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.

I've started buying only wholemeal bread, pittas and tortilla. I had a lotta at lunch and a tortilla at tea so I'm guessing this is why my carbs is sky high. I have hink because it's filling and satisfying.

I wouldn't particularly focus on being in calorie deficit. Focus instead on what you are eating (in a positive way) rather than how much and you will almost certainly be in deficit and lose weight.

You've identified carbs are your downfall (mine too). But just trying to cut them out without really dropping ultra processed food and increasing protein will be so hard as you will miss them

As a serial failed dieter my relationship with food has changed hugely since I cut carbs and UPF. That includes cutting "good" carbs like brown rice and brown bread.

You might find listening to some of the ZOE podcasts helpful. Or reading Ultra Processed People by Chris Van Tulleken. Basically our food environment in the UK makes it really hard for most people to sustain a healthy weight. But it can be done if you cook from scratch with ingredients.

I wouldn't bother to discuss it with your DH unless he does the cooking. Just give him healthy meals and he can eat what he likes on top.

I agree with @Jeevesnotwooster . Strictly limiting carbs, especially UPF, and increasing protein is key. You may think that carbs are "filling and satisfying", but they are not.

The filling effect is very temporary because carbs/UPF are of low nutritional value. You find them satisfying because they are rapidly (refined carbs more quickly than complex) converted to blood glucose, which in turn leads to cravings for more, more and more of the same. With predictable results. Have a lo9k at this explanation:

If you cut out all refined carbs and sugar and instead eat lean protein, you will stop the cravings and the yo-yo dieting. Add in lots of vegetables and some healthy fats and you'll have a healthy, satisfying diet.

That's quite a dramatic deficit and not one I would recommend. You need to fuel your body for the exercise you are doing otherwise you are on a one way path to misery, illness and injury. I would strongly encourage you to seek professional advice to come up with a plan that is safe and will work for you.

Entirely doable, I lost 100lbs in a year a few years ago. Don’t do anything drastic like cutting out carbs and just eating chicken/fish and rice like some will suggest. The key for me was and always is exercise. Provided I consistently keep active, the weight stays off. I aim to run 2-3 times a week, lift weights 2-3x a week and do HIIT workouts 2-3 x a week plus I walk on average 18k steps a day, sometimes as many as 30k. As long as I move around, it doesn’t matter what I eat.

Just an update everyone. I'm hoping for some more advice from you lovely lot. I am STARVED. I've been sticking to 1200 calories the last four days except for last night I was so hungry I ate everything in the bloody fridge! Am I eating too little calories? Or just the wrong things? I've been eating overnight oats for breakfast. , ham and eggs salad at lunch in a lotta or.tortilla, sweet potato and salad and chicken for tea, snacking on grapes, oranges, crackers breads, apples etc. but I can't believe how hungry I am! My joints are terrible so I've only been walking around 6000 steps a day. Am I doing this all wrong? I guess I'm just desperate to lose weight that I'm not doing it right and looking for a quick fix but ultimately if I'm so hungry i know I'm going to fail!

I’ve not followed the full thread, but why are you going as low as 1200 calories? I thought your baseline was closer to 2000?

Looking at your OP and starting weight you are eating too few calories. I'm a little lighter than you 225lb (16st 1lb) and my calorie target is 1670 per day based on a sedentary lifestyle and height of 5ft 8.

Go to a TDEE calculator online, put your details in and that will give you your calories to maintain. Anything less than that and you should lose weight. 500 deficit a day is the estimate for 1lb loss a week but I usually find I lose more than that with a 500 deficit.

Any additional exercise you do will technically allow you to eat more calories but be aware that estimates on calories burned can be a bit high so I try not to eat back all my exercise calories. I do find that I need a snack after swimming though because it makes me ravenous so I always leave some of my allowance for something really high protein and filling. i like beef jerky, a couple of hard boiled eggs or some Longley Farms full fat cottage cheese (seriously the best cottage cheese in existence, it tastes nothing like any other cottage cheese).

I think I'm just getting confused with all the numbers. Some calculations say I neen 2030 calories some say I need 3000 so I'm just like so why do I need to eat? The whole thing baffles me and I guess I'm just so desperate to keep in a deficit and lose some.weogjt hat I thought the lower th calories the better. But obviously this isn't right because I'm hungry and super weak.

I agree that is too low currently. I am a bit lighter than you and sedentary, Nutracheck is giving me 1779 a day to lose 1.5lbs a week (166cm height).

Don’t look for a quick fix, it took time to go on and will take time to come off.

How tall are you ? I recommend downloading Nutracheck if you go the calorie counting route, it’s about £28 I think if that is doable?

If I were you I would go for about 1800-2000 per day, stick at it for a couple of weeks and see what results you get with that.

Its a marathon, not a sprint 😉

Try to up your calories a bit - perhaps aim for around 1500 per day.
Also reduce the carbs, maybe have only one portion a day instead of with every meal, and replace with more green veg and extra protein.

Replace some of the fruit (especially grapes and oranges which are high in sugar and can give you a bit of a sugar rush, making you hungrier) with fruit and/or protein, such as an apple with a little peanut butter, tomatoes with cheese/boiled egg, berries with greek yogurt etc. You might find this helps, and will stop the hunger.

If you are feeling very hungry, I find drinking a fruit tea or a large glass of water helps to stave off the cravings. Or go for a walk. After 20 minutes the hunger cravings have usually passed.

I think you said you were using My Fitness Pal OP, what does it give you as a calorie target and how many pounds a week have you set your goal to lose?

I suspect if set to 1lb it will be telling you to eat about 1900 calories a day. Honestly, believe it, MFP works it really really does. During lockdown I used MFP, logged religiously, ate my calories and I lost 4stone in 6 months. Once everything opened back up and I could go to restaurants, socialise and eat cake at cafes it all went to hell, but while I followed it, it worked 😂

If you want to avoid hunger pangs you need fat and protein so full fat Greek yoghurt, boiled eggs, babybel, cottage cheese, peanut butter.

You want to reduce high sugar and refined carbs - grapes, oranges, apples, white bread, pasta. If you do have them then pair them with a carb so apple slices with peanut butter, bread with egg...

80lbs over a year is 1.5lbs a week. Totally doable.

Beware of things that you are consuming that you might not be counting towards your calorie intake such as drinks and condiments.

Fizzy drinks or juices have 150 calories, coffee shop coffees can have 300 calories once you've added the milks, syrups, sugars etc. There are nearly 100 calories in a tbsp of mayo! Swap to water/herbal teas and (if you can) go without mayo and other sauces where possible.

Good luck.

Yes I'm using my fp app, it says my target is 2040 but I wan on the understanding that I'm not supposed to meat that many calories and should be under that amount to lose the weight or have I got this wrong? I don't drink fizzy drinks, never have. Only water or tea. I've heard cottage cheese is good and healthy snack but I can't bare the taste of it. I also have gallstones so this would set it off. I'm limited to the goods I can eat so as to avoid an attack which begs the question how did I get so big in the first place! I have been eating lots of salad, fruit, Greek yogurt fo breakfast, boiled and scrambled eggs, lean bacon and ham and chicken. I have been using condiments but I've been measuring it and only having a teaspoon full.

@FootballFanGirl that is what you are allowed to eat and still be in deficit, MFP does the TdEE calculation for you and tells you how many calories you can eat and still lose weight. The less calories you eat, the more weight you might lose but as you have already noticed you'll feel crappy and that will make you want to eat more so you'll end up bingeing or ditching the diet.

What you'll find over the long run is that your calorie allowance will reduce as your weight reduces because your body will burn less calories just existing.

It usually reduces a bit for every stone(ish) lost.

Longley Farm full fat cottage cheese is the food of the gods, it is thick and creamy, you can spread it. It is not sour lumps in juice like all the other brands. I get it from Morrisons, Asda or Home Bargains and it truly is completely different to all other cottage cheeses.

I am an all or nothing person so intermittent fasting also works well for me. I have just got back on it and eat between 12-8pm (often less than this as I stop eating after my evening meal). I find I get obsessed with numbers and weights so this form of weight loss doesn't work for me. I stopped weighing myself a few years ago and now have no scales at home. I know when I need to lose a few pounds without the scales shaming me and I know when I feel better and my clothes fit better.
Fasting for me means I don't have to count anything or weigh anything. I try and eat high protein in my meals, train with a PT twice a week (and don't feel ill or dizzy from missing one meal if I train before lunch) and have also just re-started couch to 5k after a year off running due to injury.

There are so many 'diets' out there (I know, I have tried most of them in my lifetime) but the problem is, once you 'stop' the diet the weight goes back on, and often more. For me, 16:8 is sustainable and i don't really have to think about it. My energy levels improve too.

I hope you find something that works for you, we are all different x

1200 calories per day is far too little food, especially if your starting point is probably at least 2-3 times that which sounds like it probably is. Not only will you feel hungry you'll be going too hard at cutting out nice things and it will be miserable and you'll give up. You have to be in this for the long haul as a change to your diet (not ON A Diet).

Don't get too hung up on calories and deficit. Just change the balance of your eating as you've already started to do, reduce the sugar and mindless snacks and the weight will come off.

If you do use MFP, and you have entered all the information correctly (height, current weight, goal weight, target timeframe e.g 12 months) and MFP is calculating your target daily calories as 2040 then that's what you can eat and still lose weight. Adding in exercise will increase your daily target. If you go over one day just adjust the next day. If MFP is giving 1200 as a target then you need to make the timeframe for weightloss longer which will increase your daily target. 1200 just isn't sustainable for long for most people.

But the calories you eat need to be good quality ones. 2040 calories a day of cake & chocolate isn't going to be very healthy!

Also don't weigh yourself too often. Use your measurements instead (as carrying excess weight around the middle is more unhealthy). Pick some jeans and a top that fit or are tight now, and try them on every now and then to see how they get looser. As you lose weight choose some smaller size items and see how that looks and feels. I have "the jeans", an ancient old pair that I feel happy in and are at a good point between overweight and not trying to be 20 again! If I can't get them on comfortably (or at all!) I know I need to do something about it. How much I weigh is very secondary to that.

OP why not aim for about 1700 calories?

I'm not sure. I was just under the impression that the less calories I ate theore I would be in deficit and the more weight I would lose and quicker. I've ammend goals and it's now giving me less calories so I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Maybe because I use the free version of MFP I don't get to do all that? I've had more calories today though but also excercised alot.

This is mine today and I hav had more calories.

OP if you go too low then you’ll crack and binge.

Yes I known I have already had a few hiccups but I've not binged on anything unhealthy. I've been stuffing my face with grapes and 20 cal crackers in stead, bits of turkey and chicken etc.