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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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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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!)

OP posts:
PyongyangKipperbang · 03/10/2023 00:21

@Weightlosswonders

I dont know why you wont say why you need to lose this weight so fast. And what is your timescale? "As fast as possible" doesnt give people a lot to go on. It really does make a difference as to the advice. There are several ways you can do it but not all of them will help you if they will cause more issues than they will solve. Fast loss for your wedding for example....you bought a dress you thought that you would slim into and you havent.....ok. I did that and know a lot of other women who did too!

Or is it for a medical procedure? If it is, you need to be careful which method you choose as it could make your procedure problematic or less likely to succeed if you are thinner but very unhealthy.

Weightlosswonders · 03/10/2023 00:26

PyongyangKipperbang · 03/10/2023 00:21

@Weightlosswonders

I dont know why you wont say why you need to lose this weight so fast. And what is your timescale? "As fast as possible" doesnt give people a lot to go on. It really does make a difference as to the advice. There are several ways you can do it but not all of them will help you if they will cause more issues than they will solve. Fast loss for your wedding for example....you bought a dress you thought that you would slim into and you havent.....ok. I did that and know a lot of other women who did too!

Or is it for a medical procedure? If it is, you need to be careful which method you choose as it could make your procedure problematic or less likely to succeed if you are thinner but very unhealthy.

It’s for medical reasons (not a procedure).

OP posts:
SprinkleOfSunak · 03/10/2023 00:27

Go on the chemical diet. You do it for a week and can lose up to 1 stone - that’s without exercise. I did it and didn’t follow it properly and lost 10 pound in a week. It was designed for people who have to lose weight before surgery.

You then go on a diet with exercise for 3 weeks, then every 4th week you do the chemical diet.

You could definitely lose 4 stone before Christmas if you did the above.

I lost nearly 2 stone last year between September and November by losing around 2 pound per week after 1 week of the chemical diet. I desperately need to do it again, but I lack willpower!

FlissyPaps · 03/10/2023 00:32

God there’s some really ill informed advice on here 🙄Mumsnet the known site for ED’s and the “teeny tinies”.

OP, you can not lose weight quickly. If you do, by extreme fad diets, diet pills/injections then it isn’t sustainable and you’ll pile it all back on once you slip back to your normal life style.

To lose weight sustainably and healthy you need a lifestyle change. This starts mentally. You need to have the motivation and perseverance to do it. It won’t be quick.

4 stone down by Christmas is highly unlikely. You’ll be aiming for 1lb-2lb per week.

Stay in a positive mindset. Even if the scales aren’t moving you can’t give up.

Aim for atleast 10,000 steps per day. You don’t have to run. So please ignore all the running comments. A brisk walk is absolutely fine.

Drink atleast 2 litres of water per day. Water. Do not substitute for fruit juices - they are full of sugar.

Cut out any treats you have on the daily. Biscuits, chocolate, sweets, processed foods. Have 1 cheat meal a week which can be a takeaway or something processed.

Try and eat fish 2-3 times a week. Lean meats and chicken. With lots of greens and whole grain rice.

Cut out overly processed foods. Things with high sugar. Ready meals etc.

Lift weights. Lifting weights is one of the best ways to burn fat. Keep high intensity cardio workouts to the minimum when you first start excersize. This is a common misconception. Lifting weights is way more beneficial for fat burning than cardio.

Keep alcohol to a minimum. Ensure you are eating breakfast. Oats, eggs, fruits, yogurts.

You need to work out your maximum calories and macros per your height and weight. There are calculators online. Then create meal plans according to your results.

Stick with it and you will achieve!!

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 03/10/2023 00:33

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!)

Bariatric surgery appears to alter / improve the hormone signalling around hunger so it’s not simply the reduced stomach size that causes weight loss. It has some effect on resetting the body’s own weight management systems. If you are significantly overweight the likelihood is that you are not responding normally to these hormones anymore and so you will really struggle to sustain such low eating for any length of time.

321user123 · 03/10/2023 00:39

OP get your thyroid checked and check your values in Google against functional medicine values to make sure your thyroid is working as efficiently as it can because you WILL need it in tip top condition if you want to loose any weight at all.

Id also get your hormones tested to rule out PCOS. If you have PCOS don’t even start and excessively strict diet and look how to support all the nutrients your body is missing instead.

I also hope this is not for IVF as they love pushing crazy weightloss timelines on some women.
But it sounds like your end goal weight would bring you to a BMI of 35 and under very likely (making height assumptions here).

LonelyFlans · 03/10/2023 00:43

Have you looked into fasting? Jason Fung's book's are interesting, as is Fast Like A Girl.

Thementalloadisreal · 03/10/2023 00:51

This thread is like a how-to of eating disorders. 😔
OP you’ve seen a dietician and they have given you advice, it might seem basic but there is no magic or secret for (safe) extreme weight loss. Please don’t do some of the crazy diets suggested on here, some suggestions are incredibly dangerous, plus it will be so damaging to your body long term.

PyongyangKipperbang · 03/10/2023 00:58

Again though....medical reasons....

Fast weight loss can be very damaging on your body. So if you need to lose it due to potential heart problems (say) then there are better heart healthy ways to do it than a crash diet to get into a too-small dress. If it is to access fertility treatment thenyou need to make sure that your loss doesnt go hand in hand with malnutrition, a risk of fast loss, as that could make conception harder.

If you can afford meal replacements or injections I would consider spending a bit on a private consultation with a nutritional specialist, better if you can find one who specialises in your particular medical reasons. They will give you the best chance of weight loss working in your favour with regards to the medical issues.

PaminaMozart · 03/10/2023 01:07

I agree with what @FlissyPaps suggests, namely:

Extreme fad diets, diet pills/injections are not sustainable and you’ll pile it all back on
To lose weight sustainably and healthy you need a lifestyle change.
Aim for at least10,000 steps per day.
Cut out sugar, alcohol and (ultra) processed foods.
Lifting weights is way more beneficial for fat burning than cardio.

However, I would cut out or delay breakfast and adopt intermittent fasting, i.e. brunch at, say, 10-11am and dinner at 6-7pm, with a small snack in between:

  • 2-egg omelette with a small salad or incorporating spinach, mushrooms or other (leftover) vegetables. Alternatively a bigger salad with 2 boiled, eggs.
  • a small snack (a piece, of fruit, 1/2 of full-fat Greek yoghurt or a 1/4 cup of nuts) in between.
  • Dinner consisting of LOTS of vegetables, lean protein and just a small amount of complex carbs (e.g. half a cup of lentils, quinoa or whole grain rice).

As for lifting weights, start with 3 or 4 kg dumbbells and look at YouTube workouts with someone like Rebecca Louise, with a view to working up to 5-6kg and Caroline Girvan.

The above WILL work if you are serious and focused - and accept that this will not be a quick fix.

CallieQ · 03/10/2023 01:15

Start with the fast 800 move on to 5:2

kamboozled · 03/10/2023 01:31

8 stone is a lot of weight hun! I get that you want to change your body but a little more gradual is so, so much easier.

Rather than meal replacements, I'd suggest filling things like cabbage soup with lots of vegetables - literally tomatoes, some herbs and spices and other veg (no potatoes or starchy ones though). Stir fried vegetables in oyster sauce is good too. Prawns/ chicken breast are my best protein go too's (my love of vegetables really has helped me over the years).

Zero calorie jelly, Clementine's are my sweet tooth snacks. Good luck x

LiesDoNotBecomeUs · 03/10/2023 01:48

You have many choices - they are all tough. Choose the one you can live with a much longer time than you have planned. (How long did it take to add the weight on? Expect it to take a similar time to come off.)

If speed matters a lot, have you looked at (Dr) Michael Mosley's diets? They are based on healthy eating and up-to-date research about weight loss. He seems to have worked with very overweight dieters who have moved into diabetes due to their weight and eating. His plans are called 'Fast' 800' and include fasting but with health in mind.

useitorlose · 03/10/2023 01:55

It's interesting to see how often calorie counting with 800-1200 range is recommended here. It sounds miserable! I've lost 16lbs in 12 weeks on Slimming World and enjoyed every mouthful. I am losing slower than many but I'm 55 and had 2st to lose.

GarlicGrace · 03/10/2023 02:03

I determinedly avoid diet threads, as I'm an ex-anorexic with a residual tendency to get weird around eating if 'triggered'. Your title's very attention-grabbing, though, @Weightlosswonders!

OK, so I'm not going to recommend A Diet or any kind of weight-loss plan, for obvious reasons. I can offer a bit of encouragement and common sense, though.

At around 18 stone, your first couple of months should be the most rewarding. You're carting around twice as much weight as a 9-stone woman, so your energy requirement is high and all exercise is the equivalent of the 9-stone woman doing the same while holding 60kg of weights.

So, exercise. Walk more - an hour a day if you can, or even longer. Run, jump and dance as much as possible. If it isn't currently possible, start anyway and your capacity will increase. Get in the habit of moving: if you sit down a lot at home or work, get up every half an hour for a few stretches and/or a mini walk.

These are things you can easily give up for a few months:

✖ Milk and sugar in drinks;
✖ Spreads on bread;
✖ Milk drinks and fruit juice;
✖ Dressing on salad;
✖ Fried foods;
✖ Oily sauces. Don't use ready-made pasta sauces, make one without oil;
✖ Sugary fruit (bananas, figs, dates, sultanas);
✖ Fatty veg (avocadoes);
✖ Nuts;
✖ Any food that comes with a coating on;
✖ Confectionery, crisps and biscuits;
✖ Cream;
✖ Cheese (except cottage);
✖ Alcohol;
✖ Cut the fat off your meat before cooking. Use fish canned in water.

I'm not usually a fan of low-fat dieting but it won't hurt for a short while, and you're highly motivated.

Things you can consume with wild abandon:

✔Fruit & veg with high water content:
➕ celery,
➕ all leaves,
➕ tomatoes,
➕ peppers,
➕ carrots,
➕ cucumber,
➕ marrow, courgettes,
➕ aubergines,
➕ broccoli, cauliflower,
➕ melon,
➕ oranges, grapefruit,
➕ strawberries, blackberries (but not raspberries),
➕ fresh currants, or cook them with fake sugar;
✔ tea with lemon;
✔ black coffee;
✔ Bovril & Marmite drinks;
✔ zero-cal bottled drinks;
✔ cottage cheese;

Things to eat in average quantities:

✔ potatoes;
✔ wholewheat pasta;
✔ brown rice;
✔ crispbreads (Ryvita);
✔ meat, fish & eggs;
✔ apples & pears;
✔ grapes, plums, apricots, peaches;
✔ sweet potatoes;
✔ plain yoghurt.

Treats:

❓ dark chocolate, over 70% cocoa;
❓ jelly babies;
❓ bananas, figs, dates, sultanas;
❓ Pepperami.

Tbh, you shouldn't find this too hard and it should lead to losses of a stone or more a month in your first few months.

❗Here's my advice if you find you're climbing the walls at some point: GO SAVOURY AND GO LARGE! Something like fried bread with sausages will give you a 'satiated' feeling, far better than sugary stuff, and won't ruin everything if it's only once a fortnight or so. Same with chips (oven, not deep-fried) and fried eggs or something.

Great thing about all this is that it's fully sustainable - add your fats back in once you've lost your extra, have the odd biscuit or cake, and keep up the exercise regime you will have built up by then 😊

therealcookiemonster · 03/10/2023 02:11

@Weightlosswonders you mentioned you wish to lose weight for medical issues. but was this target given to you by a doctor? because I would find that very dubious because this speed of weight loss will add to your health problems.

is going to a private dietician an option for you? they are not too expensive (I paid less than £100 for one session). hospital dietitcians may not have the time to go through meal plans with you but private dieticians will literally hold your hand through the procesw you can go to the British dietetics society to find a dietician close to you who specialises in the medical problems you are losing the weight for.

the other point you may wish to think about is the underlying cause of this weight gain. do you maybe have an undiagnosed medical condition such as hypothyroidism, cushions etc. is the weight gain due to reduced mobility due to joint issues or injuries? or perhaps a psychological response to trauma?

either way losing weight without dealing with the underlying issues will only lead to the weight piling back on. and extreme diets will only damage your relationship with food and your body further and increase the risk of future weight gain.

knitnerd90 · 03/10/2023 02:16

This is close to physiologically impossible unless you are extremely heavy (and even then would require strict adherence for a very low calorie diet and probably would take longer than 25kg by Christmas)

Dr Roy Taylor is the Newcastle diet - 800kcal. The trial results don't account for the extreme difficulty in adherence.

Effectively, VLCDs work in the short term, but unless accompanied by something like surgery, will result in regain. Part of the problem is the adaptive nature of metabolism. This also means you will lose quickly in the initial stages and then as your body adapts, weight loss slows. Also, the research shows that exercise is far less important than diet in weight loss. Exercise is vital for your general health, but doesn't shed much weight.

Semaglutide doesn't work that quickly (personal experience: Have lost over 3st, but it wasn't nearly that quick).

knitnerd90 · 03/10/2023 02:19

useitorlose · 03/10/2023 01:55

It's interesting to see how often calorie counting with 800-1200 range is recommended here. It sounds miserable! I've lost 16lbs in 12 weeks on Slimming World and enjoyed every mouthful. I am losing slower than many but I'm 55 and had 2st to lose.

It's interesting in particular because medical professionals don't usually encourage this except under very strict supervision, especially for a VLCD of 800kcal or less. Even if a person can adhere to this (MUCH easier said than done: people talk about willpower, but as someone on semaglutide, I can tell you that I was eating because I was hungry and now I am not. It's very hard to ignore hunger signals, and your body will work very hard to make you eat), it runs the risks of nutritional deficiencies.

800-1200 is just above that, but below what's normally recommended. 1200kcal is a bariatric surgery pre-op diet. Dieters routinely recommend 1200kcal a day as the norm for dieting but there's actually very little science supporting that figure.

GarlicGrace · 03/10/2023 02:20

research shows that exercise is far less important than diet in weight loss

This is true in terms of "the equation" but cardiovascular fitness does lead to a somewhat higher metabolic rate, and denser muscle uses more calories. As you say, it's worth getting fit for general health reasons anyway (assuming general health doesn't preclude it). I just wouldn't like to say it doesn't help with weight loss, because it does in its own way.

curaçao · 03/10/2023 04:13

Amputation!

GarlicGrace · 03/10/2023 04:48

@curaçao 😂

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.

user1492757084 · 03/10/2023 05:11

You should be able to loose 2 lb per week for 12 weeks if you are dedicated.
Walk lots more, halve your meal servings, have a 15 hour spell from eating overnight - breakfast not before 10.

Eat more savoury and lean meats and hardly any sugar, processed white foods or high carb snacks.

Start each meal with vegetables or salad - as much as you like and drink water rather than soft drinks and alcohol.

Keep going for a whole year.
Never look back or eat like a fat person again - unless you wish to be fatter.

HappiestSleeping · 03/10/2023 05:37

@Weightlosswonders please don't focus on weight. Focus on measurements. Weights are your friend but muscle is heavier than fat, so as you build muscle, your measurements will change but your weight may not, so it will skew your own thinking.

I agree with others that this seems extreme in some ways. Weights will burn fat the fastest but balance this with the right choice of food.

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