What 'Program' to choose??

Ready2Rock206 wrote: »

The eat the foods you enjoy at a calorie deficit program works best. Making things overly complicated, restrictive and stressful doesn't work for you based on what you've provided above. Also you need some patience - I doubt you put on the weight in a week, you're not going to lose it in a week.

Exactly this. Not restricting foods due to some made up 'diet' is why I've been successful this time, and feel confidant that I'll be able to continue losing slowly til I hit my goal. In the past, I've tried multiple variations of Atkins and low carb, always failed and gained the weight back because I couldn't permanently give up foods I enjoy.

I used to think that counting calories was overly complicated, but it's not difficult, and I like being able to fit in enjoyable foods and adult beverages while staying at a deficit. No 'program'. Just deciding before I eat or drink something whether or not it helps meet my nutritional goals and if I can fit it in with my allowed calories.

The best diet is the one you can stick with. That means figuring out what foods you like to eat, what foods fill you up, how often you need to eat to stay full, and how many calories you need to stay under to lose weight. Diet programs will give you shortcuts to get to a calorie deficit, but do nothing to help you figure out a sustainable way to eat less, which you will need to do to maintain weight loss. Only you can figure that out, and you need to be patient. Good luck!

I have tried the different types of dieting and I never stuck to it mainly because it wasn't what I wanted or liked. I've had great weight loss eating whatever I like just eating less of it! Switching out unhealthy things in my recipes for things that are healthier. Like French fries I switch out for green peppers. I still make French fries for the family but I have enough willpower not to devour the unhealthy things.

I eat exactly the same things I ate before and have lost 45 pounds. Literally the only change is I recently started drinking diet root beer (I used to not drink soda at all) because I can drink one instead of my usual sweet treat like a candy bar and cut more calories there. I do still get a candy bar and eat other things I like almost daily, just less than I did when I gained 90 pounds.

I eat the same things as my husband and son but I tend to share my meal with my son (he's 2) so I eat about 70% of the meal and he eats the rest plus maybe a few bites from dad. 2 meals feeds all three of us, we like what we eat, I eat in a deficit, and we save money because I'm not eating a full portion.

Don't overthink it! All you have to do is start slowly reducing the things you already know and love. Skip the low-carb, keto, etc for now and work on identifying the types of foods that keep you full the longest. Eat those as a priority and fill in the rest of your calories with foods you enjoy and are well-balanced. Hope this helps

You can lose weight without exercise. It's a little more challenging (I like the extra calories and I find it helps a lot with mood, which in my case means I'm usually feeling more positive overall, which makes me feel motivated to keep going during the inevitable setbacks), but it's definitely doable.

Your body is burning calories every day, just by existing.

Never had any kind of eating plan. I just eat a balanced and varied diet consisting of a lot of whole foods and good nutrition and sometimes some not so good nutrition...

I'm 44 (*sigh* - but feel stronger and look better everyday!) and have PCOS too. I find that keeping carbs on the "lower" end "better" for me. Anywhere between 50-100 grams.. sometimes even over 100 grams per day. (Menstrual cycle has become regular over the last 9 months! Wowzers!) I started out doing Keto but didn't feel I could commit to it for the rest of my life. I wasn't going to continue to make separate meals for my family nor did I believe I should keep my family away from things they enjoyed to eat. I stopped "Keto" at about the 5 month mark and introduced some carbs back in. (Like, some beans!!) In my opinion... Eat various foods that you enjoy but make sure you weigh everything and eat at your caloric deficit to lose weight. Stick to it. It takes time and a commitment to yourself. YOU CAN do it. Exercise if and when you can to give yourself extra calories that you can partially eat back and provide your body with the healthy benefits of working out/exercising. You certainly don't HAVE TO exercise to lose weight so long as you eat at a deficit but there are a lot of excellent reasons to incorporate exercise into your life. Best of luck.

Read through the stickies in this forum. They helped me a lot at the start. Find the sexy-pants one, it's good.