Lifestyle Changes

The 16:8 diet seems painless....could you ride bikes at the weekend? Or my choice would be get a dog!

I lost 28lb by cutting out dessert/treats during the week and reduced the portion size of my meals it worked for me.

My DH's idea of exercise is pressing the accelerator pedal on the car! I do manage to get him out for a walk at weekends now and I make the effort to give him a healthy packed lunch instead of being lured by chips and sausage rolls in the canteen at work. He seems to have lost a bit of weight lately, though I suspect it's more down to him now not snacking at bedtime than anything I've tried to do. He would die rather go to a slimming group.

I have been doing the 16/8 diet now for a couple of months - away from home so not sure of weight now - I find I am eating much smaller meals and often only once (lunchtime) a day. I don't often feel hungry either.

The Hairy Dieters often appeal to "blokes" and have some good books. You'll find a few recipes to try online and they do have a diet club too.

I like the idea of a dog but in the week we’re both out of the house long hours during the week and I don’t think it’d be fair on the dog being in on it’s own over 10 hours. Thanks for the reply

Thanks for that, I definitely think we can cut our sugar intake, we don’t have many desserts but we can cut out unnecessary snacks

Thanks for your reply, mines the same. He only suggested diet club because he’s desperate and I know he wouldn’t engage by stopping he’d only go to get weighed so I think some of your tips are good. I’ll start doing him healthy lunches instead of McDonald’s breakfasts that I’ve found out he has!

Not researched 16:8 diet. Thanks will look into that.

Thanks for reminding me about these guys, we have one of their books will have to hunt it out.

I agree with the above suggestions. My major, natural weight loss came when I stopped working and was more in control of when I ate.
The 16:8 and 5:2 ways of eating are a good start in training your brain when to expect food. Cut down on portions, don’t eat between meals and make healthy choices.
This way you don’t cut out any foods, which generally results in craving them, but your taste for sugary, fatty food seems to diminish.

It’s as much about what and when you don’t eat as about what you do eat. The 16:8 is an excellent way of eating.

If you can’t manage that then start 12:12 - that is nothing for 12 hours after your evening meal.

I agree about the Hairy Dieters their books are excellent. So combine the two ideas.

Keep it simple. Plan ways together how you can decrease your food intake and increase your exercise. Plan a half hour walk each day gradually increasing how far you walk. Good luck.

Make one small change* at a time. I think Time is the important thing. Allow the overall change to take time. This gives your body time to adjust and to 'learn' the new regime. Good luck.

*such as having slightly smaller helpings of whatever you're eating.

Don't concentrate on what you eat. Obviously you need to eat sensibly - but you can do that as you shop. Go to the supermarket together and don't buy the bad stuff. If it isn't in the house then you can't eat it. And remember that this is for ever, not just until you lose the weight you want.

Think about how you spend your free time - maybe this is an opportunity to start doing more things together, whether it be simply going for a long walk, or joining a gym.

Some great suggestions thanks. Hopefully 2018 will be good for us. For me it’s a first for my husband to say he needs to lose weight and if we don’t act we’ll just slip into even more unhealthy habits.
I think on reflection we need to introduce regular exercise, cook healthier and stop snacking on unhealthy snacks. We need to use this opportunity to get out of the rut we’ve got ourselves in. With a bit of luck our daughter and grandchildren will help us with the exercise part with regular walks, fingers crossed we can keep ourselves motivated.

As Baggs says, one small change at a time. You're trying to do a huge revision of eating habits of many years.
Little things like smaller plates, only eat at the table, only eat at certain hours, (ie no snacking).
Then you can go on to the quality of the food you eat.

16:8 is easy peasy. My DH melted away on it. Should be easy for your DH as he's at work. No breakfast. Soup/rolls/whatever for lunch, something mid afternoon and supper finished before 8. No calorie counting or special shopping or cooking. Just do it!

HI. Have you lost any weight? You can watch online motivational weight loss videos. They will work for you. As, you said that you bought a cookbook based on healthy eating, then you need to strictly follow it. Make recipes from that book that promotes weight loss. You and your husband can even take the detox tea to lose weight and body fat.

Another important point is to realise that the change in your eating habits must be permanent. Weight goes back on when people see their diet lifestyle as being for the weight loss period only and go back to their old eating habits once they have lost weight. The changes you make in your diet need to be permanent.

Recently there have been lots of articles saying that dieting is not about reducing how much you eat, but swapping calorie dense food (chocolate, chips, biscuits and cakes) with food that is bulky but lower in calories; fruit, vegetables, fish and beans.

Obviously if you’re 40lb overweight you’re going to have to make big changes, but in your husband’s case I’d concentrate on the (lack of) exercise first. A sedentary lifestyle is no good for anyone, even those with an acceptable BMI. And walking lifts the mood, as well as helping shed pounds.

As far as diet goes, I’d recommend the 5:2. The 16:8 didn’t work for me, unfortunately. They both claim other health benefits such as lowering cholesterol, but obviously this needs a bit of help from your healthy living cookbook.

I've stopped dieting altogether. I had lost weight with Slimming World ,but got so obsessed about eating that I started binge eating on weigh in days. I now try to eat three meals a day and snack on yoghurt and fruit. I have lost 1.5 st this way. I still have days when I eat too much but my body does show it's displeasure now when I do. I start feeling jittery when I have too much sugar and very lethargic. It's not always easy this way but I was fed up with thinking all day about how much Lurpak and milk I was allowed.

This was originally posted just after Christmas when many are full of good intentions.

Wonder if OP managed to lose anything?

Oops!! It just shows that I'm new to this