Need to diet - where to start

mustmakealist

If you can spare £20 or so you could try slimming world or weightwatchers for a couple of weeks to see how they work and then continue to follow it on your own. There are a couple of threads on here that others follow and get help and support.

Jenny007

I tried My Fitness Pal. Half of the choices I was making to eat, I was too embarrassed to even put on there... An obvious sign it was the wrong thing to eat.
Its when you have to take note of these things and think, that you actually realise its a bad choice.
We all do it. Mindless eating.
Just take that extra 10 seconds to really think about the choice your making.
Afterall, Everything is good in moderation right?

SandC

I think the key to long term achievement is never to think of being on or off a diet. In fact, I recently had a lightbulb moment whereby I, having lost the 3.5 or so stones I had put on due to letting myself go over a few years, I have told myself that I was 'on' a diet for those years of eating too large portions, too much alcohol and processed foods. Having come 'off' that diet I have gradually (with the help of lots of exercise I might add) changed my way of thinking, slimmed down and hope not to fall into the trap again of letting things get out of hand.

But I resolutely refused to go 'on a diet' and instead now consider myself to have come 'off a diet' in order to get where I am.

daska

Jenny007 wrote: »

I tried My Fitness Pal. Half of the choices I was making to eat, I was too embarrassed to even put on there... An obvious sign it was the wrong thing to eat.
Its when you have to take note of these things and think, that you actually realise its a bad choice.
We all do it. Mindless eating.
Just take that extra 10 seconds to really think about the choice your making.
Afterall, Everything is good in moderation right?

What the studies prove is that it's the writing it down that makes the difference, not the diet itself, because by writing it down you have to face up to what and how much you're eating. You can't lie to yourself so easily when it's there in black and white in your own handwriting.

And who defines 'wrong'? Take a look at the links I posted earlier and you might find yourself wondering whether the advice trotted out so glibly is really as cut and dried as it's made to seem...

Abbafan1972

I have been adding my foods onto My fitness pal. How do we know if they are reliable or not?

Sharon87

You can check the packaging yourself and see the calories. If it's accurate compared to myfitnesspal then that's good, if not, know how much you're eating of it in grams, and there's a way you can input the exact amount of that food in.

I've started eating a lot less, although I still do eat things that aren't exactly good for me, but my meals are becoming smaller portions, like today instead of a whole can of beans on my jacket potato I only had half, and also a lot less cheese was used!

Portion size is my main issue I think.

There_Goes_Trouble

Portion size is one of my problems too. I'm better at home because I cook the right amount, so there are no 'seconds' available no matter how much I want them. Problem is if I go out to family for a meal which I often do at weekends. Then it's harder.

I don't buy things like crisps and biscuits and I don't bake cakes. If they're not in the house then I can't have a weak moment and eat too many. I also haven't been eating biscuits out the tin at work either, mainly because I have to write it down. I do sometimes make flapjack, because it's quick energy to grab a small piece when I get home from work, before I go running. I have calculated the calories per piece though, and they are small pieces.

MFP doesn't help with nutrition though unless I just haven't found that bit. I ate 3 Krispy Kreme donuts yesterday (they were giving them away free at Euston Station) and I still came in way under my calorie total for the day because I did a 10k run and a 30 minute swim in the evening which offset them. I'm glad that I was under my net total, but that doesn't mean it's OK to eat 3 donuts in a day! (I don't normally eat like that!)

rhondagraymond

THAT should be your motivation! Please believe me when I say this (because I’ve been through this before!), this is really ALL the motivation you need. Losing even a few pounds could work wonders for your self-esteem and all-round frame of mind. Start small. Get a haircut and then go to the grocery store. Buy healthy vegetables and fruits. Buy some chicken or turkey. Come home and throw together a brilliant stir-fry. Now think. What you have just eaten is a healthy, nutritious meal that (admit it) was all too easy. And THIS is what you need- a weight loss diet program that is easy, healthy, balanced and EFFECTIVE. A low carb, high protein diet can work wonders for your weight loss. Add to that maybe a nice, brisk walk in the evenings and you’ll have yourself a perfect weight loss regimen that will work well for you.

Edwardia

If you cut out processed foods, takeaways, baked goods, sugar, sweeteners, fizzy drinks, alcohol, confectionery, pasta, potatoes and rice then you'll lose weight and keep it off. It's that simple. Since 2010 I'm down from size 22 to very nearly size 12 now with normal or better blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, liver function and kidney function.

If you think " argh I couldn't possibly do that " then you have to ask yourself why. If the answer is that you can't do without sugary stuff, six packets of crisps, toast or a pile of pasta, there's the answer. Humans weren't designed to live on the cheap !!!! food processors push on us to make a profit. We get fat, we get allergies, we develop diseases. More of us should be taking more care over our food instead of shoving cake in mouth.

ktb

olivetrees wrote: »

.... i do love cheese though - my downfall.

You have had some fab advice on here so far and I don't have an awful lot to add to it... but your comment might be an indicator that switching to low carb could work for you!

If you remove the bread, pasta, rice, potatoes & sugar (inc fruit) from what you are eating, there is absolutely no reason to give up cheese. In fact with low carb, you need the fat for energy - so you actually increase your intake of yummy foods like cheese, butter, cream, olive oil, avocados etc. as well as ensuring yuo get plenty of good quality protein and veggies.

There is plenty of digestive biology behind this, which is very googleable and so I won't bore you with it here, but is worth considering if you don't want to end up feeing deprived by having to give up your 'downfall' food One of the reasons that low carb is all over the place is that for the majority of people it works & you don't feel like you are on a *diet*! Good luck!