Not sure where to start

  • Hey everyone

    I am new to this forum. In short i am desperate to kick my bad attitude to food, i have yo-yo'd between about 4 different dress sizes and just cant seem to stick to a diet, i am a massive emotional eater and i think i work best following a plan, but just not sure which one to do, i seem to have tried most in the past, and i dont want to waste anymore money at another fitness plan that i wont stick to, i am torn between weight watchers online, low carb or my fitness pal. I have a young daughter and i am a working mum so need something without much faff.

    I already go to the gym 4 times a week so its more the diet i need to get a grip of as opposed to a fitness routine

    HELP XX
  • I have been using myfitnespal to do calorie counting. It's really helped me a lot because it's not very restrictive in what you can eat.... just how much of it you can eat.

    My thought when I was starting out was I'd start out with the calorie counting and then research other weight loss plans while my body got used to taking in less food and then actually try to switch to something else.

    Good luck with whatever you choose!
  • Hi Fairycake! I have never done WW online or fitness pal, so hopefully someone will chime in on those, but I am currently doing low carb and it's working extremely well for me. I am doing a modified Slow Carb Diet. (You can google Slow Carb Diet to get the "real" diet, which came from the book 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss.) Here is what I do: For 6 days, I eat meats, legumes, non-potato veggies, veggie-like fruits (like tomatoes, cucumbers, squash), nuts in moderation, peanut butter, cottage cheese, eggs, and black olives. I eat any condiment or salad dressing I want. I drink 6-8 oz of water a day, Diet Dr. Pepper and green tea. For these 6 days, I avoid breads and grains (including corn), pasta, dairy (other than eggs and cottage cheese), fruits (except veggie-like fruits), potatoes, and sweets. I count no calories. I count no carbs. I don't eat every 4 hours (like the book says). I don't pay attention to numbers at all. I eat when I'm hungry. I stop when I'm full. I try not to eat late at night. The 7th day of the week (I've chosen Saturday) is an allowed and even recommended Cheat Day. I eat whatever I want as much as I want, but again, I eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full. I never feel "starved" because my blood sugar no longer spikes on a high-carb diet, and I'm never tempted to break my diet or binge on forbidden foods because I can have them on Cheat Day. I'm not much of an exerciser, but I try to walk for 20 minutes each day. The thing is I have a carb sensitivity so this diet works for me. I don't know if it would work for you, but if you are going to go low-carb, you might want to try it. Whichever plan you choose, good luck!
  • Like you, I am an emotional eater. I use food like some folks use drugs.

    My personal opinion is that it is not so much the plan you choose, it is dealing with the emotional eating that influences sucess. So far, I have not been sucessful on this front.

    A balanced diet, including things I enjoy eating, with moderate calorie restriction works for me when I am l am actually following a plan. Common sense tells me that I should be able to eat like this forever, only easing up on the calorie restriction for maintenance. Unfortunately, I lack common sense in this area. I like doing the research, counting and writing stuff down. Sometimes these activities distract me from eating.