Feeling rubbish - please share your success stories

[lasciviousoldram]

Feeling totally fed up and disheartened. I've just weighed myself for the first time in months and I'm over 17st. I'm so ashamed.
I go on holiday in August and I know I'm going to be miserable and just wanting to cover myself up. I hate how my eating habits have left me feeling so trapped
I don't want to start any fad diets as I have tried these before and after an initial week of effort, I find them unsustainable. Calorie counting with a sensible deficit seems the way.
Can anyone boost me my giving their success stories of losing weight calorie counting?
I have downloaded the Nutracheck app and I'm planning to do 10,000 steps a day.

I'm on a slow and steady downwards trajectory. Calorie counting. Increased exercise. Trying to eat better - so more veg, protein. Fewer carbs/ sugars. I signed up for Noon as I thought the psychology support might help. I'm a bit on the fence about it.

I also do 16:8 intermittent fasting which I find helpful as it reduces when I can eat. I've just broken my fast early today though as I'm on call for work and worried if I didn't eat now when I was hungry I would get called in and then eat in a hurry as I needed calories. At least this way I had poached eggs on toast with avocado which is fairly balanced.

I've lost just over a stone in two months.

The calorie counting tedious and I think eating this way and calorie coutningis going to have to be a forever thing. While my weight loss is slow it does feel sustainable. I'm not eating/ buying anything weird like I have when doing WW in the past. I've been away on holiday twice and just eaten normally trying to be a bit careful about what I chose. I've always struggled with this and tend to gravitate towards high fat/ carb dishes so learning to pick "better" off a menu is a good thing to do.

I'm also still eating stuff I love - crisps! Thai rice crackers. Just trying to eat less. And reducing the "cheaper" multipacks to buy individual portions as that way I only eat an individual portion.

Thanks so much for responding. I think it will need to be slow and steady for me. So many times I've started diets or plans and I've just found it tedious and hard to stick to. Some of the ones I've tried are:

Second Nature (good but found having to use the app all the time and read articles was difficult for me to sustain)

Keto (I do well on low carb but get really fed up with meat and I miss my fruit and legimes)

Slimming World (hated going to the groups and got fed up of the sameness of my meals. Also it didn't work for me not being able to grab something from a shop if I hadn't had time to pack lunch)

As you can see I've tried and failed at numerous diets. I'm just hoping that I can adapt to calorie counting. I can't carry on like this.

I started using My Fitness Pal 2 years ago to count my calories, and I've gone from 14 stone to 9 stone. It was bloody hard at times, but tracking soon became a habit and kept me focused, and the weight gradually came off.
It's a matter of finding what works for you. I'd tried other things in the past and failed, but somehow this stuck.
I still occasionally count my calories, just to keep me on track as I can be very greedy! Mostly though I know roughly what I can eat to maintain now.
Good luck! You can do it!

Wow @NipLash that is amazing. Thank you so much for commenting - gives me hope. Im determined to make a go of it and am hopeful that if I see at as a long game rather than a quick fix, I will find it easier to change.

I’ve lost almost 4 stone, still have about a stone to lose but I’m getting there. I was stuck at a 3 stone loss until I started to out more effort in. I use my fitness pal and input everything, that way I can stay on track. This last few weeks I’ve put a lot of effort in as I have a family reunion to go to and would like to look my best. The family haven’t seen me since I was over 13.5 stone.

The turning point for me was after the first stone I lost. Once I’d lost a stone clothes fit me better and people started to notice. I’m only really short so don’t carry weight well, I also have fewer calories to play with which can be tricky. I’ve stayed at a 3 stone weight loss for a couple of years, now hoping to do the final stretch and then go onto a maintenance plan. It’s been rough going at first. I’m limited to how much exercise I can do due to an injury. I also work full time and have 2 kids so sometimes there just isn’t enough hours in the day.

One thing I’ve found that helped is inputting my meals for the next day into my fitness pal. It stops me grabbing anything that’s easiest when I’m hungry as I’ve already planned what I will eat. I also make overnight oats so I can just grab them in the morning. I still to 16/8 fast which I fine really manageable. I drink lots of water and have switched to black coffee, I sometimes get the Beanies flavoured coffees.

Sometimes I can struggle with what to eat due to a medical condition. It’s hard for me to have plenty of vegetables as I can’t tolerate them, I can’t eat meat either. Sometimes I get stuck in a rut and everything is a bit bland. That’s when I got the internet to look for ideas. I also keep my protein up but my carbs down which helps.
the moment I had to buy a completely new wardrobe was amazing. Thank goodness for charity shops!

Thank you @Mammalamma you have done amazingly! Some great advice there.

I've lost 3.5 stone - took 2 years but I've maintained for a year now. Count everything. Even if you're going to go over - I found that quite often if I snuck in some extra snacks it didn't actually take me too far over budget for the day, was still within weekly calories and helped stop the "screw it I've ruined it" mentality. I used the Fitbit app and occasionally will still log a week of food to keep me on track. Base your meals around protein and don't cut out the things you enjoy or eat food you don't like because "it's healthy". Walking has helped massively, it's hugely underestimated as a weight loss tool. Remember you're in it for the long haul and focus on each half stone at a time so the goal doesn't seem so far away. You can do this!