I've lost 16 stone, AMA

[EinyLinky]

Not sure if anyone cares! But yeah, I've lost 16 stone... AMA

Congratulations! How did you achieve it?

Well done! Starting with the obvious, can you detail your tactics please :)

Well done!! How did you do it? What made you decide to do it ? Do you feel completely different?

Sorry for all the questions, but that's just amazing !

Have you managed to change your attitude to food, to allow you to maintain a healthier weight?

Wow that’s absolutely amazing! Can I ask what was your “ lightbulb moment” when you knew you just had to lose weight?

How much did you weigh before and now?

Wowser.

Well done! Can I ask what led to the eventual decision to start and also whether you'd always been overweight or there was a reason your weight had crept up?

Thank you! I started with calorie counting and not caring about what foods I was actually having at all, but just ensuring they were within my maintenance calories. I know that sounds bizarre, but I found I was constantly overeating and not even really managing just a normal amount of food and when I was attempting to try, I would try and go all out, healthy meals, under my calories, exercising and I'd just get overwhelmed/fed up and give in. So I started just tracking my calories to be within my maintenance and then I decreased it to be under, I did this for the first 6 stone or so, but then found it so irritating just constantly having to think of calories all the time and I felt I had a good enough grasp on being a bit mindful of the amount of foods = what and although I was under my calories, I did find myself just having a chocolate bar for a meal and snacking through the day and no meals at all to make up for it so I changed it to, I'll have 3 meals and 2 snacks but not calorie count them, but obviously only doing one item or "set meal" and I'd plan it the night before and stick to it. Sometimes I would alternate between days to switch it up, doing the calorie counting but whatever food I wanted, to the set meals but no calorie counting and try to make each day just seem different. It then made one day actually seem exciting to have 😂 I don't know if that makes sense!

I never prioritised exercise 😳 and still don't, but my goal now is to add it in and be more active! Same for picking maybe more optimal food choices!

I started at 26 stone 11 and I now weigh 10 stone 10

Wow, well done you! How long did it take and has it been hard to maintain?

I had been overweight my whole childhood, hadn't been a healthy weight since I was about 5 I reckon, so my whole life was actually filled with constant desire to lose weight and just trying diets really, but I think I was always an "all or nothing" dieter and that honestly just made it worse and made me gain weight and not lose it, despite it feeling like I was constantly on a diet...

I feel very different, I have definitely forgotten just how bad it felt and I sometimes wish I could go back and feel it for just one day, so I would really tell! When it comes off gradually, I suppose you get used to it over time and forget. However, I can walk for miles now, a regular day I never get out of breath or even need to consider anything hurting. Back then, getting out of bed was a struggle, let alone going to do a food shop, it would leave me in pain

How did people react?

I'm maintaining my weight, but I'm not entirely sure if my whole behaviour around food has changed, I do feel like I still have those days of needing to think "oh today I'll do a day where I don't track my food but have my set meals" or today I'll let myself binge but within calories. I can control the binge by being within calories, but there's no denying that need is kind of still there where it's not that healthy because it can be any food and basically no meals, but at least I'm within calories to not gain

Did your weight loss ever plateau and if so, how did you kick start it off again?
Did you ever have cheat days?

Had always been overweight/obese, but I definitely started gaining quicker when I moved out of the family home. I gained around 8 stone in a couple of years

Well done, that’s amazing OP.
How long did it take to lose the weight?
How old are you?
Do you have problems with loose skin now?

I was seriously depressed, I was at the point where it was really a decision of ending my life or actually doing it and I genuinely lived by the fact of "if I fail this time, I can't live anymore" and that's why I took it much slower with the changes, which led to it being more successful!

It took me 2 years and 5 months to hit it 😊

Weirdly, I haven't actually had many comments at all... I'm not sure if people are trying to not make it a big deal to be polite but actually, I'd rather they did acknowledge it 😂 I know people notice less if you see them daily, but I'm sure the difference would still be obvious, so I'm not entirely sure on that one. My family are just overjoyed, especially my parents, who I think were genuinely thinking they were going to bury me in their lifetime 😢

Do you notice that people in general treat you differently now that you're slim as opposed to when you were fat?

Yes, loads. Think it was 3 months that was my biggest stall... I found just sticking with it, meant in the end I'd just randomly drop half a stone one week after not losing for those months, or I'd notice a change that wasn't related to the scales. Sometimes I would eat more, like go up to maintenance calories or have bigger portion in the set meal days and I'm not sure if that ever further delayed it but it certainly never made me gain and it felt like a treat 😂 so to then get back on being under again felt quite easy and the pure motivation you have at that stage to realise you had this "break" but never gained anything but are back on it, feels great! Knowing you are X stone closer to your goal now

How old are you?

So did your parents not struggle with their own weight then? Interesting as I too was an overweight 5 year old with normal weight parents although they are definitely overweight nowadays.
Just wondering how you became an overweight kid if your parents were health conscious. My parents had no idea how to handle it so didn’t mention anything about it really; when I could have done with their help.

Thanks so much! I turn 25 soon. My lose skin is really bad, it's sad, but nothing like the weight. I'm having an FDL 360 body lift next year to remove the main part of it, as it's really bothering me. I'll assess the rest of the skin and how I feel about it after that