3st to lose- do-able by Christmas?

[InterviewAdvice]

Hello, anyone want to join?

I have realised that I can only lose weight with a really restrictive diet-

1x shake
1x healthy meal
1x healthy snack

I am veggie.

Little (or restricted) bread, sugar and snacks mainly because once I start, I can't stop.

I find I can stick to it for a few days up to a couple of weeks- I feel great but then fall off the wagon.

Any tips on how to make the feeling of healthy eating and being in control bigger and better than the instant boost of eating cr@p?

I'm a nicer person when I eat better (I've more energy, more positive) but seem to self sabotage every time.

I don’t think that’s sustainable really. It sounds miserable.

uave you thought about doing veggie keto? It’s hard but I lost 3 stone in 3 months and I’m ancient

I think if you’re saying you’ve realised that is how you can loose weight, maybe you’ve not realised it isn’t sustainable as you must be gaining the weight back to have to do it repeatedly

so you need to find something that’s sustainable long term. Such restriction and meal replacements isn’t it.

But then how? This amounts to approx 1500 calories a day and I walk 10-18000 steps.

I don't understand how else I can lose weight, when I eat more, I gain.

I started just over 3 mths ago on a weight loss plan and have lost 2 stone. I’ve lost consistently over this time but three stone would have been impossible for me and I am being quite strict. As much as I would love huge losses each week, I know a maximum of 2 pounds is better and hopefully more sustainable. You fall off the wagon because it’s too restrictive. Why not download Nutracheck app and give it a try for a week and see how you get on? Free trial for a week.

That sounds super-restrictive and not hard to see why you might lapse?

I've lost 2 stones recently and need to lose another 3.

I have ADHD and tend to forget to eat all day/then binge for stimulus, so a lot of it has been about trying to break a cycle. Things I am finding helpful are massively increasing protein, and a bit of bulk eating so loads and loads of veg which is easier in summer. And trying to say to myself nutrition first.

You can eat more than one shake, one meal and one snack with 1500cals, you just have to think about what food you choose.

Use MyFitnessPal or Nutracheck to record your meals for a week (don’t think about dieting, but try to eat nutritious, unprocessed, filling foods). You’ll soon learn which foods fill you up and are satisfying, and which foods leave you hungry or desperate for more. It will also show you what’s a reasonable portion of rice, pasta, etc.

I calorie counted about 6 years ago to lose three stone (the first two stone fell off quickly, maybe in 6-8weeks….the last stone took a few extra months) and have kept it off. I don’t count now, but I have kept lots of the habits I formed.

Within the 1200-1500 restriction, I tended to have some porridge and fruit, eggs, or yoghurt and fruit for breakfast. For lunch, either something like a tuna or egg salad with a vinegar state or a smaller, leftover portion of the meal I’d had the night before; then I would cook in the evening. I found that a meal made up of a wholegrain and a protein, with loads of veg and lots of spices for flavour kept me interested. Anna Jones and Rukmini Ayer are two chefs I really like that do pretty balanced meals with interesting ingredients. Sometimes I had calories leftover for chocolate or crisps in the evening and sometimes I’d have a nice, fruity ice lolly.

Finally, exercise. It took me a while to get into exercising properly because it’s hard if you’re not used to it, but it’s really worth pushing yourself to get your heart rate up and getting properly sweaty (if physically able to). Walking does very little to affect my weight, but HIIT, running and cycling really trimmed me down (and keeps my weight on track even though I no longer calorie count or diet). If you use MFP or Nutracheck and a smartwatch, you can track how many calories you’ve burned working out and that gives you a good indication of what is most effective. I prefer cycling to running, but for me, a half hour run burns more than an hour cycle, so if I’m pushed for time, I’ll just go for a run and get it over with.

Good luck - you can do it!

1500 is quite a lot , you can easily have three healthy meals a day for this and a snack. You do not need to do a shake.

The shake is a protein shake as I find it difficult to eat enough protein on a veggie diet (no matter how many beans, lentils and nuts I eat!)

Exercise other than walking is tricky- Long Covid.

How many calories in your snack? Aren't protein shakes less than 300?

I'm on about 1500 calorie diet and do 2 meals with the occasional snack in between (max 600-650 per meal and 100-200 per snack) I drink one latte a day with almond milk.

I think protein powder can be very useful when vegetarian. I eat fish and eggs now after years of being vegan (where my ethics are really). Have you tried things like scrambled tofu for breakfast, tempeh, silken tofu in a smoothie? Eggs are amazing too. Cottage cheese and greek yoghurt all surprisingly high in protein.

Bit of strength training at home in a compassionate format - yoga/pilates - might be manageable, post covid? Anything that builds muscle increases metabolism?

You can eat a lot of food for 1500 cals
This is just a sample menu, three meals; cooked breakfast, salad lunch and big dinner with pudding. Afraid it would put you on black tea and coffee plus water but that's what I drink.
Plus it gives 75g of protein which allows 1g of protein per kg of lean body weight and then some.

Starving yourself does not work, you just crack and give up.

I did two shakes and a healthy meal (600 cals) for 11 weeks to jumpstart my weight loss. I lost 2 stone, then moved over to calorie counting and lost the last 3 stone.

Was definitely worth it but it was hard. Basically no social life for the first three months to avoid temptation.

Looks good. Thanks.

Well done!