Need to diet - where to start

Money_maker

Pearlstar wrote: »

Have a look at My Fitness Pal, its free and you can log your food and it tells you the calories, fat, protein and carbs.

Wow, this site is fantastic. Thank you from me :A

daska

Money_maker wrote: »

Wow, this site is fantastic. Thank you from me :A

It is for what it does, but it won't help you choose what kind of diet is right for YOU. It only works with the std low calorie, low fat which doesn't work well for everyone, which is why so many people struggle to lose and keep it off. Take the time to watch those two links I posted before you commit to anything.

Personally I low carb because my blood sugars are impaired (not technically diabetic but heading that way) and it keeps them within normal levels thereby reducing any risk of damage. BUT also because when I eat carbs I get hungrier, faster and when I don't eat them my portion sizes reduce naturally without my feeling hungry. (If you're fat round the middle then it's definitely worth finding out what your blood sugars are doing.)

lavandergirl_2

I second myfitnesspal. Tracking what you eat helps you learn more about your nutrition. Plus it can be added as a phone app.

Others recommend fitday, loseit, or livestrong

Sharon87

I'm another one who is losing to loose a few stone. Currently about 2.5 stone overweight. I find motivation is the hardest, I have made changes to my diet previously and easily lost almost a stone within a month before. But this has slowly creeped back on in the last 1.5 years plus a couple more pounds!

But now I just seem to can't shift the weight! I'm starting on the right path, making home made healthy meals, and also reasonable portion sizes. I need to start exercising again. I started in January at the gym, but past 2 months I've been 1 or 2 times, so it's a waste of money if I'm not going as well!

I have many downfalls, booze, cheese, chocolate, chilli heatwave doritos dipped in houmous. Also not eating breakfast as often as I should.

margaretclare

I agree with what others have written. Have a good hard look at what you eat now and work out from there. WW, SW and all the others are after your money and I'm yet to be convinced that they do anything that you couldn't get from a site like this, with the possible exception of meeting others in a similar state. This can provide motivation for some people but not for others.

You mentioned alcohol. This really is a no-no. The liver has to process alcohol before it can process anything else (and everything, but everything, that goes through your mouth ultimately goes through your liver). Alcohol is also called 'empty calories' i.e. it provides no nutrition whatever.

I've found a few things since I've been on this weight-loss journey. One is that the snacking habit, which has become so prevalent of recent years and actively-encouraged by food manufacturers, supermarkets etc, is the very devil. Eating 3 meals a day of healthy food would be a good start and not snacking in between.

Always eat breakfast, but avoid most of the advertised breakfast-cereals. The vast majority of them are loaded with sugar, which you don't need. Porridge (made from porridge oats) is good - generations of people grew up on it, walked long distances and did a morning's hard work without needing to snack mid-morning. Or Shredded Wheat, which contains only one ingredient - wheat - and no sugar.

That's a start!

margaretclare

What, for goodness' sake, are chilli heatwave doritos? Never heard of them!

It has been easy for me to avoid sweets of any kind, remembering my childhood when they just weren't available and we were healthy and active just the same. We occasionally have some Lindt chocolate, 90% cocoa-solids - expensive, but you don't want much of it at a time.

Abbafan1972

Thanks for recommending my fitness pal, I'm going to give it a try.

insured

If you are looking for motivation look no further than these boards. Since posting my weight about 6 weeks ago I have lost over a stone and a half.
I don't think there is any "magic" diet. Its just about eating less and moving around more. It is as easy and as hard as that. It has been hard but I am determined to keep going.
Although I joined on the board I decided against posting my weight weekly as I did not want to become a diet drudge. There is a secretary in the office loves nothing more than telling every one what she can/can't eat. Oh how popular she is now! I wouldn't care, its not like the weight is dropping off her!
Anyway, the thought of having to come back on here and tell everyone I had not lost any weight kept me motivated!

margaretclare wrote: »

What, for goodness' sake, are chilli heatwave doritos?

Do you have to be so rude?
Everyone here is on these threads for the same reason. We have been greedy and have eaten more than our bodies need. That means you also. It is not necessary to critisise others for their food choice. We all need support, not critisism.
In fact a few days ago when you were claiming to do the low carb diet, you said you had eaten two onion bargees!!!
As you have said, you didn't know what was in them, which was rather silly of you. However, they are deep fried dumplings!
Why do you think Doritos are worse than these.
At least this poster recognised they were a food weakness. You seem to think deepfried dumplings are a healthy choice! Why do you think you are fat?

HeadAboveWater

It's not about 'dieting'. It's about changing your habits and lifestyle

Keep a food diary and write down EVERYTHING you eat and drink, and at what times. And make sure you've a 'buddy' to read the diary and keep an eye on you

thehappybutterfly

insured wrote: »

Do you have to be so rude?
Everyone here is on these threads for the same reason. We have been greedy and have eaten more than our bodies need. That means you also. It is not necessary to critisise others for their food choice. We all need support, not critisism.
In fact a few days ago when you were claiming to do the low carb diet, you said you had eaten two onion bargees!!!
As you have said, you didn't know what was in them, which was rather silly of you. However, they are deep fried dumplings!
Why do you think Doritos are worse than these.
At least this poster recognised they were a food weakness. You seem to think deepfried dumplings are a healthy choice! Why do you think you are fat?

I think you're being a bit harsh. The poster isn't being rude - maybe she genuinely doesn't know what these are. I had to read it a couple of times to figure out the original poster was spekaing about Doritos Chilli Heatwave flavour. I thought at first she was speaking about a microwave meal!

Please think before you accuse people of rudeness.