To think I can loose weight by May without dieting?

[BigFatMamaJam]

I’ve put on a stone on weight in a year. There is no point in me trying to diet as I just don’t stick to it however ... I drink thousands of calories a week. I drink around 5 cans of lager 4 nights a week, sometimes more. I also eat takeaway roughly once a week.

AIBU to think that if I just stop drinking and stop the takeaways I can loose a stone by May?

You would definitely see a difference, that’s a lot of calories in beer every week. Will you find it hard to stop drinking though?

You'd probably lose a stone before May if you gave up drinking or switched to lower calorie options. Throw in a few brisk walks a week and keep an eye on your calorie intake via My Fitness Pal and you'll be sorted. Good luck 👍🏼

Yup the calorie deficit created by knocking the beer on the head would really help. Could you switch to something lighter like vodka, soda lime on the weekend? I wouldn’t drink 4 nights a week, it’s a bitch much and won’t help with weightmloss

Yes as long as you don’t replace the drinking with snacking.

I gave up wine and although I did reach for the sugary snacks I still lost 8lb. I exercised instead of drinking and I was generally more active in the day because I wasn't so sluggish. If you struggle with quitting the lager a good book is Alcohol Lied to Me.

Cutting out beer and takeaway is dieting

Your weight loss/ gain after that will depend on what you eat and drink apart from beer and takeaways and if you do any exercise

I will struggle yes, but it’s a pattern I’ve got into so I’m planning on changing the whole pattern. Thursday nights for instance I have a hobby I can go to, I won’t drink after it as I’m never in the mood if I’ve been exercising. Friday nights the local couch to 5k club is running so I’ll go and join in with that. Saturday will be a struggle I’ll admit.

You won’t “loose” anything by May

Oh I see the spelling police are out in force today. You got me! Congratulations ... I will consider myself well and truly arrested 😂

I think you probably will - and you'll certainly feel better! The question is whether you are still putting weight on because if the beer is what's put on the stone, there's a chance that cutting it out will just stabilise your weight rather than allowing you to lose any. I know I have to diet in order to lose weight - eating healthily will just maintain it where it is (alas!). Give it a go though - you might be luckier than me

Yes I think that'll notice a difference alright :) You shouldn't diet anyway, it's far healthier to just make sustainable long term changes to how you eat on the regular. I'd consider this the healthy way to start getting healthier anyway! Start with the take-away and beer, and when you've knocked that on the head (6 weeks usually to establish a habit?) you can look at whatever else you might like to change long term about your eating habits. Best of luck OP!

5 cans of lager 4 nights a week? Bloody hell OP!

It's a positive lifestyle change that will make you feel so much better, especially with the move to being more active. Get yourself a Fitbit too. Walking when you can will help with the fitness and the cravings.

20 cans of Heineken @210 kcal per can = 4200 kcals

Roughly 3500 kcal in a pound so by my amateur reckoning, you can still have your takeaway each week with a few vodka and sodas and you'll comfortable lose a stone for May.

Oh gosh I think you would definitely see a difference just by cutting out the takeaways and drink. I lost half a stone by cutting sugar out of coffee - I was drinking at least 5 cups a day with lots of milk and 2 heaped teaspoons of sugar everytime.

I still drink a ton of coffee with lots of milk and I'm still fat but I did lose with a minor lifestyle adjustment. I think you could easily succeed with a lifestyle adjustment and not a diet.

Is it just the lager that's got sugar in it? What do you drink when you're having soft drinks?

Should make a difference, OP.

As an aside, 'cutting out booze and takeaways' and 'making sustainable long term changes to how you eat' are dieting. . That's what dieting is - changing what/how much you eat in order to lose weight. Not sure when people suddenly decided that calling it different words makes it a different thing!

I would see this as changing her diet rather than dieting. Surely no one wants to eat/drink like that long term so this is more of a lifestyle change?

Well I lost weight by eating less rubbish so yes, as long as you don't replace the beer and takeaways with equally calorific alternatives you should lose weight.

Technically yes, Linguist. But a lot of people consider 'dieting' to be the short term (unhealthy IMO) stuff that's not sustainable long term like keto and the 'cabbage clense'. I find it helpful to differentiate between the two to avoid confusion in discussion.

'diets' always fail, which is why the 'diet industry' is so lucrative.

lifestyle change works. That's way too much booze and way too much takeaway as you know. How about decent food with vegetables? Doesn't have to cost a lot or take ages.

I lost two stone by cutting out all the chocolate I was stuffing my face with between meals. Loads of walking too.

I just wonder if there's any evidence to suggest that people actually stick to new eating habits for longer when they call them long-term lifestyle changes instead of calling them diets. I doubt it.

Sorry if I sound negative, but who do you think has rebranded it as 'lifestyle changes if not the diet industry? They know full well that 'dieting' is now a dirty word. The advertising for all the diet companies is chock full of "Lose weight without dieting. It's a positive lifestyle change,not a diet."

AIBU to think that if I just stop drinking and stop the takeaways I can loose a stone by May?

If you add in walking every day for 30minutes then yes it's possible.

@BigFatMamaJam how are you getting on?