How do I get some self control?

[PersephoneParlormaid]

I’m a good 3 stone overweight, I can feel I’ve put weight on over Xmas even though I didn’t eat as much as I have in the past. I don’t want to go down the jab route, but every time I think I need to lose weight, I end up eating more. I exercise 2/3 times a week, plus walking in between.
Where do I start?

Start small, don’t try to rush it or change absolutely everything all at once.

Do a diet audit, review what you eat and make healthier swaps and reduce your portion sizes.

Increase your water intake, continue with your exercise routine but introduce weights and resistance to build muscle.

Don't think if it as losing weight, this is more of a lifestyle audit. Start with your lifestyle and chip away at unhelpful habits and replace with smarter choices.

High protein, lower carbs and plenty of water works a treat for me, keeps me fuller for longer and minimises cravings. I try not to buy junk so it's not in my cupboard to tempt me. I also started body toning classes with weights/dumbbells on youtube following Growwithjo, recommend it

Get rid of all of the junk food out of your house

meal plan

use my fitness pal or similar to tweak your meals to within an allowance to lose 0.5lb a week (what’s the rush?!)

I would tackle it by calorie counting because that’s what works for me.

No restriction on what or how much you are allowed to eat, but track every single thing that passes your lips so you can see the calorie “cost” of each thing. I use nutracheck because I like it.

Once you have a weeks worth of daily calorie totals, work out the average and deduct 200 calories. Set that as your daily goal and see if you can stay within it more days than not. For me, that two hundred calories was things like not having butter as well as jam on my toast, plus not having oil on my salad only balsamic. It was easy to cut out 200 calories per day. Keep logging everything.

A week later, lower your daily calorie goal by another 200 calories and try to stay within it more days than not. By now I think you’ll be finding “cheaper” food options to replace calorie dense foods. But it is only 200 calories to reduce, so not too hard. Keep logging everything.

Use the internet to find out your TDEE and take 500 calories off it. If your daily calories are at or below that, then great, just keep going. If not, lower your daily calorie goal by another 200 calories each week until you reach TDEE-500 or your goal weight.

I also weigh daily. My daily weight fluctuates a surprising amount, so a weekly weigh-in wouldn’t tell me much.

Id do it thins way because then nothing is forbidden, it is all just choices. And those choices are informed because of the religious logging of calories. I learned so much through logging things; I knew some foods were “better” than others, but logging showed me exactly how many more calories were in one choice or another.

Thanks all for your replies. I need to change my diet for the rest of my life as you just can’t eat as much as you age.
I already do weights, but probably need to progress that rather than just doing the same weight.
Portion size is a thing I need to look at as I do eat a lot, I was well fed as a child!
I can’t get rid of snacks due to the others in the house, but I need to just stop eating them. Sometimes I’ve eaten something before I’ve realised.
I thin listing every eat on an app is a good idea, it will make me more accountable.

I’ve lost a pound 🥳 I’ve been doing a 30 min power walk as many days as possible. I think that if I can get under 13 stone, and see that 12 on the scales, it will give me the impetus to keep going.

Have a look at Slimpod? It’s about tackling the psychological aspects rather than just relying on willpower.

every time you feel hungry, drink a glass of water first. Sometimes your body confuses hunger with thirst. It will also put something in your stomach so you feel a bit fuller before you eat.

I have just listened to Davina McCall's Begin Again episode with Shahroo Izadi about setting a routine to support breaking bad habits. It flicked a switch for me and since Thursday I haven't over eaten or over consumed.

I have fasted and calorie counted with some limited success in the past. But it didn't make the slightest bit of difference to why I have struggled with over eating. This has given me some hope I can sort that out.

For me, replacing a snack with a glass of water or restricting calories just doesn't cut it. I need to fix the why (which this has given me pointers to do, it isn't a quick fix or simple solution, but has got my thoughts started on what I need to think about)

open.spotify.com/episode/2LWV1GGC1GcGuDFvE6QPaq?si=5Ms08v7CTMKNXSY5usjUOA&t=0&pi=cKllciZsQUiO5