AIBU to try to lose 7 stone in 14 months?

[nitrox]

Hello everyone,

AIBU in thinking I can lose 7 stones in 14 month (1/2 stone a month) by eating healthily, and exercising a bit more?

I'm female, 5ft 7", 18st 13.5lbs (prety much 19st), size 22.

I miss all the sports I used to do, my knee is really bad and won't heal after I damaged it cycling, and I won't go to Alton towers anymore as I'm too embarrased after the last time when I nearly didn't get the bars down on my tummy.

I've tried all sorts of diets, even had a gastric band a few years ago.. it worked but went wrong and slipped and I've piled the weight back on, silly me .

Is anyone else in the same boat? Would love to hear some inspirational stories or to at least feel like I'm not the biggest freak in the world ... I can't even seem to find a winter coat I like that isn't knee length or a ski style jacket.

It's so sad really, I'm 30 now and spent my 20's dieting, I don't want to do the same in my 30's. I don't have children yet, so I need to do this now!

I love sports, extreme sports in particular like snowboarding and scuba diving and I'm pretty depressed as I can't do them very easily now and don't want to book any holidays because of my weight.

Anyhow, I'm rambling..

Thanks for reading

You go girl!

I am similar stats to you and wish you well.

Thanks BlueGoddess, I'm a pretty good cook and strangely very aware of what is healthy and what isn't.. I don't tend to follow my own advice though!

Beastofburden - at our pool, they have 3 lanes as normal, but each lane seems to have the same speed in them lol.. and people just move to the quietest lane! I should try again though, I do love swimming a lot.

GinAndIt - I have actually yes!! It looks brilliant and I found a gym place that do the training that fits with the plan, but it's about an hours drive each way, and I just don't know if I could stick with it, I need to look again though because if it worked it would be more than worth it.

I have found the healthy food guide magazine a good source of recpies and they tend to do healthier versions of things too which is good.

I admire your motivation OP good luck, it is do able, incidentally what is MFP?

For those with knee pain - mine only got better becauseof wweight loss AND listening to my body. If it hurt I stopped that particular exercise. It was tempting to push through the pain but it would have been worse in the long run. When I was running on the road to start( I used ttreadmill first) I built up slowly so I could make sure it wasn't going to be painful.

MFP - my fitness pal app.

I also noticed a big difference in shape when I stopped calorie counting and starting low carbing. Maybe that would be better towards the end.

nitrox do you have a University near you, or another professional pool? they tend to be quieter, cooler, longer, and have genuinely fast lanes.

I've actually just graduated, never made use of the pool though and it's an hour away, so not really local. Shame really.. funny you mention cooler, the council gym here is roasting hot! Like a bath temperature, so not great after a few length, but it's not the end of the world I guess.

Arghh, just regret ever getting this big.. I was 18stone before my band, and got down to 12st 4lbs, that was about 5 years ago and gradually gained the weight back.

Over the years I've given up my hobbies one by one as they got more and more difficult. The difference in how people treat you is amazing too, people are less polite and much more judgemental when you are "big".

Thanks Fullofchoc! & Honeybee!

Purple, I'm certain my knee pain will go once I lose weight. I've not been to the docs about it as I know what they will say, lose weight, and it's true!

Low carb is definitely something I need to aim for long term, I bloat badly and have IBS, not sure if this is because I eat too much crap though and my digestion is all messed up.

leisure pools are always too hot, thats why a training pool is better. Shame its so far...

If your issues with food are so severe that you required a gastric band then I would suggest counselling rather than any other diet.

A little harsh pinupgirl...

I paid for the band myself due to a lack of will power to stick to a diet, it cost me £15,000 in total as I had it removed too. I didn't get it on the NHS.

It was a mistake, but I don't see how it reflects on my ability to lose weight by being healthier.

I like food, I don't have any mega emotional issues surrounding food, I just like it and eat too much of it. I don't binge or anything like that, so I'm not sure what you are presuming about me that requires counselling?

Good luck with the weight loss nitrox!

I've found the biggest motivator for me is doing bust, waist, hip & thigh measurements and sticking the one that I dislike the most on the fridge (so I see it before I have another biscuit).
Feels awesome losing inches (I notice inchloss more than mass).

Could you start to fool yourself into thinking you're a coeliac and cut gluten out?
Might be more achievable long term than carb-free/low carb (you can still have rice & spuds, and 'normal' chocolate).

OP
Come and have a think about 5:2, the current thread is here
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/fasting_diet/1904625-The-5-2-thread-number-30-Did-half-term-bingeing-make-you-feel-dirty-Then-hop-on-board-thread-number-30
and this is the star of the show
www.mumsnet.com/Profile?nick=eatriskier&photos=p
but she is by no means alone ....
and nor will you be if you join us.

Bob - Yes I did look into gluten free, as I could happily have just rice and potatoes, and actually have cut bread out this week which hasn't been too much of a hardship lol. I took my measurements as well, was quite shocked at them too! My boyfriend is slim and my thigh is his waist and I don't have strange proportions either.

I have a very large tummy compared to the rest of me, so I really do need to cut out carbs/sugar.. it's like a beer belly but I don't even drink alcohol.

I also don't drink enough, which is an ongoing problem I need to address.

Talkinpeace - oh yes! 5:2, I'd forgotten about that, might be worth me looking at it again as I can see me doing well on it, thank you.

Low carb is incredibly effective for me and I too am a compete carb addict - I just don't feel satiated from low carb meals. I also have pre-diabetes (when not pregnant, currently I have gestational diabetes). I wonder I it is all related.

Oh my God, snap snap snap!!
To everything you've said (except the extreme sport takes place only in my head!)

Hey guys,

I've read so much on the crazy carb addiction and yes I'm pretty sure it's all related.. I've read that type 2 diabetes can be reversed by low carb diets, (obviously not all cases are the same)..

I crave carbs, but I also know it's a vicious cycle and then make me tired, a little depressed and sluggish.. but I still want them!!

I've done a sort of Lighter Life diet before, and after 2 weeks I missed food so much but I had tons of energy and my tummy bloating was non-existent!

Just not sure I can live without carbs long term, maybe once I get into a routine I can gradually just cut out the stuff that is bad, and get used to it that way.

nitrox
A side effect of 5:2 is that you effectively cut out carbs for about 4 days a week.
Leaving dietary space for pizza and pasta and toast at weekends.
Just those few days a week "break" seems to be doing a lot of people's digestions a lot of good .....

Would you think about slim and save? I'm toying with the idea as I'm also a fiend for the carbs and I love how clear and energetic I feel after a couple of days! Just don't know if I have it in me to stay on it for the amount of time I'd need to.

Talkinpeace - I'm reading the thread you linked to, lots of info and good news on the digestion, it's a big problem for me.

xCupid - I've got 2 boxes of slim and save ontop of my fridge - I just can't hack it! I think I can and have lasted 2 weeks, but then I cave in and give up. Shame as the losses are great on it, 10lbs in 2 weeks and it does seem to stay off for a month or two, but I'm worried I could lose the weight on it and then gain it back like I did before.. I'd rather learn a new way of eating and suppliment the diet with a shake here and there to give me a boost. I was also really energetic, wanted to go for evening walks and clean the house for no reason lol, I just really missed my evening meals. Slim and Save food packs are very nice though, can't knock them on that.

Yeah I completely agree with you, that's why I'm so dubious and up in the air about what to do.
I don't know if I'd trust myself on my 5 days off the 5:2 though.
I'm reading the Beck diet solution at the moment, I'd so love to do slim and save till Christmas but like you I've had so many false starts arghh

I've got that book too, are you my twin? lol.

I get very disheartened when all my good plans go to ruin because I just can't stop myself having something, I just get so much pleasure from eating.. I need to find another way to get pleasure.

You could do it until Christmas and then go low carb / 5:2? At least you know it's only 7 weeks and then you can eat Christmas dinner but just miss out the high carb parts of it.

I've done S&S about 4 times now, never stuck to it though for long enough and just want a long term solution now, which I guess is the healthy eating and exercise.

I do think low carb has a lot of benefits though, lower hunger cravings, increased energy etc..

Haha did you ever read it right through and follow all her instructions? Jeez there's a lot!!

Yeah I'm the same, I don't emotionally eat I just love food! And I have this huge emphasis on finding the perfect diet because I'm either "on" a diet, or I'm really really not. I think there's benefits to all the plans out there and as soon as I decide on one and get a few days or weeks in I start thinking how I'd be allowed have x y or z on another plan (eg, if I'm doing low carb or shakes I tell myself how much happier I'd be on ww cos I could still go out for dinner, have a drink etc THEN when I start that diet I think how much happier I'd be with bigger losses)
It's crazy but my weight has me feeling so rubbish in myself I really have to do something!

nitrox
I just get so much pleasure from eating. I need to find another way to get pleasure.
Not necessarily.
I adore food. On holiday I spend more on dinners than accommodation.
BUT
I have learned to enjoy specific meals and smaller portions of tastier ingredients. I have taught myself to eat mindfully. I have also harassed persuaded lots of the 5:2 people to stop snacking and save all their calories for nicer mealtimes.
Its about savouring each bite of the food. Choosing it. Looking at it before you eat it. And justifying to yourself that it is so tasty that the extra hour in the gym afterwards was worth it.

Wow - you really are me.

I'm the same, start convincing myself that I love fruit and salad and if only I could eat that then I could stick to a 'healthy' plan.

Also, I am the same, either on a diet or not... lol.. when I'm not on a diet I don't eat fruit / veg / drink water... I just eat toast, easy food etc.. even though I love fruit and veg. I don't get why I can't eat healthy food and have a bit of a treat now and again, but I can't, it's like I've lost all perspective on what is normal.

I don't think I've read it all, probably just the first 2 week phase!

I do think diets and gym sessions are so much easier when you aren't massively overweight, I used to go running, snowboard for 10hrs a week and do loads and it was never a chore, I enjoyed it. Now, even a walk feels like a chore and I don't get any pleasure from it at all.

I lost 6 stone in a year and a bit - around 13 months. I've tried all sorts of diets in the past and haven't been able to sustain any of them. This time I just did the classic - ate less and moved more. I counted calories on a weekly basis, so that I could have some days when I ate more 'treats' particularly in the early days, balanced by some lighter days. If I'd known about MFP I'd have used it, but at the time I wrote everything down faithfully until calorie-counting got to be a habit. I massively cut down on carbs not because I was doing the 'proper' low-carb thing (which I've tried in the past and not been able to maintain) but because sugar and white bread bump up the calorie count too quickly without enough nutrients, so I had to rely a lot less on them. And I did a lot of walking. At least 3 miles a day, usually more.

I'm not one for high-impact exercise, but I love hill-walking and a lot of the reason I wanted to lose weight was to be able to do it again as I'd got too overweight to climb hills. So when I decided I was going to lose the weight for good (the summer before last) I booked an expensive hill-walking holiday for Christmas, and it was fantastic in keeping me going - I was determined to lose the first 2 stone at least so that I'd be able to do it, and in the end I'd lost almost 3 stone before I went away. Then I booked another holiday for the summer which kept me motivated for the rest of the year. Might something similar work for you? Christmas is probably a bit near, but if you're able to take holiday in February or March could you book a snowboarding holiday for then? Or maybe scuba diving in the early summer if that's not too far away to help with motivation?