To wonder if I actually can lose four stone

That’s not what I meant, sorry. You would just buy the injections and follow the advice about your diet/foods. No need for shakes.

I agree with @Slibberydibbery as I’ve just googled meal replacement shakes (which are UPF’s) - they’re not cheap. Have a look on the weight loss injections board threads if you might reconsider. Loads of great info on there.

Mounjaro probably wouldn’t be that much more of a stretch because you’d be eating far less so saving money on food.

You could try intermittent fasting? It’s easy to do if you introduce it gradually. I’m reading Dr Mindy Peltz’ Fast Like a Girl book and it’s been eye-opening. It helps reduce cravings, improves concentration, mood and energy and helps kick-start your weight loss. Once you get your blood sugar stable, you don’t even want to eat a lot of unhealthy foods!

If you lose the weight without jabs - you won’t be able to get them for maintenance as bmi will hopefully be 20/25

The vicious cycle is that when you are overweight, you are more hungry.

I'm 14 stone and I am absolutely ravenous. As obviously I have more body to feed.

When you are so hungry it feels like it is so hard to cut down on calories. As I am starving. I keep trying to cut down on calories and I keep failing. As I am so hungry.

When I was thinner, I wasn't so hungry.

I really didn’t mean to criticise or say anything hurtful, because the last thing I want to do is upset, hurt, or offend, but my weight has been a massive problem/issue for me in my younger years.

My mums attitude to getting slim was starve yourself - smoking cigarettes staved the hunger away and drinking copious amounts of coffee - she was dead at young age.

i went to weight watchers at 15 and left feeling stupid, upset, hurt, fat, ashamed, and I still can remember the loneliness-the acute loneliness actually.

Thankfully my husband found me attractive and at 18 we were married. We had children, I followed all the books for healthy babies and Dr Miriam Stoppard was my “go to” for advice,

I just couldn’t shift the weight, and it went upto a size 22 at the worst. I’m fairly tall so it wasn’t as apparent as if I was 5foot,

i, like many women did the cabbage soup diet, it works quickly, but it’s “uncomfortable” whilst you are doing it, and you have a proper something to eat - tge weight goes back on.

That year that I read Carols book was a breakthrough for me, because I couldn’t mentally cope with yo yoing weight anymore, the feeling like shit cos I’d gone to sleep and put another stone in my sleep - I needed a solution - and for me, it’s eating most natural foods - and I say it like that because white flour cramps my tummy now.

I pray that the solution is forming/formed already for you xx

I lost 5 stone after DS was born but just counting calories and losing 2 pounds a week. You'll get there eventually.
I put it all back on years later during the menopause and couldn't lose it this time, it's hard when you are older. I. Now on mounjaro and losing it.

If meal replacements are what work for you at the moment, why not just do every other day at first, to build up to full time.

The thing is, OP, how you lose the weight is actually how you will maintain it.

How do you plan on keeping it off when you've lost the massive amount of 4 stone? Most people will have to eat within their maintenance calories when they have finished losing. If you haven't learned any healthy, sustainable habits to support that, it will be difficult.

I honestly don't see anyone criticising your method. They are just telling you the truth about the reality of losing weight and keeping it off. I have learned It's a long, hard, bumpy road and it takes time. It sucks balls, but it's the truth, and it will be worth it.

I wish you every success.

Of course you can. You didn’t put on 4 stone overnight. It’s gradual. You can lose weight gradually. Aim for a kilo each month. If you don’t do it one month, just make sure you’re not increasing.

Well, you can.
I was 14 stone 5 at my post birth check up. It took me a good deal longer than 6 months to lose the weight though- I think I got down to 10 stone 5 after about 3 years (and I'm a bit more than that now 😳). I do intermittent fasting (both 5:2 and 16:8), and regular bouts of low carbing.

Slimming World?

Yes of course - in the past the most I’ve lost has been 6.5 stone - the challenge is keeping it off
I currently need to lose 7 stone and am starting tomorrow - just returned from
holiday - not away again till April so trying to lose at least 1.5 stone by then which would be a steady 2lb a week

Nothing worked for me and I was like you and thought starving was the only way. Noom really helped helped me lose serious weight and keep it off. It's twee and annoying but if you do it it works and oh my goodness it is life changing.

My friend started walking everyday - she lots 3 stone in a year:

I am following this and have lost 7lb in the last 6 weeks

You can make better choices - and once you start it becomes part of your day.

Do it as something you want to do - get out and walk the baby - walk to the shop instead of driving - it all helps

So do the vast vast vast majority of us who lose weight, even those of us who have new habits and lifestyles embedded. Its life long isnt it for most of us.

I suppose just like there are people who cant drink in proportion or reasonably or smoke in small amounts, there are people who have to restrict and find a way of 'not eating' in a way that they are eating but its not like eating

The only difference between fags and booze and food is of course you dont need to drink or smoke, theres no way round eating, you have to.

If OP needs to find her way through in this way to get to a healthy weight, its better she do that and lower her risk factors of obesity, than sit there and not doing anything at all. Over time perhaps during maintenance, she can perhaps find new ways then

Good luck OP, I knew osmeone who lost 8 stone on the cambridge diet, I didnt even know they were still going, this was about 4 years ago from memory. She looked amazing, did it in a year as well.

But then you put it all back on again?