What to eat to lose weight?

[reluctantlondoner]

I have ten weeks and want to drop around a stone, ideally slightly more. I can't starve myself and have to eat out a lot (socially and work). Any ideas on what to choose? Eating the wrong things / too much is a big problem for me. I love carbs and creamy sauces and chocolate. Help! How to get through the day without eating loads of crap?

My fitness pal calorie counter, plan your meals, don't snack and do exercise to burn more calories

Unsurprising but fruits and veggies are super low in cals so you can basically eat as much as you like. I like to buy frozen mango from Asda and have that for dessert. It's like eating sorbet. Sometimes I blend it up with cherries and freeze into ice lollies.

Nuts are healthy and I have them in my diet now I have been at my target weight for a while but are very high calorie so I would recommend weighing them so as to not accidentally over-indulge.

Good luck!

And for creamy sauces try using natural yoghurt instead of cream. In a veg curry or mushroom stroganoff I always add natural yoghurt instead of cream. Really tasty and lowers the calories by loads!

Things to eat when out
Steak and salad
Fish and veg
Jacket spud with beans/tuna/ham
Pasta with a tomato based sauce
Salads but ask for no dressing or on the side.
Chinese chicken in black bean or oyster sauce. Plain noodles or rice
Battered fish and a jacket, don't eat the batter!

Thanks so much for the tips!

Use a smaller plate and fill half of it with vegetables, that don't have a creamy sauce in! Also use smaller spoon or fork and take your time to eat.

Fill up on salads veg ext but dressings on the side. No white carbs

Definitely count calories - MFP or similar. Set a limit (15-1600) and stick to it. Exercise.

A good way is to not combine protein and carbs at the same meal. So a salad sandwich with the meat\egg filling. Also eat fruit on an empty stomach to start , not as dessert.

Drink plenty of water, cut down on caffeinated drinks if you OD on them! Have herbal, mint\green ginger etc., teas instead.

Eat\chew slowly and mindfully, really tasting the food (not in front of a screen or standing up).

Sorry "without'" the meat\egg etc. fillings

A good way is to not combine protein and carbs at the same meal. So a salad sandwich with the meat\egg filling. Also eat fruit on an empty stomach to start , not as dessert

What does that achieve? What is the theory behind it?

i lost a lot of weight several years ago by cutting right down on carbs. I reckoned I had insulin resistance. I didn't cut them out completely but after lunch I ate none at all. Protein and lots of veg/salads for dinner. I allowed myself two pieces of bread a day, either breakfast or lunch but not after lunch. I ate smaller portions and made myself eat slowly and taste the food rather than rushing. I started by counting calories but after a while just monitored the carbs and my stomach had shrunk anyway. If I went out for lunch for example, i would just have soup without the bread, or if I had beans on toast i had one piece of toast instead of two. I ate the same things quite a lot but I lost two stones very easily. Unfortunately I have now put it back on and then some. I need to do it again, but I don't think I can tolerate bread at all now and probably need to cut out carbs altogether to get results, or keep them to just breakfast. I hate calories counting and I can't eat potatoes or pasta at all now without it just turning into fat. I also don't feel well when I eat potatoes, pasta or bread. Drink lots of water and exercise every day. I walked for an hour every second day at least, and every day when I could.

Try the 8 week blood sugar diet it's fab just lost 9lbs in 5 days

Sorry Adaline I didn't see your reply. It's called The Fit for LIfe and or The Hay diet, it's been around for many many years. The Hay is a bit extreme but it's basics are good.

It's based on making digestion easier because protein and carbs together give const. and don't digest well. It works very well.
Though some people can digest meat well and others can't.

bumble is right about eating slowly and mindfully. That helps me a lot with stopping overeating.

It helps me if I'm eating out a lot for work to plan what I'm going to have beforehand, when I'm not hungry, and stick to it.

So I get it into my head that I'm going to have fish and a salad - rice rather than chips - steak rather than a big creamy pasta dish.

Friend who has to eat out a lot for work almost always has soup as a starter - to get his veggies in - and then fish and a salad. Skips puddings.

I tend to have the same thing Monday to Friday
Poached eggs on either a slice of bread or a big mushroom for breakfast
Soup for lunch (no bread)
Snacks of dark choc or fruit.
Then low carb dinner so courgette instead of spaghetti, or bowl of curry with out the rice etc

Just make small changes

Drink loads and loads of water, don't drink soft drinks or fruit juice.

I carry a 'snack' with me when working\travelling, it's some unsalted nuts and fruit. I Always have a small bottle of water too. So I don't get into that 'I'm so hungry I'll eat anything' mode!

I'm more into health than losing weight but they go hand in hand usually.