To want to lose weight WITHOUT any fads or 'diets'

[Abneyandteal19]

So I had 3 kids in less than 5 years and my body has suffered. Put on weight size 14-
16 (lockdown hasn't helped) when I used to be 10/12. 5ft 5 and 78kg

I would like to be a comfortable size 12 as I feel this suits my shape.

However we have no money for groups, PT, fancy food/shakes whatever is the latest thing! Also really don't think I'd stick to point counting etc as by the end of the day I'm shattered! I really don't want to keep making excuses for why I can't do this but I'm struggling to get motivated on sleep deprivation and never a minute to myself!

Can you please give me your tips for making the whole - eat less move more actually work on a day to day basis??

Specifically struggle with finding time to make healthy food for myself especially breakfast which is chaos with 3 under 5!

Also struggling with my tummy pouch and how to shift it. Any exercise ideas?

I really want to do this- had a moment of looking back on a photo of me and the kids last week thinking it would be nice and I was gutted at how big I looked

So AIBU To want to lose weight/get fit without any fancy stuff?!

You have to count your calories

No you don't. It's time-consuming, tedious and annoying (unless you're the kind of person who enjoys that sort of thing). There are all kinds of ways of reducing the calories you eat without actually having to count them. Essentially... reduce carbs and/or fat, reduce portion size, do intermittent fasting or do a combination of those. Any of them will work as long as you can stick to it. Most people can't. Pick the one that sounds the most doable for you and keep doing it (forever).

I've lost a load of weight twice in my life. Once through very low carb, once through very low fat (the latter unavoidably due to gallstones). Both worked equally well and required no counting of calories. Neither lasted long-term. I reckon a significant but less extreme reduction in fat and carbs would be more sustainable.

Another advocate for Intermittent Fasting here! I put on weight during lockdown (like many) and was the heaviest I’d been (apart from pregnancy). I started Couch 2 5k in May and then IF in June and am now about half a lb away from having lost a stone!

I’m not particularly strict with what I eat (ie still have a bit of chocolate here and there) but I do stick to at least 16 hours fasting (longest I’ve managed was about 19.5 hours but that was by accident rather than design!)

Have a watch of this video, it helps explain a lot about the principles behind IF, and it was what inspired me to finally have a go:

Imho it is good to do some counting purely to get in terms with what has how many calories. People, including me, often grossly underestimate stuff. I was eating healthy food, balanced diet, but I had 2 problems. 1 was that I was eating enough of it for 2 people, hence me weighing like 2 people and 2, I very much underestimated how many calories can stuff have. So my "healthy" balanced salad had enough calories to compete with a freaking double cheeseburger👀

Ime it's important to have some idea of how many calories person consumes and have basic nutritional knowledge too.

I agree with @SchrodingersImmigrant it's so important to know where you're starting from in terms of the amount of calories in certain foods, correct portions and the nutritional information - specifically carbs/protein/fat.

If you're starting from a point of no knowledge at all, then MyFitnessPal or similar is a great tool for learning. Then once armed with the knowledge you can tweak your diet without having to obsessively log foods.

In terms of shifting a tummy pouch, unfortunately there is no exercise you can to do specifically target it (despite what some ads will tell you!) When your body burns fat, it burns it from everywhere. A balanced workout with a mixture of cardio and strength training will help with this.

I know you say you’re looking for something low/no cost, but it’s worth looking at MUTU System which is an exercise regime designed specifically for mums - exercises target areas weakened by pregnancy and childbirth such as the pelvic floor and also help gently with separated tummy muscles.

mutusystem.co.uk

I agree with @SchrodingersImmigrant it's so important to know where you're starting from in terms of the amount of calories in certain foods, correct portions and the nutritional information - specifically carbs/protein/fat.

How can it be so important to know exactly how much carb, protein and fat there is in foods when nobody can agree whether we should be eating low carb or high carb, low fat or high fat, high protein or low protein?

Everyone knows that we should eat more veg and fruit, a lot less processed food, stick to good fats and eat less sugar, and that we should eat when we are hungry, not just because we are bored, sad etc. It's not knowledge that's lacking, it's the ability to actually do it. Knowing the precise nutritional content of a piece of chocolate fudge cake in no way helps me to resist eating it.

Yeah, fasting is the way forward.

You don't need to know precise nutrition of specific food, but it helps to make decisions and swaps which suit you personally. Bit healthier choices. As with anything, the knowledge is important, but the want must be there too.

It helps to some, it doesn't to others. As with anything. But we should all aim to know basic info about what we are putting into our mouth

Knowing the precise nutritional content of a piece of chocolate fudge cake in no way helps me to resist eating it

I hear ya!!

I think I was more meaning that it's hard to stick to a low carb diet when (in my experience) some people are unaware how many carbs are in fruit, for example. Whereas if you plugged the information in, you are more able to make informed decisions 🤷🏻‍♀️

Alas, there is no size which fits all

It's worth keeping a food diary for the first few weeks and yes that means roughly counting calories. Yes it's a chore but it is often a serious wake up call as most people completely underestimate how much they eat during the day. That one or two hob nobs a day from the office biscuit tin is the same as big mac at the end of the week.

If you are planning on embarking on a decent level of exercise as part of your new regime please don't fast or skip meals. You will feelike shit. Yeah fasting can result in short term weight loss but it is not a sustainable plan of you want to keep the weight off.

Cut out the sugar (the obvious and the stuff hidden in refined carbs). This will stop the cravings. The intermittent fasting. Try one meal a day, of a reasonable portion size consisting of vegetables and a portion of protein.
Then up your exercise to what you are able to do.

@DillonPanthersTexas

It's worth keeping a food diary for the first few weeks and yes that means roughly counting calories. Yes it's a chore but it is often a serious wake up call as most people completely underestimate how much they eat during the day. That one or two hob nobs a day from the office biscuit tin is the same as big mac at the end of the week.

If you are planning on embarking on a decent level of exercise as part of your new regime please don't fast or skip meals. You will feelike shit. Yeah fasting can result in short term weight loss but it is not a sustainable plan of you want to keep the weight off.

Lots of studies show this to be wrong. See Mike Mosley and the Newcastle Medical School diet and the work of Jason Fung.

Lots of studies show this to be wrong. See Mike Mosley and the Newcastle Medical School diet and the work of Jason Fung.

Lots of studies CLAIM this to be wrong. I don't think any actually showed it without a doubt

I agree with Ineedflour, there are plenty of studies that show the benefits of IF, which are not just weight loss based. A quick Google search returns plenty of links to these studies, not just anecdotal evidence.

www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-health-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting

Ultimately is is about moving more and reducing what you eat, and there will be something that works for you in the advice given even if some is contradictory.

I find it helpful to use MFP for a few weeks to reconnect with what I'm eating and any sneaky habbits that crept in. I don't have the patience to use it religiously or accurately.

I try to focus on portion size and adding nutrition, so more salad/ veg and less of the starchy carb. That's quite adaptable to an Atkins fan of a cook.
When I'm tempted to eat something junky, I try to defer it with "not today"

I dabble with 5:2 fast days and it is good to reconnect with genuine hunger. Mindfully delaying my first food of the day is quite different to being lazy and then begining to pick later on.

I'm into Mr Morivator's Daily Dozen videos on youtube. 12 mins of low impact aerobics is good for an energy boost, doesn't require sports clothing or much space. If you're pushed for time with small children, small regular bursts are achievable. Yoga with Adriene is great for body strength. I started C25k when DS2's cluster feeds were done at night. I'm pretty fit but struggle with Joe Wicks type HITT.

Check out for diastasis recti.

[quote CaveMum]I agree with Ineedflour, there are plenty of studies that show the benefits of IF, which are not just weight loss based. A quick Google search returns plenty of links to these studies, not just anecdotal evidence.

www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-health-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting[/quote]
They have pretty small sample pools imho and let's not forget that it's not just random people. They are chosen based on questionnaire.

I mean you have more people here saying simple calories in/out worked for them than samples in that studies👀

Every answer above is effectively providing the same thing....to lose weight you need to be in a continuous calorie deficit, whatever capacity you choose. Unfortunately you can still over eat by fasting, having a small dinner plate etc.

You need to properly track your food to know what you're actually consuming.

Sorry but there's no magic trick to it, it's work and a commitment to change for life

I think it's pretty obvious that it's not as simple as calories in vs calories out. Because whatever the science says about actual weight loss, different foods have different effects on your body and appetite. So eating 300 calories of Haribo every day is not going to have the same effect on your ability to lose weight, as 300 calories of chicken or chick peas, because it's not as filling, doesn't nourish your body, puts you on that sugar high, sugar low crash and makes it much more likely you'll reach for more sugary snacks to restore you.

I did couch to 5k. Stopped eating all the sweet treats and crisps etc, started eating breakfast and only ate 3 meals a day. I used my fitbit to calorie count my daily food intake. I lost 3.5 stone in about 8 months.

@lazylinguist

I think it's pretty obvious that it's not as simple as calories in vs calories out. Because whatever the science says about actual weight loss, different foods have different effects on your body and appetite. So eating 300 calories of Haribo every day is not going to have the same effect on your ability to lose weight, as 300 calories of chicken or chick peas, because it's not as filling, doesn't nourish your body, puts you on that sugar high, sugar low crash and makes it much more likely you'll reach for more sugary snacks to restore you.

Well we are all talking about food, not haribos. This is when common sense must be applied to get right nutrition in.

But, that said. If you actually really stuck to, let's say, 1000 cal a day and in deficit (obviously) and eat just haribos, you would still lose weight. You would be sick as fuck, but you would lose weight.

What you choose to eat can definitely impact how hungry you feel and thus the amount of will-power it takes to maintain a diet.

Will-power and hunger notwithstanding, you could lose weight on 1000kcal of anything.

I find it easier to mainly focus on more protein and veggies but still be allowed a hobnob, packet of crisps or whatever than not to allowed it, when I tend to give in and then give up which isn't productive at all.

Reduce portion size, no snacks, no eating kids leftovers

No time for exercise I guess, doesn't matter, makes you fit not lose weight

Go to bed early, tiredness makes one crave sugar and reduces diet resolve.

Treats occasionally

Intermittent fasting, easy, cheap and no guilt over what you eat

I have to say that even though exercise itself isn't the biggest part of losing weight, don't ignore it!

It's incredibly motivational when you start firming up and shaping your body while losing weight. I can't wait to see that six pack I must have! I am sure that is a big part of my motivation now and why I can control myself. Even though I am still fat as fuck, I can see the difference in posture and changing shape of some parts and!!! You get fitter so you feel better and can walk and run up the stairs and not think you will die and you won't miss out on interesting things because they are up the hill and you would sweat like a pig sty door in a summer so you don't want to go and then you are pissed off because you did want to see it and which idiot decided it would be on a hill ffs.
yeah I have issues lol

Yeah. Exercise is actually quite important for overall health and mood I found

But, that said. If you actually really stuck to, let's say, 1000 cal a day and in deficit (obviously) and eat just haribos, you would still lose weight. You would be sick as fuck, but you would lose weight

In theory, yes. But eating lots of sugary crap but within a calorie deficit won't just make you sick, it will make you less likely to stay within a calorie deficit because of the effects of sugary crap on your appetite, blood sugar, insulin response etc. Which is why the type of food you eat (not just the calories) is important to your weight loss, not just your general healthiness. If I eat a bowl of sugary cereal or white toast and jam (not even Haribo ) for breakfast, I am shaky, starving and clawing at the biscuit tin by about 10am. Calorie deficit not going to happen!