Every time I go on a diet I put on weight

ArsenalCath

Hi, I am new to this site. I have tried so many diets over the years and I do OK to begin with but then fall by the wayside and end up putting the weight back on - AND SOME. So looking back to when I first started dieting I weighed 11st 4lbs (158lbs) Now, umpteen diets later and blur-de-blur years, I weigh 18 stone (252 lbs). I am older and time is running out. My health is suffering. My husband had a heart attack last year and was also diagnosed with diabetes type 2 but even that did not act as a wake up call. He is exercising and losing weight and here I am, still fat and miserable. I have made the first step, I guess, by going on here and I intend to start doing about 30mins exercise per day - probably on the Wi fit to start with but ultimately I want to start going to the gym. Any advice or motivational tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you folks.

ArsenalCath

By the way, as you can see I joined this site last year but it has taken me all this time to actually get my backside into gear.

dorio115

There are going to be A LOT of people posting to you to do these different "diets" but you should just take my advice, count calories, set a deficit, eat lots of veggies and protein, in the beginning when I started my weight went up a little at first but then dropped hugely throughout the months, don't set a calorie deficit to low because I'm stuck on that and it's a bad position, if you're an active person, set about a 1800-2000 calorie deficit a day with tons of veggies and fruits and good carbs and such, I promise you'll see results in weeks. Don't put yourself down because trust me it won't help, forget how you look now, look forward and start your diet as fast as possible things will get better, take a serious strict diet for a few weeks and that treat yourself a few weeks in, to start off only do a cheat meal and see if that helps you drop some pounds because it helped me, but be very careful and controlling about it because you don't want to over do it, I mean Im only 16 and you probably don't want to listen to me but I just have an experience with dieting and being overweight, I just got my dad to start a no-carb diet and he's dropping the pounds quickly and feels so much better, it'll all be worth it i promise! Hope this helped .

susan9

Keeping track of what I eat and exercise is a great help. MFP has made it a lot easier for me to stay on track. I was a yo-yo dieter too, but don't want to be in the future.

ILOVEFWANKWIN

You are not alone in this, and I think its safe to say everyone struggles. I was told in my late 20s that I was prone for heart disease, type 2, infertility, you name it, I had it. I still struggle every day to exercise, but I have to admit, every day it gets a little easier to make the right choices.

I woke up this morning, got on the scale, and saw another pound gone. By the middle of May I should hit the 70lbs lost mark. Its an amazing feeling, and I would hope that would be enough to motivate people. It's not. You have to make the choice, you have to stay strong, and you have to be consistent.

I took it slow, made small changes, little amounts of exercise... In the long run it may seem like nothing is going on, but so much is changing inside, you'll never want to go back.

I also started on the Wii Fit... it didn't feel like exercise, but I lost my first 20lbs that way.

jsiricos

As I am sure others will tell you - this isn't a diet. This is a way of life.
You have to WANT to do this, and be ready to give it your all.

Exercise is great, but not totally necessary.

Eating healthy is what will save your husbands life, think of that as motivation. If you eat the same as him, and you make sure his menu is diabetic friendly, healthy, low sodium and has all the good stuff, you will get healthy too.

But don't go into this with a defeatist attitude, it won't help, and won't get you anywhere.

frasergentles

Step 1 - Use MFP to calculate maintenance calorie intake i.e. no weight loss... adjust eating and maintin this for a couple of weeks
Step 2 - after a couple of weeks drop this by say 250 calories.... maintain this for a couple of weeks
Step 3 - drop a further 250 so that you total 500 reduction in calories against you maintenance intake - maintain this until you reach your goal.

If you are putting on weight presently then it is beacsue you are eating above your maintenance intake so the default 500 calorie deficit from maintenance will in reality be a much bigger adjustment which will be harder to sustain.

Any more than 500 calories per day is a bad idea and remember to factor in any exercise you do so that you maintain a 500 calorie deficit. i.e. calorie goal = 1500 but you do 250 calories exercise. Let MFP adjust your goal to 1750 thus maintaining a 500 deficit.

Yeh, and don't think of this as a diet.... think of it as a lifestyle change i.e. a diet you will do for a few months, the changes you need to make are for life.

Remember you are playing the long game here so drop your calories slowly, increase your activity slowly and within a month or so you will start to see the difference.

ArsenalCath

Thank you, yes, I need all the encouragement I can get.

ArsenalCath

That's fantastic. Well done. I will stick with the wi fit to begin with I think. It can't do any harm.

ArsenalCath

You have done very well. I think I will find the tracking food helpful.

ArsenalCath

You are totally right. I must think positive and as you say, if my husband and I eat the same stuff we will both be healthier, and weightloss will be a bonus.

SusieDerkinsRocks

I like the previous posters' advice. DON'T go full bore, and set your goals to 2lbs a week weight-loss immediately. You'll be too hungry, and you'll set yourself up for failure. We didn't get here in a month, and it's going to take a life change that you can live with permanently to take it off, and more importantly to keep it off.

I still have a long way to go, but it's the last time I'm ever going to have to start at this point. I don't eat perfectly, but it's a LOT better than I used to, and I keep tweaking it as I go - funny thing is that each step backwards is just a step now, and not a total "fall of the wagon". I found out there is no wagon, just choices that fill up every single day, and it's up to me to make the best ones I can.

traceyfunk

No diet advice - except monitor those calories, drink lots of water, and take extra fiber supplement. But you know how to lose weight!

What you don't know how to do is to maintain it! What's REALLY important is you discover WHY you are in the cycle you are in!

Something keeps bringing you back to food.

Read "Women, Food and God" by Geneen Roth. ( Or one of the thousand books on mind-body medicine) And look inside your heart and mind - after that, the appetite takes care of itself!

And while you're at it - if you have stairs in your house - start with walking up and down them a few times a day - cheapest "gym membership" ever!!

Good luck!

ArsenalCath

Thank you. Yes a few people have reminded me it is a change in my lifestyle and not a diet. I will give your calorie advice a try.

ArsenalCath

Thank you everyone for your advice and encouragement. I will take on board all your ideas. I will look on Amazon for the book. Thank you again.

matthewcorb

I feel for you. I think you're just having a hard time staying on a good diet because not all diets have the results come out immediately, most of them take some time for some people. It would be easier if you went on a diet along with your husband, it's much easier that way because you'd have a better time doing it with a partner.

Have you tried Paleo? A lot research are suggesting that it is very good when it comes to people with diabetes and for weight loss. Just following recipes from the diet will do wonders for you and your husband.

http://cooklikeacaveman.com

I hope you can give it a try and please let us know how things go.

Good luck! Best wishes!