Anyone with large amounts to lose ?

[evelynina]

I'm around 16 stone so a heffer I want to lose around 6 stone. I did this in 4 months after I had DD doing the 5:2 I think this is because my thyroid was off kilter. After 3 years of being fat and having the pounds pile on I'm ready to lose weight if it doesn't work I'm off to have a gastric sleeve.

Hello. I have about 3 stone to lose. I have lost weight successfully in the past and I try not to think about how much I have to lose as it can be overwhelming! Focusing on small targets is more motivational for me. My first target is to loose 6lbs. Good luck!

I am the same as you, OP. A couple of weeks ago I was in despair about my weight and eating and just happened to see a thread on AIBU by someone saying they felt ‘defeated by their fatness’. As I read it, I started thinking I could have a gastric sleeve and was very interested to read about various posters’ experiences. I carried on thinking about it - while stuffing my face - and then remembered there were a lot of people talking about 16:8 fasting on the post too. Which in turn made me remember that a (petite and svelte) friend of mine had been diagnosed with insulin resistance/pre-diabetes last year. She told me recently that the biggest change to her blood sugar levels came after she started 16:8 fasting.

Having been sceptical about this type of fasting, I thought I’d give it a go before considering a gastric sleeve. I’m in my 50s and don’t fancy my insides being chopped up - although I would love to be freed from a lifetime of overeating and to wear stylish clothes. I am on day 4 today and have been doing 17:7. It’s great!

Like you, I had lost weight doing 5:2 but the 2 days are brutal and I would always end them feeling very cold and started to dread them - so I fell off the wagon. The great thing about moderate daily fasting (I eat between 1pm and 8pm) is that by the time you have finished your fast you are so grateful to be eating and so pleased that you have stuck to it that you eat more mindfully and are happier with less - and that what you do eat feels very filling. Knowing that I can eat anything I want as long as it’s in my eating ‘window’ is very freeing. I have instinctively eaten better and less in he last 3 days and feel good mentally and physically. I used to go to bed most evenings feeling guilty at how much I’d eaten, then get up and feel like I was going into battle with my wardrobe - trying to find something that fit that wouldn’t make me look too bad. After three days I still have the same problem with my clothes BUT I am also looking forward and envisaging unpacking all my ‘slim clothes’ one day this year!

Sorry for the length of this post but maybe this is something you could try before going under the knife. Good luck with whatever you do!

Op
Rather than think you need to lose 6 stone, which just seem like Everest
Approach it like I need to lose a stone and then I’ll go from there

Me. I’m starting small - my first target is 6kg off to take me to my pre-Pandemic weight.

I can’t face the kg to stone conversion but to get to my ideal body weight I have to lose more than a third of my body weight.

A week into 16:8. It’s been easier than I thought. And I am starting to think more about my nutrition whilst not formally calorie counting.

I’m going to try to reduce my carb intake but I think this will be the major battle - I LOVE bread (and rice and pasta and chips).

Redesigning my diet with fewer cars is going to involve a real shift in my thinking and won’t happen overnight.

I also have a lot to lose and recently started 16:8. I've found it really enjoyable so far, and like others have said I'm eating better as a by-product! It's nice to know I could share an ice cream with DD the other day without breaking any "rules".

I find it much easier (don't feel hungry at all) if I try to up protein and lower carbs, so that's what I'm trying to do this week alongside getting lots of veg in!

I had 4st to lose - about 2 down since Jan - again doing 16:8. - lowish carb, higher protein. Also attending SW for accountability.

The trick is not to get hungry - stop triggering the insulin with snacking all day long with carbs.

It has turned my craving ravenous appetite off.

Load up on lots of food. Stop eating before 7pm.

Do it slowly otherwise you lose muscle and your BMR drops

I've been doing 16:8 now for 13 fasts.

I've lost 3.5kg. Drop in the ocean compared to what I have to lose overall but it hasn't been too hard.

I get hungry in the mornings . The hard fasting start time has stopped me snacking in the evenings and I've been more considered in my food choices.

Onwards and inwards....

I am significantly overweight. I lost a great deal of weight on a low fat diet ten years ago. Just like most other people life got in the way and I put it all back on.

I'm trying liberal low carb high fat as a diet. I get support from an NHS weight loss forum.

However, I've just purchased Michael Mosley's Fast 800 book and recipe book. I'll have a look through it before deciding whether it's right for me.

I've calculated my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) in order to get a steer on how many calories I need each day. So, I'll just see what Dr Mosley's fasting plan is all about.

Like a PP, I'm sceptical when it comes to fasting. However, I will read the book with an open mind.

I'm significantly bigger - started my journey 13th February this year. 3 months in and I've lost 22 kilos (3.46 pounds).

IF 16/8, thanks to PCOS low simple carbs (I choose to have bread, potato, pasta or rice with one meal once a week) and minimal grains, 3 litres of water a day. No CICO, focus instead on healthy salads, vegetables, low GI fruits, healthy fats, and lean protein during my eating window. I'm not keto, have concerns about long term studies for women on heart health and visceral fat.

I normally break the fast with a protein smoothie around 12, lunch at 2ish, then dinner at 7. I do cheat in the morning, still have a splash of milk in my coffee, I can't manage black just yet!

When I have a craving, I'll have a small amount of what I want - like a 50gram child's block of chocolate rather than deny and end up binging. I would day 95% of the time, no snacking, 3 meals only during the window.

Exercise is 3 x HIT classes and 2 x spin classes/30 minutes weight sessions.

Long way to go, but so far averaging a 1 to 1.5 kilo a week weight loss which my GP is happy with. I'm a huge (excuse the pun) advocate for IF eating; I find I eat less and make healthier choices. But it does take time to get used to be hungry between meals, it was a strange feeling for a few weeks!

Overall, I think it's finding what works for you. For me, it's the restricted eating window as it is helping me in re-learning not to snack and mindlessly eat.

For my tracking, I weight in weekly on a Friday morning. My target weight is split into mini goals. First was 10% of target weight, then 25%, now aiming to 50% loss to my target weight. As I lose more weight I expect weight loss to slow down, so will probably reduce my incremental targets.

On carbs, there's a lot of literature online about carb hunger - I found after about 3 weeks of reducing my intake, my hunger for carbs and sugar reduced significantly. But it is a push to get through the detox, and I can't give up my weekly sourdough toast with eggs, avocado and bacon!

On a final reflection, for the first time in losing weight, I've opened up to some very trusted people in my life about the fact I need to lose weight and how much I've lost. I've found this has helped with "the shame" and it's incredibly appreciated to have their support.

I'm doing ketogenic diet ( I also have a neurological condition so it's supposed to help with that). I don't really have a sweet tooth so I've been finding it easy to stick to my body seems to naturally want to intermittently fast Hunger cravings are gone which were a massive thing for me I've lost 10lbs in 2.5 weeks so really pleased with that .
Snacking was my major downfall I could eat a multipack of crisps in one day . I now feel really full between meals which is a really new thing for me.

I am late to the party I am tall and big I have about 8 stone to loose and need to start pronto. I just watched Michael Mosleys 21 day turnaround on tv and have read some threads on MN but confused by some terms and acronyms used. What is the best book to buy to start off and would 5_2, 16-8, fasting or whatever be best for me.

Thanks

Hope you don't mind me jumping aboard. I have around 3 stone to lose, but now that I am post menopausal, I am finding it so much more difficult to lose weight!
I have just finished my 2nd week of Fast800, and have lost 8lbs in those 2 weeks - I am so chuffed!! Sticking to the 800 bit at the moment - not really doing much in the way of fasting ( as in doing 14:10, which really only means I have cut out evening snacks!) Not really sure how to increase this and fit in with my working day to be honest!
I bought the Fast800 recipe book, and so far every single recipe has been delicious - and I haven't felt starving.