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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask what the most convenient weight loss diet is?....

76 replies

OscarWildesCat · 10/05/2020 09:53

I've done WW and Slimming world both with varying degrees of success in the past, I need to lose a stoner 2 again and theyve both changes since I last followed either of them.
What diet did people follow and find easiest to follow when cooking for a (sometimes fussy) family?.
Alcohol is my main problem at the moment, I'm drinking way too much whilst in lockdown, DH reckons I should just ditch alcohol for a bit and eat a bit healthier rather than follow a structured diet but I'm a bit, "all or nothing". Not sure if hes right, any advice?.......

OP posts:
KKSlider · 10/05/2020 10:01

Using an app like My Fitness Pal to track calories and exercise.

You can set it up to maintain, gain, or lose, record your height/weight/activity level, and it will calculate your daily calorie allowance. You don't need to restrict yourself, you can still have whatever you want - including alcohol - so long as you don't go over your daily calories.

Unravellingslowly · 10/05/2020 10:02

He’s right.

Log all your calories on My Fitness Pal. You can eat normally and it helps you make better choices.
Alcohol is calorific.

KKSlider · 10/05/2020 10:03

MFP can also be used to help you be mindful of what you're eating and help you look for patterns in your eating but you do have to be honest when filling in your food diary.

gamerchick · 10/05/2020 10:03

Diets dont work.

I agree with PP, log your calories. All of them in an app.

Oysterbabe · 10/05/2020 10:10

Horses for courses.
I do OMAD 4 days a week and eat what I please 3 days a week. I've been doing it over a year and am a healthy weight, after dropping 2 stone of baby weight in the first 6 months.
I'm all or nothing too and I absolutely cannot be fucked with counting and recording. I can either have nothing or anything, no grey area, nice and simple.
I plan to do this forever.

Lucked · 10/05/2020 10:17

What ever fits in best with your lifestyle. If you have always skipped breakfast or eaten cereal you are unlikely to maintain having to cook in the mornings.

For me I have two approaches simultaneously, I have been doing 5:2 for 18 months and at the same time I aim ( and frequently fail) at eating a a Mediterranean diet the rest of the time. I find 5:2 easy but changing your eating habits all the time is easy for a while but it gets hard to restart after fails.

I am 18 months into this. I am currently in a rather long period of static weight because the Mediterranean diet part has gone a bit haywire and also because I now a normal weight. Due to 5:2 I am not gaining which gives me time and headspace to refocus on my health. Prior to this I did a bit of yo-yoing which was really hard as I just felt like I was failing all the time.

Queenoftheashes · 10/05/2020 10:18

I also find calorie counting easiest. I can go to M&S and get a pot of something, a sandwich and a ready meal and have no cooking to do and calorie counts on the packs for logging. Slimming world and ww are ok but have quite arbitrary seeming restrictions which make it impossible to just get a sandwich.

Lucked · 10/05/2020 10:19

To add I have lost 2.5 stone.

Passthecake30 · 10/05/2020 10:20

My easiest diet was what I followed to drop half a stone before going back to work after kids, cereal for breakfast and lunch, normal dinner. It was ok for a quick fix.

CobaltRose96 · 10/05/2020 10:23

Echoing what others have said. Download MyFitnessPal and track your calories. Stick to a limit and make sure you’re in caloric deficit (you’re burning off more calories than you consume). To work out how many calories you need to be in a caloric deficit, work out your TDEE (there are calculators online you can use).

That way, you can still eat pretty much what you want as long as you stick to your calorie limit. No need for any fad diets that aren’t sustainable long term.

I’ve lost two stone so far just tracking my calories.

LakieLady · 10/05/2020 10:23

Fasting. No shopping, no cooking, no washing up. Saves a fortune.

Not very good for you though.

Sharkyfan · 10/05/2020 10:23

Depends a bit, but I find low carbing/Keto convenient to combine with family cooking. I cook the same things just without the carbs or substitute for extra veg.
Eg things like bolognaise without the pasta but courgette instead.
Eggs are always a quick and easy fall back as is snacky things like cheese nuts and salad
In the summer it feels naturally easy with salads and bbqs, and I’m buying far less specialist stuff than when I did ww, and less food in general because hunger is under control.
I don’t log calories or carbs.
I still drink alcohol sometimes mainly prosecco.

Northernsoullover · 10/05/2020 10:24

I gave up alcohol completely. I didn't lose weight immediately but around 3 months later it started coming off and has stayed off.

foodtoorder · 10/05/2020 10:25

Definitely calorie tracking with my fitness pal, helps make good choices and really make you aware of what you're actually putting in your body.
Additionally keto/low carb is effective and helps you make whole food choices. I've lost 2 stone doing both and currently maintaining my goal weight mostly with my fitness pal.

Sharkyfan · 10/05/2020 10:26

Should add that after losing about 2st over 7 months or so my weight loss has stalled but this is because I don’t think about it’s just a way of eating that I prefer because it sets me free from cravings, hunger and has massively reduced binging (still the odd lapse but so much less than before)

BanginChoons · 10/05/2020 10:29

I'm also all or nothing and find low carb easy to follow and maintain. I'm not a counter or tracker.

feelingverylazytoday · 10/05/2020 10:35

Eat 2 or 3 meals a day (according to your preference and natural hunger patterns) and 2 small snacks.
Use a smaller dinner plate, 8-9 " diameter is good.
Eat minimum 5 a day, mostly vegetables.
Keep the 'crap' to a minimum, best to avoid buying it, IME. This includes things like crisps, sweets, cakes, takeaways, beige foods with a low nutritional value, etc . Just have them as a treat or for special ocassions.
Cut back on, or quit altogether alcohol.
Be as active as possible in your daily life, and find an exercise that you like doing, ideally something that involves weight bearing.
I lost nearly 5 stones doing this and I've kept it off for over a year now. It's really easy, just involves normal food that you can buy in any reasonable supermarket and doesn't have to be expensive.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 10/05/2020 10:36

Switch to gin and slimline tonic on an evening.

VickyEadieofThigh · 10/05/2020 10:43

Low carb is the easiest and - in my opinion - most sustainable way to lose weight.

Switch to gin and diet tonic if you want a drink.

ToolkitQ · 10/05/2020 10:49

I can be a bit all or nothing and found 5:2 easy to follow. Initially recorded everything on My Fitness Pal and then ate normally most days and 500-600 calories on fast days. Fast days usually ate the same things so no thinking involved. Once happy with weight found it easy to just do an odd fast day if starting putting weight on again. Fasting worked for me because you could have the treat the next day so not long term abstinence (& often wouldn't bother the next day). Also initially felt hungry but soon you realise you don't get hungrier and even if go to bed feeling hungry you don't wake up hungry, first couple of times were the hardest then found it quite easy.
I just don't think I could do a regular diet. You do need to drink a lot on fast days though but I usually have herbal teas so I wasn't missing my usual brew.
Only me and DH so wasn't difficult for us to eat differently.
Good luck.

OscarWildesCat · 10/05/2020 10:54

Thank you. I've downloaded MFP, which have used in the past and decided I'll try that just now and see how I go, I was doing HIIT workouts but have let that slide so I'll get back into it. I live a g and t but have been drinking wine instead and I know this is the worst thing I could drink so I'll be switching back to g and slt for a bit as I dont think stopping completely will be doable for me sadly.

OP posts:
LEELULUMPKIN · 10/05/2020 11:03

Forget the word "diet" for starters. The very word implies denial and restriction. Say the word diet and the first thing that you think of is food and what you are NOT supposed to eat.

Then of course you want it!

A whole multi million £££ industry has built up around setting you up to fail.

If you need to go to a slimming club to motivate you, you will yo-yo all your life.

Unless you have medical condition it really is as simple as eat less, move more, so why pay someone to tell you that?

Start by reducing your portions but no food is a "sin" (that gives me the rage)

Every time you put something in your mouth, literally say out loud "do I need or want this" and recognise the difference.

If you are genuinely hungry have a couple of mouthfuls but don't eat that whole bag of crisps or glass of wine.

Waiting for the food you have consumed to hit your stomach before you have any more really does work, so eat slowly.

Always leave some on your plate, you don't have to finish it all just because it is there.

Of course these are just all things that worked for me having been overweight for most of my adult life.

I lost over 7 stone doing the above and have stayed that way for 15 years.

It does become second nature with time, you eat to live, not live to eat.

Good luck!

PicklePig31 · 10/05/2020 11:03

Good luck OP.

MFP is amazing. I wanted to lose less than a stone last year. I was slim already but wanted to feel a bit more confident. Did it in 6 weeks on MFP and have kept it off. Really easy but you must include everything that you’re eating and drinking, no exceptions.

You can have alcohol, but factor it in. So on days I drank, I ate less. Also, I never put in my exercise. I used it as a bonus!

Whatifitallgoesright · 10/05/2020 11:04

Gallstones

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 10/05/2020 11:05

The Joe Wicks PE lessons on YouTube are really good.

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