To ask how EXACTLY you have lost weight?

[twoblackdogs]

There are so many threads with the New Year resolutions, weight loss discussions, advice and probably lies as well - so many words, so many things.
I have finally reached that point from which there is no turning back. I will do this, no matter what, but - please, help me. Those of you, the heroes who have really done it - please, name 3 main things that finally helped you to get rid of that weight.
Please.

Not eating food for 3 months worked for me. 4.5 stone gone forever

But it was caused by illness so not recommended really.

What I would say though is that I have wondered if it is a key to obesity/weight loss as I'd tried everything and couldn't lose weight. I'd done MFP religiously, SW, WW App, cutting out carbs, exercise (trained for a half marathon and didn't lose an ounce !) and for 10 years had just kept getting bigger and bigger. I think by not eating for those 3 months (I was having some protein shakes with milk if I could keep them down plus supplement type drinks but no real food) I reset my system because I'm eating normally now, although smaller portions I guess as my stomach has shrunk, but my weight is staying stable. The Cambridge Diet is the one that probably best mimics this and people do have great results on it - if you can get through the first week or so.

Something called bioprint. Expensive-ish, only works with diet and exercise.
Diet - low carb.
Exercise - mainly strength training with some cardio.

Zero alcohol. Lots of water.

Lost the stubborn 1.5 stone I'd been trying to lose my whole life.

Healthy foods, tracking calories with my fitness pal and plenty of running.

Less dairy and meat.
Walking is great. I walk about 1.5-2 hours a day to work and I lost half a stone. Also it’s very good for joints and bone density as it’s a weight-bearing exercise

I also recommend My Fitness Pal! It’s a pain weighing stuff out but it really makes you think about where your calories are coming from

Personal trainer. There's nowhere to hide! And that once a week session made me go a few times more because I knew I'd be asked and so it gave me accountability
My fitness pal. Log calories. It's an eye opener!
Nothing faddy! Eat less move more

I lost two stone last year by doing 16/8 IF. I usually eat around midday and then stop eating 8 hours later so it's really not hard at all. After the first few days you just don't feel hungry in the mornings.

I also completely cut out fruit as it is just packed with sugar. I eat loads of veg though.

MFP is brilliant for tracking calories. I am full of at the PP who can lose on 2000 calories a day!!! Mine has to be set at 1200 for me to lose and 1300 to maintain.

I also walk a lot but never do any other exercise. Never been to a gym or run.

I have put a bit back on over Christmas but am hoping that giving up the booze completely will sort me out in 2020

Good luck OP - you can do this

SlimmingWorld. Lost 5 stone in 8 months and keeping it off. It’s sneered at on MN but it’s healthy eating. No one says you have to have mounds of pasta, muller lights etc. 1/3 of each meal is veg. Never hungry. Very normal family friendly way of eating. My Instagram and posting everything I eat kept me on track.

I used My Fitness Pal. It stopped me eating crap and made me walk more so I could eat more!

I also try to cut carbs, increase good fats and protein.

Have one cheat meal a week. One cheat day a month. You eat whatever you fancy for those meals/day. Burgers/chips/ice cream etc.

You see, I can’t do that. The food I eat is all treats because I eat the same food I always did, just less of it. And as I love cooking and food, I would hate to spend most of the week or month eating food that I didn’t consider a treat just so I could eat the food I like once!

Low carb, no chocolate, no crisps, no puds, no biscuits, very little wine.
Swimming, walking.

Lost 2 stone with SW this year

@Grumpos your Kit Kat’s comment made me laugh.

1. Calorie counting using my fitness pal app
2. Walking everywhere plus exercise videos on youtube
3. Determination

Cutting calories, 1200 a day, strict tracking via MyFitnessPal and running or cycling 20 mins a few times a week if I needed to go over my allowance (ie to drink wine or eat pudding). I used zero rice and noodles and courgetti instead of rice pasta etc which helped a lot. Replaced burgers and sausages with lower fat or veggie alternatives such as (eg turkey and chicken sausages) and lots of veg and stir frys.

Building muscle mass also helps a lot. I like to keep a resistance band hung over the kitchen door and try and fit in a quick my upper body whilst dinner is cooking.

Another time I only used the Virtual Gastric Band Surgery Hypnosis App, I've no idea how it worked but I was eating less because of it. That was pre-menopause.

I need to do this again in the New Year too.

4 HIIT classes a week, plenty of protein, less carbs.

19 weeks post partum and I’m a stone less than my pre-pregnancy weight. Happier & more confident than I have been in a long time.

Regular exercise and eating well is the best way to keep it off I’ve found and is sustainable as it’s more a lifestyle change than a fad diet. I also find exercise brilliant for my MH.

Another here with MFP...the mechanics are really stupidly simple. Eat at a calorie deficit over a period of time, then eat at your maintenance calories when you’ve lost what you want.

The devil is in the details... get a handle on your relationship with food, stop rationalizing your weight, and don’t set yourself up for failure while trying to overhaul your life all at once.

Stopped drinking alcohol

Blood Sugar Diet. Buy the book, read it, do it.

Diets don't work - change your mindset that certain foods are good and certain foods are bad.

Find an exercise you enjoy and do it consistently . Weight resistance exercises in the gym will change your body.

Make adjustments to your diet that you can keep for the rest of your life.

Slimming world. Only thing that's worked

Slimming world 1.5 stone down and I lost over Christmas without feeling like I really restricted myself

Intermittent fasting. It really helped reset my tastebuds away from sweet things. It also helped me realise I was mostly eating breakfast out of habit and I don't enjoy it or need it!

Checkout Rebelfit on Facebook.

Also - not denying yourself anything.

As soon as you say you can't have it then you want it and LOTS of it!!!'

Starting weight 17.8 stone, finished at 8.9 stone. Size 20 to 6-8 (I'm 5'11). This was a good few years ago, I'm the same weight (8.9st) now.

For me it was:

1. Mindset (most important). I realized that this is it, I'm fat, disgusting and cannot continue like this any more. I wanted to be slim again and decided to achieve that no matter what. There were no underlying issues for my obesity (health/depression or otherwise), just eating (way) too much junk.

2. Bought scales (kitchen&bathroom). Created my fitness pal account. Weighted EVERYTHING I ate, and I mean absolutely everything (like a piece of cucumber, for example). Logged everything in MFP every day.

3. Cut out all the junk food, all ready meals, all processed food (pretty much), fizzy drinks, and all 'bad' sugary stuff (candy, cakes, etc). Ate fruit, but not too much. Didn't cut alcohol out, but I don't drink every day and I don't drink wine/beer/cocktails (whisky only).

4. Cooked absolutely everything from scratch, ingredients weighted out and logged into MFP prior to cooking, so I knew the exact amount of calories in the meal.

5. Ate meat/fish with lots of veggies (mainly). Eggs, legumes, some grains. Didn't cut out bread or potatoes, but ate much less of it. I hate cheese, don't eat dairy and don't like pasta, so no problem with those.

6. Ate once a day. Water/coffee (unsweetened) for the rest of the day (intermitted fasting of sorts). No more than 1000kcal. NO SNACKING. Snacking increased my appetite and I ate more when snacking, not less. It was and is much easier for me not to eat at all, then eat a little bit and wait for the next meal.

7. No cheat days until I lost the majority of weight I wanted; cheating once in about two weeks afterwards.

8. Moving as much as possible, but mostly walking, no hardcore exercise.

That's about it. I did it alone as I'm not social and prefer to deal with my problems alone, but if you're more extroverted/prefer support, then maybe slimming world or similar?

Maintaining:

Still eating once a day and no snacking. I'm used to it, I've been eating like this for a good few years now, and I like it. Upped my calorie intake since weight losing days, but never go above maintenance (well, except for Christmas and the like). Don't weight my food and don't use MFP any more. I eat healthy food pretty much all the time with occasional dessert/pizza/etc thrown in. Still drink alcohol.

(Important): realized that being and staying slim is much more important to me than food and I prefer my figure over 'treats'.

Do regular health checkups/blood tests/etc, all good, no issues.

What didn't work for me: KETO. Hated every single minute of it. Heard good things, works for many people, but absolutely not for me.