I need to lose two stone but constantly failing at diets

[gimmegimmegimmea]

I need a kick up the arse.

im two stone overweight, i love carbs, sugar and wine which i cant seem to stop eating/drinking.

I try strict diets and it’s not sustainable. I try a small deficit and it doesnt work.

I used to be able to cut back before having my children but I find it so hard.

im exercising loads but making no difference so clearly its my diet.

im thinking low carb may be the way to go, it’s what I did before and it worked. How do I get my head into gear and just do it? I need this baby weight off as we’re going on holiday in summer

But it is an easy way to reduce calorie intake - a whole meal at a time.

Of course, not losing weight when taking out the calories of a whole meal, means that there are still too many calories eaten in a day. For me and I partner, that obviously isn't the case as we haven't increased our low levels of exercise, have lost weight and easily maintained it. It has been a long term shift to our day.

I'm also less hungry during the morning and don't pick at all. If I eat earlier I want more.

In the end, it is about something that works for you.

are you having anything other than the latte for breakfast? everyone is different, but I have a big breakfast (but don't eat lunch). maybe have something high protein like some protein oatmeal to keep you going?

for lunch try something like rye bread that keeps you full for longer? and then a very protein packed salad. add a couple of boiled eggs or some grilled fish/steak. it will avoid the late afternoon slump

if you want choc, nothing wrong with that... have something dark with 70% cocoa

eat a salad or some fruit before the other foods in your lunch and dinner. the fibre slows down the glucose release and helps keep you fuller for longer (there has been scientific publications on this)

walking for just 10 mins after food helps with digestion and again reduces that glucose spike.

one of the best advice I ever got is its not about cutting food, it's about adding. so add more protein, fruits and veggies. don't deprive yourself. you will automatically lose weight as the more nutrition packed foods reduce your craving for other stuff.

Most people like wine and carbs and, it's about finding ways to manage it. If cravings are a big problem look at managing those first, there's a woman on Instagram who talks about managing blood sugar called glucose goddess. I learnt from her that literally the order in which you eat the food in a meal makes a difference to how full you feel, how long the fullness lasts and manages cravings. It does work and is really easy

I lost 15kg last year cutting simple carbs, added sugars and upf. It is sustainable long term as I no longer crave them. I still eat 100g to 180g carbs a day but mainly from fruit/ veg, some wholegrain and nuts. I would recommend it as it cures hunger pangs and cravings. In my opinion just reducing sugar to a few treats is much harder as it is addictive. I am at the point now though if I taste something very sugary I dislike it.

I do believe there is no one way for everyone to sustain a healthy weight you really have to work out what can you compromise on pretty mich for the rest of your life and build on that.

Totally agree Bubbles. Some wrinkle up their nose when I tell them how I lost 2 stone (only if they ask obviously!). Find what works for you but there’s no point being super strict for a short time then reverting to usual habits.

Like my mother and her friends in the 80s would embark on mad diets (eg steak and grapefruit diet) lose half a stone then go back to normal! Even as a kid I could see that was daft.

A lot of this barrier is a mindset thing. You need to convince yourself you want to lose weight more than you need to eat or drink the things you are. I’m the same as you, a binge eater so it’s no good someone saying ‘I still eat chocolate’ as I couldn’t just eat just one of anything 9 months ago. I did have to go without buying or eating those things for a while to learn to manage to eat without bingeing. I do eat them in small amounts now.

It is true that you will be less inclined to binge on rubbish once you have eaten a good healthy filling meal. You won’t be as hungry or inclined to undo you good work with a binge

From a binge/restrict point of view calorie counting works best for me as I am not using my binge mindset to decide how many calories I am eating or my denial brain to lie to myself about my intake. Its black and white factual and stops the restrict part of the cycle as you are still eating a decent amount of food

Have you tried looking up some online low carb brands? There's loads out there but my favourite deffo is srslylowcarb.com. I was a sucker for carbs especially for a pizza on a Friday night with a glass of wine! Or sandwiches for lunches but this has been a game changer for me and there's loads of low carbs snacks as well. I went low carb about 4 months ago now.

I started calorie counting - been ranging from 1250-1600 a day so a small to moderate deficit. I’ve been weighing everything, I’ve not restricted anything just moderated a lot more. It’s working! Dropped 5lb in a week! Mostly water weight for sure but I’m happy to see movement and I don’t feel deprived, been making some healthier swaps. In A lot less alcohol. Ive got back into the habit of weighing my food and counting calories so will continue with this and see how it goes!

Can you start by reframing your thinking? If you try to lose weight for a particular event with a strict deadline, it can be a frustrating and difficult process.
Is it honestly worth restricting yourself heavily for weeks and months for a holiday?

In the long run it helps to think about this as a long-term change towards a healthier lifestyle and a healthier diet. Starting with small changes and it will get easier gradually.

I started with going teetotal. I used to drink wine 5-7 times a week, a glass here and a glass there. What I do now is I save up for a special occasion, do a lot of research into what I want to drink and buy a bottle of really good wine once in 4-5 months. I used to drink tasteless plonk and now I put effort to actually choose something interesting I’ve always wanted to try. I save a lot of money this way which is also a great motivation. It’s much harder to go back to buying plonk when you reframe thinking about alcohol as something done only very occasionally. I also don’t drink half a bottle at once anymore, we share over the weekend and enjoy 1-2 glasses in the evening. It’s easy to fit one glass of wine within the calorie limit.

There is a book called The Full Diet it is incredible