Whatever I am doing is obviously wrong. I have put on ~10kgs in the past 12-18 months.
The thing with beer is a funny one. Around 12 years ago I was sick and stopped fried/fatty foods and beer. I lost 6kgs in around 6 weeks and was the last time I was under 100kg. Felt fantastic. Put 7kgs back on in the next few weeks to get back over 100kg. Giving up cigarettes not long after added another 15kgs and I have struggled ever since.
A couple of years ago I did not drink alcohol for 2 months. I did not lose any weight. In fact I put on a few kgs. I am not going to sacrifice something that gives me enjoyment if I am not going to get the weight loss results.
Insulin resistance is another issue. Maybe I need to get onto Weight Watchers.
Food and the brain are troubling companions. So called 'comfort food' even more so.
These days (curiously enough rate of obesity etc skyrocketing) many people have become seduced into 'instant gratification' - on just about any aspect of life.
Whether buying a new 'trophy' or 'status' item (excluding status runs of course) - the attitude that prevailed into the late 70s and early 80s of buying it when you can afford it (not go into debt for a holiday for example) has disappeared.
Similarly so much research (mostly Govt funded) has shown that peoples' attention spans have shortened, comprehension skills fallen to the levels of 11yr olds in the 1960s, similarly with general English skills.
OK, excessively long winded beating around the bush....
There really is no QUICK FIX (safe or legal) to losing weight.
There is a relatively easy and painless slow way though - and by slow think 6 months to 2 years or more. The time taken depends on the proportion of excess weight you want to lose.
The stomach is an interesting organ. It adapts - meaning it gradually enlarges (stretches say) if you consistently eat more than you have been. Equally it shrinks if you consistently eat a lower volume at each meal.
Think of losing weight the same way as gaining Lifetime Gold status, for example. It does not happen with one flight, 6 flights but takes a concerted effort. Taking a couple of J flights a month, every month (domestic) will achieve the result over a number of years (less if Perth is in the mix).
An interesting example: say you usually have two biscuits with a cup of coffee in the afternoon, say 2 shortbread biscuits. If you make no other change to what you eat but
CUT down to one shortbread biscuit instead of two (for a male) you will lose close to 5kg in weight over one year and then your weight will stabilise. You do not need to do anything else, change anything else - just cut back one biscuit a day (in this example).
The point is a small and prolonged cut in eating (intake) loses the weight. Cutting back drastically only makes most crave it more.
Back to the stomach - if you suddenly cut the volume you eat by 10 or 20% (or more as some 'trendy' diets will have you do) then you will feel hunger pains. Your stomach is used to being a certain size and the 'balloon-like' object it is will want to compress down.
Yes, we want it to do that but not in such a way that it is unpleasant and saps your will-power (
I always have thought it should be called won't power btw).
So back to real life.
If you eat 5 weetbix for breakfast and xx_ and yyy. Try cutting back to 4.5 weetbix and xx_ and yyy for a period of two months and see what happens. Do not (sub)consciously add just a little bit more of xx_ or yyy to replace it though. The first day or two you may notice a difference late morning (or whenever you normally snack if you do) but resist the temptation to have a slightly larger snack than normal.
One recent Uni graduate gained 14 kg in his first 3 months working with me (no I did not feed him). He complained one day that he was nearly broke as he had to keep buying new suits as the ones he'd bought before he started work were too small, and a couple of their replacements were already too tight. I gave him the above info and he laughed at me, saying $#d$ &^$&. So I pulled up an article from Ironman Triathlon site. He apologised and cut his morning weetbix back from 8 to 7.5 and only 2 pieces of toast. This went for 2 weeks, then he went to 7, 2 weeks more, to 6 then over a month he dropped to 5.5. By the end of the year he had lost all his gained weight plus an additional 9kg.
Then he complained to me again about how broke he was - he had to buy more suits. I suggested getting some of his other ones taken in - response "You're just a dinosaur!"
THINGS TAKE TIME - no matter what the advertising spin doctors say.
Quick fixes are like AJ and Q - do more harm than good!
