I have 7 stone to lose. Is 1200 doable?

[fresherprincess]

So. I have PCOS, love to cook, have a sedentary lifestyle, am lazy, and enjoy wine.

I've gone from being 9 stone in 2010 to 16 stone now. SIXTEEN STONE. I'm literally double the weight of my same height 18 year old (5'4")

I've looked into injections but I'm a bit anxious about putting it all on again afterwards so I thought I'd try good old calorie counting. It's free and always worked in the past. MFP suggested 1200 calories and I've just done the first day and it's so little food!!!

I had a slice of toast and marmite, poached egg on toast, and chicken and mash and green veg for dinner. Many cups of tea at 20 calories each. I've got 89 calories left for an apple as a treat.

I haven't planned or shopped for this as I basically weighed myself accidentally today after being in denial for ages so I'm having to make do, but it's just hardly any food.

Does it get easier?

Low carb stalls my weight loss. Works for DH he sheds pounds. I stay the same until I eat some decent carbs eg pasta/rice/potato in a normal portion size on a daily basis and then I shift weight.

What works for one doesn't necessarily work for another!

I don’t know. It’s all so confusing isn’t it?

I am overweight and just want to send solidarity op. It’s so hard. It’s crept up on me too as I ate what I thought was a fairly healthy diet. But evidently too much and too frequently.

What age range are you in op if I may ask? Because I’m post menopausal and live abroad and my doctor says intermittent fasting is not good for post menopausal women because it doesn’t keep blood sugars stable.

Instead she suggests six tiny healthy “exquisite” meals a day which is a huge faff tbh. I’m not finding it remotely do-able.

I’m also sceptical of any diet that cuts out any food group. I think potatoes, for example, in moderation, are good for you because they contain I believe, vit c, thiamine and potassium. And have a known anti-depressive effect.

I also agree with eating protein and plenty of veg but I can’t help thinking that people who take the protein element to extremes are heading for kidney issues.

And doesn’t that Tim Spector bloke from Zoe say that individuals react to, or process, different foods differently, and some foods spike blood sugars in one person, whereas they don’t in others?

And I’ve lived long enough to know that all diets go in fashion cycles don’t they? It’s not beyond the realm of possibilities that it will all change again and avocados will be found to be toxic just as oats are beginning to be vilified now, when everyone was eating them a couple of years ago!

Most of this is all driven by ££££ and a shed load of marketing imho.

And those healthy elderly folk who live in Sardinia or wherever and live to 105 years aren’t eating 30g of protein at every meal are they? They are eating a peasant diet of fresh veg and occasional tiny amounts of protein - dishes like home made minestrone - basically what is fresh in the kitchen garden.

I am just starting out but I’ve decided to keep to a common sense regime of two meals a day, home cooked, no processed food, no sugar or alcohol, plenty of water, with a tiny fruit or veg snack in the middle if I get hungry. Some protein. Some oily fish. Some fermented food. Overall heavy in plants.

I eat breakfast very early and it’s savoury.
Then I eat dinner early at around 4.30 pm or 5 pm and I take a brisk walk after every meal while listening to one chapter of an audible book which stops me over-eating.

I try to keep my hands busy at night sewing or painting. And I only ever eat at the dining room table.

Trying to get plenty of sleep which helps enormously. Early to bed and early to rise.

But I am only able to introduce these changes now my dc have left home and I wfh and have the headspace to look after my own needs and not everyone else’s!

Good luck op!
Happy to buddy up via pm if you want!

Edited to say: I factor in one more relaxed meal with a pudding per week but don’t go mad!

Your approach to food seems eminently sensible, @Boiledeggsandsoldiers !

I’ve got PCOS too OP, it’s really hard with the insulin resistance.
I eat a pretty low carb diet (just no potatoes, pasta, rice or bread) and don’t really eat sweet stuff.
I live that way about 90% of the time and will eat what I want about 10% of the time. What that looks like for me is pretty much eggs for breakfast (I used to never eat breakfast but now I force myself to), a salad for lunch but a really nice one, prawns or roasted veg etc with things like kale or spinach and all other associated salady things. Maybe a tuna nicoise or something, but something I look forward to that’s filling. And then a proper dinner, doubled up on veg and go without the typical carby element or sub it if necessary for another veg. Eg grilled courgettes or aubergines to serve bolognaise on, experiment with different slaws as sides, dh is really creative in the kitchen and enjoys coming up with nice things for me to eat so I’m not sad about Missing out on things but I’ve genuinely got something really nice to sit down to.
You can do it - not on 1200 calories, that’s too low and not sustainable. I don’t calorie count, I do watch portion sizes and sauces etc and do feel a lot better and lighter. I do miss crisps but they’re not a meal - they’re a crap filler. If I want something like that I now have some salt and pepper cashews or
pistachios for the good fats. Not the same, no, but a salty crunchy replacement!

For insulin resistance try myoinositol

Thank you for your message. We sound similar! I'm 53 but had children later so they're still at home (18 &13.) I work FT 2 days in office and 3 from home. I also do not have the time or the headspace to be planning 6 beautiful meals a day!

My plan is a bit of intermittent fasting, largely because I don't mind skipping breakfast. Small protein heavy lunch (eggs will feature prominently) and then a smallish portion of a sensible family meal. I'm going to continue with a lot of the old family favourites- perhaps fewer recipes that ask me to finish off with double cream and parmesan though!

I'll keep to as few calories as possible in the week and have a few extra hundred at weekends.

If things start to become hard I'll look at injections- as someone mentioned upthread I've got 7 stone to lose and need all the help I can get!

DH isn't a massive help. He loves food and says I still look attractive so there's no motivation there.

My knees hurt. They shouldn't at 53.

I like charts and graphs and plans so I've set up a spreadsheet to monitor my progress. I'll weigh once a week.

What is it supposed to do or replicate in the body? I follow a few PCOS accounts and they are constantly trying to sell people this so I just ignored it as I felt it was just marketing! Maybe I’m wrong and it’s really beneficial, do you know of anything worth reading about it?

1200 ok for a quick kick start but is unsustainable long term. Maybe try a week then up to a sensible calorie deficit

I use a spoonful of Philadelphia in recipes instead of double cream. It's not cheesy and it gives the same effect. It will save hundreds of calories.

Only if you use the lower fat ones you'll need to take it off the heat and stir it in right at the end as it splits. Full fat doesn't. I tend to use full fat as between 4 people the calories in a tablespoon is negligible anyway.

And those healthy elderly folk who live in Sardinia or wherever and live to 105 years aren’t eating 30g of protein at every meal are they? They are eating a peasant diet of fresh veg and occasional tiny amounts of protein - dishes like home made minestrone - basically what is fresh in the kitchen garden.

But neither are they fat with organs and digestion clogged up with modern crap.

Losing weight to get healthy is not the same as sticking at a healthy weight. A good kickstart and the realisation that much less food than you think is perfectly fine.

Good luck op! I hope it all goes well for you!

Yes we do sound similar! 😀. My doctor spoke to me about weight loss drugs recently. So I am considering those as a last resort but going to try the old-fashioned way first as I am a bit wary of medication.

And my dh is a big foodie and a “feeder” too so you have my sympathies there; it does mean much more pressure on you to be more disciplined if food is very important within your relationship.

Hi, I was 16st 5lbs in October and now 12st 10lbs. I've stuck to around 1000-1200 calories a day for over 6 months now and I'm losing at a healthy pace of 1-2lbs a week. It hasn't been easy but it's very doable. I also work full time, and I'm a mum in my 40s. Can definitely be done but does take a lot of willpower and determination. I was 17 and a half stone at my very heaviest but that was a few years ago. I lost a stone then stopped bothering until I had a wake up call in October. I'm doing a very low carb, low sugar, vegan diet and had no problems.

Wow that is very inspiring indeed spackleplumb! Congratulations!

Can I ask please how long it took for your body to adjust to eating less food, or do your hunger levels still vary?

At that weight I would aim for 1600-1800 per day and moving more. The massive advantage of weighing so much is that whenever you move, you are doing really heavy weight lifting that burns calories very fast. Also, long term, for maintenance, you want 1800-2000 cals per day and plenty of exercise to satisfy you, long term.

A great thing to do is a few 2 minute workouts throughout the day. Just stand up and sit down repeatedly from a kitchen chair for two minutes to build the muscles for squats. (Squats are the best exercise as they get you off the sofa with more ease, so you are more likely to get up to answer the door, make the tea, pick up the post etc rather than wait for someone else to do it.)

Other 2 min workouts could be step jacks, high knees, gentle marching on the spot, going up and down stairs. They are so easy to complete but if you do a few each day, they really add up and they nudge you out of your sedentary lifestyle.

The other reason for focusing on working out and sticking just below the right calories for maintenance is that it can be very hard to lose weight with PCOS, so a focus on fitness, muscle tone, strength and energy will help you feel better about yourself, even if ythe weight is very slow to move.

Thank you @Boiledeggsandsoldiers
I think it took a couple of weeks maybe to get used to it but I'm so used to it now I can't really remember. I had a massive health scare basically and it was the kick I needed to get myself back to a healthy weight. I'm aiming to get down to 10st as that seems like a weight I could maintain. Would love to aim for 9st but I'll see how I feel once I get to 10st. I'm enjoying it now as I've found the things that keep me full and I'm enjoying rediscovering my size 12/14 clothes that I had shoved away to the cellar years ago.

For calorie reduction, I find it easiest to look for substitutes that are lower calorie. So two slices of buttered toast with two fried eggs could be 550-600 cals. But two small slices of sugar free wholemeal with two water-poached eggs on top is only 230 cals. Add some grilled tomato, spinach and mushrooms cooked in a bit of water and lemon juice with garlic granules and you have a good, satisfying meal for around 300 calories.

i think you’ve done something wrong in mfp! I had 2 stone to lose and 5’6” and mfp gave me 1730ish - that’s with aiming to lose half a pound a week but I didn’t use exercise calories and have lost a pound a week. After adding new weight (I’ve lost a stone in 4 months) my calories are now down to 1610. It’s tough, I’m constantly hungry on 1610 even but it’s manageable and has helped me stick to it

1200 is far too low. Go slow and steady.

Also I don’t weigh in more than once a month which has worked better for me on this diet than any other diets in my life - would definitely recommend that

Good Luck!

This machine has changed my life! So easy to make grilled meat, veg and fish, no oil needed. Then I can add carbs and veg to suit.

it goes really hot, so great for steak (venison ones are low calorie)

I’ve cut wheat completely, temporarily cut all forms of potato/rice/beans, cut milk. I’ve cut beer (I love IPA type beer) and will have it again along with potatoes but only as an occasional treat, but am drinking wine and gin with slimline. I’m losing weight and haven’t felt as energised in ages. Sleeping better and less aches and pains.

I only eat twice a day and lunch is salad with spinach, raw broccoli, tomato and any other salad I have, chicken, salmon or tuna, avocado some days, sometimes some deli cooked meat or a bit of shredded cheese. A squirt of mayo. Dinner is fish/chicken/steak/lamb, lots of butter, with roasted veg in oil, lots of garlic, chilli and I wilt spinach in the pan at the end.

I do eat breakfast at weekends sometimes and that’s fried bacon or sausage, fried mushrooms, poached egg and spinach or omelette.

Snacks are Greek yoghurt, boiled egg, nuts, cheese or perello olives.

We had Indian takeaway and I had starters - tandoori prawns and lamb and a pepper stuffed with veg.

When I say I’m drinking wine, I’m drinking more than the recommended guidelines, not one small glass a night. I am a crisp fiend but I’m not missing them.

No exercise other than 2 mile walks about 5 times a week.

I made the change because I’m sick of being fat, of having high blood pressure, of knowing my weight is wrecking my joints. I honestly do not miss the junk. My head is finally in the right place.

Crikey. That's amazing! Have you never wavered? I've got some nice nights out planned and I'm wondering what to do...

Thanks @fresherprincess I have had probably a handful of days here or there where I've gone over toward 1400/1500 but it really has been just a few times. I haven't had any alcohol at all as my liver was part of the health issue, and I've cut out bread, cheese, pasta etc. Definitely not easy but I really do feel a lot healthier and little things like having more space on airplane seats etc have been a big boost too. You can definitely do it. Just find the way that works best for you and take lots of photos to help you see your progress. And don't beat yourself up if you have a slip up here or there too. Good luck

Thx for reply! I like your strategy of one stone at a time. It’s not too overwhelming.

I’ve found eggs and smoked fish keep me full m. And certain pulses.

Up your calories slightly as that isn’t enough and do intermittent fasting! Super easy and you adjust in no time. I used to eat a cooked breakfast every morning but when I started calorie counting I just cut it out. Within a week was no longer hungry for breakfast. I only eat between the hours of 11-7 or 12-8 each day. I have a day off counting once a week to keep it maintainable (I’m also partial to a nice wine) but try not to go over 2,500 cals on my day off and still skip breaky as it makes it much easier to stick within the calories.

I’m on 1,400 kcals per day and today so far have had:

• Low fat fage with honey and blueberries, and a chicken wrap (from co op)
• homemade lean mince burger with loads of cheese and veggies (no bun)
• Strawberries
• 2 squares dark choc Lindt (the big bars)

I still have 100 cals left!

Good luck

@fresherprincess I've read so much about calorie counting being outdated, but it's so deeply entrenched in my thinking. So I loosely stick to an overall deficit of 3500 calories a week based on my tdee. This offers some flexibility.

I aim for low cal bulky foods like veg and fruit, but also sustaining foods, usually protein. I eat pulses and whole grains like barley instead of pasta and potatoes, and eat cauliflower rice, celeriac mash and courgetti.

I have also got over my lifelong 'fear' of fat and now choose whole fat dairy options as well as olive oil.

I try to focus on what I can and do enjoy, rather than what I have chosen to avoid.

My sister did this, she walked for 5K every morning. Slowly at first, but now she's lost 9 stone (over 2 years) much more quickly.

She started eating normal portions, stopped snacking, she eats a lot more vegetables and salads - with nice dressings and olive oil. It works, it's slow, it's a lifestyle change, but moving more, eating less, more veg - does work.