Recommendation diet or injection to try

[Fat51]

Aged 51, 5ft 8" and 18.5 stone - disgusting! Need some recommendations to try and lose some weight before I completely end up a blob and unable to move!

My stomach is huge (like 9 months pregnant huge) which is a big change as always used to be a pear shape and have a very skinny waist. Thighs/legs have stayed the same fatness but stomach has ballooned steadily since DS born 8 years ago. I mainly put on weight due to 5 x ivf then having a very bad sleeper which only resolved recently but this has now been replaced by peri sleep interruptions most nights. My weight has remained stable over the past 3 years and eat fairly healthy, although fairly carb heavy.

I really want to avoid gastric surgery (although may consider if I can't lose any weigh in 2022).

I am very time poor due to very demanding/stressful job so lots of prep of food will be hard for me. I don't tend to eat much in the morning (just have one skinny latte in the morning usually), then sandwich and lunchtime the evening meal around 8.30 ish. I do tend to snack around 3 and 6 p.m. so need to change this.

So open to diets/medication to try and kick start things. What should I try?

Firstly, please be kind to yourself, you’re not disgusting!

Secondly, I’d put surgery thoughts out of your head, that’s such a drastic step. I would recommend counting calories, plain and simple. I really like My Fitness Pal, which is a free app. You just plug in your height, weight, age etc and how much weight you want to lose, and it will recommend a daily allowance. If you’re methodical in logging absolutely everything (including any drinks except water), plus any sauces, condiments, cooking oil etc, it really works.

Food prep doesn’t need to take long, but cooking from scratch does help, rather than reaching for convenience foods. Feel free to give an example of a typical day’s food and we can maybe make suggestions on where to start making changes.

Good luck!

I’d start with Ranjan Chatterjee’s loose weight, feel great. It’s not a diet but a guide to healthy eating and a healthy mental attitude which you will need. From there you can just follow NHS guidance, calorie count or pick a diet. Most diets work, the challenge is managing your mental state and building healthy habits.