AIBU regarding my ‘diet’

[LoopyLou1981]

I need a kick up the arse! I’ve been ‘dieting’ since February. I have lost the sum total of 1lb. I have lost and found the same 4lb more times than I care to remember!
I starting to think I should be locked in a room and fed calorie controlled meals through a hatch like they do in high security prisons!
My willpower is crap. I can have a lovely healthy dinner prepared by my dh. Thoroughly enjoy it then I’m hanging out of the snack cupboard within an hour.
I feel horrible and wobbly and I’m so annoyed at myself and really want to look nice for our holiday in a September but even the thought of being mistaken for a beached whale isn’t enough to keep me on track!
Rant over...any firm (but kind-ish!) advice welcome!!

When you say dh cooks you a lovely healthy dinner what does that typically look like?

Also what are you snacking on?

Um.... I take it not keeping junky snacks in the house would be too obvious?

And why are you at the snack cupboard after an hour? Still hungry? Bored? Habit?

Get rid of the temptation (the snack cupboard!).

Are you actually hungry when you snack or is there another reason for it? E.g boredom?

Dont have snacks in the house.

I buy one pack of Asda extra special biscuits a week as a treat for DP and myself. Aside from that, if I'm peckish, I'll snack on fruit, yoghurt or veg sticks. I've just started taking fruit into work too , to stop me from snacking on the office biscuits.

Always have a bottle or glass of water to hand, and try to drink some before you snack. You might just be thirsty.

Or bored! I tend to snack when I'm bored. Make yourself busy.

Fish or seafood with salad, pasta with homemade sauces (tomato based), ‘roast’ dinners but with new potatoes...
Snacking...crisps, cheese and crackers, sandwiches (yes, I know they’re not supposed to be a snack!), ice cream 😕

Try doing low carb high fat/Keto as a diet, the fat will make you feel full and you won’t snack.

Look at the Diet doctor website for help/advice and the science behind why it works.

Boredom probably has a lot to do with it. By the time the kids are in bed all I want to do is relax on the sofa but it does give me a lot of time to think about food.

Jason Vale, juicemaster.com. And stop with the ‘snacks’.

I snack on frozen fruit. I often get the munchies at night. But I am 5&1/2 st lighter than 2 years ago and it's been a slow journey but worth it. I see it as a lifestyle change rather than a diet.

How big are your portions? How much protein are you eating? Are you consuming enough fat? How much of your eating is tied to how hungry you are vs how bored you are?

If you have accrued bad eating habits, it will take some time to break them (although theoretically only 30 days, according to science).

Most importantly, how much do you want to lose weight as opposed to how much do you think you 'should' lose weight?

If you can't really be a*sed and you're only doing it because you think you should, you'll never have the 'willpower' to do so, because your subconscious thinks it's stupid.

I think you need to eliminate the pasta and new potatoes up the protine and veg. Instead of sofa in evening aim to walk an hour whilst listening to a podcast or some thing it will give you some exercise and take you away from the snacking at home.

Second the low carb high fat. I've NEVER been able to stick to a diet before as I don't have the willpower for low cal, but I've stuck to this for 6 weeks and have lost 10lbs eating totally delicious food that keeps me really full.

I lost a stone recently fairly quickly by swapping my dinner and lunch around. I commute a fair distance so don't get home until 7. I was having a main meal at 7pm, which wasn't doing me any good. And going so long after lunch meant I had snacks in-between. So now I have a good breakfast, I have a dinner type meal at lunch time and something very light when I get home. I'm no longer hungry during the day, not bloated on a night and don't stop at the petrol station to snack.

Weight loss has slowed down now, so I am going to have to step it up a gear, but it's given me a good start and some motivation. Good luck!

Get rid of the snack cupboard.
Stop buying cheese
Find some healthy snacks
Eg
Cherry tomatoes
Waitrose chive oat biscuits
Plain oatcakes
Read the Fast Diet book. Even if you don't do the diet, it says how it's ok to feel hungry sometimes.
Have 2-3 days a week when you have 3 or 4 small healthy meals and nothing in between.
If you want eg crisps, buy a single packet once a week as a treat
Buy bread you don't like much. Heavy or dry so not tempting for sandwiches.

Loopy are you me????

I'm starting again tomorrow. My plan (the millionth one I've made this year!) is preparation:
Because our evenings are always a bit of a rush, I am going to make dinner the night before and just reheat when we get home.
Bring lunch to work and avoid the canteen
Stop buying snacks - but because feeling deprived leads me to binging on chocolate, I am going to allow myself 1 scoop of Halo ice-cream every evening.
Start Davina's 30 day fit - I like that it's for a set amount of time and hopefully I will look back in a month's time and be delighted with myself.

I have been loosing almost 1lb week using my fitness pal to log calories. By being really low cal at breakfast, soup for lunch I can still have a couple of treats a day (I try to stick to 100ish cal chocs like kit Kat or teacake)
Milky coffee/diet coke help if I feel hungry.

Not the healthiest but working on my greed first, will improve nutrition next!

Logging really helps as if I go over my planned calories it keeps counting so it stops me feeling 'oh well done it now I am going to eat xyz'

Agree with low-carb. Try the blood sugar diet.

thistleamore portion sizes aren’t too bad (probably a bit bigger than they should be), reasonable amount of protein but probably too many carbs.
I need to lose 1st to be healthy, 2st to be happy with how I look.
groovee Loving the frozen fruit idea. That really appeals to me!

I used to be the same, not having a “treat” used to fill me with dread... like I’d never have anything sweet again

I just can’t hsve that stuff in the house. It’s the only way for me.

I've just started slimming world and honestly would really recommend it, it's very easy and you can eat loads so you don't go hungry! Plus if you don't want to actually join I'm pretty sure that there are recipes available online for free. The basic principle is have as much fruit, veg and protein as you want; you can also fill up on pasta, rice and pulses just really restrict the amount of fat and sugar that you have. Lost 3 1/2 pounds in the first week!

Hi meredith501! Good luck for tomorrow!x

Agree with previous posters advocating higher protein and fat. Way fewer carbs .

I was a snacker. Then followed a diet plan from my pt. There was a lot of chicken and fish. Plenty of green leafy stuff and only small amounts of rice( wholemeal) or sweet potato.

Kept me full most of the time. No desire to snack. I had no room to put a snack!

Bin all the snacks. Don’t buy it or have it in the house.

Sit with the children but eat with your DH once they have gone to bed.

Portions. Up the protein and veg, lower the carbs.

Deffo up your protein intake, cut down on carbs, apart from slow-release forms such as wholewheat pasta/bread and brown rice.

A decent fist-sized portion of protein (lean red meat/chicken/fish/tofu), lots of leafy green veg, some 'good' fats (olive oil in a dressing or sauce, avocado etc, small amounts of dairy), Bob is a man who is directly related to your mother. :D