Approaches to better eating and weight loss

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think noom might work for you. You know what you need to do but haven’t been able to shift mindset and emotions around eating. I haven’t done noom but two friend who have found it useful for losing weight and building better habits.

Agree. Noom worked for me. Have kept the weight off for two years.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks all, there are some good suggestions here.

[Anonymous]

This book was a game changer for me. It is easy to follow. The author is a doctor who runs a metabolic health clinic at Duke. He has also published re: women following this approach seeming to enhance fertility, it's on PubMed.

https://www.amazon.com/End-Your-Carb-Confusion-Customize/dp/

I got it from the library but the paperback is very affordable. He also has YT vids for extra inspo, but the book alone is very easy to follow, including eating out, etc. Bonus, he says you know his approach is working bc you are not hungry.

[Anonymous]

Link doesn’t work. Repost?

[Anonymous]

If I were in your position - which I was, but couldn’t handle focusing on weight loss until my youngest was 4! - I would commit to making one small change a month.

January - eat a vegetable every day
February - skip dessert once a week
March - add extra protein in once a day

These are just examples, but think about small easy to handle changes and just commit to it.

[Anonymous]

Eating mostly plant based, whole foods has helped me maintain a healthy weight for the longest period in my life. This has been the only way I was able to stop eating ultra processed foods and eating too much sugar without feeling hungry or deprived (once I got over craving those things).

If you are at all open to it, there are many credible resources and you could incorporate this in to your whole family's meals versus you eating something different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think noom might work for you. You know what you need to do but haven’t been able to shift mindset and emotions around eating. I haven’t done noom but two friend who have found it useful for losing weight and building better habits.

Agree. Noom worked for me. Have kept the weight off for two years.

Yes-there does have to be some willingness to be honest with yourself though. But with Noom, I’ve been motivated to eat more fruits/vegetables and snack in moderation. And to move more, which I believe has helped me maintain (though not lose anything) during this holiday onslaught of baked goods!

[Anonymous]

Low carb is good for mood/mental health
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/mental-health-guides

good for weight loss and good for fertility, my RE recommended it for both partners.

Easy to cook protein and veg for the family, you skip the starch. No different from a vegetarian mom.

We limited sugar and processed food in the house, it's hard to moderate for everyone and I wanted the kids to have better habits and health. We do dessert on the weekends but go out to the scoop shop or bakery, often walking or on bikes. Or we might make a fruit tart or homemade ice cream with less sugar, all the more enjoyable because not a constant mindless thing to consume daily.

OP, find something restorative that you enjoy/that provides dopamine &/or serotonin at night. Whether that is going for a walk, playing with pet, epsom salt baths, a creative outlet, etc. Once I decided not to moderate my experience of the world and my emotions primarily through my mouth like a toddler, my life and relationships were enriched in ways cookies and chips could never do. I have new hobbies and better emotional regulation. Bonus is better health so I'll hopefully be here longer to enjoy.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eating mostly plant based, whole foods has helped me maintain a healthy weight for the longest period in my life. This has been the only way I was able to stop eating ultra processed foods and eating too much sugar without feeling hungry or deprived (once I got over craving those things).

If you are at all open to it, there are many credible resources and you could incorporate this in to your whole family's meals versus you eating something different.

Plant based does not have the same satiety and it's when I developed PCOS and started losing hair, it is too much starch for many leading to insulin resistance. IR is strongly linked to mood issues, for example a Stanford study found it doubles the risk of major depression. Switching back to an omni diet with a focus on protein gave me satiety, makes it much easier to lose weight when losing the driving hunger that comes with a diet high in starch that is lacking key nutrients that need to be suboptimally supplemented.

It may be better than a SAD diet initially, but kids and middle aged parents can really benefit from plenty of high quality bio available protein. Eating a lot of eggs, fish, meat and poultry my hair fully regrew. We are made of amino acids, plant based is not optimal nor ancestral, especially for a woman hoping to be pregnant soon or for growing kids. Even with supplementing B-12, etc, I had issues. And many of the common plant based protein sources are highly processed as well as not being particularly well absorbed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My second child is 2.5 and I’m still carrying weight from the birth/postpartum period. I’m about 20 pounds overweight and about 25 pounds over my pre pregnancy weight. Currently trying to conceive a third and final child.

Before children I was always a healthy weight, though I fluctuated all over the healthy range. Whenever my weight inched too high, I had great success with losing weight with Weight Watchers. But whenever that happened, it always was my top priority to lose the weight.

Well, now losing weight just quite frankly isn’t my top priority. I’ve got two children to raise and a household to maintain. My mental health is a higher priority (I had PPD and staying mental healthy is crucial obviously). Keeping my body fully functional is a higher priority (I had a major injury when my second was an infant that took months to come back from, so I take exercise very seriously).

My eating habits are, frankly, atrocious. I have a huge sweet tooth that I’ve been indulging big time these last 2.5 years. Tons of sweets. My portion size is obscene. I don’t eat nearly enough fruits and veggies.

But Weight Watchers requires the kind of dedication that I just don’t think I have. Counting points, completely revamping my diet overnight, careful shopping and portion control, and just generally summoning the willpower to skip the brownies all seem out of reach. I also don’t need (or want!) to lose 2 pounds a week. Honestly, I’d be happy with 2 pounds a month. But I tend to be a black and white thinker, and so I tend to either be carefully counting and tracking points or eating 10 cookies in a sitting. I’d love to eat like… 2 cookies. But I’m struggling to find moderation. I’m also definitely an emotional eater, and tend to, explicitly or implicitly, say “wow made it through a whole day with a toddler and a preschooler! I deserve cookies!”

I need to find a middle ground here.

I’m not looking for tips - I’m actually looking for an approach or source of information that might work for me. Book, system, blog, website, approach… that I could dive in on. Any suggestions?

Weightloss for busy physicians (don’t have to be a doctor)

[Anonymous]

Exercise! And more exercise! A regular, daily exercise routine helps reduce stress and appetite while largely eliminating the need to fast and diet. Healthy eating (different from dieting) is obviously still important, but, with the right exercise regimen, you don’t have to concern yourself with eating healthy all the time.

If you haven’t already, my suggestion would be to try a 45-minute fitness class like OrangeTheory or F45, and get in the habit of going every morning (unlimited class subscriptions cost $120 to $160/mo). Yoga, barre, and similar classes can be great too, but they aren’t a substitute for an intense 45-min cardio workout that works all muscle groups.

[Anonymous]

I found that I needed a meal routine to lose weight. Same smoothie every morning, same brothy soup with some protein and vegetables for dinner, a varied hearty lunch (adding to 1250 calories total daily) plus one cheat meal a week that usually involved a social event. I lost 20 lbs last year doing this. I put 5 back on between Thanksgiving and Christmas but have started back this week to chip away at the next 20. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

3 meals and 2 snack approach.

Each meal- 1/2 plate veggies, 1/4 plate protein, 1/4 fat or carb.

https://www.syattfitness.com/fat-loss/how-to-lose-weight-without-counting-calories/

[Anonymous]

Another Noom proponent here. I started mid-December and am down 4 pounds (really good for me given the holidays). It’s a slog, but encouraging me to watch what I eat. I also think focusing on low caloric density foods works for me because I’m not hungry.

Also consider switching to a mostly-fresh produce diet. I’ve been ordering from Weee! because the food quality is better and it is a good price. I don’t love eating grocery store staples, but a huge bowl of mung bean sprouts and bok choy with a drizzle of gyoza (15 cal) is delicious. Add in some fish cakes or tofu boiled in gochujang/gochujaru/soy/garlic, and I don’t feel deprived at all because it has tons of flavor without calories.

I was where you are for a long time, OP. Also get bloodwork done—it turns out I was hypothyroid and needed thyroid medication.