AIBU to think if I can't succeed at the easy one I'll never succeed at the strict one!

[cherryberrymum]

I'm talking diets.

I have tried and failed at slimming world more times than I can think. So I was going to try the Harcombe Diet.

However my sister has told me it's a waste of time. She reckons if I can't do SW I'll almost certainly fail at Harcombe. 😔

I'm starting to believe her.

Has anyone succeeded at a more strict regime than an easier one?

I find stricter a bit easier to be honest as if I'm given an inch I will take a mile!

Shame your sister not being more supportive.

Anything low carb works for me. Like, ketogenic/Atkins level carbs.

SW doesn't work for me because I'm allowed carbs, and the more sugar I eat the hungrier I get and the more I crave. Low carb high fat diets put me in ketosis and kill my appetite completely so I lose weight steadily with no hunger, no cravings and totally balanced energy and emotions. No spikes and slumps in energy.

What about getting rid of the diet mentality (I just have to do this for 6 weeks and I'll lose a stone) ((and then go back to eating how I was before, and put all the weight back on because nothing has changed))

Maybe try changing 1 thing a month. Try eating a healthy balanced break fast at first. This could be porridge with fruit, scrambled egg on wholewholemeal toast ect.

Then maybe try adding in 1 portion of veg/fruit with each meal if you don't usually eat your veggies. Then up it to two.

Try and eat a salad before dinner so you eat less and get your veggies in.

Try and drink more than you do right now. Carry a water bottle around.

After these, to be honest I find if I'm eating 2 or 3 veggies with each meal, I get pretty full and I'm less likely to snack. Muchbetter than any temporary diet.

I also did not get on with slimming world. It took the biscuit when someone in my group was confused and didn't understand why she wasn't losing weight as she was eating a full English breakfast every morning. (?!) But this is allowed on slimming world. The leader would frequently say don't eat too little as you (magically) won't lose weight and gasp! You might even gain it!!

Very misguided. The truth in this is, you will lose weight if you eat less. It's a fact. You do not see a randomly fat starving person because they don't eat enough. However unless food is genuinely scarce or you don't have an eating disorder it's very likely that if you try and eat drastically less you'll get very hungry and you're much more likely to over eat and choose fatty high calorie foods. So people thing "I'veeaten hardly any thing and I've gained weight!! What!?"

But yes. Not great advice from a leader.

Yes I'm crap at things like sw and ww but I actually did a tfr diet called New You plan (not sure what Harcombe is sorry) and lost 4 stone then a further 0.5 when on maintainance. I've kept it off within half a stone for 18 months

You might as well give it a try and see what happens - I think the Harcombe diet is low carb and that might fill you up a bit better than SW.
If it doesn't work then stop and try something else - just try not to do what I do every time I give up on a diet and eat everything in sight!

Thank you all for the replies. I have been doing a bit of research and think the carb induced swings are the killer for me. So going to give Harcombe a go and see how I get in

I don't know the Harcombe diet, but I strongly recommend you read either The Diet Trap Solution by Beck or Lose Weight Without Dieting by Nordmark. They both say the same type of thing, but the former includes [psychological, not physical] exercises using CBT to help you rethink how you approach food, whereas the latter is a quicker read. Basically, the best 'diet' is one that you will continue to eat once you achieve your dream weight - if you love bread and cut it out to lose weight, as soon as you start eating it again, your weight will rise. Through reading these books and being aware of portion sizes (eg if a recipe serves 6 people, don't dish it up between 4 of us!) I've lost 8kg (nearly 18lbs) since January. I'm still eating cake, chocolate, and drinking alcohol. Tonight we're going to the chip shop.

Bluepancakes I'm really grateful for these recommendations. Have ordered both on kindle so I can get started. I use CBT with my son and never dawned on me to use it myself. Thank you. Thank you. Xx

I second what the non-dieters say. Don't fall into the trap.

Try reading 'This Is Not A Diet Book' by Bee Wilson.

Log what you are eating into MFP to try and get a realistic picture of your calorie intake, so that you know how much to adjust it by.

Get a Fitbit and do your 10k steps a day if you're not already moving about much.

I do all the above, and will for life (give or take the odd holiday/Christmas break). I've lost 9lbs, which is a very slow loss, but that's fine, I'm playing a much longer game.

Good luck!

The only way I've ever lost weight is through VLCDs.

I abuse flexibility

I'm the same as amused. Any diet that allows me to eat whatever I fancy in moderation is a disaster for me. I don't do moderation when I am let loose around bread and potatoes. It's easier to avoid them altogether.

Dieting is a sure fire way to a miserable life. I stopped dieting over 25 years ago and I now weigh less than I did in my early 20s. Learn to love your body and treat it well. BluePancakes is spot on. Good luck!

We are all different, so it makes sense that different strategies work for different people. Good luck! It's fantastic you are making changes.

My weight rocketed when I did that Argy

If you want it to be long term then you need to find something you can sustain long term. A lifestyle change rather than a diet.

I think it's safe to say that you will be in the minority on that one Argy but good for you.

Argy what have you done to loose the weight? U must have done something to change your body shape?

Wait for Argy to come and say she didn't diet, she just ate less and made different food choices as a 'lifestyle change' spectacularly missing the point that that is in fact just dieting.

As a pp so beautifully put it, I also abuse flexibility. I am the world's worst dieter. However I've lost 50 pounds since September doing the Cambridge diet. I found taking food choices out of the equation altogether helped enormously, I needed to take food out of the picture completely in order to lose the weight.

The maintenance is a whole other ball game. I'm now trying to work back up the stages and reeducate myself on portion sizes, good choices, and eating when hungry.

Have a look at Blood Sugar Diet, it is tough, and you have to spend a bit of time getting for head round it before hand( well I did anyway). But it's a set 8 week period, designed to lose weight fast ( he goes into the science of why that's ok) which is very motivating
. I have a chart with 56 days on it, and I cross one of each day, and knowing it's finite helps.
Also because of the food types you eat on it, I have not once been hungry, and I'm usually always hungry.
It's cheap on Amazon.

Well I can understand your cynicism! I wasn't much overweight - about a stone more than I now but I've since had 2 children and lots of hormone changes. Having young children and working full time probably helped me be more active - not in a structured exercise/gym way but just running around after them etc. My point about dieting is mainly that it can be very restrictive and make you feel bad when you "fail". Research shows that weight loss through restrictive dieting is often temporary. I eat what I want but I don't eat for comfort. I don't "snack" but I may have cake with morning coffee or a couple of biscuits with an afternoon tea. I exercise but not daily or religiously. I'm not saying at that I have the magic answer, but I came to the conclusion a very long time ago that dieting did not and would not work for me.

For me, I find that I do need some structure.

I did a very strict diet a few years ago, lost 5stone in total and kept it off for 4 years, and put it all back on in one really stressful year. I since had tried to go back on it, but I'm in a different place now, and my found it difficult being very strict whilst 1. dishing up my girls loads of lovely food, 2. trying not to eat their leftovers after they turn their noses up at their lovely food, and 3. trying not to be obviously dieting strictly so as not to bring them up thinking it was the norm. All-in-all I couldn't hack it.

So, after reading the two books I mentioned before, I've decided to implement some structure, and it seems to be working for me. I weigh myself every day (same time, without clothes), so I get used to my body's normal fluctuations. If I have put on more than I was expecting, I'll be more conscious about what I eat the next day or two, without punishing myself by being ridiculously strict. I'm using MyFitnessPal to record what I'm eating, again, knowledge is power. I've bought myself (and was given some I asked for for Christmas) some excellent low calorie cookbooks, and aim each meal to be around (or less) 500kcals per portion. As I said, I am portioning food out properly, so every meal I dish up all the food, and put it straight in the freezer when cooled if there is extra, so that I don't eat it needlessly as I would have done previously. And I am not limiting the fruit or veg I am eating, but having as much as I want: with meals I'm aiming for half my plate to be veg, and I can have as many fruit/veg snacks as I want during the day.

Like others have said, I'm in this for the long-haul and so far touch wood it is working for me. Whether what I'm doing is called a 'diet' or a 'life style change' I don't really care, but I'm hoping to train myself healthy eating habits so that eventually they'll come naturally to me.