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?

Calorie counting, lots of brisk walking and no added sugar, cake, biscuits or sweets except as part of my weekly uncounted meal. No other types of food restricted but I try to eat plant based subs for things like sausages and burgers, and brown carbs rather than white.

No one likes the idea of my regime but I find it quite easy to stick to and have lost 2lb a week since July.

I use a Fitbit to count calories and track exercise, by the way. I don't eat reduced fat food apart from semi-skimmed milk.

@lazylinguist

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!

Thank you! I still have about 1/2 a stone to lose as I really let myself go after my last child :( Good luck with your weight loss :)

For me, MFP. I'm losing a stone at the moment. I don't find i have to bother logging everyday, and I have had two weeks off logging, then thought OK, I'll go back to logging for a couple of weeks. I sync it with my Garmin, and since I exercise a fair bit, I can eat plenty and that's quite motivating for me. I just find logging periodically quite helpful in terms of not allowing that pointless creep up of calories in stuff like adding 3 tbsp to the pan when I'm making a soup, when actually 2tsp would be perfectly fine.

I have only ever needed to lose a stone though to get my BMI back to 23-34 (have done this about three times in all, including after kids), so I don't know about longer term. I suspect it depends on what has got you overweight in the first place. For me, it is just marginally eating too much, and much more, drinking wine calories. I always cook from scratch and never needed to recomposition my diet but I can see some approaches would really help with that, whereas for me it's about pretty minor bad habits adding up, and whether i really need syrup with porridge, or dressing splashed over salad etc.

Hi OP
The only weight loss method that's ever really worked for me (and stayed off except when I've sabotaged myself) is the Dukan Diet. If you're going to do it I recommend to read the book first which spoke a lot to me about the principles of weight loss and maintenance (rather than just get the rules off a website). I like the unlimited food part (no counting or logging) which makes it easy to eat out as you just pick something you can have. I'm also better when I have black or white, if I'm not allowed I'm not allowed, rather than having one square of chocolate or something (I'll always sneak a bit more). And I found the loss encouragingly speedy relative to calorie counting.
I think you have to know yourself and that might mean trying a few methods, because something that works for one person may really not for another.

I'm irritated to say slimming world seems to work. I've been doing 2 weeks, and didn't really want it to work. However it is. And I can see myself sticking with it and carrying on with the classes for a life time, because that's what I'll have to do. I have almost half my weight to lose, I'm a 20/22, and have been big/overweight my whole life, although always busy and active. In the last few years I've really felt it health wise, and the only way to lose it and maintain the loss is by regular attendance.

Less calories in than out. Surely they all come down to that? Anything else is just dressing it up.

500 less than your body requires in a day and you’ll lose a pound a week. This worked for me and I lost a stone in 8 weeks.

CICO combined with a 16:8 approach, as little sugar as possible and keeping carbs on the low side.

Less calories in than out. Surely they all come down to that? Anything else is just dressing it up.
No because not all calories are equal. 100 calories of almonds and 100 calories of cake are not digested, stored or metabolised by the body in the same way. It is more complicated and not just 'dressing up'.

Upping activity is the only thing that works for me. If I get about an hour of exercise three times a week it's a million times easier to stay away from junk food for some reason.
Dieting alone makes me miserable.

Yes I know what you’re saying but for basic weight loss most people can eat X calories of anything and still lose weight.

Obviously if you want to become ‘healthier’ it’s a different story.

It does all come down to calorie deficits but how you create the calorie deficit is relevant and I think that's why OP is asking. I can't do low carb, intuitive eating does not work for me because of my complicated/compulsive eating issues, and systems like SW and WW pretty much push you towards diet food which doesn't fill me up. The only thing that has worked for me is cutting out the foods that I just can't stop eating (apart from one pudding at a family member's house where I can't just eat until everything is gone once a week) and then calorie counting. But other people find that other things work for them and they can't tolerate thinking about calories and counting.

I am sorry if this is boring but - sometimes you do need to accept (even grudgingly) that it will take time to do it healthily and sustainably. You need to trust the process, the science. It may take a while, but it will come off. Better to start now and stick to it rather than be in the same cycle of trying, not seeing immediate change, and going back to old habits, when actually you could have been steadily working towards your goal.

What is the daily routine you would like yourself to have? What small things can you change bit by bit to get you there? If you are happy to go your whole life from now eating less carbs to do it, go ahead, but if you only do it to give you a quick boost and change nothing else, you will gain back what you lost.

For me, moving more is really important. I personally do CICO and use myfitnesspal and my fitbit to track it. It works for me but only because I don't mind inputting it all and don't mind doing this in some capacity for the rest of my life.

I find that when I exercise (even just long walks) I don't usually feel the need to comfort eat as much. Sticking to recommended servings of foods is also helpful, so I do (when I'm good!) weigh out my pasta, bread etc.

I do use DP's portions as a yardstick - he is a tall and muscular man and I am a short and wobbly lady - I absolutely balloon when I end up serving us equal portions.

Also I have had to accept that I cannot have crisps in the house and expect not to eat every last bit of them so I only have them in when I'm ok with the knock on it'll have on my calorie count. Or on my period because calories don't count when cramping

Less calories in than out. Surely they all come down to that? Anything else is just dressing it up.

No it's not dressing it up. Different diets and foods have a different effect on your appetite, your health and your blood sugar levels, and therefore make a massive difference to whether you are able to stick to your weight loss method. Given that the main deciding factor of whether a diet is successful or not is your ability to actually stick to it long-term, I'd say that what you eat, not just how many calories it contains, is of huge importance.

Thanks everyone. I've decided to just go back to using myfitnesspal again as it does work

With 2 little ones I struggle to find the time to get out for decent exercise or to the gym so I've been doing some home videos that my local gym put on Facebook during lockdown - some of the classes I used to go to are on there so that's good!
I've been doing that in the morning and not eating until after it so I'm sort of unofficially doing 16:8 too as long as I don't eat after my tea! Also means I can eat the slightly bigger portions for my lunch and tea as I've not used any calories for breakfast.
Rather than the 1200 that MFP gives me (I'm very short) which I find unsustainable, I looked back at how many calories I was eating when I lost 1.5st last year as I think I'd calculated my TDEE etc so I've gone with 1450 calories.
No drinking Coke, no snacking in the evenings. Fingers crossed I can keep it up again!

Good luck @MooChops89, that sounds like a great plan! MFP gives everyone 1,200 calories and I just don't find that realistic, either. I'm short and have been seeing results eating closer to 1,400 (1,700 on days I've exercised hard).

I've found joining in accountability threads here really helpful.