diet/cooking help

I use MyFitnessPal to monitor my calorie intake. You learn so much about the nutritional value of different foods - some things you think are healthy, particularly "50% LESS FAT" type crap you see in the supermarkets, can be really high in calories/sugar/salt etc. It's good if you log as you go as you can see your allowance for the rest of the day, meaning you'll stop and think before you have those crisps/that second portion of mash/that can of coke and so on. Using MFP means that you weigh your food when prepping but that's not a bad thing.

What I would say is don't "go on a diet" as once the weight is off and you go back to your old ways, the weight will simply come back on. It's all about making lifestyle changes. For me that was cutting out snacking everyday, making sure I had breakfast so I was full until lunchtime (no need to snack) and moving more. For recipes I use bbcgoodfood.com and look at the nutritional values, remembering that it's per serving so if I give myself a massive portion I'll be consuming more calories than what the recipe says. I tend to overlog calories in MFP if I'm not sure. I'm carnivorous but I make sure that we pack in vegetables with our meals and we always make sure we have a bag of frozen peas and frozen beans in the freezer. Really cheap and really simple to prepare if the main meal is lacking in veg. Go easy on second portions. Batch cooking is a great idea - we often cook huge batches of chilli, soups, stews, curries, and then bag them into portions before freezing. I don't know whether you can freeze jacket potatoes though.

I also exercise quite a bit. Three years ago I was full of excuses as to why I couldn't go to the gym which was a ten minute walk, but now I can really feel it if I don't exercise. It doesn't have to be the gym - make sure it's something you like. I walk to work at least once a week, I go to the gym at least three times a week and I pole dance once a week. I built all of that up though, starting with one gym session a week when I was living in London - if I'd have tried attempting all at that all at once I would have failed!

For me the key was the not-so-revolutionary 'everything in moderation' and MFP was so important for that. Denying myself things doesn't work - if somebody, including myself, tells me that I'm not allowed something it makes me want it more, rightly or wrongly. So if you do want a slice of cake (for example) then have a slice of cake - but factor it into your 'calorie budget'.

Hope that makes sense. I'm not a great believer in fad diets like juicing or Atkins to "get your body kickstarted" as I don't think there's a special magic trick. Just make sure you monitor what you're having.

Firstly, stop thinking and talking like this! You are not disgusting. Your body mass does not define your self worth. Start being kinder to yourself and you'll be happier and less inclined to comfort eat.

Secondly. I am a vegan so I don't know anything about cooking with meat but you could try an alternative like Quorn. It isn't vegan so I don't eat it but I know it's much lower in fat than meat and people say it's good, so worth a try. Lean chicken and fish are okay too though, I think (I'm sure an omni can confirm).

My biggest tip would be to cut out simple carbs - that's most cold cereals, white bread, pasta and rice, and not too many potatoes. Get into porridge, wholemeal and seeded breads, wholewheat pasta, and sweet potatoes. They keep you full for much longer and are lower in sugars. You can do more reading about GI and that sort of thing online if you want, but keeping your simple carbs and sugars low is the basis of it.

Thanks ladies for u r helpful words X

Have you had a look at The Hairy Bikers? I did a lot of stuff from their book when I was dieting last year and all their recipes are delish! Very meat orientated too. Like the others I used MFP and calorie counted and if there were no calories left at the end of the day I didn't get a treat.

Have you thought about a pedometer too? I have one on my phone and a goal of 10,000 steps every day. It is relatively easy to do and burns a fair few calories.

Also echo I'D. You are not disgusting!

Schwelly I lost four stone originally on slimming world so I know what u mean about them sounding obvious when I used to talk about slimming world to friends when I was on it it sounded so obvious! ! It's a fabulous diet though more of a lifestyle choice than diet really

Good point re not necessarily eating breakfast so early in the day I must eat a couple of hundred cals by time I leave for work snack a couple of hours later so it cuts that out :-)

Can't say I have looked at hairy bikers cook book might have to smooch/invest in water stones :-)

Myfitness pal don't just have the ap they also have this https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/ which is full of fantastic recipes, the pork and apple and the pasta free lasagne are mouth watering.

I went from a size 14 to a size 6 in 7 months in 2012, by cutting out caffeine, gluten, dairy, sugar and alcohol and doing workouts 3-5 times a week (although, in the last month, I was doing 9-12 workouts a week - the exercise was addictive!). I quit because it was so pricey, met OH, got comfortable and gradually put some of the weight back on again. So I'm starting the diet again and doing Insanity or going running.

No caffeine, gluten, dairy etc sounds extreme, but actually all it means is unprocessed meat, fresh fruit and veg, and homemade sauces. I avoid "gluten free" products because they often have lots of additives to make up for the lack of gluten. I've got loads of recipes including a yummy fish stew, chilli con carne, meat pizza (chicken breast butterflied with goats' cheese, tomato puree and veg on top), fish 'n' chips etc. I batch cook them at weekends, then freeze them to have later in the week. I even have recipes for diet-friendly desserts (yum!).