Suggestions for a new eating plan??

[magb]

I suppose I could say I am a stuggler and a restarter. Just feeling a little down about my weight at the moment:sigh:. I feel like i'm the only person who does this but weight seems to be ALL i think about. I think about losing it all the time, I can't look at people without seeing how slim they are and wishing it was me, or thinking people are looking at me and thinking i'm fat. I think a lot of the time it's also all i talk about which must drive my friends mad! I must be a little obsessed. I think it's gotten worse due to the fact that I am starting university this time and I really didn't want to start with this excess weight.

Anyway, I'm totally sick of feeling this way now and I really need to try a plan i can stick to. The only one i really know how to do is atkins (which is kind of difficult as i'm not a huge meat fan!) because im pretty good at doing low carb. Any ideas of which i could do? I would like to try something different with a bit more fruit and veg. I only want to lose about a stone and a half (sounds pathetic i know but it really affects my confidence!), but want my healthy eating to be something i can stick to long term, which I don't think I could do with Atkins.

I'm also doing 30 minutes on my exercise bike and 20 mins on my treadmill daily...will i get results from this eventually? I dont seem to be getting anywhere! Sorry to sound like a big moaner but any suggestions really would be a great help

 

[Kristi]

Why not switch plans every week? That way you can try some of the more extreme plans and not worry about long term nutritional issues. Plus you can always tell yourself that you only have to hang in there for a week and then can change up to a new plan.

The most effective plans I have tried so far were:

1. Fish only (eat as much fish as you want fried in butter or coconut oil with any spices or salt, but absolutely no breading).

2. Large salad before each of three meals (eat a two cup salad of spinach, kale or lettuce with lime or lemon juice and salt for dressing before each meal. No snacking between meals. Drink only water.)

3. Grapes only. Eat as many seeded red grapes as you want. Chew and eat the seeds. Drink only water.

4. One meal. Don't eat until 7pm. Eat one meal between 7pm and 8pm at one sitting. Drink only water the rest of the day.

5. Eat every hour. Eat one ounce of meat (turkey, chicken, beef, etc... but no processed "meats" like ham, hot dogs, bologna) and 1/2 cup of one of the following veggies every hour on the hour (green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, cucumber). Don't skip a meal while awake during the day. Every hour no matter what. Drink water whenever you wish.

I hope that helps!

I lost over 70 pounds switching between fad diets like that. I feel great!

-Kristi

 

[dancing-in-the-rain]

The thing is, most diets work if you're in the right frame of mind, therefore it might actually not be the diet that's stopping you losing weight, but your issues. You do need to explore the reasons why losing the weight is so important to you and why you're not able to at the moment.. You may well benefit from someone professional to talk to.

Above all, please don't forget to enjoy university! It would be a shame not to get the most out of it, you're only going to do it once (probably!) so it might be worth trying a diet that allows you the freedom to drink etc (in moderation) such as Weight Watchers or Calorie counting. You can ask on the relevant boards for more info.

Good luck with whatever you do.

 

[Starlight]

Mags first of all, Id totally ignore any fad diets, how anyone can think eating nothing but grapes for a week is a sensible way to lose weight, I cant imagine.

Why not try something like WW or SW. On SW all fruit and veg are free so you can fill up on as much of that as you like

Good luck whatever you choose

 

[soozsb]

I suppose I could say I am a stuggler and a restarter. Just feeling a little down about my weight at the moment:sigh:. I feel like i'm the only person who does this but weight seems to be ALL i think about. I think about losing it all the time, I can't look at people without seeing how slim they are and wishing it was me, or thinking people are looking at me and thinking i'm fat. I think a lot of the time it's also all i talk about which must drive my friends mad! I must be a little obsessed. I think it's gotten worse due to the fact that I am starting university this time and I really didn't want to start with this excess weight.

Anyway, I'm totally sick of feeling this way now and I really need to try a plan i can stick to. The only one i really know how to do is atkins (which is kind of difficult as i'm not a huge meat fan!) because im pretty good at doing low carb. Any ideas of which i could do? I would like to try something different with a bit more fruit and veg. I only want to lose about a stone and a half (sounds pathetic i know but it really affects my confidence!), but want my healthy eating to be something i can stick to long term, which I don't think I could do with Atkins.

I'm also doing 30 minutes on my exercise bike and 20 mins on my treadmill daily...will i get results from this eventually? I dont seem to be getting anywhere! Sorry to sound like a big moaner but any suggestions really would be a great help

I good place to start is like I did with the cabbage soup diet for one week. I lost 7 pds on it then I am going on the Judders diet, it sounds like something I can stick to, the up and down days sound great and people speak positively on it. Then I think every third week I will do the cabbage soup diet again. You are not supposed to do the diet more than one week at a time with a two week break in between. So for now that's the way I am going, and we will see what happens. Good luck to you.

 

[assj]

first of all eating grapes for a week is the most ridiculas idea i have ever heard! not only will you feel awful you will be starving your body of lots of essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals, please dont do that, plus you wont be learning about what foods you can and cant eat, it needs to be a learning process and a lifestyle change.
xxxxx

 

[CrazyBrit]

Yep, basically there are a billion ways to lose weight, and if this thread runs long enough we'll list all of them

I have a personal distaste for any weight-loss routine that exacts money from you in exchange for goods or services. The diet industry makes billions of pounds a year from people who want to lose weight. It's not in their best interests to help you keep the weight off, because then they lose a customer

The basic maths is simple: Eat fewer calories than your body requires to maintain your current weight. Diets dress this maths up in a variety of ways - diet plans, shakes, supplements, "free food" - but ultimately unless you consume fewer calories than you need you will not lose weight.

Ultimately it just takes dedication and hard work. Either pick a diet plan (JUDD, Cambridge, Slimming World, Weight Watchers, whatever) and stick to it, or just count what you eat and keep your intake below what you need (which requires you figure out what you need, and re-assess every couple of months - google yourself up a calorie calculator to find this out).

If one way of losing weight isn't working out for you, don't despair, just switch to a new plan until you find one you get along with

 

[MinnieMel]

Crazybit is right... you need to honestly figure out how many calories per day you need to maintain your weight, then do the math knowing that you'll need to burn (or consume fewer) 3600 calories for every pound that you want to shed.
My current analogy for myself is that: I am an economy car (i.e. 5'4" and should weigh about 8.5 to 9 stone) and I have been putting into myself enough fuel for a Hummer (6 foot plus man). Where does the excess fuel go? Into my storage tanks (thighs, bum and tummy).
It is hard to do on your own: a pre-packaged diet like LL, CB or Slimfast (and I am sure there are many others) has already figured out how to get the proper nutrition with the fewest calories, and are shown to be safe -- if their guidelines are followed. However, these can be pricy and that may be an option for a student. However, if you plan the diet yourself (and there are some good on-line trackers and planners - some cost, some are free) then you can get the same "safe" benefit: fewer calories, but healthy nutrition. Good Luck -- you are not alone. Just read some of the posts.