Where do I start (weight)

[JacktomyDaniel]

Trying to make this very short and consice so you don't give up 😂
I'm not looking for a quick fix but have so far to go that I don't know how to begin. I need to lose around 4 stone. I'm only 5ft tall and a size 16/18. I hate how I look.
I have conflict in that I'm a firm believer in you only live once and I love food but I can't go on like this. I'm relatively fit and train at martial arts 3 times a week but it's not helping really (I'm a year in) on its own.
I've decided to do dry January as I drink way too much (4 bottles wine a week ish) and know this is massively empty calories.

Basically I'm wondering if anyone has tips, motivation, tried and tested methods.
I thought about doing a target a month to make it less daunting so this month kick the drink, next month add in a walk a day etc.

Sorry I know it's not aibu but I really need help. I hate myself.

I would start a food diary so you can see everything you eat over a week or a few days. Then cut down on biscuits, snacks etc slowly, and start adding in more veg. From my experience, you don't want to change overnight!

Up the exercise, start walking more or doing at home workouts. I like Hasfit and Popsugar good luck OP!

Thank you. Most of my family are normal weight so they are very much, just stop eating but I use food for everything. Celebration, commiseration, boredom. Just need alternatives now x

Choose to love yourself not hate...the booze is a good place to start, agree with pp re:snacking, veg upping.I would aim to reduce booze as a permanent if your into 4 bottles a week league....

There’s a low carb bootcamp starting on MN in a couple of weeks - full of lovely supportive posters who are or were where you are. I’ve list just over 3 stone, around 22kg last year, and eat lovely food. Look it up?

I lost similar amounts of weight 4-5 years back. I did 1and half months slimfast then counted calories using my fitness pal.

I too enjoy my food and will have periods of indulgence. I tighten up my calorie counting again for a bit so I'm back to losing. For the most part I've stayed fairly close to a comfortable weight. My fitness pal worked for me because I felt I could have (mostly) what I wanted (but in much smaller quantities!!!)

I did swim and also very unexpectedly fail in love with the les mills stuff at the gym. Obviously can't go out to the gym now,(and there have been other periods when I couldnt) so I have a les mills on demand membership

The hardest part will be breaking the sugar addiction. Try and eat little and often for the 1st few days to keep your blood sugar steady, you may get a bit of a headache and feel like shit for a bit but I promise you will feel amazing once you get over that.
You will start tasting your food again and really enjoying your meals and being good to yourself. I lost 3st in 2019 and have rebounded slightly since lockdown but looking forward to getting on it again. You can absolutely do it!!!

P. S Lots of water!!!

Intermittent fasting is great if you don't want to spend any money, weigh or measure or record anything (this is my pet peeve, I HATE weighing and measuring and calculating). There are lots of options - I did 5:2 and then 6:1 once I reached a weight I was happy with and am now experimenting with a daily eating window.

Cannot recommend the fast800 and 5:2 enough. Very low carb diet but tasty recipes and incredible results.

I lost 4 stone through walking - at least 4 miles a day, every day. Also had my main meal at lunchtime (1pmish) and then a snack for tea - eggs on toast, cheese and crackers etc. Took about 9 months and lost one, sometimes two pounds a week.

Have you tried MyFitnessPal app? It’s brilliant, has helped me a lot!

Get running! I do 5k every other day and lost 3 stone in 6 months. It has suppressed my appetite too.

I did lose a stone in 21 days Michael Mosley fast 800, also did couch to 5k. Took about 2 months to lose the second stone. Have another stone to lose (possibly more as have eaten all the cheese-but I tend to do 16.8 and low carbish so no longer worried).

Thank you so much everyone for being lovely. To the poster who mentioned the wine I absolutely agree. I console myself with the fact I don't "need it" as in have quite happily had none since hogmanay but it's a terrible habit for liver, numbing feelings and obviously the calories. My aim is to stop completely and I know from having done so in the past that my sleep quality and energy levels increase hugely.
I need to get started and go with it. Its this initial overwhelming period that I struggle with.
I remember getting to 11st and being mortified. Now I'm over 13st 😭

Sorry also to add when not at work I'm living in my husbands jogging bottoms, pyjamas or leggings. I obviously wash daily but no longer wear nice clothes partly because they don't fit and partly because it's uncomfy. I don't bother with hair or make up so look a mess.
I tried for a while making an effort daily but as soon as I was done I'd hate myself and think what's the point because everyone else looks better anyway. Don't even get me started on the days where I think I look great and then someone takes a pic and I'm 🤮

I'm needing to loose about 5 stone. I'm just over 13 stone and 5ft 2. I lost a substantial amount of weight previously but put it back on :-( what worked at the time was more exercise and eat less. No snacks at home, except baby bells, fruit and nuts. And made all my food from scratch. I didn't calorie count or follow any particular diet. Also, exercise really suppressed my appetite so my desire for extras diminished.

(Main reason my weight went back on was due to injury preventing me exercising so I became depressed.)

I'm with you in that I use food for celebration, boredom, mood. I'm trying to change that.

You can do this jacktomydaniel and believe me - you’re not alone!!!

I’ve just downloaded MyFitnessPal again, along with the dry January app. I like the little congratulations graphic you get after clocking a dry day

I have two stone+ to lose, and I’m determined. Come on over to the weight loss board, loads of lovely mnetters there for inspiration.

Is that where the low carb bootcamp will be ifeelmuchlessfat ?

@SunscreenCentral I’m crap at linking but in the Talk section you’ll find ‘Low carb bootcamp’. Look for the latest thread - think it’s Happy Christmas Bootcampers or similar, run by Biwi.
Lots of lovely supportive mumsnetters. Biwi will post a link to the new thread on or before 11 Jan I think, as she likes to give people the time to shop/prepare etc.

OP in case it helps, I've started a thread for "no boring diet talk".

Im not sure if i'm allowed to link to it but the idea is no diet talk, just an update on how we go, plus random interesting chat, on the basis that having interesting things to do often stops overeating - as well as having interesting stuff to do.

So far our chat has included upholstery, keyboard/piano, knickers, budgies (no, not that kind, the bird) and martial arts training sounds interesting.

On the weight loss board. The first rule of interesting things club is don't talk about dieting! 😁 its just something that happns while we crack on with other stuff.

Instead of trying to cut down and looking at the negatives, maybe try to add positive habits. If you add enough, you'll crowd out the unhealthy things you do. For example, set yourself targets about how much water you'll drink each day or aim to eat fruit as snacks.

I think if you enjoy food and like to make it a central part of life then it's a good idea to "invest" in it. Focus on becoming a fantastic cook, but of meat, fish, and most especially vegetables. Make vegetables a central part of the meal rather than an afterthought - check out Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cookbooks for inspiration, and fill your spice rack to bursting! That way there is no need to be hungry, you still get to love and think about interesting food, and you have the huge bonus to your health of eating a wide range of different vegetables rather than just losing weight.

@JacktomyDaniel

here's the link to the next Bootcamp!

You would be very welcome to join, and I can guarantee that as well as losing weight, you will enjoy lovely food.

That’s a really high alcohol consumption. Cutting that completely plus a lunchtime daily walk would be a jump start and you’ll probably look and feel much healthier too.

An average bottle of wine has about half your day’s calories.

You need to stop hating yourself. Tell yourself you are worth looking after and worth nice meals.
Once you start exercising even a half an hour walk a day at first it releases feel good hormones. If i feel crap i go out walking with ds for a few hours. Nature really helps.
And give yourself time and small goals. A pound off a week soon adds up. I also took pictures of myself every half stone I lost.
I lost 5 stone with ww but obviously with covid you cant go to meetings.
It took me 9 months and i hit my goal weight in a summer month so could buy lots of lovely clothes.
I started at 15 stone so much heavier than you.

Thank you so much everyone. I will definitely check out those boards later on. I'm so glad you are all so willing to understand. It really helps 😊

Like a pp said choose to love yourself. You are amazing. Don’t you think you deserve to treat yourself well?
When it comes down to it, that much alcohol is dangerous to your body. It’s harmful and can slowly cause damage.
You and your body deserve to be well and healthy. Think of all the vitamins and food that your body needs to run well and limit the things that causes harm.