Those of you who have lost a good bit of weight (2 stones plus), please come and tell me how?

[TheRealMaryMillington]

I have been overweight since having my first child now nearly 10 years ago. Two more kids later, I don;t want this to be my permanent state. I'm in my 40s and want the excess shifted (and just generally to be a lot fitter) before the menopause kicks in.

If you have shifted 2 stones plus, how did you do it? How long did it take? Have you kept it off?

5:2 for a couple of months, then Paul McKenna for several months. Lost around 3.5 stone in 2013. Put about half a stone back on recently due to reduced exercise (and Christmas).

Paul McKenna was easier for me, I do also do the occasional fasting day for the health benefits.

Mary I have lost 2 stone after dd2 now nearly 6. Sadly I out it back on having DS now 3 and I have not shifted it. I am back in the zone right now and completely determined. For me the absolute key is exercise. It lifts my mood, makes me look and feel better and I find I manage food better when I exercise too. Tonight is my first night of a c25k with a gang of friends and dd1 and I cannot wait. I am following a TV programme in Ireland called operation transformation. There is a website for it and it has a food plan for 7 weeks. The goal is 10 lbs in 7 weeks.

5 stones of using My Fitness Pal and 30 Day Shred. I also walk daily.

I keep using MFP to maintain. It's a way of life now!

Cutting out the crap (white bread, cake, chocolate, crisps, takeaways etc).

A low carb, low fat, high protein diet.

Water

Exercise

*off

I lost 2.5 stone last year with slimming world. Took me 6 months and have kept the weight off since last July.

I lost 3 stone in 7 months with slimming world and have kept it off since last June

3stone 10.5 since mid May on Slimming world. Still a stone or maybe two to go but i'm just above the upper end of okay for my BMI from being I think they call it clinically obese.

I like slimming world because I didn't want to just lose weight. I wanted to master eating healthily so I could pass that onto the DC.

My mother grew up in a house where they were fed but money was very tight and so sometimes variety was lacking and treats very rare. I've been brought up as a feeder. An over feeder, over eater. With a mix of processed but mainly home made foods i just produce too much, too many treats and too much fatty meat within my food choices.

I'm eating more than I ever have. The DC are enjoying all the slimming world food and DH has lost at the same rate as me so we're now a healthy family all round. I've found the groups very low pressure and I'm enjoying support on other threads on here too.

All good news stories these, thank you

What does slimming world actually entail?

At the moment I am doing MFP as a confessional, - its also a big wake up call on how many calories and other stuff there is in what I eat. I am generally anti-diet (been there done that, no good imo). I do like structure though.

Slimming world is basically a low fat diet. You're encouraged to have a food from the rich in calcium list and some from the high in fibre list each day.

You can eat much fresh/ frozen fruit and veg as you want, as much lean protein as you want (trim the fat before cooking, buy 5% fat mince rather than 20%). The aim is fruit/ veg represents at least 1/3 in volume of your intake, followed by protein followed by free foods, followed by treats.

You can add as many free foods as you need things like pasta,rice, potatoes, stock, herbs and spices.

You then have a daily allowance for all other stuff. This includes processed things like off the shelf sauces, alcohol, chocolate, fat for cooking with should you choose to fry, ice cream etc.

Its surprisingly easy to follow. Its an either or diet. All bloomin obvious stuff but so much easier for being spelt out and having others to lose with.

I am 49 and post-menopausal. I have lost 3 stone since June, using Myfitnesspal. As you said, it makes you realise just how many calories some foods contain.
I tweaked the usual family meals to drop the calorie count, as we all needed to lose weight. Lunch tends to be really low calorie, as dinner is between 450-600 calories. I make vegetable soup which is about 120 calories.

SW sounds too complicated for me, also I am heading towards veganism again so it might not sit very well. I think I was getting it mixed up with lighter life though (not touching that with a bargepole) so that's a helpful explanation.

I tend to pick when cooking, and snack before dinner if I don't eat enough for lunch. Also pick in the evening, all healthy stuff just too many calories. MFP is probably going to be good for that, yeah? Somehow I need to re-educate myself not to pick.

Mfp really keeps you focused what it lacks for me is the pressure of the group being answerable to someone other than myself if that makes sense. It is a great tool although I have out back on every pound I lost using it.

Fasting and my fitness pal.

I'm a terrible grazer, and mfp was a real eye opener.

BIWI's low carb bootcamp here on Mumsnet. It's tough at first but it becomes a way of life and you get fantastic support from other MNetters.

Weight Watchers and tracking what I eat.

Combination of WW initially (but myfitnesspal would work just as well) and Gillian Riley which is like CBT to overcome overeating and make better/healthier food choices without dieting.

I've kept around 5 stone off for a good few years, i don't count points or calories on a regular basis but if i notice a couple of pounds creeping on i try and figure out where that's coming from and make better choices on a weekly basis. I know roughly how many calories i would need to maintain and split that into a range of breakfast/lunches/dinners/snacks e.g healthy sandwich for lunch 5 times a week, unhealthy lunch 2x a week.

I've lost 10 kilos (1.5ish stone, I think) since mid-November through wearing a Fitbit and tracking food intake and exercise using its app.

I used Michelle bridges 12 week body transformation. I lost 1.5 stone in the first eight weeks then another half stone in the next 12 weeks ( I wasn't sticking to it properly by then! ) . It is a very structured and intensive programme but I found that by sticking to it rigidly to start with I could pick up the good habits well enough to adopt them for longer term weight maintenance. Exercise is key as well as eating the right foods to ensure you feel full on minimal calories. So I have pretty much cut out cake, chocolate (apart from the odd square of dark choc), pasta, potatoes, chips, crisps etc. I didn't used to eat a lot of junk but I now don't really see it as a treat, I'd rather have something nice tasty and nutritious!! I eat high protein and low carb but never feel hungry any more for the first time in my life and I'm nearly forty, it's amazing!!!

Lost 40 lbs doing Low carb and Jillian Michaels videos.

I lost 5 stone in 5 months doing the Cambridge plan.

I fell pregnant, put it all back on and more and i now have 8 stone left to lose. I have lost 2.5 stone over the past 2 months by cutting out snacking and junk food. I haven't been trying, just making small changes and cut out fizzy drinks and takeaways. I have been eating chocolate and crisps etc just not as much and the weight is coming off. I start boot camp next week and I csnt wait to see how much I can lose this year. I still have 8 stone to go even though I have already lost 2.5 but I think it will help when I start to excersize and cut junk food out completely.

I have been obese for years, i have had enough. i spent most of last summer indoors because I was too fat to enjoy the sun. I ended up a sweaty mess walking around in the heat and I promised myself it would be different next summer.

I always fail at diets, I have no control over my eating binges but it helps that I have stopped buying crap, if it's not there i cant eat it. if i feel hungry, I have some water and distract myself with mn or a book. watching tv seems to trigger me into a binge.

my advice is start with small changes and see where it goes

I lost 2.5 stone last year doing 5:2. It worked for me as it meant that (within limits) I didn't have to worry about dieting 5 days out of 7. I cut out the booze in the week and most of the cakes/chocolate/ crisps. Portion sizes on non fast days and eating puddings with Sat and Sun meals remained unchanged. It was slow (2.5 stone in a year), but easy, sustainable and simple. I also had a month off in holiday and at Xmas.

2011 I lost 2 stones in 3 months with Weight Watchers. I was very overweight and was planning to get pg so was very determined to have a reasonable pre-pg weight.

I was not "cheating" at all and after first few weeks it wasn't too bad (I already had 5 kids so planning & cooking meals just for me was tricky, but I managed)

I had a baby in 2012, then another just last year and I'm still a stone less than May '11 weight!
I need to lose more but just not ready for a commitment yet, so good luck, whatever you choose.

Lost 3 stone in 6 months just by cutting out bread, pasta, potatoes and following low carb loosely combined with intermittent fasting.
Had 1.5 stone back on after having a baby and Xmas and started back on it last week. Lost 3lbs so far.

I've lost 2 stone since September. Still going as I want to lose another stone at least.

I did it by stopping stuffing my face.

My portion sizes were too big and I snacked a lot. I changed both those things and the weight has come off pretty easily. I eat what I want - no cutting anything out. I'm just sensible about how much I eat now - no more packets of biscuits, just 1 with a cuppa!

I use MFP too. It's such a great way to see where you're 'spending' all your calories. I often put in what I plan to eat that day so I can jiggle it about until it suits me.