I was told by my GP that weight loss was necessary for a health issue. So I started by rethinking my whole relationship with food. Why did I eat the way I was? Laziness was part of it - I just didn’t think what I was putting in my mouth, and I used food, especially chocolate and cakes, as a reward to myself when I’d achieved something, and as a consolation when I was fed up. I was quite happy in my own skin being overweight, and but for the health issue, I had no particular desire to be thinner. However, without losing weight, I was going to have to deal with the long term effects of my condition, and that made it worth the effort to change.
Then I set about changing the relationship with food. I planned meals in advance. I wrote down every single thing I ate with calories, chose low cal, low carb options, and prepared proper meals with fresh ingredients from scratch, with no sneaky extras. I did that until it became a habit to eat well. At the same time, I put the money I’d spent on lazy food and snacks and rewarded// consoled myself in other, calorie-free ways - theatre and concert tickets, visits to museums, trips to London, new clothes and so on. Once a fortnight I had a day off, but I quickly lost the taste for big carb-y meals and cheap sweets and snacks.
Once the weight started coming off, it was easy to continue, and in fact when I reached my target, it took some effort to maintain it without going too low. I still have a low-ish carb, mainly plant-based diet, lots of salads, oily fish and fresh veg, but I’ve replaced diet versions of things like yoghurt and skimmed milk with full fat and added more cheese and milk to add calories.
It took me almost two years to get to my target - there was no quick fix, and no short cut, just better eating habits and patience.