Can I lose four stone in six months?

[SexAndCakes]

Typical post-Christmas realisation that working from home and general life stresses over the last few years have led to a very sedentary lifestyle, overeating and getting fat (BMI 28). I need to lose four stone to get to my ideal weight (BMI 21). This feels like a very long road and is combined with feeling generally low about some other life areas. I have also been overweight for a number of years now so feel like I have lost the sense of myself as a slim person IYSWIM.

I'd love to hear from others who have achieved this type of weight loss. Also, whether six months is a realistic timeframe to lose four stone without things like weight loss drugs (not eligible or I would welcome them!). I feel like I need the shortest possible timeframe to be motivated for this. The good news is that I currently have the time and resources to make it my focus.

YABU - six months to lose four stone is not realistic
YANBU - it can be done (ideally share advice on how please!)

You're being unrealistic and are trying to lose too much.

YES if you put your mind to it and especially if you do weighs/cardio exercise regularly

800 cal a day diet is your friend here

If you were willing to try an injection you might get close to it.

Why the 6 months limit?

Is bmi of 21 realistic?

BMI of 21 is probably quite low-how will you maintain it? You can lose 4 stone-easy compared to keeping it off. I did fast 800. Didn’t keep it off, also don’t want to lose as much as arse or face aged now and quite like my face.

That’s a very large amount of weight loss for such a short timeframe, especially as you aren’t very large to start with.

It doesn’t sound realistic without taking an extreme and potentially harmful approach to weight loss.

That's a lot of weight to lose when you're not massively overweight to begin with. If you did manage it I would say it's unlikely to be a sustainable loss. I would perhaps aim to get your BMI under 25 in that period rather than trying to get as low as 21.

I would be very willing to try an injection but don't qualify with a BMI of 28 and no health issues (thankfully).

The time limit is simply because I feel rubbish about myself and a near-term timeframe feels a lot more motivating than, say, a year or more to lose it all.

I don't know if BMI 21 is realistic, except that obviously it is well within the NHS guidelines for my height (lower end of healthy is BMI 18.5, which would be far too low). I have been this weight before, not since I was much younger but then my lifestyle has changed massively since then as well.

It’s just over 2 pounds a week. So yes, achievable, but I’d also question 21 bmi. Not in the achieving it, but the maintaining it. If you go too low it often means it’s not sustainable and you just end up back where you were, and then some.

why not set yourself a goal of 23 or 25. See how you feel when you get there.

A year would be more realistic.

If you think a maximum healthy weight loss rate is 2lbs a week then 4 stone would take 28 weeks.
In reality even with maximum effort it doesn’t work like that much more likely to be an average 1lb a week so give yourself a year.
Unless of course you were planning on getting the injections which you shouldn’t as they are prescribed to the obese and you are not heavy enough to need them for medical reasons.

These reactions are helpful, thank you.

One thing I would flag is that I am very tall (5' 11") so four stone, although it sounds like a big number, is not as much on my frame as it would be on a woman who is e.g. 5'4". That's why I used BMI instead of actual weight. Another way of looking at it would be approx. 15% weight loss.

It's always good to have a target.

If you've identified when you're over eating you just need go break the habit.

A friend WFH went to two meals a day. She would have breakfast, the during the day would eat a couple of pieces of fruit and some seeds and unsalted nuts.

At lunch time she then went for a 30 minute brisk walk.

No idea how much weight she lost but it was a lot. She just needed to break her routine.

But BMI 25 is overweight! Why would that be anyone's goal?

2 stone in 6 months is much more realistic and would probably get you to a bmi under 25? And it wouldn’t require a ridiculous 800kcal per day diet but more like a 500 Kcal per day deficit on your daily caloric needs. Then you could continue if you felt you wanted to lose more.

Start exercising. Might not make you lose the weight you want but will improve your health

Yes, exactly - I don't think it's strange to have a target of 21. It's bang in the middle of the healthy range for my height.

OP, I am the opposite - I'm very short and my target loss in 2025 is one stone to get to about BMI 22 and honestly we're probably chasing a similar goal.

On 800 calories a day I would think you'd be utterly miserable and it doesn't feel a long term good idea. I think you're setting yourself up for a perceived fail here, even if you do really well you'll feel you've not reached a goal that was probably overambitious. Why don't you start with a stone loss in two months and see where you get to or a 10 percent loss.

I'm surprised by so many mentions of weight loss drugs as an option - I am not eligible for them, I don't think?

I bet it didn’t take 6 months to put that weight on. So why would it be realistic to lose it in that timeframe?

Yo yo dieting is awful - lots of people tend to lose the weight then put it all back on (plus some). This is the opposite of a long term solution.

You might want to look at Slimpod if you want to make changes stick.

You don't need drugs to lose weight I can't believe they are even a thing it's disgraceful and lazy! And in a few years we'll realise all the negative health effects of them.

Surely you realise you need this to be more of a lifestyle change if you already know it’s the lifestyle that got you the increase?

I am definitely overeating and also now very sedentary. It has crept up on me over several years but I can see big areas where I can make changes; it's now the motivation that is the issue, hence wanting to have something aspirational to work towards.

One meal a day would do it....
Plus 2-3 litres per day of water ..

Yes, that's what I am saying - my question is whether those lifestyle changes can have the impact I want within six months, or whether that's an unrealistic timeline.