To think I am going to have to be on a perma-diet for the rest of my life.

[NorthernGravy]

This is meant to be light hearted! And a bit of a whinge.

I have always struggled with my weight. I lost 3 stone a couple of years ago, and unsurprisingly I have slowly put 2 stone back on and now weigh 13 and a half stone. I am bloody miserable, and have been burying my head in the sand pretending that it hasn’t happened and wearing fewer of my clothes. I love food, I know my portions are too big and its a basic issue of I eat more calories than I use up. I am all in favour of body positivity and loving the skin you are in, and it being society’s issue not mine, but I hate it.

Anyway I had a recent doctors appointment and it has made me wake up and realise how much I have put on. When I lost my weight I used my fitness pal and tracked everything, going for about 1400 calories a day, so have gone back to doing that, as it does work. And I am bloody starving half the time. I make sure I eat a good balance of protein and slow release carbs etc but I am hungry.

Is this what the rest of my life is going to be like now I am 40? Am I just going to have to get used to being slightly hungry all the time? Because I am fucking miserable. I just think that if I don’t track my calories for the rest of my life then I am going to forever going to yo-yo. I need to get used to being slightly hungry. I also think its a dreadful example to set to your kids to forever weigh your portion sizes. But I also think my weight going up and down is a dreadful example too.

Everyone should be on a permanent diet, or at least consider what they eat.

If I didn't I'd be a massive fatty, so I'm used to it. Still eat too much on occasion though!

Up your exercise.
If you burn more you can consume more to keep the weight still? After the initial diet to lose the extra

If portion sizes are your main hurdle and weighing all your food gets you down, which I totally understand, I would get smaller plates. They really do help with controlling portion sizes. I would also make sure you're drinking plenty of water. Dehydration is more common as we get older and it can also fool us into thinking we're hungry when we're actually just thirsty.

Yep, me too. I currently lose weight at 1500 calories (as I'm 3 stone overweight). I've lost 30 pounds so far at almost half a pound a week. Obviously that's taken me almost a year.

Yesterday I ate a sandwich and a salad (a big one) and had two needed gin and slimline tonics - and there's 1500 calories

At weekends I eat 2000 calories - cake or chips .

I'm really active now too - 500 active minutes a week. 2 gym sessions (weights), 1 yoga, 2 aqua aerobics. Plus an 8 mile walk on a Saturday.

I think there's a difference between being on a diet (massively restricting calories and/or food groups) and eating sensibly. You are currently trying to lose weight so are restricting your intake. Once you have lost that weight, you can choose a calorie intake that will maintain that weight loss but give you a bit more freedom. You recognise that you overeat and this is a way of balancing your consumption - it sounds a very good plan. I also use MFP because it's really easy to drift into eating far more than you need to and it helps me keep an eye on what areas I need to focus on (iron and fibre ). I view it as a really handy tool rather than a ball and chain.

I’m afraid we do need to think about we eat. I’m overweight, so I’m not trying to be one of those pious lean people who think nothing tastes as good as thin feels.
BUT it’s really easy to fall into habits of eating way more than we need. Proper calorie counting becomes quite a chore after a while (has been successful in the past for me too), so I’ve been trying to change my habits. I’ve started: apple plus Greek yoghurt for breakfast; lowish carb lunch, small plate at dinner time (I live with DH and teenage son who both eat a lot more than I need to). Avoid pudding on week nights. Avoid alcohol on weekdays. Savour what I’m eating (eat whatever but eat it slowly and enjoy it).
So far have lots 8lbs.

Yep pretty much.
I have a huge appetite too and nothing has ever changed that (yes I've done low carb) I have to consciously eat less than I want or I get fat. If I stop thinking about it for a couple of weeks then a few lbs will have piled on. I have accepted that I have to be either hungry forever or fat.

I have finally found a way that works for me though, 4 days a week I do OMAD and the rest of time I eat what I want. I got down to a healthy weight that way and am maintaining it. I've found that being hungry sometimes is a lot easier than being hungry all the time, which is what happens if I eat in a more traditional restricted calorie way. Plus I don't have the dedication to count calories forever.

Yeah, and?

Permadiet isn't a bad thing. And showing restraint and making good choices is an excellent example for the children.

With time you'll realise that 'yummy' greasy sugary food is actually quite disgusting anyway.

Like sausage rolls. Used to love them to death. I had a bite of one the other day and it was just... gross. Disgusting, greasy, and gross.

I don't know how tall you are, or your build, but some people are meant to be heftier than others, to an extent that doesn't necessarily look fashionable. I am always at least slightly hungry and very often ravenous to distraction when I am at a weight that I am happy with. I've lived for years under performing to my potential and drifting in and out of clinical depression because I was FUCKING HUNGRY and I'm not doing it any more.

I am 48, size 12 / 14 (which is pretty stocky looking at my height, 5'4") and I eat at leawt three meals a day (maybe 4), including food groups (yes fat! yes, carbs!), and usually either a bottle or a bottle and a half of wine a week. I don't eat sweet things because I don't like them, but if I feel like I need it, I will eat two breakfasts (one at home before 7 and another around 10.30 because fuck it the morning is long and I am busy and need my strength). If I feel like cheese and biscuits at 10.30pm because I am genuinely hungry, I will eat them. At lunch time at the weekends, I will put food on my plate until I stop being hungry and I will be busy and active all afternoon without getting head rushes and leg wobbles. I WISH I had done this years ago.

I have a big bum, HUGE bust and stocky legs. I weigh a lot. I just don't fucking care.

Maybe you are the right size?

I’ve tried to make fitting in calories for myself easier. I always thought how the fuck will I fit 3 meals into 1200 calories. So I now skip breakfast because I hate eating in the morning. I’ve lost nearly 2 stone since June. I don’t feel deprived. I don’t even get hungry until about 11-12 anyway. It seems to be working for me. I have had the odd day off when it’s impossible to count (such as eating out) but I try to pick something that isn’t massively bad - I won’t go as far as salad but something with meat and veg or salad and no chips because I don’t like chips anyway! It probably is sustainable in the long term in that really I am still eating what I like, just not having breakfast

This is why there's running

I've read that once you have the extra fat cells from previously being over weight it's always going to be easy to get over weight again- not sure if that's true.

I'm hoping once I've lost the weight - more exercise and 5:2 and being aware and acting quickly if I do put some on likely with christmas and holiday will mean I can be less having to be on the ball all the time.

I have found that I've had to commit to a healthy and active lifestyle. I put on a lot of weight in my late teens and early 20s just not looking after myself and I start to back slide if I dont stay committed.

Cut out the carbs if you can- they may be slow release, but they may also make you hungry. Go for protein and healthy fat in preference to carbs.

If I have a cooked breakfast without toast, I stay full longer than after the same breakfast with toast.

Basically yes. I think we’ve all lost track of the fact that being hungry at times, is fine and normal. We don’t have to have permanent satiation. But getting back into that mindset is hard!

If you want to maintain a relatively low weight then yes, you do need to find a way of eating healthy you can maintain for the rest of your life.

But that does not mean you have to be permanently hungry. I lost weight when I stopped focusing on depriving myself and started focusing on nourishing myself - are you eating enough of the right things? 8-10 portions of fruit and veg a day (mostly veg) plus a balance of sufficient healthy protein, carbs and fats and you shouldn't feel hungry.

And as others have said once you've reached your target weight you can increase the amount you eat a bit anyway.

Stop thinking in terms of 'diet'

Think lifestyle change

You're probably eating too many carbs and not enough fat. Limit carbs like bread, pasta, rice and potatoes but ensure you're getting your carbs from vegetables, salad and (some) fruit, as well as a moderate amount of legumes/pulses.

Too much carbohydrate is what leads to high, then low, blood sugar as it causes your body to release insulin to sweep the glucose into your blood stream. The drop in blood sugar is what causes you to feel hungry. (It's a bit more complicated than that, but that's the general gist!)

Fat and protein are your friend, as they will keep you fuller for longer, as well as keeping your blood sugar levels more even.

I have health problems (hence the doctors appointments) so low carb/ high protein are not out.

As an example yesterday I ate:
Breakfast- apple, greek yogurt and 25g of unsweetened muesli.
Lunch- One of those veggie Bol microwave pots that has lentils and beans in
Dinner- Cod in a tomato sauce, mange tout and some rice
Snacks were some melon, 2 clementines and some more yogurt , plus and a pack of pombears (who knew they only weighed 13g!). In total with milk in tea/ coffee that came to 1400 calories and about 6-7 portions of veg (I think those microwave pots say they are 2 or 3).

I can not skip breakfast at all, I feel dizzy and sick without it. I never eat toast for breakfast either.

I am not somebody who has put on weight eating chocolate bars, packets of crisps and secret Greggs. I always eat a good amount of fruit and veg. My weight comes on thanks to my meals being too large- portion control is crap and I like butter and cheese.

I've found the same and I'm not even 30 yet.

If I eat comfortably (only when I'm hungry and only until I'm not hungry anymore) my weight is totally stable within a pound or two. Unfortunately it's stable at three stone over healthy.

If I eat enough to stay at a healthy weight, I am just always a bit hungry. It's crap.

I have decided that at the moment I am just going to stay fat. Because for me it's a choice between always fat or always hungry and I know which one is more uncomfortable for me.

Can you do exercise with your health problems?

Weight training builds muscle which is more 'expensive' to maintain than fat, so you use up more calories just existing. It's also probably, like, good for you anyway, osteoporosis and...stuff... but you can eat more!

Are you bored? Easier to feel hungry if you’re sitting around the place of an evening. I find it easier to stick to 1200 when I am having busy days with no time to really feel hungry. If I’ve got a slack day, it’s far harder!

I echo a PP who said she’d rather be hungry some of the time than all the time. That’s why I fast. I find it way easier to say to myself “you can’t have that NOW” than “you can’t have that ANYMORE”. It doesn’t have to be breakfast you miss (although that’s what I chose- felt dreadful for the first few days, fine since). It can be dinner if that feels better.
But I totally understand what you’re saying. In my early 40s, I now eat less and run loads (for me) and I think i’ll have to do this forever, or be fat. It’s an uncomfortable realisation.

I've never really paid much attention to calorie counting I do a lot of exercise and burnt calories. Now I'm in menopause I've reduced the amount I eat quite considerably to maintain my weight. I stopped running and now cycle and do a lot of vinyassa yoga.

I can basically only eat 2 meals a day.
I've lost 10 lbs since the beginning of July and it's excruciatingly slow going but at least it's going in the right direction.

Ive found the 12:8 fast to work but it's a struggle fitting this around my working day.

Being hungry is not a bad thing but it's not easy.