I need to go on....

[Froglegs]

...a diet,can you guys recommend a simple one?

[Froglegs]

[peanuts]

Just eat less, every meal!

[goodlife]

oh yes...lock the kitchen up and put it on timer....leave money in there while it is locked so you don't have temptations to nip down to shops for treats while hungry..

I have been few months now in 'lighter' living style....=for every more substantial meal days I must have couple of more frugal days. Treats are cut back drastically....decent breakie keep hunger away most of the day..just little something is needed during day and then 'good' evening meal what is needed. No 'low fat' or anything fancy but just good old fashion proper food.

Once you body feels it is nourished with 'proper' food, it doesn't send 'snacking messages' and you find that you eat far less calories...loosing weight is slow but it happens. "Rome wasn't built in a day"....

[Obelixx]

For quick results and lasting health benefits, the 5:2 or intermittent fasting diet is very good.   OH and I did it last autumn and shed 12 and 8 killos respectively.   I need to start again as i've had surgery on both feet which has meant sitting around for 6 months and reduced activity for 4 more but I'm getting back to full mobility now and want to shed th eblubber that use dto be muscle.

There's some info on the following link and you can google for more - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2240003/Its-hell-feast-famine-diet-help-drop-dress-size--live-longer.html

[antipodes]

I recently lost 8 kilos just by cutting down portion sizes and avoiding the typical fattening foods - cakes and biccies, chips etc. Or by just having a little as a treat. Eating more veg rather than carbs (cut down on the spuds, pasta and rice), lean protein, a good breakfast (I find porridge or eggs better than just bread or cereal, seems to keep you fuller longer).
I have started walking every day - I put a pedometer application on my phone and try to walk 5000 steps a day if possible. You should do more but i work fulltime so I am already quite pleased with 5000. I still have about 6 or 7 kilos to lose, ideally.
I found a brochure on the British heart Foundation website which seems very sensible to me. It tells you how many portions of each food to have a day, maximum and gives you tables and planners to help. You can eat a bit of everything. this resembled the old Weight Watcher system of the 70s which was very very good, and told you how many portions of each food to eat a day.

I lost weight a few years ago on the Dukan (no fat) diet but put it all back on. I am hoping that switching to a healthier style and more exercise will be more successful in the long term.

[Obelixx]

Well done Antipodes.   I agree a balanced diet with sensible portions, healthy ingredients and exercise is best for long term maintenance and health but sometimes a kick start is good for moral and gives you the incentive to keep going.  That's my plan, anyway as Xmas is looming with the need to wear a posh frock for NY's Eve.

[manicscousers]

Ray's blood sugars were bad after the hols so we've both gone back on the low g.i. way of eating. It's worked for both of us. Ray has lost a stone since august as he does lots of hard work on the plot. I'm only on 6 lbs but at least it's going. Well done, Antipodes and it sounds very similar to the way we're eating 

[Digeroo]

Eat less exercise more.  Sounds simple.  No weight loss is easy and keeping it off is even harder.

[antipodes]

No weight loss is easy and keeping it off is even harder.

That is certainly true!  But i really feel the key is activity! Once you start getting into a sport, whether a real sport or just walking, swimming, a gym, you miss it if you don't do it. That is a great incentive.

It is hard to remember but the "old weight watchers" diet was something like this - in a day you could have (for a woman) 2 slices of bread (wholemeal or grainary) or similar (crispbread or cereal for ex), 30g hard cheese, 300ml of skim milk (guess semi skim would pass if you hate skim milk like me!) 1 tab of fat be it butter marg or oil, 100g of lean protein for lunch and dinner (so fish, chicken , lean meat etc cooked in non fat way); seem to think you could have 3 servings of veg per meal and that was basically a big cup full, plenty, 2 piece of fruit a day. Then you add to that 4 eggs a week, and I think it was 6 times a week a serving of something like pasta, rice, etc but it was a generous serving, like 100G dried which is a lot when cooked.   Also each week you had a certain number of extras you could have, which was a tab of ketchup or brown sauce, or salad cream (low fat), jam, honey etc. You could have no added sugar but no-cal soda, tea, coffee etc was unlimited. Basically you ate a lot of veggies! but you were never hungry. A typical day would be something like breakfast - bowl of all bran, 1/2 cup milk, a small banana, cup of tea, lunch - grilled chicken breast with herbs, cup of steamed broccoli, small mixed salad, low fat yoghurt, coffee, snack in afternoon of drink and cup of raw veg sticks, then dinner would be something like a small plate of spaghetti bolognaise made with no fat method, 1 tab parmesan cheese, small bowl of tinned peaches (w/out juice) and then in the evening if you were good you could have a skim milk cocoa with real cocoa and sweetener.
OK you did have to be creative with cooking using lots of herbs, lemon juice etc. But you could eat a little bit of everything, and after the initial weight loss, an occasional treat like a small helping of chips etc. The key was keeping the portions limited! and getting rid of all the unnecessary fat and sugar. You really lost a few kilos a month with that method. I think that if froglegs just made her own meal planner for a week like that, using common sense (get rid of, or drastically cut down the butter/cream/ cheese, bacon, eat loads of fresh veg and fruit but not too much fruit which is sweet, cut down the carbs but still eat a few every day), then I am sure that in a week she would lose at least 2 lbs and be motivated to make a new planner for the week after that! And walk everywhere! If you must drive, park 500m away and walk the rest - take the stairs - if a journey is in a 1km radius, walk it. It really does work.

And the best of British luck of course!

[Froglegs]

Eat less...it is then,been told by me doctor that my ideal weight would be 12st,so got to get rid of 4st

[antipodes]

How mobile are you? Because even if you are very heavy but you don't have an actual physical impediment, you need to just try each day to start gently walking. Start with ten minutes one day then 12 the next and so on. Walk at the best pace you can. Get a podometer! they really work! see how many steps you do with 10 minutes and each day add 100 steps.
And good luck! It is hard work but you will start to feel better in no time. I have lots more energy. I have a friend who lives on the 4th floor, no lift. Before I lost the weight, I used to be completely puffed out getting to her flat. Now I am a bit out of breath but it is a great improvement. Things like that show you that you have come a long way.

[Paulines7]

Seeing this thread, I decided it was time for me to diet again so I am going back on the 5:2 fasting diet.  I have chosen Mondays and Thursdays as my fast days so I can eat what I like on Christmas day without feeling I have broken my diet.

Unfortunately, due to being disabled, I cannot exercise very much and find it painful to walk more than a few yards. 

[ACE]

Lost a couple of stone a few months ago. Just on green smoothies and fruit juice.  Boring as hell after a while and the need to chew something is always on your mind. Failed miserably one night after some hop and barley smoothies. When the devil tried to tempt me with a couple of cheese rolls. 'Get behind me Satan' I shouted. He did get behind me, but he kicked me up the backside and pushed me through the larder door.

[Jeannine]

The only twice I dieted I made only 1 change and I lost 50 pounds both times. I cut out fat, all fat including cheese,butter I used non fat milk, no cream, and I trimmed every possible fraction of fat off meat before I cooked it. Mayo and salad dressing went to fat free amd so did Philly cheese and sour cream, Everything else remained the same in fact I increased some things. a favourite sandwich was one which I did bend the rule on cheese but only a very tiny bit, grated, about half an inch square but very strong cheddar, I made my version of a Ploughman, no butter, fat free mayo, with a spoon full of chutney spread over it, lettuce thin sliced tomato, fine sliced red onion, sliced cucumber and that very precious bit of strong cheese.. super sandwich, vurtually fat free.

I took no notice of carbs, ate sweets if I wanted to but nothing with fat so chocolate was out, plain hard boiled sweets, kept sugar in my tea but eventually I went to Splenda as I carried it with me , for milk I used the long life fat free  sterilised, the regular fat free was like water but the long life one was rich and thick.

That is everything I did and the weight dropped off..trouble is with me I like fatty meat, love butter, sauces. cream etc..so if I give up it all goes back on.

Just cut out all the fat...it will work.

XX Jeannine

[Obelixx]

Try the 5:2 diet Jeannine.  You can have your fat on your 5 normal days and wine too - as long as you stick to about 2000 calories a day and don't go mad.  Then you have two separate 500 caqlorie fasting days which trigger the metabolism into fat burning mode.  I start my thin day with a couple of boiled eggs and then drink plenty of black coffee and water through the day then have a low calorie meal in the evening - eg skinless chicken breast or thighs marinated in fat free yoghurt and Indian spiices with salad or plain veggies.  Very tasty.  Need to keep busy to ignore the hunger pangs at first but then it gets easier.

[Jeannine]

The above works perfectly for me, no calorie counting, no other restrictions, just one rule..cut out fat. I can eat as many sugars, carbs wine, anything at all, with me it is just the fat, cut it out and the weight drops off.

XX Jeannine