Starting my weight loss ... with no idea!

[mamatoTails]

Hi all,

I need, and want, to lose 2.5 stone. I just don't know how to go about doing it!

I walk daily, 5km, sometimes more.
I know I need to do some more proper exercise- quite enjoy home workouts - but no idea which ones are good/popular/beneficial?
I do like Pilates and used to do it a few times a week before the classes stopped, and found it beneficial so will look for an at home version, and alternate a day of Pilates workout with a day of something more high energy, and still do my daily 5km.

Food is my biggest issue...I just have no idea what to cook?! Should I have breakfast? Just pick healthier foods and have 3 meals a day?

Anyway, going to start tomorrow, I just feel I need more of a plan to follow! Summer is coming and I don't want to feel like this!

Hi OP - I've lost 20lbs since the 3rd week of January (so in about 10 weeks) and this is what I've done (more or less!):

I don't eat breakfast - but I find that easy as I'm never hungry in the mornings. I try to stick to around 1200 cals a day but have a bit of a cheat day at the weekend where il have a curry (I don't go mad on all the extras and only have a couple of spoonfuls of rice) and a bit of chocolate or popcorn.
I have some sort of salad every day for around 300 calories (usually a Greek salad or ham and egg). If I fancy something warm il have a jacket potato with a small tin of beans or soup.
Dinner midweek is something cooked the slimming world way. I don't go to group but I pretty much cook all my meals from scratch using fry light, lean mince etc and have lots of SW recipes from the magazines. My favourites are the Spaghetti Bolognese, carbonara, prawn linguine and chilli - but you can cook pretty much anything the SW "way" - just Google the recipes. I don't count "syns" but I try to focus on snacking on fruit, veg, lean ham/chicken etc.
If I fancy something sweet I have a plateful of sliced fruit sprinkled with truvia (.this is the only sweetener I like as it actually does taste like sugar to me but has no cals - it has the consistency of sugar and doesn't leave a horrid aftertaste like some do). I also like the light and free and activia fat free yoghurts for a pudding after dinner.

Drink lots of water and only drink sugar free drinks. I limit myself to 3 cups of tea/coffee a day and use skimmed milk.
I don't add oil/butter etc to anything.
I've largely cut out all carbs except the odd potato.

I do a brisk walk for at least an hour every day.

If I have a bad day (which I do! Last night I ate one of the dc's large Easter eggs!) I don't let it turn into a bad week and get back on track the next day.

I weigh myself once a week and don't obsess over it. On the couple of weeks I haven't lost anything I just don't let it upset me and try to have the mindset of "it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change". For me it's about feeling good and my mental health as much as the way I look. When I eat healthily and do a bit of exercise I feel good and have lots more energy. I want to carry on with this and plan to just learn how to maintain when I get to my goal weight with a couple of extra snacks.

That's pretty much it - I still have about 7lbs to go.

@Bluebluemoon - wow =well done to you!

I have around a stone to lose and finding it soooo hard. I'm prediabetic, so not eating carbs or sugar anyway. I don't have breakfast, have salad for lunch etc.

Downfall is coming in from work = hungry and eating loads of nuts not great. My job can be quite physical, and so hard not to snack...

I've tried having breakfast of protein ie eggs - but it seems to make me more hungry rather than less.

Hey ho

@mamatoTails - good luck for your start today - have you decided what plan you will follow? I'm always so good at sticking to a plan on the first day, and then it goes tits up by the end of the week

I've found a lot of success with intermittent fasting - 16:8 so only eating in a 8 hour window. It has lots of health benefits as well as weight loss and has changed the way I view hunger and food. But it is not for everyone!

I've lost 7lb in the last month, by cutting out unhealthy snacks, meal planning, and food logging. I would say look at the NHS or similar BMI calculator. What is your BMR (amount of cals you need to sustain your weight?). Take 200 calories off that daily to lose 2lb a week. Do not go over, ever! Weigh in daily with digital scales but don't panic if you are up one day, it is just to keep you aware, and the weekly loss is what matters.

I like this way of doing it as it is not dependent on exercise. If you plan to walk that day or do classes then increase your portion sizes or have an extra filling snack.

So nothing is left to chance.

Typical non exercise day
Porridge, zero fat yoghurt, fruit, seeds
Home made wrap with salad and beans and low fat cheese or chicken or prawns
Balanced homemade dinner about 400 to 600 cals - chicken thai curry with brown rice, shephers pie and brocolli, stirfry, chorizo cassoulet, chicken casserole type thing, sausage and mash etc. Portion size is key here.
Snacks - not many but grapes, satsuma, apple, possibly slice of toast or ryvita with lightest philadelphia and tomato, maybe a boiled egg
Lots of herbal tea, glass of milk if I have sweet cravings

It's portion control, and calorie defecit that works.
I don't eat breakfast as I'm not hungry.
I eat a lunch of about 200 calories usually about 12 noon. Big bowl of salad with a can of tuna or one egg or ham. Plus salad cream.
Dinner always cooked from scratch, whatever we have meal planned.. But I calorie count to ensure my portion is sensible.
I do get hungry about five ish so do something to take kind off it.. Walk dogs, have a bath, call a friend.
I have gin and tonic without the gin... Every day at six while I cook dinner.
No snacks...you don't need them
If I stick to 1200 calories a day I lose about 1kg a week

I lost roughly that amount.

Ate a modest breakfast: 2 spoons of granola, 1 of yogurt, unlimited berries (frozen packs from supermarkets are good).

Lunch: I slice of whole meal toast with protein (1 egg / cottage cheese /sardines etc) , lots of salad. Or the toast, veg and lentil soup, salad.

Snacks: carrot sticks / a small bag of salt popcorn / cup of cocoa with no sugar /

Normal dinner but cut down your carb portion significantly, up the veg, don’t eat obviously high calorie stuff like piles of deep fried anything!

Alcohol restricted to a glass of wine 3 days a week.

If you need a plan ,The one I lost 3 stone with and have maintained on and off with is Paul Mackenna 'I Can Make You Thin'.

It's brilliant because it changes your lifestyle but you can go straight back on it, if you come off it . With no problems.

Thanks all, lots to look into!

To start with I'm going with 18:6 as think this is better for me not having breakfast.

Have been really good today, but always find day one easy!

Definitely need to improve my food choices, portion size and intake of water.

and to those who have had success with weight loss

• well done! I hope to be like you all!

Good luck. Also have a look at Food Combining. that's good for health . Leaving 3 hours between meals esp. fruit works! Yes plenty of water and mint teas etc, are great. Low sugar fizzy drinks are worse than normal ones!

An easy tip is to cut out milk in tea or coffee. Have black instead. Or at least have black for as many as you can per day (allow yourself one). Even a small amount of milk (skimmed, semi etc) can raise blood sugar, so cutting out will help you stabilise your weight a lot.

Drink more water (keep a bottle on your desk at work).

Do something else when you feel tempted to snack - just two minutes interruption Of that thought process is all it takes.

Try to go as long as you can in the morning before your first meal. I try not to eat breakfast, and sometimes go through to dinner. Intermittent fasting is great.

Do not eat carbs before you have eaten something non-carby e.g. protein.

I lost 4 and half stone in 2018/2019 doing 5:2 diet which is fasting two days a week (allowed 500 calories) and eating normally the other five days.

There is a group on facebook with all the details. I hardly done any exercise and it took me about a year to do it but had odd weeks off etc forbholidays or special occasions.

Yes it can be done with NO extra exercise, no counting calories or 'diet food' I've done it!

Thanks all.
I actually find the mornings really easy, am not a breakfast fan and can happily wait until midday or later to eat. I am most busy during the mornings so always have enough going on to keep my mind occupied!

Come the afternoons and the children returning from school is a different matter!! I usually pick when making them lunch, just an annoying habit.

Going to start to make their lunch when I have my first meal and then it's done and ready for when they get home, and then I won't feel the need to snack on it!!

Also haven't weighed yet as need to get some scales, I have a starting weight as used some friends last week.

This week I will start properly as have done the food shop etc and am ready to go!

Yes I think one of the reasons why a healthy breakfast (it can be easy eg. an apple and some nuts and raisins) is important is because if we skip too many meals we get ravenous (due to low blood pressure) so we eat any rubbish! DH thinks that coffee is a meal! He's OW and eats far too much late in the day of course!

Fruit is your friend after school too, I used (as a nanny\CM and mum) put a pretty plate on the table. and or get the children to cut it into faces or flowers ! They and you eat it too which gives you time to get on cooking a tea\supper

Walking is very good for you in terms of heart health etc.

Think about the long term- what habits will be sustainable and allow you to maintain the weight you reach.

For me, calorie deficit is 1900ish as I'm a gardener so very active on the days I work- it definitely is as I'm losing weight. But i haven't cut any food group out, that's not sustainable. I'm eating slightly smaller portions, plenty of protein. Lots of veggies etc as well

Yes Harry's There is no 'one diet fits all' , we're all different BUT dh and I have found that some foods are addictive. Wheat and chocolate are my 2 downfalls. I eat vegan choc. but I crave it, so try to cut down on it
. I literally feel exhausted the next day after I eat wheat. So I don't, rye or spelt bread are good for me though.

Agree and if that works for you, great @ppeatfruit

I prefer to occasionally have the things that maybe aren't optimal nutrition but I like as I find it easier to then moderate the rest of the time. Work in progress mind you. What really works for me is lifting weights and quite heavy but I have a few weeks to get through before I can fit that in. The times I've been happiest with my weight and relatively lean, I was lifting. Admittedly also exercising more but that's coming.