Never stuck to a diet before -help!

[LadyCurd]

So I'm about a stone- a stone and a half overweight and have been most of my adult life. At one point I was three stone overweight but that all fell off after a particularly stressful time and never really came back as my appetite got under control and I wasn't having unhappy unhealthy blowouts anymore. When pregnant or breastfeeding I bizarrely go skinny and so for the last 4years I haven't really worried about my weight but now my probably last child is no longer breastfeeding the weight is starting to creep up and I am not feeling very happy or confident in clothes (when youngest was few months old I weighed 11 stone which was the first time I had been that weight since a teen- given the amount if cake I was truffling it was ace!).

I'm 5ft 9 with a decent sized frame so although some weight charts say 10stone9 I think 11stone- 11.5stone is a healthy weight for me. I'm currently 12.5stone creeping towards 13 at times. My BMI has crossed back into the overweight threshold after a few years of being the top end of normal.

So I have never stuck to a diet for longer than a week or so, even when I am trying just to eat healthily and not deprive myself. I have my fitness pal which has helped me raise awareness of my intake and how many calories are actually in things and being a very sloth like creature I need to get active.

I know what I need to do I just don't seem to be able to stick at it. A month or so a go I was a bridesmaid in a slim fitting dress, I had a goal and motivation to try and lose weight the couple of months before but it just didn't happen (and I look enormous in the pics :(). I was fairly good (with odd slip) but nothing really came off so I suspect I need to work harder at it but then that brings in the feelings of hardship and deprivation which makes it harder to stick at! I'm also pondering if my coil (fitted 6months ago) is also adding to weight gain issue.

So I figured rambling here might help me as I try and adopt better eating habits and build exercise into my life. I'm 32 this year and I can see if I don't try and get this stuff sorted now I can look forward to an overweight and unhealthy middle age.

Any tips from the experienced? I know it comes down to eat less and move more really, and viewing it as a diet rather than a way of life is probably unhelpful. Sigh.

Read the 5:2 threads. You 'diet' for 2 days a week.

It's easier to do if you suffer from slightly lower willpower

And you can ease yourself in gradually doing one day a week, slightly higher than 500 calories on that day. You haven't got that much to lose.

Just to encourage you I've lost 19lbs in 16 weeks - that's pretty much what you want to lose.

Whatever you choose, good luck

Thats impressive well done! I was pondering that but wondering if that is suitable for a long term "way of life" thing. So 2000cals on normal days then? You still need to not overeat the other days right?

I would say its the most suitable long term for me - I can imagine fasting for ever as its so easy - if you abandon a fast due to a surprise social engagement you just do it another day. There's none of that guilt about 'failure'.

A lot of the negativity around 'dieting' has gone for me.

Yes, it's around 2000 on other days but that's individual - so for me it's 2000 at my weight but when I reach 9stone it will be about 1600 ish I think.