If you have lost 4+ stone, please can you help?

[rosesandpetals103]

I need to lose at least 5 stone.

If you have lost a significant amount of weight, please can you share with me your diet plan / exercise plan / what you did?

I feel very overwhelmed about where to start.

Alternatively, if there are previous threads that have already discussed this topic then please do post them here.

TIA!!

3 stone loss here but still going - high protein diet and a calorie deficit. i use the nutracheck app as you can scan barcodes, and also they give you a set calorie deficit based on your personal info so it’s very helpful.

high protein keeps you so much fuller for longer and has really been the trick.

i also keep a snack cupboard full of <100 calorie snacks like treat bags of party rings, fridge raiders, etc so if i do want a bit of sugar i’m not going to the shop and buying a family sized bar 😂

It is overwhelming! And having to have so much patience sucks.

I’ve never weighed myself because seeing the scales go up and down send me into a spiral and I end up eating crap again. So I just use clothing sizes.

I eat 1200 calories during the week, 1800 on the weekends, although use a TDEE calculator as this may be too low for you. And if I know I’m going out for dinner I reduce my calories throughout the week so I don’t just have to have a side salad and water.

I cut out alcohol completely, and am doing 16:8 - so I eat between 11am and 7pm and nothing apart from water and black coffee out of those times. It also helps skipping breakfast so I can have a larger lunch/dinner and some snacks - feels less like I’m dieting!

Exercise I just make sure I hit my 10,000 steps a day and do some weights at home with a YouTube video.

Best advice I can give is if you have a bad day just get straight back to it the next day. One bad day isn’t going to undo all your work, and we set ourselves up to fail if you think you’ll never eat a pizza again. It’s hard work, but once you get through the first month and see some results it gets easier and easier. Good luck!!

I have lost four and half stone with the Cambridge one to one diet. I still have about another 7lb to go, but will get there.
I have been doing step 3 with them, which is two shakes / bars a day, plus a meal and snack made up to 600 calories.

It's overwhelming to start with when you have a lot of weight to lose. I really didn't think anything would work for me, but week by week, my weight has dropped from dress size 22/24 to 14/16.

I'm approaching 4 stone mark now

I limit carbs but mainly it's through weight loss injection. Wegovy

4stone gone. Calorie counting. On MyFitnessPal. I try to do volume eating to keep me fuller. I also run a fair bit which has great health benefits but not necessarily weight loss benefits.

Things I've learned- 0.5 a week is a great loss. If you go in hoping for a quick fix and big losses you'll quit before you get there
Allow yourself treats, but count them in you calories.
Expect to plateau at some point but eventually start going down again. - don't give up if the scales stay the same for a few weeks

Find exercise that you enjoy. I like running but that's not for everyone. Might be walking, weights, Zumba, cycling. Find something you can stick to.

Thank you all for your replies so far.

does anyone have a specific diet plan they can share with me?

What do you mean? I would suggest calorie counting, as have a few previous posters. Maybe track what you eat without any changes and then see if you can shave off 2-300 calories a day.
You can get a free app like my fitness pal to help.

But if a different situation here - I had a gastric sleeve (weight loss surgery) I am 26, and have now lost around 8.5stone in total since February 2022..

I completely appreciate this probably isn't the route you're looking to take, however if I can answer any questions I'm more than happy to! X

I did two slimfast shakes and a healthy 600-calorie meal for the first 11 weeks. I lost 2 stone. I then switched to calorie counting and lost the remaining 3 stone.

The initial 11 weeks were hard but they really helped break the addiction to food.

You can do this, OP. Good luck!

It takes time - so thinking in 2 years time I'll be 5 stone lighter...but next week it might only be 1/2 lb. If you've got that much to lose a lot of it is diet. Eat more veg, protein and fewer if any crap carbs. So brown rice, brown bread, potatoes are OK.

Cut out takeaways.

Eat less.

Weigh out your portions, I was shocked at what a normal portion of pasta was, and eat 3 times a day.

Have a banana or an apple as a snack.

I was reading what professional footballers eat, it's not really that much and they train all the time. I'm sitting on my arse doing f all most of the time. I don't need a packet of crisps and a family size portion of lasagna.

Nearly 4 off since just before Christmas, I did SW on line. Found it incredibly easy and wish I'd done it years ago.

Get the free trial of the Libre2 and eat to stay within the green zone.

It monitors blood sugar continuously. If your blood sugar is controlled then you just aren't hungry.

It's a revelation. I lost a stone in the first 5 weeks without trying to lose weight. Once your hunger stabilises you naturally drop weight.

You can do the free 14 day trial and test foods out in this time so you know what works for you. Or you can choose to buy more. There's no obligation.

I’m 67 and had 4 stone to lose, I have lost the first 1.5 stones since I started on 1August, steady loss of 2lb a week. I calorie count but as I am older and only 5’3” need to stick to 1200 calories or less.
I go to 3 Aerobic type classes a week, a general fitness one, Pilates and yoga once each. I feel a lot better already. The exercise really reduces my desire to eat. I was diagnosed with high blood pressure earlier this year and I am hoping weight loss, giving up alcohol and caffeine, and getting really fit might enable me to come off medication.

I’ve done this twice with the Cambridge Diet (I’m not great at keeping it off long term but I know others have successfully).

Over three stone lost since Christmas with Slimming World. It was easy, the group was friendly and I've never been hungry.

Over 8 stones loss here - over two years.

For me the following worked:

• very few carbs
• lots of protein (fish, ham, meat, eggs, shakes, bars). And I always eat the protein first (it fills you up and keeps hunger at bay).
• no drinking fluids 30 mins before or after a meal (as it washes the food through and you're hungry again).
• patience. Some weeks I lost, some I gained. Don't let a slight increase retrial you.
• treat days each week where two decent treats allowed.
• protein shakes. They're so filling. Not as a meal replacement, but as a snack replacement.
• horrible photo of me looking insanely fat plastered all over the house as a reminder of what I didn't want to be!
• meal plans each week, with a focus on protein and vege.
• a divorce.

The last billet is optional.

😂😂

You can do this OP. I have. I was absolutely huge and now I'm not. It can happen x

You need to make small, sustainable changes that you can carry on for the rest of your life.
Swap white carbs for wholegrain, eat more fruit and veg, more protein. Take it step at a time.
Go for a walk every day. Start small and work up. As the weight comes off, you'll feel better and feel like doing more.
And remember to sleep properly and celebrate the small wins.

Oh this was me too!!

I found slimfast gave me the break from food I needed and gave me a lazy introduction to calorie counting

Calorie counting with my fitness pal. Lost somewhere in excess of 6 stone over 14 months (1.5 slimfast and the rest mfp). Worked to 1200 cals but ate back some of my exercise calories too. I have a little electric scales with a tare button that I used to weigh everything.

I ate pretty much a version of what i ate normally. Just reduced the portion size of anything calorific, and massively increased veg intake. Meat portions rarely larger than 83g. I still ate a small ice cream or biscuits and had the odd takeaway (although this was usually only fish and chips). Rarely ate salad or soup as i dont find them filling. I actually was able to swap my main meal to lunchtime which i found helpful although i know not everyone can do that.

Swam, because I enjoyed it anyway and did other gym exercise on those days 4 days a week. Found to my surprised I rather enjoyed les mills classes (both at home and at the gym). Walked where possible the other 3 days. Strength/weights really were a good thing for me

At the start I spent a lot of time on tge mfp forums looking at people's before and after photos convincing myself it was actually possible.

More or less Kept it off for about 7 years until a horrible injury and really stressful last year led me to eat my stress and put on 4-5 stone (in 18 months 🫣). Now back on my fitness pal and have lost 2 stone in about 4 months. Exercise is harder this time (both physically and time wise) im (exercising maybe only 3 times a week and for less time but im walking mostly days.)I can't eat main meal at lunch although half portions of leftovers and stew that i can reheat have been marvellous and I don't cook all of my meals separately (just try and serve them evenly). Weight is still coming off.

It can be done. Learning to trust that you can do it is one of the hardest bits.

cut out sugary food, like biscuits, sweets, cakes ,puddings

cut out artificial sweeteners, as they cause obesity just as much as sugar does, your body doesn't know it has no calories in it, it tastes sweet, so it triggers an insulin surge

Cut out vegetable oil and margarine- they muck up your hormones badly

brown rice, brown bread, wholemeal pasta always, instead of the white alternatives

No highly processed food

I lost seven stone