To want to do a drastic diet?

[Sunshinemakesmehappie]

I have gained huge amounts of weight over the last two years and am now nearly 15stone.

At my height, that’s pretty large and I’m very depressed.

Wondering about doing a liquid/shake diet. Any views?

I'm a vegan and haven't drunk alcohol in 4 months and am overweight, it can be done!! And is more common than you'd think

I did Slim&Save, and lost weight, but gained it back.

Actually lost the same amount at the same speed doing Slimming World and kept it off.

So I'd recommend SW over drastic diets any day, as you can actually eat food!

A better, more sustainable way, is to create a calorie deficit using exercise.

This is absolutely not true. It is incredibly difficult to outrun a bad diet.

Running is one of the most effective exercises for burning calories and yet on average it burns 100 calories per mile (obviously this increases or decreases based on weight and speed). So if you run 3 miles four times per week (which would be quite a lot) you'd be burning an additional 1200 calories per week.

It takes a 3,500 calorie deficit to lose 1lb or fat. So running 3 miles 4x per week means you're burning enough energy to lose half a pound per week. That is not a lot. And that loss will only occur if you are only eating your maintenance calories. If you're eating over by even as little as 150 calories per day (that's a slice of toast with butter, or one packet of crisps, or two apples, or half an avocado) you'll be cancelling out you weight loss.

Now if someone is very overweight their calorie burn might be much higher than 100 calories per mile. But their speed and stamina are likely to be much less, and so less distance is likely to be covered.

Exercise is amazing for lots and lots of reasons. It's good for your heart and lungs, it strengthens muscles, it has enormous mental health benefits, it releases endorphins, it improves self-confidence. And as part of a healthy lifestyle it can help maintain weight. But exercise alone is never going to cause weight loss if your diet is bad.

I don't understand how anybody can be vegetarian and still be overweight, unless they have some kind of underlying medical condition.

What a weird comment...! I say this as vegetarian!

Meat is generally pretty lean - not a big marbled steak, but chicken and fish etc are protein dense and low calorie.

Cheese, pasta, white bread, potatoes, olive oil, butter, cream, ice cream, custard, lots of sweets, doughnuts, chocolate, alcohol, pastry, sugar - all these things are vegetarian! And all vegetarian food can be eaten by omnivores too...

Most people aren't overweight just because they've been consuming excessive quantities of meat. It's all the other unhealthy crap that's available to vegetarians as well. I don't know why you'd think vegetarians are immune to that stuff!

I think there have been some overly harsh replies to the op.

She's already stated she's depressed.

I think we have all been there, in being unhappy with our appearance, but struggling to do something about it and making excuses, no matter how conflicted that sounds.

Clearly we all know liquid diets are a crap idea in the long run. low carb and it works for me, but we are all different, and if this gives her the immediate boost she needs then so be it.

She's clearly very self conscious about her weight. To the extent she's worried about going out and people abusing her. No it's not a good reason to not exercise but in reality if you're struggling mentally you don't t think straight.

Op do what you need to do. Think about factoring in some exercise in the mid term as it helps us tone up, it's more than just helping you lose weight, It's about toning your body as you do.

Good luck.

I'm a fat vegetarian- carbs are very energy dense (but tasty!)
I have a stone to lose to take me to a healthy BMI. I have reduced carbs, eating lots of vegetables instead!

I know fat vegans. If you fill up on bread, beans, pulses, sugars and alcohol you can be overweight without ever letting animal products pass your lips.

haven't read the full thread but could you try calorie counting OP?

I did this and lost about a stone and a half. still ate biscuits and chocolate etc but less of it. didn't feel deprived.

can still eat convenience food (you mentioned you have nowhere to cook) and ready meals etc

you just have to count everything.

I found my appetite decreased the longer I carried on too so it did get easier.

I don't understand how anybody can be vegetarian and still be overweight, unless they have some kind of underlying medical condition

I weighed more as a vegan than I ever did as a veggie or omni, because I got really into food and cooking and eating out. I’m such a foodie and love eating and there are plenty of things you can eat on a vegan diet to gain weight (chips!?)

And to be fair, weight gain is all about taking in more calories than you expend. If you overeat by having a couple of bananas per day above the calories you need for maintenance you’ll gain.

Losing it now: down a stone in 4/5 weeks. Just simple CICO (calories in calories out). Tracking calories, eating whatever I want as long as it’s within 1200 calories per day. It can’t fail if you have the willpower to stick to the calories. And i know from experience, you will only have the willpower once you genuinely want to change and lose weight. Until you WANT to change, you won’t.

Willpower is just making a decision and then sticking to it. Knowing when you’re tested and have the opportunity to overeat that you already made the decision not to earlier on. It’s been revolutionary to think this way.

OP: nobody can lose your weight for you. Get MyFitnessPal, set your calorie goal (1200-1500 per day), stick to it. Exercise if you like but it’s not necessary for weight loss. Just create a calorie deficit. If you don’t do it, ask yourself why, you’ll probably find it’s because you don’t want it badly enough yet. Hopefully the day where you say ‘enough is enough’ will come before serious health problems as a result of being overweight.

Bluntness is right, go easy on the OP, she came here looking for help and advice, not to be lectured and sniped at. Good luck OP, there are many methods for losing weight, you'll find one that fits with your life. I did a lemon juice- maple syrup- cayenne pepper fast for five days, was not enjoyable or sustainable for long, but it BEGAN me on the process of decreasing. I still regained weight when i came off the fast, but did not ever return to my previous high. It was a jump start, so I think there is a place for a liquid diet in the short term.

Try a water fast. I do a 30 to 40 day water fast each year for religious reasons and the weight comes off very fast.

Try even 5 days to start with and see if it's for you.

Lots of good advice here. I do believe in drastic diets (they help to break the routine) and slow diets (for longer term). For those with excuses to start, you've got to be in the right mindset and no one prompting you to get on the wagon will succeed until you put yourself on the wagon with the right mindset. Been there myself.

Lost over 3 stone with calorie cycling (1000kcal day - 1800kcal day on alternate days, everything very approximate).

Mainly whole foods, no bread and little of other carbs.

I could not do Slimming word (too lean and I don't like pasta etc.) and any point base or any too restrictive diet as it causes me too much of stress.
Wasn't happy with 5:2 as I found 500kcal too restrictive.

Happy with my calorie cycling, low carbs and high-ish fat on occasions, and exercise what I can fit around my kids as a single mum (a dvd workout, a simple exercise regime, cycling, walking etc.).

Need 2 more stones to lose so getting back into gear after staling for a year.

Good luck everyone.

Try a water fast. I do a 30 to 40 day water fast each year for religious reasons and the weight comes off very fast

No you don't. You'd be close to death and displaying severe effects of starvation.

Why do people post shite, what's wrong with them?

piss do you mean you fast in the day and then have a meal in the eve???

Wait... a water fast? As in, just water? Or no water?

No you don't. You'd be close to death and displaying severe effects of starvation

Why do people post shite, what's wrong with them?

She could be telling the truth. Many of people have water fasted for a month and came out feeling great afterwards, I would say 40 days is a bit extreme though, the most I managed to do is 5 days.

Pssssst. Over here.

Dammit. tries again

She could be telling the truth. Many of people have water fasted for a month and came out feeling great afterwards, I would say 40 days is a bit extreme though, the most I managed to do is 5 days

She's really not. At 30 to 40 days she'd be hospitalised due to the severe effects of starvation, her internal organs would be damaged and she'd have severe malnutrition. By the 45 days she'd likely be dead. The human body cannot survive happily for that length of time without significant health impacts.

Many people have not water fasted for 30days and came out feeling great. It's humanly impossible

I really wish people would not post dangerous shite on line.

I stand corrected on the 'overweight veg/vegan' thing, my apologies.

Vegetarianism has worked very well for me, but I think my diet/exercise philosophy might have been different prior to stopping eating meat anyway, so that's an influencer.

If your diet is high in fat/carbs anyway, then presumably you'll continue eating high fat/carbs. Even when I ate meat, I ate (and continue to eat) a lot of veg, low GI carbs etc. I've just replaced animal proteins with non-animal proteins, so dropped some calories in terms of fats.

TBH, I very rarely eat pasta/bread/cheese or anything like that, so it's not hard for me.

@pissedonatrain

Try a water fast. I do a 30 to 40 day water fast each year for religious reasons and the weight comes off very fast.

No you don't, you lunatic.

Unless you fucking drown or something, I dunno.

I don’t know why people are saying that she doesn’t do water fasting for 30-40 days, you can survive on only water for a long time.

When I said “they have come out feeling great” I meant that the whole body feels cleansed, taste buds have been reset etc.

I don’t think anyone should water fast for over 7 days.