Best diet for someone who lacks willpower?
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Anonymous
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Hi OP
Not sure how old you are and how much weight you want to lose but those are both factors. When I was in my twenties I could cut out sugar and drop five pounds. In my thirties I could up the exercise. But after 40, neither of those worked. I tried low carb but I found it made me eat way too much of the good stuff (nuts, etc.) I tried weight watchers and it isn't bad but all the point counting made me think about food more not less. What has worked for me (never very overweight but working on 10 or so pesky pounds) is something I made up which seems to be what other people are calling intermittent fasting. Essentially skip a meal. I have coffee with milk for breakfast and a big satisfying lunch and a very small dinner. I used to eat late breakfasts anyway but with the protein from the milk I have found I am more than fine until lunch. But if that is not for you you could eat a late lunch and think about skipping dinner or just eating veggies. This has worked for me because it really does not feel like a diet. Even someone who lacks willpower might have luck delaying gratification. It has also taken the focus off food. I've come to believe we feed ourselves too much and my appetite has decreased as the pounds have fallen off. It has been slow for me ... I still eat plenty. But slow and steady. Good luck! |
Anonymous
I have little willpower and it works for me. I just do the fast days on days when I plan to work through lunch. I have a bottled veggie/fruit juice and a cup of tea or coffee. It satisfies me until dinner, and then I have a big salad. Total calories on those days is around 700. What I like about it is that on the other days I pretty much eat what I want and, as long as I don't go crazy on fats and carbs, I'm all good. |
Anonymous
| 90/10 meal plan worked, still does, for me. I have a MAJOR sweet tooth. Will never go away but this plan allows a small treat each day. |
Anonymous
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The reason you're failing is that you're depriving your body of nutrients. Get rid of the junk food (anything that doesn't come from the ground or have eyes).
this is a very successful eating plan - one to live by actually http://fatburningman.com/what-is-the-wild-diet/ |
Anonymous
| Medifast |
Anonymous
| Another weight watchers fan here - I have lost more than 50 lbs. Yes, you spend time thinking about food, but I was thinking about food before and had no real idea of how my body worked. Now I pay attention, on most days, and have the facts before I make a decision about what to eat. It has been shockingly easy. |
Anonymous
OP - be honest. How BADLY do you want this? Is it more important for you to eat that extra slice of pizza, or to look good and feel good in and to of clothing? For me, that was my tipping point. When I was 20, I lost 45lbs and have never ever put any of it back on. I am now 50 and still looking pretty damn amazing, even for a 40 year old and not I am not kidding myself. Not one diet. The only thing that worked was when I finally decided that looking good and feeling good was way more important to me than over-eating. It took me a solid year to lose that weight by the way because I didn't follow a crash diet. Instead I made small changes along the way: 1) I learned how to go to bed hungry....which made me realize that doing that gave me tremendous energy the next morning. I woke up alert, well rested and with a seriously flat stomach. And I ate all of my meals at the kitchen table, in a pretty plate, with a beautiful glass of lemon water, and fancy silverware. I felt like I was spoiling myself which made my meal even more satisfying. 2) I slowed down while eating, giving my stomach and my brain a chance to catch up with each other. The minute I felt satisfied, I stopped eating and soon realized how freaking uncomfortable it was to feel "stuffed" 3) I didn't deprive myself 7 days a week. Instead I planned ahead and chose which day on the weekend I was going to allow myself to relax my eating a bit. The trick is to do that only one day. The minute you overeat two days in a row, you start to no longer care. You start to think of yourself as failing because you over ate two days in a row, and so oh well you might as well continue eating. Its a very slippery slope. 4) I also started exercising, before then I was a couch potato. Nothing crazy, just 3-4 days per week of cardio and light weight training. Over the years I have decreased my cardio and increased my weight training because for women, that is far more important for overall bone and muscle health. As you age you need to be strong so you don't walk around hunched over, and weak looking. Drastic diets do not work, long term. Don't weigh yourself more than once per week and weigh yourself the same time of day. So for example every Sunday morning at 8am. that's the only way to avoid being depressed and upset when you see fluctuations on the scale due to hormones, sodium intake, not being "regular" etc. |
Anonymous
| I love junk food. So I basically eat whatever I want, but not AS MUCH as I want. I use the Fitbit app to log food and I am very honest about it. As long as I stick to my calorie limit (which is around 1800/day...and I exercise 5 days per week) I don't really watch where it comes from. I can have something yummy at least once a day, but this means I have to sacrifice a second snack, or eat a smaller dinner, basically just cut back through the the rest of the day. I'm sure it's not ideal whatsoever but I just can't deprive myself of something all of the time. I can deal with eating less of it, though. |
Anonymous
| It's not a diet tip, but I find that when I exercise regularly, my eating is less ravenous. I tend to eat more regularly, too--when I don't exercise I will go long stretches without eating and then overeat. Exercising helps me find my body's rhythms. |
Anonymous
| Another vote here for intermittent fasting. I eat only between the hours of 11 am and 7 pm. So I never have to turn down a lunch or even a dinner invitation really. If I know I'm going out for dinner at 7pm (or later) I just adjust accordingly and don't eat that day until noon. Basically all my food is eaten within an 8 hour period. I also cut out dairy and try to really limit processed carbs. I work out 4-5 mornings a week and drink black coffee in the morning. I've lost 15 pounds and been able to maintain it on this "diet." |
Anonymous
| Keto. |
Anonymous
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No diet is going to work if you really lack willpower, because eventually you will have to return to "normal" eating.
You need to change your mindset, and it is not about willpower. Willpower implies some kind of moral strength, and there is no place for that in weight loss or lifestyle. You need some CBT to handle how you relate to food and exercise. There are a ton of things you can do approach this, but first, you have to be willing. You are in a lifetime marathon, not sprint. http://www.aliceboyes.com/cbt-technique-binge-eating-example/ http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/09/18/5-cognitive-behavioral-strategies-for-losing-weight-that-work/ |
Anonymous
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I tried IF, and it really didn't work for me. I found myself waiting and obsessing until mealtime (lunch) and by then I was so hungry it was hard to stop. Then that day would be messed up, so I would have to try again the next day, and the next, until it seemed I wasn't skipping a meal, but pushing calories to the afternoon and evening.
What works for me is to remove the trigger foods. For me, it's potato chips. They don't come in the house, and I do better and feel better about myself. I do have sweets occasionally, and other treats but I can stop at a small portion. Removing the trigger food removed the need for willpower. I have three meals, some snacks (like nuts and carrots and fruit) and upped the veggies. |
Anonymous
| Portion control. Same foods you are eating now but reduced by 1/4 - 1/3. |
Anonymous
I've lost 30 pounds this way also. To do it, you may need help from a therapist (i.e., Janet Laubgross in Fairfax) to help with the behavior modifications necessary. It's a lot of work to change long-standing habits, but it can be done. |