Please help me pick a diet

[mumofzach]

Hello everyone.

I'm looking for some help on which sort or diet/ lifestyle to follow.
I gained 4 stone when pregnant with my baby, he is now 5 months and I'm still stuck with the baby weight and can't seem to get my head in gear. In total I have 5 stone to lose.

I'm going back to work in 3.5 months and would love to lose some of the weight before I go back.

Being totally honest I am a terrible binge eater and usually find that 4pm is when I am more likely to stuff my face with whatever I can.

I have tried doing Slimming World and lost 6lbs initially but struggled afterwards. I just didn't enjoy the recipes very much and found it difficult to get prepared so would end up just relying on mug shots and packets of ham and pre pared veg.

I've looked at Weight Watchers and the 5:2 diet but just wanted to see what people on here recommended before starting anything else.

Thanks

I struggle with binge eating and have found LCHF to work for me. It seems to kill my sugar cravings and the fat keeps me nice and full, therefore I'm eating much less. The funny thing about it, is that I have only lost 8lbs of weight in total, but I have lost a total of 8 inches all over.

Wow 8 inches is amazing! Well done.
LCHF sounds interesting. Is there a plan or book you follow or do you just do it yourself, if that makes sense?

I do think I need to cut down on carbs as when I binge it tends to be on bread, cereal, crisps etc! I get so mad at myself for doing it as I want to be slimmer so badly!

Hi. I reckon you probably know already what eating habits are holding you back. What is it about a diet that you would find helpful? Support groups? Recipes?

Before I had DC I went to WW, but tbh I just don't have the headspace for special food or weird recipes now. I don't even have time to read the 8 Week Blood Sugar diet book that I bought. I do need to lose weight because I have type 2 diabetes and my blood glucose control is worsening.

So what I'm doing is not eating between meals, eating until I'm full at meals but having very little carb. On busy days I have three meals and on less busy days I hold out all morning and just have lunch and dinner. I eat whatever the family are having for dinner with a tiny bit of whatever carb we are having with extra protein and veg to fill up. I have decided not to eat things that I don't like just because they are good. I have decided not to do guilt about 'bad' food. For instance we went out for pub lunch yesterday and I had my usual fish, chips and mushy peas so that I wouldn't feel deprived, but left some of the batter and only had a few chips. It was probably a lot of calories, but less calorific than it would have been previously, especially as everyone else had a dessert and I was too full for one.

I am hungry a lot of the time (I'm about 10 days into it now) but you get used to it surprisingly quickly and I've stopped prowling the kitchen like a velociraptor. I think my stomach has shrunk a bit as I'm fuller more quickly when I have dinner. Absolutely nothing between meals is much easier than trying to work out 'allowed' snacks. I've lost 3.5kg in 10 days, although I expect that to slow down quite a bit as I go on.

Hi msrisotto
I think it's the structure that I need in regards to dieting.

I am a rational person and know why I'm fat but I can't seem to plan properly. I feel that I've absorbed so much from the many hundreds and thousands of diet resources there are out there and I end up not knowing what I should actually be eating.

I hope that by following a set plan, I will be able to focus.

There's a really supportive Low Carb High Fat thread running on here called Bootcamp, it runs about 3 times a year for 10 weeks. They've just started week 7 but new people join all the time, everyone's welcome, they are really supportive and there is an interim thread running between Bootcamps where people carry on (or Keep On Keeping On, KOKO!) supporting each other. Some people have started with BMIs over 30 and are getting great results. Check out the thread and the spreadsheet linked in the first post, it has the rules, recipes, links to resources and websites - see if it's something which appeals to you.

I end up not knowing what I should actually be eating.
God I can relate to that so much!

I find structured plans too much effort (Sorry not helpful!)

Following this with interest, as I just keep flitting from one plan to the next, without actually seriously starting any of them! I think I need some sort of plan to follow, but then I convince myself that I shouldn't impose a rigid plan on myself, so I start 'cutting down' but that doesn't seem to last long either! I really want to tackle the healthiness of my eating too though, not just lose weight.

My friend's signed up with an online diet coach person, and she keeps telling me I should give it a go too, and I am tempted. But then like MsRisotto says, I then think 'But I know what's stopping me losing weight, I don't need to pay someone to tell me that!'

Sorry, not very useful at all, but will watch with interest incase someone more helpful comes along...

It's so hard. I get so annoyed with myself for shovelling rubbish in my gob when I know how unhappy my weight makes me.

I had all these plans to transform myself while on maternity leave and go back to work slimmer and healthier but it's the total opposite.

I also flit from diet to diet but can't seem to stick to anything for longer than a few days. I wish there was a magic answer but I don't think there is. I am just weak willed and a bit greedy

I couldn't stick to a regime either. Can you not just tweak your current diet so you don't feel like you're missing out? I could never give up pasta but I can happily skip bread and fizzy/sugary drinks for e.g. Reduce portions and make up the difference in veg or salad. That kind of thing? Something else that works for me personally is to postpone that sweet treat thing (i'm a sucker for sugar) so i'm not denying it to myself, but i'll have it later, on my birthday/holiday/some other celebration.

Have you ever tried Paul McKenna? He's a fan of you already knowing what's good for you, but not knowing when to stop essentially so his books/cds talk about not having your mind elsewhere when eating so you don't eat mindlessly, actively enjoying your food and knowing when you aren't hungry anymore.

I end up not knowing what I should actually be eating.

I hear you.

I lost 25 Kg a fww years ago and then because I was ill and various other problems started to pile it back on. I was having to eat out, eat at relatives etc etc.

I've just started a 'diet' the same as last time. I'm using Orlistat (alli) 1500 calories a day and 30g of fat, no more that 15g of fat in any meal.

One thing I have changed this time is that I'm not counting everything, any green veg or salad I don't count.

I nave nutri scales and a spreadsheet that adds up total calories and fat. My scales were from Lloyds pharmacy and were about £12 from memory, I think they are £10-20 now and well worth it.

I have almost completely dropped bread just because I can have something more filling for the same calories. That's just me, nothing is a 'sin' or a 'can't have' it just needs to be added in to the total.

One thing I did last time and will do this time is one 'day off' per week.

So if I want to eat 4 packets of crisps in a row I do that on my day off. Or I add it in to my 1500 calories and 30g fat which means I'm eating fat free for the rest of the day.

If you recognise 4pm as a danger time either make yourself be doing something else or incorporate a 4pm snack into your diet.

The nutriscales are great, you put in a code then weigh your food and press a button for fat content and then calories.

I also have the occasional ready meal and use the values from the packet.

Yes yes yes to msrisotto and Paul Mckenna, it's sooooo completely different from normal diets , if you look at the book I Can Make You Thin (silly name) but I lost 3 stone on it and have maintained for 3 to 4 years now , it's for life. Google it