To ask for advice and support around losing 6+ stone between now and May?

[ForMerryPinkCat]

I've been offered a job starting on May 27. My old trainer is setting up a new eventing yard and wants me as head groom/rider.

It's a fantastic opportunity to get back to the sport I love but unfortunately I had a horrible accident last year that resulted in multiple injuries and a long hospital stay.

Because of that and the medications I've been taking, my weight has ballooned up to 20 stone. I'm 5'4 so I'm massively overweight. Ideally i'd be under 14 stone when I started with the goal of getting back down to my ideal weight of around 8 stone.

I've told my family and friends it's for my wedding which is at the start of may because they're very against me riding again and I don't want to deal with the aggo if it's not even vaguely possible. My partner knows and is very supportive of me trying.

I've been eating around 1500 calories a day and walking briskly for 20mins several times a day. I've included a few pics of my diet/exercise for the past couple of days. (I will be adding more fruit/veg/protein in starting tonight when my groceries arrive, and switching out the whole milk for skimmed. I'm just trying to empty the fridge so nothing gets wasted!)

My advice would be to use a GLP 1, I've been on Mounjaro/wegovy for a year and lost 6 stone - still going but much better now

Thank you. I have an appointment at the end of the month to discuss it with my GP.

Can I ask why to discuss with your gp? Do you have contra indications?

im afraid to say it is highly unlikely a gp will prescribe, it is very tightly controlled, you need a bmi over forty and 4 out of 5 weight related health conditions, even then it is unlikely. You’d be referred to weight management clinic with a long wait.

so if its for the latter, then id advise just going privately now and not waiting for no reason.

I would go on mounjaro. But you are likely to have to pay for it privately. Also don’t include exercise in your calories, it’s really not accurate.

best of luck to you!

I would agree with not treating the exercise calories as available calories, as the estimations from the various apps and devices are usually pretty inaccurate.

You may find that you start off with quite big losses; given your starting weight, it is very possible to produce a big calorie deficit each day. As you lose weight, that will gradually slow down so don't be disheartened when that happens.

I am five ft 4 and went from 13:8 to 8:0 in a year on Mounjaro. I lost over 40% of my body weight.

I would absolutely recommend it if you have no contraindications.

Mounjaro or not (give it a go - it’s helped thousands upon thousands of people), you still of course have to make good food choices.

What worked for me was fasting, fluids, high protein and clean eating. That includes zero sugars (including natural sugars found in fruit and honey) and boy, that was hard - like an addict coming off a drug.

once you’ve eaten clean for a month (I followed loads of clean eaters and bulk eaters - some vegan - on Instagram), I slowly treated myself with fruit and honey and the occasional piece of dark chocolate - so my diet is still full of treats.

Avoid anything low-fat, I just think they’re full of chemicals and sweeteners to bulk up the taste and texture so for instance, if you’re going to treat yourself with Greek yogurt - make sure it’s the real thing and not the low-fat shite.

I also drank a lot of bone-broth.

I can’t see what you’ve attached sorry (rubbish iPhone) but this above is what worked for me. I also learned to really ‘cook’ and developed a palate for new herbs and spices.

I also made sure I walked a minimum of 7k steps a day - more as I grew lighter.

GO FOR IT OP! You’ve utterly got this and you CAN do it. It’s life-changing.

PS Apologies to everyone if this is full of typos - rubbish brightness on my phone and while I may have lost 5 stone with this advice, my eyesight is still shite 😂

If you are able, I would go down the GLP1 route. It doesn’t mean you don’t have to diet, it just makes it so much easier. I have lost 5 stones on it and haven’t had to count calories or adopt any particular approach, such as intermittent fasting. I’ve just been able to eat much smaller meals and much less snacking. Obviously it isn’t the only way to lose weight, but it is worth considering. Good luck.

If she uses one of those exercise trackers where you stick your route in and tell it your sex, weight, height and age, it'll be close enough for the purpose.

I was a similar height and starting weight to you, i've been doing slimming world for 11 months and have lost 4 1/2 stone

Almost no one has genuine access to glp1 on nhs if not diabetic. If you can afford it start them now privately.

If you are counting calories, make sure you weigh everything and don't add on your exercies calories. You say you have been eating around 1500 calories but on the 2 examples you give, 1 is closer to 1600 and the other over 1800. Little tweaks you might want to try to cut a few calories - do you really need 20g of butter on your toast? I scrape it on and off so it is no more than 5g per slice. To do this, weigh your bread, add your butter and weigh again. Your butter is the difference. Switch whole milk to semi, have 1 bagel rather than 2 bagel thins (likely less calories, although tbh I haven't checked). Otherwise looks fine to me. I also recommend taking a GLP-1. It makes it so much easier to stick to a calorie deficit long term. Before I went on it I would loose 10lb, loose interest and put on 12lb. That said, having a goal, both the job and the wedding are good targets. You may or may not loose 6 stone in that time but you will be a good way there.

That reads like a really poor diet to me. Stop eating bread and add some vegetables.

scrambled eggs and vegetables for brunch, a healthy home made meal with lots of beans/vegetables.

I've had bad reactions to medications in the past so want to discuss it with my GP before I start anything like that.

The exercise calories are from my smartwatch which has my weight/height and such so should be fairly close.

I know I should swap the bread and milk and add more veggies but I currently live on my own and if I don't use it up it'll just go in the bin. I'm not wasting perfectly good food by throwing it away when I can eat it in moderation until it's gone.

GPs cant really comment on medications they dont prescribe. Mine refuses to discuss anything with me that I get privately or think I want

On 1500 cals, you'll do fine until the lower ranges, but the consistence will be hard unless you have medical support in my view, humans are designed to seek out food. I would get on the jabs asap

Way to go OP!
Looks like you’re off to a great start! 10 months to lose 6 stone - I’m sure you can achieve it, or at least come very close 😊. Try setting mini goals, that’s what I’m doing at the moment to lose weight. The road looks long when you look at it in its entirety, but when you break it down to weighing X weight in 4 weeks time, it is far more motivating!
Also remember - it’s not about being perfect, it’s about being consistent.
There will be days when the diet or walking don't go to plan - but that’s OK! Just keep going and don’t give up when that happens!

Unfortunately if not eligible on the NHS then as a GP we can't do that. See a private GP.

You will probably qualify for NHS support eventually because your starting BMI is over 40 and you have other health issues. However this will definitely not happen in time for May. Before you get prescribed there is a process which varies between health trusts but usually takes at least 6 months and sometimes longer. I first asked for support from my GP in June 2025 and I have found it really helpful to have various stages prior to getting the medication and I have dropped one stone without the jabs but I only just got through to the stage of being prescribed the jabs a couple of weeks ago. The pre-prescription stages aren't just about rationing or waiting lists - the most important steps are psychological and people who just go for the meds without changing their mindset don't get as much benefit from the meds.

So if you really need to get the meds that quickly you will probably have to pay privately - but don't just take them without also trying to make sure you have permanent changes in how you balance the needs of your body so that the jabs are supporting these changes rather than being a shortcut to skipping this hard work.

My only concern with WLI is that they can be linked with muscle loss, and that’s the last thing you need right now. Personally, I’d speak to a physio about putting together a plan to build your muscle and fitness slowly, rather than focussing so much on weight loss. If you’re recovering from an injury, building back your strength will be more important before going back to such a physically demanding job. The right plan will result in fat loss too, but lose weight too quickly, and you risk further muscle loss, which would be a bad idea.

I concur

Thank you. I do work with a physio and he has okayed my plan so far.

I did my first session at the gym this morning then had a nice swim after! I'm desperately trying not to give into temptation to get on the scales just yet because I think it's too early!

Walking isn’t enough. You need to start running and doing strength training 5-6 days a week, alternate the days. Try 5:2 diet.

I'm absolutely not fit or strong enough to start running yet. Ten minutes brisk walking at a 7% incline leave me out of breath and elevates my heart rate nicely.

Ahh something is working 🥳🥳🥳

When you’re ready couch to 5k could work well 🙂