Which method have you had success with? So many options!

[MooChops89]

Hello everyone
I really need to get serious about losing weight - I'm a size 18 and just tipped 14st at 5ft 1 so I've got at least 5st to shift. I had DC2 4 months ago and promised myself I'd do it this time so I have energy and I'm healthy for my children.
I did have a burst of motivation a few weeks ago and went back to MFP but lasted about a week.
Been reading another thread about motivation and it's inspired me again.
But I think I might need to try a new approach as CICO isn't keeping me going anymore as I've done it so many times, although it did work for me 2 years ago when I lost 1.5st.
I read lots about keto and about intermittent fasting and am debating trying one of these. Which have you done and had success with?

Slimming world if followed correctly is amazing. I have had 3 family members lose over 5 stone off it and they have kept it off. I think the main think with SW is that you still have to consider portion control. Potatoes and pasta are free but should only be 1/3 of your plate.
I lost around 2 stone during lockdown with intermittent fasting, but may not be manageable for everyone.

Rather than finding a 'method' I'd just concentrate on thinking of it as making changes for life. I'd pick one thing every couple of weeks and just gradually change your lifestyle. Examples of changes:

• drinking more water and banning fizzy drinks if u drink them
• walking more
• giving up snacks other than fruit
• eating a healthy breakfast cereal each morning

I'd also do some research into healthy eating e.g maybe there is something on the nhs website or another reputable source. So many people are quick to suggest that carbohydrates are bad but a quick google shows that complex carbohydrates are part of a healthy diet. Good luck

firsttimemamma I know you're right, but the results are so slow that way that I always get disheartened and give up! I feel like I want something to give me a boost alongside making changes for life, I seem to be very results driven.
I've asked DH to get on board this morning too, he's also very overweight but in denial - he plays football twice a week but eats nothing but crap!
I'm definitely going to reduce our portion sizes as a minimum, I eat as much as him and probably enough for 2 people. I feel like a bottomless pit!

For me the only thing that works is low carb high fat and I use the Carb Manager app to keep track of things. But everyone is so different. A lot of people don't get on with low carbing, but everyone I know who uses slimming world or weight watchers seems to yo-yo up and down with their weight, whereas if you embrace something like low carb (or whatever works for you) as a permanent change to your way of eating, rather than as a temporary 'diet' then you should have long term success.

The only thing I can stick to is very low carb, high protein and fat. It's the only ' diet' I don't feel hungry and tired on!

Lost 2 stone for a wedding then a few years later I started eating lots of crap and not exercising so I piled it on again.

So I've started agin- 7 weeks in and I've lost over a stone and dropped a dress size. Another 2 stone to go I reckon!

My Fitness Pal and I've kept it off for five years without effort with just one blip last Christmas and I knew I was eating and drinking far too much. I went back to My Fitness Pal and lost the five pounds I gained within a couple of weeks.

MyFitnessPal and calorie counting (usually 1200 a day with a couple of days a week where I was more relaxed and could drink etc) plus a Fitbit to monitor activity and encourage me to move more. I lost 25kg 2 years ago and have kept it off.

I could never do it myself. If you use your phone a lot, I’d recommend WW. Its app is AMAZING. You can plan meals, scan barcodes, ask a coach for help, use the connect (like FB) section for support, find thousands of recipes, check restaurant menus...

I started it last October and have lost 4 stone. Plus totally sorted out my mental health (WW is big on happiness and stuff like that). Oh the app also has loads of workout videos on it. I can’t rave enough. If you want to just do it online without going to weekly meetings, you can and it’s just £10.95 a month, abd they do loads of offers.

You’ll lose weight faster than I did. I’m menopausal. :)

I've lost 3 stone with mfp calorie counting but also incorporating fasting and low-medium carbs.
I keep around 1300 a day average. Some days I keep it under 800 by not eating till about 2PM. Coffee keeps me going till then.
I dont eat any diet food, other than protein Shake after exercise. Just smaller portions of nice real food.

I like intermittent fasting. I've tried WW once and it drove me crazy, having to work out bloody points all the time. With IF you have to do much less counting of calories and you don't have the pain of constant deprivation I recently bought the 'Fast 800' book by Michael Moseley for some inspiration to lose the lockdown chub. I'm finding it works well using it in a flexible way (I'm not sticking to 800 calories a day for however many weeks he suggests at the beginning as I'm not bothered about rapid weight loss).

I've had success with both low carb and low fat, but not long-term. I don't like using MFP because I don't want to spend much of my time thinking about what and how much I eat and logging it on an app.

The holy grail for me is a method based on a couple of simple rules which I don't have to think about too much, which does not require much effort or cutting out whole food groups and requires the minimum willpower!

So... I do 16:8 intermittent fasting, but still have 3 meals a day. I find the morning fast easy, and having 3 meals closer together makes me less hungry, so I tend to eat a bit less at lunch and dinner and resist my usual temptation to snack.

I eat a bowl of homemade muesli at 11:30, then have a late lunch (mostly avoiding major carbs like bread/pasta etc) at 3pm. Dinner at 7pm (whatever I like) and nothing after that until my 11:30 breakfast. That's it - no further rules.

Read (or listen to) 'The Diet Myth' by Dr Tim Spector. It is very informational and interesting. The conclusion is that low carb (certainly reducing sugar and carbs as much as possible) and fasting are the healthiest diets to follow.
I've never been very overweight because I do a lot of sport but used 5:2 to shift a stone once. It didn't come back and I so 16:8 every day, sometimes more. It is good to get out of the 3 meals a day routine and learn to listen to your stomach - if you aren't hungry, don't eat!

The conclusion is that low carb (certainly reducing sugar and carbs as much as possible) and fasting are the healthiest diets to follow.

Yes, I definitely think it's good to cut way down on sugar and processed carbs. I found extreme restriction of carbs counter-productive though. It's hard to stick to because it's so socially and practically inconvenient, and can create an unnecessarily and unhelpfully 'all or nothing' attitude to even the more healthy and nutritious carby foods. I found if I deviated even a bit, the scales went rocketing back up amazingly quickly.

Thank you for your replies
lazylinguist I liked MFP the first few times but logging does get quite tedious and I always slip up after a while. I have a terrible mentality of "I've ruined it" and end up going on a massive binge which I struggle to get out of!

Jemenfous yes, I always find myself eating lunch because it's lunchtime, or snacking in the evening after I've eaten a huge dinner

I'm quite interested in the idea of 5:2 and 16:8

My biggest downfalls are Coke, crisps, chocolate and white carbs. Last time I did MFP a few weeks ago I obviously cut those out but didn't see much change in the scales which made me miserable and I ended up thinking what's the point. And rinse and repeat! I need to get out of this cycle. I hate my body and the way it aches, but for some reason that isn't enough to keep me going! It doesn't help that I have a baby and a toddler, when I'm tired all I want to eat is comfort food

lazylinguist I liked MFP the first few times but logging does get quite tedious and I always slip up after a while.

Yes, I think there's a temptation to treat weight loss as a kind of project or pastime, whereas I very much resent the headspace I've given it over the years. I wonder how many minutes a week the average UK woman spends thinking about her weight and her weight-related food choices. And compared with the average UK man? My aim is to create unthinking habits which become automatic and just part of my normal daily routine.

My biggest downfalls are Coke, crisps, chocolate and white carbs.

Yep, those will not only put weight on, but will make you feel crap and send you lurching from sugar high to sugar high, desperate for the next fix! Don't worry about not seeing much change in the scales- slow regular loss is better.

@lazylinguist

The conclusion is that low carb (certainly reducing sugar and carbs as much as possible) and fasting are the healthiest diets to follow.

Yes, I definitely think it's good to cut way down on sugar and processed carbs. I found extreme restriction of carbs counter-productive though. It's hard to stick to because it's so socially and practically inconvenient, and can create an unnecessarily and unhelpfully 'all or nothing' attitude to even the more healthy and nutritious carby foods. I found if I deviated even a bit, the scales went rocketing back up amazingly quickly.

I actually find low carb much practically easier to follow than say strict calorie counting. If you go to a restaurant for example, you can just not have the potatoes/rice etc. I agree though, you do have to really commit to being low carb or the weight will creep back on - it's a pretty unforgiving way of eating!

Everybody is different OP, and I think you have to find what works for you at this time.

You are right, there are SO many diets out there.

1. Calorie counting. MPF. Can be helpful to really see the calorific value of foods. But after a few weeks I was MEH. And I hate counting! Its so boring and doesn't feel a "normal" approach to food somehow.

1. Weight watchers. Loved this for a while. The phone App is fantastic. Really got me cooking again. But after a month, I also got tired of the counting points, for same reason as 1.

1. Low carb. Its OK short-term I guess. Breaks some of the Carb-addiction stuff. But personally it also feels abnormal to exclude a food group, and I felt actually depressed after a couple of weeks.

1. Fasting, and intermittent fasting. Have their place. I'm a fan. But again - be careful - can lead to disordered eating IMO.

Education, awareness, eating what makes your whole body feel good - I think all of the above can contribute - and IME it takes time to find what works for you. Some people do WW or SW or MPF straight up for weeks or months with fantastic results - but that level of discipline and all the counting would bore me stiff and affect my life negatively. Also I think you have to find something that works for you long-term. To my mind there is no point in losing 3 stone in SW or whatever over a year, and then putting it back on the next year ... in fact I think thats probably worse than just staying a bit overweight.

Good luck!

I actually find low carb much practically easier to follow than say strict calorie counting. If you go to a restaurant for example, you can just not have the potatoes/rice etc. I agree though, you do have to really commit to being low carb or the weight will creep back on - it's a pretty unforgiving way of eating!

I don't do calorie counting either. I prefer to find ways of eating which will automatically help reduce my calorie intake without the need to weigh and count.

The other reason I don't want to do full-on low carb is that I don't want to give my children the impression that cutting out whole food groups of normal food is a good thing to do. Plus proper low carb tends to mean high fat, which is not ideal for me as I have no gallbladder and have a tendency to get acid reflux.

@lazylinguist

I actually find low carb much practically easier to follow than say strict calorie counting. If you go to a restaurant for example, you can just not have the potatoes/rice etc. I agree though, you do have to really commit to being low carb or the weight will creep back on - it's a pretty unforgiving way of eating!

I don't do calorie counting either. I prefer to find ways of eating which will automatically help reduce my calorie intake without the need to weigh and count.

The other reason I don't want to do full-on low carb is that I don't want to give my children the impression that cutting out whole food groups of normal food is a good thing to do. Plus proper low carb tends to mean high fat, which is not ideal for me as I have no gallbladder and have a tendency to get acid reflux.

I low carb rather than no carb so I don't worry about my children thinking that cutting out any food group is normal :) Anyway that's what works for me and I've lost almost 3 stone since June 2019, but it's not a way of eating that suits everyone.

3 stone - congrats! I'd ideally like to be about 1 to 1.5 stone lighter than I am. Will have to see how my new plan works!

I had 3 stone to lose. I’ve lost just over a stone doing fast 800 for 3 weeks then just intermittent fasting for the last 3 and counting calories (about 1500). I’ve started exercising and am back to fast 800 for this week. It’s working so far and has fitted with life as I’ve had a few birthdays the last couple of weeks.

The Joe Wicks paid-for platform. Decent portions, plenty of food, manageable in terms of exercise