To lose 80lbs this year? Is it doable?

[FootballFanGirl]

I'm very overweight. I'm tipping the scales at 18st 13lbs, aside from when I have birth to my son last year I was 22 stone which I manag d to lose without trying really, this is the biggest I've been although I've always had issues with my weight up and down since I was a child. I don't want to be fat anymore, I want to be healthy and slim and just feel better. My mobility is bad now, all my bones ache, I have back problems, knee problems, you name it. I know that my weight isn't helping me. I want to lose 80lbs so around 5-6 stone. Ice already made some big dietry changes. And trying to be in a calorie deficit. I struggle to do vigorous excercise because I'm always in so much pain, I also have bad anxiety mainly health anxiety and terrified that my heart won't take the exercise and I'll die!! Silly I know. I do walk alot and most days walk between 4-5 miles pushing my son in his buggy. I don't really understand how it works . I know that I need to burn more calories than I consume but how on earth do you burn 1500 calories in one day alone? (Just an example) especially when mobility is bad like mine? Is there anyone that can give me some advice, some stories or just words of encouragement? Now that I've sat here and said it aloud I feel like I'm being unreasonable to think I could actually lose 80lbs and get to my goal weight. Any opinions or thoughts appreciated.

Personal trainers need not be terribly expensive - I live in a relatively affluent part of the UK and see a personal trainer who charges me £40 for a 2.5 hour session - he has degrees in sports science and various related qualifications and trains professional soccer players.
The key is to find someone who has the qualifications and interest in helping you - particularly to kick start your fitness goals. They can put together a program for you, and guide you in how to do the exercises with correct form until you are confident about your ability to do those exercises in a safe way. After that you won't need the trainer other than to help you develop your fitness program as you become fitter.

I have experience of exercising after horrific spinal injuries (the worst of all joint pains some might say) - I had to - and have to - keep my core strong - which requires weight bearing exercise in multiple forms. It's incredibly scary beginning a fitness program again after spine surgery - but the proper trainers are excellent at providing guidance.

This is also terrible advice - exercise is vitally important for good health - and for joint health in particular. This lady has said that she has joint problems. Exercise will help her strengthen those joints, and to tone her body as she loses her excess body fat.
Dropping a load of weight without doing any exercise leads to horrible results - the sort of droopy skin flaps, gaunt faces, sagging breasts, and depression that are evident in people who have had gastric band surgery/use Wegovy/lose weight as a result of medical complications. It's no fun to be in that category of people.

You are far more likely to suffer from hanging skin/loose skin issues if you drop weight quickly without doing exercise. Particularly exercise that involves the muscles in your core (though to properly exercise your core you have to of course exercise your arms and legs etc too). People who eat properly (smaller meals and more of them, cut out processed foods, eat lean meats or their equivilant etc etc) and accompany this with a diverse exercise plan that involves multiple forms of exercise (so for example just swimming wouldn't help you as much as swimming while also doing some kind of weight bearing exercises like circuit training, together with core stabilising exercises like those found in pilates for example) tend to lose weight in a way that is less likely to result in those scary "bat wings" and folds of excess skin that people who have, for example, gastric bands or vast amounts of liposuction tend to suffer from.

There is no magic or quick fix here - anyone who tries to sell you one or pushes you into a fad diet is doing you no favours at all.
And, again, please go see your GP and ask for a referral to a nutrition and exercise specialist - and for help in identifying why you are suffering from joint pain etc.

thank you everybody. We dont eat many takeaways, and I cook everything from scratch. I suppose it's the hidden calories in things like meats, cheeses, sauces etc. I don't drink. I don't smoke. I know my downfall is grazing throughout the day and snacking on a night time, cakes, chocolate etc. also I had a period of being very inactive which I believed contributed to me hitting that wall. I was 22 stone 18 months ago, I got down to 17st and now find myself back to almost 19st. I have bad anxiety and OCD, I know that I am an emotional eater. I'm in treatment for my mental health. I know that my mental and physical health will be greatly improved of I can shift this weight. Not only that but I want to be fitter for my son. I can't really afford a personal trainer and I would be so embarrassed to go the gym alone plus I don't really have time. Its much easier for me to put DS in his pram and go for brisk walk. I know that it's solely my diet that's making me out on this weight. Id just like to add that despite my weight, I don't have high cholesterol, and I don't have pre diabetes. (I spend a lot of time at the doctors and they've done alot of tests) they have said whilst I am overweight that they actually can't find anything wrong or out of the ordinary (slight high BP) likely stress induced. You've all given some amazing advice and I'm so grateful.

It's 1.5 pounds a week, so not impossible.
I lost just over a stone before Christmas in about 6 weeks - I've stalled over the break, but planning to get back to it ASAP.
Thoroughly recommend Nutracheck - it's a paid for service (I think £36 for a year) rather than freebies like my fitness pal, it's UK based so you don't lurch into 'cups' of stuff, and most UK supermarket products and chain restaurants are listed. Users also can't load their own nutritional values to the main database, so what comes up is pretty reliable.

I find this a really good diet:
The Lean Team No Doubt Diet plan.pdf (directclinicaltrial.org.uk)
it's quite extreme - I do a modified version of lunch and breakfast per the diet, and a healthy evening meal with lots of veg, and found myself full and unhungry eating 800-1,000 calories a day.

Thank you. My GP suspected i had fibromyalgia as all of my other tests were normal including autoimmune and RA etc. but he was more leant on the side that I am overweight and that this is why I have joint pains because I am simply to heavy.

Good preparation is a huge help for me.

I use my fitness pal to log calories and you can log calories for the next day too so you can prep food like lunch/snacks for the next day which will help to keep you on track.

Weekly meal planning helps me too and getting my husband involved so I'm not cooking lots of different meals.

There is lots of good advice here but the main thing is finding what works for you, if you're hungry in the morning then eat breakfast, don't starve yourself. If you not hungry then don't eat.

Other tips are
Celebrate non scale victories as the scales are not always a good measure of weight loss because you can tone up but not lose actual pounds on the scale so just be patience with yourself.

You will probably hit a plateau, your body needs to adjust to lower weight before you start losing again so just keep going.

https://www.secondnature.io/guides/mind/motivation/weight-loss-plateaus-explained?campaignid=8918399894&adgroupid=87186600622&adid=411990390160&gclid=CjwKCAiAv_KMBhAzEiwAs-rX1JrbfsoA0UO8-3riolFSbAYpPhquqQ8aN_GpoGFbtCDSy8OoLYJUAhoC0m0QAvD_BwE

www.secondnature.io/guides/mind/motivation/overcome-weight-loss-plateau

If you find exercising hard, there's plenty of chair exercises you can do until you feel stronger.

If you do have a shit day calorie wise, draw a line under it and start fresh the next day. We all fall off the wagon every now and then but it's how you deal with that fall that matters.

Good luck and remember, you're not dieting, you're making better food choices!

Also, the weigh loss chat groups are helpful so you don't feel like you're on your own doing this!

This one is great

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight_loss_chat/4971404-lose-it-january-2024-reset-renew

You're looking at 2lb a week with room for 'naughty' weeks for holidays etc.
Best of luck you can do this .

Yes.
As someone who never loses weight, it has dropped off me by doing intermittent fasting coupled with Keto. 18 hour fast, 6 hour eating window. Super low carb.
I went from 13.5 st to 11.5. Will resume once I'm back at work and my goal is around another stone. Cutting sugar and milk out of my coffee is probably the biggest actual change for me, more than the cutting of carbs in my food has.

Its very very much doable.

I.think seeing fast results is most likely to help you commit and keep going which is why I’d recommend something like lighter life if you’ve got lots to lose. You will lose a stone a month roughly and once you’re in ketosis after a few days it really does feel easy! The hardest bit is transitioning back to real food once you’ve lost all the weight but there are support groups and mentoring to help with the psychological side of eating. Let me know if you have any questions about it - I am on day 3 !

Haven't read whole thread but posting as I want to to join you.

I'm starting at around 22 stone and would currently love to get under 16... (So 6 stone) but long term under 13. Its such a long way.

I know it does feel so overwhelming because it feels and sounds like such a lot of weight and it will HARD. But we can do this!

Haven’t RTFT but good luck OP. I am in a similar position (weigh more than you) and am determined that 2024 will be my year. I did manage to lose 3st in 2023, but with two weeks plus of Christmas excess I’m expecting a chunk of that to have gone back on when I weigh in tomorrow.

I lost 20lbs in 10 weeks this autumn using the Bodyslims programme, I found it really effective and what was most amazing was that I managed to stay happy doing it, unlike other diets. I have another 15lb to go to go so I’m trying to maintain over Christmas and see how I do on my own using the principles in January. I was just tipping the obese bmi this time last year, I’m have just reached normal and I feel so much healthier and happier.

it’s not rocket science, at its core it is 1 hour of walking a day, and sticking to a set number of calories (1200 for me), and you are supported by a very clever motivational programme and seminars which keeps you inspired to stay on course which lasts 10 weeks for a cycle. Have a look at their testimonials and their social media lots of people have lost a lot of weight doing it. I really didn’t think I would like it but was encouraged by a friend who had lost 2 stone on it, and really was a great experience.

https://www.bodyslims.com/success-stories

Weighing in tomorrow morning, ready to start again. Have my weight tracking spreadsheet ready to go and will use my fitness pal to track what I eat. Booked in for Aqua aerobics on Tuesday evenings and will swim a couple of times a week too.

I know how to lose the weight, I just don't like doing it. Goodbye carbs, goodbye iced lattes, we need to take a break.

I cant yet walk for an hour. I get really painful lower legs and not sure why (assume it's unfitness).

I've managed 8 mins. Rest. 8 mins today but it does ache. So thinking of doing this daily for a while to try build strength.

It's not like I'm super out of breath but my lower legs just go stiff on the outside.

I agree with your comment regarding calorie deficit and exercise, but how sustainable in the long term is eating a low carb meal once a day.

Yeah once a day eating would be disordered eating for me. I want to eat in a sustainable way for long term.

I've been doing 3 meals and then snacking on nuts/fruit/yoghurt if needed- but aiming to make the 3 meals sustaining.

I've lost a stone on the last 3 months but then I expect I've put on over Xmas as have really eaten whatever. I keep thinking jts only 2 weeks and it's the other 50 that are important!

I lost 150lb in 20months, so yes it is possible.
When I started I struggled to walk across a room, used crutches, couldn't get in and out of the bath myself, was I pain 24/7.

It's all about making lots of small changes over time. I started by simply logging everything (and I mean everything) I ate and seeing how many steps I took on average in a day.

After a week I plugged my details into myfitnesspal and chose a deficit, you do not need a huge deficit, 1lb/week is plenty. I also set my activity level to sedentary and allowed mfp and my garmin talk to each other to add exercise calories. I would then attempt to eat 50% of those calories on top of what mfp gave me as standard. And believe me the heavier you are the more calories you get to eat, I was on around 2000Calories to start with.

With activity I looked at how many steps I was doing on average and then tried to increase that by around 500/day each week.

Then after a couple of months I joined a gym, I was super lucky with that gym and the owner took me under his wing. At that point just moving was enough cardio, but I learnt to strength train and at the same time very slowly started to add in more cardio. To begin with I could barely manage 5min at 3km/hr on the treadmill, but over the months and years I built it up, started running and now have 4 marathons under my belt. I also joined some exercise classes, when I started I had to modify everything, 6 years later and I can do almost everything.

Throughout my weightloss period, I also set myself goals. Short term one's of losing 10lb, medium term one's of losing 10% of my bodyweight and of course my long term goal of losing 150lb. But I also set myself fitness goals, to be able to walk up a flight of stairs, be able to walk 5k, they were a couple of my original goals.

I'd also recommend taking progress photos on a monthly basis, sometimes the scales don't show the progress but photos do.

To begin with take rest days inbetween and then increase the time by just a minute each week. Try and move around as much as you can in the meantime.

Wow Firefly that's incredibly you've done so well!!!! I have a similar amount to lose and it is so daunting.

How often/how long did you train to begin with? I really want to believe I can do this! And it's great its helped your mobility. I really want to do this.

The first couple of months I literally only worked on increasing how many steps I did a day. I started at less than 2000/day and every one of those hurt.

Once I did start going to the gym I only started at twice a week, probably spent a total of 10min doing cardio (to warm up and cool down) and another 30min or so doing resistance training.

This gradually increased over around a year and in fact still continues to increase. I now train 6 days a week, averaging 2hrs/day. I run, I lift weights, I kickboxing, I go to hiit class and I work with a PT. Along the way I discovered a love of pushing myself in many forms of exercise.

This is amazing! May I ask what you did diet wise and if all your weight loss has been purely diet and exercise ie no surgery/diet pills/injections? You must feel so good.

Sure.
I simply logged everything in Myfitnesspal and reduced the Calories I ate at the same time as increasing activity. It was very important to me that I didn't demonise any foods, if I wanted it and I had the calories I ate it. It took a few months and I made mistakes along the way but I gradually learnt what was and wasn't worth the calories.

I didn't have surgery or take any pills or go to any slimming clubs. I did go to see the GP right at the start, but he told me only way someone my size would lose weight was surgery. That put a stubborn streak in me and decided to prove him wrong