsessing over every morsel that passed my lips. I'm fat. And? I'm very attractive, I have lovely long thick red hair, I dress fabulously, I'm a really good package!

I am SICK of obsessing about my weight. I'm never going to be thin, or slim. So I'm going to quit fretting about it and I'm going to start exercising a lot more. I already have a dog so his walks are up from two long ones to five. I'm swimming, I'm crap and slow but I've a lot more definition in my arms than I had five weeks ago. I'm healthy and for the first time in near twenty years, I'm happy. Try it.

I'm doing Slimming World quite successfully and have never had a muller light, pasta and sauce or mushy pea curry .

I'm just making normal home cooked food with slightly more veg than normal and using oil in a spray bottle to reduce the fat content.

You burn the same calories no matter when you eat so don't listen to people who say it will turn to fat if you eat late.

You are wrong. Calories are burned off with movement. We move more during the day and burn off more calories. Eating a big meal at night then sitting down and going to bed does not burn the calories off the same way as walking, swimming, even just cleaning the house.

I hate all the mushy pea curry crap too.
Today, for breakfast I had beans, scrambled egg, chopped up potatoes roasted in fry light, Linda McCartney red onion sausages, tomatoes and mushrooms. For dinner in having quorn meatballs in veg and tomato sauce with spaghetti. (Vegetarian). For breakfast tomorrow I'm having oats, fat free natural yoghurt and berries. Lunch veg soup with ryvita and dinner is risotto. I'm making the same stuff as before just cooking it from scratch.

I lost three stone by using a combination of cutting down on carbs, upping cardio exercise and using the my fitness plan app. It was hard to start off with but the results kept me going and it's completely changed my eating habits and my tastebuds too.

I used the wii at home to do exercise as well and the 30 day shred DVDs

In my view slimming world and ww are just money making companies who want you to fail otherwise they would go out of business ...

Yup...another SW-er who hates the "you can fake it like this". I do like muller lights, but a little too much, so I don't buy them.

Today I've had:

Brekkie: Omelette, mushrooms, tomatoes, beans, 2 small slices toast with a little butter. Tassimo latte.

Lunch: Prawn and cheese salad
Dinner (will be): Salmon fillet, new potatoes, carrots, broccoli
Snacks: banana, apple, mixed-pre-chopped-fruit multipack.

Yesterday I had a proper roast dinner with real gravy and yorkie puddings.

I'm on my fourth week and have lost 1/2 a stone so far (and that's with a couple of "days off" for a funeral etc)

sounds like normal eating.

things to remember:

• no such thing as a stomach clock. No time sensitivity on calories. It is what and how much, not when.
• difference between complex carbs (Needed) and simple carbs (sugar, cakes, biscuits, sweets). Guess which one you should cut down on?
• portion control. A reasonable portion is less than most of us can happily eat. me included!
• no food is unhealthy.
• low fat means tons of added sugar. Eat less of the full fat version.
• fat doesn't make you fat. Eating more than you burn off makes you fat. End of.

unless you are super active everyone has to exercise portion control, or you get fat.

The one thing that works best for me is cutting out bread- but that's because I'm intolerant to something-or-other (wheat? Gluten? Don't know).

The other thing though, which could work, is that I don't go into full-on diet mode straightaway. So the first week, I put just a little bit less of whatever I normally eat on the plate- so maybe 3/4 of it. The next week my stomach has adjusted to that, so I put a bit less on again. And the same the next (then stop, otherwise you'd have nothing on the plate) I also decrease the carb bits (chips, ahem ) and add more veg (usually salad veg, because I like those as much as chips) in their place.

I'm a terrible snacker as well, but never stop them, just leave a few (crisps, for instance) or choose slightly smaller chocolate things.

I did this after having ds2 and lost 2 and a half stone in a few months. I also do it after holidays etc where I've pigged out. It helps my mental approach because I'm not dieting, as such (in my mind).

Oh and I never touch low-fat stuff, since watching that programme on how it's made...

In my experience 'diets' (ie under-eating or denying yourself certain foods) don't work as they are not sustainable in the long term and make people unhappy. Therefore even if you lose weight on them initially you will end up putting it back on as you can't keep up the restrictions.

Instead what is better is making a lifestyle and mindset change. Once you think about food differently you genuinely won't want unhealthy food or too much food and then the weight will naturally drop off. I changed my mindset so that I love my body and think of it as my most important possession that I need to love and look after (as opposed to looking out for flaws in it and then trying to correct them). I then got educated as to what foods are actually genuinely good fuel for my body and contain the right nutrients. Finally I kept a bit of a diary to work out when I tended to eat too much/unhealthily and then worked out why I did that (for me it was when I was stressed or because of associations, eg I had learned in childhood that watching a film = eating chocolate and crisps).

Once I'd got my head around those three things I just no longer really wanted junk food and processed meals as I knew I was either shoving empty calories down my throat or actively harming my body with things that are bad for it, and I was also able to break the stress=eat, tv=sweet food, finishing a task=alcohol cycles.

I am now happily my ideal size, have lots of energy and feel great - as I am slim due to eating the right amount of good food rather than eating bad food and then starving myself or just starving myself full stop. It also means that when I do occasionally have a sweet craving (usually once or twice a week), I can give in because I know I won't overdo it and generally choose healthier options such as 80% cocoa as my taste buds have now changed.

Good luck I'm sure you can do it! Most of all, love your body as it is the only one you'll ever have and enables you to do so many things!

I felt very controlled by food, in a way that sounds similar to you. I had lost 4 stone but had a horrible addiction to sugar. So I saw a nutritionist. Which seems a bit drastic. But she was patient, and lovely, and really understood my problem with food, and in changing things very slowly (and I mean very slowly, because making big changes overnight is never going to work) I finally feel more in control.

Can I suggest starting small? Make one change, until that beds in and feels comfortable. Don't beat yourself up about failing (much easier said than done). Focus on the positive difference you see in yourself.

FWIW I don't eat gluten or sugar now, and feel really good for it.

The only low fat thing I use is cheddar. The cathedral city one is just as good as the full fat.

I swapped ice cream with frozen yoghurt, changed to skimmed milk, warburtons thins (the little square things) which are perfect as a mini pizza base too. Added loads of veg to meals and cut out almost all potatoes.

If I drink alcohol it's Bacardi with lime and soda, and no more full sugar coke.

I hate aspartame and avoid anything with that in it.

I couldn't cope just on that diet op, i would end up giving in and bingeing

Here's what I generally eat

Breakfast: 1 egg 1 slice toast
Snack: fruit
Lunch: chicken or tuna salad no dressing
Snack: natural yogurt, berries, walnuts, honey
Dinner: either fish/ veg/sweet potato, or a nice meal like homemade curry, chilli etc

About twice a week I have a fair bit of chocolate or some hot chocolate, because I can't live without it.

Been doing this for a few months now and it works well for me. I try not to feel guilty if I do binge, just enjoy it and then get back on it the next day

Have 3 meals a day, no snacking. Have around 1500cals, walk an hour a day, it will fly off.

Bleach
Have 3 meals a day, no snacking. Have around 1500cals, walk an hour a day, it will fly off.
But for many older petite women under 5'2" 3 meals and 1500 calories is far more than their bodies need.

Everybody needs to understand their own personal TDEE
and be aware that it drops over time.

I started a thread along these lines in 'weight loss chat' last night.

It's so demoralising when your trying different things & think you're getting somewhere but it never seems fast enough or noticeable enough.

Helena that is an incredible achievement but I know exactly how you feel. Any deviation whatsoever from ultra healthy eating sets me back lbs overnight .

I was just talking about the OP really, not making a generalisation. Came across that way though.

You fail because you see it as a diet OP.

It has to be a lifestyle change. It has to be sustainable, workable and not feel like deprivation.

I've lost a stone by walking 10k steps a day, cutting out all refined sugar and planning my meals on MGP. I weigh-in on Saturday morning and Saturday evening is my treat night so it's either a take away or dinner out and maybe even a glass or 2 of wine. But I make healthier food choices and steer clear of refined sugar.

This works for me (still have 2st to go but I'm giving myself until my next birthday in 11 months to do it) but if it stops then I'll make tweaks and reassess.

*MFP

I am finding cutting carbs from breakfast (Omelette with cheese and ham usually), low or no carb salad or soup for lunch and watching my carbs for tea is working for me. As a snack I allow myself an occasional small bar of dark chocolate and relax a little at the weekend. I'm not really counting calories and am rarely hungry, I can cope because I get to eat cheese and cheese makes me happy (I don't need loads to make me happy). I was advised not to have too much fruit as it's still sugar so although I have it occasionally I dont snack on it. Early days yet but my clothes are looking better and my belt is on the next hole.

I lost about 9 stone. I never eat breakfast and always eat my biggest meal at the end of the day.

The whole 'don't eat late at night' is undergoing many studies all which seem to indicate it's nonsense.

The problem Op is that you are sick of dieting. But in reality you haven't being dieting, because you have also being eating rubbish. I have been there and it's fairly soul destroying. You plan your main meals then end up eating rubbish in between.

My tdee is 1600 cals a day. I am very active now (I power lift and kick box so someone's train twice in one day) so I eat about 1900 and still loose fat. However i am also 5ft 10.

What you are proposing sounds great. Is it likely you are going to stop the snacking on the wrong foods inbetween? I love snacking. I would rather snack than actually eat proper meals. I only eat proper meals so we have family meals together. So my food plan incorporates snacks. But healthy ones.

Try to stop stressing about it and make small changes. You don't say exactly what you eat so it's difficult to suggest. But I cut out my morning full fat latte and muffin and had a cup of tea and one biscuit. Then eventually the biscuit went.

I only had success when I stopped dieting and changed my eating habits for life. Smaller portions, cutting out snacks and cooking from scratch most of the time and plenty of exercise.

Exercise is key, I think. When I exercise, I also eat better because 1) I feel better so I'm less likely to binge and 2) I'd feel 'guilty' about undoing the good I did.
Not eating crap/too much is very important but exercise will give a nice, toned shape as well.
Also, I find that a big, protein based breakfast will keep me from snacking throughout the day

Good luck, OP