My weight is out of control - help please

[Lemonandgingers]

posting as a last ditch attempt to get my weight under control.

I ballooned during lockdown, I gained around 45-50lbs, which I desperately need to lose.

Health wise I feel horrendous. My mental health has declined, I keep getting depressive episodes directly linked to my size, but they zap my motivation.

I feel so stuck. It’s such a lot to lose, I feel out of my depth, I weigh more now than I did when heavily pregnant

If anyone can offer any words of advice I would really appreciate it. I feel overwhelmed, ashamed, and really sad. I know I have to do something - I’ve considered meal replacements, but I don’t want to pile the weight back on again if I ever lose it!

I am so desperate to change. Tia

Another vote for Fast 800 as mentioned by another poster.

It combines Intermittent Fasting (which means you eat within a specific window of time, you could start off eating within a 12 hour window and fasting for a 12 hour period, then gradually move on to eating within an 8 hour window and fasting for 16 hours).

The main principals of Fast 800 are to focus on a Medeteranien Style diet, consuming moderate carbs and making sure you get a good amount of protein so you feel full. You don't eat any "diet" or "low fat" products as fat helps you feel sated and you avoid added sugars and sweeteners.

The benefit of this way of eating is that once you get to the end of the "very fast" bit (where you eat 800 cals a day) you've mostly broken your addiction to sugar and refined carbs so you're less likely to go into a binge cycle as you are no longer addicted to sugar.

Also couch to 5k too (I'm on week 5 of C25K at the minute and have gone from running in 1 minute chunks and struggling with that, to having run for two 8 minute bouts on Wednesday..... It was hard but I did it)! The C25K Facebook group is hugely motivating.

I've recently signed up to the joe wicks body plan and it is so good. Meals for you to pick from and workouts. Really supportive community too.

Personally I had to join a group (SlimmingWorld)
I lost 3 stone before the first lockdown and then put it all (and then some!) back on.
I rejoined 12 weeks ago and hopefully next week will collect my 2 stone 'award'
I like S/W as you can have carbs (pasta / potatoes) which works for me
I have really tried:
Drinking more water (I used to never drink any)
Snacking - replacing biscuits!
Cutting down on takeaways
Less alcohol
Less tea (was addicted!)
I have cut out bread as that is my downfall !
But I agree with PP - start with the little changes like substituting full fat / low fat sugar / sweetener
Also eat more protein as this will fill you up!

Paul mckenna worked for me. Didn't feel like I was on a diet (I wasnt) and I actually kept a lot of it off for around 8 years until lockdown and even now I am not quite up to the weight I was pre-PMcK. I am about half a stone lighter than I was at my heaviest. The main thing for me is that it is very sustainable. I had tried many diets and lost weight but quickly regained it. The best thing about it is that you never have to eat anything you don't really like and if you're hungry (not bored) you can eat

I promise I am not on commission from or employed by Paul McKenna

I love 7 1/2 stone last year. I stuck to 1200csls a day, weighed everything and measured on MyFitnessPal, plus gave up alcohol. I also started c25k.
My weight has been stable for 8 months now, I reintroduced the odd bottle of cider, and I don't rigidly weigh things anymore but I keep a very careful eye, and stick to small portions snd put thought into it. Still running 4 x a week too.

@PopcornMuncher

Paul mckenna worked for me. Didn't feel like I was on a diet (I wasnt) and I actually kept a lot of it off for around 8 years until lockdown and even now I am not quite up to the weight I was pre-PMcK. I am about half a stone lighter than I was at my heaviest. The main thing for me is that it is very sustainable. I had tried many diets and lost weight but quickly regained it. The best thing about it is that you never have to eat anything you don't really like and if you're hungry (not bored) you can eat

I promise I am not on commission from or employed by Paul McKenna

The gastric band or I can make you thin?

I can make you thin. Haven't tried.the gastric band

Slimming World is a great plan to follow. Ive recently lost a stone in a 1.5 months.

It's easy to follow with lots of support. It's a new way of seeing eating so should be easy enough to maintain too xx

First of all, stop treating your body with shame. Love yourself and your body despite your weight gain. This can really help you getting back on the right track.

If you love your body and want to treat it with respect, you don’t think about dieting.
You start thinking about how to keep your beloved body healthy by nourishing it with healthy foods and drinks and giving it enough exercise. The weight loss will follow.

Really, get rid of the shame first. It’s a very harmful emotion in this context that prevents you from taking care of yourself.

Contact your GP first they can check your health you may have an under-active thyroid say how you feel and they can give you a free referral to WW or SW.

Alternatively log what you eat be honest and gradually up your exercise.

Also worth a read is one of the Michael Mosley books. I do a little bit of TRE with WFH.

Set small achievable goals like I want to loose half a stone within a month or if say just over 14 stone say I want to get into the 13 stones or if 16 stone X say I want to get into the 15 stones by Y etc.

Also but a cheap FITBIT if you don’t have one or use you phone and try and do X steps a day say 8K steps a day and gradually increase it to 10K and walk a little but faster.

I have a lot to loose 6-7 stone but I am really tall. I have lost just over a stone by drastically reducing carbs, sugars and alcohol and upping my walking. It can be done.

Take care OP

The 16/8 has really worked for me. I am sure it really is just about calories overall but I find the pattern helpful and my weight has been more stable than usual. I think it means you don't really have those days when you just carry on eating because you've slipped up already as you have the cut off time and sticking to that is also a success IYSWIM. I don't stick to it at weekends as that would make me too fed up so do it mon-fri. So water until about 11.30 am. Small lunch, maybe a snack in the afternoon . Normal portion evening meal ,not massive . Sometimes pud, sometimes not. Stop eating 7pm and water from then on or mint tea. I have got used to hot water instead of tea with milk, unsure if the science is true about intermittent fasting but so far it is ok and I have stuck with it for over a year without too much trouble.

Low carb cor me op, it removes the carb and sugar cravings totally. It also decreases appetite. You’ve got to have the motivation to get past the first couple of weeks though, then you get loads more energy and it melts off.

The truth of the matter is you’ve got to just do it. Whatever works for you. Not sit and think about it for ages and talk about it for ages, just do it. That’s the reality of the situation, as hard as it is. You’ve just got to do it.

I have just stopped putting as much food in my mouth, but you have to get your head into that place, which is so hard. I just say a firm, ‘No’ to myself (sometimes out loud, which causes funny looks in Marks and Spencer).

I have a reasonable breakfast (scrambled egg on one slice of toast without butter, or porridge or an omelette cooked with a spray of oil instead of butter). Then I don’t eat anything until lunch (which is soup with a slice of bread, or a ham salad roll or the like, followed by two biscuits and a cup of tea). The hard bit is getting from lunch to dinner without cramming cakes into my mouth. I am using lots of ready meals for dinners as they are calorie counted and I can’t cheat by giving myself extra big portions.

I do drink too much wine at the weekends and find myself raiding the crisp cupboard (have started buying things like Wotsits or puffed Hula Hoops which have fewer calories per bag than normal crisps), but weight loss has been about 2lbs a week.

I am drinking a lot of tea when peckish, which seems to help. Have lost 25lbs in two months but have an awful lot more to shift.

Good luck!

Dh and I lost a lot of weight, what worked for me was getting a fitbit and logging calories on nutracheck. Didn't follow any diet but simply cut out takeaways, sugary snacks, highly processed foods. Exercising 5 times a week whether that be a run, walk, youtube workout, anything that got me moving.

Ultimately though anything can recommend a particular diet, for some low carb eases hunger pangs, fasting works for some, but it's all down to consuming less calories than you burn. There's no magic wand. It's finding something that you prepared to stick with 99% of the time for a prolonged period of time.

I felt like that and finally started an educational program run by X-PERT weight. My husband had done their diabetes course. I now understand more the nutrition my body needs and my food choices are now very different. I’m 7 weeks into the 12 week program and have lost 8 kilos so far - now losing 2lbs most weeks. It’s steady & slow. I don’t feel I’m missing out on anything and am enjoying my food more- and not constantly hungry. I know the gp can refer for the diabetes course - might be able to get the same for the weight one. If not I think it cost me £99 for 12 weekly zoom meetings. I had always found trying to lose weight so overwhelming as I have a lot to shift but it finally seems achievable. Good luck x

I’d also say fast 800, watch ‘lose a stone in 21 days’. Once you’ve had that initial loss you could then look at rhfitness. I’m not a fan of Richie as he’s hard to listen to but it does work.

I think this thread demonstrates exactly why so many people feel overwhelmed with conflicting advice. Low carb / don't low carb, fast 800 / don't go below 1200, low fat / low fat =sugar. OP I face similar struggles. The only thing I can agree on with all the pp above is working out what works for you and identifying your particular triggers / problem times. Mine is post 8pm, wine, cheese and biscuits. Work out what sort of diet might suit your particular circumstances best.

I've lost more than 30kg in the last 12 months and I started out feeling just like you. I'm not going to recommend any particular diet plan to you because all I know is what's working for me at the present time. But I will recommend a book to you Ditching Diets by Gillian Riley. It's not a diet book, but it is all about sorting your thinking out. She also offers online courses and seminars. She's sensible, evidence based and well worth checking out if you are feeling overwhelmed by it all. Good luck to you

Just want to say I know exactly how you feel. I struggle with eating too much too and with obsessive tendencies mixed in it’s a nightmare (and I dont just mean obsessive when I’m losing weigh, but things like “I ruined the first day by eating too early so I’ll force myself to binge eat to make this last day worth it” - which spirals into 30+ consecutive day 1s lol).

A huge thing for me is not having any trigger foods in the house, which is hard when you live with other people but I try as hard as I can to not have any treats as well as bread, cheese, frozen chips etc in reach.

I’m not an expert at all, but from my experience a VLCD for a couple of weeks works to almost detox and motivate yourself by shedding a lot of water weight quickly. Then increasing your intake slowly to a more sustainable level, still in a calorie deficit.

The hardest thing is starting and getting a few days into the diet. But once you’re past that, it gets much easier and sugar/fat cravings actually subside once your body is used to not getting them whenever it wants (for me anyway).

Also, I would try not to worry too much about the whole hog ( lots of exercise, strictly “healthy” stuff, macros counting and so on) - just focus on staying in a calorie deficit and getting roughly the right amount of carbs, protein and veg for your energy.

Good luck, I believe in you!

@Fernando072020

I can recommend rh fitness. They are on Facebook. Sit and watch their videos, Richie is seriously amazing. All legit, no secrets, low price, just real advice. It's done wonders for my mental health too even when my physical is struggling

I follow the team RH page, they talk a lot of sense and follow the basic calories in/calories out.

Log everything you eat on my fitness pal even if it is a faff to get out the scales and weigh your food.

Increase the movement you do. If you have a step counting watch then aim to increase steps to 8000 or 10000 per day. If you don't then there are youtube videos where you can step along with them to music. Just get moving!

It's a misconception that you have to drop your calories to less than 1600 to lose weight.

Another thing I recommend is setting smaller goals. Set your first goal at maybe lose 6lb.

Whatever you do try not to do it alone. The single most effective thing for me is to have company, either a real life friend or online group or group like Slimming world it's 100% easier to stick to something in a group!

@AliceS1994

Whatever you do try not to do it alone. The single most effective thing for me is to have company, either a real life friend or online group or group like Slimming world it's 100% easier to stick to something in a group!

I actually lost properly only when i did it alone. Didn't even tell my family because they would ruin it😂 It's very individual. I personally don't want to be dependent on someone else so if they stop i get demotivated etc. But i can see why it would work for someone else

There's sadly no secret or magic to weightloss. If you want to lose weight, you have to clean up your diet and start exercising. Please don't turn to fads such as meal replacements, soup diets and whatnot. They don't work. Just eat proper, healthy and filling meals every day, and the weight will shed off. Cut out refined sugar and processed food. Cook with wholefoods ingredients such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, fruits, vegetables, nuts, rice, potatoes, pasta and so on. Experiment with making your favourite food in a healthier way and with baking sugar-free desserts.

If you want to sustain weightloss you have to eat interesting things that taste good. So definitely wouldn't recommend something like meal replacements.

Be nice to yourself. I don't think many people survived lockdown unscathed in some way.
Treat yourself to a manicure or facial when you feel better you'll do better.
Could you spend a day batch cooking healthy meals, they don't have to be bland, my Dsis made really tasty fake-away dishes, tricky to cook but delicious, she'd peel potatoes for chips by par boiling and fry-lite. She lost stone like you her plans slipped during lockdown but she's on the right path again.

*5 stone