To rant about dieting

[Champagneandthestars]

I've just lost 3 stone over 4 months and I'm so so so so sick of dieting! It's one step forward 2 back, if I even eat one OTT (normal) meal I put on 2 lb and have to eat 800 cals a day for a week just to get rid. I have boobs and hips and I love food! I'm the person who turns up to a picnic with enough to feed an army, cheesecakes serve 4 not 8. I know how to diet, I'm just so tired of watching everything that goes in my mouth to both lose and maintain. I watch people thoughtlessly eating crisps and cakes with blind envy. I hate healthy food and just want to eat crap! Sorry for the rant, needed to get that off my chest.

As you were.

Diets don't work. Scientifically proven for years now. And that includes the "lifestyle" changes ones. There isn't a single "slimmer of the year" from any of the big diets that has kept the weight off after 5 years.

www.ted.com/talks/sandra_aamodt_why_dieting_doesn_t_usually_work/up-next

Watch that. She's a neurologist. She has studied this. Her book is also very good.

The more we diet, the more difficult it becomes to diet. Because of changes to our set point and our resistance to lupin (which helps control appetite) and metabolism and the hypothalamus.

No diets work forever. Not low carb, slimming world, weight watchers, 5:2,calorie counting etc.

LadyGrotto does she say what does work for people?

Giving up dieting and eating mindfully. Your brain will always work to return you to your set point. Trying to get below that will never work.

The absolutely only thing that works is eating less calories than your burning off. You can eat anything you like as long as you follow that principle. The deficit should not be huge however, or as PP said your body will cling onto the fat as it will think that it is being starved making it harder to lose weight. Just a deficit of 300kcal should suffice.

@jeanlou1se nope, that is dieting. Dieting changes your metabolism so you'd have to eat less and less, which will make your brain work harder to return to your set point.

The problem is continuously dieting changes the amount you need to cut back by.

Eat less, move more doesn't work because dieting has long term effects on the. Body. Loads of other things like cortisol levels, genetic factors.

I don't struggle with my weight but do have a general interest in the subject due to the obvious effect that obesity is having, especially on children.

I watched a crappy show about "the secrets of slim people" or something and in that they deduced that slim people ate "mindfully" as you say ^Grotto*....they showed a woman eating cheese on toast at about 11.00 and she sat at the table with a plate....then didn't eat lunch.

They said that an overweight person would see the cheese on toast as a snack, possibly eat it on the sofa and then still eat lunch...

Tufted what are the differences between eating mindfully and dieting?

Bored of this thread now with all the preachy diet fuckers. I am 5'7" and a size 10/12. I have maintained this for years (10ish) with only 2 pregnancies making me put weight on. I have half/a stone left to lose to be 'slim' my baby is 6 months old so not doing too badly Thankyou very much.
Where have I asked for diet advice? I said this was a rant about having to watch everything I eat and being bored of that fact, surrounded by tasty, calorie laden food I can eat but will regret in the morning.
People who eat without thinking (my DH before he turned 35!) make me jealous, they always will. I was simply bemoaning the headspace I have to concede to it all on a daily basis for literally the rest of my life.

That's the problem with MN, OP – the minute you say you're fed up with dieting, you're bombarded with advice telling you how to diet, like you've somehow been doing it wrong all these years .

Eat when you are hungry, have at least the recommended fruit and veg. Nothing is banned.

Eat cheese on toast at 11 if you are hungry. Then don't eat again until you are actually hungry.

I'm overweight to be clear, I often eat some toast with peanut butter at 11ish and then don't have lunch until 2/3 because I'm not hungry at lunchtime. If I was I'd eat something again.

She says she noticed after a while that if one day she ate a lot (hungry, party, special occasion) she would naturally eat less the next day or two.

It's about listening to your body. Don't eat when you aren't hungry and only eat until you are full.

I agree with what your saying Tufted but surely mindful eating is your body naturally learning how to eat less?
Or is it just that when you aim to eat less, your automatically thinking that your on a diet? Which leads to the problems that you mentioned about how your dodgy reacts to dieting.

Tufted If I ate when I was hungry I'd eat most of the time.

But seriously, it's not just about eating mindfully, is it. I could only eat when I was hungry BUT then I might have two slices of toast with Nutella, a packet of salt and vinegar hula hoops, a jam tart, a wedge of cheese, some crackers and a dollop of chutney.

Followed by a full size pizza, coleslaw and a spoon or two of Ben & Jerry's a few hours later.

Etc.

"Hungry" is also a moving target. When whatever you normally eat has resulted in weight gain or being overweight, you will feel hungry not only by moving to smaller portions but also you will still be craving the fat/sugar/salt combinations not often found in healthier foods but very often found in junk or processed foods. So you could "fill up' on vegetable soup all you like but the hunger for a certain food (looking at you, pepperoni pizza) will not go away. Then you have to exercise willpower or else give into it, have it and bingo you put on weight or at least don't lose weight when you're trying.

And I'm the same stats as champagne but if I gave into my "hunger" (for junk foods) I would be overweight, as I have been in the past. I eat healthily, I currently have treats and crisps in for the DCs in the cupboards, there's a pizza in the fridge, there's a cupboard full of Easter eggs waiting for the DCs and various family members which I could easily replace tomorrow without them ever knowing the original eggs had been and gone, there's some lovely fresh bread in the bread bin but do I eat it? No. I could eat it and I'd like to eat it but I don't eat it because I don't want to put weight on. I can also eat only one or two biscuits in a packet and leave the rest until next week because I'm mindful of what I eat but it's not what I want to do. I want to eat that stuff and still be slim but it's not possible (in any significant quantity, maybe a square of chocolate here and there but not a whole Easter egg for example).

Oh my god this is my thread. I don’t like healthy meals. I know that’s awful to say but I’d rather just be hungry. Low carb has been suggested to me so many times but it would literally ban all the food I like. I’d rather eat tiny amounts of food I do like than loads of healthy stuff. I KNOW I’m ridiculous.

I’m the same with exercise. I’m active and walk my dogs a long way but I’d much rather just be hungry than go the gym cause I hate it.

I’m also a teacher. I skip breakfast, have an apple for break, low cal cereal (weetabix or shredded wheat) for lunch and then try to make it through until tea time when I eat a normal meal. This lets me lost like 2lbs a week but if I have one bad day or I let myself off at the weekend I will gain.

What I have learnt to do is if I know I’m going to eat something rubbish I skip the meal. So instead of eating tea then a massive choc bar I just eat the choc bar. I know this is awful and don’t need to be told but it saves the calories.

I know my problem so not looking for advice, just want to moan about it. You are baolutely spot on that healthy food is minging.

Yes but your body needs the calories AND the nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Healthy food isn't minging - it's normal food! Healthy food doesn't just mean salad and faddy stuff. It means meat, fish, eggs, potatoes, veg, fruit. Normal food.

Bounty and 2 packets of bacon crisps for lunch.
Massive bowl of crunchy nut cornflakes with double cream at some point

2 spoons of cauliflower cheese for tea
I am a bit hungry now, but won’t eat till tomorrow
this is a fairly average day

Ha ha skeletons healthy food is minging! So true in the most part! Or at least, any healthy food worth its salt that's not minging will be stuffed full of calories and/or fat (goats cheese salad with garlic croutons and a balsamic glaze at 475 calories, yes please but make it a double portion or it's not worth having). Oops I ate nearly 1000 calories for one salad. That's like, a tin of Pringles. I'll take the Pringles thanks.

I want healthy food AND junk food whenever I feel like it without having to mindfully limit on the basis of vanity.

I started Keto a month ago, and I'm honestly loving it. I am currently very overweight (BMI of 49) and it's been really easy for me. Its just low carb, so have your burger and cheese, just without the bun! Have your steak, but with steamed vegetables instead of chips.
I haven't skipped a day and lost over a stone with very little exercise. (I have two disabled children and I'm a Fibro sufferer, so exercise is hard to come by!)

Its a lifestyle change rather than a diet. I'm tracking my choices in My Fitness Pal, I have urine strips to make sure I'm staying in ketotis (burning fat stores instead of carb) and a few fudge caramel Atkins bars for when the chocolate cravings hit.

Google it! There's a huge community on Instagram that's really helped me!

I quite like salad.
don’t really like fruit except tinned peaches with cream or maybe a few blueberries in top of a cheesecake.

Eolian yes I know that and I do eat healthy food blah blah - but it doesn't stop junk food tasting nice, does it?

And if you are eating a balanced healthy food to the value of your calorie intake for the day that leaves no room for junk unless you are a) prepared to put some pounds on or b) ditch the healthy food so you can have the junk.

YOU cannae have both and still expect to be slim!

^^ (odd pop-up YOU there!)

But yes i would take the pringles hopefully with sour cream dip over the goats cheese every time

That's the problem with MN, OP – the minute you say you're fed up with dieting, you're bombarded with advice telling you how to diet, like you've somehow been doing it wrong all these years

Ditto if you say you do eat healthily, but you’re still overweight or heavier than you’d like.. Someone will say that you probably not eating healthily really. Like they can see what you eat. Like you don’t know what healthy eating is.

Eolian I don’t think people get that I could honestly give or take normal food. If someone said eat fish and veg I’d honestly rather eat nothing. I know this is ridiculous, I just can’t really help what I like.

I do eat normal food. I eat potatoes and meat and veg. But I don’t enjoy any of it. I don’t touch salads at all cause they’re horrible and I’d rather starve. I’m the child that just went to bed hungry if the option was something I didn’t like. It’s one thing I really wish I could change - Id love to eat a wide and varied diet.