If you lost weight, how did you do it?

[Darkling1]

Just looking for tips. Since being prescribed Mirtazapine (I’ve been on this for over a year.) I’ve noticed that I’ve put on weight and my clothes don’t fit me anymore.

I’m 29 and I’m 5ft 2, but I don’t know how much I weigh as I haven’t got scales in the house. I’ve made an appointment with my GP to ask for a medication change as Mirtazapine makes me hungry all of the time, which isn’t helping.

Does anyone have any tips for me in order to lose some weight please?

I don’t drink alcohol or fizzy drinks at all. My issue is my constant stacking.

Yeah it's an issue with that drug. I don't know anyone who didn't put weight on. It's worth asking for one that doesnt.

Otherwise, weight training, tracking calories and macros, a lot of water and a fair bit of self restraint against the hunger.

Ozempic. I tried keto and it's effective but I couldn't keep it up. Highly recommend ozempic, but I was very very overweight.

I'll add, I had a great diet before, but now avoid:

• using too much olive oil to cook my food, and don't slosh it over my salads
• don't have the small handful of raw cashew nuts per day that I used to snack on
• have cut down on avocados - I didn't know that one can contain 250 calories and I was sometimes having 2 a day!
• have cut out the little blob of soured cream or mayo that I would have on the side of lots of meals

It's taken a bit of time but I'm 3 stone down from my heaviest.

Work out calorie deficit needed.
I eat a high protein diet.
3 litres of water a day.
Minimum of 10,000 steps a day.
I do 4 scheduled gym sessions a week. Three weights and One cardio.
Usually I run 7k three times a week and add a gym class or two. Normally a spin and a HIIT.

Now my summer holiday is over im back into it to hopefully shift a stone before Christmas so now no sugary snacks or junk food.

It's best to make a few small changes at a time to see it as a lifestyle change not a diet as often SW/WW etc are not sustainable.

What app?

Personally people need to knock off pushing those weight loss jabs on anyone mentioning weight. Nobody knows if the OP is even in the BMI range for it.

Build muscle. Muscly bodies take more calories to maintain, so you can increase your calories if you find long-term calorie restriction difficult. Weight training also has other metabolic effects, including continued calorie burn after workouts have finished too.

A calorie deficit is the only thing that's worked for me, whether through diet or through added exercise. (A combination of the two works best for me.)

I'm currently using the free NHS weight loss app to keep track of my calories, but have looked at other online calculators in order to work out how many calories I should be taking a day.

I lost a substantial amount of weight 25 years ago through diet and exercise but gradually put it back on after giving up the gym and overeating. I'm now back on track.

I think you need to buy some scales op. Just order some from Amazon, you don’t need to spend more than a few pounds, and when you say your clothes don’t fit you, what size are they, and how much don’t they fit you, just a bit tight, or can’t get them over your hips. A size 8 not fitting you any more and just being a bit tight is very different to a size 16 you can’t get over your hips.

😮 well done you 👏

Mirtazipine is renowned for having side effects of increased appetite/weight gain. It is prescribed (in a tiny dose!) by vets for cats who won't eat.
You could discuss switching meds with your GP.

I have lost 5 stone in the last 14 months with Slimming World.
It is very much a lifestyle change, not a diet.
I eat mainly things high in protein (chicken, salmon, lentils, tofu) as the main part of any meal, with a third to half the plate salad/veggies. I do have rice and pasta too. But make sure I fill up on loads of salad and veggies at the same time.
I snack on cooked chicken, watermelon and blueberries - easy to grab from the fridge. I do have one chocolate bar or creme egg a day as a treat. But I savour it. I don't eat while distracted or watching telly, or scrolling on my phone.

A food diary is very helpful, I found, in tandem with weighing /measuring absolutely everything. A real basic is ensuring you drink enough. Drink a pint of water before a meal or when you’re thinking you’re hungry, I used to think I was hungry but I was terrible for not drinking enough.

I started losing weight by stopping eating breakfast, eating less at lunch, no snacks and not worrying about what I ate at dinner. I also dramatically upped my water intake. I can't remember a time in my life I haven't thought about food constantly. I found that delaying my first meal made me not think about food all morning which was pretty weird. It was like the food switch wasn't turned on!
Then my GP offered me Ozempic. I have type 2 diabetes. I started in April. It's great. Absolutely no food noise now. Losing weight slowly but also keeping, mostly 😉to the above principles.

My top tip would be ignore the rubbish you see on instagram about x being the only way to lose weight at Y age etc.
Count calories
Don't eat too little (I lost 24lb on 1800 cals a day in 3 months, I am super active though so adjust for your activity levels)
As others have said make substitutions and cut down the oil/butter etc
Do eat a few almonds or other nuts a day
Count everything!
Weigh food
Do as much exercise as you can

Intermittent fasting, but you have to do it "properly" which for women means tuning it to your cycle (importantly, not fasting too long in the week before your period) while eating lots of nutritious, satisfying foods and staying well hydrated.

I lost 2 stone easily doing this, even while still having a few treats and occaional glasses of wine, and it cleared up a few health problems as a bonus. There are lots of good books and free resources online.

Working out what I actually use in a day and then taking 400 calories off it. For me I use max 1600 so did 1200 calories per day tracking with mfp. I lost 3 stone in 6 months and its stayed off because I changed me way of eating.

As soon as I opened this, I knew there would be lots of uninformed, generic responses.

The majority of people on here don’t understand the weight gaining effects of medication such as Mirtazipine so you’ll get lots of “eat less, move more” when that often doesn’t work for people on these meds.

I’m also struggling with my weight being on Quetiapine. I’ve cut myself down to the lowest dose I can (without getting ill) and started spending some time on a walking pad a few times a week. I’ve lost about half a stone which is better than the scale not moving at all as it has done for about 4 years.

Haven’t really changed my eating habits as that wasn’t my main problem, just added in a bit more water.

Good luck, I know how hard it is to lose weight on the Pine’s ☹️

@Theroadt- the WW app

Tracking what I eat

Preparing home made lunches in advance (so no supermarket sandwiches, takeout etc. at work)

Having healthy snacks available on weekends / at home (pre-cut cucumbers, a hard boiled egg, small cut of cottage cheese) when I'm genuinely hungry. No snack-stash in the office!

Minimising snacking in general. No snacking in the evening / before bed

Allowing myself foods that satisfy cravings. High protein chocolate mousse if a favourite of mine. A home made chocolate muffin every once in a while...

Meals that contain fibre and protein

EDIT: But I do not have experience with Mirtazapine. Could you talk to your doctor? A qualified nutritionist?

Calories in less than calories out. Maths, innit.

The opening question is how did you lose weight. It's not surprising that many people have finally been successful using WLI. It's up to the OP and others looking for the same magic pill whether they are medically suitable or affordable for them.

Every overweight person knows it's simply to eat less than you need so the body uses its fat stores. Keto, IF, SW, WW, low fat, low carb are all successful and popular diets.

What worked for me was medication, firstly Phentermine where I lost 2st, then Mounjaro where I've lost a further 3st and have another 1 to go. I eat small portions of whole foods and drink lots of water. Snacking and junk food rarely interests me but this will be interesting to see once I'm off the meds.

Another Mounjaro success story here. Bear in mind, you will halve your food bills, and probably go right off alcohol. I reckon the net cost to me is £13-18 a week.

Sticking to 1,500 calories a day, walking 10,000 steps a day and 20 minutes of Pilates every day. Losing approx 1lb per week (I’m normal BMI but was getting to the top of that, so I don’t have huge amounts to lose).

Not really purposely lost weight but worth pointing out. Noticed quite a lot of weight loss after I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, the only big changes I made were no sugar and swapped all carbs for "brown" ones (brown pasta, brown rice, brown- ideally seeded bread). I did already have a pretty solid workout routine and balanced diet in place but nothing happening on the scales between very gradual fat loss and muscle gain. Then suddenly lost a load.

But the OP didn’t ask how she should lose weight. She asked how we did it. There’s nothing uninformed or generic in answering that question. It might be entirely unhelpful to the OP, but it’s a specific and informed answer to the question she did ask…