If dieting doesn't work then what does

[SerenadeOfTheSchoolRun]

I have read and am convinced that dieting leads to increasing your weight set point and yo yo-ing which is unhealthy. Lots of diet books start by saying that other diets don't work because of this and that you shouldn't restrict calories or you shouldn't cut out food groups. Then they go on to explain how their way of eating is sustainable and the last change you ever need to make. This is then followed by quite a restrictive set of rules that you are supposed to then follow for the rest of your life.

I am currently doing this (again) with a combination of Why We Eat (Too Much) and the Diet Fix. I am feeling positive, I think that this is it for life now and I am following the rules. But past experience tells me that I will fall off the wagon gradually. I will start with a little bit of sugar or bread and this will build up until I don't care any more and then I will regain all the weight plus a little bit more.

I have had great success with calorie counting, Slimming World and the NO S diet before but always gained back plus a bit more for luck. Calorie counting is the only one of these that does not claim that their diet is not overly restrictive and should be sustainable for life but perhaps that is because no one has invented it exactly and written a long book just about calorie counting.

I have got fed up of weighing broccoli for calorie counting and think that low fat is not the way to go so don't follow Slimming World's rules anymore (but still go to the group). But avoiding snacks, sugar, wheat and processed food is also hard and takes motivation because they taste good and are everywhere and so easy. No matter what the diet you have to keep making the effort forever and will be fighting against your body's feedback mechanisms which will be fighting harder the more weight you lose.

A bit negative for the New Year but at least I am trying again. Anyone stuck to one way or eating for more than two years and kept the weight off who can inspire me?

My Fitness Pal was life changing for me. Over 3 stone lost and maintained. It has helped me see where hidden calories are and educated me to make better choices,

Calorie counting is time consuming in the beginning but, once you get into the swing of it, it becomes second nature and gets a lot quicker. Nothing is banned or off limits so it’s sustainable. And, once you hit target, your maintenance calories being logged will keep you on track.

Work out your tdee here -amount of calories to stay as you are-reduce this total by 20% to get a weight loss calories total to aim for. Recheck and adjust as you lose weight as the total will change.
tdeecalculator.net/

I think a lot of it is mind set. Many weight loss diets get you to focus on 'if I don't eat this I will lose weight'

If you focus on 'what do I need to do to be healthier' you realise you have to eat healthier food (most of the time) and fit in some activity.

The big problem is finding what will enable you to change your mind set and lifestyle for ever. A diet is not just for January, it is forever, you have to enjoy it. It has to be sustainable for you and that hurdle is different for everyone.

Yes postdate is right, we're all different and some ways of eating works for some and vice versa. IMO just the words 'I'm on a diet' are enough to make some people gain weight!!

I have lost the 3 stone I needed to and more by following Paul Mackenna's I can Make You Thin way of eating. ( I wanted to be slim not thin though and it's worked). You change your lifestyle, eat mindfully, slowly .or slower and you MUST eat when you're hungry , so no calorie counting or weighting food. It WORKS !!!!! I have maintained fo12 years now !!

The best thing is you can go and off it when you need to.

I lost 4st with Slimming World several years ago, and have only gained 1st back since then. I work out my 2000 calories starting with breakfast ( 300 cals Oat so Simple). Lunch (today a slice of toast say 150 cals) and a satsuma 50 cals). That's 500 altogether plus 2 chocs (100). I've got 1400 cals left for dinner. If I'd gone mad during the day and eaten 2000 cals, I'd miss out on dinner.

For me it is all about being realistic. I couldn’t manage without snacks so I plan to have two each of about 100cals each. That stops me getting fed up and blowing out on loads. I don’t keep really tempting things in the house.
Same with carbs. I don’t avoid, I measure them so the portion is healthy. I would never weigh broccoli or other veg unless for a specific recipe.

I always do best when I’m focussing on feeling healthy, eating well and exercising. That does take effort and I can slip into bad habits but generally it’s worth it because I definitely feel better physically and mentally when I’m looking after myself.

@ppeatfruit

Yes postdate is right, we're all different and some ways of eating works for some and vice versa. IMO just the words 'I'm on a diet' are enough to make some people gain weight!!

I have lost the 3 stone I needed to and more by following Paul Mackenna's I can Make You Thin way of eating. ( I wanted to be slim not thin though and it's worked). You change your lifestyle, eat mindfully, slowly .or slower and you MUST eat when you're hungry , so no calorie counting or weighting food. It WORKS !!!!! I have maintained fo12 years now !!

The best thing is you can go and off it when you need to.

Congratulations on your weight loss ppeatfruit!

May I ask please, how did you combine Paul Mackenna method with family life? Or were you able to "go your own way," as it were?

Thanks for your replies and well done to everyone maintaining for a long time. Really impressive and gives me hope.

Insulin control and carbohydrate restriction.

It’s literally about will power to not eat sugar and reined carbs which are in pretty much every delicious food so it’s extremely difficult.
Cut almost all refined sugar and refined carbs (also porridge and white potatoes bananas alcohol and rice) and see what happens to you in just 4 weeks.
Weight literally melts off!
But it’s hard. Really hard because every thing tasty and sweet has those things in.
If you stick to it 90% of the time then you will still loose weight.
It’s not falling off the wagon for too long / getting back on the wagon after a holiday or Xmas that is hard too.
But if you can see the weight creep on and get back to it strictly then you will keep weight low.

Yes, I lost 5 1/2 stone, starting in 2013 when I lost 4 stone. Put a bit back on in 2015 and took it back off plus lost a bit more. Have maintained since the end of 2017. I'm currently working on losing another half stone but I'm not all that fussed.

For me the key was:
16:8 fasting (never been keen on breakfast so dropping it was easy)

Exercising (mostly weight training, some cardio) 6 days a week for an hour. Exercising was a big help not because of the relatively few calories it burns but because getting fitter and stronger made me really want to shed weight so I could do more things.

Weighing every morning (but not being scared by fluctuations)

Logging every calorie I consumed to make sure that overall I was eating in a deficit of roughly 500 calories per day (and remembering that as you get smaller you need fewer calories, so adjusting as necessary)

Working out what foods kept my hunger at bay. I make sure to have enough protein for my strength training and my diet is fairly high in fat as that holds my hunger. Carbs are not the enemy but I don't eat junk and they would be the first thing I would choose to cut down on.
Keeping sugar intake to an absolute minimum, especially until I managed to break my sweet tooth.

Cutting down on alcohol and not drinking lager any more, which I used to enjoy.

Find as many Keto and paleo friendly recipies and snacks as you can to keep going

I think trying to raise my metabolism is going to be key for me....because I have yo-yo dieted to the point where I think I've messed up the number of calories I burn on an average day. If I had 2000 calories a day at this point I'd be gaining - I need to stay at or below 1500. Therefore I'm starting weight training and hoping that will help.

I don't know, OP. I'm at the same point as you, in that I've read Why We Eat (Too Much), I believe what it says and I have resolved never to go on another diet (as such) again.

But... all of these so-called 'ways of eating', 'lifestyle changes', 'new mindsets' etc, including what Why We Eat Too Much book says, still require willpower. Just like traditional diets do. And willpower is hard to maintain forever. That's why people generally don't lose significant weight permanently.

I’ve read Why we eat (too much) as well. I was slim until my mid 30s when I got pregnant and ate all the cake for 9 mths. Prior to this I ate whatever I wanted - I think the difference is that I didn’t want to eat as much! And what I did eat tended to be meat and cheese - not so much premade and processed crap. I’m hoping that if I can lower my weight set point by following the advice in the book then it won’t take willpower to maintain because I will naturally eat to my new set point. That seems to be what he’s saying and I can’t face a lifetime of calorie counting so I’m going to give it a go.

Eating normal foods and understanding how much you can eat a day. The thing with fad diets or low calories they are not substainable. It much better to take your normal diet and cut out bit of cheese, use less oil when cooking, be aware of portion size, increase veg and fiber etc. But keep it enjoyable and something your whole household cane eat. My neighbor asked me how I was losing weight and admitted he can be heavy handed will oil and cheese. Just made a few changes and lost 8 kg in a year without completely cutting anything out.

Starvation. Suck it up buttercup! 1000 cals a day, 2000 on saturday

I have been yo-yo dieting for about 19 years now and have decided to stop. No more counting, or cutting out food groups. Last year I completely stopped dieting but didn't particularly try to eat well and I didn't gain weight. I'm now working on my health, cooking from scratch most days, trying to resist the unhealthy snacks and upping my exercise and seeing how it goes.

10 years, not 19.

Why does it have to be restrict it all or nothing? If you do have a little sugar or bread, it's okay. You need to change your mindset that if you have a little treat in moderation is fine, just keep going the next day.

OMAD/ fasting works for me

@Ilovewolfblass

Starvation. Suck it up buttercup! 1000 cals a day, 2000 on saturday

I think OP was after a sustainable way to eat healthily for the rest of her life not an eating disorder.

I’ve been following the principles of Why We Eat Too Much for over a year now, and am on the long-running support thread, which is a great community. I’ve lost over 16kg so far, and had no trouble keeping it off, despite many days of feasting and carousing here and there. I’ve put on a couple of kilos over Christmas (ate far more carbs than I usually do), and am interested to see how quickly it comes off again. This will tell me if I really have got down to a new set point.

I don’t count calories (I’m sure what I eat would give a calorie counter a heart attack, as I eat a lot of healthy fat).

I don’t go hungry, though I don’t snack much, so I will feel hungry before a meal, but that’s natural and normal.

I also do a minimum 16 hour fast every day, and give as much weight to sleep and relaxation as I do diet and exercise (a la the Four Pillar Plan).

I loosely follow this daily diet:

• Two cups of cooked vegetables (wide variety, min. half green)
• Two cups of salad or raw vegetables (wide variety, min. half green)
• Two pieces of fruit (not tropical)
• 200g protein: poultry, meat, fish, eggs
• 4 to 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Two cups of full fat dairy: milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, cream
• Two half cups wholemeal grains, nuts, beans or starchy vegetables
• One or two squares of 85% dark chocolate

Everything else - pudding, wine, cured meats, cake etc is a weekly or monthly treat. I very rarely eat ultra processed food. That shit is poison.

I find eating by cup measurements and having a set target of vegetables much easier than weighing or counting, and it’s a habit now. I keep it simple by having the same lunch every day, and no breakfast.

I was overweight and sometimes obese for 20 years. I’m now a healthy weight, which I never thought I would be again. I found every other diet far too hard to stick to.

@pinkgin85

Why does it have to be restrict it all or nothing? If you do have a little sugar or bread, it's okay. You need to change your mindset that if you have a little treat in moderation is fine, just keep going the next day.

The trouble is that once I start on the sugar it’s like opening the flood gates. I wish I could eat it in moderation but I don’t seem to be able to. I used to buy Freddo bars or penguins for example. Just over 100 calories absolutely fine occasionally if you plan for it. No good if you eat all 8 of them in one afternoon.

I think the sticking to it 90% of the time and getting back on it after holidays etc is the thing. I tend to be a bit all or nothing and it can never be perfect. Just got to keep going because if I didn’t ’diet’ I am convinced the weight would just keep piling on.

@pinkgin85

Why does it have to be restrict it all or nothing? If you do have a little sugar or bread, it's okay. You need to change your mindset that if you have a little treat in moderation is fine, just keep going the next day.

Because as OP has also said for many of us it is all or nothing. If I let myself have 1 chocolate bar that is it. I’m gorging on chocolate and biscuits for weeks. It’s so hard