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 :)

No diet works for me but IF.
IF all the way!

No flour no sugar
three meals a day nothing inbetween
measure my amounts.

I can’t control my eating when I eat flour or sugar products.
three meals regularly spaced with lots of raw food helps.
I underestimate portions so have had to learn what they look like firsthand

Again, I always say THIS is the very reason for the obesity crisis in our society. Everyone has a different option on how to lose weight. Losing the weight has never been the problem for me (I've lost/gained the same 2 stone for about 2 years), it's the maintaining that is an absolute b!tch.

This.

Anyone can lose weight by following any of the popular regimes. The main thing is to make changes that you can sustain for the rest of your life.

I'm too cold to get started! I need to shift a few winter pounds but these long dark chilly evenings make it impossible. I'll take tiny wins such as having a small bowl of porridge as an afternoon snack instead of a family bag of minstrels.

I'm finding that I am more hungry and need more food when it's very cold like now. Struggled the most with weight maintenance during the last cold snap and now. Always cold and always hungry!!

I recently signed up to Noom and it’s working for me. Foods are grouped into green, yellow or orange and you’re given targets for what proportion of each group you should eat. It groups according to ‘calorie density’ as foods with lower density keep you feeling full longer. Noom also encourages daily weigh ins, plus there’s little reading tasks and quizzes every day around the psychology of long term healthy eating which is helping me stick to it. It is expensive but you get a 2 week free trial which might be sufficient to get the hang of the food choices. I’m going to do it until I feel confident that I can continue the way of eating without the app. I’m eating loads healthier and am not hungry and the scales are going in the right direction so far.

This was my calorie counting meal diary for that day, not what I was eating previously. And yes I have Hashimoto's but this seems to be well controlled with thyroxine.

Thanks for all the replies everyone, am reading them and taking on board :)

Oh I see what you mean! Sorry I thought that’s what you were eating before and still not losing weight.

You have to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight simple as that. How you do that is personal to each h individual:

i lost 20lb after first lock down. It wasn’t a quick fix. I actually ate chocolate nearly everyday (freddo size) had night out, meals out etc. and I always had 1800 ish calories a day. IMO 1200 is too little to be able to stick too. I’d suggest using a bmr calculator to look at a more realistic calorie target.

id recommend lots of veg to bulk meals out and lots of protein to keep you full. Consider the next month more about trial and error and keep going. If you want to hit a protein target I’d suggest skyr or high protein yogurts, protein powder and make your snacks one of these. Similar babybel light and fridge raiders are 5g protein and heck chicken sausages are really high too.

@glowingstars , it was 250gr of Ribeye steak. Maybe MFP is giving me the wrong data. I'll double check 🙂

Seems correct. I don't eat breakfast so that's a perfect lunch for me!

My sisters trainer told her not to eat after 7pm and not to eat before 10am… I started not eating between 7-9.30ish and it has been the easiest to implement change & has made a massive difference- a stubborn 1/2 stone came off over a month with little extra effort. I think all the calories after 7 for me were chocolate! Good luck!!!!

If I didn’t eat breakfast, I’d pass out, so that’s not good for everyone.

Porridge for breakfast rather than cereal (with defrosted frozen fruit) - eliminated my mid morning snack craving, and need for bread

cauliflower rice instead of rice or pasta (I use frozen cauli rice)

If you have a mid morning apple, have a small l7mp of cheese, ham or nuts. Ie protein.

Herbal teas instead of hot drinks

Try not to beat yourself up if you relapse. I always have a Sunday roast, dessert and alcohol.