To ask how to lose weight

[Emlou07]

Be brutal. I need a kick up the arse.

I'm 24, 5'3 and 225lb. A good 90-100lb over weight (6/7stone)

I have a borderline thyroid issue and moderate scoliosis which is causing a lot of pain recently. It also causes my whole structure to be off and puts a lot of pressure on my right foot. Two doctors (my GP and my neurologist) have told me to lose weight. I'm definitely not in denial that it's a must.

I have some mental issues with food that stem back to childhood, which I don't really want to go in to too much. But one of those 'are you going to stop feeding me again vs when will I eat next?'

The mental issues with a bad bout of PND, depression and then finally anxiety topped off with 6 months of health anxiety have definitely not helped with piling on the pounds!

I have no issue with exercise apart from the pain it causes. Swimming is fine as is cycling and walking/bouts of jogging for a while until it becomes uncomfortable.

I've tried slimming world and been unsuccessful. I had a dabble in MFP but it didn't last long. I struggle with control.

Eat less and move more, I know. But how do/did you personally do it and keep the weight off?!

What works for me:

Low carb (check out the 8 week blood sugar diet - can you do something for 8 weeks?)

Slimfast for a short period of time (say 4 weeks)

MFP (with either of the above)

I lost a few pounds by making small lifestyle changes, but honestly the only way I lost a substantial amount of weight that stayed off a while was a meal replacement diet. But I've since regained the weight so I get that it's unsustainable. I'm hoping to try again but keep it off by exercising more because that's my main issue (I spend 8 hours on my feet but work within a small area and just slump on the sofa when I get home).

Op try gradually cutting down portions and swapping snacks for lower calorie snacks. Easier than doing a drastic diet change and it will become a long term change as you get used to the smaller portions.

I cut my breakfast cereal by half and have half a slice of bread rather than a full slice and I’ve already dropped over 1kg over a couple of weeks. Very small change and I slowly got used to the smaller portion.

If this has been said already then sorry. Can't be bothered to read through.

Keep it simple.

Download mfp. This will help you create a calorie deficit (the only thing you need to do to drop the lbs)

Walk.

The end.

NO fizzy drinks, 4 l water everyday, intermittent fasting, and going camping with very little food so no chance of breaking, i find once your stomach shrinks a bit its a lot easier

Echoing the mfp. I find it focuses me on what I eat, and I like to plan my day's food in advance based around certain meals.

The thing that really helps me at the moment is to do it in stages. I have about 3 weeks on mfp, really strict, lose half a stone. Then eat normally (not binging or going much over the recommended 2000 cal) for between 1 and 4 weeks, depending on motivation, life events etc, then I do another 3 weeks or so, get another half stone off. I didn't mean to do it like this, I kept getting distracted and going of my diet but it seems to be helping me maintain the loss better. I think it's partly allowing my body to rebalance but also mentally I don't feel like I'm dieting forever, that gets me down.

I agree with pps who say you need to address the mental health issues around food. I had an eating disorder when younger and it took a long time for me to be able to diet sensibly without triggering old habits and still have to watch for it now. I know that's different to your past, but it's still something you need to work through.

Good luck!

I'm one for juicing and no rice bread or pasta

Give up both booze and all sweet stuff, cut the latter to nothing at all. Zero tolerance. Don't make any other changes at all.

Keep this up for three months, see whether it's made much of a difference. Then come back and ask again.

Exercise helps but for the seriously overweight diet is at least 90% of the battle.

The things that worked for me when I wanted to lose baby weight was a specific gym routine. This was mainly focussed around weight training as you need to build muscle to burn fat. Then adding in cardio. The weights don’t bulk you up, I’ve never felt stronger or been slimmer.
Combine this with a calorie controlled diet, no carbs at all at breakfast, I ate a lot of eggs (omelette etc) to fill me up. High protein and good fats with healthy veg. Using MFP to monitor my intake.
I actually signed up to an Olly Foster programme which was really hard work but tailored to your needs. But once you’ve done it, it becomes habit and the weight stayed off. I think the one thing that drove me to work harder was being accountable so every 2 weeks I would take pictures and my measurements/weight to see how I was tracking.
Good luck, it’s so hard to change your lifestyle totally but as others have said once you can get your mindset right and start a programme of your own design/a company then it becomes habit and a lot easier.

As pp's say, don't fret about exercise atm

Your body is made in the kitchen.

Low carb, high fat.

There's a Bootcamp starting soon, try it!

Do you want to do it individually or as a group thing ?
I joined slimming world and lost a stone plus which has stayed off for a year
The reason it is like that I think is because it has made me more concoius about what I eat , what treats are etc
For eg I used to eat crisps and a chocolate thing each day
Whilst I still do that I now have either .
I avoid puddings unless it's an occasion .
Mind you I think slimming world is too low fat if you are not careful
So I make sure I have nuts , seeds and avocado .
Since being on it my tummy struggles with fatty stuff like chips and I can now only eat a few without feeling a bit queasy .. don't kno what that is about
For me it was about changing habits for life such as a smaller amount of cheese than as much as I would naturally eat - I think as I got older it's about calories not exercise . To eat more I would need to exercise all the time .
It was a huge phychogical change tho . Good luck .

Educate yourself about nutrition, vitamins and the effect of a high sugar and carb diets can have.

Have 3 healthy meals a day and snack only on fruit. It’s normal to be hungry for your next meal.

Fill your time with achievements and joy.

You have to believe you can be slim. You definitely can be slim. Set your sights high. There’s absolutely no reason why you can’t be 7 or 8 stone as you mentioned.

You literally have to eat a lot less than you do now. Nobody needs the volume of food required to make you overweight by a stone plus. And drink more water. Not because “trendy/healthy” but because I’ve noticed that overweight people (myself included in the past) drink as much crap as they eat. Fizzy pop. Alcohol. Milkshake. Rarely water, or maybe only when they’ve run out of fizzy pop. Drinking water helps keep you hydrated, fills you up, everything works better in your body, so you process food better...

You can do it. Food is not your friend, it’s fuel. Stick to basic foods, the fancier the recipe the more your tastebuds are whetted imho. Porridge, soup and sandwich, proper dinner (eg spaghetti Bol, go easy on the portion size) and a couple of snacks. Basic normal food, not all high protein or low fat or high fat or low carb or blah blah. Just normal balanced food. Train yourself to see food as fairly boring.

Counting calories and restrictive diets are not a recipe for success if you struggle with anxiety (IMO). You will be thinking and stressing about food all day.

Ideally you need something easy(er). I think that's why the 5:2 works; just don't eat for two days of the week; simple!

Or Slimfast would probably be another good option; no stress.

Does anyone know when the next low carb boot camp starts?

I read about my fitness pal on here about 4 months ago and it has worked well and easily. I have it synced to my fitbit so earn extra calories just through walking. I also do a bit of exercise daily e.g. yoga. It has been a revelation. Still eat chocolate every day as I can work out how to use my calories in advance.

It boils down to eat less, exercise more. Easier said than done, but I don't think there are magic bullets

Perhaps keep your goals realistic and take one step at a time

A food diary might be helpful

Gastric sleeve?

I've been doing the low carb high fat diet, and there's a lovely supportive thread about it elsewhere. Because of the high fat you don't get that horrible hungry feeling, and you can do it without counting calories or anything like that. It doesn't feel too much like punishment so you can keep on it for a while without it being a problem. I never thought I'd lose weight and I've managed to shift just under 3 stone in 10 months, with only another one to go. I was also quite unfit, and I waited until I'd shifted some weight before doing anything about that - and the good news for me was that its much easier to walk quickly or do anything else once you've shifted a bit of weight off! Good luck - it really is possible to change!!

Lots of different diets and eating regimes but the main thing is to keep on keeping on long after the initial enthusiastic fortnight has passed. Marathon and not a sprint etc. etc.

Keep your end goal in sight at all times.

Walking. I walk everywhere and average 2-3 miles each day (helps that I live and work miles from train stations)
I try and do a little HIT every other day. Usually just 15-20m but it gets me moving.
I'm not a big eater or drinker but am terrible- with snacks. This is why I'm a small size but all flab. I'll be cutting down in the New Year. If I'm plating dinner, half the plate will be veg or salad, 1/4 to protein and 1/4 to carbs. I also don't tower up food. I also try to avoid bread and go for wraps or thins.
Little changes make a big difference.

Slimming world worked for me lost 3 stone this year

Hello OP 🙌🏻- firstly Recognise you’ve done a big thing by realising you want to make a change x I lost two stone (one to go!) by sticking to same breakfast and lunch every day (yog fruit and nuts, then a big salad with egg,sweet pot and a bit of feta - so not too boring - for lunch. Dinner we have fish rice and tonnes of veg. I am bad for snacking at work but I run 20 Miles a week so that counts for snacks- this has worked for me. Cooking from scratch has mad a huge difference for me, and filling up from tonnes of veg. Accept it will take time, and do it. It bit by bit - best of luck XX

OK so I loose weight by exercising everyday for 30-40 mins. If you don't have time thenget up an hour early. No excuse.

Don't drink. I have one or two glasses of wine on a Friday or sat. Seen a massive loss of bloat since stopping drinking.

Eat a big breakfast, not fry up but a big bowl of porridge with fruit or a bran cereal with fruit. Have lunch of a plain sandwich (I normally have marmite) and a small snack like a cereal bar and piece of fruit. No carbs for dinner and dinner around 500 cal. Treat in evening like a small twix.

Good luck

Slimming world and my fitness pal here. It teaches mindfulness, I want to think about the calories and syns before I decide whether they're worth it.

I eat huge veg portions to fill up, sensible protein and very little carbs. It's easy once you have weened yourself off sugar and white carbs