I'm new to this. I have watched and read so much about diets and dieting I feel thoroughly confused as to which one to follow. Some advocate using full fat foods but reducing the amount and others eating low calorie or fat free food. Some count calories and some don't and the variety of different diets is mind blowing. I am now trying the NHS diet. I'm 13 stone and desperate to lose 3 stone but I don't want it to take forever.
What do others think and feel?
Great to have you join us Sophie68
Welcome and enjoy the forum... There are so many weight loss routes to choose from, but by doing research and at times trials to find what suits each one best.. We hope you will find what suits you. The 12 week plan is popular and many find it a great starting place..
Please check with your health professional regarding your actions to lose weight and get their support locally to compliment this wonderful forum...
I'd like to invite you to read our Newbie Pack - which is what I call the sat-nav to the benefits of the forum, here's the link:
healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...
Please also read this about the importance of locking your posts:
healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...
Cheering you on to reach your goals 🎉🎉🎉
Hi Sophie
I have followed many diets over the years, the best part of half a century in fact. I have found that calorie counting works for me. I tend to go for low fat foods as they are the lowest in calories. I also have loads of fruit and veg, including potatoes, which in my eyes are definitely a vegetable! I also have two slices of malted or wholemeal bread each day.
I have the odd boiled sweet, but no longer have the desire for chocolate and such like. I usually have between 1200 and 1400 calories each day, which suits me, but everyone is different.
As for the forever, well once you do lose the three stone, about a pound or so a week, you will still have to carry on calorie counting, or it will all pile back on again. That is what happened to me several times. However, this time I have done it really slowly, some weeks I have only lost half a pound, some weeks two or even three pounds, another week nothing at all. When I began the 10000 steps a day I actually put on a pound one week. Lost it plus a bit more this week though.
Good luck in your weight loss, hope to see your progress over the coming weeks.
Hello and welcome Sophie
Most experts agree that to lose weight you need a calorie deficit, but how you achieve that depends very much on your own personal preference.
Can I suggest you go and have a look a the Daily Diary and you will see that we all follow different eating plans. What matters is good health and a variety of nutritious foods so you don’t feel hungry or deprived.
Do some reading, decide what foods you cannot live without, and then work out the best combination for you
Good luck 😊
My husband and I have found that in the past we have lost weight on the 5:2 diet. 2 days in each week you have on 500 calories (women) and men have 600 calories. We have restarted doing this and already it has made a difference. Michael Mosley started this and has written a few books on this which give 500 calories meals. You can also look up 500 calorie meals on the internet of course. Anyway I hope that helps. Cheers. Linda
Hi Lindy
Do you feel tired on those two days? How many calories do you allow yourself on the other five days?
Actually you feel less tired. My husband finds that the next day he feels a bit tired but I feel OK. The other five days we eat normally but I would probably limit it to 2000 calories or less. Below are a couple of websites which may help. Good luck with your weight loss journey. Cheers. Linda
Eat low carbs and high fat. No need to count calories.
Hi Sophie,
Welcome to this group/site.
I will now confuse you further... please be prepared.... 
"The way we see the problem is the real problem"
In this case we presume that WEIGHT is the problem. No, weight is not the real problem.
1. Our poor eating habits are the problem... that needs to be solved.
2. Our passive life is the problem... that needs to be solved.
3. Putting tonnes of food into every occasion/celebration is the problem... that needs to be solved.
4. The millions of food companies, trying to push food into our mouths at every street corner, on every road, in every city is the problem.
Lastly - Our Expectation - That the WEIGHT is some kind of a Ball lodged in our system and it will dissolve somehow.. is the problem.
Lets focus on the solution now:-
1. We need to recognise that the Process of Change in these habits/outlook is what will bring out the real solution.
2. No diet will work in the long run be it Paleo diet or GM diet or Keto diet... You need to discover the Sophie68 Diet. You can get help from all the people around here in that discovery, but no one diet will work with anyone else.
3. Focus on process, not the results. Don't expect 3 stones to fall off in 'quick time'. Human body is a work of nature. Everything happens gradually, step by step, slowly but surely.
4. Yes calorie counting is important,else how would you come to know how much to eat. Whatever gets measured gets improved.
5. My preference is Nature - More fruits, more veggies, more water, less processed, and balance between carbs and proteins. 5 Teaspoons of oil per day max.
6. Exercise, body care, activity, stretches are equally important part of this rejuvenation.
7. Self motivation, friendly support, group activities, challenges all would be of great help.
8. Long term approach, holistic methods, complete commitment, patience, persistence, consistent habits, all this wil aid your journey towards good health and fitness.
Hope that helps!
All the best
Day 1
How did I ever think I was fat when I was 10 stone!
Tired of diets !!
really need to get this weight off
Losing that last stone whilst suffering from RA. 
