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!)

Have you ever tried eating only within a time frame, I don't eat until 1pm then stop at 8 pm. I am not really really strict and this is easier in the week when I am at work. I find it easy to put it off in the morning as once I do eat I then want more.

I did it aged 50 and little exercise - Keto.

GO FOR IT

Changes I can make would be substantial changes to diet and activity levels.

Don't know your dieting history, so I would say pick a method that is sustainable long term (some sort of 'plan' that keeps you accountable to yourself, even if calorie counting and logging everything in an app) and then aim for 1 lb ish a week factoring in a couple of holidays, plateaus, crap weeks. I would say without anything too drastic, give yourself a year x But....... even though it sounds ages away, you'll start to look different and feel better along the way to keep you motivated x x

You could include some 10 min hit workouts on you tube within your wah day? But if you could get outside it would be good all round for you.

You might as well say “read a book a week”. Lots of things are good to do but nothing to do with weight loss. I have similar stats to the OP and I started seeing a personal trainer 18 months ago. I changed nothing else really. I still look the exact same.

Nobody is saying you should try injections, you have misunderstood - just that that would be the only way to lose that much weight that fast. But you would not be eligible because they are aimed at people who are obese. Terrible idea.

Yes, I am interested in both keto and time restricted eating as possible options. I do want to increase exercise though for all the other health benefits, so want to make sure I am eating in a way that can support that.

What was your approach @FergussSingsTheBlues ?

I am 44 btw.

You can definitely do this and no injection required. Personally what has worked for me is a diet equivalent to Bright line Eating which is, in a nutshell:

• 3 meals a day, 4oz protein with each meal (6oz if plant based) and c10oz veg plus one piece of fruit. Large pots of veg / bean soup are your friend - super filling but keep calories low
• limit heavy carbs (eg potato) to 4oz per day
• no snacking, no alcohol, no refined sugar / flours

if you apply cast iron will power this is very possible

Oh do explain some more about this to us! You must have done a lot of research to know for a fact that it is worse for people to lose weight using injections that it is for them to remain obese.

If you could also unpack the being disgraceful and lazy for us that would be excellent!

I did…….on Mounjaro.

13st 3 to 9 stone 2. Middle of June start, at target middle December. 1200 calories a day, walked around 30 miles a week.

Please don't do it on this thread though! I appreciate the advice being shared and this thread was never about weight loss drugs.

This is helpful, thanks @curious79 . I do have pretty good willpower as long as it's supported by a sensible plan.

It's unrealistic. You would have to restrict your diet to a very low calorie regime which will make you feel rotten and which you would be very unlikely to maintain for the full six months. You would do much better to aim for 1lb a week (and even that won't happen invariably), but is a healthy gradual loss. I speak from experience. Good luck.

Honestly it depends on your willpower. Technically it's possible if you have an iron will and can eat v small portions continuously. For the vast majority of people it won't be achievable as eating like that for months at a time isn't sustainable and you will break and binge.

Even though it takes longer it's better to slowly introduce manageable changes that don't leave you feeling starved. Eg first start weighing your carbs only and reducing by a third, then swap unhealthy snacks for healthy options, do a 20 min HIIT workout twice a week, then increase to 4x etc. Don't focus on the scales, focus on healthy life choices you can sustain.

Thanks @TimeForATerf . So you still ate restricted calories and moved more? I guess the difference is that Mounjaro made it easier for you to stick to the calorie restriction?

Thanks @Adelstrop and @Konstantine8364 for the balanced answers.

The first two you may do in two months but the second two will be much harder.

@SexAndCakes

Honestly, I was so miserable, I just acted impulsively. You just need to catch that one strand of willpower and self believe and run with it.

I made a massive fry up - no carbs. Just ate away happily. I didn’t need to eat for the rest of the day. Logged on to my fitness pal and that was day 1 - I’d only eaten 1000cals but was genuinely still full.

the next day I had an omelette for breakfast with bacon and after that I was laughing - it completely cuts out food noise and when you’re as overweight as I was the weight flies off - I haven’t been hungry once.

i log everything and eat everything just omit the carbs, i never felt restricted I have an omelette every day for breakfast after the gym. I eat dinner with my family every night and swap out things like potatoes for cauliflower cheese, eat a lot of salad and chicken. Stuff like pesto doesn’t actually contribute much calorie wise but adds a kick - ditto marmite & mustard. Where possible feta not cheddar - you need to much less that it makes a big difference calorie wise. You don’t need to be hungry ever, which was my main issue.

once I’d lost four stone I joined the gym and haven’t looked back x

Sorry OP if you have said already but how old are you. Post menopause I struggle to loose weight so it may take a little longer than your goal if you are older. I would aim for one to two pounds a week loss. I like the noom app but you do have to pay.

To me what you're saying is contradictory. You want to lose a load of weight fast, can it be done. Probably. Using techniques of super low calories that won't be sustainable.

But then you've also said you want it to be sustainable, which super low calories isn't. For that you need a more gradual process with sustainable changes to your nutrition that stick. It's not a case of 6 months, boom, done. That's why people frequently put the weight back on.

Then you also mention wanting to be active. Your body needs fuel to do that. And if you lose weight fast you'll also lose muscle which makes being active harder plus adds to the damage to your body.

Personally I'm more about having a strong body and fuelling that rather than a small one, so I'm not much help on that score. But I thought the above might be helpful in what you really want.

I’m just over 5ft 2” & to my shame reached 16 stone which was heavier than my DH who is 6ft tall! My saving grace was quitting drinking at the end of January. I lost 3 & a half stone in around 8 months. Seem to have plateaued but ideally would like to get to around 11 stone or even 10. I used to be 9 stone but I’m in my late 50s & would look a little gaunt at that weight I think. Do you drink OP? I really can’t believe the difference. I drank heavily & the alcohol stimulated my appetite plus I was eating a lot more snacky stuff like crisps. Would never start drinking again even though I do miss it sometimes.

I lost 3 stone in 3 months

I took up exercise and ate less

Yes, it's also the basis of my question though - I am acknowledging that what I want (fast weight loss) may not be achievable using these approaches (calorie restriction and exercise).

I think the opinions here are mixed, though. I would say that the consensus so far is that it is technically possible but in reality hard to do.

FWIW I am less concerned about maintenance. I don't think BMI 21 is that hard to maintain, unless I am misguided.

To be clear, BMI 21 is not super thin for me. I have been that weight before (when much younger, but also with a dramatically different lifestyle) and wore size 12/14.