To ask what diet worked for you

[springtimemoon]

As two years later I am still hugely overweight.

Please don't be offended if i don't rhink it is for me. I am just trying to work out what might help me as I am despairing!

I was fat, lost 2.5 stone on ww, got lovely and slim for 3 years, got married had baby and 8 years later 2.5 stone heavy again. Tried every diet going over the last 4 years. Started Jane Plan in Jan and have lost 11lbs in 4 weeks.
It is so easy (but pricey). I only eat what is sent. It's essentially portion control, low carb and limited snacks.
They key for me will be remembering this approach once I come off it. But I'm in it for the long haul. I long to be slim again, and after losing 11lbs finally have a taste of what is in my grasp (oh the irony).

I Can Make You Thin by Paul McKenna worked for me. I lost about three stone quite a few years ago now and have only put one stone back on most of the time.

The reason it worked for me is that I simply cannot stand to deprive myself. And there's none of that, you actually just eat whatever you want whenever you feel hungry. But, because of the book and listening to the cd every day your brain works slightly differently and you start to be able to stop eating when/before you are full, knowing you can eat more of whatever you want once you feel hungry again. He teaches you a kind of 1-10 scale of hungriness. So you start to think slightly differently. A lot of the problem is we unthinkingly stuff ourselves often to the point of feeling uncomfortably full, this method teaches your brain to be a bit more relaxed about the food, leave stuff on your plate, go back to it later, so you end up eating less.

It's not quite hypnosis but the cd is very relaxing to listen to, think it's about 20 mins each day, and for me it worked. The effects aren't permanent but if in the future you feel a bit 'over' you can fairly easily adopt the habits again.

I really do recommend giving this a try, especially if you're not good with diets. There is no weighing either. Only at the beginning, and afterwards I think. And the positive effects of doing the cd are not limited to weight loss it makes you feel good about yourself too.

Honestly I don't know Paul McKenna and have no reason to big him up or make him more sales!

The problem is that goal weight seems so far away, and you imagine mental torture to get there. Last May I'd had enough, you really have to reach the point of determination. 1200 cals a day and loads of walking. It's taken until now to lose four stone. It's not quick, it's not easy, but it's worth it.

I was pushing an 18 and I'm a small person. Now I'm a size ten and this way of eating has become normal to me now. I would crave junk, now I truly don't even want it. Nothing worth having comes easy.

Bottleofbeer out of interest what do you eat in a day now?

I agree with bottle - if your goal weight is far away it can seem not worth starting. What you have to remember is that as soon as you do start, you will look and feel better each week. Being 4 stone overweight is better than being 5 stone overweight. Being 3 stone overweight is better than being 4 stone overweight. Your clothes will become looser; soon you'll start to need a smaller size, you will feel lighter and more comfortable long before you are near target.

SW worked for me.
But you've got to be honest with yourself on why you eat the foods that you do. And you have to make yourself not buy them. That's the hardest part. I stopped by changing the route in which I shopped in the supermarket so that I got to the fruit and veg aisle first. I also changed what I did in the evening's. Instead of watching tv and eating on the same spot on the sofa I switched to the chair and taught myself to crochet. Changing habits and routines around the bad food helped conquer them.

@happy2bhomely that’s amazing! A stone in a month! That’s it I’m doing 5:2 from this week!!

Cherrycokewinning

I found the first 2 fast days really difficult. I think I didn't drink enough water. After that, it has got much easier and I actually look forward to the fast days because I try and get creative with getting the most bang for my buck, calorie wise. I have never eaten so many vegetables!

I have a huge appetite normally. Disgustingly huge and greedy. DH and I would go to McDonald's and get a meal each, a double cheeseburger on the side, and a share box of nuggets between us. I would then wish I had ordered an apple pie too because I was still 'hungry.' I mean, we would only do it once every 6-8 weeks, but still. I'm sharing this to demonstrate that I am not someone who would say, oh no, I couldn't possibly manage a second slice of pizza! Or, oh those rice cakes have really hit the spot! It's a wonder that I wasn't more than 3 stone overweight.

DH has also lost a stone. He only needed to lose the one, so he is very pleased. He has lost 3 inches from his belly!

I saw my mum last week for the first time in 2 weeks and she said she couldn't believe the difference in how I looked. She has also lost 6lbs in almost 3 weeks on this diet.

I have 1500-1700 calories 5 days a week (depending on appetite) then 400-600 on the fast days.

Happytobehomely that's me and dh, McDonald's meal then a share box of nuggets!

Somehow I'm not that overweight but there's always a stone I'd like to shift to feel happy and comfortable.

I can get rid of it fairly easily but it always creeps back on because I'm a lazy greedy guts.

What do you eat on your fast days?

5:2 for me too, nothing comes remotely close to this way of life.

I’ve done slimming world, Cambridge and lost good amounts between 2-4 stone each time and then regained it all plus some.

5:2 is amazing as your not constantly thinking about food as it’s just 2 days per week. Yes it’s hard at first but whole hartedly agree with Happys post Re getting as much “bang for your buck as possible” I use this saying too as it’s almost a competition with myself each fast day on how much further I can make my meal go,

It’s not just the weight loss, the inch loss is like nothing I’ve ever experienced on any other diet also the health benefits are well worth it.

I used to eat masses and masses of food and I completely see now why I was overweight. I could eat most grown men under the table. But the small changes have made a massive difference in just how much or how how little I can eat.

I struggle on the 5:2 for weight loss. Be said apparently you’re supposed to be normal on the off days. And if you struggle with normal then you’re a bit buggered

Because!

I have a really big problem with restricting then binging. I'm not overweight but I am about half a stone heavier than where I feel my best. I've just started reading about Intuitive eating, which is pretty much like the Paul mckenna stuff that FantasticButtocks mentioned. Basically you tune into your body and it's signals and because no food is off limits, you don't feel deprived.

Cambridge. I lost 2 stone in 2 months and another stone and a half a few months later when i went back on it. I've kept it off and have been walking a few miles every day. if i wasn't walking and didn't change m diet, i would have gained it. Definitely recommend it but you must be strong willed and committed.

What do you eat on your fast days?

I start the day with a black coffee at 7 then another one at 9. Then at 11 I have a green tea. I try to go as long as possible before I eat anything. Then I might have a huge bowl of baby spinach leaves with balsamic vinegar, red onion and some olives. I find strong flavours really help satisfy me.

Then I will have another tea at about 3. I find it easier to drink lots of green tea than water. I sometimes slice a cucumber and sprinkle with Maldon sea salt and vinegar If I want to snack.

For dinner, we have a carefully measured dinner of salmon/chicken and different veg using lots of seasoning. I make sure everything is really really tasty.

Sometimes I wake up hungry so I'll have an egg on toast or with asparagus and then a big leafy salad at dinner instead.

I log everything I eat on fitbit. On non-fast days I try not to eat until after Noon. I like to save my calories up and have 2 bigger meals. I insist on having a treat every single day. So a bit of chocolate or a chunk (28g) of cheese on a cracker in the evening.

Even if I hadn't lost weight I would keep doing this. My skin looks great and I feel bouncy! I'm excited about the warmer weather coming instead of dreading it and worrying about how I'm going to camouflage myself.

Everything tastes wonderful too. I savour cheese rather than guiltily shove it in, thinking if I do it fast enough it doesn't count! After a day of fasting, a piece of salmon tastes unbelievably good. My appetite has decreased and I am craving healthier food.

For me, slimming world was good in the past, but I got sick of the restrictions. More recently, MyFitnessPal has made a huge difference and I'm practically within my BMI.

Agree new routines. I took up knitting again, in the winter anyway.

Calorie counting with a 1200 limit I don't restrict food groups I just try to make sure I don't go over this amount and it works .im back on it and lost 5lbs in a fortnight

Low carb. I'm not really sold on the theory about ketosis blah blah blah but cutting out starchy carbs and replacing with non-starchy vegetables has worked for me. I'm the lightest I've been in nearly 20 years. I think ultimately it comes down to calories in versus calories out, but this way of achieving that works for me.

A typical day for me would be 50g porridge or muesli with a banana or other fruit.

Lunch of soup or salad with some protein or tinned sardines or hummus and whole meal toast with tomatoes. Or eggs with veg in some way.

Typical dinners- chicken or fish or pulses - lowish on fat (health reasons) and with heaps of veg. Maybe w/m rice or similar.

Cashew nut milk in coffee

Quart or yogurt for pudding if required, with a variety of flavourings (cocoa powder, fruit, nuts, stem ginger). Or fruit.

I don't usually exceed 13-1400 calories, and 1200 in the past when I was really going for it.

However my calorie count is related to my height and weight and activity level, and everyone's should be different. There are lots of calculators online for this.

I wrote this on a similar post not long ago so excuse me for the cut and paste!

I’ve done every diet under the sun.
One day I decided that instead of dieting I was going to ‘eat well’. I went Vegan at first as it meant I had to really carefully plan and cook from scratch and couldn’t just pick up convenience food with ease then after a month I continued the same principles but I do eat all food sources.
I ensure I have a good breakfast usually porridge. Hearty home made soups for lunch which I pack full of veg, lentils, beans so it’s like a stew and then healthy cooked from scratch meals just doing th usually swaps that make meals healthy i.e no refined carbs, lean meats, use carrot instead of mash on shepherds pies. I have no processed foods. Snack on hummus and peanut butter with crudités and dark chocolate. I drink only water but always did really.
I never feel hungry and feel I eat tasty food and don’t restrict myself if we go out or on holiday.
I also make sure I walk everywhere as much as possible and I have an active job. But don’t go to a gym or anything.
Since doing this I’ve lost 14 stone in 18 months and feel amazing. I have 3 stone left to loose and it is coming off slower now but I don’t care I am happy and healthy and know I have changed to a lifestyle that I can sustain forever.
Diets don’t work. It has to be a lifestyle change.
But I did a lot of psychological work before hand. A lot of CBT based exercises and thought/mood/food diaries to make the links between why I ate so badly and so much. This was vital!
It is so hard to get into the zone but my god being 27 stone was so much harder!!!
So much luck to you.

@angelikacpickles

I'm not really sold on the theory about ketosis

Why?! There's plenty of science about this, so it's not really a matter of believing in it. That said, you don't have to be in ketosis to lose weight. As long as you cut your carbs down significantly, then you will encourage your body to burn its fat for fuel, rather than using carbs.

beardedlobster 14 stone in 18 months is amazing. Well done.

Well done Bearded. You should become a guru . I like the vegan for a month idea, truly inspired.

Bold fail - Bearded