Help me shift this weight please

Fully agree with @wildswan16. Have lost half stone myself by just eating sensibly over the last couple of weeks. Good luck

I lost nearly 2 stone following Michael Moseley's 8 week blood sugar diet, and would recommend it. The book has recipes in the back, all very easy.

Regarding fruit. Yes it is healthy and better than eating sweets, but you can eat too much of it and bump up your sugar/calories without realising.

the difficulty is finding something that is easy to stick with. I have put on a few pounds in lockdown too and have tried all sorts, including slimming world, slimfast etc. But what I have started to do is to introduce a bit more protein as in eggs, meat, milk etc. and cut right down on carbs. I used to have soup and a sandwich for lunch but now I am having a hot meal with lots of veg and find I don't want to snack in the afternoon. I have the same at tea time, with yoghurt for pudding. So real food, cooked from scratch with loads of veg and less fruit is working for me. And the very occasional biscuit. It feels like the way I used to eat when I was growing up at home.

I’ve been on a diet for a few weeks now, I throw out all the cakes and biscuits I could find in the house and went out to stock up with fish for the freezer and loads of fruit I can nibble when hungry. It a bit boring but winning. Also I have put hubby on a diet as his tummy was expanding. He lost a few pounds.and we both feel better

Oh my goodness! I could have written that! I hate how I have let myself go, especially since my husband died. Oh if only there was an easy solution ☹️

I agree with eating sensibly rather than a diet.
I also cut any carbs in half. Fresh food not processed. Smaller portions. A little treat each day. I do treat myself once a week eg pizza. . And a brisk walk before dinner. I lost almost a stone in a year doing just this. I do slip back sometimes but everyone does. But generally my way of eating has changed permanently. I think thats the best way. I weigh myself almost every day.

Ten years ago I was over two stone overweight and now my weight is OK for my heigh. I have maintained this over the decade. I did not diet and still do not diet - there is abundant evidence that dieting leads to getting thinner and then putting it all back, sometimes more than you lost. I've thought a lot about the psychology of eating and weight - this is where to find a way to eat healthily and stick to it. I could write lots more, but will just suggest that you look at a book which is based on research on changing behaviour and really works. It is The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal. She helps you understand what's going on when you want to get thinner and then eat a whole chocolate cake, and she helps you in practical ways to find a way which will actually work for you to get to a healthy weight and stay there. It also works for other habits and behaviours you might want to change. She explains too how most of us totally misunderstand what will power means! I do hope you will get the book and if you follow it through I can almost guarantee you will end up a healthy size.

Eat less. Exercise more. It's the only way to lose weight. Have a healthy breakfast - porridge with fruit perhaps. It will fill you up. Lunch a light salad. Don't snack between meals. Just don't buy snacks so they aren't in the cupboard tempting you. I weigh myself daily and find if I eat too much bread I put on weight. (Don't know why bread is so fattening.) If I have put on a pound, I just cut back a bit. I am the same weight as when I was at school 60 years ago though muscle tone has gone and I look fatter.

I’ve been over weight on and off all my life. There is no such thing as a good diet for losing weight. Because as soon as you stop you go back to the same things you did before. The thing is to learn good habits that stick. I also personally believe that companies that make money out of you to lose weight are criminal. Since you are online. Try the free version of
MyFitnessPal. It’s totally brilliant. You can track everything you eat and keep all your personal goals. The best thing about it too is that you can monitor how much fat, carbohydrate or protein you are eating on a daily pie chart. So you can get a good balanced diet.

Hello ItsNell yes please come and join us on I’m a Pear the Sequel. Our thread has been running for over 2 years now and there are a core group who have kept together.

My main bit of advice is do not go on a short term diet decide that you will work out an Eating Plan for Life. You can still have occasional days off but then you get straight back to the Lifelong Plan.

There is lots of advice on the thread. Look forward to seeing you. ?

PamelaJ1
You say 5ft4 is overweight at 10st. I am this height and so checked the graph you posted.
10st is in Healthy Weight range. Overweight range begins at 10st7. which is the target I've been given by my weight loss group.

I struggled with my weight for years. I joined Slimming World and I have lost 5.5 stones and still have another one to go until i hit my target. Its worked for me, there is nothing you cannot eat, its a life style change not a diet. I still go to group every week but during lockdown they are virtual groups using Zoom. I

I’m doing two things - loosely following slimming world as it’s easy to follow, just healthy eating so not just a short term fad diet. I don’t stint myself and enjoy my food, I’ve lost about 30lbs over the last year or so. I’m not on commission I hasten to add! You could ring your nearest leader ( google online) and they’d tell you how to get going, remotely at moment. Secondly I’ve started doing Pahla Bowers weight loss for women over 50 free daily online workout, 20 mins different every day and she explains why it’s harder to lose weight over 50. Very interesting, moderate and fun - suggest start at day one. Hope either of these things helps.

Try reading the book by John McLean The Low Carb Revolution: Why the Secret to Losing Weight is to Fall Back in Love With Yourself!

Its only 32.25 on Kindle and might help you look differently at weight loss.
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007JKAMZ2/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i7?tag=gransnetforum-21

I have only just discovered this rather unusual author and am enjoying his book Dancing With The Hunger: A Fable About The Breakthrough You've Been Starving For. Its short and I'm rereading it because like AEsop's Fables there is an archetypal story under neath.

Have you seen the article in The Guardian today about Dame Jenni Murray (presenter of Woman's Hour) about her long struggle with her weight? In the end she had bariatric surgery which, she thinks, has saved her.
The article says she's written a book about it but doesn't give the title. Maybe it's not out yet.

I would suggest you go with calorie counting. Try 1200 calories and then reduce to 1000 per day. Eat what you want but don't go above the 1000 calories once you get there. By default you will begin to eat the lower calorie items that allow you more volume to consume. If you don't have a suitable book, go online to get the values of everything you already eat so you know your calorie consumption to begin with. This, together with some extra activity should get you losing weight.

Keto?

I don't think it's about any particular diet that works better than another or about that tyrannical word willpower. It sounds overly simplistic to say it's just a decision you have to make based on what you want to achieve, but that's what it is.

You have to really want to lose the weight more than you want the foods that make you fat. When you reach for the snacks, the fatty foods, the sugary stuff, you have to ask yourself, "Do I want this more than I want the weight loss?" If the answer is YES! go ahead, but you won't lose weight. It's pointless to beat yourself up about it. If you really want to lose weight more than you want the extra food, you will cut down and begin to lose weight. You just have to decide. If you are determined, you won't allow others to derail your efforts. Some will try!

From a practical point of view, reducing portion size is a good, easy start.

I recently cut out cakes, chocolate, sweets, biscuits and pastries because of a worrying blood sugar result, and without being hungry, I lost a stone. I wanted to reduce my blood sugar result so much more than I wanted the sweet things!

I can also recommend the 5:2 way of eating because you're only hungry on two days a week rather than every day.

Thanks you everyone for taking the time to give me advice. I’m sitting reading all your posts and making a list of your suggestions.

I agree it’s got to be a lifestyle change as this weight has crept up on me gradually over the past 10 years - I’m not sure how it’s happened as I think I eat a fairly healthy diet - I probably eat to much - that’s why I need to learn portion control I think. I’ve been on diets whereby you can eat as much as you want as long as it’s veg or salad or suchlike and I pile my plate high and eat the lot - because I can. The upshot of that approach has been that I got accustomed to having big portions.

Another issue for me is that if I cut out food groups like carbs or fats I soon start to feel restricted and will rebound and eat them - even though normally (whatever that is!) I’m not that bothered about sweets and cakes or bread, I went through a phase A while ago where every time I had a coffee in a cafe I’d got to have a cake - whether I was hungry or not.

It’s about breaking down my bad habits and finding a plan that I can live with.

Ps jenni Murray’s book is On amazon and is out 16th July. It’s called Fat cow fat chance

It's tricky itsnell but there are great ideas here. I'd like to lose some weight too and I find that preparing meals in advance so that I'm not tempted to go for the easier bad stuff can help - but try not to have these in the cupboard, at least in the early stages. Then a small treat. If you fall by the wayside don't beat yourself up about it but determine to do better tomorrow rather than giving up.

Try not to make food the focus of your day. If you have an absorbing hobby this can take your mind off your weight worries. If you treat yourself on any successes buy something like a new lipstick or nail polish, not food. Best of luck OP.

I don’t diet as that is short term, I just make healthy choices 98% of the time.
I lost my A ‘level teaching job at the start of lock down. When I work, I walk to the train station and home again 5 times a week days 3 miles each way. So, in lock down I put weight on because I wasn’t moving. I didn’t want to go out in the day so, I just started walking in the evenings. I put music with headphones and just walk. Start slowly built it up each night.
I also move more indoors for example I deep clean, I dumped the mop and get down and scrub my floors, great exercise. I garden, wash windows and just move more. If of course you can.
I don’t buy unhealthy foods I just avoid the sweets, cakes and biscuits Ilse in the supermarket. If you don’t buy it you can’t eat it. I do buy the odd treat for a weekend and for me that is important as it keeps me on track.
If you must have a treat every day buy healthier options there’s loads of choice now. I read labels and look for the traffic light system. Sometimes things that claim to be healthy aren’t, so be informed. I found my sweet tooth has almost gone I certainly don’t crave sweet stuff anymore.
Writing down what you eat makes you more mindful of what you are eating. Work out your red flags do you eat when you are board , emotional, tired stressed ? working out why you eat helps you get into control.
Since my husband died, I find it hard to cook just one small meal, so I don’t. I cook for two then divide meal it and freeze it or pop it in the fridge for another time. This has led to batch cooking so that my healthy meals are there when I need them, so I am not temped to nibble or snack before cooking. I can just get the meal out.

I always have a yogurt or something healthy dessert wise as a doctor once told me that having a small dessert can aid weight loss. This is because your brain knows this is the end of the meal and helps you maintain a good weight. Works for me.
Drinking water is linked to weight loss too up your water intake if you need to .

Ps sorry for the typos and rogue capital letters, my iPad seems to have a mind of its own! ?

Join WW. It's a lifestyle change but you can eat what you like - just in a different way. I lost 2 stones 3 years ago and have only put on a couple of pounds whilst shielding. It's a points based eating routine, easy to understand (and remember!) and it easily becomes a way of life (you can't unlearn those points values!). If you have any weight related medical issues you can even get a free membership for a while (your GP need to recommend it though). Good luck!

Just to say, when I have up sugary snacks (I forgot to mention breakfast cereals) I didn't give up bread or the occasional glass of red wine. I still lost a stone without going hungry.

Itsnell, you might be doing better than you think .

If you live alone and don't have to buy and cook for someone else it's easier to give up eating a lot.

Eating dinner off a tea plate is a good idea as has been suggested. Not keeping to set meal times helps me as I can last for hours longer before I feel hungry although that I'm afraid means not planned cooking but limited to fish fingers or a fried egg on toast.
Most of all I found it easy to get out of the habit of liking sugary food and this may suit your too.