If dieting doesn't work what does?

[Whydoesnothingwork]

I need to lose 2 stone. It used to be one which proves my point really. Nothing works. I have a tendency to binge eat/comfort eat. So if I restrict to lose weight I do this more. I've had some therapy for this and hypnosis which has helped but my therapist says I mustn't diet as I will end up bingeing again.

So how can I lose the weight?!! I eat quite healthily most of the time.

Drinking more plain water, each time you feel peckish have a glass, then reassess.

I also get really stuck in an all or nothing mode of thinking so I think I must eat perfectly all the time and also I want tp each week do the perfect meal plan but with a vegetarian partner and fussy kids it's an absolute nightmare knowing what to cook. Costs a fortune too.
I just end up panicking and get totally overwhelmed with meal planning.

Don't 'diet'. Change your lifestyle.

That is good advice thank you.

But how? What do I do? Eat?
I've joined a gym but don't know what to do at the gym.

I think diets are really all or nothing, so in your case I’d personally go bit by bit, small changes, ie if you drink a lot of fizzy drinks, can you swap to diet drinks? Reduce sugar in hot drinks, etc etc focus on adding in little manageable changes each time

A complete change of lifestyle is the only thing that works long term.
I workout and eat to fuel my workouts. No food is off limits but I choose to eat healthily as that is what my body needs to feel at its best. I used to be morbidly obese and binge eat. Completely changing my mindset is the only ‘diet’ that worked

When you (me) 'diet', your focus is on what you can't have, so you keep thinking about the things you can't have.

I'm reading Ultra-Processed People at the moment, it makes a very convincing argument that weight gain is related to ultra processed foods. Highly recommend reading it.

I don't have fizzy drinks, sweetener in tea and coffee is one thing I can't give up. Work with a therapist made me realise thst I have lots of contradictory rules around food, that often don't make sense, only drinking water, tea or coffee is one of them! I never have juice or squash, very rarely drink alcohol.

I have one coffee a day and maybe 2 teas, with half a sweetener.

Find a form of exercise that you love and do it for at least 4 hours a week. I lost a stone without changing my diet at all, just through exercise. It has to be something quite challenging - HIIT or running or weight training etc. I did bootcamp 4 times a week and yoga once a week to stretch out the over tight muscles. Dropped a stone and two dress sizes, as well as massive improvement in posture.

I would be interested to do weight training, stupid question but how do I start?

This.

It requires a change of life really. Forget about calories and eat instead a wide variety of whole unprocessed foods, home-cooked meat, fish, fruit & veg, minimise alcohol and sugar. Drink plenty of water.

Exercise regularly, not just a weekly trip to the gym but daily, walking part way to work, walking in the evenings, fresh air and movement to get your metabolism up.

You say you ‘eat healthily’.

our understanding of what that actually means has changed significantly over the last couple of years. Are you eating 20 to 30 different varieties of food each week? Are you only eating complex carbs? Do you eat any ultra processed foods? Is the main portion of your meals protein based and eaten first? Do you understand why foods that cause glucose spikes can work against weight loss and why foods with a low glycaemic load are beneficial? These are important factors in a healthy diet.

Nope to all of that!

Currently a usual day for me is -
Breakfast, oatbran, chia seeds, flaxseed with soya milk, blueberries and a spoonful of full fat greek yogurt.
Lunch - a wholemeal chicken salad wrap.
Dinner - tofu stir fry with noodles, homemade sauce and several veg.
Try to snack on fruit or rice cakes with light cream cheese.

Stop eating ultra processed food.
Harder than it sounds, but likely all you need to do.
Sorry that includes sweetener in your drinks. After a few weeks you'll completely adjust and it'll taste awful to you.

Whatever exercise you enjoy most, for health reasons not necessarily weight loss, a few times a week.

After a couple of months of this you'll feel so much better.

Slimming World, I've lost over 3 stone since November. It's basically healthy eating. I'd suggest avoiding the classes and doing it on line. I've tried everything and I'm definitely all or nothing and this is the first time I've ever felt in control. It's like mindfulness but with food.

If you've joined a gym, pay for a few personal trainer (PT) sessions. They'll ask you what you are trying to achieve, go through the machines/free weights with you and design you a program for days you aren't with them. The hour long sessions with a PT should really push you and get you sweating!

Weight training - go to a class like Body Pump. It tones you up very quickly if you do it twice a week.

Ditch the rice cakes, and have a scottish oatcake instead
I'd ditch the sweetener and have half a teaspoon of sugar instead

Is there a time of day when you binge, and when you binge, do you have certain binge foods?

I'd suggest one cheat day a week. Be good for six days then go out and treat yourself of a Saturday/Sunday where you are allowed chocolate, some cake with a tea, a bag of crisps etc. for a reward.

I'm a big fan of nuts and fruit for healthy snacks. I also don't keep anything 'bad' in the house. If it's not there, I can't eat it!

No-S diet - no snacks, no seconds, no sugar except on days which start with an S or Special Days (i.e. weekends, plus birthdays, festivities etc)

So you eat 3 meals a day with no seconds or snacks or puddings Mon-Fri and then at weekends, you can have some treats.

Not a fast fix but slow and sustainable weight loss and then realistic way of maintaining it for life.

There is an ancient website / book out there but you don't really even need those - the beauty of it is the simplicity!

Definitely find an exercise that you enjoy
I don’t like using equipment at the gym as it resembles a torture chamber.
However, I love boxing and walking and will usually find the energy to do these activities even if tired or slightly under the weather.
One of the main problems with ‘dieting’ is that people want to lose all their excess weight in a short space of time. The only way to lose weight and keep it off is to change the way you think about food.
Nothing is off limits for me. If I want two slices of Victoria sponge cake, I will have it. However, I will just make sure that I balance this out with eating well during the week.
I have never counted calories . I just try to not eat processed foods

There are two options I'd try:

First one is to create a lifestyle which means you're relying on walking/cycling to get from A to B. When I first moved to a new area where the train station was 1.5 miles from my house the weight just dropped off as I was cycling 3 miles a day and then walking 2 miles a day getting between the city train station and the office. I lost weight despite having a new housemate who adds half a pack of butter to everything she cooks!

Otherwise, 5:2 fasting has worked for my me, my DM and my auntie. It's sustainable longterm (DM did it for three years happily and my auntie has been doing it for around ten years, just takes a break from it if she goes on holiday).