How do I shift this stone?

[WittgensteinsBunny]

I’m 36, 2 dds and think I eat a healthy diet, I’ve started exercising more after a fairly sendatry winter with moving house. 2 years ago when dd2 was a year old I was at my happy weight of 9 stone. Since stopping breastfeeding last summer I just seem to have piled on the weight. I am unhappy. I hate my body.

At Xmas I was 10 stone 2. Since Xmas I’ve given up drinking completely, started exercising. Today I asked them to weigh me at the gym and I’m 10 stone 3. I’m absolutely devastated. I haven’t stopped crying since I left the gym. It’s not muscle. I lose weight when exercising - or at least used to.

I want this stone gone. Please let me know your best weight loss tips. I’m 5’ 5.

Water is amazing too. Lots of it. Drink a pint before each meal. And instead of fizzy sugary drinks you can make fizzy water with half a lemon squeezed in, delicious.

My body certainly reacts differently to diet post-kids and as I get older so I think you have to be even more careful of what you eat as you get older

Don't be devastated though OP. You're getting a grip before there's too much damage and you have a good basis for a healthy diet going forward

Good luck!

You are eating good foods and maintaining on what you eat now... and so you just need to eat a little less to lose weight.

No need to cut anything out. Just make your portions smaller.

(Do look at calorie values. An extra teaspoon of butter can make a big difference - whereas a few extra sprouts won't really count.)

I clicked into this thinking you'd just bought a house with a big stone at the end of the garden or something

The 'system' I've found most useful is the not eating in the evening thing. Massive difference!!! And I like the idea of giving your digestion a real break, with only water going in.

It's the 16:8 thing (fast for 16 hours) but I often don't manage 16 hours.

I find it easiest to have a meal at say 3-4pm then not eat til breakfast, but other folk miss breakfast and eat at 10-11am.

Also, lower carbs and completely cut out sugar. That seems to be the trick with the sugar thing - it's not a case of just a little bit. I only saw and felt a difference when I cut it out completely.

Not to sound smug or patronising but it really is a case of eating less than you use. Download myfitnesspal, buy yourself a a digital food scale and weigh and log everything you eat along with all exercise. I use a fitbit bit for the exercise part of the equation and find it pretty accurate but not everyone does. You do not need to go low carb or any other restrictive diet (I'm veggie, but that's because I feel better in myself not eating meat). I lost 10 stone doing this, maintained for 4 months until I deliberately ate above maintenance for marathon training and have lost that weight I put on in 3 weeks.

But how can exercise that burns calories not help with weight loss? Unless op I replacing these calories with extra food, which she doesn't seem to be. I feel hungry if I'm not eating carbs and im more likely to reach for junk then! I do aim for one no carb meal a day. Op I'm v similar I am 5/3 and 9 stone, would like to lose a half stone. Didn't move all winter and now doing c25k 3x per week. If I kick all the sugar and pizza I'd give up so I am allowing small amounts, previously a binger. I think it's depressing that what you've described is apparently too much!!

Oh and if you do join myfitnesspal and are looking for inspiration for meals etc I'm Firef1y72 and my diary is open

WB, i find if I don't eat anything until a late lunch that helps me and my body seems to like the intermittent fasting too.

Then make your lunch just fish or meat or eggs plus veg.

You might find you could ditch breakfast. Most things are just a habit that can be changed if needs be.
Also if you ate say just eggs for breakfast and nothing else you may not be hungry for longer.

However whichever way you do it if you eat fewer calories than you expend you will lose weight.

Google image visceral fat. Honestly, each time I am about to give my diet up, I remind myself of how bad it is. 😷

Visceral even!

Please dont be too upset - i have been hitting the gym harder for the past 8 weeks... 3/4 times a week (sometimes 5) and eating at lot less sugar than i usually would and i have only lost 3lb BUT i feel amazing and my body shape is definitely changing which to be fair i have only just noticed after looking at a before photo..

Take a photo in just knickers and bra and do it again in a month... im pretty sure you will see a difference.

I've been struggling with that one stone.

Trying, giving up, trying again.

I do find it easiest when I don't eat breakfast.

Have started on the BSD today.

Again.

Exercise has potential to lose fat and to add weight. If you exercise and increase muscle, muscle is heavier than fat.

First thing is to stop weighing yourself. You sounded happy until they weighed you at the gym.
Carry on with your exercising, could you do a wee bit more walking, say when you might use the car, walk instead. Very slightly less food intake can make the world of difference over a long time.
I go by the way my clothes fit, no scale use.

Don't beat yourself up over it! You're still a healthy weight for your height. Try and avoid crash dieting or fads. There's some good advice on here. It'll work given time.

I'm going to repeat what others have said really - its your food that's causing the problem.

I'm close to your stats (or was pre pregnancy) I'm 5ft 6 and about 10 stone. If I want to get down to 9 stone, I'd need to eat 1200 calories or less a day. Which is extremely hard.
Looking at your daily diet, I'd say you're eating at least 1500 which is probably around maintenance for your weight and size.

Download My Fitness Pal. Enter EVERYTHING. And I mean, literally everything that passes your lips. Weigh your food so you know how much you're having and enter it all in religiously.

If the calories you consume are less than the calories you burn on a daily basis, you will lose weight. Aim for 2lb a week loss and you will get there. 7 weeks is not a long time to stick to it and lose a stone.

Completely off topic but I've spent so long out in the field with the tractors that I came on this post fully expecting to see a photo of a large piece of limestone obstructing a garden. Sorry.

I'm in the same boat, OP, and even posted about it. I cut right back on my eating, took up running again, six weeks later I hadn't lost a single ounce. I only need to lose about a stone too, but I'm post menopause and thinking that it's nature's way of telling me to sit in front of the TV and stuff my face. Not going to, though...

I eat 1200 calories a day on my fitness pal when I want to lose weight and it works.It really makes you realise what calories are in foods

Your like me OP, far, too much bread.
Try replacing the bread with more salad/vegetables.Get the nice leaves like rocket/baby leaf lettuce etc to make things more interesting.
Top tip here, buy some very large oranges and have one before a big meal. I was astonished at how less hungry I was and I didnt want to eat sweet thing after my meal either. I know that peeling them is a PITA so cut them up with the skin with a knife. they only have about 50-60 calories in.

i stopped weighing myself and have a tape measure that i take waist, back and hip measurments once a week instead.

I started losing weight by low carbing. I lost 2 stone that way in 9 weeks.

I wanted to eat a wider range of foods and so changed to 'Slow Carb' diet to lose the last stone, and I am so much happier on it.

I lose more weight when I drink a lot of water (2.5 litres plus a day at least)

I treat myself each day with 90% plus dark chocolate and a glass of red wine, so dont feel I am missing out on anything.

I drink black coffee, black tea and green tea.

If i have juice its either grapefuit juice (as a weekend treat), or sometimes i blitz up some fresh ginger with lemon juice and have that.

My sweet tooth is definitely gone and I no longer crave sweet or carby things.

Keep the meals youre eating but spend 1 tedious week actually weighing everything you eat and logging it on myfitnesspal. You'll soon see any portions that are too big. Also dont ditch snacks or youll end up giving in.. but have them as occasional treats, not daily routines

Porridge was my downfall. I was constantly hungry when I had porridge for breakfast. Things improved rapidly once I ditched it. Now I don't bother with breakfast at all except a glass of water. And the snacks have gone too. Took about a month to re-educate my body (stomach) but it seems to have stuck.
I also swear by exercise. It's a very simple equation- calories in versus calories out. You can send a whole load of calories to the out side of the equation in an hour of exercise and it makes a healthier heart, bones, etc etc.
PS. At 5ft 5 and 10 stone you're not actually overweight.

i don't agree with ditching all carbs.start with a diet to sustain for living.
so its about balance just cut back bits and bobs here and there but not one group.you want something you can go on with,a comfortable plan of a balanced diet.you less likely to keep going if you are cutting out thinngs and will crave what you don't let yourself have
carbs are so very important people! you have jave to get those portions right.
you've done so well.
did you notice though how you cried when you jumped on the scale?im not saying you were walking roun happy with your weight but at least you were keeping going more positive in your weight loss plans.
but seeing that number did that to you and that all wrong.your worth and emotions should not feel a hit like that.
you brilliant for what you do every day.for wanting to be healthier is great too.
your weight doesn't sound a lot.your target even less!so is it realistic fr you.are you overweight?because from what I can see your bmi is pretty dam perfect.
big events or changes in life can lead to a body change to.so oculd you natural resting weight be this new weight?as tough as that sounds having a baby might have adjusted the shape of things.but it doesn't have to mean you now overweight or gross.
don't beat yourself up or be so unhappy.