Not able to stick to a diet - how to lose weight?

[missminimum]

I am really fed up of being over weight. I need to lose at least 2 stones. I have tried WW, SW and have loads of diet books. I know all the theory! Willpower and lack of time, money etc, leads to me not managing to stick to a diet for even a day. I can't be bothered to deal with fancy ingredients and recipes. I am working and cooking for the family, so need something that suits all of us, is simple and economical. I don't want anything too complicated, but also need to be make myself stick to it ( the hardest bit) Is it possible to feed a family and lose weight easily??? Any ideas welcome

Stop dieting. Change your mindset, get to know when you are actually hungry and when you are thirsty, bored, emotional and full. You could eat anything if your portions are small or if you eat sometimes a lot and some days very little (feast and famine) to average out sensible calories over the week.
Naturally thin people might pig out one meal and the next two days eat very little. Or always 'eat like a bird.'
They might eat a bar of chocolate, enjoy it but you will find they aren't having lunch, too or are having it instead of breakfast. Whereas someone else might force feed themselves a breakfast they dont enjoy because thats what the diet says they need to have only come 11 oclock to say sod it and then also have that chocolate bar or two on top of the breakfast and then because they think they are a failure who wil always be overweight they beat themselves up even more and binge the rest of the day because whats the point and i can always start tomorrow/monday/whenever.
Guilt and demonising food doesn't work.

HonestOpinion, thanks for that. It makes sense what you are saying. I am on 5ft 1 so should probably eat only small portions. My mother has always done this and remained petite. The appeal of food has been too great for me, not because of hunger, but something to enjoy or distract from hectic life. During lockdown I have been eating more family foods rather than dieting because I can't just pop into shops to grab things I fancy. Maybe I should focus more on my hunger and restrict quantities. Thank you for your help

I do intermittent fasting. Basically dont eat until around 1pm. I aways struggle in the evenings not to eat when I'm trying to eat 'normally ' so this works as I still eat crisps and cheese and crackers with a wine in the evening.

I had creeped up to 10.13 on sunday but since monday I have kept to it and now I am 10.10 again.

I have an egg salad for lunch at about 1pm and a banana for a snack later and sometimes nuts. Then i have a normal dinner that my family have and still snack in the evening.

I have done it before and it is really effective and I think easy to do but maybe that's because I can keep my self busy in the mornings with the kids or work.

I find brushing my teeth after meals helps a lot. Stops the grazing. That and accepting that although I cook loads, Ill only ever eat 15-20% of it and the family will eat the rest Before I used to eat more because it was yummy and Id made all the effort of cooking it.

Thank you, it would be good to try these approaches as I can't stick tl the restrictions of a diet. So far today I have not automatically reached for my breakfast, I have not been hungry until now, when I have had a small banana. I will have a small lu ch when I begin to feel hungry again, then wait for a evening meal with family

Have you looked at intuitive eating?

I'm 3.5st overweight after losing lots of weight sticking to diets (SW mostly) then getting complacent and regaining some because it's just not stainable for me.

I've identified binge eating and bulimic tendencies in myself, mostly linked to emotions and categorising good/bad foods.

After recognising this I've looked into it and found that intuitive eating principles can be used to overcome these - I've downloaded the book on my Kindle and it really does make sense to me.

No diets, no good/bad foods, no rules - just try to learn your bodies signals when your hungry/full and moderate foods with higher fat/sugar content. Sounds easy on paper but I know it will take time and it's not a quick fix but I've had enough of those so I'm willing to give it a shot!

Skip dinner sometimes. Allow yourself to feel hungry. It’s good to feel hunger. Fasting allows your body time to heal. Buy more veggies/fruit and start eating that when hungry in between meals. I never have a snack between meals other then an apple or clementine or pear. I’ve had three kids and gained 23+ kilos each time. And each time lost all the weight. My third baby has just turned 5 months and I’ve got 3 kilos left. Weight slowly comes off because I don’t crash diet. I get moving and eat proper healthy meals. I don’t snack mindlessly. I don’t do additional exercise besides taking kids to the park and walking a little. Cleaning the house counts as my exercise I suppose!

Oh and my skipping meals doesn’t happen often. I’ve skipped dinner once since trying to lose weight. I only ever do it once every year or so. But find it helps to reset things. I used to not have breakfast before kids and felt that worked for me. Now I eat dinners early (5ish) and go to bed hungry. As obviously by bedtime all the food is digested. But I think that’s much better then going to bed full.

Definitely try intermittent fasting. I downloaded the bodyfast app after someone on here recommended it. I'm doing my first fast week now and I'm actually sticking to it. I can never stick to diets, but this is simple - you're either eating or you're not. And when you're eating you can just eat normally!

Exercise, and lots of it. Food is only half the picture! The only way some people I know have been able to loose weight is to to a couch to 5km program.

I appreciate all your views and the helpful ideas. I will look at the body fast app. I think following a certain diet is to prescriptive for me but intermittent fasting and just eating less of normal family foods is worth a try. The last 3 days, I have skipped a meal, just having a light brunch and the normal evening meal with the family. I haven't wasted away and just felt slightly hungry, so will hope this helps weight loss. Since lockdown, I have been taking a daily brisk walk for 30- 40 minutes, not sure I could do couch to 5k but will think about it

Sounds like you're moving in the right direction @missminimum, well done on acknowledging what doesn't work for you and powering through to find something that! ☺️

I'm in a very similar place to you right now and would be happy to buddy up on here to stay motivated.

Small changes add up and that's what I'm aiming for.

I'm the same as you, OP, and intermittent fasting is the best thing I've ever tried. I've been doing it for a year now and I've lost a lot of weight. It's so easy, and I don't feel I want to cheat because I know I can eat whatever it is that is tempting me, as long as I eat it between 12 and 8. I also find it has stopped me snacking in the evening, which is when I could sabotage a day of careful eating in the past. I'd definitely recommend giving it a go.

My Fitness Pal works for me, synched with Map My Walk and related apps.
I have found it fascinating to learn about how many calories the foods I love contain. I eat whatever I want, just monitor the quantity.
It is really great for batch cooking too; I weigh ingredients and use the 'Create recipe' function, which allows me to freeze portions and have a fairly accurate idea of how many calories a portion of lentil soup at lunch, or a mushroom risotto for dinner is.

I have found it useful to think of calories in terms of 'energy', as it helps me correlate eating with how much energy my body actually needs to do the things I want it to do. Synching the apps is also a great motivator to exercise. I have had some pelvic organ prolapse issues since having babies, so have to be careful with certain types of exercise, but synch Map My Walk and Map My Ride. Other types of exercise I do are already pre-logged on MFP, so easy to input time.
I lost nearly 2st doing LCHF a couple of years ago, but found I was eating a lot of animal produce, which I am trying to cut out now. I'm sure there are ways of doing it without lots of meat, fish and eggs, but simply calorie counting mainly vegetarian food is working out well too.