Don't want to 'diet'. Want a lifestyle change. How to do it?

[Hooli]

Two stone overweight. Tried everything.

Don't want to go back to Slimming World, really can't handle the obsession with Muller yoghurts and Pasta n sauce. Just done two days super low carb and wanted to kill myself.

Portion sizes are fine, I've just gained the weight slowly and steadily over two years.

What an I do to change my eating habits long term??

Easy loss virtual Gastric Band App.
Very successful for some people.
I've tried it and lost half a stone in a week.

It's all about reading the guidelines and hypnotherapy. You have to be in the right frame of mind I think.

There is a good Facebook support page that offers some really good advice and support.

If you can I would exercise as much as you can - look at videos on YouTube to help.

MyFitnessPal. Eat as usually and track honestly for a week or two, see where you're going wrong. Even if you don't track forever, at least you'll know where and why it's going tits up atm.

Eat different foods, do more activity.
2 stones isn't a lot.
I would up the salads (no or minimal dressing), a sensible amount of protein an good fats, cut out snacks, and lay off the carbs (bread, rice, pasta, pastry etc).
Eat your main meal earlier in the day and get used to being hungry.
Being hungry isn't as bad as it sounds, you get used to it and enjoy your food more.
Eat fruit on an empty stomach - starter not pudding.
Start a meal with soup or salad.
If you are very hungry in the evening, have a glass of milk or something not things like rice cakes.

Did you do low carb, but high fat? You need the fat on low carb.
Look into the keto diet on Diet Doctor website. No more cravings with way of eating.
Typical foods:
Breakfast: salmon, bacon, eggs, mushroom, haloumi, greek yoghurt, berries
Lunch/dinner: green vegetables cooked in butter or oil, salad with oily dressing, chicken, fish, meat, cream.
Lots of recipes on the MN low carb thread.

My fitness pal. Eat ‘normally’, be honest with yourself and track it all. I lost about 4st after uni and have kept it off for 8 years by tracking what I eat...don’t do it all the time now but when I know it’s creeping back, I go back to it. Eat what you like, it just had to be within your calorie budget...therefore you end up making better choices!

@whywhywhywhywhyy cross post!

I second MyFitnessPal. I got sick of Slimming world for exactly the same reason. And I was sick of the unhealthy options eg VLF. So I started to count calories and eat sensibly and healthily, mostly. I lost 3 st .

I lost 2 stone In 6 months on keto diet after having DS. I'm now a healthy weight and it's totally changed the way I eat. I'm back on a normal diet but I still avoid refined sugar completely. Means i can pretty much eat what i want (within reason) and maintain the weight i am. I feel so much healthier now.

Bear in mind, the first week is a bitch! But if you get through that it gets much easier.

When you say portion sizes are fine, this is not correct or you wouldn't have gained weight.

So you could reduce portions more and increase green vegetables to fill you up. Reduce any unhealthy snacks or treats maybe keep them to certain days such as weekends. If hungry eat something healthy but just enough to fill you up.

Increase your walking and other activities maybe use a pedometer, phone app or fitbit to help monitor.

Increase your metabolism with dynamic ashtanga yoga.

I’m fasting 2 days a week and it’s a lifestyle change.

No snacking on any day
Water
500 calories on a fast day

Eat carefully the other days

I stopped mindlessly munching in front of the telly every evening, use low cal spray oil when cooking, and do a "high intensity interval training" class once a week. I've lost nearly 1.5 stones so far.

I discovered the Louise Parker Method a few weeks ago (bought the book on Amazon) and have lost 5 pounds in 2.5 weeks. Having tried pretty much every diet going over the years I've really liked this approach as it's very positive rather than being all about deprivation and what you can't have. Basically you eat 3 x healthy, low carb meals and two snacks. You have to commit to no junk food or alcohol for six weeks (crucially, this includes weekends) and after that you follow that 80% of the time and choose which weekly treats are really 'worth it' (ie a couple of glasses of wine at the weekend might be worth it, a chocolate bar every afternoon at work really isn't). I'm only a few weeks in but can see it being pretty life changing...

OP, it took me a week to readjust to my new eating habits when I went low carbing. It’s like withdrawal syptoms, going cold turkey is hard but when you don’t give in it passes. Cravings were making me mad, managed to shed nearly 3st after my pregnancy and keep most of it off.You CAN make it happen.

I have cut out processed carbs and refined sugar. Has been a game changer. It was so hard for the first 4/5 days, but I have stopped craving sugary stuff.
I'm still eating carbs in the form of beans, pulses, grains, fruit and veg.

I have only been doing it for 10 days, I don't know how much weight I've lost as I'm not weighing myself, but my jeans are looser and I'm no longer bloated.

I'm drinking a LOT of water too.

Cut out processed food. Doing this will change your life!

Stop snacking-only eat meals. It’s fine and normal to be hungry for your next meal
Have lots of veg and less carbs.
Drink lots of water

you cant change metabolic rate, nonsense.

I used to eat what I liked because I was very active, also no time for snack s. those have changed which means my belt has tightened. so fewer cakes etc, making effort to walk further ( cant run) and think ing more about portions.

excuse spaces, crap website.

PS. I'm also doing the 16:8 diet. So only eating within an 8 hour window.

@redtulip and @donttickle - I'm really cross that I couldn't make the LCHF thing work but I think I went too hardcore. I know low carb works as I had gestational diabetes so had to cut out all refined sugar and carbs and did feel a lot better for it, and lost a stone during the last trimester.

What does a typical day look like for you both food wise??

Try to fill up on veggies and keep to only small portions of any high fat foods.

You always feel crap first week or so LCHF. You have to ride out the carb flu. Once that passed I've never felt better and now 9 months later 4.5 stone down. Do not feel the slightest bit deprived or like I'm going to put it all back on.

Cut out processed food if you want to change how you eat for life.

I had GD in my last 2 pregnancies too, so thats how I knew cutting the carbs amd refined sugar is the only way for me. I did end up on insulin because my pancreas totally gave up, so that helped I was the slimmest immediately post both births than I had been since leaving school.

Quite often I won't eat breakfast as my 8 hour eating window needs to include the family meal anywhere between 6pm and 8pm (timing depends on whether the smallest ones are eating with us).

So in that 8 hours I will have for eg (today's food) a 3 egg omelette with spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes and cheese.
An apple or satsuma.
A couple of slices of cheese.
My son cooked fajitas, so I had a portion of the chicken/onion/pepper fajita filling with 1/2 tin of chickpeas mixed in with it, salad with tomatoes, cucumber and Avocado, couple of dollops of sour cream and some jalapeños.

If I'm feeling hungry around the school run I'll have a small bowl of 1/2 raw oats 1/2 unsweetened muesli. Sometimes with a banana.

So lots and lots of food really.
Once you have got over the first 4 or 5 days saying no to stuff is easy. Yesterday was the true test as I went for tea at MIL and she bakes the most amazing cakes.
I usually can't stop when I start, but I didn't have any because I really didn't feel like it. I don't know who was more amazed, her or me!