Weight loss. Problems, solutions, what worked for you.

Great Words. Be blessed and “Just Live!”

I have a long history of weight control problems starting when I was very young and really not fat, but was in a very weight conscious family.
It’s taken me years to get it under control.
The first thing that helped was drinking hot tea with only skim milk between meals when I was looking for something to eat, did that at about 50 yo. I still snacked, but the tea often was enough. I also started eating the same thing every morning, no more thinking about what goodie I could eat.
The next big impact was when I went on the FODMAP diet because I was having daily diarrhea with no apparent cause, I was under a doctor’s care. I went through the FODMAP cycle twice. This really seemed to change my body’s response to food. For so many years I had overeaten white carbs. I had limited fat intake (I was brought up in the 60s, that was the WAY to do it back then) - probably the only fat I ate was when I binged on dessert stuff, the worst fat. I believe the FODMAP diet (see Monash University or Harvard FODMAP diet list) re-aligned my microbiome. Be careful with this diet, it lacks nutrient balance. It is intended to help find which foods may be causing allergic or inflammatory responses. Don’t eat this for an extended time! I lost some of my cravings for foods, and some interest in food (a first, ever!) This diet is very restrictive.
After the FODMAP, I started eating the Mediterranean diet and used only a 6” Anchor Hocking pie plate for meals. If the food didn’t fit on that plate, I didn’t eat it. Amazing - I’d eaten large salads in the past, and big servings of healthy vegetables - and I now think that even though they didn’t have that many calories it was too much. Big change when I started using the small plate.
I don’t have cravings for food. All those years I thought I was hungry, but what I was feeling was the rumblings of a stomach trying to cope with overeating.

My weight is stable without dieting. It only took me 67 years to get here.
Disclaimer: I am motivated now to maintain my weight as I’m on Tamoxifen post breast cancer hormone therapy. I’m afraid of ovarian cancer, incidence is a little higher in postmenopausal women taking the med. And body fat increases the risk of that type of cancer. So I’m extra motivated to limit sweets and limit snacking.

A couple of mistakes that folks make while dieting:

Basically, not getting their nutritional needs met. If your nutritional needs are not met, your body will produce powerful food cravings and they will eventually win out and destroy your diet.

Typical culprits:

Water - many folks just do not get fully optimal hydration. When that happens, the body will give you not only thirst, but hunger...because food is actually, by percentage, mostly water.

Protein - if you don't get enough protein, same thing. US RDA is 50 grams daily. Many folks don't get that. WHO RDA is 35 grams of protein daily.

Fats - while too much fat is obviously not good, if you go under the minimal amount you need, it is not healthy and your body will respond.

And then into vitamins and minerals. If you, say, don't eat enough leafy green vegetables and are low on iron or other minerals, same thing...the body will give you strong cravings.

Because this is the case, might want to think about a good multi-vitamin, multi-mineral daily. And maybe a good protein shake. You can do something like pure whey...no added sugar...so it is low calorie.

best of luck...

May I ask how old you are?

@gravity3
If you are asking jc76, I am 76.

I find I am a snacker thinking not many calories and not realizing how many calories consuming.

I decided to go on NutriSystem again. I had lost 60 lbs on this before. I needed to lose 50 this time. What I noticed was weight loss began. The meals were not much less than I normally eat but it was the blind eating that stop and started weight loss.

I take a lot of medications and supplments and some require taking with food. So what I would do is eat chips and dip them in a sloopy joe mix my wife makes. Other times I would grab what ever in refrig. I must have been consuming much more calories this way as I have been on Nutrisystem 4 weeks now and lost 14 lbs.

What tips that I have learned that really help is drinking a lot of water prior to eating your meals. Also make a lot of low calorie vegetables and eat them first at your meals. Then eat your entree and you will satisfy your hunger much easier.

What I do eat is a lot of fruit. I eat about a 1.5 cups a day but is the good kind like blue berries, blackberries, cherries. Again I eat those prior to entrees.

I found staying off diet drinks does help. Not sure but have read to stay away from apaspartame. So I get a club soda and add lime and lemon juice to it.

You have to find an exercise you like to do and do it. I love water aerobics and do it 5 days a week. I also swim twice a week and bike twice a week. Buring claroies helps but adding muscle mass increased your metabolism as muscle burns more calories than fat.

I do find the hearty inspiration meals very satisfying. I do not eat red meat but find many other meals good. I am not pushing Nutrisystem as there are other providers like Jenny Craig and weight watchers with similiar programs but it is the blind calorie eating that was and is my problem.

Just finished reading all the posts from the beginning as this is the first time I have seen this. A lot of useful information. In my own case, I eat very little sugar because I have found that it does not agree with me and gives me stomach pains. This also includes fruit. I know that fruit is pushed as being healthy and good for you, but it is not good for me. I can and do eat vegetables. I am not a snacker. Mainly because most snacks are sugary so they don't work for me. I am slightly overweight but that is because I eat meals that are too large for me. I know this but find it hard to reduce the size. In the mid 1980's I discovered racewalking. I did this every day after working a full-time job and raising a family. I kept this up even after I retired. Wore out my right hip and it had to be replaced. Can't race walk but I can walk. Now I am 89 years old and I can see how it has paid off. I do not have any major illnesses and if I have arthritis it does not bother me in any way. My husband of 59 years died 2 years ago and I have a lot of grief still. However I have my mind and I live independently. Can and do drive myself everywhere I need to go. Unfortunately by the time older people read these things the damage is done. I realize my good fortune that I started this at a much younger age. Excercise really does matter a lot. Also I think you don't have to follow any special diet. Eat what you like but in reasonable quantities.