I weigh the same as I did at 18 (5 ft tall, 100-103lbs) with some fluctuations in the past 30 years. Here is what works for me; I am 47 now. I'd love to hear things that have worked for you roo.
Portion size at restaurants is huge. I grew up across the pond, and came here to US at 18. I was the cheapest date in my youth bc I would only order apps. I see when people eat out a lot, they get used to large portions and eat those sizes more at home. Everything is portioned too big here, muffins, cookies, drinks etc.
I do eat entrees at restaurants now but try to load up on veggies and avoid fried stuff . If I know I want dessert, I will get a smaller entree or app, or skip the wine. If I order a cocktail I will never have dessert.
I only eat out/take out once a week and bring lunches to work/cook a lot at home. Minimal or no convenience processed food. I do meal prep on Sunday.
Restaurants are deceptive. Once I ordered roasted brussel sprouts with a sauce on top. The brussel sprouts were deep fried! Once I ordered a vegetable flatbread. It came with deep fried onions sprinkled on top!
I eat plain whole milk yoghurt and add fruit on top with homemade granola. This is my standard breakfast. I do not eat pre-flavoured yoghurts.
I eat 3 square meals a day and never skip a meal. I may have a small snack with my afternoon cup of tea (biscotti). But if I am try to lose a couple vanity pounds I skip the snack but still have tea.
No snacking after dinner except if it is a Friday night (then it is always popcorn or chips or chocolate, I need to have treats sometimes). Life is short. On non Friday nights, after dinner, I make myself a large cup of decaf herbal tea to sip. It stops me snacking.
I use plates that my parents gave me from 30 plus years ago. These vintage dishes are Gernan china and when you compare the size to standard Anerican plates, they are a little smaller. Over time, this makes a difference. I think the same principle would apply if you purchased vintage American plates from the 70s.
Two years ago I gave up alcohol bc it makes me sleepy. I noticed it is so much easier to maintain weight when I don't drink. I do not drink juice or soda or fancy coffee drinks. But I will have cappuccino sometimes or basic coffee with cream. No sugar though.
This world is geared toward people who are a lot taller than me and need to eat more. I do not need to eat the same amount as my much taller significant other. But when I dine out I notice a lot of women eating close to same quantity as their SO.
I believe weight loss and management is 80% diet 20% exercise. For exercise I walk 2 miles a day (year round) 4-5 days a week. I also do old fashioned pushups two to three times a week. This takes less than 5 min. I also spend 3 hours on Sat cleaning my house.
I don't believe in fad diets or cutting out carbs or oils. But I do believe if you have a carb heavy lunch you should skip the bread or rice etc. at dinner. I don't count calories. But I am aware of calorie density. So if I eat cheese I'll limit myself to an ounce or two. Or a small handful of nuts. I only put a heaping tablespoon of dressing on my salad. But I always have my salad with croutons. Complete deprivation is not necessary or sustainable.
If I had a restaurant dinner the night before, I will have a lighter breakfast the next day. And I never weigh myself the morning after a restaurant or salty meal.
On vacation, where we eat out daily, we only have 2 meals a day. Big breakfast brunch type in the a.m. and early dinner.
After a vacation I skip snacks for about a week or two to help reset. I won't weigh myself for a week after vacation. I also never weigh myself during the time of month.
Five years ago I did not work for a year, so I joined a gym and got really into strength training several times a week. I got really hungry and ate more. I did get more buff and strong but not as slender. As the year ended I went back to work, stopped strength training bc of time crunch. But I continued to eat the same amount. I knew my clothes were getting tighter and for some reason I didn't step on scale. After 3 months I finally decided to step on scale. I expected to be 110 but was stunned and upset to see 122. It was the highest I'd ever been in my life (other than when pregnant). I cut down my portions slightly,, skipped daily afternoon snack and started walking a few times a week, and started twice weekly weigh ins. It took me nearly a year to lose 20 lbs, but it stayed off. Lesson learned for me is that I always weigh myself once or twice a week and log it on app. That way I can monitor. I never go months without weight check.
When I was in college I gained the freshman 10-15 bc of the typical college diet. But I was back to my original weight within a year or so of graduating, just by cooking again and eating better.
Bc I'm so short, when I do weight loss, i can only drop 0.5 lbs a week. This is 2 lbs a month. I have never crash dieted and i do believe in slow and steady. It does require patience though.
I also think it is ok to get hungry before meals. I don't agree with that whole fad from a few years ago where we should eat 6 times a day. The snacking grazing culture is popular here. We even have cup holders in cars. I didn't see that years back, growing up across the pond.
I have a photo of a crowded street scene from 1910. In addition to everyone looking sharp, I noticed that no one in the photo is overweight. They didn't do many fad diets then. Also snacking wasn't common then. Think of your grandparents telling you as a kid not to spoil your dinner. It is ok to eat three square meals and build an appetite before dinner, like they did in the old days.
One year ago I gave up meat and chicken. I did this bc of health reasons and a family history of digestive cancer. My doc had told me that meat is a known risk factor for these types of cancer. I eat fish once a week though and loads of veggies, fruit, beans, whole grains etc. I also ear yoghurt (homemade) and eggs. Giving up meats did not increase or decrease ny weight. But my digestion is much better probably bc of all the fiber.
Sorry for the wall of text. These are just some tidbits that work for me.
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