To give you my biggest tip on losing/maintaining a slim weight?

[Dooleydally]

Prepared to be flamed for this because of waste.

Basically I don’t eat everything on my plate. Sometimes I do but a lot of the time I don’t.

I do care about wasting food but then I think about the masses of waste that goes on in farming, factories, supermarkets etc.

And if you think about how much money is spent on the dieting industry, it seems to be a paradox in terms of expense/waste.

@NonUrinatInVentum

"STOP TELLING PEOPLE TO EAT LESS MOVE MORE. IF IT WORKED NOBODY WOULD BE FAT."

Well that's BS, just knowing to eat less doesn't mean people can/will, it's a big metal struggle. Eating less and moving more works for me, but I'm still 10lb heavier than I'd like to be because I like eating more and moving less!

I get SHOUTY not because of lack of carbs but because I spent 30 years needlessly obese and being told it was my fault I was fat.

Spoiler ... It wasn't. I eat the same amount of calories as I ever did it's just that the calories are from fat not carbs.

High carb = high glucose = high insulin = fat storage. Basic biochemistry.

It's a mental struggle because carbs are addictive. They trigger a whack of dopamine when you eat them. It's why so many of us turn to carbs when we're stressed, tired, sad, depressed etc.

Remove them and you naturally eat less because the metabolic effort of digesting fat and protein keeps you satisfied longer and there is no blood sugar rollercoaster to prompt you to eat every 2 hours to avoid feeling hangry.

Carbs can form part of a healthy diet that means you’re not overweight.

I use MyFitnessPal to calorie count. You can save meals that you've had in the past to add them really quickly, and it just helps you to get an idea of how much you're eating. I know not everyone needs to do this, but I have a massive problem with overeating, so this helps to keep me in control.

Well I mostly eat at home so this is shit advice.

For those saying this is not a tip - for some people, it really is!

Look at those posters telling the OP she needs to either order the diet food when out (which is what light bites usually means) or is wasteful - eating more than your body needs is just as wasteful as throwing it out .

It is no better for the environment to eat it all then be fat than it is to stop eating when full.

OP - it's ok to stop eating when you are full. It's not morally superior to clear your plate. Not all foods are good re-heated, so you don't have to save stuff, you can throw it away (compost if you can).The waste has already happened by the time it's been cooked.

But what if I want the pork belly and trifle? Do I order the salad and fruit just so I finish my plate? Crazy thinking!

Duh.......If you want to eat trifle, then eat trifle.
But
If you want to lose weight, don't eat trifle - it's not rocket science as to what you think you are revealing on this thread. It is hardly news to anyone that if you want to lose weight then eating a big unnecessary pudding is bad. Slightly less bad is only eating half a portion. However, anyone who is actually trying to lose weight, plus a whole heap more people who just don't want to get to the stage where they need to lose weight, would just not have a dish full of trifle in the first place.

This is so like those ridiculous Take-a-Break tips from the 80s

Or, have the trifle, really enjoy it but don’t have any more puddings for a few days.

@NonUrinatInVentum I'm glad that works for you, but I don't believe in removing any food groups. I'm comfortably in the middle of my healthy BMI range and have never been overweight (though would like to be thinner!) and eat carbs, of course it's will power, if we were all affected in the same way by carbs we'd all be overweight, but I manage to eat them and be slim, I just don't want to give them up to be slimmer ha!

at those posters telling the OP she needs to either order the diet food when out (which is what light bites usually means

IME, the 'lighter meals' tend to be a 5oz steak rather than an 8 oz steak, etc. They are sometimes advertised as being 'for those with a smaller appetite'. You might get one chicken breast fillet rather than two, but still have a tasty Hunters Chicken. They aren't generally 'diet food', just a smaller amount - which is what the OP is advocating but without the waste.

God, how dismal everyone is. Or perfect. If everyone found portion control simple and intuitive, no one would ever overeat, would they? I agree with the pp who said those of us who were raised to clear our plates sometimes benefit from a reminder that leaving unwanted food is no more wasteful than scoffing it. Ignore the sneery folk, OP.

Not everyone yearns to be a size 0 op.
I promise you some of us fat and happy.
I’m fat because I’m a hungry Horace I’ll hold my hands up. I’m not going to make up excuses. It is what it is.

OP - it's ok to stop eating when you are full. It's not morally superior to clear your plate. Not all foods are good re-heated, so you don't have to save stuff, you can throw it away (compost if you can).The waste has already happened by the time it's been cooked

Absolutely agree.

Duh.......If you want to eat trifle, then eat trifle.
But
If you want to lose weight, don't eat trifle - it's not rocket science confused as to what you think you are revealing on this thread. It is hardly news to anyone that if you want to lose weight then eating a big unnecessary pudding is bad. Slightly less bad is only eating half a portion. However, anyone who is actually trying to lose weight, plus a whole heap more people who just don't want to get to the stage where they need to lose weight, would just not have a dish full of trifle in the first place.

Absolutely disagree.

Why can’t I just have half the trifle if I want it? Why do you think it’s either or?

OP - I agree.

That thing of ‘having’ to finish your food is very ingrained. It’s a revelation to learn to... just stop.

It's also good to realise you can be thin and still eat some of the 'bad/wrong' foods, just not a lot of them.

I once watched some lectures online (great course plus) about nutrition and low carb diets.
Basically, the nutritionist said that complex carbs are proper fuel for your body. They’re like coal for a steam engine. Proteins, however, play so many important functions by being broken down in to their composite amino acids - that using them for fuel (which is what happens when you stop eating carbs) is like throwing £20 notes into the furnace to run the steam engine, rather than the coal.

I liked that analogy, but I actually believe that our bodies all work so differently that there is no one size fits all approach to weight loss. I eat a lot of carbs - and don’t agree with cutting out whole food groups (I’m a healthy weight) but I wouldn’t argue with someone who found that a low carb diet worked for them. They’re built differently to me!

My best tip for weight loss is...........................................................
eat less and exercise/move around more.
Wallah.
Voila really.
Op don't encourage food waste, use a smaller plate, serve smaller portions.
We all know that large amounts of fattening food will make us fat. It's not rocket science.

We have chickens, so any leftover food is gratefully gobbled up by them = zero waste :D

Why can’t I just have half the trifle if I want it? Why do you think it’s either or?

Well, you can - as I put at the top of my post.
But the point is, you've started a thread, trying to state you've got a great new tip on how to lose weight.
Well, eating trifle isn't a great thing to do if yo want to lose weight.
Nor is it news, that, again, IF you want to lose weight it is better to just stick with the habit of not eating pudding. Which is quite normal for millions of people every day, even those who aren't trying to lose weight.

I really don't give a monkeys if you eat out on a twice weekly basis and have a big creamy pudding each time - that's your choice, but it just seems weird to post like you've found the secret to being slim, when you are actually suggesting eating more unnecessary and empty calories than most people eat anyway

That thing of ‘having’ to finish your food is very ingrained. It’s a revelation to learn to... just stop.

It has been a revelation to me as you say. My parents would punish me if I didn’t finish my food. Hence the waste guilt.

I have two shakes a day and a 500 calorie meal. Initially I lost two stone, it stopped due to stress. I lost two babies. I got back on it. Lost another 2lb. Maintained the weight for 2 years then mum died in August. Comfort ate till last week when I ended up with a chest infection. Back on the shakes, snacks, etc and in all honesty I am glad of it. I feel better now than I did two weeks ago. I have lost another 3lbs. In total I have lost 2 stone since May 2017 whilst overcoming major personal issues. It’s all about taking time and commitment. I have a 4 year old in nursery and since January both of us have been constantly ill. The programme I follow is amazing and cannot fault it. Too many of these quick fix diets around and it boils my head!

This might be my favourite MN food thread ever, it's even better then the 100 meals from one chicken, or you should should only have half a roast potato once a year ones.

@BackforGood - I think what you are struggling with is realising that this is why so many diets fail. People "go on a diet" - they stop eating foods like triffles and the sticky pulled pork. They pick from the blander side of the menu when out, not what they really want to eat. They exercise self-denial and get thinner.

Then after a few months, they stop being "on a diet" and go back to eating the way they did before, because it's foods they like, and then they get fat again - because the idea of never eating the food they like is more depressing that wearing a bigger dress size.

But this, what the OP has suggested, is how it's possible to stay on a diet forever. You can have the triffle and the nice things, but only a bit of them.

For some people, they can't do that, they can't just have a bit then stop. They need to be all or nothing. But most people can learn to just limit the portion size of high calorie foods.

If you don't have a sweet tooth, then the idea of never having a pudding when out for dinner ever again might seem a sensible and achievable aim. But for a lot of people, diets fail because it's not sustainable to never have a pudding when eating out. Realising that it's ok to order a pudding without the intention of eating it all, just enough to give you the flavour, is a helpful tip for some.

Don't get me wrong, I know the OP will lose weight a lot slower if she's still having the empty calories (not empty, full of flavour, food is more than just body fuel), but it does sound like this is a more sustainable way to change how she eats for the rest of her life, not just until she hits a particular dress size/scale number.

Surely it’s all about calories in v out?