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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask how quickly you lost 1 stone and how?...

67 replies

GalactatingGoddess · 26/04/2022 13:01

So, what is the quickest timeframe you lost a stone in AND kept it off? And how???

Needing some serious inspiration and mental strength to lose a health/mental well-being impacting stone fairly quickly.

I don't want to go down a route of taking a year to lose a stone but also keep bouncing up and down with weight due to:

  • tiredness from toddler
  • lack of mental headspace some days regarding cooking a super healthy tea for myself and DH after work/toddler pick ups etc
OP posts:
Bunnyfuller · 26/04/2022 13:06

12 weeks.

planning, planning, planning. I’m doing SW and find the structure helps me.

have healthy stuff/snacks in, don’t buy crap/cakes etc.

the only way to keep it off is to keep eating healthily. Whichever ‘diet’ you follow, it will go back on if you return to your old habits.

Unfortunately there are no shorts cuts/quick wins. Don’t think ‘lose a stone’ think ‘improve what I and my family eat - forever’.

DivorcedAndDelighted · 26/04/2022 13:15

I can't really remember exactly how long the first stone took, but was somewhere between 3 and 6 months maybe? I'd have to check. Lost 11kg overall at my stabilised weight, dropped from a dress size 16 to a 10, though I was lucky with where I lost it. However I can tell you I've kept it off and now my new eating habits are "normal" for me, easy, and I feel fun better and healthier all round.
The big win for me was cutting right down on carbs. Even if it's wholegrain, starches are just the way a plant stores sugar. Pasta and bread are basically candy floss for me and they never fill me up. I rarely have them and when I do, I go for quality over quantity.
Here's what I eat now:
I eat lots of fresh whole fruit, not smoothies or fruit juices as these are sugar-rich and play havoc with my guts and blood sugar. Can't eat apples for same reason, but berries are brilliant, satsumas, bananas too.
Lots of crunchy veg, esp raw crunchy crudités, carrot, cucumber, celery. With dips or hummus sometimes.
Lots of fresh crunchy salad eg Greek salad with feta cheese and a couple of boiled eggs.
Poached eggs on a bed of spinach with a knob of butter and a sprinkle of chilli flakes
I eat meat, unsweetened yoghurt, eggs, cheese, butter, and enjoy them all with plenty of fruit and veg. It's the carbs I can't do.
There's a weight loss forum on MN where I'm sure you'll get lots of help.

Shiningstarr · 26/04/2022 13:16

It took me 6 weeks to lose a stone, but I had a lot to lose and I was doing cardio every day, and in calorie deficit.

NursieBernard · 26/04/2022 13:20

I've lost 2 stone in 12 weeks following a low carb diet. This has included some days and weekends when I have eaten what I liked. Really easy to follow and doesn't require a load of prep etc.

DarkCorner · 26/04/2022 13:22

It was around 3-4 months with a baby around 10 months +, starting back at work plus older child so a fairly busy time. I did low carbing, hard the first week or so then super easy as you aren't hungry and no need to count calories. You can make normal family meals like spaghetti bolognese, curry etc but add more green veg to your plate and remove pasta/rice etc. I also found weirdly (the opposite of what most people think of low carbing) that when I stopped for a while eg over Christmas, I still lost weight. I think my hormones had reset or something! Or I was used to eating less so didn't go too crazy. I'm eating a few carbs now as things have been a bit crazy but I've got probably 5-7 lbs more to lose so at some point (when I've shaken the Covid off!) I'll do another few weeks of low carb.

Good luck!

DarkCorner · 26/04/2022 13:22

Oh and I didn't give up wine Blush.

HardRockOwl · 26/04/2022 13:24

4 weeks.

Started a thread in weight loss chat 4 weeks ago. Asking about the Louise parker method.

Stuck to it (super easy as it's all food I like + 3 meals a day and snacks) and my total loss yesterday was 14 lbs in just a touch under 4 weeks

For reference, I'm size 12/14 - much more a 14! - and would like to lose 2 or maybe 3 stone in total

You'd be welcome to have a read through the thread and see if it is something you like the sound of

ToastofLandon · 26/04/2022 13:27

I’ve lost nearly a stone since Christmas and it’s been achieved by using using my smart watch and logging my calories using MyFitnessPal so that I can be sure that I’m in a calorie deficit.

I take in about 1800-2000 calories per day and burn about 2500-2700 calories by doing the school run and a 20-30 walk in the evening 5 days a week. I’ve averaged about a lb a week give or take.

I relax at the weekends and probably take in more calories than others might in their weight loss journey but I’m not in a hurry to get there. It needs to be sustainable long term or the weight will go back on.

emmathedilemma · 26/04/2022 13:29

I think it depends how heavy you are and how old too, i lost a stone really easily about 10 years ago, it practically fell off my on WW. Now, I'm 10yrs older, probably peri-menopausal and struggling to shift anything.

muppamup · 26/04/2022 13:30

I do think things like preparing a healthy low sugar smoothie the night before is a good idea (when you're less tired) then it's ready to blitz in the morning. If I don't do this then I won't bother and will reach for the cereal / toast etc instead. This kind of thing.

Starting early with prepping dinner - e.g. early in the morning, peel some veg. If you're at home through the day do little bits. So by the end of the day when you're shattered most of the hard work is done and you have a healthier option.

Izzy24 · 26/04/2022 13:34

7 weeks. Stopped eating crap, 3 meals a day on four days of the week and nothing after lunch on 3 days a week.

Felt hungry on most of the missing meals days but kept busy, went walking, drank loads of water and went to bed early on the hungriest evenings!

Could see it was working from the end of the first week which gave me the motivation to keep going.

Saladd0dger · 26/04/2022 13:38

3 weeks on slimming world

Justkeeppedaling · 26/04/2022 13:41

12 weeks from mid Jan to mid April this year.
High protein low carb diet with more walking.

Vsirbdo · 26/04/2022 13:44

12 weeks; I did weight watchers and then continued with it for a few weeks after at a plateau phase.
they have recipes to fit how many points you have so I didn’t even need to think too hard and I could also have the odd treat

sparepantsandtoothbrush · 26/04/2022 14:32

3 weeks on slimming world (MN hates slimming world but it works for me!). I had about 4 stone to lose though and obviously the weight loss slowed down after about 6 weeks.

You definitely need to be in the right frame of mind though for any change in diet

Rosehugger · 26/04/2022 14:35

About six weeks on Very Fast 800 - sadly I put it back on again though, and a bit more.

maxineputyourredshoeson · 26/04/2022 14:41

I’ve lost 1st 3lb in around 7 weeks by doing low carb high protein. I have around 2-3 stone to lose.

runnerbeany · 26/04/2022 14:45

Three months. From 10.5 stone to 9.5 stone (goal weight). It's stayed off for two years, including a pregnancy.
I walked 5-10 miles a day, and cycled roughly 30 miles a week. The walking did not include steps around work and the house etc, just actual walks.
I ate 1250 calories net. So I actually are more than this, and used the exercise to burn off the additional food.
I calculated the calories I would burn through exercise by using about eight different online calculators, taking the meanest one and then subtracting an extra 10%, just to be absolutely certain I wasn't overestimating the calories burnt through exercise. I used Strava to record my walks and bike rides.
I weighed everything I ate and drank using accurate food scales. Once I'd added up my favourite recipes this got much easier!
The foods I ate didn't matter really, but if you're limiting calories and you want to feel full, obviously a lot of your food needs to be veggies! But I did also have treats at weekends, by doing extra exercise to allow me to eat them. Psychologically it's easier for me when technically any food is allowed (so long as I had spare calories).
After I hit my goal weight, I recalculated a maintenance calorie level and continued calorie counting for a couple of months until I was used to the new amount of food and my weight was stable.
I still do lots of walking.

gwenneh · 26/04/2022 14:53

I knew that there was no way I'd be able to add exercise in. I ride horses a minimum of 2x per week and that is all I have time for with 3 DC, one of whom is a toddler. I changed my approach to eating instead.

The first stone took five weeks to come off. That was nine months ago this month. I did it by not eating when I wasn't physically hungry. No eating unless my body told me it was time -- not my brain, or my taste buds, or the clock, or routine.

When I do have a meal or snack, no food is restricted, I'm just mindful that calorie-dense foods need to be eaten in moderation, and to only eat until I am satisfied (not the same as full). And only if I'm actually enjoying it -- not just because it's there.

I had to get comfortable with a few things: throwing away food unfinished, joining mealtimes without eating or where I'd have a few bites of something because I wanted to and not eat a whole portion, and ignoring mental cues to eat in favour of physical ones. For me, food is enjoyable -- it breaks up the day's routine, it's social, it's time with family, but eating at all of those times is just more than I actually need. So I had to figure out how to hear what my body actually needs, and make that work across all of those contexts.

My weight loss has been steady for the whole nine months (about a stone every 6-8 weeks at the slowest and no plateaus) with this approach and I am within my target BMI range, though I still would like about another 1/2 stone off to really be on the lower end.

I knew I was not going to make any massive changes to what I eat (meals are often determined by what my family likes) or how much I exercise (because time and motivation are finite) so I took charge of when and how much I ate instead. Glad it worked.

GalactatingGoddess · 26/04/2022 14:58

Thank you all for these ideas

@HardRockOwl I will try and find your thread and have a read through it, I remember seeing it pop up I think. That is amazing going. I'm at size 14 and would love to lose 1.5-2 stones max to be a small size 10 again.

@runnerbeany how did you find the time to do 5-10 mile walks with a little one? I used to walk every day on Mat leave but between breastfeeding and being exhausted I only lost 1 stone and most of that was pregnancy weight tbh so not what I'd class as true weight.

It's seeming like lower carb higher protein is the way to go. I know in my heart that carbs have been the issue this last year. I've become addicted to them and have a large amount at every meal plus snacks. I've lost 3 stone before (that was too much, 2 stone is ideal) and did it via low carb/very low calorie and lots of exercise but I was also 10 years younger. Late 20s now and it's just not bloody shifting and I don't seem to have any stickability or willpower

OP posts:
ethelredonagoodday · 26/04/2022 15:05

Log your food/calories, I also think the Michael Mosley books like fast 800, and the blood sugar diet are really good for losing weight fast. That's one of their stated aims.

Tillsforthrills · 26/04/2022 15:08

If you’re trying not to lose muscle as well as fat and become toned at the same time, include resistance training, walking and some cardio

Hankunamatata · 26/04/2022 15:18

Fast 800. 3 weeks lost stone. Iv found it simpler

Menora · 26/04/2022 15:21

7 weeks calorie deficit, eating less calorie dense foods. It’s not a diet it’s a life change. I have 17kg still to lose!

sasparilla1 · 26/04/2022 15:24

Less than 4 weeks using the Human Being Diet.

It's pretty hard core but the rigidity and structure really suits me. As does the treat meal once you get to that phase.

There's a book www.amazon.co.uk/Human-Being-Diet-blueprint-feasting/dp/1999343514, and she is also on Insta doing lives regularly.