Help me to decide please

[paranoidmother]

I've decided again that I should lose weight. So far I know I've got to change both my eating habits and also my exercise regime.

The year before last I managed to lose 3 stone using the Wii Fit and also Tesco Diets. So am tempted to go back to this - when I gave up I put it all on (not surprising)

So does anyone have any opinions on any of the other diet programs out there? I can't get to meetings so it's something i'll have to do at home/online. We live in the middle of nowhere.

Thank you - I want to lose about 8 stone at least.

I've tried all sorts, a lot online, Tesco, WW, slimming world etc. What worked was a personal trainer - but online. I lost weight and learned to love exercise (for the first few months, that included the wii fit - she will look at whatever you enjoy to fit in with your lifestyle)
I had weekly email contact, more if needed. it was £30 a month so no more than the average club, but with real 1-1 inout and support

Now I am totally self motivated to exercise , including jogging (would never have done this before) and spend the equivalent money on a gym instead, but I couldn't have got to this stage without her.
I am struggling a bit with food over the Xmas period and hoping that'll settle down.

if you think this sounds ok let me know and I'll give you her details.

can you forget "diets" all together and think about eating healthily- and also less of it?

If you calorie count, and are really honest, then that will work.

can you identify what you eat too much of- is it carbs?

I'd suggest a very basic diet for life appraoch...

2 eggs for breakfast ( not fried) with 1 slice wholemeal toast

lunch- soup or salad, with lean meat such as chicken, or a portion of cottage cheese, or tinned tuna, piece of fruit.
snack mid afternoon- sm. yoghurt

dinner- fish, chicken, lean meat of any kind, with loads of steamed veg.

another piece of fruit.

No alcohol, no nibbles, fill up on raw veg or fruit.

I think before commiting yourself to any diet club try for a couple of weeks be honest with yourself and log in your good
www.foodfocus.co.uk

it opens your eyes to what's on your plate :)

Thank you.

I can't afford £30 a month I was going to try and stretch to £15 which is what weight watchers/tesco is. My hours at work get cut for January so I don't have as much income. So as much as i'd like the online fitness trainer I couldn't afford it.

Perhaps diet is the wrong word but a change of lifestyle would be better. I was hoping for direction I think is the word so that I change for the better and get into a new healthy routine.

I think I might give it a month of exercise and write down all that I eat to see what I am doing wrong. Can't try and talk myself out of it if I have written it down.

You could do at home what Sian was doing for me, just means you have to keep yourself accountable.

She would plan a month's fitness according to my timetable, so I was doing 4 workouts a week, 30-45 minutes a time; that could be playing on the wii, going for a (energetic) walk, a swim, whatever you find works for you (any fitness DVD's at home? - I even included yoga)
So if you did the same and stuck to it - I would move days round if I was ill or too busy but tried to keep to the 4 times a week.

there are lots of websites that can help - I've heard fitday is good, but not used it. I used fatsecret for a while, I liked that as you could join a Challenge that represented wwhat you were trying to do, whether it's exercise, diet, lose a certain amount of weight etc, to keep you accountable and be part of a community. It's free.

hope you come back to tell us how you get on.

Sorry, should have added, the aim of the timetable was as much to get me in the exercise habit/lifestyle, as to actually lose weight - so though yoga wouldn't lose me any weight it still meant I was doing something and enjoying it

good luck

here is my blog

lots of info about low carbing.

over the last two months whilst not on the diet full time becuase ...well it was xmas i have put on 10 lbs.

back n it again yesterday

this AM i had lost 4 lbs.

i shit you not.

its amazing

Reviving this thread- not sure how you've been doing paranoidmother?- but just to say two things.

First, low-carb diets do work very well BUT (at least from my experience but also from what I've heard from others) once you're off the diet the weight just piles on incredibly quickly.

Second, I disagree to be honest with all diets as none of them are sustainable over the long run. The sanest eating plan I've found, by a long shot, is the so called NoS diet: No snacks, no seconds (ie just one plate food each meal) & no sugar, except on days that start with 's' (ie saturdays, sundays & special days for example birthdays, christmas etc). There's a website too, no money needed either, it's all completely free & created by normal people.

I also think, as the others have said, exercise is super important too.