calorie counting

When I decided to lose weight last year (lost 35lbs over 7 months and it has all stayed off for a year) I cut out all sweets and tried very hard to eat NOTHING between meals. It was hard but became easier as time went on. I didn't count calories but did look at the calories on some of the between meal snacks that had become a habit - a little bag of 'cheddars' has 6% of daily recommended calorie intake - that amazed me - ditto biscuits.
I agree that eating less and taking more exercise is the key. The more exercise you do, the more it becomes part of everyday life that you miss if you don't do it. I feel the best I've felt in many years as a result.
GOOD LUCK

The British Heart Foundation advice is a good start for a healthy diet.
www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/preventing-heart-disease/healthy-eating

then the small plate, going for a walk each day etc. all helps. I don't have biscuits or cakes in the house. A little dark chocolate and crystalised ginger. Plenty of unsweetened muesli and nuts. No soft drinks. Sparkling water, some wine.

Get surrounded by the right stuff, don't graze and stop thinking about food plus some regular exercise and you should be fine.

The calorie is simply a unit of energy. The calorie count for various foods tells you how much energy your body can derive from that food. It's true that some foods are digested more quickly than others but calories are calories! Simple sugars are broken down very readily and enter the bloodstream as glucose, stimulating release of insulin, which allows your body cells to absorb glucose needed for energy production. You can experience a rapid sugar 'high' followed quickly by a low. You feel hungry so you eat more! That's why it's best to avoid sugar (avoid white bread, cakes, biscuits etc.) but slow release carbs are fine. Brown bread and brown pasta are digested more slowly, are filling and satisfying and help to regulate blood sugar so you get fewer highs and lows. High fibre foods keep your bowels working! Watch out for added sugar in breakfast cereals. Even the ones touted as 'healthy' have added sugar. Pulses are cheap, satisfying, delicious (cheap even in tins, so convenient), high protein, high fibre, full of minerals and vitamins. Try this recipe:
www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/gigantes_with_tomatoes_47546
It's made with butter beans. We halve the recipe, use spinach rather than chard and use only one tablespoon of oil. Stick to those quantities and it works out at more or less 1 kcal per gram. I have a 300g serving (300 cals) for my main meal on fasting days. It's delicious. If there's any left next day, warm it, whizz it in a blender (you may need to add a little water) and use it like hummus with wholemeal pittas. It's still delish and the calories are the same, approx 1cal/gram. (Dont forget pirates are bread!!! ?)

Pittas not pirates!

I have lost 5 1/2 stone since last September by counting calories, so it does work. I stuck to 1000 a day. 4 lbs more yo go and I will then increase my intake by 250 a day until I plateau. Good luck, if I can do it you can too. An apple and 10 almonds are all I eat after 6 pm.

xx

After a lifetime of yoyo dieting and trying what seems like every diet under the sun, I've found the most effective way is to eat healthily, reduce portions ( I'm greedy ) and exercise.
By exercise I mean walking and then including upper body exercise as well.Walk-at-home. Have you heard of Lesley Sansone and Jessica Smith? Have a look on Youtube. There are also their DVDs on Amazon.
I tried some sessions of hypnotherapy a few years ago and I lost 3 stone. I have the discs still and when I've yoyo'd upwards I get them out and try again. At least you can have a lovely lay on the bed for a while.
Staying slim(mer) for me is like searching for El Dorado. However - when I'm motivated to try yet again the above works for a while. Good luck in your quest.

That seems a rather worryingly low number of calories Gillr. All the websites I've looked at say a very minimum of 1200 otherwise you may be storing up problems for yourself. I hope you're keeping well

Have you watched the series (just 5 episodes) of The Retreat? Nick Knowles and others on a retreat in Thailand. They all followed an alkaline diet and all lost weight and looked healthier - you could see it in their skin and eyes. No meat, no sugar, no dairy, no wheat. Your tastes do change, you can train yourself. Good luck.

Lost 4.5 stone in 8 months by feeding my family with things they loved and I didn't like.

So any suggestions if you can't exercise either temporarily or permanently?

widgeon I like most things!

I followed a "diet" of about 1000-1200 per day until my daughter was born. I'm not trying to make excuses - honest - but I swear my metabolism is buggered.

I find it so hard to lose weight. And keep it off.

This was one of the problems I saw mentioned on several websites gettingonabit, that if you lower your calorie intake to a very low level, it can badly affect your metabolism.

It has been mentioned before but Slimming World really does work. I was stunned at the industrial quantities of fresh fruit and vegetables I started to eat, it took two years but by that time I changed my tastes, I went from 16 to 12. I still try to exclude as much carbohydrates as is possible, and no alcohol. However when you go out to the pub with friends it is boring to just be able to drink diet cola, why do the soft drink chains not put some better calorie free drinks behind the bar, plus diet cola seems to have caffeine in which keeps you buzzing in bed and makes you have to get up to pee. If you want alcohol gin or vodka and slimline tonic is lot less calories than a glass of wine. It takes time, exercise does not really have much impact, it's the calories or lack of them that do it. All the best Xx

I am Type 2 Diabetic & advice I was given is lots of veg apart from Parsnips, Beetroot & Sweetcorn which are all high in sugar. Fruit but should only be 2 portions a day due to natural sugars. Breakfast is porridge all year round now as cereals I like are high in sugar. Portion control is very important as most of us put too much on our plates & human nature is to clear it. Still can't lose weight, although I did lose a stone earlier this year due to doing lots of digging in garden (more exercise than normal), I have however put about half of that back on but I haven't been doing as much. Can't walk far so that's no good

Good luck & I hope you reach your goal

I count calories, and i weigh everything and account for every calorie - even allowing a few calories for tasting while I'm cooking. I have also been doing 5:2 for almost 3 years now. I have lost almost 12 stones, and have seen successful weight loss for the first time in my life. And yes calorie counting and weighing does rather take the fun and the spontaneity out of cooking, but for me it is worth it. I also keep a strict food diary every day, which helps to keep me on the straight an narrow! I weigh only once per week, and record my weight each week. All of these things might seem over the top, but i needed to lose a lot of weight, still do have some to lose, and cannot put it back on again. If that means doing all this stuff, then so be it, but i don't think either is perfect for everyone. The good thing is that there are plenty of approaches to dieting, and if you keep trying, one will surely be right for you. However, i suppose if at all possible it is best to regard what you do not as dieting, but as a positive lifestyle change, because if you diet for a while then go back to the comfortable, comforting old way, then the weight is going to come back too.

Hi, I managed to lose a stone after I was told that I had high cholesterol. I also have a very sweet tooth but I managed to cut out all sweet things. I also stopped eating processed meats and cut down on cheese. I eat lots of vegetables and not as much fruit as I used to! I have never calorie counted as I read somewhere that it is a bit counter productive. I think that the answer is to take it slowly don't suddenly cut out everything at once ,train your body by degrees and then you are less likely to lapse! Eat regularly and don't skip meals. It may take longer to lose the weight but you will have more chance of success! Good luck.

Can I ask if anyone has actually managed to get down to target weight? And stayed there?

I struggle to get into the "normal" weight category (18-25) then despite my best efforts, it creeps back. I seem to spend my life at about a stone overweight.

I'm 5'4 and a 12. My ambition is to wear jeans with a top tucked in but I always seem to have an unsightly muffin top now.

If Mary Berry can do it, why can't I? She's 30 years older than me fgs.

Princesspamma that is an amazing weight loss, I congratulate you and hope that you are enjoying the health benefits it has brought.
You clearly have iron will-power and I hope your achievement means that you can also sometimes enjoy what you eat and still have a social life.
But well done!!