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.

I gave up sugar. Pregnant again now but I'd lost 2.5 stones.

All the posts here are great. And inspiring. But they tell you how other people lost weight, and not what will work for you.

You need something tailored for YOUR body, YOUR metabolism, YOUR lifestyle and family needs. What do you think has contributed to your current weight? A sweet tooth? lack of time leading to take-aways / fast food? snacking with the kids at tea time then eating dinner with your dp? eating too much (portion control)? working somewhere that has a sweets/biscuits/cake culture? Are you active or sedentary?

From all the ideas that people have given you choose the one that appeals the most. Plan for it, do it, and stick with it (for at least 3 months). Then once that is stable and part of your routine, add in another idea that appeals. For example, cut out sugar and dense carbohydrates (of course salad and veg have carbs but you have to eat a ton of lettuce to get the same amount as a sweet potato). Then maybe a couple of months later add in time restricted eating by pushing back your breakfast by 30 minutes per week and never eating after your dinner (the kitchen is closed!).

Maybe join a group - lots of ones on mn for different approaches.

One glass of warm lemon water first thing (7am) in the morning on an empty stomach.
After an hour (8am)Two wholemeal toast and tea or cereal.
I will not eat anything then until 4pm which is then I will eat my dinner.A balanced meal with veg/salad/protein.
I have a bowl of pineapple around 6pm then will not eat anything after that until breakfast.
I also do a lot of walking everyday.
I stay away from take away food,fried food and sweets and chocolates!Thank god I don't have a sweet tooth!

Cut down on calories and exercise. You need to change your diet AND exercise too - not just one or the other. It will seem hard at first but once you start seeing results you will have motivation to keep going.

Losing weight is mathematically - very easy. All the different diets - Slimming World, WW, Dukan, Keto wtc boil down to one thing.....

Calories In Vs Calories Out - CICO

You will have a Total Daily Energy Allowance - that is, how many calories you need to eat that day to survive. As a general guide for women it is 2000 but depends on your current weight, height etc. There are specific calculators online to work in out.

Calories in - EVERYTHING that passes your lips will have a calorie value. Some will be extremely little (water), some will be high (cake).

If calories in is greater than calories out, you will gain weight.
If it is the same - you will maintain your current weight.
If it is less - you will lose weight.

A pound in weight is judged by be around 3500 calories of energy so to lose 1 pound a week, you need a deficit of 500 calories a day. 2 pounds, 1000 calories a day etc.

Therefore you need to record everything you eat or drink - absolutely everything. All SW, WW etc do if use the above method with their 'system' laid over the top to make it easier. However it is actually very easy to do yourself if you have the discipline + you save yourself the weekly charge.

Juice cleanses, Dukan, weight loss tea, Cambridge - every diet - is based around CICO.

Lost 2 and a half stone this year very easily.
My 3 top things:

1. Buying a spiraliser and using courgetti instead of pasta or noodles or potatoes.
2. Buying Michael Moseley book, 8 week blood sugar diet, easy to read and understand, leading to not eating refined carbs.
3. Not eating until midday, nor after 8pm.

Agree with others, it's about what works for you and we ar all different.

Example,

I do keto. It works for me because I'm a sugar addict and it's what gives me cravings and makes me over eat. I'm not really interested in bread cereal, potatoes, pasta etc.

My friend just did slimming world, it works for her, because she loves things like pasta and rice. I don't like the food she eats, it's all fat free sugar free and tasteless for me, so I couldn't do it.

Another friend calorie counts, she often feels hungry and tracks everything but the control works for her. I don't want to feel hungry and I want to eat when I am. I'm also too lazy to track. So loosing interest in sweet things, works for me. What I do wouldn't work for them.

The only golden rule that applies for everyone is you need to reset your eating habits for life. Yes you can have days or weeks off, special occasions like Christmas, nights out etc, but generally you need to accept you can't go back to eating like you used to consistently, because it's what made you gain weight in the first place.

If you can't do that, and slowly revert to old eating habits, then the weight is coming back on as a guaranteed result.

Loosing weight is only half the battle, keeping it off is the long term effort that always needs to be a key factor when deciding what works for you.

Lost one stone by
1 logging every calorie I ate in My Fitness Pal app
2 did 16:8 so I stopped eating breakfast first thing in the morning and ate my food over 8 hours
3 allowed myself to feel hunger!

Mine was the following:

1. mindset change - I don’t really like sugary things. I don’t need to eat them.

2. Timed eating- 16:8 I only do two meals a day, which helps cut down calories but still have filling meals.

3. Fast 800

I’ve lost 2 stone and have two more to lose.

Haven't got rid of it all yet but what helped me was as simple as this. Making a massive effort to eat less than I had been. I find meal prepping at the start of each week very useful. Cut out most of my snacking. Using myfitnesspal to track calories. I am eating loads less than I was on slimming world and now realise why I found it so hard to lose weight on SW, I was eating more calories than I was using up

I had gained about a stone after having ds and weight was generally increasing so I

• cut back alcohol to one glass of wine a week if any at all
• started running twice a week. Initially 15 mins of walk/run.

I’m steady at 9st 12 (I’m 5’8”) and have been for 7 years now. I don’t get colds any more and have a lot more energy so lots of benefits.

1000 calories a day, eaten over 8 hours. No alcohol. Hardly any bread, potatoes, pasta etc. Just protein and veg or salad. Good quality fats eg olive oil, butter or cheese in limited amounts.

Lost two and half stone reasonably easily.

Basically I was addicted to sugar and refined carbs.

Stick to 1200 calories a day (myfitness pal helps u do this). Do 60 mins walk a day.

Yes definitely 1000-1200 calories. The weight should drop off

1200 calories and no alcohol. I try to keep my carbs to under 30g a day which I track in my fitness pal.

Watching with interest

I swap 2 meals a day for diet whey protein shakes, and increased my exercise a little.
I really do mean a little - I have a light weight kettle bell and do 2 short sessions a day which is my limit as need to rebuild fitness after major surgery.
I don't stop eating foods I like, just limit quantity otherwise I'd be a grouchy cow.

1 and a half stone loss - Break up

Actually that would make it 13 1/2stone loss

I worked on improving my gut health by drinking kombucha, eating less sugar and more fibre - and this has really re-set my appetite and led to slow but steady weight loss. After 40 years of struggling with my weight, this is the only thing that has been successful. Diets don’t work, it has to be a lifestyle shift. My husband does 5/2 fasting, but I just can’t manage that. I do find 8/16 (hours) more manageable though - where the 16 hours is overnight.

5:2. Two days of dieting a week. 1 stone less in 6 weeks.

Biking, zumba, yoga all contributed to strength and wellbeing but harsh reality is to lose weight, you need to diet

The only thing that's worked for me, and quickly, is doing low carb. I cut out bread, pasta, rice, flour, potatoes. No sweets or cakes. Times I felt like a 'carb hit' with a meal I'd have say 2 small Yorkshire puddings on the side. I lost weight that way without doing much exercise, although when the weather is nice I walk quite a lot.

Keto and intermittent fasting... over 3.5 stone lost since June

OP here
Thank you, thank you, thank you all. I have read the whole thread several times, and entries still keep coming. This means so much to me, and most probably also to others who have been reading and taking notes.
So this is what I shall do.
For the first three months Jan to Mar:

1. cut out all sugar. It is so addictive, I can never stop at one biscuit/one square of chocolate etc., I must have it all - and this means I mustn't even touch the stuff.
2. 16:8. That would fit easily with my life/work/family.
3. walk lots each day.
4. and download My Fitness Pal too.
5. and weigh myself every week, and write down the results, so I can see how it's going. Starting from April there should be some results from all that, so I could add C25K, as it will be a bit easier on my feet.

And then we shall see.
Once again, thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I just needed some confirmation it really can be done, and here it is. Now I just need to hold on.

My fitness pal. Lost a stone in four months. It's free and simple calorie counting. Fab.