Why did your last diet fail?

[Erebus]

My last proper diet was a good 3 years ago where I think I lost a stone, probably from 12 1/2 to 11 1/2 stone over maybe 4 months.

It 'failed' as in 'I put the weight back on' because I began to drink wine again (I have a slightly difficult relationship with wine), and I also subconsciously thought 'this is easy', wilfully disregarding the blood, sweat and tears that had gone into losing that weight, especially in the initial stages. I think I may also perversely thought 'I don't want to spend the rest of my life 'on a diet''.

I also thought for a good while 'Actually, the pain of weight loss is greater than my acceptance of being a good 2 stone overweight, the effort is too great, I will live with the way I am'- but my mindset has changed recently (or maybe I recognise that I was deluding myself?). I have accepted that I am embarrassed to be this overweight because I do look upon obese people subconsciously as being self-indulgent so I know people are thinking this about me; and I want to feel comfortable with my body, not defiant- and I want to be able to buy clothes in normal shops (I am size 18 at the mo). Incidentally, I am also 50, so weight loss won't be fast or easy!.

I am thinking about this because already on my current weight loss regime I am thinking 'well, I'm obviously losing weight, maybe I can ease up a bit. Nooo!

In 11 days I have lost 4 lbs (which isn't much at all, is it?- though it's my plan to lose sloowly, from 12/8 to 10/10 in maybe 4 months) so I'm actually 'on track' so god knows why this morning I am thinking 'well, maybe I could just have some

For me, it is always that I come off it for some reason (Christmas, holiday, birthday weekend) and cannot get back on it.

It does sound to me as if you are rather over-starving yourself. I am no expert, but 4lb in 11 days is a lot, and you are allowing yourself about 150 calories until lunch...

I am doing alternate days fasting (500 calories) and eating normally (2000 cals) - onoly just started but DSD has done it with a lot of success. She says that the best thing is that she never feels "I am on a diet forever".

erebus Please come onto the Paul Mckenna thread because if you stop it and put back some weight on the P.M. IT DOESN'T MATTER!!!!!!! you just get back into the mode and the weight drops off again REALLY !!! With no calorie counting or eating shxx diet food

I've lost just under 3 stone and I'm older than you ( i never thought I'd get back to a size 10 BTW!!)

ppeat- 3 stone loss! Amazing! Size 10? I was about that age when I was that size! I was a 14 from my early teens through to my late 30s I'd say. I scooted through 16, really (5 years?) to touching 18 now .

I must be honest and say I don't think 4lbs is a particularly big loss (I was told off elsewhere on this forum for suggesting a 12 lb loss in a week as detailed, as an aside by another poster, was completely unsustainable (the loss, not the rate of loss) due to starvation mode as much as anything, but was told your body couldn't go into that mode on high protein diets but she might be right!) I will hopefully be 12/4 or 3 on Friday morning weigh in so will have lost 4 lbs in 2 weeks. I should explain that it wasn't so much that I 'allowed' myself these calories before lunch, I just ate a bowl of fruit chunks (in bed, thanks DH!) then went back to sleep instead of my weekday porridge and weekend poached egg on rye bread.

My diet is sort of PMc, actually- I eat mindfully, I ask myself if I'm actually hungry before putting something in my mouth, I don't cut out any food groups but am aware of the calorific content of most foods though I don't count them, I walk fast on a treadmill for half an hour 3 or 4 times a week, watching TV.

I actually should buy the PMc book and CD, though, I guess. Though I want someone to lend it to me!

Anyway, I see it's 20 to 2 and I haven't had lunch! Chunky soup and rye bread. Dinner is a recipe from The Hairy Dieters cookbook. So normal food by with the 'worst excesses' cut out!

You'd do well on the P.Mc. then 'cos it's more about HOW and WHY we eat; he addresses the emotional side which is most important IMO. I also follow the blood type for my health thus not exactly following his rules but its a flexible thing really!