Anyone else fed up with constant dieting?

Me too but i still try to watch what i eat.I think it is ingrained now what not to eat. Like everyone else i could quite happily eat thickly buttered toast, scones with jam and cream, beautiful homemade cakes and luscious ice creams but i don't unless a really special occasion then i am racked with guilt.

I've been overweight all my adult life. Tried Slimming World and WW with some success but the second I lapsed the weight I'd lost and more crept back on. Fast forward to the end of last year and I find I've somehow lost a couple of stones. Blood tests showed severe diabetes and I'm now trying to follow a low carb diet to get the sugar levels down and hopefully lose the last stone.
I miss so many things and am overwhelmingly sad that I'll never eat some stuff (crisps!) again ... or not without feeling guilty!
I've actually surprised myself at my resolve so far. If temptation comes my way I think of the next blood sugar reading and step back.
So yes, I do feel fed-up but will just have to suck it up!!!

See if you can get a copy of "Largely Happy - changing your mind about your body".
It's full of myth-busting facts about dieting and weight-loss. Promotes health at any size and has hints and tips for good self esteem..

Amazon seem to have 5 copies 2nd hand at the moment.

I am another one who just keeps getting bigger if not actually dieting. I don’t eat sweets or chocolate because I don’t particularly like them but homemade cake is my downfall. I very rarely bake for us now. The only diet I have been successful with is Atkins. Time to start again but struggling to summon the willpower!

But you can’t ‘eat what you want’ and stay slim if eating what you want means lots of cakes, biscuits, etc..

Why do we humans feel entitled to eat? Our pets only get what we give them. In some parts of the world people don’t have this luxury.

Can I suggest, without having my head bitten off, that you can’t have your cake and stay slim....unless that cake is an very occasional treat.

It's not about feeling 'entitled' to eat. It's just that food is readily available to us and - if we're adults - there is no-one to restrict what we eat, as is the case with our pets.

So the last line of defence against overeating is oneself, and if that defence is weak.....

I think we are saying the same thing Bathsheba ie it’s there so let’s eat it.

I lost two stones around 6 years ago and have kept it off since then apart from small fluctuations. I did it using the Harcombe Diet by Zoe Harcombe. It’s a great way to eat and plenty of online support. There’s no calorie counting and no weighing out food. It’s worth a Google. ?

I don't have self-esteem issues regarding weight and certainly don't feel guilty if I indulge, but just know that my weight will rise very quickly if not mindful of how much I eat.

I have found that over the years my food preferences have adapted to the eating pattern that is best for my health.

Admittedly I never had a very strong sweet tooth and even as a child loved vegetables - especially sprouts, but I now avoid sweet food because I don't enjoy it. I can sit all day looking at a plate of biscuits with out eating one, simply because I no longer like them.

I agree anja. Most of us eat far more than we need. ( & wonder why we’re overweight)

I've always put weight on easily - I was a large child but then my mother cooked puddings, cakes biscuits etc alongside our healthy meat and two veg every day. The only time I was really slim was in the period leading up to a gallstone operation and after that I put it back on again. WW was successful for me but if I don't monitor myself carefully it all creeps back. I'm now trying once again to shed a few pounds before a big family party at the end of May since the outfit I have bought will look so much better without the lumps and bumps around my middle. It doesn't help that I have lost some height as I have got older and am now only 5'3.

For me it’s not about dieting , but lost weight for my health I eat healthy food in moderation If I really want. That chocolate bar ,I have it. I love my food but made small changes. I use spray oil instead of fats and don’t add butter or cream to my food , I love veg and eat a lot Of them , I cut down on the wine and have gin if I feel I need it , I exercise 3 times a week I feel a lot better both mentally and physically and have lost 2 stone Hope this helps x

Grannyknot that's a great article because it's sets you free. If only I could stop emotional eating I'd be fine. Boredom and lack of motivation are my main problems.i can make healthy choices and know when I'm hungry but when the black dog bites I'm out of control

I'm 70, so have the same problem, wanting to look svelte but feel like I'm starving!
In addition I have pre type two diabetes but have avoided medication by sticking to a low carb, no sugar diet. It's so hard but recently I was in hospital and the person in the next bed was having two toes amputated because of uncontrolled diabetes. Motivating. So, just think of the inside of your body as well as the outside. Healthy diets are just that. GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE WITH YOUR DIETS. xxx

I put weight on only in later life. Think it has been a combination of retirement pub lunches (including puds) and taking an antidepressant. Probably more the former than the latter.

I used to be thin! [howl!]

Well, I am the size of a house and I just don't care any more. What's the point? My husband died 3 years ago and he was the one I tried to stay attractive for, I have a smooth wrinkle free complexion and still have my honey coloured hair and if I ever meet another nice man he will have to fancy me as I am. Most elderly men of around my age, 78, are not very attractive anyway, most being fat, bald and unhealthy.

I should say that my health is not too bad anyway. So |I just tuck into biscuits like there is no tomorrow.... I am always surprised to wake up still alive in the morning...
Good luck dieters, I'm off for coffee and a couple of biscuits.

I was thin all through childhood, being a young mum and until around 45, then the weight began to creep up. High cholesterol pulled me back a bit, told to cut out fats, dairy etc which I got very good at, twenty years later - result osteoporosis and told to eat butter, drink milk etc to help bones - I reckon i'm on a hiding to nothing. Ys, I could howl too.

I’ve been trying to lose or keep off weight since I was 19. I had a period in the 80s 90s when I lived abroad and did a lot of exercise and was a perfect weight. However I was still not satisfied with the way I looked. Gradually piled it on as I got older and now at 69 I’m about a stone more than I should be. I think about it every day and think that this is the day I’ll give up eating sugar/ carbs etc but I never really do it. I eat healthily though and try not to go mad with cake etc. As others have said, it’s so depressing though, especially when as I have, you have a friend who is skinny and can eat anything and not put on weight ?

I am 60 and weigh 8 st 3lb . 5ft 7in . I’ve been the same weight since I was 21 . How do I do it ? I love clothes and nothing tastes as good as being slim . I weigh myself everyday . And if I’ve had an indulgent day I pull it back the next till those scales read the same ? . I eat anything but the bad stuff in small portions . I’m aware of nutrition. It really is keep moving and eat less . We all love food and have to eat . But just be aware everyday of who you want to be . It’s no good going on a diet now and then . It has to be a lifestyle choice . At what age will I stop and let everything go ? Probably never . My mother is 87 and still watches her weight !

Yep this is me too. Watch my weight most of my adult life...mainly because I love eating. Of course I am no longer as active at 62 as I was when younger, so it does become more difficult.
I've given up many vices such as smoking, sex lol, and don't drink much so food is way up my list of pleasures.
I am currently doing weight watchers online, and find the App fantastic, but some days I think "What the hell" and indulge.
Health and mobility of course are a priority, so we just have to keep trying, and have some treats..

the breakthrough for me was to overcome years of training to ' clear the plate.' We eat what we like, but as soon as I feel I have had enough, the rest goes on the bin. My weight is now stable, and ok for me.

I started dieting aged 14 whenI wasn’t even fat. Became fat because of dieting and spent teenage years and early twenties in an agony of yo-yo diets and depression. Hardly anyone was really overweight then (I wasn’t that big compared to those I see these days), so I was a target for insults.
Everything changed when I got a dog and started walking him. I loved him so much I became veggie. My weight went down and stayed down as long as I stayed active.
These days, it’s more difficult to keep weight steady as my metabolism has slowed.
I honestly think walking is the only thing that has kept me from ballooning.
But I still obsess over my weight, I weigh myself every day and try not to binge.

But why do women do diets so avidly?

Men certainly don't - you only have to do a quick look around at the overwhelming numbers of men (any age) who walk about looking as if they're 3 years pregnant!