Diet that works?

[Snadger]

Anyone got any good diet's that work and don't cost a fortune?

I presently struggle with a derivative of the Atkin's diet as I don't like the idea of processed food anyway! Sick of the sight of full English tho!

Started drinking wine instead of beer, sorry but it has to stay in moderation. What is moderation?

Basically I've stopped eating bread and tatties!

[shirlthegirl43]

I wouldn't advise giving up potatoes - you need carbohydrate at this time of year particularly.

I have a milkshake (either store's own or the slimfast one) for brekky and lunch and dinner is a regular home cooked affair with around a half-plate of veggies (no sauce or butter - honest ) quarter plate of lean meat (or fish if you like it) and some potato, couscous, rice or pasta. Sunday is a day off and I enjoy my cooked breakfast or pancakes, then a good old roast dinner with squillions of roast spuds. Best suggestion I heard is to eat the veggies first, then the meat (or combine the two) and sort of leave the spuds till last - eat slowly and you may find you don't finish them all.

Have lost nearly a stone since August and now just maintaining so able to enjoy a couple of glasses of wine.

Good luck

[Earthbabe]

Cutting out processed food is a good way to start. You could try having a large glass of water about 20 mins before you eat. That will fill you up a little. Other tricks to try are chewing properly and not drinking with your meal. These last two apparently help the stomach digest properly.

[pigletwillie]

I have a weight problem with my feet. I cant keep them out of the fridge.

[OverWyreGrower]

I found not shopping at Tesco's has helped!

We shop locally, so there's not as much choice of junk food/special offers, and we only buy what we need

(Except for alcohol, and that comes from a wine club.... )

[Alison]

The idea of diets is simple, best just to eat loads of fruit and veg as well as plenty of fish and lean meat (assuming you're not vegetarian) and to step up the exercise. That's the simple bit, sticking to it with Christmas coming up is the more difficult bit!

[yoanbob]

Our bodies are complicated things, they have evolved over millenia to make the most of whats availlable.

to get your body to make the most out of what you give it these days it needs a helping hand, prossed fatty and and sugar rich foods are difficult to digest, and the body just makes them into fat, then the fat that it has made is the hardest for it to use so it will use 'easy ' fat first.

out with prossed foods.
eat at least 3 times a day.
start your day with a lukewarm glass of water with a couple of drops of lemon juice added. this will kick start your digestion.

have a coffee 20 mins later if you like, diet isnt punishment.
then have a fresh fruit juice, make your own or buy some good ones. (innocent are about the best on the market) look out for words like juice drink, or made from concentrate and avoid them.
then a slice of wholemeal toast and butter, not marg.
if your still hungry after 20 mins have more fruit juice.
snack on fruit juice.
have raw veggies (not potatoe)for lunch, you can make raw veggie soup in a blender and gently warm it to body temp if you dont fancy salad. follow with whole rice (brown) or a baked potatoe snack on fruit juice.
for dinner again have either raw veggies or fruit juice followed by protien, but not too many eggs,(3 a week) avoid bacon and ham as it is highly processed.
avoid eating 4 hours before bed and snack on fruit juice if your hungry.

dont eat carbs after lunch time, and this time of year your body has developed to cope with less carbs and more protien as it will then use the fat stored in the summer, but dont cut them out entirely.
dont eat carbs and protien at the same sitting.

and the main thing is to keep busy, feel yourself heading for the fridge even tho your not hungry? go clean out the cupboards, or do some digging, or go for a sauna. just keep busy, you should find you have more energy and feel better within a couple of days, and as your body does what it was built for you will loose bulk. not weight, if you loose more than a pound or 2 a week your body is eating bone mass and loosing water, not good.
you will get slimmer tho. as your body uses its fat store and turns it into energy, the trick is then to use that energy, cleaning cuboards digging etc.
if you follow this 5 days a week, eat sensibly at the weekend you'll loose weight and feel better.

[Mrs Dobby]

I've always struggled with my weight, I've never been obese, but generally I do tend to carry a few pounds (or stone) more than is ideal, but being 6' tall and fairly muscular (from the cycling and yoga / aerobics I used to do) its easy to carry it off without looking too 'large'.

Loosing weight is something I find difficult, I love my food and love cooking, so diets dont work particularly well for me, but there are ways I've found in the past that have enabled me to loose weight and keep it off.

The first way I found was to sell my car and invest in a good bicycle, peddling 7 miles each way to and from work every day for 2 years did keep me trim and fit for a long time, but when I got promoted and had to travel 30 miles each way it became unfeasable for a daily commute (plus with promotion comes more responsibilities and more time needed, so less time for relaxation and exercise)

The next way I found was to start an exercise regime. Before I met Mr D I got to a point where I realised at age 30 I couldnt touch my toes, this was a big shock, so I went to the library and got a few books on improving flexibility, and started a daily regime of aerobics and yoga! I'd start with a 45 min session of aerobics to warm up thoroughly and burn calories, then an hour or so of Yoga to become more supple and to de-stress. Alot of folks think Yoga is all about meditating and sitting still, a proper series of Asanas will certainly raise your heartrate, destress you physically and mentally and improve both your physical and mental states. I still do a little Yoga occassionally (I can still touch my toes with ease), but after meeting Mr D and getting married there doesnt seem to be enough time left in the day for me to do a full workout!

The third way is to eat more healthily, before I met Mr D I would eat chips once a week max, my staples were rice, pasta and salad. Mr D was very much the Yorkshire man when I met him, chips and lots of potatoes were his staple foodstuffs, but with time I've weaned him onto eating much more rice and pasta, and come next summer it will be plenty of salads too!

Another way to watch what you eat is to make a list of exactly what you need when you go shopping, plan out your menu's for the meals you want to make and then list up what you need (you dont need to plan what days you are having them, but knowing what you are going to eat does allow better planning) and ONLY buy the things on your list! This not only stops you buying 'specials' that are overprocessed and not particulalry good for you, but has the added advantage of meaning you only buy what you need, so shopping bills are smaller too!

The last and best way I've found of controlling my weight and fitness was to get the plot and start GYO'ing!! Since we got our plot my fitness levels have increased significantly, and I've lost about 4" from around my waist and about a stone in weight! At the moment with my busy work schedule and time constraints it is the only form of exercise I've been able to fit into my schedule that I enjoy and keeps me enthusiastic. Yes I could join a gym, but after being out of the house for on average 11 hours a day I havent the energy to do much more this time of year than come home and flop. Days off down the plot are not only fun, but also a darn good source of exercise, without the cost and embarrasment (no way I'd show off my ample figures in a gym, I'd be too embarrassed to be seen against all those posseurs with gorgeous physiques (and small bank balances from paying gym fees))

Come spring when the nights are longer I will be coming home and going straight to the plot for an hour or two, nothing better for exercising and destressing than to go and take it our on some poor unsuspecting weeds!

[nick the grief]

Easy Snadger, sell the car & walk/cycle/run everywhere. Only eat what you can grow (apart from meat if your a carnivore) so you'll need another 1 or 2 plots that you can dig by hand.

[Birdie Wife]

Eat just what you would normally eat, just a bit less of it. So simple, it really works. Nigel Slater's diet would you believe!

And eat before you go shopping. You'll spend more if you're hungry.

[Snadger]

Easy Snadger, sell the car & walk/cycle/run everywhere. Only eat what you can grow (apart from meat if your a carnivore) so you'll need another 1 or 2 plots that you can dig by hand.

If I could only eat what I had grown this year I would automatically go on the cabbage soup diet as brassica's abound.
Come April, hope to have the other plot, with chickens and eggs for a bit of protein, and the excercise will do me good. My lottie is seven miles away, over a mountain of a hill so the car will have to stay for now, unless I take up residence at the lottie! I do excercise quite a lot, but I also eat quite a lot!

[Alice]

A diet is the last thing you want Snadger. There is only one basic fact. Calories in Must equal calories out if you just want to maintain weight. If you want to loose weight than calories in must be less than calories out. Simple.
You can eat anything you like, as long as the total conforms to this rule.

Start by writing down EVERYTHING you eat every day for a week. You might get a surprise when you see that
Then have a look at the basic calorific values of foods.
You might get a shock at some of them
Decide which ones are just not worth it and cut them out
Look at the worst culprits in your food
Do you really need black pudding with your breakfast
Do you really need those olives and crisps
Do you really need that mayonaise
Do you really need a slice of cake with your tea
Do you really need that junk food

I think you'll find if you only eat healthy meals from the table, and cut out the in between junk, your weight will be fine.

The other point to remember is we all have to be happy with what we eat and the amount we eat. It's allright to say we'll live longer if we get down to whatever weight, but a 100 years is a long time to be hungry.
So, basically, cut out the rubbish, eat sensible food ( and I don't mean stick to brown rice and lettuce leaves) and you can eat as much as you like of whatever you like.
TRY IT AND SEE.

[nick the grief]

..........
Do you really need black pudding with your breakfast
Do you really need those olives and crisps
Do you really need that mayonaise
Do you really need a slice of cake with your tea
Do you really need that junk food

In answer to you questions Alice

Yes - Breakfast just isn't the same
No - hate olives
Not fussed
of course - mind you I drink a lot of tea
weeeeelllllll

[Alice]

Well , as i said Nick, 100 years is a long time to be miserable, or hungry. As with everything else, I would go the middle way

[Shortie]

I have a weight problem with my feet. I cant keep them out of the fridge.

You let you feet in the fridge PW... don't they get cold?