To ask for advice regarding diets/ exercise

[FreshStarts00]

New to dieting!
Need to seriously shift some weight- I've "tried" dieting before but I am an awful snacker and serious chocolate lover... fail within days every time.
I don't really have the time to get out of the house to exercise but have the ability to do so at home. Just not sure where to start.
I have a hereditary knee problem so can't do knee-heavy based exercises until I've built my fitness up again.
I don't eat breakfast- never seem to be hungry.
For lunch I tend to have a ham and cheese roll. Very occasionally a packet of crisps.
Dinner varies a lot- sometimes I'll have a full proper meal but I've recently been working 2 jobs which means by the time I get home it's 10pm-12am... I don't want to cook that late so I just snack on whatever random crap is in the cupboard and call it a day.
Drink sugary fizzy drinks on the days I work 8am-lates.

Soooo any suggestions about good diets/ exercise plans would be greatly appreciated!
From what I gather I don't eat a lot. But it still adds up calorie wise I think and hence the consistent weight gain.
Oh- and I hate fish! Unless battered and deep fried So that rules out 50% of diety meals...
Please advise! I've never been this heavy and would like to shift it sensibly.

Quite like the idea of the 5:2 diet but not 100% clued up about it tbh

Hi,

I've lost quite a bit of weight by following an online diet plan that I signed up to and paid for. I was able to list any foods I wanted excluded (so fish for you) and I could email for help etc whenever I liked. I had a really nice lady who was my 'diet coach' and she always answered quickly and with a helpful response. I'm quite a fussy eater but I really liked the recipes I was given, and the only exercise I've done really is walking. Might something like that suit you?

@Flightymare

How much did you pay for that if you don't mind me asking?
Money is as always an issue so can't afford to spend out much.

What meat do you like?

Easy short-term fixes - cut out the fizzy drinks and cut down on alcohol, try and switch ham and cheese rolls / crisps to something more like a salad or soup / veggies with humous, and make sure your evening meal/snacks are whole foods as much as possible.
With your evening meals, you might want to prep in advance to avoid the snacking and make sure your cupboards don't have tempting foods - keep (unsalted) nuts and fruit and veg, avoid buying in the processed foods in the first place to stop the temptation. Do not go shopping when you are hungry!!

Download the 7m workout app - good start to fitting in exercise at home and means you don't have to go running in the dark or anything silly like that. I think it's free, too.

@LifeofClimb

All meat... love it all.
Going to stock up on some yogurts as never been a fan of nuts...
Also cutting out fizzy. And love the idea of soup for lunch...would it be totally bad to have a teeny little bread roll with it?
I don't drink alcohol so that isn't an issue.

Going to check out that app- thank you! :)

FreshStarts I paid £75, which I suppose is quite a lot, but for me it was worth it, and I feel I got good value from it. I'm sure it's easy enough to make your own plan if you've got the time and a bit of know-how (neither of which I had ).

Also, .... I would suggest making the changes slowly so they become habit forming and life-long rather than a short term diet.

i.e. If you currently eat chocolate every day can you give yourself a goal of eating it once a week? if you currently have crisps twice a week, can you set a goal of once a month?

The fizzy drinks - TBH - I would knock that on the head completely because it's empty calories. Cut out sugar in teas and coffees, don't buy coffees with syrup etc.

No, I have toast with my soup :) If it fills you up and stops you from snacking, that's ideal.

What helps me is finding whole, unprocessed food that I can snack on, and that I like (this is key! so you don't get bored), easily when I'm lazy - it stops me reaching for something processed and ready made. Cheese is not bad in moderate amounts, eggs are good (avoid fried if you can), I like raw carrots, apples with peanut butter, and that kind of thing.

Have a google for ideas on healthy snacks - snacking truly is the killer for most people. Find lots of things you enjoy so you don't get bored and you can change things week to week.

When i started my journey to my perfect weight, my dietritian asked me, on a 1 to 10 scale, how bad you want to lose weight? That's a very important factor, how bad you hate that extra fat and how bad you want to take it off your body?
It is really easy to lose weigh, no special diets, just knowing what you eat and when you eat it.
I started to eat healthy and lost 25 lbs in 2 months, and i feel super good, sexy and healthy. I still eat chocolate, 70% dark though. I refused sugar and anything connected to it, replaced it with stevia or honey.
I drink water, my indispensable water, 300ml per every kg you weigh.
it is easy, just put your mind to it and you'll manage to change your eating habits.
PS: i don't do sports(for the moment), 25 lbs went off just with clean eating.
There is so much quality info on the net about healthy eating and healthy eating habits, you can do it if you want to! Good luck!

I have been making mini changes so I don’t feel like I’m dieting and so in theory they are changes for ever. Example - stopped drinking Diet Coke (the caffeine spikes your insulin), I take the stairs, no morning snack, more hot drinks (I’m often thirsty rather than hungry), veg with every meal, no week day puddings. I do them one at a time until they aren’t hard. The weight has come off slowly (half stone since summer) but in theory it’ll stay off as I do t have a wagon to fall off, this is the new normal.