To think I can lose weight this way...

[Regalparade]

I am 5'3 and 13st7. I am ashamed. Yesterday I got a glimpse of myself in a shop window, I was horrified I looked like that. Although I'm really fat, I am super fit. I am a postie and walk on average 10 miles a day and have lots of flats to run up. I do come home tired and my t-shirt is wet with sweat so my weight does impact me in that way. I never put on any weight anymore because of my job and I can eat what I like but because of this I'm not shifting any weight either.
I've tried slimming world and weight watchers before and it just depresses me. I find them too restrictive and I don't have the time or energy to cook separate things for dd and dp. For instance if I was making sausage and mash, I couldn't eat that on slimming world without counting syns.

I've made a bit of a plan. I plan what I'm going to eat in advance of a day. I will eat healthy, wholesome food and have a homemade dinner in the evening. Snacks will only consist of fruit or sugar free jelly and maybe a weekend treat of a bar of chocolate or a packet of crisps.
Takeaways are off limits.
At the moment I eat like that but add in a binge session of crisps or sweets or both. I also have a can or two of fruity cider like kopperberg which I could easily give up tbh. I'm also quite bad for drinking diet fizzy juice.
I'm fat because I binge eat. I need to stop.
I'm a worrier and worry about silly mundane things and I comfort myself by eating like a pig.
I used to be thin and attractive. I'm 27 and don't want to be massive and frumpy anymore.
So aibu to think if I just cut out the rubbish I could lose weight? Without the aid of slimming world and other diets?

Yes you can absolutely lose weight like that!

The walking you do already puts you in a good position exercise wise.

Drop the alcohol as you suggested, it's just empty calories
Takeaways aren't evil and you don't have to stop completely but limit to once every few months.
Planning food and having it ready is a fab idea when trying to lose weight.
Homemade dinner is always better when losing weight as you can control what is in it & keep the calories/portion to what you want.

Make the right food choices, and that along with the walking you already do will see the weight come off

My fitness pal is helping me, 21lbs lost so far. I eat anything I want but I just count the calories

Yes this sounds like a good plan. I would try it for a couple of weeks, if you haven't lost anything by then you might need to be a little bit more precise in counting calories, which is where something like my fitness plan can come in.
It might also be a good idea to add in a different sort of exercise as well, though walking 10 miles a day is great.
Good luck !

You are already doing great with the exercise!
Cutting the crap will work wonders.
Also watch your portion sizes. If you are cooking sausage and mash have some. Just perhaps have the same portion size you give your DD rather than matching DP.
Good luck!

I would try some form of intermittent fasting for a bit. It's really valuable in resetting our ideas of when we are hungry (ie: we often aren't really).

You can keep your family meals just pick good quality sausages, reduce amount of mash and add some veg

Honestly, I would use myfitnesspal (or something similar) to track your calories, and all of them, even the single sweet you just have as a small pick me up.
Exercise is always good to do, but dont just put it all on that, its got a lot to do with how many calories your body needs and many your putting in.

I personally browse www.reddit.com/r/loseit which is very helpful for support and advice and seeing everyone reach goals is always motivating for me.

Best of luck if you want something enough you can achieve it. (I should be paid for all this promo work XD)

I think that sounds like a great plan. If you struggle with binge eating (I do) you might find it helpful to hold yourself to account by logging it on My Fitness Pal.
It works for me when I do it properly.

I think you could do really well by cutting back. I agree, ditch the alcohol. it's adding nothing to your diet and you don't seem to be enjoying any other benefits (relaxation and social aspects) from it.

I'd track on MyfitnessPal as that will help with portion sizes and also tells you what allowance you've gained from the exercise. Contrary to what logic tells you, I'd keep in some small treats of 100-150 Kc to have when you feel you've earned it etc. Things like fudge bars or curly wurlys. A chilled curly wurly takes ages to eat and isn't calorific and takes away all your cravings for chocolate.

There is nothing wrong with sausage and mash, actually mash is quite a good filling thing with a meal as long as it's not loaded with butter and cream. Frozen stuff is good for you to keep track of how much you are having.

You just need to burn more calories than you eat but maintain a balanced diet whilst doing so.

I'm same weight as you but 5'10 - i still have at least a stone to go but getting there :)

Good luck!

Yes absolutely. My eating was just the same and I did this and in a year and a half I'd lost 6 stone. It does take time and willpower but can definitely be done. good luck!

I agree with the intermittent fasting I lost 2 stone quite quickly eating this way. I also cut carbs from my meals as much as possible, we don't need them and they turn to fat once digested which means the more carbs you ingest the less your body is working on burning the fat already stored. The lesson I learned when dropping weight was to find "my way" of eating healthily not following any specific plan other than the obvious cutting out sugar carbs and alcohol. Drink plenty of water at least 2 litres a day it flushes out the toxins and I swapped coffee for green tea! Good luck xx

Slimming world sausage and mash is virtually syn free! (Nb: i did SW 4 years ago when it was red/green days).
Quorn sausages are "free". As are potatoes. Don't go crazy on portion size. Use milk from allowance. Add extra veg. I believe there are some Sainsbury's meat sausages that are "free" too.

But cutting out the rubbish and walking a lot sounds like an excellent plan.

"So aibu to think if I just cut out the rubbish I could lose weight?"

well it depends. I am in the process of losing weight so I know how you feel.

What you have posted is vague though - you say healthy meals but don't say anything about portion size for example. Also how did you gain the weight? Was it comfort eating junk food? If it was then ditching that will definitely help of course.

I find that being on MN or candy crush or something when I'm bored (which is usually at work, we are an office loaded with cake and biscuits) is helpful but I have to be discreet about it

The most effective way to lose weight IMO is just to eat exactly the same food as you normally would, just to eat less of it, permanently.

I do agree though, that IF/5:2 is really good at demonstrating that you won't drop dead after 5 minutes of feeling hungry. Something the modern human seems to sadly have forgotten.

Maybe have a look at the Zoe Harcombe diet?
It's pretty strict for the first 5 days, but it's designed to get rid of cravings due to possible food intolerance/ sugar addiction. It really worked for me, gave my body a kick start.
I'm a low carb, high fat eater. I'm never hungry and I can have treats.
If you do start something where you are cutting out alcohol and rubbish, think about your timing. Headaches usually kick in on day 2, so maybe when you've got a couple of days off work? Or quieter days?

I would do Lchf as you will then feel full so won't fall off the agin so easily.

Sorry, I forgot to say. Whatever you decide to do in terms of food, don't look at it like a diet. Look at it like a change/ mixing things up.
Good luck with it

I have just cut down to 2 meals a day, no snacks. It's amazing - I am not hungry at all really.

If you'd told me this a month ago I would not have believed you.

I think I have lost a little weight - don't have scales but my stomach is definitely getting flatter.

I think what helped was doing an exercise video, once I was doing that every day it was much more appealing to be eating better as well. But that doesn't really apply to you as you sound like you get loads of exercise

I think it would really help you to identify times you are most at risk of binge eating and plan how you are going to get through that time. That may be leaving the house, phoning a friend, surrounding yourself with others, or with some activity that engages both body and brain.

You don't have to follow a 'plan' or 'diet' to lose weight, and often those that do go back to the weight they were once they go back to old habits.
I have lost 3 or 4 stone, and kept it off, by changing my habits. No diets, no sugar free stuff, etc. I identified what my weaknesses were and make sure I was satisfied while being reasonably healthy and filling my stomach. E.g I like to snack - instead of eating junk or anything unhealthy, I prepared stuff in advance I could eat that would satisfy my food craving but be good for me. At work I would take in a box of snacks to eat during the day - cucumber, celery, tomatoes, carrot, things I can snack on that are good for me. If I don't want to eat that - I am bored not hungry.
I also eat air popped popcorn, with salt or a bit of olive oil and herbs, or even spices such as paprika on. Other than snakes I made time to prepare food I liked that was healthy, and do my best to avoid junk.
It sounds like you have a good plan, adjust it as necessary and maintain the willpower. You can do it - good luck!

Sounds good to me OP. I lost a similar amount and kept it off for nearly a decade until I miss read MN and thought you could BF and eat the whole cake not just a slice Gimmicky diets are all well and good, but ultimately anything unsustainable for life will end up putting the weight back on. Your way you'll know how much food and will be used to it, you need to maintain your healthy weight when you get there because you are basically eating it already.

Oh, you know what else helped me, I think? Cutting way down on sugar.

I still eat fruit and pasta and that sort of thing. But I was getting through at least a chocolate a day, or more. And I was ALWAYS hungry. The sugar really messes with you.

I'd say cutting out allllll the sugary drinks, and only drinking water would really help you.

Thank you for all the helpful advise. I'm really encouraged now. I can't do any sort of fasting or cutting out carbs because of my job. I'm walking and carrying a heavy bag the whole time so I would get really unwell. I even feel it when I have a small breakfast. I need a massive breakfast and refill with healthy carbs for my other main meals. I know deep down I'm fat because I binge eat, I feel I'm in the right place now to quit it and get healthy and slim.
I also suffer from ibs and last night I was up sick during the night because I had several cans of kopperberg and a large sharing bag of crisps to myself. I felt utterly disgusted with myself. It's disgusting and greedy and totally needless.
I feel so upset and ashamed writing that.

Sugar free (artificial sweeteners) can make your body crave more food so watch out for that (everyone's different though)

Instead of fizzy juice try sparkling water with berries/citrus fruit/fresh mint leaves in it.

If you like fruity cider I'm guessing you like it for the taste not the alcohol? Have you tried kombucha? (I think it's lower-calorie, not sure though)

Best of luck :)

At the moment you are maintaining your weight despite the binges so I think if you cut those out and just reduce a small amount day to day maybe by upping the veg and slightly reducing your potatoes and meat, you will definitely lose weight.
I think the key to not bingeing is to have enough to eat so you aren't hungry, and have a very strict rule about not snack at all at the time you would normally binge. I think having a little snack is what sets off a binge. So make your meals satisfying and never snack at your danger times, maybe in the evening or whenever you normally binge. If you have favourite foods don't cut them out but have them at a time when you can limit the portion sensibly. Maybe when you are with your family or something that makes you feel more in control.