What small every day tweaks for weight loss do you use?

[Hazel444]

I want to finally try and lose the 3 stone I put on over lockdown and since. It all seems quite overwhelming, I know I need to eat healthier, be more active etc, but what little things do people do to incorporate that into their day to day life?

I am sitting here WFH wondering how I can kick start my weight loss in any small way I can.

This is my meal plan for today which I am logging on MFP, and by the end of the day I will have walked around 12k steps:

Breakfast: 2 slices toast and an egg
Snack: 12 peanut m&ms
Lunch: sugar free nutty granola, plain greek yoghurt, mixed berries
Dinner: Paella, air fried kale and leeks
Evening: Herbal tea

I know the peanut m&ms are not the best choice for a snack, but I will still stay within my calorie limit, and they completely quench my craving for something sweet. I was planning to start couch 25k but it is pouring with rain, and I can't face it!

Any small tips or advice gratefully received :)

More protein.

Lots more protein.

Not eating breakfast…well, not eating until 1ish.

it really isn’t needed.

I only eat breakfast if it’s a lovely brunch out.

It takes a couple of days to get used to, but then you can enjoy the benefits of fasting. You also won’t feel compelled to eat peanut m and ms mid morning.

I lost over 3 stone in 6 months (starting weight around 14 stone) by intermittent fasting like this and having an awareness of my calorie intake (no daily tracking)

Swap your dinner carb e.g. rice, pasta, potato for veg such as broccoli, cauliflower, kale.

Oh wow @Suprima that is quite an achievement, I will definitely give this a go.

@FrownedUpon I've been meaning to give cauliflower rice a go so will try a swap this week. I think carbs need to go for a while.

@poshme What is the most efficient way to get more protein - I just dowloaded the carb manager app and it's suggesting 113g protein a day. I just swapped my granola lunch for tuna and oatcakes, and with the egg for breakfast and the chicken in the paella this eve, I am still 59g short. Are protein bars or shakes a good idea? Thank you!

I am very boring when dieting and eat porridge with banana at 11am every day. Dinner at 7.30 and no snacks at all apart from 2 oatcakes and a few grapes mid afternoon- I find routine helps.

2 eggs (and some veg like mushrooms) for breakfast- and no toast.

Lunch- chicken/salmon/sardines/tuna/ cheese with salad/veg. Make soup with veg & lentils. Or puy lentil salad.

Have plain nuts for snacks instead of M&Ms.

I have 3 scrambled eggs for breakfast and sometimes Chuck in a bit of smoked salmon. Skip the bread! Sometimes I can go to 2pm before I've even thought about lunch.

I too have 3 stone to lose it when I've been successful at weight loss, I've built my meals around protein first and then added in carbs. Your meals sound like they're based on carbs? It's ok to have little treats but instead of the M&Ms, try some salted cashews or some Greek yoghurt. They'll keep you fuller for much longer!

I am exactly the same.

I don't eat until 1pm, unless I'm out.

Lots of water. Minimum 2l. Keeps you full, and stops you mistaking thirst for hunger.

Don't begrudge yourself treats, but be smart. I had 3 llindor truffles a night, and in my first week lost 2kg.

Make sure what you're eating has lots of flavour. Turn food into fun.

Be conscious of eating....not snacking and grazing on the go. If you're eating you should be sat down and consciously aware of the choice you've made to eat.

But that's me...I'm an absolute grazer when left to it. And that can be literally 1000 calories extra a day some days.

Cut the M&Ms - if you need a sweet snack/pick me up I find a Diet Coke hits the spot and fills me up

Drink loads of water

Allllllll the protein. It's magic.

Barely any alcohol. Just lots of chicken (I cook it up and cut it into cubes to freeze, then use it in soups, salads etc), prawns (when they weren't so expensive), lots of tuna salad etc.

No bread or wine ...

Eating only when I'm physically, actually hungry, and minding the portions of what I do eat at those times so that I'm eating until satisfied and not beyond.

No change to what I eat, no meal planning beyond what I'd do anyway as I'm the primary shopper in our house. No "eating to the clock" - if it's lunch or dinner time & I'm not actually hungry, then I don't eat.

IMO:

1 more egg, 1 less toast.

Lose the peanut m&ms. Have a proper lunch (wholegrains, veg and protein).

Do not drink diet coke!! (As per PP suggestion). It's terrible for you. Avoid sugary drinks.
2 squares of dark chocolate if anything.
Blood sugar should be kept stable.

That is amazing @ suprima.
I was going to come on and say similar I try and stick to an 8 hour window of eating, which was hard at first and gave me acid reflux but did settle down and I am now used to it. . However Xmas has taken its toll so I'm not shedding weight fast but it is slowly going in right direction. I have 2 - 3 stone to lose.
May have to cut out my lovely carbs!

I'm not a low carber but I've just added all my days meals and snacks into my fitness pal and it's amazing how quickly everything adds up. Porridge, crumpets, yogurt and berries, homemade lentil soup and a bread roll with a homemade oatmeal cranberry cookie as a snack. That's it and I'm at my limit. I am very active and my tde or whatever it's called is 1800. I've got 10lb to lose to get to into the middle of my healthy bmi range. For me it's changes that are sustainable that are most important. I'm a veggie, autistic with lots of food restrictions due to sensory issues (like eggs 🤢) so low carb for me is not an option, plus I like carbs, carbs are not the enemy in moderation. Cutting out ultra processed foods as far as possible is a good step.

Oh and I do intermittent fasting. Most days. Breakfast at 7am, dinner at 5pm. Nothing in between those two points made the biggest difference of all because I'm a late night snacker. Or was.

Thanks! I tended to low carb but allowed myself some high carb foods if they were worth it.

Lovely piece of cake? would enjoy once a week, but that would be classed as ‘lunch’. I wouldn’t even go home and make a ketogenic meal. I’d have ‘already eaten’- calories spent.

pizza out for dinner? same principle. I would have kept my fast going until dinner time as I knew my daily cal allowance would be spent that evening.

I didn’t use MFP, just an awareness of in and out.

I highly recommend following Team RH on Facebook.
The ONLY way to lose weight, is by having a calorie deficit. You need to go online and find out how much of a deficit you need (you can find a calculator on google).

You can eat carbs, sugar, fat etc, but you MUST be in a deficit by the end of the day, and you MUST eat lots of protein and fibre.

People who say "cut carbs" only lose weight because they're cutting out the calories they would eat from carbs. It literally doesn't matter if you eat carbs, as long as you track it, weigh it, count it accurately.

Download My Fitness Pal, and start tracking everything you eat, weigh out everything, don't guess.

Same with intermittent fasting - I only eat between 12-8 most of the time. Allow myself an odd cheat for brunch/post drinking necessary breakfast

Lost about a stone over 8 months and has stayed off

More protein, more veg, more water

Tried to cut down on wine. Not very successful that - although doing damp January. (Dry except for 3 pre-planned special occasions)

Most studies are conclusive on fasting not being great for women due to differences between us and men (and how important out hormonal regulation is).

If you're not hungry in the morning, great, listen to your body - but it doesn't make a difference to weightloss. IF works because people eat less, not because fasting burns more energy or anything like that.

It does make a difference to weight loss, because I am in an immediate calorie deficit having not eaten breakfast or chomping elevenses in the staff room.

Lots and lots of water
Cut down on alcohol bread potatoes and any snacks
Eat fruit and vegs when hungry
Take much more exercise or walking swimming dancing whatever you like doing do 1 hour and increase every day.

You got this

Not drinking alcohol

Not eating breakfast, and only having a very light lunch.

Running (a lot), plus other exercise on top (weights, yoga, etc)

No snacks

The above has kept me at a size 8 for almost a decade, coming down from a 12-14.

It does make a difference to weight loss, because I am in an immediate calorie deficit

Absolutely this. So-called intermittent fasting works because you eat fewer calories overall. It's 4.30pm and I'm so far in a massive calorie deficit because I've been for a run yet taken in less than 100 calories all day. I'll have a large healthy balanced dinner at 7pm ish.

I would cut out the bread and just have the egg in morning and no m&ms

maybe have the boiled eggs a little later

ive recently lost 2 stone

skimmed milk, no potatoes and plenty of veg on the side. Normal type meals (omelette or Bolognese or salmon etc)