AIBU to have found the 2 best diets ever that WORK?

[Ambushedbycakeinmydreams]

That's it. I now have the formula for successful and doable weight loss. Here they are, there are 2 methods that I can say absolutely work. But please don't tell me that "they don't work because people often put all the weight back on" - it's not the fault of the diet; diets will only work if you stick with them.

1. Fast 800 Keto After 7 days - 2" lost from my waist; down by a dress size; suddenly regained a lot of formerly worn clothes. Pros - fast results, very motivating Has science behind it so has integrity (Dr Mosley and his GP wife) The food recipes are easy to prepare and the food is gorgeous - I'm so enjoying the food.

Cons - the first phase is hard as though the food is excellent, the portions are small (but you do get used to it after the first week or so).

2. Slimming World Pros - allows you to eat a diet where no foods are excluded, so you can tailor it to personal requirements eg incorporate a bit of alcohol, chocolate, etc you get my drift. Easy to follow - no need to count calories.

Cons - weight loss is invariably slower eg average loss for me a few years ago was 1 - 2 lbs a week.

I did SW a few years ago, lost nearly 2 stone and then Covid hit so no meetings or weigh ins to help keep me on track. And then I did all the Covid stuff too eg lots of baking and bread making (and put over half of the weight back on).

Currently now on Fast 800 Keto to shift the aforementioned weight gain.

@Ambushedbycakeinmydreams - you post as though no one has ever heard of these diets.

Well done @BusinessMindThoughts

It’s great that you have found something that works for you.

I lost a lot of weight (3.5 stones) doing 12 weeks of 800 calories a day (on the advice of my GP as I was pre diabetic) and have maintained it by doing 5:2 (so eating relatively healthily 5 days a week and 800 calories 2 days a week).

I think the key thing is that this works for me and my lifestyle, there is definitely no one size fits all.

(Should add, I find 800 calories a day easy to do because my work means I can’t snack during the day and I rarely drink alcohol. Can completely understand why others may find it intolerable!)

Sorry @Ambushedbycakeinmydreams I have tried Slimming World, and found it very cliquey and almost like a cult. I hated it! I am glad you found it good and helpful though. Never tried keto.

The best way I found to lose weight - and keep it off - is intermittent fasting. I started off with the 5-2 diet, (where you eat fairly normally for 5 days of the week, and have roughly 800 calories on the other 2 days. The 800 calorie days were Monday and Thursday.)

I then changed it to 4-3 when I reached a plateau. (Lost 19 pounds and then stalled.) I found the 4-3 too much though, and felt a bit light-headed, and was more hungry. So I settled on 1 day on, (on 800 calories,) 2 days off, (eating 'normally,') 1 day on, 2 days off, 1 day on, 2 days off, and so on...........

With this eating plan, I found myself eating less on the days 'off,' where I was eating 'normally.' Eating healthily and eating enough, but not snacking on crap. And I eventually started to lose weight again (after a few more weeks.)

This way of eating is the only 'diet' I have ever been on that has actually worked. I lost almost 3 stone (40 pounds,) in 2017, and have not regained it. I still stick to the 5-2, although on the 2 days 'on' (Monday and Thursday,) I tend to have 1000-1100 calories, rather than 800.

I go swimming and walking too, and also cycling. (I go swimming twice a week, and walk 2 or 3 miles 3 times a week, and cycle 2 or 3 miles 3 times a week.) Not a massive amount, but it works for me.

@MurmuratingStarling

I think the 5:2 is a relative of the Fast 800, Dr Mosley methods? Thanks for sharing your experience of this, it's fab to hear of people successfully maintaining weight loss and showing that it can be done.

I think within any media about Fast 800 Keto, Dr Mosley does back this up with credible evidence that following the first phase, the weight losses are sustainable long-term with people currently doing this. Dr Mosley himself is the poster-boy example as he initially was told to lose weight to prevent diabetes, and since then he has kept it off.

as @SatinHeart says, YABU to think these or any restrictive diet 'works' and are suitable for everyone or indeed most people.

SW has a lot of myths around it. ….not least because they push that aspect. Unlimited pasta, potatoes, rice etc is not actually correct despite what they say. They also say a third of the plate should be non starchy vegetables. By the time you’ve done that and added protein you have naturally reduced the portion size of your carb . This seems to be poorly understood even by consultants.

I attend a SW group and am 46lbs down, however I am diabetic and so I always weigh and measure my starchy carbs.

I follow the SW third of a plate non starchy veg rule and my carbs work out almost exactly the portion which is suggested by my diabetic team.

I don’t however count syns (made up nonsense) and I count calories …I attend the group purely because I like the people who also attend and to get a weekly accurate weight. Diabetes now in remission and stating that way.

[quote Ambushedbycakeinmydreams]@MurmuratingStarling

I think the 5:2 is a relative of the Fast 800, Dr Mosley methods? Thanks for sharing your experience of this, it's fab to hear of people successfully maintaining weight loss and showing that it can be done.

I think within any media about Fast 800 Keto, Dr Mosley does back this up with credible evidence that following the first phase, the weight losses are sustainable long-term with people currently doing this. Dr Mosley himself is the poster-boy example as he initially was told to lose weight to prevent diabetes, and since then he has kept it off.[/quote]
@Ambushedbycakeinmydreams

I think the 5:2 is a relative of the Fast 800, Dr Mosley methods?

Oh, I didn't realise this! Yes I guess it is. Thanks for that.

Thanks for sharing your experience of this.

And you're welcome. Hope some people can take some tips or inspiration from this thread. Trying to lose weight is so hard, and keeping it off is even harder!

@ShirleyPhallus

Lol at slimming world. A “diet” which allows unlimited pasta / potatoes / sugary yoghurts isn’t really encouraging healthy eating.

Lol at people who think this is how it works 🤷🏻‍♀️

They obviously don't work if you need to be on them to 'loose weight'
Eat healthy and keep fit , it's simple maths ... kcals going in should be less than kcals going out to loose weight ... and to maintain it needs to balance

@Looneytune253

Come on, can't you see how the post sounds? Yes you'll lose weight on any diet but it always comes back unless you eat that way forever. Eat healthily for fueling your body and see where you get with that. No more yo yo dieting.

There's always comments like this on diet threads.

I don't understand what you think "Eat healthily for fuelling your body and see where you get with that" is if not a 'diet' in everything but name? If you've got fat, you're clearly not doing that in the first place so anything you DO do is going to be a) different and b) something you need to adopt into your lifestyle . If we're specifically saying highly restrictive short-term diets don't work in the long term then say that.

I did the fast 800 3 times for 12 weeks each.
Absolutely DESTROYED my metabolism.

It’s taken me 3 years to recover it.

The only diet that actually works is maintaining a calorie deficit of 500-800 calories per day until you have reached your target weight and then eating however many calories you need to maintain your weight for the rest of your life.

I'm really struggling to lose weight. I'm thinking of trying Noom. Anyone tried it?

How long have you maintained the loss for?

They all work if you stick to them, but you need something you can realistically keep going for the rest of your life.

@Whiskyinajar

SW has a lot of myths around it. ….not least because they push that aspect. Unlimited pasta, potatoes, rice etc is not actually correct despite what they say. They also say a third of the plate should be non starchy vegetables. By the time you’ve done that and added protein you have naturally reduced the portion size of your carb . This seems to be poorly understood even by consultants.

I attend a SW group and am 46lbs down, however I am diabetic and so I always weigh and measure my starchy carbs.

I follow the SW third of a plate non starchy veg rule and my carbs work out almost exactly the portion which is suggested by my diabetic team.

I don’t however count syns (made up nonsense) and I count calories …I attend the group purely because I like the people who also attend and to get a weekly accurate weight. Diabetes now in remission and stating that way.

Well done for your brilliant progress to date and I'm so glad you've made these really good points about SW.

The trouble is that I think a lot of people are in denial or not very bright and think that once they've lost the weight, that's the end of it. Then they blame the weight loss method for putting it all back on again (moans of "it doesn't work, all diets are a con just out to make money" etc) rather than accepting they are solely responsible for managing their own eating.

I don't understand what you think "Eat healthily for fuelling your body and see where you get with that" is if not a 'diet' in everything but name?

If you use the meaning of “diet”, yes.

Eg the lion’s diet is…….. a cow’s diet is…….

We don’t use the word diet correctly in relation to humans. The “western diet” is absolutely as unhealthy as it’s possible to get for humans and we see it in all the ill health around us. How many people developed type 2 diabetes 40 years ago.

I’ve been on a journey to learn what to eat over the last 8 months. By focusing on what is good for the body (rather than what food manufacturers want me to eat) I’ve lost over 3 stone without trying, my allergies are mostly gone and I’m fitter than ever (without exercise). It’s absolutely a diet - the diet humans should be eating (although I don’t eat meat). Not a temporary fix focussed solely on the scales.

@WouldIBeATwat

I did the fast 800 3 times for 12 weeks each. Absolutely DESTROYED my metabolism.

It’s taken me 3 years to recover it.

This is what I would be worried about, di you get to the point where anything you ate made you gain weight?

I couldn’t sustain Keto as it was to restrictive and I was looking afor a life style long term change not a diet as I am diabetic and will be now for ever even if I can get it into remission.
I have found low carb is sustainable for me. I eat 50g of carb or less a day. I don’t eat bread, pasta , rice or anything that comes in a box or packet. I eat lean meat, green leaf veg, eggs, salad stuff and fruit with a low GI like berries.
Everyone in the world will lose weight on a restricted carb diet even those on insulin which is a weight gain drug. We don’t need to eat carbs at all they supply nothing that your body cannot get from protein, fats and fibre yet it is still the staple of the western diet mainly because it is used as a cheap filler in foods.

It’s great it works for you 💪

You’ll also need a plan of sensible eating for life, and it’s all good 👍

What will you do long term?

How does anyone eat just 800 kcal a day? I look at food and I've consumed that.

I used to restrict calories and replace with nice treats like haribo or cookies. It's just not a recipe for health to be fasting so much so I see the appeal of no restrictions.

I am only slightly overweight, but I struggle to restrict as I've got into the habit of treat foods daily and thinking cake and cookies are treats. It's tough as I had a very restricted diet as a child due to my parents control issues. I therefore seem to rebel against controlling myself.

I don’t calorie count, but I also don’t view sweets or crap chocolate, cakes, biscuits etc as treats anymore. Generally speaking they are used to replace an emotional or other need. Dealing with that loses them their power.

I wouldn’t put shit fuel in a Ferrari so I no longer put shit fuel in me either. And I don’t miss it one bit.

@NavigatingAdolescence I get it but do you not have anything "bad" I personally don't drink alcohol or coffee because I don't like it, so what do you celebrate with? Carrot sticks ? It's so ingrained in popular culture to have a drink to celebrate or go for a coffee or a birthday cake . Of course once it a while isn't maybe an issue, but I celebrate the little things too often with biscuits.