How can I lose weight when I have no willpower?

[bendmeoverbackwards]

I’m 54 and 5’3” tall. Weight has crept up since the menopause, at its peak I hit 10 st. Dropped off a few pounds and now sitting around 9st 10lbs. I’d like to lose about 8 lbs.

I feel big and I don’t like it. But I love food so much and seem to find it very hard to resist.

Dh also needs to lose a stone, he is actually a bit overweight rather than a vanity thing.

We both tried Michael Moseley’s no/low carb meals and that did seem to work but we couldn’t stick to it. We like pasta dishes and spag bol etc too much.

Any tips please? For me not having things like chocolate, crisps etc would make me very miserable. Maybe I should try the 5:2 fasting thing with a few treats on the normal days.

Even hypnosis didn’t work for me. 2 different practitioners, both with glowing references nationally. ☹️

Daft question. Have you tried going cold turkey on high fat, sugar and salt foods? There is reasonable evidence that your gut bacteria change very quickly and they are involved in cravings. If you just avoid them for a week or two, would you still want them so much? (If that's your thing?)

I am actually doing a bit better. I think something has changed in me and I’m now willing to sacrifice food for the pleasure of seeing the pounds come off.

Dh and I went to the cinema last night and I didn’t have my usual milkshake - we shared a small box of popcorn instead. I’m starting to think more about what I put in my mouth.

I hope I’ll be reporting some weight loss soon!

One tip - every time you reach a milestone, find something that weighs what you have lost and pick it up. After the first kilo, a bag of sugar, for example. One stone is 14lb of potatoes. Two stone is a suitcase of clothes. It’s a powerful reminder that all that weight was under your skin, and now it’s gone. It helped me.

And 2st is an average 2 year old child.

If I lose a lb I think of a lb of butter gone @LoserWinner
It’s a good feeling.