Need to get from 10 to 9 stone - anyone have advice or would like to join me?

[starcat71]

My natural weight has always been around 9st 3 to 9st 7, but have put on weight in the last few years due to a change in eating habits and stress. I have always loved my food and love cooking. I reached 11stone last October which shocked me into taking serious action after starting and failing so many diets. I reduced my food intake - eating smaller portions, reducing sugar and moving about more. This got me down to 10st 4 by April this year. After that I started to count the calories (1500 a day) and follow a more regimented exercise routine - cardiovascular and resistance work 3 days per week and pilates the other two days. I lost maybe 2 pounds over a month which wasn't quick enough for me so moved to an Atkins-type diet, eating mostly protein and low carb meals. This shifted a few pounds more quickly and I got to 9st 12 over the course of a month. However, lots of events came at the same time - weddings, big birthdays, trips away etc and I fell off the bandwagon. Now I'm in a position where I weigh about 10st. I eat mostly protein during the week, have not been exercising apart from a bit of walking and cycling, and drink a couple of times a week with a cheat day or two. This maintains my weight but I really want to shift the last 10 or so pounds - I'm so bored of thinking about it!! Having dieted before (5:2/juicing...you name it) I have always found myself stuck at 10st and that's when I usually lose faith. Another weight I get stuck at is 9 1/2 stone - although I wouldn't be complaining If I was stuck there now!!

So I'm really making an effort now to shift that weight - starting yesterday. The general plan is:

#Protein breakfast (scrambled tofu with spinach and avocado) OR a veg and fruit smoothy with pea or hemp protein powder

#Lunch mainly proteins with vegetables and maybe some grains

#Afternoon snack - handful of almonds

#Dinner: soup or high protein with veg

Exercise: Running 3 times /wk with some resistance training such as push ups and bench presses in the park.
Join a pilates class twice weekly.

Would love your support and advice. Friends around me who are thin do so in an unhealthy way (not that they would admit it) and skip meals etc That's not my style and it's hard to find good role models who aren't just naturally thin and have battled with their weight. I should mention my other huge obstacle is drinking - having a night out with friends once or twice a week means loads of empty calories and hungover-eating the next day. I don't want to not socialise with friends in this way but know it's stopping me from losing the weight. Any advice on this would be great.

Hi. I need to joint this thread! I am 10stone and aiming for 9.5 stone. I am pushing 50 and have never been this heavy!

My problem is I have always been skinny and could eat anything I wanted without gaining a pound! Then I got too skinny and we found I had coeliacs disease! So 12 months in from diagnosis And cutting out gluten I have gained 2 stone! I probably needed to gain about one stone.

I have never had to worry about diet so this is all new to me.

I am trying to cut back on snacks, wine and portion sizes. I have been running around 3 times PW but have a knee problem so have had to cut back on this. Do yoga once a week, do a short walk in my lunch hour and am going to do couple of cycle rides instead of running. Don't have time for much more.

Don't know if 5:2 will suit me or just count calories? Any advice?

Madeline
I turned 50 this spring and have been using 5:2 to maintain for nearly 3 years.
Not everybody gets on with it, but I love it.

talkinpeace Can you give me your FD recipe for shakshouka? I've made this is the past(Spanish eggs to us!) but with olive oil and peppers and sometimes cheese!! What exactly do you put in to make it 400 cals? Thanks

An omelette made from one egg and two egg whites contains just 106 calories! Eating plenty of protein is a great way to lose weight and gain lean muscles. Yum on FD and NFD, just change up the fillings to suit.

lovemyway
lazy git shakshouka = take one tub of tomato and bean soup from the supermarket (300 cal for two ), bring to simmer in a wide pan, add 3 eggs per person (80 cal an egg), simmer till eggs poached in soup = 350 cal meal

marginally less lazy shakshouka = one onion, one pepper, one stick celery, chop and fry in 1 spoon oil. Add 2 tins tomatoes. Bring to simmer, add spices (chilli for mexican, coriander for middle easy, curry for east)

add eggs as above = around 400 cal per portion

so men on their 600 cal fast day get a slice of bread with it
I like to add a dusting of REALLY strong grated cheese

Thanks talk I will try that. I've just had a fish sushi pack from Tesco at 240 cals with some green leaves and raw red pepper and a banana after. I had a slice of granary bread with a scrape of low fat philly for lunch and mostly green tea all day. Going for a 30 min walk in a bit followed by more tea, bath and bed.

I'm down to 9 St 8 now as have refocussed myself. I'm going to lose another 4lb then go onto maintenance.

Glad the 5 2 is working for you! My friends love it but don't seem to maintain weight loss as it's all dependent on the will power to keep going with the fast days long term.

I prefer the lower calorie approach because my habits have genuinely changed. If I occasionally go out now and eat how I used to as a "treat" (a massive plate of pasta and dessert for example) I feel bloated and unwell so it's almost like l can't go back. I'm no longer relying on will power to maintain, it's a lifestyle shift if you see what I mean.

Day one done and kept it just under 1200 Cals. Thanks for advoce above re 5:2 I think I will stick to cc and MFP for a couple of weeks and see how that goes. It's what worked for me last time and I find 5:2 hard if I'm at work (brain/ mouth stop working together by mid afternoon) and hard if I'm at home as want to pick at food!
Thanks for the eggs recipes above - I'm a big fan of Mexican eggs and hadn't thought of Just changing seasoning for a change!

That's greatmrsplum I am 9st 10 this morning but had FD yesterday so not sure if that might go up a bit. I already feel great to have 4 lb off, trousers doing up again! I felt exactly the same as you when I did 5:2 a couple of years ago, I felt retrained and stopped 'maintaining' BUT gradually my portions /habits slipped, I didn't even notice it until my trousers suddenly wouldn't do up! Just saying, beware. I'll probably do the same but think I'll continue to weigh once a week to keep in check. good luck with the last 4lb!

Hey, I am also finding this interesting as in the same zone. I lost over a stone to get to 10 stone ish with calorie counting and exercise but couldn't (get motivated! ) to shift the laSt stone in the same way.

Ended up going to slimming world and I have found it great, really refocused my attitude and I have reached target of 9sto pretty easily which I am thrilled about :)

That's great Baby. Sometimes you just need to change it up don't you. But I've fallen into the keep trying something new trap - after successfully getting to under 9 stone with cc and running it started creeping back so I tried low carb (too much time and prep) celebrity slim (awful and didn't lose anything) and 5:2 (see above). Don't know why as clearly cc works for me.
I just know that my life will always be like this - an endless cycle of gaining and losing :-(

I just know that my life will always be like this - an endless cycle of gaining and losing

Dieting is soul destroying, so people give up on it.
BUT
There is a way to use Calorie Counting scientifically that works long term and retrains your brain.

First off, you need to understand your TDEE
Calculator here
thefastdiet.co.uk/how-many-calories-on-a-non-fast-day/

Work out how many calories your body actually needs to stay where you are (always assume sedentary to give leeway)
Next, work out how many calories your body will need per day once you are at ideal weight
and again when you are ten years older than you are now

If you aim to eat your ideal weight TDEE averaged across the week
so a bit under it Monday to Thursday, a bit over it at the weekend
you will get to and stay at your ideal weight
for ever

without the grim boredom of calorie counting every day for the rest of your life

You can also look at it on a monthly or annual basis
eg
I fast strictly for 24 weeks a year
roughly for 24 weeks a year
and relax completely for 4 weeks a year
BUT
before going into a relax week I make sure I'm just below ideal weight so I can come up to it IYSWIM

talkinpease How do you decide which weeks will be strict and which not? Obviously the 4 weeks off are holidays etc but what about the rest? Just curious.

I start every week with good intentions
but do not beat myself up if my diary goes astray, just know that I need to be more careful the following week

its a long term view

Oh ok , I had visions of you with a calendar marking off the weeks

Talkinpease I like that way of looking at it. I tend to keep in mind meal plans so that I do generally stick to meals of 300cal unless Im out or some kind of different routine is happening. I also am fairly clued in on calorie counting so I know what to eat when I'm out. My slip ups tend to be snacking which is fairly easy to reign in when my weight starts creeping up...

Thanks Talkinpeace I like your thinking. Now need to get to goal weight to use the advice!

Can you elaborate a bit more on strict fast / less strict?

Musttidy
A strict fast week is exactly as I posted on Wednesday at 22:50
and I do it even though I'm lean because of the health reasons

A half arsed fast week will be the Monday supper being 900 calories
or the Thursday fast going pear shaped

I never eat breakfast in the week
so it comes down to whether I fancy lunch or can hang on till supper
bearing in mind that my TDEE is just under 1500

mrsplum
Snacking is the absolute killer.
If you can abolish it completely from your household, life gets simpler.
Nobody over the age of 3 needs to snack
all snacking does is
(a) make you fat
(b) make the food industry rich

Talkinpease You are correct for adults . But disagree per se as my dc definitely need to snack after school to get through their sports before dinner. But they eat very little during the day so I see it as their calorie intake spread fairly evenly over 4 meals rather than 3.

I snack because I love the dips, cheese crackers etc and prefer it to eating a real meal. It's social rather than hunger. But to be fair if I snack significantly I do generally skip the subsequent meal.

mrsplum
School kids having a high nutrient snack (cheese, nuts, seeds, fruit, milk) after school before exercise is reasonable

but seeing kids being collected from school and handed bags of sweets
by parents who then wonder why they child won't eat a balanced supper
does my head in

no adult NEEDS to snack
(except possibly a few type 1 diabetics)
having a meal of snack type foods is fine
so long as they are not as well as

and for lots of health reasons its better to have decent breaks between eating sessions

talk I agree totally on the snack front. At school in 70s nobody snacked apart from the milk9which i hated and never drank) and we were all a lot leaner AND ate all of our meals because we were hungry enough.

Great to hear from so many of you! How has everyone been doing this week?

I'm feeling fairly frustrated - lost 3 pounds in the first week and then stopped at 9st 12. I haven't lost any weight for the past 8 days :-( Here's how those days have looked. Can anyone identify any barriers?

Thurs: B: Banana, maca, cacao smoothy
S: Tangerine, plum
L: Veg curry on quinoa from Pret (485 calories)
S: Small pack of peanuts
D: Soup
Night out drinking.

Fri: B: One piece of toast with peanut butter
S: Banana, maca, cacao smoothy
L: Salad with half a tin of chickpeas and dressing made with a tbsp of tahini
D: Two small slices of pizza - just tomato, no cheese. 2/3 of a bagel. Salads and roast cauliflower. 2 bottles of beer.

Saturday: Run in the morning
B: Small bowl of scrambled tofu topped with a handful of seeds
L Salad with a vege burger on top and a tbsp of humous
D: Small bowl of scrambled tofu and a couple of crackers

Sunday: Pilates
B: Berry, yoghurt and nut butter smoothy
L: Small bowl of lentils, a cup of squash, salad, small slice of raw cake (no refined sugars) for pudding. Two small glasses of wine.
D: Small bowl of lentils

Monday: Fasting day
5pm: small bowl of lentils
9pm : small bowl of soup

Tuesday:

B: Muesli and milk
L: A little piece of pizza - no cheese. Wasn't a meal but didn't feel hungry and knew I have a large meal at the end of the day.
D Thai curry with corn fritters (no rice) and half a chia pudding

Wednesday:
B: Other half chia pudding
L: Small bowl of curried sweet potato soup with chickpeas
D: Half a pizza (no cheese) and half a bottle of white wine

Thursday: Fasting day
5pm: small bowl of soup
10:30pm: a celery stick with humous, mug of miso. (Cheated and ate a handful of chips!)

It's obvious on the meal plan when I'm socialising or out for dinner. I know it's not looking perfect but I feel I balance treat meals with non-treat meals? I haven't done any exercise this week but plan on two days of the 30day shred and pilates this evening. I won't be drinking this weekend either. Also, I don't normally eat pizza but for work-related reasons a slice here and there has crept in!

Can anyone see anything else I'm doing wrong here? Talkinpeece?

Thank you!

Room for one more? My weight has crept up over the past 3 or 4 months and now somewhere around 9 St 8. Feel and look flabby. So back on it today and hope to get back down to 9 stone. Only 5 ft 2 so every extra pound looks alot on me.

Had 2 weetabix and milk for brekkie. Will have some raspberries and tea for a snack later. Have not planned lunch or dinner yet. I definitely find I eat way more rubbish when I don't eat breakfast so it will be boring weetabix all the way for a while.

Starcat I think maybe the alcohol coupled with the no exercise. Alcohol really is empty calories. And added to no exercise in the week it look more like maintenance than loss. Just my two cents. You will do better this week not to worry