To ask how long it will take to lose 4 stone?

[Donteatthekid]

I am very overweight at over 16.5 stone and 5 foot 4. This is my year to get fit and healthy and address my issues relating to food and compulsive eating. I am planning to eat sensibly and exercise daily. Nothing extreme. Any idea how long it will take? I have no idea at all! I currently hugely over eat and do zero exercise. Thanks in advance!

My SiL managed to lose 5 stone in 6 months. She started this time last year so she was bikini ready for the summer

She did intermittent fasting, Pilates everyday, 10000 steps everyday and ate a keto diet. Hope that’s helpful for you!

How long is a piece of string?

If you average a lb a week (you'll lose loads at the beginning, then it will slow down a lot), it will take you about a year. Good luck!

2lb a week is seen as advisable but at the start you will lose much more than that but toward the end of your weight loss will be more challenging. Easily done within less than a year if you are comitted.

You can lose this amount in a year, quite safely (a pound a week is a steady sustainable weight loss). It's took me over 2 years to lose that amount (and still losing), but I'm quite happy about that, because I want it to to be a lifelong change rather than being on a diet.
I suggest you do as much exercise as possible along with improving your diet. That really maximises the effects of your weight loss.

This was me last year. Though I was 14 stone and 5 foot 6. I started in March and I lost just over 2 stone fairly easily, over 4 months, by eating sensibly and tracking everything (using FitBit and MyFitnessPal). I made sure I did 10,000 steps most days. I ate under what I'd burned, but only just, usually eating about 1250 calories a day. It really worked. I didn't do any major exercise.

So yes, it's achievable. But hard work. Good luck!

NB. I should say that I then lost motivation, but mainly ate sensibly and didn't put any of the weight back on. This year I am to get down to 10st. Slowly.

I lost 6st in 2017 - and have kept it off too about 6 months for the first 4st and another 6 for the final 2st.

I did the blood sugar diet, some intermittent fasting. Ended up with life long changes rarely have bread sugar rice or pasta now - I have spuds once or twice when I want them.

Am back on a Jan health kick atm as have slipped into bad festive habits as I find it is easier to do a whole system reboot than just dial back the treats.

My top tips are
Only eat food you like
Really cut back on portion sizes
Only do exercises you like
Set short term goals
Think life long changes, you have to change the way you deal with food.
Stay positive and Just.Keep.Going!

Thank you so much everyone, feeling really positive and motivated now. I was thinking about a year but sounds like it may be achievable a little quicker. I'm sick and tired of living like this and I know shifting the weight will make a huge difference to my physical and mental wellbeing. Thanks again everyone!

Good luck OP.

I found making sure each meal was 50%veg, 25% carb and 25% protein helpful and dont over fill your plate.

If you have a bad meal, day, week then so what get straight back on it.

It took me 9 months with Slimming Wold.

Good luck! :)

op l am the same height as you, 18 months ago I needed to lose 2 stone, l did it in 4 months with the Louise Parker plan....Its an eating way of life, healthy, and sustainable.
I didn't do any additional exercise as weight loss is 90% diet anyway and l spent my time meal planning and prepping rather than doing more exercise (I am reasonably active).

I started out losing 6LB a week then it averaged out at 3-4LB until l got close to my target weight when it slowed to 1-2LB.

I will always eat this way now, as it has given so many health benefits, less painful joints, more energy, no sugar cravings, no bloating.

I do stray from time to time and eat some junk but feel so rubbish l soon revert back!

You do need to commit to planning meals and getting rid of all processed food, the book has loads of simple quick recipes, l do 4 days planning, do a food order, keep my snacks seperate from my kids ( almonds, oat cakes etc) and repeat.
It really works and is not a gimick just really healthy eating and sensible portions.

The book is on amazon

I lost 8 stone in a year and a half doing keto. I've kept it off for 3 years. So technically 4 stone could be done in 9 months ...

Best of luck Donteatthekid. I’m at my heaviest ever and starting new lifestyle this year too, (from Monday!). I hope you do well. I’m going to make sure I exercise half an hour min every day and eat healthily and cut right back on wine. If this doesn’t do it, I will use the free app MFP to log calories. I’ve eaten such junk in December I am ready for it too! I think you will feel a big difference within a couple of weeks.

I'm 5'4" as well and need to lose about seven stone, I think. I lost several in 2006 but it was unhealthily - I began well following the WW points system but I became obsessed and stopped eating, and overexercised. The slower it comes off, the more likely it's going to stay off, they say. And lifestyle changes help you keep it off. My biggest problem is wheat based carbs. Scones, welshcakes, bread, buns, cookies, all kinds of dough. My partner and I are currently working out what kind of diet we want to follow, to lose our weight and maintain the loss. Good luck, you can do it and it might only be four months. My OH lost eight in about 18 months I think (badly - turns out he mostly ate steak and chicken, I don't recommend that, it's practically Atkins!)

It took me a year to lose 3.5 stone and that only took me to 14 st something!

I'm not a quick loser. But I was happy, feeling great and exercising lots.

I lost about 3 stone over the course of 2015/6 through 5:2.
A major, and previously unconsidered, benefit for me was that the bad back I had put up with for years is SO MUCH better.
Good luck OP.

If you want to keep it off, is don't lose it too quickly. Make it a permanent change to your eating rather than a 'quick fix' diet. If you do the latter, you'll just put it all back on plus extra.

I'm doing it through WW (formally weight watchers), who recommend losing between 1 and 1 and 1/2 pounds a week. It's been pretty good so far, as I've lost 1 and 1/2 stone. (I started at about the same weight as you) . That's 2 dress sizes!

I've lost two stone in 6 weeks just from cutting carbs and not eating takeaways, chocolate etc. Most food I eat now is meat and vegetables/salads/stirfries.

Took me 5 months and 18 days to lose four stone, starting at over 15st, tracking everything on My Fitness Pal and going to the gym twice a week, with a daily calorie limit of 1100 which I found I could stick with. In total I lost 37kg (83lb), and if I can do it, you can!

Write everything down - everything. And latest research says that the quicker you lose to begin with, the more likely (not less!) you are to keep going and keep it off because it gives you a mental boost. So make the most of the initial enthusiasm!
Other tip - get digital scales and weigh everything to get an idea of portion sizes. Tesco sell really slim Salters for a tenner, which you can pop in a desk drawer/handbag etc. Useful for work. Good luck!

A few months, less than a year, but along the way, while losing weight, the positive effects will show and you will be extremely encouraged because everyone will notice.

Best not to do it too quickly, think long term. You'll be healthier that way.

I am so impressed - I lost a great deal of weight many years ago and it changed my life, I kept healthy though and sensible.

Very good wishes to you. latter in moderation.

I would aim for a slow steady weigh loss through 2019.
If you take it slow then your '2019 diet' is going to be more of a nutritional, physical life change throughout the year than a diet.
With these changes you'll be much more likely to keep the weight off as well.

I lost 4 stone in 3 months once.

That was an extreme diet. Virtually no carbs and around 500 calories a day.

It took a lot of motivation. Every evening I was counting down the hours until bed time so I could tick off another day.

I'm a bit of an all or nothing persons so I find it easier to do it intensely for a few weeks and see the weight come off by the day than maintain a diet for a year.

I was 13st5 in July and today I’m 9st3 so it took me around 5 months to lose over 4 stone. It really depends on how committed you are. I went all in and stayed focused but if you feel like you would prefer to have a few more treats or you don’t want to go too low on carbs/calories then it may take longer. Also the last stone was really slow. Tbh I lost the bulk of the weight in the first two months and it was more challenging to stay on plan when I was consistently weighing the same for a few weeks in November/December. It’s worth push through the plateaus and not losing motivation and will power but weight loss is never linear.

A sustainable rate of loss is 1-2lb per week, which averages at about 10 months. It could obviously be more or less depending on your rate of loss though. You’ll probably find you drop between 3 and 4 pounds per week for the first month, then average out at about 2lb per week for a while, then it will slow a lot at the end.

As well as weighing yourself, take measurements of your waist, hips and bust. It can often be a more accurate measure of progress than the scales.