Seeing as we are all volunteers of the RAFAC I understand the importance of maintaining an important image in blue uniform. We can be mistaken for RAF personnel so surely it’s best for all staff to maintain a healthy weight and also the cadets will have a suitable role model.
My question is: (as I want to start losing weight l) does anyone have a cheap, easy to prepare diet plan/exercise plan that I can adopt?
I’ve found weightwatchers really good, as they point each food, my partner signed up and paid for it, but we both benefited 
Biggest change we’ve made is portion size and reducing our carb intake - moving to cous cous instead of potato and thins instead of bread.
I’ll take a look, tbh I don’t have the time to be calorie watching
Eat less. Move more.
That’s the simplest way of putting it.
There’s all sorts of plans you can shell money out for, but the principle stays the same.
The fitness industry is a Million pound industry that preys on people’s ignorance and naivety with over the top, over hyped or just plan lies. I hate civilian Physical trainers, with a passion.
Start with little things and build good habits. Don’t go on crash diets.
Set a goal. You can’t hit what you can’t see.
It takes time. Don’t give up after a week.
Don’t see it as a “diet” see it as a lifestyle change to be healthier.
Eat less processed foods and more fresh foods.
Ultimately use more fuel than you put in. Food is just fuel.
There is an app:
Myfitnesspal it makes calorie counting easier. And if you want serious weight loss then you will have to do some form of tracking/accountability.
If you just want to be more healthy and make better choices then just eat less and move more.
Thanks, it’s very hard to adapt a new lifestyle but I do think it’s for the best! I was looking at shake diets and others but I know the weight will pile back on after the course of the diet.
It is daunting to think of it in one go, but break it down and make small but good habits.
Don’t add sugar to coffee/tea.
Don’t drink Starbucks/branded coffee/tea/beverages as they are laden with sugar.
Drink water not fizzy juice, Drink diluted juice with soda water instead.
Walk more. Just walk every morning/evening. Or other light cardio.
You don’t need to be thrashing it at 6am or deadlifting until your eyeballs pop. Just make good positive steps, and once the habits develop just keep pushing the target.
I got myself a Fitbit and the app on my phone to monitor what I was consuming and found it really good. Got me eating better and moving more, as I worked from home a lot I was shocked to find my daily step counts were <3k.
You can set yourself a weight goal and it will suggest how many calories less than you use in day you should consume to achieve in easy, medium or difficult setup and give you a guide date for when you should achieve it.
I got it last October and have lost just over a stone and half. Haven’t really changed too much what I eat if I am honest as it’s normally me preparing the main family meal each evening. Still go out, still enjoy takeaway etc.
Think it just helps being more concious of what your eating. Tried WW and SW and they didn’t really make a difference long term but this appears to have worked for me
Combination of all the above -
Did the same for the same reasons as you - in fact I made sure I could pass the RAF Fitness Test.
I lost 7 stone hanging out with a bunch of middle age woman at slimming world…dont judge it…worth the £5 a week.
I’d echo RAS’s comments, but I’ve got a mate who says that if you won’t go to WW/Fat club, you don’t want it enough.
It is just physics - if you put stuff into a bag without taking the same amount out the bag will fill up. if you want the bag to get smaller you need to take more out of the bag than you put in.
Cut all the rubbish and snacks out, lay off the booze, reduce your portion size, eat less meat and more fruit and vegetables - carrot sticks and apples are excellent as snacks - cut the sugar out of hot drinks, and do more exercise.
Diets don’t work, changing your lifestyle works.
Whatever you choose you need to make time to prepare food. Don’t get into that trap of too much cadet stuff not giving you enough time for food prep and exercise. I’m in the same boat though looking at a large loss so any tips appreciated.
i lost 10 kilos by doing the following
10 mins of High Intensity Training every day ( google Tony Horton 10 Min Trainer)
Eat less carbs so no pasta, potatoes, bread, cake, chocolate, biscuits.
Eat more healthy foods like greens and fruit but dont go mad on the fruit. The sugar in them is the worst bit.
Drink tea. it suppresses hunger.
Use a meal replacement meal like slimfast but Asda’s own tastes better and is cheaper but ensure you have a good healthy evening meal.
have something to eat every 3-4 hours. Breakfast-snack-lunch-snack-dinner. Don’t snack on crap food. have some mixed nuts or dried fruit but dont go mad.
If you think you’re hungry, before you open the cupboard door, stop and ask yourself, am I really hungry? Chances are you’re not so turn around and do something else.
work out how many calories your body needs to maintain weight by using this simple calculation:
Weight in lbs x 11 = calorie needs ie 200lbs x11 = 2200 calories needed per day. Simply cut your calorie intake and you’ll loose weight. However, If you’re training you should add 100 calories for each 10 mins you train. Personally, I didn’t add the 100 calories and lost weight fast as I burned fat at a ridiculous rate but I did, and still do, use whey protein before each workout.
Will power is the biggest challenge. Don’t give in once you start. You wont see results overnight but expect to see something at around week 4. Set yourself a target weight.
This isn’t quite answering the question but I’m offering my input.
My No2s trousers are my guide. If these are getting tight I need to lose weight. If I’m doing a Bridget Jones impersonation on the bed rolling around trying to get them to fit I didn’t take any notice a month ago.
Likewise if I need to wear braces for my No1 trousers I’m at a size I’m happy with.
Some would argue i go through a yo-yo effect and there maybe some truth in that…but it’s maybe 5 Kgs here or there rather than 5 stone!
I also once a year work towards the RAF running fitness test.
If I can run the 2.4km in the stated time I take that as I’m in shape
It won’t help you lose weight I know but to maintain it just have a line that won’t be crossed.
For me it’s getting a larger pair if trousers
3 stone on a low carbs diet…
I work in an environment where preparing food at home to take with you is not an option so managed to work out how to do it and kept it going.
Also drink TONS of water it’s amazing the crap it will flush out your system after a week!
Glass of water before bed, and when you wake up.
Black coffee and a brisk walk before breakfast.
Cut out carbs and sugar.
Stay hydrated.
If you feel peckish between meals drink a glass of water, if hunger returns eat a filling low calorie snack.
Brisk walking is often more effective at burning calories than jogging. Walk whenever you can, don’t drive if within walking distance.
An exercise bike in front of the TV is a good way to burn calories while maintaining interest, it’s low-impact on the body, and you don’t have to find additional time because you can watch whatever while still exercising.
Also, don’t buy into the hype of many “low calorie” foods - often they aren’t much better than normal equivalents.
Low calorie foods are high in chemicals
low fat foods are high in sugar
cut out processed meats
And theres no such thing as a “superfood”
Unfortunately the food chain and industry is contaminated with harmful chemicals and other hidden nasties, but not everyone can afford fresh/organic. And it’s a huge topic that is endless.
The food and fitness industry are deliberately misleading and there’s a lot of crap to filter through. But keep it basic, keep it simple and keep it natural. There’s no magic fix.
All foods are 100% chemicals.
Would you like to take a look at my petition to ban Dihydrogen Monoxide? Everybody who has consumed it is going to die.