How did you lose a stone?

[Allatsea1980s]

Just that really. I don’t need to lose loads of weight, but am upper end of healthy bmi, just felt better when I was a bit slimmer. Early 40s, not going to have any more children.
I just feel a bit…bleurgh. Clothes don’t fit quite as well, stomach is a bit podgy, feel my face is a bit fatter.
I have looked at joining a gym but so expensive and to be honest with two small children not sure I really have the time. I quite like running and walking. Yoga and swimming are ok.
I do realise there are far more important and concerning things going on in the world. But in an effort to try and ignore them I’d just like a few tips to try and follow, for vanity’s sake!

A huge salad (with feta cheese and walnuts), very light evening meal, no breakfast, fruit salad boxes and Philadelphia cheese with breadsticks as snacks.

You can still emotionally snack especially at weekends if you’re good during the week. Try hummus with veggie crudities, pop chips, square of dark chocolate, rice pudding pots, Philadelphia cheese pots with breadsticks, seaweed thins (I hate them but you may like them), snack association (think that’s the name) Thai rice crackers.

Zero carbs. Fat melts off

Husband in hospital for a heart bypass.The weight fell off. Still going down, not sure I’ll ever want to eat again.

Intermittent fasting and cutting down/out upf foods, decreases hunger, keeps insulin response more stable and you find your taste buds change. I can’t bear upf now it tastes horribly synthetic.

First time was stress. I was so stressed doing my masters dissertation and working that I stopped eating and my now husband (then boyfriend) started cooking everything and packing me lunches.

I’m currently losing weight after our third and final baby. I feel a lot more motivated to lose this weight now because I know I’m done having kids, I did lose a bit between the other two but this time I’m taking it more seriously. 20 min run a day, 10,000 steps at least, eating lots of home cooked soup. Soup is my go to weight loss food. Never get sick of it. Right now I have a freezer full of soup and stew. I’m already down a bit and I think I’ll be happy with my weight loss in the next few months. It’s really just about habits and these are the ones that work for me.

Strength training
increasing general movement - aiming for 10k steps/ day
real discipline with bed time and sleep hygiene
cut out alcohol (and hangover bacon sandwiches)
cut out most upf
more protein in meals and less carbs and fats
meal planning and prep to avoid eating shite
lots of water
it gets harder as you get further into 40s so good to get a handle on it now x

I think this is really good advice.

A lot of people are recommending fasting. Personally, id struggle with this but i do find not eating after 6pm until breakfast is an easy and effective habit. Can have an off-day if youre out for dinner, etc

I signed up with a fitness coach on instagram. I was the high end of my bmi and wanted to lose a bit. I was already going to the gym, lifting weights etc. Thought I was fairly healthy. Never thought it would work but it bloody has. It’s basically an online coaching group. The app has workouts, meal plans, strategies and webinars. The coach set my nutrition , basically an high protein calorie counting diet, and I have roughly followed it. I’ve lost 9 pounds so far in a month. I wouldn’t say it’s been hard at all, most the time I’ve quite enjoyed the accountability. Is definitely recommend.

I simply stopped eating cakes, biscuits and white bread..
Then Christmas arrived...
Only put 2 pounds back on so back to it now.

Will up my game from Monday I promise...

How did you lose 5 stone though? What was your starting weight if you don’t mind me asking?

Changes my diet. No exercise.

Fewer carbs and sweet treats. Less red meat, more veg, more olive oil, more nuts, more seeds.more lean protein.

Also timing - I have a mini fast every day. So breakfast at 7:30/8 and last food if the day around 4:30/5pm. After that, all i have is water or herbal tea.

Simple walking. I’ve just started a new job that requires a walk from Liverpool Street to Holborn five days a week, it’s 1.5 miles each way. I’ve lost half a stone in the days since I started and I haven’t changed my (terrible) eating habits

I also lost 5 stone in about 14 months.

I’m lazy, 54, and like all the bad things! I need to get onboard with things I like to do but I hate the gym (like classes) and prefer walking and I had to do a lot of that over lockdown to lose weight. The one advice I would give is have a treat every so often otherwise you will cave and go back to the bad stuff. I also heard if you have too few calories your body after initially losing weight will go into starvation mode and stop. I need to start strength training really. Can I do this at home and if so with what?

Chicken rice and walking more steps

How?! Tell me!

I did tell you I did it. Happy to answer questions though.

Do you walk so you’re slightly out of breath? That’s what helped me lose weight and it wasn’t even a huge distance, 15 mins from Victoria to Millbank. I didn’t want to be late or catch the bus so walked fast. Took stairs at work. Soup and 1 slice bread for lunch. Halved carbs in evenings. Easily lost over a stone in 2-3 months. And I still had treats like bratwurst and chips and gin at a German beer house place that Christmas! And also took the odd treat from the treat table at work. I’d be unhappy on only salads and I’d just cave, I know it.

Ah I’ve seen that. Thank you! If you exercised you’d lose more/tone up.

I walk to the point where I’m drenched in sweat and look like I’ve been swimming with my clothes on

True but I can’t. I’m too unwell even to go for a walk. I used to be an athlete.

Focus on nutrition and adopting good habits.
Eat 30 grams of fibre a day
Include at least 30 different plants in your diet each week.
Reduce ultra-processed food.

Tracking what you eat is very helpful.

Mounjaro. Also early 40s and I lost 3 stone (and only had 3 to lose). Just could not shift anything over 10lbs before, no matter how hard I tried. Cut my calories to 1400 a day (and tracked them), prioritised protein and whole foods to retain muscle and feel fuller for longer, cut out alcohol during the week, did strength training 3 times a week and played 2 hours of football once a week. This can all be done without mounjaro if you’re able to be very strict with yourself and have very strong willpower. It was just a hell if a lot easier with it. If time is tight I’d prioritise diet, calorie counting and batch cooking from scratch and don’t worry too much about exercise. It really doesn’t help that much with weight loss. I do it to stay fit and toned but it’s never really helped me lose weight. I used to be an amateur but high level kick-boxer and even when I trained 6 hours a week in kickboxing, 3 hrs a week of HIIT classes and 7k run every weekend I didn’t lose any weight without cutting a lot of calories

Using the Nutracheck app. 1400 calories a day, sometimes I didn't achieve that but I could roll the unused ones to an easy day. I lost 2 stone in just under 7 months and have kept it off since. I now know what portion sizes I should be eating.