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To ask how I can quickly lose 8 stone?

296 replies

Weightlosswonders · 02/10/2023 19:27

I need to lose 8 stone as fast as possible.

In an ideal world I would do it more slowly and in the healthiest possible way but due to current circumstances, I need to lose it as quickly as possible.

Im looking into a possible meal replacement diet but that’s looking rather pricey! (Around £12 a day which is too much for one person!)

All suggestions welcome. (my interim target is 4 stone by Christmas) and I’d welcome any advice from anyone who’s down similar.

OP posts:
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8
toodledo · 03/10/2023 05:44

I'd really advice against dropping it all at once, you will be absolutely miserable starving yourself... I've done it many times! I've lost 12 kgs over 7 months and I've loved the process, not massively restricting and exercising loads...

HowAboutTheLittleSpoon · 03/10/2023 05:55

Weightlosswonders · 02/10/2023 23:55

What do you typically eat in a day? :)

Every day is fruit, fat free yogurt and granola for breakfast.

Lunch I would have something like a small baked potato, beans or tuna and salad/ham or chicken salad sandwich/beans on toast/homemade vegetable soup. Usually wholemeal bread but occasionally something nicer like some baguette.

Dinner can be home made chicken fajitas and a wrap or rice. Home made spaghetti Bolognese using 5% fat mince. Chicken, potatoes and veg.

I don't eat any 'junk' food. No crisps, chocolate, biscuits, birthday cakes. No snacks (except fruit) really as lots of convenience foods are high fat. I use fry light/supermarket version if I need to use oil. I have a low fat olive spread if I need butter on a sandwich, use lighter then light mayo if I need it. No cheese, or milk. The hardest thing is I never eat out, not even to grab a sandwich from a supermarket. I also don't drink fizzy drinks, mainly water. If I could, I'd eat eggs but they are a gallbladder trigger.

I have binge eating disorder (the urge to eat hasn't gone away) so if I 'need' something sweet I might have a low fat protein pudding. The problem is, eating fat free ends up being higher in sugar and I have PCOS which isn't a great combination. Also, my portions are smaller but I was obviously over eating, I didn't end up at 22 stone eating 'normal' portions.

It is the diet I have done the best on, as it's normal foods and dinner, but I miss the social side of eating, the convenience of just grabbing a quick snack/dinner out (and I love chocolate) but a gallbladder attack is the worst pain I've ever had so it's through fear. It's boring, especially if you don't enjoy cooking! I hope you are ok OP.

Weightlosswonders · 03/10/2023 06:03

RowenaEllis · 03/10/2023 05:04

Frankly (speaking as a person with weight issues) if you're 22 stone then you can't just 'lose weight' easily and quickly can you? If you could you wouldn't be 22 stone. You are going to need help. I've lost weight on ozempic (and kept most of it off since the supply issues started) but at your weight you'd be entitled to be considered to get it on the NHS and I would highly recommend it.

how many calories a day were you having and what dose please? 😊

OP posts:
Mummyoflittledragon · 03/10/2023 06:09

If you eat a lot of sugar and / or carbohydrates, you are probably relatively insulin resistant. When you are insulin resistant, your body creates more insulin than it needs, which prevents you from losing weight effectively. So you need to keep your sugar levels down, to even out the glucose spikes and stop your body from making a lot of insulin.

This is a healthy thing to do btw and the way you do this is by choosing a diet, which helps your body to do this and that is sustainable long term. People on this thread have suggested weight drops off on Keto. BIWI’s bootcamp threads are a mine of information for this and if you look those up, she gives a list of what you can and can’t eat on keto in the start up thread. Keto works because you are eating a lot of protein, which doesn’t create high glucose levels and thus doesn’t create an insulin spike.

Personally I didn’t get on too well with keto longer term and there is growing evidence that a lot of meat in your diet isn’t as healthy as we first thought. I am eating more of a Mediterranean diet with a lot of plant food and very little protein. There is growing evidence that this is good.

I am basically drowning my plate in salad and vegetables with small amounts of animal protein and I am including various cheeses, mostly soft cheese. If you eat all the salad and vegetables first then the protein, then any carbohydrates last, this stops your glucose levels from going high thus stopping the insulin spike. And because you’re eating the veg first, your body quickly adjusts, gets full and doesn’t want a lot of protein and heavy carbs as it recognises these things aren’t good for it.

I am eating olive oil as a dressing on my salad. There is information out there that extra virgin olive oil is not only good for the body but combine it with acidic liquids like lemon juice or vinegar, it is supposed to help with weight loss. Not in massive quantities. But I use this as my dressing and a small amount for cooking.

I’m also reducing the amount of highly processed foods, which also contribute to weight gain. I don’t get on with whole grain. So my diet is basically lots of big salads with a little bit of chicken or salmon and / or Brie. Or lots of veggies, a combi of roasted and boiled with a bit of protein. I eat this for every meal. And allow myself puddings like a bit of fruit and dark chocolate. I don’t snack. I eat meals when I’m hungry and that varies to the amount and when as my body is still adjusting.

Idk why you want to lose weight quickly. However, doing so screws up your metabolism and in the long run is likely make you gain even more weight. So you put even more weight on. When you try to lose the weight again, your body purposely holds onto the weight each time you go on a seriously calorie deficient diet try to lose because it thinks it needs to. It thinks food is scarce so it goes into famine mode.

When you do lose weight fast, you also have the issue of excess skin so I would proceed with caution as it is easier to tackle this whilst losing weight rather than after the event. Moisturise your skin a lot especially the belly. Eating the olive oil moisturises from within. When eating fruit, choose berries and include garlic.

I eat in an 8 hour window and fast for 16 hours. Someone upthread mentioned autophagy to help with skin elasticity to help prevent excess skin. Fasting like this helps. Fasting for 24 hours or so helps even more. But you shouldn’t be doing this all the time.

RowenaEllis · 03/10/2023 06:10

Weightlosswonders · 03/10/2023 06:03

how many calories a day were you having and what dose please? 😊

You don't need to count calories on this medication. I recommend you make an appointment with the GP to discuss it.

androidnotapple · 03/10/2023 06:21

RowenaEllis · 03/10/2023 06:10

You don't need to count calories on this medication. I recommend you make an appointment with the GP to discuss it.

That would be q bit pointless as there's a worldwide shortage and no one new likely to be started on them until mid 2024

RowenaEllis · 03/10/2023 06:26

androidnotapple · 03/10/2023 06:21

That would be q bit pointless as there's a worldwide shortage and no one new likely to be started on them until mid 2024

That's not the case. Part of the shortage is because the NHS supplies are being prioritised.

https://healthmedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/04/accessing-wegovy-for-weight-loss-everything-you-need-to-know/

Accessing Wegovy for weight loss: Everything you need to know - Department of Health and Social Care Media Centre

News and updates from the Department of Health and Social Care media team

https://healthmedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/04/accessing-wegovy-for-weight-loss-everything-you-need-to-know/

androidnotapple · 03/10/2023 06:39

RowenaEllis · 03/10/2023 06:26

That's not the case. Part of the shortage is because the NHS supplies are being prioritised.

https://healthmedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/04/accessing-wegovy-for-weight-loss-everything-you-need-to-know/

Prioritised for diabetes. Not for weight loss.

RowenaEllis · 03/10/2023 06:40

androidnotapple · 03/10/2023 06:39

Prioritised for diabetes. Not for weight loss.

Wegovy isn't prescribed for diabetes. Wegovy IS available to certain patients on the NHS. It's absolutely worth speaking to the GP about it.

bellac11 · 03/10/2023 06:44

FlemishHorse · 02/10/2023 21:32

You can’t out-exercise a bad diet.

Try the B-for-boring diet, 1000 kCal a day.

I eat around 1000 cals (bit more if I can), and its a lot healthier than that, far more protein and healthy fats.

knitnerd90 · 03/10/2023 06:50

Weightlosswonders · 03/10/2023 00:16

Thank you to everyone who has replied, I really appreciate it.

Those suggestion weight loss surgery, I am considering the “hypno” gastric band as have read good things.

I am currently researching all the suggestions and looking into what is realistic and workable.

I am already under a dietician at the hospital but have sadly have not found their advice to be useful (they suggested a VLCD for 12 weeks and then low calorie in general). When I asked for an example meal plan all they did was print one off a website that I can access from home and was very generic. 🙃

Am I crazy to think if I ate the same amount as someone who’s had weight loss surgery I’d lose the same amount of weight? (Although might be starving!)

  1. The hypno gastric band is ... a lie. There's no evidence to support the idea that you can hypnotise someone into believing they have a band. or acting like it.

  2. No, eating like you've had WLS isn't the same as having it. It's closer if you're talking a restrictive surgery only (some surgeries work in part via malabsorption which you cannot replicate); however, they've found that bariatric surgery causes hormonal changes. it's not simply that you can't eat as much. Even insofar as the restriction works, it's much harder to keep to and your brain and body will work to sabotage you.

knitnerd90 · 03/10/2023 06:53

RowenaEllis · 03/10/2023 06:40

Wegovy isn't prescribed for diabetes. Wegovy IS available to certain patients on the NHS. It's absolutely worth speaking to the GP about it.

Yes - Wegovy and Ozempic are both semaglutide but Wegovy is the dosage and label for weight loss, whereas Ozempic is for diabetes. (in other countries, such as the USA, where prescribing is regulated differently, doctors have been prescribing Ozempic for weight loss as it is cheaper and the 2mg top dose is almost the same as Wegovy's 2.4mg. This exacerbated the shortages.)

I personally know people who are currently unable to access Ozempic for diabetes in the UK due to the shortage. It's a bad situation; substitute supply has also been affected (global ripples, even if UK doctors aren't prescribing the other medications) and of course getting into the doctor to change it.

bellac11 · 03/10/2023 07:04

Weightlosswonders · 03/10/2023 00:16

Thank you to everyone who has replied, I really appreciate it.

Those suggestion weight loss surgery, I am considering the “hypno” gastric band as have read good things.

I am currently researching all the suggestions and looking into what is realistic and workable.

I am already under a dietician at the hospital but have sadly have not found their advice to be useful (they suggested a VLCD for 12 weeks and then low calorie in general). When I asked for an example meal plan all they did was print one off a website that I can access from home and was very generic. 🙃

Am I crazy to think if I ate the same amount as someone who’s had weight loss surgery I’d lose the same amount of weight? (Although might be starving!)

Thats not crazy at all.

Its what I did for the months approaching my own weight loss surgery because I had to wait to have mine due to another surgery.

From October last year, I started a lower carb, high protein low calorie diet. I didnt have my op until Feb. Ive been eating more or less 1000 cals a day since then, obviously at some points after the op that drops dramatically, I went for many weeks on about 300 cals, then up to around 800, in the last few weeks Ive managed to increase my intake and can get up to 1200, although yesterday was very low again.

So I have about 20% of my stomach left, and now can manage around 100-150g of food per meal, depending what it is, but for a while could only manage 50g, it took time to build up.

ItWasTheBestOfTimes · 03/10/2023 07:06

I had a gastric sleeve at the end of March this year, currently over 6 stone down, and I’d like to lose another 3.

I’ve twice previously lost 5-6 stone on vlcds but it all went back on and more when I stopped eating the packet food.

Bariatric surgery is like magic, I don’t think the effects can be replicated just through eating less. People who have type 2 diabetes usually go into remission the day after the surgery for example. Personally I’ve had hugely irregular periods since my teen years, but the day after the surgery I started my period and it’s been every 28 days exactly since then.

I would really recommend it if you can afford it. Caveat is that there can be side effects like dumping syndrome and hair loss. I’ve not experienced either but in the support group I attend some people have suffered badly with them, especially if they had the bypass instead of the sleeve.

MintTrackies · 03/10/2023 07:07

All this plus a slice of toast for 945 calories. Add some plain veg. Just as an idea of what you can eat.

To ask how I can quickly lose 8 stone?
To ask how I can quickly lose 8 stone?
Ansjovis · 03/10/2023 07:10

You still haven't really answered the question as to why you're doing this. You're also seem to be focusing on the comments that are reinforcing your existing views, which to me is a worrying sign. There is some really terrible advice in this thread, as there always is on threads of this type, and following it could really land you in trouble.

If you're still reading, my best advice is: do not make any changes that you are not prepared to keep up indefinitely. If you do this the weight will just go straight back on once you stop. You need to examine the reasons why you have ended up with so much excess weight so that, ideally with professional help, you can reframe your relationship with food to be more positive. Without those two elements you will end up back in the same position sooner or later, except this time with the added negative feelings associated with failure.

Laurama91 · 03/10/2023 07:11

I didnt lose this much but I lost 2 stone in a short amount of time. From 15 to 13. I cut out the majority of crap. I still ate small amounts as I found this stopped my cravings. But somethings we see as normal ie sandwich and crisps for dinner, I cut out. I made chicken and veg instead. And smaller portions for tea. I've never been a big breakfast person so just have cereal bar.

THisbackwithavengeance · 03/10/2023 07:12

Gastric balloon?

NeedToChangeName · 03/10/2023 07:27

truthhurts23 · 02/10/2023 22:01

you can do all or any combination of these

Keto diet
low fat smoothies
Small portions, eat on a side plate
Cut out dairy
Drink only water and herbal teas

One meal a day
Don't eat after 6pm
Don't eat before 11am
Weightlifting
High Intensity Interval Training
Swimming pool resistance training

drink rehydration drinks after every workout
take multivitamins if you're only eating once a day

High Intensity Interval Training?

For someone who weighs 22 stone, I think that would be dangerous (as well as impossible)

Lincslady53 · 03/10/2023 08:24

I had an operation which was taking a long time to heal and it was suggested that I may need more protein in my diet. Daughter bought me a big tub of protein shake that gym bunnies use. I started to have a shake for breakfast and lunch, notmal meal for dinner. Cut out snacks and reduced carbs. So far, I have lost 1 and a half stones in 5 months. I have never lost weight as quickly. The tub costs around £30 for 30 portions, so not too expensive.

Dymaxion · 03/10/2023 08:24

@Weightlosswonders What is your diet like normally ?

What do you enjoy eating and what are your absolute no no's ?

Do you enjoy cooking ? Do you have time to cook ?

woodentrunk · 03/10/2023 08:42

I did the Cambridge diet once and lost weight quickly and quite dramatically. It's now called the one-to-one diet and costs about £70 a week as it's total meal replacement. Once you get past the initial week of really wanting food, the feeling passes and you usually stop feeling hungry.

It worked for me but then I just regained most of it. Statistically you're always likely to regain it unless you deal with the underlying reasons for overeating in the first place. I've spent a good chunk of my 30s and 40s seesawing all over the place with my weight and really, the only thing which works is constant, steady realistic weight loss (1/2 lb to 1lb per week) but I know that's not what you want to hear.

Just for info, it's for medical reasons (E.g to improve/reverse a health condition) rather than an actual procedure, you might be surprised at how you just losing a stone will help, followed slowly by another. Every pound we lose makes it a wee bit easier for our bodies to function.

Your reasons are your own but I would say that if you want rapid weight loss but also recognise it's a very short term solution, the one-to-one diet is ok. Expensive but I found the food edible whereas with most other VLCDs I didn't.

Another less expensive option but with same results is Michael Moseley's Fast 800 diet. Focuses on good, filling food at 800 cals per day.

CambridgeLass · 03/10/2023 08:50

Speak to your GP @Weightlosswonders . You’re currently having unrealistic and unsafe ideas.

PaminaMozart · 03/10/2023 08:54

I dont think it's realistic for a woman who weighs 22 stone to be able to eat just 800 calories a day.

Intermittent fasting with a modified Mediterranean diet (with more protein but no refined carbs) is both palatable and sustainable.

But it would be unrealistic to expect to lose more than 1-2 lb a week.

On the other hand it's a sustainable lifestyle change, so she'd be much less likely to pile the weight back on.

Dymaxion · 03/10/2023 09:04

I dont think it's realistic for a woman who weighs 22 stone to be able to eat just 800 calories a day.

Its only supposed to be a short term measure for a maximum of 12 weeks, before moving to the sort of diet you describe.

At 22 stone, the body already has a lot of stored energy so will not be surviving on just the 800 calories consumed by diet alone, iyswim @PaminaMozart ?