What diet advice to give non WLS people?

DH is still dieting. I've been very hands off because that's how I'd prefer him to be with me in that situation.

But he's been asking me for advice on dieting lately...and I realize that I have no idea what to tell him. Because obviously diets did not work for me pre surgery lol. Which is what I told him. He knows how I eat now.

Just wondered what diet advice you wish you'd followed before you became obese?

Get WLS sooner rather than later if you need it.

As a former 500 lbs man....I have no business giving diet advice to anyone that does not have WLS. Research shows that Low carb diets have a higher success rate, however without the DS I'd probably would have been dead. Or at the least....the fire department would have had to cut me out of my home with the jaws of life by now.

But if he is not ready for it, he is not ready for it. Do not force anyone to have WLS (don't even sway them in that direction if they aren't inclined for it).

Scott

Obviously the caveat here is that he asked me for advice. I would never give advice to someone who didn't ask...too many people did that to me!

I wish I'd known what normal portion sizes were. And gone to therapy a LONG LONG time ago. I don't know that I'd have been thin, but I do know that huge portions and emotional eating have driven a lot of my weight.

Things that helped me the most pre surgery were to make smaller doable changes one at a time and as they became habit then add in another. For example when I started losing weight presurgery I first cut out all caffeine because I drank a ton of Coke and mt dew. Then I cut out fast food, things like that and I would suggest that he start cutting out sugar as a step. I had lost about 60 pounds a few years before surgery and maintained that loss. I had surgery because despite that loss I was still in the 320 range and couldn't get below 300 it seemed.

Picking a ha*****anging it one at a time is what worked well for me too. I couldn't give up sweets, soda, modify portions and limit carbs/calories all on the same starting day. That was always a set up for failure.

Cut out soda was a goal. master than and move on. Cut out sweetened juices. mastered that and moved on. One carb per meal, etc. Everything at once was too overwhelming for me.

I wished I would have stuck to the basics of calories in vs. calories out, and ignored the 'fads'; low carb, low-fat, glycemic index, WW points etc. All that, while useful in the grand scheme, added unnecessary 'noise' in my trying to figure things out, not knowing what to lead with.

Ooh. That's a good one!

Track EVERYTHING, no excuses! Even if you go over your calorie allotment, be honest and track it anyway.

He is kicking my ass at this one! He tracks everything! When he started he asked what worked well for people on here and I told him that tracking can be invaluable and that the people who are successful usually track. He took that to heart and now he'll randomly remark to me 'ooh I ate so much earlier but according to mfp I still have calories left!' Or 'dammit I blew my calories away today but I tracked!'