Diet and losing weight

Embarking on a post Easter effort... this is my gameplan

MyfitnessPal app (free version is good enough) to track everything eaten - more to keep me honest than counting every calorie

High protein foods - two of my faves are Aldi Protein pouches (mango soft cheese yoghurt are delicious and only 99p for 25g protein) for breakfast and light lunch of spice dusted air fried chicken breasts.

GLP - yes, jabs are also on the menu, but only legitimate supply like MedExpress (£50 off using AW437 code is a bonus)

Gym & Swim - local council leisure centre has a Spring promotion and won't be crazy busy like first week in January

For me, I need to do all four of these to get another steady, sure and healthy weight drop for the Summer.

HTH - Good luck

Good luck with your SW journey, Trisha99. I don't follow their diet, I calorie count, but my reason for attending classes is to get weighed and be accountable for my weight. I enjoy the support and encouragement of the leader and fellow slimmers, on the whole it stops me from deviating from my diet. I tried doing it on my own but it didn't work, too much cheating 🙄.

TiggyW

I’ve recently joined Slimming World. The weight’s coming off slowly. It’s basically low carb, high protein, healthy eating, although you can have as much meat, fish, plain potatoes or pasta as you like. Our fridge is bursting with fruit n veg! The problem for me is chocolate.…

I’ve also just joined SW with some success but I’m still avoiding pasta and potatoes- to me a carb is a carb is a carb!
Like you my downfall is chocolate.
I’m allowing myself a small 25gm bar of dark chocolate every evening, with an apple, it’s 7 Swips or whatever they are.
The chocolate is Aldi Moser Roth 70% cocoa, 5 individually wrapped bars in a pack.

Sarahr

Small plate, small portions. No UPF ready meals. Dinner at midday, not in the evening. Don't eat between meals. Lots of water instead of milky drinks. Good walk for at least 30 minutes morning and afternoon. No fancy diets. Just eat good food. Good luck.

Sarahr, I get that cooking from scratch is healthier for you than processed food, but when does PF become UPF? 🤔. I'm achieving a good weight loss eating three times a day (nothing in between) but my evening meal is invariably a ready meal, simply because they're delicious and have the calories listed on them. Last night I had a prawn and chicken paella and tonight I have a king prawn linguine, yum yum 😋. I have to cook for hubby in the evening, not low calorie, eating about 5.30pm, so we like to eat together. I keep my main meals to under 450 cals, I couldn't possibly cook such tasty meals myself, plus it's making my dieting pretty easy, bar a couple of blips 😉. It's weigh-in tonight at 5.30pm, so I'll be extra good today, we'll eat at 6.30pm when I get home.

Good luck, fellow slimmers 💐.

Melathome

I know it’s about eating less but find it hard to keep going after a couple of weeks. I don’t need to lose more than a stone but think if I feel a programme that’s not too expensive I might stick to it. Thank you for the advice re protein fibre etc . I am GF too .

Hang your outfit on the front of the wardrobe and look forward to wearing it.

As others have said, cut down on the carbs, lots of lean meat, fish, eggs, dairy and veg and plenty of water. Fibrogel to ensure you’re getting enough fibre. A longish walk every day.

Small plate, small portions. No UPF ready meals. Dinner at midday, not in the evening. Don't eat between meals. Lots of water instead of milky drinks. Good walk for at least 30 minutes morning and afternoon. No fancy diets. Just eat good food. Good luck.

Now I’m not advocating this as a way of losing weight but since I’ve been taking plant sterols to lower my cholesterol I seem to have lost inches. I think they stop your body from absorbing fat?

The only organisation I’ve ever lost weight with was Slimming World. I made Slimmer of the Year at age 60. No food is banned and no expensive foods need to be bought.

It was having gall stones that resulted in Rosemary Conley developing the hips and thighs diet. Is that where you’ve lost the 6lbs from?

Well ... ive been diagnosed with Gall Stones and I have to follow a completely Fat Free diet... I have lost 6 lbs in 2 weeks !

Losing a stone (about 14 pounds) for your daughter's wedding is a realistic and achievable goal if you focus on sustainable, evidence-based changes rather than quick-fix diets or flashy adverts that often promise unrealistic results. The approaches that truly work long-term involve creating a moderate calorie deficit—typically around 500 calories below your maintenance needs each day—through a combination of smarter eating and increased movement, allowing for a safe, steady loss of 1-2 pounds per week without feeling deprived or risking rebound weight gain.

I went on this apo and there is a charge, won't be using

It took me years to realise that going on a diet for a certain length of time, say a month, was totally useless as most people return to their former way of eating. I am now careful every day what I eat and occasionally take a day off.

I like a glass of white wine and I top it up with water and that works for me.

NannieChicken

The only thing that really helped me was buying smaller plates and bowls! I do try to eat healthy food but I do love a nice dessert.
By using smaller plates etc I never feel I'm missing out. The same with desserts.
The weight loss has been steady (except for Christmas)

A recent tv programme about eating habits said that plate sizes have increased a lot since the 1970’s. When I eat bread or pasta I try to eat it reheated as it changes the way the body uses it. Don’t reheat rice dishes though but now use brown rice instead. I get my chocolate fix by having chocolate chia pudding. There are lots of good recipes on instagram.

ruthiek

TIGGYW pasta and rice are high carb, I have done SW and I keep off them to
Lose weight

That’s the thing I don’t understand about Slimmimg World, how eating unlimited potatoes, pasta etc can mean you still lose weight, though all these things seem to me just to be ways of consuming fewer calories ( or, foods which contain fewer calories to be precise!) I think the bottom line of ‘eat less, move more’ is accurate.
I always smile when I think of Elaine C. Smith ( Scottish comedienne) who said her weight gain was glandular. She had a gland which made her a ‘greedy b*st*rd’!

And smaller wine glasses NannieChicken. The 125ml glass seems so small now, but was the normal wine glsss size in 60s and 70s. Then came along the massive glaxses. So more wine more calories. Smaller plates and bowls are a good plan. And really again are what we used to eat from before large ones arrived,

The only thing that really helped me was buying smaller plates and bowls! I do try to eat healthy food but I do love a nice dessert.
By using smaller plates etc I never feel I'm missing out. The same with desserts.
The weight loss has been steady (except for Christmas)

Going to a slimming group and feeling accountable to the leader and fellow slimmers has really helped me to stay on track. I tried to do it alone, but could not resist eating crisps, chocolates, cake, biscuits, sweets, especially when I was home alone and no-one to see what I was eating.

I joined Slimming World two weeks ago and it's purely to get the support, encouragement and praise for my weight loss. I've lost 8lbs in two weeks (want to lose 3 stone.) I am counting calories and eat three times a day, nothing in between, and if I feel peckish I drink a glass of water or a cup of tea with skimmed milk, and the hunger goes away. I use a smaller dinner plate and eat lots more veg than I used to, I know some people are against ready meals but Aldi spaghetti bolognese is delicious and I have a slice of cheesy garlic bread with it, all calories written down. Aldi tuna and pasta salad is tasty and filling, again with a slice of cheesy garlic bread, I like lots of flavour, it doesn't feel like a diet, but it's working for me. Breakfast is Rice Krispies, sliced banana and skimmed milk. I write everything down, even a cup of tea or glass of water, it's important to me to acknowledge what I'm eating and drinking. Before I would eat subconsciously, now I enjoy every mouthful and take my time.

I wouldn't down the SW diet, but to start this off as easily and conveniently as possible, I am doing it my own way first, but the thing that's definitely making me stick to it is the thought of standing on those scales at class and being praised for losing weight, it makes it all worthwhile and makes me want to go on to achieve my goal weight.

Do whatever works for you 🙂.

I forgot to mention Lindsey is an Australian nutritionist and knows what he's talking about.

Have a look at Filling meals with Lindsay on Facebook, every meal that he's made contains 500 calories and you choose 3 per day, they are super filling and of course that's on 1500 per day, so your in deficit already, the meals are tasty with lots of options, there's also a book.

Thank you, Sago, for mentioning the fact that low fat products are bad for us. It's true. A very good book about the diet culture and why it fails so often for most people is Why We Eat (Too Much) by Dr. Andrew Jenkinson, a respected bariatric surgeon, who has listened to his patients. He has nothing good to say about low fat products.

I started to write down everything I ate, it really focuses you!

I have overnight oats in natural yoghurt with fruit for breakfast, lunch is usually homemade soup with homemade sourdough and dinner is a well balanced meal.
Yesterday it was salmon and asparagus linguini with a lemon and crème fraiche sauce.

My aim is to eat a nourishing and balanced diet.

I do not eat anything low fat as it’s so bad for you.

If I have a snack it’s usually Nairns oat biscuits.

Diets as such don’t work for me but since January I have lost weight, I do not weigh myself as I was an anorexic teenager but my clothes are definitely feeling looser.

Thanks Whiff for your back up. We both know losing weight needs to be an ongoing process, with occasional blips as we are only human. Onward and downward another of our sayings.

I use the book NanKate recommended and I have recommended to others .

Those who wants to lose weight there is already a diet and exercise forum...I would advise joining the Pears thread started by NanKate think it the 4th year . All shaped fruits are on there . It's a brilliant thread . As you can tell I am on there .

NanKate changed dieting to eating less for life . And that's exactly what you have to do . No short cuts just hard work and exercise. And before anyone says they can't exercise I was born disabled and have a heart condition. I exercise daily plus go to sit fit class and a move it or lose class weekly .

There are no short cuts losing weight . I should know lost 7st over 5 years was 32 now a 16 have baggy ,sagging skin but don't care. No amount of exercise will tighten it after decades of being obese. But I am fitter at nearly 68 than I have ever been .

Smaller portions, fewer carbs (potatoes, white bread etc).
Re sweet things, dark chocolate helps.
Good luck! I have lost a stone in 1.5 years.