I feel brainwashed by SW/WW etc...

[Rachtoteach]

Sorry but I really do. I know I am the worlds worst dieter but I've now convinced myself that to lose weight I most follow a specific regime... wW/SW etc. I bet 'naturally' slim people haven't followed these in their lives! Surely I can lose weight by eating healthily, without counting points/calories/syns - yes? Or no? I've lost the plot....! I have 2 stone to lose.... Help!!!

depends what you mean by 'eating healthily' and how much exercise you do?

Only you know whether you can lose weight simply by eating healthily. Personally, I wasn't able to because though I ate healthily I ate too big a portion of healthy foods and snacks so my weight crept up to BMI 36. Only by logging calories in MyFitnessPal was I able to learn what normal portions were. I did it for a year, learned valuable lessons and now instinctly eat like the slim person I now am (though I still want to lose a stone so now do 5:2 fasting - normal, healthy eating most of the week but 2 days fasting - still don't log calories or exclude/reduce food groups, still eating healthily, just less of it).

Try eating off a small dinner plate, eat more protein and more veg and less carbs, try and avoid processed foods and sugar and you will be eating (more or less) like a slim healthy person. I overate for years and was at the upper end of overweight in the BMI stakes, now in healthy (lost 24lb) by reducing my portions and only eating when hungry. If you slow down and get to know your body better you have a chance of recognising when you're hungry/full. Good luck

I lost about two stone a few years ago not on a diet. After years of diets schemes and regimes I read fat is a feminist issue by susie orbach. Something clicked- It got my head straight and food and eating became simpler. I ate when I was hungry and not otherwise. I ate a lot of veggies, no fast food, frequently left food on my plate and tried not to eat sweet treats on consecutive days. I also ran a lot. I did have a realistic notion of portions and healthy food etc thanks to years of dieting but I didn't weigh measure or calorie count. I have been skin ever since and feel like I have the mindset of a naturally slim person now. It is nice to be slim but is is AMAZING to be free of the the dieting dogma, body angst and food obsessions. Hope this helps. Good luck. BM