What’s your best weight loss tip?!

[Normando91]

Bought myself some lovely trousers today… none of them fit/don’t make me look all lumpy and bumpy 😩
I had a baby 9 months ago and I think I’ve just been using that as an excuse to put on more and more weight! I’m constantly shattered and find myself skipping meals and then bingeing on crap. I need to stop and start making healthy choices and shift this weight, I’ve never been this heavy before and it’s starting to get me down.

So what are your best weight loss tips?! Any meal inspiration as I’m not very adventurous when it comes to cooking. Ideally I’d like to cut out meat as much as possible, even just having it for one or two evening meals a week… possibly not at all. I love all fruit and veg, I’ve just gotten so lazy!!

This is such a good thread. Just marking my place. Have lost weight in the past with SW but over the last 2 years with lockdown and WFH and a lot of other stress have put on over a stone. Starting to realise now that all the stuff suggested above is much better than anything which requires me to prepare special fancy meals which I can't be bothered to cook. Nothing wrong with a couple of eggs and slice of toast or bowl of veg soup. I actually think diets which require you to spend loads of time in the kitchen cooking are probably defeating the object as you need to be thinking about food less not more!

@Gwenhwyfar I'm which case... If you don't accept it you can't eat it!

I understand some on here saying "only eat when you are hungry" or "skip breakfast/lunch", but the OP clearly says she's identified her problem is she is rushing about, misses meals then when really hungry makes very bad choices and then massively overeats - so this is terrible advice for someone like her. Much better to plan 3 sensible meals that will keep you feeling full for a long time then plan better snacks if the hungry feeling hits inbetween. Make the choices before you are hungry.

Packing yourself a packed lunch even when you are going to be at home could help, then the work is already done.

My first tip was batch cooking, that solves the nothing to eat problem.

Calorie counting and steps. More protein in meals and none or very limited alcohol. I say this as someone with an almost one year old that doesn't sleep for sh1t so I know how hard it is when you're exhausted!

Thank you all so much for the tips. I have made a plan to start intermittent fasting as I think I could definitely handle having my last meal of the day by 6pm and then not eating again until 11/12 the following day. Also plan to meal prep as that’s where I often fall short as I’m perpetually exhausted and can’t be arsed cooking half the time. I never used to be like this, I used to love cooking 😩 Lemon water and green tea will now be my best friends and I don’t drink alcohol often anyway so hopefully I’ll be able to update you all when I’ve lost my first stone (haha)

Re skipping breakfast, there's a really interesting book called Breakfast is a dangerous meal

Worth a read!

Intermittent fasting!

I miss breakfast so my first meal is lunch.

Even without exercising I am able to maintain my weight.

Also to add, I do not overeat. I physically cannot eat any more food once I am no longer hungry.

If we stop for fast food, say McDonald's, I choose the children's happy meal as opposed to a medium/large meal. I have been doing this for years.

I read The Diet Compass by Bas Kast and have been following the principles, more for the health benefits than for weight loss, but I have dropped about 10lb in 6 weeks without trying. My BMI was just under 22 to start with, and I'm in my mid 50s, so they wouldn't have been easy pounds to lose if I'd been on a diet aimed at weight loss.

It's a high (healthy) fat/ low carb Mediterranean diet that focuses on eating more vegetables. It's not overly prescriptive so it doesn't feel like a traditional diet, and you can include restricted time eating. The author explains the science behind the recommendations, which helps a lot with motivation.

Oh, and you can have wine...

oooo that sounds good fozzleyplum

Placemarking for tips!

Just wondered how it’s going @Normando91 ?

Up your steps and the intensity if these steps, get moving.

Calorie counting, i lost just over 4 stone in 6 months 3 years ago and have happily kept it off. I keep it lowish 1200-1400 Sunday to Thursday and the have a mini blow out Friday and Saturdays including a takeaway or meal out. Meal planning is key as is will power over the first week or 2 eventually you adjust.

KBO- keep buggering on. Weight loss and keeping it off takes time and in that time you're likely to have good days and bad ones. IME weight loss only really happened for me when I stopped aiming for perfection, because that went hand in hand with restrict/binge (so if I ever broke my diet I'd write the rest of the week off and start again on Monday). Boring I know but it's better to think in terms of permanent changes to eating habits and, within that, there will be days when you don't eat healthily for whatever reason, and you need to just keep going rather than thinking of the diet as broken and using that as an excuse to quit.

For the same reason, I don't think there's much point going on a diet that isn't at least close to a way you'd be happy to eat for life.

Don't fear hunger. You'll be fine if you're hungry for a bit.

Don't drink (alcohol). It's the biggest source of empty calories, and encourages you to let your guard down on salty, crunchy snacks.
Honestly. Just cut it out

In fact, understanding the concept of empty calories is really important. Learn to fill yourself with nutritionally packed food, and if the food doesn't have nutritional value ditch it. Really scrutinise what you eat

My tips:

• sleep. You’re less likely to reach for quick energy.
• water. Drink loads

I’m a bit late to the party but my top tip:

Eat a salad as a starter first while waiting for other dishes to cook or heat etc.
You enjoy it more as you won’t have richer foods on the same plate to compare it to, and you can fill up on healthy stuff and won’t be as hungry when you go to eat other foods.

Walking! I do 20,000 steps a day and the weight has fallen off. On the days I'm feeling extra active, I also do a workout. I don't weigh myself. I started off doing 6,000 steps a day at a real push and some days I do around 25,000. If I feel like a rest day I have one. I eat everything in moderation.

Low carb, high protein, high good fats. Intermittent fasting - I don't have any calories between 8pm-midday, and then have a milky coffee with protein powder which usually keeps me going until dinner which I keep under 800 calories. If I'm really hungry in the afternoon I'll have full fat Greek yoghurt and fruit. I've lost five and a half stone in 18 months.

Make healthy choices:
Water over fizzy drinks
Small portions
Only eat when actually hungry
Choose vegetables and fruit first

What works for me is fasting daily until about 2pm and cutting out carbs. No snacking whatsoever.