Who is right?

[Scarlett]

1st January- the nation goes on a diet. Including me and my sister. I told her today that I think she is doing two things wrong:

1) Always cooking at lunchtime as well as evening meal. Not only is this expensive but it means she spends her whole day thinking about and cooking food.

2) Eating dinner at 5pm so she can eat with her kids. She doesn't go to bed until 11pm or later, so is normally so hungry but 10pm, she ends up eating again before bed. I told her she should eat a bit later- say, 7pm, so she is not starving in the evening, and would avoid eating twice.

Am I wrong with this advice? She told me where to go!!

[andyjevs]

I don't think there's a wrong or a right way but whatever suits an individual.

The emphasis with dieting is to completely re-train your thinking about food and meal times. I personally think that you need to plan everything from what you're going to eat to when you're going to eat.

I also believe that fad diets are no good and you really need to get out and excercise...even if it's a fast walk round the park every evening.

I have 4 stone to lose (put on in the last 2 years since giving up smoking) and i'm really going to push myself hard to do it.

Never under estimate the importance of breakfast....i had half a bowl of all bran at 9.30 and, apart from keeping the bowls happy, it'll fill you up till mid afternoon.

Good luck with the diets

[Kingaroo]

1) Depends what she's cooking. If she is making a big heavy meal twice a day, she should stop both. If she is cooking a low calorie steamed veggie meal and broiled fish, good for her. I know what you mean about thinking about food all day, it seems you should get your mind off it, but really I think sucessful dieters do plan ahead and think about every mouthful in the context of the rest of the day.

2) Several smaller meals are better than three larger ones. If she can have half her meal with the children, and save the other half for later, she would eat the right amount and spread it over a longer time. She needs to build early dinner and later dinner into her plan, instead of trying to use willpower to fast through the evening and then giving in to hunger by eating something she shouldn't.

Good luck to you both! It's hard to be supportive instead of competitive, especially with a sister, and hard to know the difference between offering helpful advice and being bossy, and hard to let someone do something you're sure is wrong. Hooray for both of you for doing this together and keeping each other's spirits up during the hard times. Remember, you are companions for each other, not guides or instructors.

[boobesque]

i cook at lunchtimes and have my main meal on different times depending on my partners work hours and i have lost 32lb. It depends entirely on her food. Dieting isnt just about food times, its about what you eat and listening to your body. I sometimes have a stir-fry of veg and prawns at lunch. i listen to my body now and i eat when i am hungry and make wise choices. Weight watchers is my plan of choice as it has taught me about the habits that need to be changed and the correct choices to make. Without the fad of Atkins and similar. Good luck!

[WendyS]

Hello Scarlett & others - I'm joining you too! As for two cooked meals a day, I guess it depends on your sister's working hours, general lifestyle and other commitments but it certainly seems a lot of additional effort. Is she into making home-made soup? This might be a compromise to the two cooked meals a day as a bowl of soup is almost a meal in itself and it's filling and satisfying.

I foresee lots of different soups featuring largely on my menus over the next few weeks, plus trying to serve my meals on a smaller sized plate to reduce my calorie input. I was brought up as a child to believe it was wasteful to leave food uneaten on the plate and I'm afraid this legacy is one reason for the pounds now piling up on me.

Good luck (oh and I just spotted you sneaking that last chocolate in the box because it was a shame to waste it !!)