I have cleaned up.my diet and am losing weight at a startling rate

[Waterbortle]

Which was initially good, but now I'm starting to worry.

I was 10st9 and 5'7, so never fat but a bit heavier than I'd like, between 10st and 10st4 is, I think, my ideal weight. Mostly I wanted to be feel better, my diet was never dreadful, but I knew the junkand the booze had crept in.

So since the beginning of June I have:

-Drunk moderately and only once over a weekend. I never drank during the week, but I'd have "a few" at least 2 nights pw. Now I have a couple, once.

• Cut out snacking - here I was probably worse than I realised, and saying no snacks at all makes it easier for me to stick to.
• No takeaways, but they were never that frequent.
• Made an effort to choose healthier options when faced with a menu
• Desserts only at weekends.
• Stopped using the car all the time and walk as much as possible.

I'm 55, an age when weight is supposed to be difficult to shift. I've never been hungry or felt deprived. I've lost a stone in 2 months.

Does this sound right with the changes I've made or is it too much?

My apologies. I read that you lost 2 stone in a month.

Even a stone, considering you weren't overweight was easily done in 2 months.

Nobody knows. I'm not going to comment further.

@Waterbortle

So you're now almost down to under 9 and a half stone, at 5 ft 7, and in your mid 50s? With a BMI of 21?

Rather you than me. Most people over 50 look better with a bit of weight on them. As a pp said, losing a stone in 2 months - when you were not even remotely overweight (purely by 'not snacking' and walking a bit more,) sounds odd. I would worry about other issues.

As a pp said, this is a weird stealth boast.

Good for you OP. I think many of us would find it easy to eat the kind of day you described. What most of us would find difficult is doing it day in, day out. So well done you for managing consistency.

I shared your worry about rapid weight loss, possibly for very similar reasons that you hint at. Is it worth a visit to the GP for a check-up, bloods and some peace of mind?

Thirdly, what are you doing at the gym? Are you building muscle and balance and flexibility?

Final thought is the same as my first thought - well done you!

I think as with anything, if you are really worried get checked out.

But you’ve overhauled your diet, upped your movement and have lost a healthy amount of weight.

I think as with anything, if you are really worried get checked out.

But you’ve overhauled your diet, upped your movement and have lost a healthy amount of weight.

I do understand what you mean about being concerned. After having DD2, I cut out carbs back in 2020 and within a few weeks had lost 10kg, making me the lightest I had ever been as an adult. I was briefly a little worried as it seemed so drastic and also so easy to lose. Anyway fast forward 5 years and the weight has pretty much stayed off, fluctuating around 1-2kg though I eat far more carbs now. I think my body just doesn't love carbs as much as my mouth does! Am sure there is nothing wrong seeing as you have made changes to your diet and exercise but you should keep an eye on yourself anyway.

If you work from home you have the luxury of more time due to no commute - maybe stride out for an hour before and after work and maybe in your lunch hour (as maybe you can eat whilst working?) - but I think motivation would be harder for you to do whereas OP is walking for specific tasks.

Would be interested to know if OP has calculated monthly savings on petrol, parking, wear and tear of her car.

If you are feeling well and energised - no pains, coughs, or bloating - then all good. Congrats - will you be able to keep the walking up over the winter?

A game changer for getting steps in when time is in short supply is a walking pad. Mine is in the kitchen (although I could technically pick it up and put it anywhere) and I get on it when I'm doing any kind of stationary food prep. I put my laptop on an upturned box on the counter and work in the evenings while I'm walking on the pad, and come down early most mornings and do 30 minutes (or last thing at night). I've got dumbbells and a resistance band in the kitchen cupboard for when I'm 'just' walking (eg not working with my hands) and that's a nice way to tone the upper body at the same time. This keeps me in the 10,000-17,000 range (coupled with general business) most days.

OP, it sounds as if you're doing so well. I found that cutting out snacks and really thinking about if and when I wanted to incorporate sugar in my diet really made a difference. As it happens, most of my carbs and sugars came through snacks, so it wasn't that hard to eliminate them.

Yes I did the same swapped full fat for skimmed milk. Cut out sugar, snacks, crisps, choc, biscuits and cake. Careful in the week but still had treats at the weekend. Lost the same amount of weight.

Me too - need to get down to about 1100 calories a day AND increase exercise in addition to my twice daily dog walks in order to shift anything!!!

I think cutting back on the alcohol was probably an important component to the clean eating as its not just the calories in the wine but the impact on slowing metabolism as well as the hunger hangovers from blood sugar disruption that makes you crave and eat snacks.

I can be 'good all day' - then once I've had a couple of glasses of wine, I ger the munchies craving choc and crisps as my will power evaporates .... 2000 calories later....

How is any of that helping when she’s worried?

I think if you are concerned, you could just ask your GP to do some blood tests to check. That would show if anything is wrong.

It might just be an overactive thyroid gland or something.

You've done really well with those food/drink changes and the walking. It sounds like you've lost a lot of weight that your body will be glad of - probably a lot of visceral fat which no-one needs.

However, if you want to stop losing, but carry on with your new healthier lifestyle, possible switch up whatever you do at the gym for heavy weights. That way your bone density and muscle density will improve and you should stabilise the weight loss.

Make sure you're eating enough protein as otherwise some of that weight loss could be muscle, and you really don't want to lose any muscle once you're in your 50's.

Well done though 💪

That sounds perfect.

Keep it up!

It's amazing what a difference junk and the extra booze calories make.

This is more than I eat when I gain weight, leaving aside booze. And I’m considerably overweight. Doesn’t seem right if everything you are saying is true.

More than a cheese sandwich? Seriously? I’ve never eaten more than that for lunch. To lose weight I either drop it completely or have a salad with lean protein.

Lol people over 50 don't look better 'with a bit of weight on them'. People who are over weight and then lose a lot of weight quickly over 50 can look a bit haggard especially if they haven't looked after themselves and smoke/drank a lot.

That sound great OP. You are walking a lot and eating healthily. If you're not hungry then don't eat just for the sake of it. If you're hungry then eat a bit more. I think you're getting replies from some people who are really quite jealous!

Some people ban drop
weight easily, even in their 50’s. I have a friend who has to eat a lot just to maintain her weight. If she doesn’t keep a close eye on her diet she loses weight very quickly. For her it’s a job just to eat enough, so the opposite problem to most. I think you sound fine op, but if you continue to drop more weight than you would like just up the calories a bit and if that doesn’t work then maybe get yourself checked out just in case.

Christ, some people just really have it easy don’t they 🤣

I was wondering why chicken or tuna would be more filling than a cheese sandwich? Google tells me the cheese has about the same amount of protein, more calories and more fat than chicken or tuna.

If you walked 10 miles a day you might need more than a cheese sandwich for lunch!

I really need to do some walking!

She has 2 cheese sandwiches if that is whats meant by 2 rounds

4 slices of bread, 20g of butter, 60g of cheese.

Well yes. But I hadn’t seen that bit at the time.
However I do 5 strenuous gym sessions a week and 3 longish dog walks (volunteer at a rescue) and don’t eat lunch at all and I’m not losing weight, so I’m not sure that’s necessarily true.
Edit: and I have about 3 stone to lose. At least.