How to lose weight when you love food and booze

[surejan24]

I'm hoping there is an answer to this but realistically I know I need to make some changes.

I'm late 30's and have had two c sections so I have the inevitable overhang as well as quite a lot of extra belly fat. It isn't a good look and I'm at the point where I am dreading summer because I live in leggings and baggy tops/jumpers to hide my middle. I'm actually about 12 stone but I look much heavier and my shape is all wrong.

My issue is I love food and booze. I don't eat particularly badly but I eat a lot. I tried eating in a calorie deficit and did ok but then binged on snacks. At the weekends I love having a takeaway (plus leftovers the next day) and a bottle of wine. Occasionally in the week I'll have a gin once the kids are in bed. I treat these as rewards and things to look forward to. I don't get the option to go out much so it's "treats" like this that make life bearable.

But they are contributing to my weight gain and consequent shit self esteem. I don't know what to do. I've tried and failed with dieting so many times because ultimately I enjoy food and fall back on 'life's too short' mentality.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has overcome this sort of thing because im going round in circles at the minute.

Ozempic

Unless you want to take the magic weight loss injection. You have to put the work in. Maybe make one change at a time

Trying cutting out refined carbs / sugar, except one meal per week, and confining booze to one day. Drink spirits with slimline mixer rather than beer, wine or sugary cocktails.

A very wise man (well, Nicky Wire from Manic Street Preachers) once said, "If you want to keep your figure, you can't do food and booze. One of them has to go."

Booze just at the weekend. Intermittent fasting and load up on veggies to crowd the other stuff out of your plate. Healthier menu choices for your takeaway.

I lost 3 stone by eating in a calorie deficit but not cutting out any of the foods I loved. I also walked on my lunch breaks at work.
When I cut out foods that I liked to eat I would end up dieting for a week and then having a binge. It wasn’t until I saw a YouTube video about cutting down calories without cutting out any foods that really changed my view on how to lose weight.

For example, 1800/1900 calories a day you could eat whatever you wanted so long as you stuck to them 1800/1900. If I went out I would still have a glass of wine but include it in my daily intake of calories. I would still have a cake or chocolate bar but include it in my daily intake.
I would recommend eating fruit and veg still and healthy foods that will fill you up because you could eat one McDonald’s meal that will be around 1800 calories but that’s not going to fill you up for the day.

give up carbs - honestly easier than you think once you start
get hello fresh or good quality supermarket ready meals instead of takeaway
Track everything you eat - my fitnesspal
Intermittent fasting. If you can't manage 16:8 to start with, start with 1212 and work your way towards the magic number.

Try being strict with yourself and being low cal, no alcohol for something manageable like a month (the end in sight) and see how much comes off. a fast start is really motivating. You'll instantly feel better and be more motivated to keep going. Just don't go "back" once you stop - keep good habits you learned., but eg only drink and have pud at the weekend. Snacks are real food not crap (carrot sticks and hummous, apple/peanut butter, nuts, olives). Learn to love dark chocolate.

Most people love food and booze. It really is as simple as making a choice to reduce your intake and working in strategies for this. I am v similar to you shape wise and am losing weight now after a decade of half hearted attempts. I'm a SP and work full time so not a lot if headspace for complicated plans, batch cooking, tracking calories or gym classes so:
16:8 fasting
Lots of water
Only drink at weekend..posh tonic with ice and slice through the week
800-1000 cals most days but not religiously tracked. I work out roughly what that looks like in certain meal combinations and just do that.
Have crudités already chopped in the fridge and instead of post kid- bedtime crisps, you have those, with homous if needed but still better than crisps.

That's pretty much it. Theres no magic solution and it's a pain and less fun than just doing what you like but you have to make a decision about what you want more, that snack/ takeaway/ drink or to fit into those jeans.

Slimming World- be strict with it through the week and loosen up a bit at the weekend (a takeaway/wine). I lost 6 stone doing that after my baby. 👍

I lost 20lbs without dieting. By that I mean, continuing to overeat every single day - crisps, wine, chocolate, ice cream on top of man-sized portions of healthy meals. Not happy about my appetite but every time I tried to diet I'd binge by the end of the first day - even worse than the overeating I am describing here. So I stopped trying. The way I did it was to do 4 strenuous bootcamps and one high energy yoga class every week. I loved the exercise and I loved being not only slimmer but a hell of a lot more toned, graceful and youthful.

I would genuinely like to curb my appetite and lose another 15-20 lbs. But if it isn't going to happen, then doing lots of weight training and HIIT really does help.

Slimming world

You know what you need to do and you need to think of why you're not doing them and remove those obstacles, with professional help if needed.

Control I'm afraid.
Gone gin at the weekends with slimline tonics, get rid of the unhealthy snacks in the house. Move. And move a bit more.

I stick to 1500 calories a day and only eat between 12-8pm. That means I save calories from my breakfast and don't snack in the evenings - saving 500 calories a day just there.

I really stick to it Sun-Thurs but will have processco on Fri & Sat (less calories than wine) and often have a (smallish) takeaway on a Sat night. Doing this plus 4 long gym sessions and a run once a week means I can maintain my weight or lose a pound a week.

Yep, a lot of effort for not much gain but I'm mid 40s so it takes a lit of work these days🫤

A calories deficit worked out on your needs (there's a calculator online) and walking the shit out of your body.

I have gone from a size 14/16 to a 10 since August 2022 due to an operation I had in Jan and my wedding (which is in 2 weeks). Also measure yourself instead of weighing. Busy, waist, hips and thighs. Feels better.

I've lost 10lb in 8 weeks by literally eating exactly the same stuff I always have but sorting out my portions. My diet tbh is fairly crap still. Lots of processed foods, quite a lot of meals or snacks that are high fat, creamy success, pasta, chocolate etc but if the portion size is right, then it's not so bad. I started weighing food and putting it into mfp and realised I was eating 2 and a half portions of pasta every time. And I'm only short! I don't often weigh food anymore because I know 3 handfuls is 1 portion of pasta etc (not the 7 I was having!)
So all that to say you can still have all the same stuff, just eat a little portion each time. It doesn't feel like so much of a diet to me. I wasn't hungry for all that food, I was just used to it. If I eat my portion now and then sit and wait, I realise that actually I am full and don't need to keep eating.

And another very wise man (Oscar Wilde) said, ‘Everything in moderation, including moderation!’

You can do booze & food; you just have to do less. I adore both, but you have to work out how much you can have and still lose - which will take some work and a largely sensible, balanced diet (with some exercise). It is possible, but you have to find what works for you. For me, a daily calorie limit and saving calories for treats works; a takeaway or dinner out a couple of times a month works. What doesn’t work for me is large portions or snacks. No way though would I give up a glass of wine or the odd pint at the pub, and I’m not calorie counting when I go out to eat.

Running! Regularly and building up to long distances

You cut out the booze, all sugar and all UPF. After a few days you won’t miss it.

Try to take your time to enjoy your food. Focus on the taste. Give your taste buds a chance to savour the taste of vegetables.

Team RH. I've been on every diet but see this as a lifestyle change and it's working. It's about enjoying the journey rather than just focusing on an end goal. The straight talking isn't for everyone but was what I needed and there is a solution. The videos are not rocket science but make it clear that only calorie deficit works and all diets, slimming world, intermittent fasting etc. only work if you are in calorie deficit. Log everything, 10,000 steps minimum and recognise that binges will send you backwards. They set realistic calorie goals so you won't fall of the wagon of 80% good food and 20% rubbish so you can still have a glass of wine or two.

Exercise.

I've never dieted and I think diets, unless medically supervised, are usually a fast road to eating disorders. At best they will make you miserable and boring.

I run 5k + four times a week and I don't really think about what I eat. (I do, but from a varied diet perspective as opposed to counting calories).

There are good reasons for giving up or at least cutting back on booze so if you have to choose one or the other I'd give up on that.

But exercise is the thing that works for me.

People who calorie count. How religious are you about veg? Do I have to weigh vegetables etc and count them in? I kind of view veggies (not the high carb ones) as 'free' food and might go a bit mad if I had to make them part of my calorie allowance.

You need to find something else that you love, otherwise every time you feel down/tired/deprived you'll crave.

I found deciding to buy a good book or rent a new film instead of having a bottle of wine really helped. Similar price!

I also found exercise helps me massively - NOT because of the calorie burn, but because being out at a class with friends means I'm not sat at home eating, it lifts my mood generally - and when I'm feeling happy I don't reach for the chocolate quite as often!

You know what things will help you lose weight- eat less, move more. It's the motivation/ desire to to that you need. I am overweight after having babies and love food and drink. I've just discovered Slimpod which is not a diet but I would describe it as a behaviour change programme to lose weight. I've found that I'm simply not interested in eating chocolate much any more, and I'm having smaller portions but finding them satisfying. Lots of evidence that it works from trials on NHS staff. Might be worth a look to see if it could be for you.

I also did exactly this foodwise.

Cutting out entire food groups or severely restricting them to certain times only is the worst thing for weight loss IMO