weight is causing me anxiety

[I'mdave27]

I'm over weight and I really hate it. I get out of breath easy , I feel older then I am , i'm limited to where and what clothes I can buy and to top it all off it is effecting me sexually , which is depressing. I just wanted to know if any of you have been on any diets that have helped you lose weight because just eating healthy doesn't work for me

[nomorepanic]

Try Weight watchers

Of course you need to exercise to help lose weight too

[cpe1978]

I am no expert, but from the little I do know, the philosophy behind sustainable weight loss is quite simple.

Fundamentally if you consume less calories than your body needs then you will lose weight. This essentially is a NET effect of eating well and moving more. There are certain types of exercise that lend themselves better to weight loss than others, but in reality it is that simple. Not fast and not easy but the only sustainable approach. Interested to know what you mean when you say healthy eating doesn't work for you, because if you consume less than your body needs then it stands to reason you would lose some weight.

Any diet that results in significant weight loss is unlikely to be sustainable in the long term which will send you back to square one in the end anyway. Also yo yo dieting does a good job of screwing up your metabolism and makes it harder to lose weight.

Also I should add that exercise should be used as a tool to make you fitter, it isn't a terribly good weight loss strategy as most people don't work hard enough. So for example a chocolate muffin is about 550 calories. You would need to jog for nearly two hours to work that off with the added disadvantage of low intensity exercise increasing appetite. The real wins from exercise tend to be in improvements to your health in other areas unless you are either going to do intensive training or become a real gym bunny.

I always think it is good to find an exercise you enjoy otherwise you just lose interest.

[Fishmanpa]

CP is right. It is simple. Proper nutrition, not a "diet" per se', along with exercise (without exercise, all you're doing is starving yourself) will create results. Taking in less calories than your body needs will force it to use fat stores. It takes time, a focused effort and discipline. Start by keeping a detailed diary of what you put into your mouth for a week. That means "everything".... that handful of nuts, the extra bit you eat while tasting the food while you cook etc. This all adds up even though you're eating healthy. Smaller meals more often are better than larger meals three times a day. Remember, if it took a year to get to where you are now, don't expect it to take a month or two to get back to where you were.

Positive thoughts

[I'mdave27]

So fasting from dinner to dinner is healthy?

[Fishmanpa]

So fasting from dinner to dinner is healthy?

No one said that?

Positive thoughts

[I'mdave27]

Sorry I meant to ask it as a question

[cpe1978]

No it isn't. It isn't good to starve yourself as all you are doing is telling your body to behave differently and use less energy. If you starve yourself then it becomes progressively more difficult to lose weight.

Download an app called 'My Fitness Pal' if you have an iPhone. It allows you to log the food you eat and the exercise you do. It is quite enlightening actually. I would ideally like to lose a couple of stone. I am quite tall and stocky though so I don't appear too over weight, but I know my ideal weight is less than I am now.

It would be worth reading up in healthy eating as if your idea is to bascially have one meal a day then you need to understand much more.

He positive thing is that it is obvious why it isn't working if you don't fully understand what a healthy diet is.

Good luck.

[paul80]

Eat less, move more. The secret is that small changes (for example, a 30-minue brisk walk everyday) make big changes over the long-term. I'm currently trying to lose one and half stone, so I share your pain! Good luck.