To need a diet that works

[Dietfailure]

Just to warn you, this will not be easy. I've tried and failed at just about everything, I can't cook, I dislike a lot of foods and I think I have a bit of a weird thing where once I eat something I struggle to stop.

Historically I've done best on meal replacement plans.

Help!?

We need more info on your cooking skills.

What can you actually cook?

Could you do one of those ones where you just get food delivered to your door (I mean, not a kebab or anything ) There are ones where they give you the ingredients and you just assemble them, so a good way to start cooking. I'm guessing they aren't cheap though.

Falling off the wagon may be your problem, that is a mental issue, if you have a huge takeaway tonight, that is a blip not a fail, not a I'll start again Monday thing. You continue the diet in the next hour. For what it is worth, I lost a pile of weight i.e 2 stone on the grapefruit diet and kept it off, but it is hard and very rigid.

You don't sound like you're in the right frame of mind to achieve what you want to achieve. You need to be very honest with yourself about the real barriers that are holding you back. Not being able to cook is an excuse not a barrier. You could change it if you really wanted to.
Until you can figure out the real reasons and a plan to address them you won't succeed.

Keto or at the very least low carb. Cures you of the 'once you start' thing cos it really restricts your appetite after the first few days.
Also it's very unforgiving to occasional cheating so it's the only thing I can stay on track with.

Eat less food, do more exercise. Diets don't work.

@punishmepunisher Eat less food, do more exercise. Diets don't work.

Sorry but they do.

Yes yabu. As long as whatever you're eating has a lower calorific value than the energy you're using in a day... You will lose weight.

This will sound harsh, but the problem isn't the diets, it's you.

Eat less. Move more. If you can't do that and you need a set of rules.. fine. Pick one, but you have to stick to it. There's no magical diet that will suddenly zap calories and fat away.

I empathise OP. I also struggle.

Currently following a VLCD, but intend to slowly reintroduce food and track calories when I'm at my goal weight.

I have no magic answer. Losing weight is hard, but you're not alone.

I would highly recommend reading the book 'Bright Line Eating' ... I've tried every diet out there.. reading this book alone has made a huge difference ... I wish I found it years ago ... it would've saved me a mint! I've lost my cravings ... I don't obsess about food... plus it's easy to follow!

Avoid meal replacement-as others have said, they don't work long term.

Your problem might be your attitude. Your post seems a little bit " I can't; I don't ".

Make a commitment to yourself. Perhaps if you start by learning to cook a few healthy meals for now, then add more each week. Decide to face your food fads too, if you can bear it. Only you can change the future, and it's well known that home cooked food with plenty and varied veg and fruit, and much much less sugar is the key. This is important as it helps enormously, whatever diet plan you use.

If the meal replacement approach works for you, then find low calorie meals, that you like, that total, say,1200 calories a day and meet nutritional needs. Stick rigidly to a routine of those foods- as you would stick to meal replacements. They can be ready meals( needs must) as they do the portion control for you and dispense with the need for will power.
2 eggs for breakfast- (with no toast, about 140 cals). If you have to, add in a slice of whole meal and smallest portion of butter but that will almost double your calories.

Soulful Sri lankan cauliflower curry 258 cals- v tasty and filling
Weightwatchers chicken lasagna ( needs salt!!!) 328 cals
Weightwatchers cottage pie (needs Worcester sauce) 313 cals
Plus giant portion of veg, with WW meals
New Covent Garden skinny chicken and chickpea Tagine 228 cals- add an extra bit of shredded chicken
Or just small chicken breast and giant portion of veg
Salmon and giant portion of veg!! etc etc
If you need a sweet fix:
Low calorie yoghurts eg Danone 0% 68 cals
Those low cal pots of jelly 5-10 cals
I'm not a fan of sweeteners but, again, needs must.
(My 'treats' are milky coffees. Can't seem to give them up. 80 cals a time for a small mug...)

Find some things that you like and just eat the same few things. Think of it as the habit of a meal replacement regime- but with food that will fill you up.
I've lost over 3 stone this way.

Hi OP

No one naturally knows how to cook, every good cook has learnt and had lots of disasters along the way! Could you try and learn? Or is the issue you just don't enjoy it? If your eating issue is snacks it might not help much but if it's takeaways it might help as the more you cook the easier it is to do healthy versions of takeaways etc so you still feel like you're having a treat

Have you ever spoken to any kind of therapists about your issues with food? They might be able to help from a different angle.

The thing is diets only work in the short term, they are generally too restrictive for anyone to stick to forever so you do need to change your lifestyle and how you think about food to keep it off

Huel or Joylent are formulated to have all the nutrients you need along with fibre. I used them as a replacement for lunch when I used to swim at lunch time & didn’t have time to eat. I used to add cold black coffee instead of water as I liked the taste then

OP I think you're me.

I am exactly the same, so can't offer any suggestions. However I agree with the PP saying diets make you fat. I curse the day I started dieting, when I clearly didn't need too. I clearly do now though

I had a lot to lose weight wise. For me I needed to eliminate the word diet. For me it really was a full life style change. Completely overhauling the way I eat and changing my ways. I'm just 4 days off 11 months of maintaining my weight loss at the moment.

I've learned how to cook and make things tasty. I actually enjoy my own cooking now. I barely eat a take away and rarely have any ready made food, unless it's by someone else.

Only you can lose weight and maintain it. No one can do it for you.

Most diets work. It's people not sticking to them that is the problem.

Have you tried exercising op? Weight loss is mostly about diet but I find I'm SO much more likely to stick to a diet if I've done some exercise, even just 20 minutes. I log it in my fitness Pal and can't help but think "oh actually I don't want to eat X because it will undo the hard with I've just done" so I eat much better as a result.

There is no such thing as can't cook. There is such a thing as "won't learn" or disliking cooking.

And op, everyone can cook. I never understand when people say they can't cook. Why can't you? Just Google a recipe and follow.

I don't have a natural flair for cooking but most people can follow a recipe.

I could have written this post 9 months ago. I would lose loads of weight on an all or nothing diet (like meal replacement or low carb) and then start a binging cycle again and put it all back on. This pattern went on for years and years - my weight fluctuated so much. I had to keep size 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20 clothes depending on how my diet was going. And then I suddenly developed an allergy to milk and eggs. It was scary and made me very ill and the doctor said it was likely because I had abused the protein shakes for being on them for so long my body had just had enough! I was lost at first. I didn’t know how to eat normally or how to control my weight. So initially I went back on a binge and started putting on loads of weight again. But then I started the Couch to 5k running programme and started to feel better in myself. I found a new smoothie I could have for breakfast which included fresh fruit and almond milk or soya milk (and I hadn’t had fruit for years as I wasn’t allowed it on my old diets). I started walking to work a few days a week (which is 8k) and basically pretty much adopted a vegan diet with some chicken or fish (ie no dairy or eggs). This has turned into a healthy way of life for me now. I eat what I feel like - but most of the things I used to binge on I can’t have anymore like cakes, biscuits and ice cream. I have found dairy free alternatives to those things but I have to seek them out to buy them and deliberately don’t bother as I have found I don’t crave them anymore. I eat lots of Asian food like Thai and stir fries and I exercise every day (at least 10,000 steps). The best thing is, I know my weight is my weight now and after years of worrying about getting fat or binging I am just me finally. I have reached a weight that suits me at around a 12-14 and I am toned and above all happy. So my advice is up the exercise as much as you can and try out a vegan diet if you can. Or at least a healthy one with some carbs and knock the diet meal replacements on the head as they are destructive in the end. Good luck

Keto kills the urge to eat, then Intermittent fasting. No fancy meals or counting calories. Just a lot of eggs and roasted meat with green veg. It's the only thing that has ever worked for me. Three years now with the occasional slip up on holiday or Xmas but then its relatively easy to get back on as I now get horribly bloated if I eat sugar or wheat now so cheating isn't as much fun as it was. Reddit has a really supportive forum if you want to find out from real experts.

Exercise and release happy hormones
Restricting foods makes you miserable

I agree with a pp in that pick a set of staples eg eggs for breakfast / chicken salad for lunch and stick to them.

I am so bad at stopping eating. Honestly I wonder at myself sometimes. At the moment I am doing a mixture of WW a d calorie counting but also trying to be more mindful. Not only of enjoying my food when I'm eating it but that I don't have to eat this thing or that thing today. I can have it tomorrow. Its hard. I fail a fair bit but I keep trying most diets will work if you stick at them. Its the sticking that's so damn hard

Have you tried 5:2? I can cope with that as it's only dieting 2 days a week!