The issue with 'diets' is that, yes they work, you lose [insert goal] weight, so you congratulate yourself, get down the pub to celebrate and resume your pre-diet lifestyle. Ditto the jabs. They'll work, notwithstanding the side effects, but stop them and your appetite returns and you're back in the fridge as before.
I found out the hard way that you need to take a look at what you're eating and doing. I was never huuuuge, but the other day I saw a photo me 30 years ago and I had more than the regulation number of chins.
In no particular order, my musings on staying healthy.
Make protein and fibre your food goals. They fill you up and help with muscle repair. For example, my brekkie this morning was overnight chia seeds soaked in almond milk, fat free yogurt, some nut butter and roasted strawberries mixed in. That will keep me full til lunch.
Batch cook. The breakfast above was served in a rinsed-out yogurt pot, one of half-a-dozen in our fridge that Mrs. G has made. If you have a healthy option readily available you'll go for that rather than an unhealthy alternative, or grabbing something from a takeaway place that is full of shit.
Sound obvious, but move. I walk 15 minutes either side of train journey when I go into London. I walk past people waiting at bus stops who I know take the same train as me. Why not get the steps in? Join a gym, but book in for classes and/or rope in a friend. You're less likely to bail if you're letting people down.
Mix up the training. Do classes where you jump around and get your heart rate up, but also do resistance (applies to ladies just as much). Weight training strengthens bones and helps stability which reduces the risk of injury. You lose muscle mass as you age, so do your utmost to keep it.
UPF is addictive. It releases dopamine into the brain so you crave more. Avoid it like the plague.
Fruit is great. Full of fibre, vitamins and lots of healthy stuff. However, modern fruit has been cultivated to be bigger, juicier, sweeter and full of deliciousness. As a result, it is rather full of sugar, in the form of fructose. I know people who snack on a few bananas a day. Each banana comes in at c. 120 calories. You do the maths given that to lose weight you need to be in calorie deficit. Protein snacks are preferable, IMO. Keep you fuller, longer and help maintain muscle.
There is a theory (I'm open minded on this one) that eating sugary food on an empty stomach gives a sugar rush that sets the pancreas on a mission to throw out insulin to 'trap' the excess glucose and store it for later, which means fat. Some people advocate eating fibrous food or protein before any sugary food to slow the absorption of sugar. Try it for a few weeks.
I should point out that, although I do try to lead a healthy lifestyle and exercise regularly, I'm on pills for cholesterol and blood pressure. Make of that what you will.
