Is it realistic (or not) to think I can lose 40kg in a year? 10kg lost so far

I've lost 15kgs in 8 months. My starting weight was 80kg, which I think is similar to you now, and my target is 63kgs, so similar to yours (and very close for me now). My weight loss has been fairly constant at 0.5 to 1.0 kg per week, with December 'off plan'! I am calorie counting and exercising more.

The difference between us is that you are 4 inches taller than me, so you can carry more weight. While your targets are healthy, they are at the lower end of the healthy range, and you might find that your weight loss slows down as you get slimmer. You could probably have a target of 65 or 66 kgs, which might be more achievable, and you would still look fabulous in the end.

Good luck x

How old are you? It's much easier to lose weight pre menopause so if you are pre, then ramp up the exercise, even if it's just walking briskly a bit more. Post or peri you'll have to do more and cut out most carbs in my experience

Saxenda was actually pretty good, no side effects. I tried ozempic also and had too much nausea, it was unbearable. Saxenda is very easy to use.

With keto you don't feel hungry, I was already eating minimum (25 gr carb a day) and still stopped losing weight. Somehow Saxenda improved the metabolism and started losing weight again.

I tried dieting for years and years, tried everything, acupuncture, all types of pills and teas and the best has been keto, it is more sustainable long term. Even now I eat mostly low carb.

No lose skin (but not super firm though) and I'm 40. My main exercise is just walking, don't go to the gym.

My mum’s starting weight was 130kg when she lost 30kg in a year. Take your time, hopefully you are setting life long habits so the weight doesn’t return. No rush, imagine all of the health benefits you are gaining along your journey

Wegovy would help get you there. Although I’m not sure if you’d meet the BMI criteria at your new weight.

You've lost 10kg in the first third of the year. To maintain the same rate of loss for the remaining two thirds would give you 20kg further loss.

That might be more than enough to aim for and to maintain. It would be more beneficial to focus on maintaining that while finding a consistent and sustainable system of managing eating and exercising rather than trying to lose at an even higher rate.

Work on changing the balance between the types of food you eat and the balance between inactivity and exercise. Find a method that you can live with, for instance gradually add more vegetables or salads and lean protein and a bit less fat cheese, chips or sausages and burgers. Limit eating certain high calorie treats to two specific days a week, e.g. chocolate bars, biscuits or cake, if you can't bear to give them up altogether. Walk a bit more or swim or cycle or jog or play tennis or badminton or go to a yoga or dance class or something else.

I think you can do it, I lost 19 kg in 4 months on keto but also doing exercise. Now if you get stuck after keto you could try Saxenda. I tried it for month when the weight loss stalled even with keto.

That’s great…essentially to lose weight you just need to be in a calorie deficit, which can (in theory) be achieved by just eating anything as long as it leaves you in a deficit. You’d be nutritionally deficient though, which isn’t great…even if living off just Oreos would be amazing.

In my experience, the bigger I've been the "easier" it's been to lose weight.

So if it's taken you 4 months to lose 10kg, I can't see how you'd lose 30kg in 8 months?

Could you extend your time frame? Or reduce your goal?

Again only in my experience, it's been much more beneficial for it to be slow and steady. To lose 30kg in 8 months would require strict dedication, a calorie deficient eating plan you cannot deviate from (even for special occasions) and a lot more exercise.

You're welcome. And I think that's a good decision. Be kind to yourself but also be honest with yourself. Set yourself up for the best chance of success. I promise, when you're looking in the mirror, admiring how good you look in something new, you won't care that it took a bit longer than you originally though to fit into it.

You probably could if you’re disciplined and motivated enough but I wouldn’t recommend it. Losing it slowly, half a pound a week so 2lb a month would be your best option if you’re worried about loose skin. Plus you’d be much more likely to keep it off for good.

I've lost 8st so far and another two to go over the last couple of years. Theoretically, it's doable. Average a 500 calorie per day eating deficit and the same again through exercise and you're more than covered. The biggest problem is how you do it and whether it's sustainable. A year is a long time and you're not giving yourself much wiggle room. Especially if you're going down the "going on a diet" routine.

You also need to account for the fact that the more, you lose, the more effort it takes to lose more in the same time. It's easy to see quick gains when you have a lot to loose because your body needs more calories just to exist so creating deficits is easier.

When I started, I decided to put the effort into learning more about the food I was eating. I started to research where I could get the most bang for my calorie buck. In all honesty, I wasn't looking to eat "healthier" right away, I just wanted to stick with eating crap but be smarter with it so I could create those deficits and get some quick wins on the scale. I started to walk more and I've built that up over a year to the point where I'm averaging 10,000 steps a day. That's the only exercise I've really bothered with - although I know there are other things I need to start exploring for other health benefits beyond weight loss.

Over time I started to integrate healthier eating and I focused on changing one habit a month so that, over time, things gradually build into my routine and it didn't feel like such a shock. I'm at the stage where I'm confident that I won't put the weight back on when it's all over because I've been gradually embedding better habits bit by bit and it's never felt like I'm on a diet.

I'm a bit like you, I still factor in treats to give myself a break and it can be easy to go overboard if you have a tendency to binge. The main thing for me was to accept that the journey would be 2 steps forward, one step back because, overall, it's still going in the right direction and it's sustainable.

I think you should really think about the approach your taking and make sure it's right for you. If there is a diet or combination of diets that works for you and you can sustain it long term, that's great. Just make sure you're taking time to learn about food and diet as a whole and now just through the lens of one diet because you really need to plan for what happens after the diet is over. I think you should extend your target, too. I'd maybe go for 18 months rather than a year. The worst thing you can do is set an unrealistic target and then end up undoing your progress because you're losing motivation when the scales aren't where you think they should be.

Good luck and keep up the good work!

So you are aiming for 62kgs at 5”9.5?
while not underweight, that is low for your height and I think would be difficult, in particular as you get to the last 10kg.

I had to convert that to stone as I’m not familiar with kgs, I think it’s just over 6 stone?

It’s definitely doable. I used to follow a lot of people who lost up to 7 stone over a year.
One of my best friends lost ten stone in a year, although granted it was gastric sleeve.

I don’t know about loose skin, I think it depends on other variables

It’s doable but reading between the lines you’re already struggling with your approach so it’s unlikely to be sustainable. I don’t get this whole approach of demonising foods, I can’t see how it works long time. DH has lost 3st in about 8 months by tidying up his diet, adding strength training and an extra run a week. He still eats crisps, chocolate etc but less.