What diet has worked long term for you?

[Cluesue]

I have tried nearly all the diets out there I think.

Herbalife,fibre diet,cabbage soup diet,calorie counting(lost4st six times then put it all back on)Atkins,Terri-Ann 123 plan,weight watchers,slimming world.

Have lost 1st4lb recently on juiceplus but as usual the willpower has disappeared and I find myself binging again.

So fed up with myself,have had pnd with both Dd and and am only now coming out of the black hole again after DD 2 was born nearly 3 years ago,I'm also the biggest I've been

5:2
because you are not dieting every day
and one day a week is utterly free

Not a diet as such but using My Fitness Pal (MFP) has helped me to lose 2 stones in 4 months.
It really made me think about what I'm eating and how many calories I'm consuming.
I've not been dieting just cutting down ie. less junk / smaller portions.
It worked for me and is (hopefully) sustainable.

I stopped eating crap, bought (and ate) more veg, started drinking hot water and lemon instead of coffee in the mornings and exercised more (cycling, aquafit and Pilates). The results would be even better if I cut out wine, but I have cut down considerably.

I would think that by "long term" you mean someone who has eaten a certain way for many (over 5 at least) years and not regained weight. That for me would be a sustainable way of eating and one I would be really interested in hearing. Most diets or WOE can work short term but its doing it forever that keeps the weight off isn't it?

I gained weight slowly through my 20's
14 years ago I lost 3 stone with WW : the lessons learned stopped me ever putting it all back on
but over the following years a stone crept back on

in 2012 I discovered 5:2 and hit "happy weight" in December 2012
and have found it really easy to maintain for over three years

and see no reason why I cannot maintain for ever

I lost four stone, and have maintained the weight I got to for a year now. What I have done is just a lifestyle change - nothing drastic, nothing forbidden. But I just try not to eat much chocolate, cake, crisps and try not to drink much alcohol. I lost the weight slowly, just a pound a week, and I am convinced I can maintain my weight.

Oh yeah, and I exercise 3 times a week.

Calorie counting with long term awareness of the nutritional value of food. I calorie counted methodically for 2 + years, lost close to 5 stone and have kept it off for 3 years. I am now aware of the nutrition/calories in what I eat and what I need in a week/month to keep to a healthy balance and not feel deprived/on a diet.

5:2 - you're only dieting for 2 days a week which still gives you 5 days to enjoy your favourite foods guilt-free. I use it in conjunction with LifeSum app which allows you to track calories on both fasting and non-fasting days.

I did something to lose quite a lot of weight, and kept it off (bar pregnancies but wasn't overweight after giving birth). But, I don't know if it counts as I wasn't overweight for very long. I put on about 3 st as a result of meds that had 2 side effects - they slowed my metabolism, and made me hungry all the time -I never felt sated. When I came off them I just tried to make the most natural and nutritious choices I could. 3 meals a day plus snack on nuts / veg / fruit if needed (I seem to get lightheaded if i dont snack) So wholrmeal bread, eggs, oats, fish, veg, fruit all in decent portions. Biscuits pastry, processed food etc infrequently (once a week ish). I wanted to nurture my body, not deprive it. I joined a sports team so I would exercise. I changed to swimming due to changing job and babies. This was 6 yrs ago I lost the weight.

None of those fad diets will work, OP, because they are only intended to be followed short-term. The only way to success is a permanent change of diet.

I have lost 1stone 3lbs in 7weeks using Mfp. It's not a diet as such, I am changing my attitude towards food. I monitor my calories closely and am learning about portion sizes. It really works.

Learning to listen to your body and its hunger signals and satiety signals is what is needed for long term weight maintenance. Eat when you are truly hungry and stop when you are satisfied, not full. Make sure your meals are full of flavours and are foods you love, that way you can enjoy more of what you really like and feel satisfied with less. This is what works for me anyway.

Thanks all,think I will try cutting down!healthier choices but have small treat if really want one as I find restrictive diets only end in binging on unhealthy foods and quantities

www.myfitnesspal.com/

Lailoo is right, her way sounds like Paul Mckenna I Can Make You Thin, which I lost nearly 3 stone with and am maintaining. There is no CC, or fasting or eating diet "pretend'' foods. You just re educate your body. There's a good support thread on here.

Move more
Eat less
No bread or pasta. Ever
Little alcohol. Ever
Very little mannose sugar
Lost astone quickly (I was 10st)
Slept better, better hair skin etc
Am currently pregnant and it's all gone tits up but willresumepost partum!

Move more
Eat less
No bread or pasta. Ever
Little alcohol. Ever
Very little mannose sugar
Lost astone quickly (I was 10st)
Slept better, better hair skin etc
Am currently pregnant and it's all gone tits up but willresumepost partum!

Weight watchers has completely changed how I think about food. I know my limitations now and that its ok to have a treat as long as I don't have too much. I know I can have a meal out a week, I can have a fun size choc in the evening and I can have a few glasses of wine a week and not gain.
I know I can substitute potato for sweet potato and creme Fraichr for cream and those lessons have helped me keep the weight off.

I only gained 1.5 stone in my last pregnancy (gained 4 with my first) because I had the right frame of mind. 3 months on and I've only got 4 lbs left to lose.

I don't give myself rules as in 'no carbs, no sugar', I think everything in moderation is fine (as long as you can stick to it in moderation). A calorie is a calorie at the end of the day.

What I would say is completely cut out snacks and alcohol/soft drinks. I lost nearly a stone just doing that alone.

Definitely reducing rubbish carbs, especially bread and pasta. Pasta is so bad, if I eat it I am starving hungry half an hour later! If I have a steak with a huge salad it keeps me going for ages.

Replace refined carbs with pulses, veg and protein. Eat more fat: cheese, avocados, nuts, meat with fat on. Lots of olive oil in dressings. Reduce alcohol. Snack on beg, fruit and protein.

Beg = veg, obviously!

Also, try MFP.

Once you know the amount of calories in things, it really makes you more aware of what you are actually eating. 140 calories in one triangle of Toblerone, or two hard boiled eggs as a snack? No brainer really.

Also, try MFP.

Once you know the amount of calories in things, it really makes you more aware of what you are actually eating. 140 calories in one triangle of Toblerone, or two hard boiled eggs as a snack? No brainer really.