If you have successfully lost weight how have you done it?

[Ihatejanuary78]

Not injections, I don’t qualify.
thank you

As menopause struck I all of a sudden gained weight and wasn’t eating anything different, nothing had changed in my eating regime.

I discovered the intermittent fasting style of eating is really effective. I’m back into my old clothes, although gutted I gave away a favourite pair of jeans I’d now fit into again 🤦‍♀️

Had gallbladder issues so fat caused pain. So had no choice but to cut out anything with 5% fat or more. Also all dairy and sugary things (including eg fruits and alcohol). The low fat included the obvious things but also nuts and most seeds, coconut milk, eggs, some bread, crackers etc etc. the fact it caused pain meant I stuck to it. Wasn’t immediate and I still ate lots in volume (including bread!). Got a lot of low fat snacks in (rice crackers, soreen bars) to keep me going. Ate sushi and grilled chicken a lot. Was a 16-18 and now a 12.

What approach did you use? I need to lose about a stone…

Ate healthier and exercised more

I've gone from UK size 22-24 to a 10, and honestly? Therapy to address underlying trauma/reluctance to treat my body 'well'. Before that I tried every diet/fitness regime under the sun and it didn't stick.

After therapy, a nice gym membership and spending time/money planning out healthy meals that felt luxurious helped. But I believe I could've lived off chicken and veggies and run for free after I'd dealt with the underlying issues!

Very, very interesting.

I could do with this. I have lost hefty amounts of weight before, only to put it all on again without fail.

Consuming fewer calories then I expend (that's the only way to lose weight, however you achieve it) and building muscle in order to help with that. Having more muscle means you burn more calories even when resting. A high protein diet with moderate carbs and fat + regular exercise + enough sleep.

If you lose weight rapidly and don't protect your muscles you will lose muscle mass.

I lost 5 stone on keto. So very low carb, high protein.

Low carb works for me and DH. It’s fairly simple to follow and you can actually eat a lot (of the right foods) so you are never hungry.

I went from a 14/16 to a 6 by calorie counting and intermittent fasting. I still do both to maintain (just allow a bit of flexibility).
I found the biggest thing was seeing how many calories a food had in it, altering my portion sizes and generally thinking do I really need that (because I'm now more aware of how many calories it contains).
Intermittent fasting I do anything from 16 to 20 hours but average about 18. It helps not snack in an evening and also by pushing my breakfast back (or skipping it) I don't crave more food mid morning.

53 yrs old and def in peri. I lost around 2st last autumn and it's stayed off. I cut out bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and sugar. I increased protein and fibre. It's easy to stick with and I feel so much letter for it along with completely getting rid of the reflux I always had.

Calorie counted. And I mean all the the time. I didn’t even have time off for birthday and Xmas. Calorie counted everything that went into my mouth. I also started at the gym. Do cardio and weights. Changed my life completely to one of sitting around on my phone to actually going into the world. Walking cycling etc.
just went to get some trousers as mine doesn’t fit anymore and bought a size ten in one and an eight in the other.

Surgery.

Low carb. I cut out anything likely to ramp up my blood sugar like cake, bread, pasta or pastries and the weight started to shift

Slimming World. I know it often gets slated on here maybe because people tend to reach their goal weight, then stop following the guidelines, then find they've put the weight back on.

I still loosely follow it and subsequently have kept the weight off for years now. I don't eat much processed food and each week I write out a meal plan as I think being prepared is half the battle of any diet.

Low carb . I’m post menopausal , steroid dependent , limited exercise capacity due to COPD , pre diabetic at last years HbA1c . I started low carb in mid September at just shy of 14 stone BMI 29.2 , last week I hit 11stone 81/2 lbs BMI 24.8 . It’s not a diet it’s a way of eating and does become quite easy but obviously you need to carry on with it long term to maintain . I’ve got at least another stone to lose and it is getting harder near target but I’m not putting any on which is the big thing for me .

Signed up for Zoe and found out which foods suit my body best. I am now eating a diet rich in vegetables, pulses, nuts and seeds. I am now only occasionally eating potatoes, pasta and bread because I found out from Zoe I have poor blood sugar control and anything high in carbs gives me more of a blood sugar spike than most people would have. Unfortunately I also have poor blood fat control so I now only eat very little cheese.

It has really worked. I never feel hungry. I have lost 15kg of 2.4 stone since early November. I have lost lots of belly fat - my waist has gone down by 15cm. Absolutely no exercise either because I am too unwell to exercise.

Joined Slimming World online to log my weight loss. Follow some of their recipies and Pinch of Nom ones. Make a big pan of vegetable soup each week and have that everyday for lunch with a piece of fruit. Might be boring but it's easy and works. Have wholemeal toast for breakfast and a healthy evening meal. Have lost a stone in 3 months.

Calorie deficit. Eating things I usually do but cutting the portions massively or being more mindful.

I have successfully lost weight. Many times.
I guess not really successfully then because I always put it back on! I've always managed to stay within the healthy range, I just go from the bottom to the top of it and back. I think for me it's just that I like the wrong kind of food compared to a larger person who is more likely to have emotional problems around eating.

Thank you all, some great ideas.
im pre diabetic so low carb is good for me but its hard, and if I don’t have chocolate or bread sometimes I will end up having a massive binge. So I can’t go all out low carb/keto but can definitely try.
i would love to lose a stone before my holiday in mid April. I do like intermittent fasting and calorie counting.
I exercise regularly anyway but my c section over hang is upsetting so be good to lose belly fat.
end of last year I did lose some weight but it all went back on. And I can’t really think what I did?!

Stopping drinking alcohol completely took a stone off.

What happens if you need to eat somewhere that is not your own home? Did you have Christmas dinner at home? I can't imagine going to my parents' with a scale.

May I ask how much you were drinking? There's a thread at the moment from someone doing dry January who didn't lose anything. I've lost with it, but also dieting.

Cutting down alcohol massively
No take aways
Skipping breakfast (fasting)
Calorie decefit - I used Nutracheck app to track and weighed all my food. You learn a lot about portion sizes

Weighed myself this morning at 8st 11lbs and last summer I was almost 12stone