Changing eating habits for life - anyone done this?

[Inish]

I am 52 have done all of the diets. I am 5:3 have put on at least 1st per decade. I am now 13.5 stone. BMI 33 officially obese, 4 stone over weight. Over the years I have lost 3st on SW, 3st on Lighter Life, 2 stone on Cambridge ...... of course it has all gone back on again. My diet is shocking - Diet Coke, white bread and butter, wine, chocolate, crisps - never eat fruit and rarely cook meals from scratch. And it has gotten worse over the years. My activity is only walking my dog - will do an at least 5hrs a week.

I have obsessed about every other diet going - have all the books - armchair diet expert... low carb, Atkins, BS, 5:2, 16:8

I think that I am just now going to change habits so healthy eating and not a “diet” - although I will use SW for recipes.

Anyone done this - should I expect slow loses? Anyone want to join me?

My new habits are:

No wine at home (was 1/2 bottle night)
No treats at home
No cake with coffee when out
No meal deals
Don’t eat in the car - or on the move
Have a bag of apples in the car

Have mostly same breakfast and lunch then only have to worry about evening meal:

Eat fruit, Greek yogurt and oats for breakfast.
Have healthy fresh veg soup for lunch

Any thoughts anyone?

What are the habits that allowed you to keep the weight off?

I was stuck in a pattern of yo yo dieting for years and like you, tried every diet out there.

Over the past few years I have made changes that mean I am no longer ruled by food and the binge-starve cycle. I eat what I fancy, focusing on feeling good and modelling balance to my children.

I eat full fat foods - butter, olive oil, Greek yogurt etc. If I fancy chocolate, I'll buy a really nice individual bar and enjoy it. In the past, I couldn't keep ice cream, biscuits etc at home as I'd just eat it all. Now I've "allowed" myself complete permission to eat it if I want it, I've found I don't really want it.

I haven't weighed myself in years but have stablised at a size 10-12. I've also found an exercise I enjoy and do that a few times a week.

Restriction always leads to overeating eventually. It's just how we are programmed as humans. You can't "fall off the wagon" if there's no wagon. There's loads of great accounts on Instagram which have helped me understand this all. I actually feel like I have a healthy relationship with food after 40 years of very disordered/dieting mindset.

Yes i changed completely. Used to love carbs like bread, pizza and especially pasta. I cut all carbs and most sugar from my diet when i wanted to lose weight. I wasnt extremely overweight, just for me after pregnancy i couldnt shift the last 10kgs to get back to my normal self.
I ended up losing 17kgs over about 9-10months. I did strictly count calories in that time as well. And i noticed that without carbs i get much fuller for the day. Carbs have a lot of calories and only filled me for a short time, so it wasnt viable as i was always hungry.

After losing 17kg i stopped counting calories and i reintroduced unhealthy food, but i try to keep my carb intake to a minimum. For example, I dont mind ordering pizza every couple of months, but i will only eat 2 slices and a salad instead of an entire pizza by myself.
I dont eat bread anymore and i very rarely eat pasta.
This helped me keep the weight off for the last 2 years.
Obviously i dont eat cake everyday, but i dont turn it down anymore on birthdays.

Oh and just to add, i found it much easier to abstain when i cut out sugary things. Now when i eat something really sugary i start craving it again like crazy just a while later.
It took a few weeks to get used to it, but once i did i had no craving for sweets anymore at all.

Yes OneMoose I have certainly yo-yoed and it is definitely disordered eating - which as you say comes from disordered thinking. I would appreciate any links that you have as I know I need to get my head around it.

Jeleste I listened to a great programme on R4 last night called The Science of Addiction - and I think the overall principles are the same with sugar / processed carbs which leads to obsessing, craving, over indulging, regret. I haven’t drunk wine now for over two weeks and initially I had real sugar cravings - I pushed through by eating lots of filling nourishing and these have subsided. I also think the alcohol had so many calories, slowed my metabolism and motivation as well as removed self control to eat snacks at the same time. I am hoping that will be a significant life changing habit. At 52 I think I have already consumed more than my lifetime allocation of alcohol and sugar. So it has to stop right now. Just need the mindset to fill the void.

Actually yes. I took up fasting and that lead to me eating very small portions of food I actually want. I used to try and ‘fill up’ on low calorie food but my body didn’t want to know. I would end up eating a vat of zero point soup and then still falling head first into the bread. Now I cut off a tiny strip of bread, coat it in butter with a chicken slice and my body says yep! Hardly need to eat much at all as long as it’s full fat.

I’ve lost 1 stone 4lbs so far and my BMI is 23.

sheShoots that’s quite a French way of eating - quality not quantity - sounds v satisfying after you had “trained” your appetite through fasting. Do you still fast now - and if so which method do you use ?

Have a look at RH Fitness. I'm toying with joining this month. Not sure my head is in the right place at the moment. It's calorie counting and you have to commit to steps but having a dog to walk will certainly help you with this. Check it out.

Thanks Miss I will take a look

Yes I have. What struck me about your new rules is it's all so negative - no this, no that.

I have turned around my eating habits by concentrating on eating positively - ie eating things that will be properly good for me. Thinking to myself 'that's a nice portion of fruit or veg' or 'these eggs are good protein. That sort of thing.

I've gone from being a bit podgy to being slim without even trying.

Really chuffed with myself. Weighted in today and have lost 7lb in one week - so my BMI is now 32 rather than 33 - moving in the right direction at least from obese to overweight. I have joined SW just for the discipline of being accountable each week - not necessarily following their plan. Clearly cutting the wine out has helped.....and having done loads of these diets before I am well aware that most of that loss is water. The sugar cravings were shocking but through that for now - I am not going to use any syns for sugar treats - as I know I am addicted and triggered - will use them for nourishing healthier options / olive oil, nuts etc. I have done some research and found that you need to walk 90 mins a day to lose 1lb a week - so I will aim for that - I can see now why people run!! Will also look at some weight lifting/training type classes.

Thank you all so much for this thread.

@Inish brilliant! Weightlifting's the exercise that I've found a love for. It's also improved my posture and totally changed my body shape.

OneMoose - how do you get started with weights - do you join a class or a club? Kettlebells or something else?

I think as well you have to find your kryponite and simply avoid eating what you can't help but indulge in.

For me that is crap carbs - bread , pasta, rice,crap chocolate. I am never full off these foods and can eat huge bowls full and feel hungry an hour afterwards. So, now, I don't even eat these foods.

I eat lower carb, high fat and I'm far fuller for longer.

@Inish I treated myself to 6 sessions with a personal trainer. They taught me basic techniques. Best money I've ever spent on myself those sessions. Gave me a massive kick up the arse .

There's a great book called "Lift like a man, look like a goddess" which gives loads of information on the theory behind lifting and exercises to do.

If you have kettlebell classes near you that would also be a great place to start.

Are you on Instagram @Inish? If you are, I can give you some really interesting accounts to follow.

I do weights too.

We'd joined the health club so that I could take the baby swimming, and once I had some time without children during the day I bought some shorts and trainers and meandered into the gym room.

There are various weight machines standing around which are to some extent self-explanatory and have little diagrams on them saying what to do and what muscles they work. (Nowadays they have a QR code too which I believe takes you to full demos.)

I fell off the bandwagon for over a decade but a couple of years ago went back.

Other people in the gym use the free weights which I've never been tempted by (I'm very disciplined, if and only if I have strict instructions to follow). I suspect an introductory session with a trainer might be essential if you were doing this.

Not on Insta but can join - so links would be good. I worry that I wouldn’t be self motivated to do the machines on my own - but could look at a PT for a few weeks.

I use free weights (barbells and dumbbells) rather than machines. Learning the techniques is important initially but then you can just get on with it yourself, gradually increasing reps or weights.

Some accounts I've found inspiring on Instagram:
Thefuckitdiet
Kristamurias
Evelyntribole
Laurathomasphd
Drjoshuawolrich
Chr1styharrison
Trustyourbodyproject

Hi OP,

I hear ya! And I am also an armchair diet expert. I really have to control myself to not write an essay on the dangers of all the fad diets I have been on and see written about! In 12 Paleo Myths though, Matt Stone does a good job of exposing at least one diet - and its a fun read I recommend .

Changing habits - I think you are right this is one of the major issues. A couple of my habits I've only recently realised (!) are:

• Portion size
• Heavier 'family' food another - I just don't need this kind of food much at my age.

I am also in my 50s and this time round I really want to lose for good. I want to get away from yo-yo diets and quick fixes (though tbf it was never very quick in my case!) and instead to achieve a weight that is sustainable and healthy.

With my new approach I've lost about half a stone in about 10 weeks. Essentially by reducing calories some days (so it balances out to a weekly figure). It varies and I'm finding this gives me lots of flexibility which I like. I don't avoid any food groups. I don't deny anything I really want, though I've only had a craving for something that in the end I decided to have once during that time. (And 'slim' people do this occasionally as well!). If I feel I need "diet" maintenance breaks along the way, I'll take them as well, (as apparently this can also give your body time to readjust to new set points and take some of the stress out of the changes your body goes through).

P.S. I can't exercise because I'm disabled, which is another reason apart from age that my overall weekly calorie figure is fairly low, even if some days I eat more than others.

Good luck OP, and I really hope it works for you. It really sounds like you're on the right track and have some great ideas.

Is SW low fat? I think full fat is better. More filling more natural.

16:8 IF is helping me. It feels like a natural way to tackle the day.

After you loose the weight do you stop weighing yourself? I’m not sure what my plans are when I reach goal weight, but I’m picturing having to weigh myself to keep from putting weight on again.

DownUdderer I would say SW is low sugar and fat but more importantly is pro cook from scratch and anti processed foods?

You are allowed to eat unlimited rice, potatoes and pasta - but they have to be in most “natural” state - so no additives, flavours, potatoes not mashed - pasta only dry sort. Bread is restricted and all other processed carbs (pastry, cake, choc, etc) has to be accounted for in a v restricted “syn” system.

They also do a short 2 week reboot programme reboot - which cuts processed carbs and potatoes and rice.

This is very helpful

So my lifestyle overhaul / new lifelong heathy habits are coming together with all of your shared experiences and input. If anyone else wants to add their stories / perspective I would be glad to hear it.

I read somewhere that it takes 28 days to establish a new habit - and I am not going to dive in the deep end and try to address all habits at once. It feels better to “bed-in” each one at a time giving it the focus and effort it deserves and add in each new one as I go along. I will track all of this somewhere as often it is good to look back to see how far you have come rather than how far you have to go.

I also know that there is a significant emotional / disordered thinking and eating component which has yo-yoed me here over the decades and could bounce me out at any moment. So a resilient mindset (not risky white knuckle will power) has to where I am at - looking for “progress not perfection” and accepting that getting back on track after a wobble is the only option.

It is week 3 for alcohol - so I am nearly there.

Day 10 for sugary stuff.

Day 3 for 16:8

I am roughly following SW - so eating lots of fruit and veg alongside low fat dairy, eggs bread. Nothing processed. I am mostly veggie so trying not to fall into the trap of overloading on pasta, rice potatoes. I am also trying to have sensible small potions as the unlimited volume of SW free foods I also think could be a trap that would bite me on my fat arse when I have shifted the weight!

I do think for me it is sugar addiction at the core - and if I treated that like any other addiction it would have to be zero sugar (bit like AA “one drink is too many, 100 is never enough”) - so I am not like other people who can reduce and moderate their sugar intake - seems for me it is triggering - all or nothing. So nothing it is.

I will watch how the other carb stuff goes - I will keep it sensible - don’t want to replace one bad habit with another.

So next step - once the crap has gone - is to look positively at seeking nourishing filling foods and relishing them.

And also looking at moving more - have been to local gym to enquire about membership and will take a 30 day pass to start (have had so many that I haven’t used before) so that I can look at weight training - as I think that this will build my self esteem more than trying to pavement crack by big lumbering weight running around the block in public!