To think that diets make you fat?

[ShebaShimmyShake]

On the one hand, baby weight. I know I can't just lose it organically, so to speak, since I can't be as active as before (not least because a horrific birth has left me with some permanent damage). On the other, I really think diets make you fat. I know some people keep it off forever but most people, myself included, just seem to yoyo over the years. The only time I lost weight and kept it off for years (until pregnancy) was when I stopped pouring money into slimming clubs and diet books and just tried to eat sensibly. No plan or syns or ProPoints.

Has dieting made you fat and poor? Or thin and rich?

Also, if you're on Atkins or the cabbage soup diet, please stay away from me. I'm convinced those two work by making a person so smelly, nobody invites them out for meals or parties.

I've lost 90lb since November (with another 60-70lb to go), and I've been nowhere near any kind of faddy diet. What I have done is make changes to my lifestyle so I eat less and move more. No food is banned, there are no good foods or bad foods, I simply make sure I keep track of my calories in and calories out (MyFitnessPal and Fitbit) and keep the in lower than the out. My only sop to "dieting" is to make sure I eat enough protein, but that's because I'm looking at ending up with a strong look so I do a lot of resistance training.

YY and I know this because I've done it. Followed Rosemary Conley diet, attended classes, lost weight. DH started working away, our schedule changed, I couldn't attend classes any more and slowly slipped back into old habits. I'm now following the BSD because I had to relearn portion control but I'll probably be posting on the BSD threads on MN forever to ensure I don't fall back into bad, old habits.

I found slimming world brilliant. Was never fat, had a couple of kids chubbed right up during and after pregnancy until I was obese. Tried basic calorie counting and would lose a bit but always stalled and regained.

Tried SW and lost everything I gained and I'm back to my pre baby weight and finding it easy to maintain.

The way I understood the plan is that by unlimited pasta/ potatoes etc they mean you don't have to weigh them like with weight watchers and that you eat until you are satisfied not as some people do and view unlimited as a challenge to eat as much as you can!

You snack on fruit, veg and lean protein which are all 'free' and count your syns.

What I found misleading regarding syns is that they tell you that for a woman you can have 'up to' 15 per day. This means you could have nearly 2 whole galaxy ripples per day which again is where I think people go wrong with it. If you have absolutely loads to lose and were previously eating the equivalent of 40 syns (plucking numbers here) then I can see how cutting down to 15 you would still lose weight but only up to a point.

What I'm saying in a rambling way is that you have to actually read a plan, understand it and stick to it in order for it to be successful and if you do that then a diet like SW won't make you fat.

It is mad to think that you can shovel 3lbs of potatoes and a pile of curly wurlys down your neck and still lose weight and actually SW doesn't tell you you can do that- it is people hearing/ reading what they want and then inevitably failing and blaming the plan.

But yes agree that 'people make people fat', I only had myself to blame but a diet is what has got me slim.

I agree! Look into No S if you need rules to help with moderation. No snacks, seconds or sweets except for on days that begin with s or special days (Christmas, birthday). It helps me to not talk myself into treats but doesn't prescribe what to eat or when. It is liberating after all the years of feeling guilty for eating this or that.