not sure which approach to use to lose weight...

[pinkflower1]

Really would appreciate some advice.

OK, so I'm not huuugely overweight, but I am overweight. I am 5'4 and 11 st 8. BUT, all my weight is on my belly and boobs (34G). My stomach is hideous. Bum, hips, legs and arms just don't match belly and boobs!

I Have PCOS and hypothyroidism and just never feel well. I don't eat a huge amount or snack but I do eat a lot of processed food (which I will shortly post a thread in recipes about), I have been shopping today and bought only fresh/store cupboard essentials so am dealing with that.

I joined he gym a year ago and went from 12 st 6 to 11 st 4 in a month but have put 4 lb of that back on even though I'm still attending the gym.

Have a big family holiday in April and would love to look good and feel comfortable.

What diet would you recommend to lose 1.5 stone by then? Am thinking just healthy eating ALL the time (would do this as a family, me DH and 3 DCs rather than alone), combined with gym 3 times a week and walking everywhere I can rather than driving.

Any tips for when I get huge sugar/carb cravings?

Any advice hugely appreciated.

I like weightwatchers because you can eat everything in moderation so as i am a chocaholic i save myself 3 points a day for a mini dairy milk. You can also earn extra points by walking/ excercising so on a saturday i would do a mega walk and then treat myself with a bag of crisps and a chocolate bar. You have done very well so far. I have 2 stone to lose and have never had to losethat much before. My previous ww sucess was pre children! Good luck

I think you are right to start with healthy eating all the time - ie a permanent change, not a diet. No doubt there will be a slew of people along in a minute recommending their own favourite diet though.

If you stick to whole foods, cut out sugar (juices and cereals are typically a big culprit in this respect), processed food, trans fats and white carbs then you will be eating much more healthily straight away. Stick to this 80-90% of the time and don't ban anything completely then you should see the difference pretty quickly in how you feel as well as look. Snack on nutritious food if you feel the need - veg, nuts, a bit of cheese, berries and greek yoghurt, nut butter on apple. Try and eat everything slowly and mindfully so that you get back in touch with your appetite and when you are truly hungry/full.

Eating this way you will probably find you crave white carbs and sugar much less anyway but by not banning them you will hopefully avoid a binge - just have them if you feel you really want them - maybe once a week - and really enjoy it. The only other thing to avoid is anything labelled 'diet' or 'low-fat'.

Add some regular exercise that you enjoy to this and you should do well and it won't be a temporary fix or period of punishment, it will just be how you live .

After dd I lost 1 stone on low carb and I've kept it off even though I now eat carbs. Lost a further stone using my fitness pal app which you scan the bar codes of all you eat and it calculates how many cals you need to eat to lose weight - I am now at a healthy weight

I like weightwatchers because you can eat everything in moderation so as i am a chocaholic i save myself 3 points a day for a mini dairy milk. You can also earn extra points by walking/ excercising so on a saturday i would do a mega walk and then treat myself with a bag of crisps and a chocolate bar. You have done very well so far. I have 2 stone to lose and have never had to losethat much before. My previous ww sucess was pre children! Good luck

Agree with sleep. Focus on the quality of your food- avoid overly processed stuff and think about nutritional content. Whenever I need to lose a couple of pounds I cut down carbs and drastically reduce sugar/sweetener intake- Bingo- pounds lost, even if I do nothing else. I also feel a lot better/ more energetic/ less bloated. Tbh, I'm not even that strict - I'm an 80/20 kind of girl and not in the "sugar is as bad as crack" camp. I'd still have a bit of cake at a party or whatever. what I do notice is that the less sugar I eat, the less I want.

I'd also step away from the "must lose 20lbs by April" target and just aim to change habits for life. Otherwise you can start getting panicky if you get to February and you havent lost much, and then you get tempted by crazy crash diets

When trying to lose weight you should keep in mind that 80% depends on what you eat and 20% on exercise. Try incorporating more fruits and veg in your diet & drink lots of water. Being healthy is all about making choices and moderation. Staying active will help burn those calories.

A good way to start you off is to cut out drinking loads of milky teas and coffees a day and also ANY high sugar and diet fizzy drinks. Do this when you have a quiet day or 2 'cos it can lead to headaches.

Switch to water (filtered tastes better and is cheaper than mineral bottled water which can be high in salt). Also green\mint teas are lovely.

Take a turmeric or nettle supplement to speed up your metabolic rate.

Agree about eating good fresh veg. and fruit (eating the fruit for breakfast or on an empty stomach is the best way). I also think that the 'must lose by April' target is not a brilliant way to go about weight loss.

Oh also eat ONLY when you're hungry and be conscious of your food (not throwing it down your neck while on MN or watching TV). you have to STOP when you're full this is the Paul Mckenna Way of Eating and Iam living proof it works!! (i lost nearly 3 stone and i'm maintaining) as do the above ideas!!

1 and a half stone is a LOT to lose in that time. 1 or 2 pounds per week, as you dont have a lot to lose.

Join MyFitnessPal. Weigh your portions. A healthy eating approach will benefit the whole family, but you need to be aware of how much of everything you are eating.

Dont rely on exercise to lose the weight, though it's great for helping you look and feel good.

I lost the weight without any calorie counting or weighing the portions it's totally unnecesary and far too much of a faff for me.

Been reading abt this revolutionary diet - 2 days diet, 5 days non diet
Diet is based on recommended portions for your weight ie - 6 portions carbs a day but on diet days you cut out carbs and treats

I think that the healthy eating approach for the whole family is a great idea and definitely cut out the processed foods as much as possible.
My husband lost over a stone in 90 days with a new system that has just launched in the UK. Amazing how easy it is to do, as he barely exercised, although I'm sure the weight would have come off a lot quicker if he did more. Still proud of him. I'm sure he would share how he did it if I asked him.