I believe that dieting makes you fat. However, how do I lose weight?!

[KKKKaty]

Having seen many documentaries and read many articles over the last year or two, I am pretty convinced that it is true that dieting makes you fat. I used to have a "settling" weight of around 9st 4 or so, but three times through weightwatchers (and a couple of babies), I now settle at 10st 10 or so, a horrible, podgy, muffin-top sort of weight for me.

So, on the basis that dieting does make you fat - as soon as you stop dieting all the weight plus more goes back on - how do I get thinner and stay thinner?

The only way is to change your eating habits for life. And exercise.

Good luck!

How fall are you?

I would find out how many calories you can eat a day & then just check how many you are actually eating

Just by being aware of what is in food helps me

So my 4 custard creams with my morning cuppa were why I was putting a stone on in 6 months

tall

Gah!

Exercise and eating well.

Good luck!

NHS couch to 5k

Hypnosis!

I've lost 20+lbs in 7 weeks using a hypnosis app. It's made me feel more aware of when I'm hungry, what I'm hungry for, and why. It actively promotes itself as not being a diet - no restrictions.

I instinctively lean towards low-carb anyway, as white bread warburtons toastie you bastard has always been my downfall. I do believe refined carbs are damaging a lot of peoples eating habits.

Also you need to drink more, water, water, water.

You could look into getting a fitbit or jawbone up, to see how active you really are, and set yourself targets.

I wasn't fat, a little podgy maybe - I'm just more aware of my habits now, and accountable!

Don't cut out any food entirely and dont strictly calorie count, but do cut right back on obvious offenders such as chocolate, biscuits, cake, soft drinks (only have them as occasional treats) and reduce your portion size. Just leave something on your plate at every meal. Also, eat three meals a day at regular hours and never snack. I've also found that if I eat really tasty, good quality, home cooked food it's more satisfying and I eat less overall - but that's not at all scientific!

Lastly, exercise makes a difference - but do something that is sustainable. I used to walk a lot - since getting a car and starting to drive to work my weight has settled at about half a stone more than what it used to be.

But don't think about it too much and definitely don't obsess or get into the details.

I lost few extra lbs using myfitnesspal which made me realise how much extra calories I was eating. Now I exercise 5 times a week and eat all meals with less snacking. I still eat a lot of rubbish but I try balancing it out with exercise.

Thinking slimmer.com worked spectacularly for me.

Hoping it works a second time after having a baby and various things leaving me miserable and immobile for a few months.

I agree dieting doesn't work.

Virtually the only time I have felt out of control of my weight in my adult life was when I adopted a "diet" ahead of my wedding and overrode my own instincts on how to eat. I put on weight. I gave up and ate normally again.

The way for me to stay slim is to:

• control portion size
• not eat too many processed carbs
• eat lots of fruit and veg
• never deny myself anything absolutely because then I want it more than is normal!
• be active (I would normally walk about 3-5 miles a day and have a Nike Fuelband which monitors my activity)

Here is what I ate yesterday.

Breakfast: medium bowl of porridge mixed with homemade granola

Morning snack: nuts; skinny cappuccino

Lunch: bowl of soup and one piece of bread and butter; apple; water to drink

Afternoon snacks: banana; some raisins and nuts

Dinner: chicken stir fry with lemon and chilli (chicken, onions, peppers, leeks etc); water to drink

Post dinner snack: Apple, quite a bit of chocolate

I am feeding a 5mo old DS2 at the moment so slightly above my usual weight at 8 stone 6lb but should return to my usual 8 stone in a few months by eating normally.

I rarely feel hungry when I eat like this and I might eat pizza, pasta or whatever I fancy. The big thing for me is not doing it all at the same time so not having pizza and chocolate and ice cream all at once, every single day. Anything in moderation is fine and makes no impact on my weight.

Diets are by their nature finite. The only way to lose weight permanently is to eat in moderation and exercise enough, allowing this to become second nature rather than a time-limited diet.

Sorry. That is really dull. I even bored myself.

Oh yes if you drink go tee total for a month

That always makes me lose half a stone easily

Low carb.

Avoid wheat based products as much as possible - so cereal, bread, pasta, cake, biscuits. I have done this for the last couple of years and have stayed a healthy weight without feeling at all like I am 'on a diet' and I know I can sustain this for life.

'Wheat Belly' by William Davis is a great read.

Thanks for your replies everyone. I know you all talk sense. I'm just feeling a bit negative about it at the moment, because all routes to weight loss I can think of involve will power, which I will sustain for some time, lose some weight, and then I will think "oh fuck this for a game of soldiers" and go straight back to where I started. I tried low carbing but couldn't live without wine and fruit and a bit of chocolate. I also found it difficult to think of family meals and also have a DH who would probably leave me if I stopped feeding him the occasional pizza and potatoes. So that's out.

I did get hold of a copy of Paul McKenna but as I have two pre-school children I found it difficult to find the half an hour a day needed to listen to the CD. I managed it a few times but I have no idea what it say as I almost immediately fall asleep for the duration. It didn't make me feel any different.

I really must try to exercise, but again have the problem of time. I've never been a sporty person at all and haven't yet found a form of exercise I actually enjoy enough to keep it up.

I don't have an unhealthy diet - I cook from scratch, don't drink soft drinks, don't eat biscuits. My downfall is probably wine and the inevitable crisp-eating it causes, ice cream and probably too-big portions.

OK, so here's the plan.

1. Smaller portions
2. Less bread
3. Cut back on the wine

I will also check out thinking slimmer.com, thank you.

And also I will have a really good think about exercise.

have you heard of the 5:2 diet? lots of sucess on this site with this

it's 2 days 500 calories and the rest of the week you can eat normally as long as you don't go ott

Yes, I tried the 5:2, did it for three weeks and lost not a single pound.

Ruby - at even boring yourself!

I'm interested in the Nike Fuelband you mention - can you just have it linked to your phone just for you to see the results? Rather than upload it so everyone can see?

Katy - if I even think I'm on a diet, I want to eat everything in sight. I've spent some time on the 5:2, got bored and now I'm eating in moderation. A miracle for me - I think the 5:2 was instrumental in shrinking my stomach capacity, so now I actually want less.

I'm also more conscious of eating when I'm hungry and not when I'm not. And that if I am hungry, I can live with it, rather than having to eat something.

Oddly I find a bit of wine helps me as it makes a meal feel more of an occasion and hence more satisfying.

Also, if I feel like wine and cheese then I just have that - and then something better balanced for another meal, to compensate.

With regard to willpower, there is no way round it IME, even if all youre trying to do is eat in moderation. But don't regard lapses as failures, they are entirely normal. If you splurge one day, all is not lost, just try to eat a bit less the next (or the one after), don't totally give up in despair (or self-disgust).

I eat a bit of chocolate every day. But the key thing is that I think "oh I want some chocolate after dinner, so I probably won't have that second portion of pasta" and keep everything in moderation. That has now become second nature so it doesn't feel like deprivation or willpower - it just feels like eating so I can always wear my trousers in comfort.

Actually, I think the key to thinking something is just your life and NOT a diet is to think "well, I can eat that pizza but actually I fancy a glass of wine or two more, so I might leave it today". For me, not forbidding anything means I don't obsess about it.

Heath - yes, if you have an iPhone, you can just track your personal activity with the Fuelband. I choose to share nothing with my online friends because:

• they would think I was a loon
• none of them care about my activity levels
• I don't want anyone to know that some days I have the average activity level of a dead ant

Have you tried The Harcombe Diet? She works on the principle that overweight is caused by food addiction/cravings and that calorie counting doesn't work long-term, plus processed food, including sugar, is the work of the devil.

The first 5 days are hardcore and preparation is the key for those, but it's possible to get dramatic results which don't rely on calorie counting or loads of exercise which you may not have time for.

Google Harcombe and 'allaboutyou.com' for a simple version of the first 5 days and have a look at her website.

The only way to keep weight off is to be vigilant about your weight for the rest of your life. It takes discipline and willpower. Forever.

Giving up wheat products is a great idea - they are just to accessible for in between meals and too easy to consume them in massive quantities when you do have them because wheat is not hugely filling and will leave you hungry a couple of hours later. Increase your veg and protein instead.

Take a look at all the meals you regularly cook at home and if any are very high in calories then find a substitute for them .

Dumping a couple of my worst offenders from our repertoire and replacing with a more moderate meal was an easy way to clean up my eating habits and shift some weight.

I tried low carbing but couldn't live without wine and fruit and a bit of chocolate.

I have lost over two stone in the last year with low carbing. For me, I aim to do it four or five days a week, with a couple of 'fat' days in between. It doesn't feel like complete denial and I have potatoes and wine etc on fat days (keeps the metabolism boosted, otherwise your body will think you're starving it).

My approach means my weight loss hasn't been fast, but it's been continual, effective and noticeable. It's not a diet, as such, it's a Way of Eating, and of changing some bad habits forever. My energy levels have shot up and I sleep much better. Lots and lots of water is also key.

I just ate good food. Nothing out of a jar or packet, so no hidden sugar. Eat 3 normal meals a day, the odd bit of fruit, have some chocolate if you want, but ease off on alcohol, sugar and go easy on the cheese.

Lost almost 2 stone in 6 months.