To ask how I can lose weight?

[2024NewStart]

Please can someone advise me. I’ve got 4 stones to lose. I’ve just been piling on a stone and a bit since lockdown. I’ve tried keto, weight watchers, slim fast, calorie counting but can’t stick to anything for more than 2 or 3 days. I don’t want to do drastic cutting out food group diets like Atkins / Keto. I’ve tried walking everyday but that actually makes me more hungry! I’ve joined gym but again that makes me hungry. I’m so lost.

Ok, so the most important thing is calorie deficit, you can’t lose weight if you eat more calories than you burn. So download an app which allows you to enter all the meals you have eaten and counts the calories, there is an NHS weight loss app or you can use the Noom app without paying, they allow you to track meals etc. Eat low carb, high protein and fibre meals. Also try to cut out alcohol, sugar, desserts, soda etc. Slowly start exercising. Also if hungry eat healthy snacks but everything in moderation. You need to sort out portion control so that you don’t consume too many calories. What is your weakness? Mine is sweets or dessert. But I have given it up for 3 months so that I can get some results. Also helps to have a weightloss partner so that you feel accountable and can motivate each other. All the best!

Calorie counting is the only thing that I can stick with, I log my calories really carefully but the key for me is not depriving myself of a treat. I eat healthily but still allow myself something nice at the weekend. I just make sure it's not in excess and I exercise as well to burn it off. That could just be a 45 min walk, doesn't have to be a gym session.

Over the years I dropped 4 stone, I've yo yo'd up and down over that time as well of course, mainly when I stop monitoring my calories (yes Christmas I'm looking at you).

Will power is the key as with any kind of diet or healthy eating plan, yes I know that sucks!

Why do you think it is that you can’t stick to anything for more than a couple of days?

Basically consistency is the only way to lose weight. You need to figure out what’s stopping that and how to stop the self sabotage.

For me, downloading My Fitness Pal was the game changer. It meant I didn’t have to deny myself anything, but I could then choose whether I wanted that glass of wine or that extra roast potato, that freddo or a slice of toast. It was an eye opener learning the calorific value of things and where hidden calories were!

Also forgot to mention aim for 2-3 litres of water. We often think we are hungry when we are actually thirsty. And don’t forget to weigh yourself and measure your waist, hips, arms, thighs etc. Sometimes you will have inch loss but weight loss takes longer. Being able to see the changes will keep you motivated. And if you have a photograph of yourself when you were thinner then put that up somewhere where you will see it regularly and it will keep you on track! And most importantly don’t give up. If you cheat or fall off the wagon get back on and keep trying and you will get there in the end!

Calorie deficit. I have lost 5 stone since June by doing that and walking 10,000+ steps a day.

Drink at least half a litre before any food. Write a very honest food diary or use eg Nutracheck and weigh everything.

Calorie Deficit, high protein intake, drink 2-3 litres of water a day and steps, steps, steps!!

I’ve lost a stone in 2 months following this. I aim for a pretty protein heavy breakfast which sets me up for the day and I rarely feel hungry.

Good luck with your weight loss journey!

The only way I can do it is calorie deficit without cutting anything out.

So I work out my weekly (rather than daily) calories. I usually do 1500 when I’m trying to lose so that gives me 10,500 calories per week.

So if I want pizza I deduct that from my weekly total and it honestly doesn’t seem like such a disaster when you still have 9000 calories left! I find it’s when I feel like I’ve got a tiny amount of food to eat per day that I end up going overboard anyway.

Give the weekly calories a go and see if it helps. I have zero self-control but this does actually keep me on track.

Thank you so much everyone

Nutracheck have a brilliant offer on at the moment. 60% off annual membership making it £28 - I have been using it for a couple of months and is far better than My Fitness Pal which I previously used.

I lost weight by cutting down pastries and biscuits/cake. Also cut down things like pasta/potatoes/rice. Replace about 50% of carbs with vegetables.

Being blunt - Eat less, do cardio to burn.

If you feel hungry, eat protein / protein shake once a day.

Discipline discipline discipline - you will need to fight hunger and do exercise.

Lifestyle changes to keep it off.

Cut out sugar if you can. I'm shifting a few pounds and toning a bit, I've a tried and tested exercise pattern I use but it's HIIT based so only takes 15 mins a day.

Food:

be in a consistent small calorie deficit.
But eat food that gives you enough energy to train hard in bursts.

Really important to eat fresh, clean foods that are as unprocessed as possible. Bodies are made in the kitchen, sculpted in the gym/exercise.

Eat at least 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight, daily. If your protein intake is too low on a restricted-calorie diet, you’ll lose a lot of muscle in addition to any fat

protein: chicken and turkey, eggs, lean red meat/steak, fish, seafood, canned tuna, tofu, seitan, peanut butter, edamame beans, Greek yoghurt, skyr, protein drink/bar
healthy carbohydrates: oats, rice, buckwheat, couscous, potatoes (+Jackets), beans, lentils, root vegetables, whole grain bread, whole grain cereal
fat sources: oily fish, olive oil, nuts, seeds, peanut butter

• drink loads of water

Mix a bit of protein and carb each meal, no shit. One cheat meal a week if you must do a take away but im afraid it takes discipline to really see fast results.

Good luck.

I've lost the weight through Slimming World. For me it was the accountability of being weighed each week that kept me on track. It's not for everyone but some tips that you may find helpful.

Meal plan for the week ahead, or even just the next few days. If I know what I'm going to be eating or that I have a really tasty tea to look forward to I'm less likely to eat mindlessly.

Soup, I make a big pot of soup on a Sunday to eat over the next few days. By making my own soup I'm in control of the ingredients and can make sure to bulk it out with plenty of veg.

Sugar free jelly. I make it and add fruit to it - fresh or tinned. I always have a bowl in the fridge for when I fancy something sweet. I'm not a big fruit eater but quite enjoy it in a jelly.

Another one saying drinking water especially when hungry. I will also say being hungry sometimes is normal and our bodies have to adjust to less food sometimes. It's important to be able to feel hunger, and be on with that.

I would say not willpower but daily habits. A routine that you set yourself up to do every single day.

Get up early, straight in to walking or gym clothes, exercise, eat protein for breakfast lunch and dinner with plenty of veg. Cut out all cakes biscuits and processed sweets except for tiny pieces of good quality dark chocolate. Plan your weekly menu ahead of time, Have a good lunch but then just soup for dinner. Stop eating before 8 pm. Don’t snack.

Dont be extreme in either diet or exercise but do be consistent with doing a little every day.

No-one loses weight if they can’t stick to whatever plan/ diet/ eating pattern for more than two or three days.

I lost five and a half stone in a year by changing my relationship with food. In my case, it had to be low carb because of T2 diabetes. I only ate at mealtimes, always prepared every meal from raw, fresh ingredients, only drank water or black coffee (but plenty of water), usually stuck to 16:8 and had one day off a fortnight when I had a takeaway or went out for a meal. Small treats were counted into the carb/calorie count - a couple of squares of chocolate, a mini flapjack or whatever. But get this - it took a WHOLE YEAR of sticking to this, not two or three days. It’s easy to maintain because I don’t enjoy the foods I used to eat any more. I crave salad, fresh veg and fruit, and don’t miss biscuits, chocolate or crisps at all.

Have you tried the 5:2 diet? Then you only have to stick to it for a day because you can eat normally again the next day?

Slimming world is great , you can eat loads and still lose weight , I love it

When i was in boarding school we once got in trouble and got grounded to our rooms. We asked about dinner and the head teacher told us to drink water if we are hungry. Its now my diet motto. Always drink 2 big glasses of water before a meal. Always leave the table a little bit hungry still.
You cant do a diet where you wont be hungry 🤷🏻‍♀️ That feelings just part of it if you wanna lose weight. Learn to distract yourself.

My will-power is absolutely pants and I eat & drink whatever I feel like (to my detriment). However, I've decided to get back in control and one of the things I can commit to is upping my exercise from 500 (est!) steps per day to a reasonable amount plus increasing my water intake. I highly recommend walking videos on Youtube, especially people like Leslie Sansome as she does 15 minute / 1 mile + sessions which are very easy to follow. I restarted this today and am aiming to work up to the 5 mile session eventually. Another idea is that rather than trying to restrict foods, just make tiny adjustments such as reducing treats a little bit - I know that I felt almost punished by not having that 2nd piece of chocolate, but if I re-phrased it, it was not quite so bad.
Also, as a list freak, I've drawn up a spreadsheet of where I could be if I lose a pound per week, which is not unachievable and it looks quite good for summer holidays in six months time!
Fingers crossed and all the best,
Clare
xxx

Some more tips, if you are a volume eater and don’t want to feel like you are being deprived with small quantities then eat cucumber sticks with humus as a starter, and then your meal and then fruit like water melon which is filling but low on calories. If you need to drink soda then only zero cal soda drinks like coke zero, pepsi max etc. but ideally water with a dash of lemon is best. There is also a free 30 day program by Betty Rocker called Make Fat burn. It is only 15 mins but will really rev up your metabolism. Bit hard initially but it gets better. The best part is it introduces you to yoga, pilates, aerobics, HIIT and lots of different types of work outs. You may try and then decide which one you like best and the best part only 15 mins a day!

Nutracheck has really opened my eyes to what I must have been eating prior to logging it. It is helping me to log it as it stops me eating those unnecessary late night snacks and stops me drinking wine too.

Joggo app was great for me, until I injured myself, nothing to do with the app.

All the diets are calorie counting they are just disguised as other things ..

The nutra check app is the best one .. also you don't need to cut down to 1300 cals if you have 4 stone to lose as you will be burning more calories just moving around ..

Work out your bmr and make sure you eat less than that .

Record everything and prioritise protein and make sure you don't get hungry. !

I had some success with a hypnoisis book and audio file.