Can anyone recommend a really easy and effective diet?

[CustardCream1]

Hi, I am currently 10 stone and want to lose two stone. I'm 5 ft 1, and 8 stone is my ideal weight. I am terrible on diets, I never know what I should eat and end up struggling to lose weight.

I'm a single mum and find I'm too busy to spend a long time preparing food. I'm looking for a really easy diet, but that is effective.

Can anyone recommend one for me to follow?

Many thanks

I wouldn't go on a diet. People tend to diet, lose weight and then go back to eating "normally" and put it all back on.
Cut out processed food. Cook from scratch. Make food nutritious and delicious. Avoid snacking. Watch portion sizes. Good protein and lots of veg. Drink lots of water. And exercise! It will change your shape m

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There isn't one that you can do without having to spend quite a bit of time preparing food, in my experience.

Eat less. Cut out sugar. Soup is really cheap, healthy and filling and easy to make

I've heard good things about 5:2 and it seems pretty simple to follow.

But I too am not a fan of 'diets'. The times in my life when I've properly lost weight have been through just changing the way I eat for the longterm.

I can recommend the 5:2 having lost 22Kg and edging down still.

I eat what I want when I want on the 5 and am strict on the 2.

Take some exercise at the same time as I found that the loss of weight made the exertion easier and reinforced the positive feelings of being lighter.

I am a strong believer in eat healthy foods and limit sugar and exercise.

But if you need a diet that is known to be easy to stick to and does make you cook from scratch and eat less sugar, I would choose Slimming World. I know lots of people who have lost a ton of weight, eat nice food and have kept it off.

But just be careful not to over do the 'free' foods. Eat until you are full -I mean no one is going to lose weight if they eat a zillion miller light yogurts

Not limit exercise obviously

Eat less.

Cut out the booze entirely.

Remove all snacks in shiny packs from the house (Ok, that may well be by eating them, but once gone do not replace)

Takeaway as a monthly treat only.

Swop anything white/refined for its brown/whole version.

Weigh a few things accurately and look up how many calories there are in them. See what is 'expensive' and whether you can swop it for something you like just as much.

I found that telling myself I'd have pudding (or a snack) in 20 minutes usually meant the urge went away, or at least I'd have much less.

Soup is always good, but don't load up with rolls and croutons!

Oh and use my fitness pal.

I've just started the No S diet. Simplest one I've come across. No snacks, no sugar, no seconds. Except on days beginning with S, and Special days like birthdays. No idea if it will work but I'm sick of yoyo dieting and this one involves no counting, no fasting, no cutting out major food groups. There's a book explaining it in a bit more detail.

I got to my target weight with Paul Mackenna I Can Make You Thin (I hate the name) I'm slim not thin and am maintaining, there's no Cal counting or weighing of food or low fat diet foods. It just changes when, where and how we eat, I've always eaten healthily but only the PM got my weight down properly.

Thank you all for your advice. I've decided to try the 5:2 diet as it seems pretty easy and flexible. I am finding the fasting days hard, but hopefully it gets easier.