To not understand what the best 'no measure' diet is? Please, please......can someone recommend me one?

[ferriswheel]

I am fat. Very fat. And very tired. I won't be with the reasons but life is quite overwhelming at the moment.

Suffice to say I need to get a grip on my eating habits before the last ounces of self esteem that I am grabbing hold of disappear.

So...I gather ww is now doing a no measure diet, and I know that sw is mostly no measure. Is there is any other free no measure diet out there? Or can you recommend me either ww or sw and explain why?

I really would be very grateful. Thank you.

One very simple, easy way is to eat from smaller plates - try side plates rather than dinner plates. You don't tend to feel you're "missing out" as you still have a full plate in front of you. Portion control is a massive thing for weight loss - so many people (myself included) overeat just out of habit, and because it's there in front of you.

SW is great, you don't measure fruit, veg, meat, fish, pulses, pasta potatoes, rice, eggs and some dairy stuff.

Because that includes huge amounts of things it means you can make your meals without having to weigh or measure stuff.

I don't know how much is included on the WW no count one or whatever it's called.

Download/go to the web version of MyFitnessPal, plug in your details, set it to lose a 1lb a week and off you go. You do need to measure and be honest when you log, but if you get some cheapy electronic scales, it soon becomes second nature. The trouble with not measuring is that we're actually not very good at estimating portion sizes.

MFP is totally free. The forums are really good for support and advice.

16:8 - you change when you eat rather than what you eat (although generally, healthier choices will obviously also help!)

Choose an 8 hour block in the day (I used to do 1pm-9pm) and eat whatever you want within that time. Outside of your 8 hours, you fast - ONLY water or black coffee or black tea. Not a grape, not a chewing gum, not a mouthful of squash.

It's piss easy after the first couple of days and fasting is supposed to be very good for your cholesterol etc too. I lost 2.5 stone on 16:8 in about 8 months - without changing the type of food I ate or doing additional exercise. The weight stayed off too.

A lazy way is to buy individual portions of things like cereal, yogurts etc. Portion control was a huge issue for me and I would never have stuck to a single portion of anything even juice if it wasn't enforced in this way. It's expensive but it helped!

I've been doing SW for 4 weeks and have already lost a stone. I do go to the group which costs £5 a week but for me it is worth it as i need the extra motivation of being with others in the same situation. As others have said, you can eat LOADS with pretty much no measuring and can still eat 'normal' food like Bolognese and curry and chilli etc. Which is great if you have a family to cook for. It just fits in really well with a normal lifestyle.

I go to a fitness class, that also runs an online programme, she calls it the 21 day challenge,

she says it is not a diet but a re-education to what we should be eating,
I am currently doing it, in the final week, and I have lost around 1 stone.

happy to give you the company name if you message me :)

If you are very overweight (as i am) I think a group is invaluable for the motivation. I'm sure there are lots of diets you can follow on your own if you are just a bit overweight, but personally if i had the will power to eat sensibly and stick to it i wouldn't have got obese in the first place. I've found SW great (lost a stone so far). I'm sure WW is good too.

Thank you everyone, it sounds like you are all in a good place. I have three very small children, am about to start getting divorced and am struggling with everything. I think so far the 16.8 sounds interesting. I don't want to spend the money on SW, when I did it before I found it to be expensive in ingredients.

Does anyone know the difference between ww no weight and sw?

Or any other top tips?

If, as you say, you are very overweight, go to the Dr before you start so they have a record of it. I did this years ago (dunno why) but it was helpful when I needed extra support (in the end I had weight loss surgery, it wasn't my want and the dr eventually suggested it knowing what I had tried over the years). If you don't then they will continue to suggest going to we or SW. I've heard good things and seen good results with SW - dunno about their current method but friends have lost and maintained with them. Depends on the group leader though.,

I do 16:8 naturally as I don't really eat breakfast. So just eat lunch and dinner. It hasn't helped me lose weight though, only starting WW kickstarted that.

Good luck OP.

I lost 2 stone in 12 weeks on slimming world, there's hardly any measuring and you can have unlimited fruit, veg, pasta, rice, fish, unprocessed meat etc so there's no chance of going hungry. You get loads of tips in group every weel too. I'd recommend it to anyone.

I have tried all of the above diets but the only thing that worked for me was reading a book called "have your cake and your skinny jeans too" which preaches hunger directed eating. Helped me deal with all my issues around food and honestly it has totally changed my life - I have lost loads and kept it off. It doesn't ban any foods at all.

The 5:2 is meant to be good. You eat what you want for five days and the other two days you restrict your calories. There is a thread on here that might be worth looking at

Download the Paul McKenna app I can make you thin and follow it religiously! It helps you change your relationship with food, it stops being something to battle with and so you stop the deprivation/craving cycle.
The main points are:
Eat when hungry, eat whatever you want but you must stop when you're full.
Eat slowly and mindfully, concentrating on eating, no distractions. It's amazing when you do this and realise how much you wolf down as if it's your last meal without even taking time to actually taste.
Always leave some of your food on your plate. Again this is wierdly difficult at first.

He also helps you to visualise yourself positively and in the way you want to be.

Really recommend it.

I would recommend slimming world as well. You have to measure dairy products and bread on it but loads of stuff is no measure, eat as much as you want. I also recommend joining a group and staying for the full session. I've lost 7 & 1/2 pounds in 2 weeks. Look at the website for slimming world. Has examples of meals you can eat and recipes.

I think in your situation as you seem to have a lot on, you might be better off just switching to healthier versions of what you enjoy and cutting down the processed food.

What no measure diets do is allow you to eat unlimited (in theory) of food like veg, fruit, lentils, beans, lean meat, eggs, rice and pasta.
The restrictions seem to be on fat, wheat and sugar.
So just go with the above, cook food at home rather than buying stuff, snack on fruit and veg and limit 'treats' to around 100 cal a day.

Look for sw and ww friendly recipes on line if it helps.