Dieting & Losing Weight

Topaz

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All of those special 'diets' out there are a waste of money. Yes, you will lose weight, but as soon as you go back to your normal diet, then the weight will just pile straight back on.
If the diet is a low calorie one, then it puts the body into starvation mode, where it becomes super efficient at using the calories that you are eating. That is why you will start losing weight on a new diet, but the loss slows or even stops after a while. Then the kick in the teeth is that you will gain back more than you lost when you go back to normal eating, because the body will grab every calorie that you eat and store it as fat.
The only way of losing weight and keeping it off is to eat a balanced, healthy diet and take a bit more exercise - for life.
It is true that some people get away with eating loads and don't gain a pound, while others look at a cream cake and gain 2 pounds, which is down to metabolism differences or sometimes medical conditions.
I've never been on a 'diet', and at over half a century old, I weight the same as I did when I was 16. (That's not saying that I don't gain the odd pound or two at Christmas or on holiday, but it doesn't stick around for long once I get back to normality)
The only thing that you will lose in the long run with fad diets is money!
 

maisiemog

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Been doing slimming world since end of Jan. Currently almost 3 stone lighter. It works for me and I am never hungry. Could easily keep it up long term. Now that I've got my head around it I think I'll probably stop paying once this round of payment finishes but if I start gaining again I'll go back to group.
 
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Svendo42

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I'd like to say that I do feel for people that really do have low metabolisms or medical conditions as weight management is tough for them and what I'm about to say does not apply to them. I have no excuse.

I've done slimming world three times, Atkins twice, Weight Watchers once, 5:2 once, GI Diet once, and Calorie Counting more times than I can remember. All of them worked for me while I was on them.

I've recently been a Slimming World member but very recently stopped as I found that I was doing the diet on my own and paying £5 each week to get weighed. The weekly group session is what you are really paying your £5 for but given that I've been dieting and reading about weight-loss and exercise regimes for 25 yrs i.e. more years than our Slimming World consultant has been alive, I'm confident I know more than her about dieting, nutrition, and how exercise can help (or hinder) weight loss. The motivation I get from her lasts as long as it takes me to get home.

We all know what we need to do to lose weight and when you think about it, it's crazy that there's a multi-million pound industry based on this.

I watched a documentary a few months ago about how some people can seemingly eat and drink as much bad stuff as they want and be skinny while others seem to eat a little bad stuff and it all goes to excess fat. Metabolism and medical conditions aside, I think the word "seem" is important here. If memory serves, the program went on to track an example from both sets of people and found the skinny person whilst eating bad stuff didn't eat much of it, wasn't a plate finisher, and also had a very active life style. The overweight person was secret eating and didn't move much.

Not conclusive by any means but food for thought... forgive the pun.

Long term sensible eating with a spell of cutting down on what you consume after a period of binge is key. To lose weight you've really got to want to lose weight not just say you do. I'm confident that when I've lost weight it was because I really wanted to, when I failed to lose weight it was because I thought I wanted to.
 

Jon

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I'd like to say that I do feel for people that really do have low metabolisms or medical conditions as weight management is tough for them and what I'm about to say does not apply to them. I have no excuse.

I've done slimming world three times, Atkins twice, Weight Watchers once, 5:2 once, GI Diet once, and Calorie Counting more times than I can remember. All of them worked for me while I was on them.

I've recently been a Slimming World member but very recently stopped as I found that I was doing the diet on my own and paying £5 each week to get weighed. The weekly group session is what you are really paying your £5 for but given that I've been dieting and reading about weight-loss and exercise regimes for 25 yrs i.e. more years than our Slimming World consultant has been alive, I'm confident I know more than her about dieting, nutrition, and how exercise can help (or hinder) weight loss. The motivation I get from her lasts as long as it takes me to get home.

We all know what we need to do to lose weight and when you think about it, it's crazy that there's a multi-million pound industry based on this.

I watched a documentary a few months ago about how some people can seemingly eat and drink as much bad stuff as they want and be skinny while others seem to eat a little bad stuff and it all goes to excess fat. Metabolism and medical conditions aside, I think the word "seem" is important here. If memory serves, the program went on to track an example from both sets of people and found the skinny person whilst eating bad stuff didn't eat much of it, wasn't a plate finisher, and also had a very active life style. The overweight person was secret eating and didn't move much.

Not conclusive by any means but food for thought... forgive the pun.

Long term sensible eating with a spell of cutting down on what you consume after a period of binge is key. To lose weight you've really got to want to lose weight not just say you do. I'm confident that when I've lost weight it was because I really wanted to, when I failed to lose weight it was because I thought I wanted to.
Wow! What's quite a journey you've been on there.

It's interesting that you say you've done the slimming world system so long that the weekly meetups have little to no affect on you. I can imagine that's the case for a lot of people once they know hot it all works

How much do you think you've spent on dieting then over the years?
 

Jon

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Been doing slimming world since end of Jan. Currently almost 3 stone lighter. It works for me and I am never hungry. Could easily keep it up long term. Now that I've got my head around it I think I'll probably stop paying once this round of payment finishes but if I start gaining again I'll go back to group.
Do you resent the £5 a week you pay for the meetings or do you think you know the system enough that you could just weigh yourself at home?
 

Jon

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All of those special 'diets' out there are a waste of money. Yes, you will lose weight, but as soon as you go back to your normal diet, then the weight will just pile straight back on.
If the diet is a low calorie one, then it puts the body into starvation mode, where it becomes super efficient at using the calories that you are eating. That is why you will start losing weight on a new diet, but the loss slows or even stops after a while. Then the kick in the teeth is that you will gain back more than you lost when you go back to normal eating, because the body will grab every calorie that you eat and store it as fat.
The only way of losing weight and keeping it off is to eat a balanced, healthy diet and take a bit more exercise - for life.
It is true that some people get away with eating loads and don't gain a pound, while others look at a cream cake and gain 2 pounds, which is down to metabolism differences or sometimes medical conditions.
I've never been on a 'diet', and at over half a century old, I weight the same as I did when I was 16. (That's not saying that I don't gain the odd pound or two at Christmas or on holiday, but it doesn't stick around for long once I get back to normality)
The only thing that you will lose in the long run with fad diets is money!

That's really intersting.

I'd never thought of that but have heard loads about how you end up putting on more weight post diet and people are always perplexed by it
 

Topaz

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When you think back to our ancestors, they never knew when food would be available. It was either feast or famine. So our bodies learnt to change our metabolism depending on the situation. Now we have ample food all of the time (unless we live in famine struck areas) our bodies still do the same. Unfortunately, they see low calorie diets as famine conditions and act accordingly - clever things, our bodies :)
 

Littlejohnson

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Best 'diet' in my eyes and in my personal experience, work out your basal metabolic rate or BMR a lot of rough calculators online to do this @Jon, then work out your tdee total daily energy expenditure, again many calculators to do this. Download a calorie counting app, input your daily intake eg if im looking to lose some flab i start at around 2500 calories then slowly taper down every 2 weeks so week 3 id start at 2300 down to 1800/1900 depending on how i feel.

Protein intake for me (to retain my muscle mass) would usually be around 180/220g per day then fill the rest with carbs and fats

If you need any further help jon message me on here id be more than happy to help, the bodybuilding/dieting spectrum is my fortay :)
 

Svendo42

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Wow! What's quite a journey you've been on there.

It's interesting that you say you've done the slimming world system so long that the weekly meetups have little to no affect on you. I can imagine that's the case for a lot of people once they know hot it all works

How much do you think you've spent on dieting then over the years?

@Jon my latest stint with Slimming World was 32 weeks @ £5 per week + £10 joining fee = £170. I've spend about another £30 on magazines and recipe books, making a total of £200.

Over the past 25 years:

Slimming World (3) - probably spent the same amount each time = 3 x £200 = £600
Atkins twice - Bought the book ~= £10
Weight Watchers (1) - probably spent same as Slimming World = £200
5:2 (1) - bought the book set #= £20
GI Diet (1) - bought the book #= £10

Totalling £840

This is just for dieting, for exercising I've probably spend about £1000 on treadmill, rowing machine, weights, and running gear but all of that has been used a lot so it's not been wasted.
 

Jon

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I've been getting on well with MyFitnessPal the last few months

If you ever want to give premium a go on there you can sign up and use the code MFPHEALTHY2020 which even though it's 2021 STILL WORKS and gives you 3 months Premium access (no ads etc.) and you can cancel at any time ;)

Trying to keep fit during lockdowns is a bugger! It's literally running or doing a weights workout at home via Fitness+ in the living room while I pray the dog doesn't stop barking, great fun!
 

j4v3d

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I need to get myself a bike so I can get out for an hour and get some exercise in! I can't wait till it is safe for Gyms to be open again, I need to shift this weight I have put on and even more - health is wealth.

MyFitnessPal app is great, the food tracker is great too, it holds you accountable for what you eat and you can see what the bad food is and the good food.
 

Bugboybill

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I honestly believe it's as simple as eat a bit less and exercise a bit more. I've never been more than about a stone overweight in my life, and when I get to that point I just stop eating some of the crap like biscuits, and cut back on alcohol. Then I do more walking, which I enjoy. In the first lockdown I managed to lose 8 pounds without any effort just by walking about 5 miles every day. My brother-in-law currently lives in US and is in his early 50s. He has never exercised in his life. He was a heavy drinker and morbidly obese. In August due to Covid he decided he had to do something or risk dying. He has been in total lockdown working from home since April. He cut right back on the booze, ate healthier and started using a pedal exerciser. He has lost over 120lbs and is now normal weight!
 

Jon

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MyFitnessPal is doing another 3 months FREE on their premium offering if you use the code SPRINGFORWARD
 
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j4v3d

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MyFitnessPal is doing another 3 months FREE on their premium offering if you use the code SPRINGFORWARD

I might take them up on that! Ramadan is around the corner as well, it gives me a chance to eat less now haha! Then back to the gym considering Coronavirus doesn't force them to close again, I need to get back to exercising and looking after my health!
 
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mum2one

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Another one who needs to loose weight, wish weight would come off as quick as it goes on x
 

TJ608

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Lol I get more guilty when it's sunny but been quite shite weather for may so not too bad. Still on it though.
 

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