I've lost over 3 stone and I'm still fat!

[CoffeeAndToffee]

I've gone from 14 stone 6 to 11 stone 4 over the last 6 months and I'm still fat!

If you'd offered me a weight loss of that much I'd have bit your hand off and thought I'd have looked amazing, but I don't. Still carrying loads round my thighs, butt and stomach, so demoralising.

Well done, that's amazing progress

Maybe focus on how far you've come and the positive differences you've made to your health, rather than just the aesthetic?

Have you now reached your target weight?

I’m the same. I’ve gone from a size 18 to a size 12-14 and I’ve lost 3 stone. My thighs and hips still look really big though. And my bingo wings are awful. The weight seems to have all come off my face, waist and stomach area.

I'm delighted, don't get me wrong, but I can't believe after having lost as much that I'm still looking like I do.

Before I started I had a target weight in my head of below 11 stone, but now I'm beginning to think that won't be enough to look slim.

I think this amount of weight loss is amazing and you should be feeling really proud of yourself. The reality is that women who have always been thin don't necessarily like everything about their body either. They might feel their thighs are too big or their boobs too small or whatever. If you've lost this much weight I can assure you that you are looking it.

It's probably time to do some careful and thoughtful shopping. Look at what is working and what you are less happy about and start choosing new clothes that suit your new gorgeous body.

How did you lose your weight Frosty? For me I cut right back on sugar and processed food and focused on sensible eating.

Lost almost this much and I also still don't look slim. I'm not toned either and that makes a big difference to how the fat hangs on you.

There's no option but to continue onwards.

Congratulations CoffeeandToffee that is an amazing achievement!!!

You should be bloomin' proud of yourself!

Fwiw, I think the adjustment to how you look takes time. Take a few photos now and then don't look at them for a while. Then go back and take a look and you will really "see" the difference.

Also, rest assured that by losing that much weight you will have made a huge difference to your health!! All those doctors on the telly keep telling us that even a small amount can make a difference so 3 stones of weight loss must be really, really beneficial.

Well done Frosty too?

Either of you care to share how you did it? I have 3 stone to lose and I have lost and put on again the first half stone about six times since January!

@coffeeandtoffee I stuck to 1500 calories per day on MYP (I’m tall and have a busy life so any less than that and I feel unwell). I try and mainly eat whole foods and I only have ‘treat foods’ like chocolate or a takeaway once a week and try and be controlled with my portion size. I don’t have any alcohol or fizzy drinks now either. Exercise wise I do 10,000 steps per day, 100 squats per day and 2-3 HIIT classes per week. My thighs are my problem area and I just can’t seem to tone them up. I drink loads of water but the cellulite still remains

*MFP

Hi All,
I’m the same! In the last 6 months I have lost 3 stones as well, although I was a stone heavier than you when I started.

I agree, it has been depressing to lose so much and not look like I have, so at least not look like I thought I would at this stage of the weight loss.

I had come to the same realisation as PragmaticWench - there is nothing else to do but continue onwards. To help
With that I am trying to focus on other good things that have come as a result of the weight loss. Eg

• I am currently on holidays and have been walking everywhere and keeping up. In January I went on a holiday and this was more of a struggle, so yea for victory
• I am now size 16 or less, so can more easily buy clothes in a larger variety of high street shops
• my triple chin is now only a double chin...and on some days it is only a chin!

Other future non-visual goals include hopefully reducing/stopping my snoring and feeling better in yoga class, as there is less of my big stomach in the way for stretches!

I’ll return to the visual thing later....in the meantime just keeping on, keeping on.

Wow Frosty that sounds like a really sensible and sustainable way of doing it. Many congrats again. Up to now, I have never been able to stick to MFP limit of 1300 a day (I am 5, 7 and a bit).

Btw, duh, when I wrote "congratulations to Frosty" down thread with a question mark - it was meant to be an exclamation mark - sorry!

Congrats to Followyourownstar too!

All of you put me to shame!

I've got to get cracking on this. It is so horrible being overweight in this heat.

If it helps, I’ve got from bigger than this to about the same and have the same concerns. I’m getting a bit more toned thanks to a yoga app I use, but I think partly it’s a psychological thing, for me anyway. When I was 17 stone if I’d been properly self conscious about all the parts of my body I found a problem I’d have never had time to do anything. At 11 and a half I look at the top of my arms, my thighs and my mum tum in a way that is a lot more self-critical than when I was bigger.

Could it be that?

@scoop thank you :-)
I did try and do 1200 calories per day but after a couple of weeks I felt fatigued, depressed and ill. I was waking in the night starving too. I think shorter people could potentially survive on that many calories long term but as I’m almost 5ft 8 and I have quite an active job etc, 1500 is the lowest I can go (on the one treat day I have per week I usually go up to about 2200 but I go for a really long walk that day to compensate a bit). I find it’s better to lose weight slowly but keep it off long term, rather than starve and then pile it back on again a few months later

I've done WW in the past and it worked for me but I found it unsustainable in the long term. This time I cut right back on sugar and associated junk. Haven't counted any calories as I'm doing this as a long term lifestyle change rather than a 'diet' and for me the monotony of having to weigh, measure and count means I'll eventually get fed up.

I've been surprised at how much less I need to eat than I used to, as well as how my appetite has reduced now I'm not eating rubbish.

Am starting with a personal trainer this evening to see if that helps tone me up and improve my shape. Just not sure I'm ever going to get to a point of looking as slim as I'd like without drastic (and therefore unsustainable) measures.

Sorry, toddler just sat on iPad before I could finish!

Either way, congratulations on an awesome achievement. You should be really proud.

I think introducing exercise now is a great idea. It might be that your original weight target was not too far off the mark, but a fit and toned 11St looks a lot different to an untoned 11St. You've done really, really well. With some bloody hard work you will look and feel amazing. Keep going.

Coffeeandtable those are great tips thank you. Particularly about it not being a diet but a sustainable lifestyle change and wanting to eat less once you cut out rubbish!

Feeling a bit more hopeful now thanks to this thread.

But sorry, didn't mean to hi-jack.

I hope you can get to the point where you can look at yourself and feel good and hope it goes well with trainer!

Also for anyone starting their weight loss journey - even if you just lost 2 pounds per month (which would be doable without making changes that are too drastic), that’s still 28 pounds (2 stone) loss per year and will hopefully be easier to keep off as you won’t have had to starve to do it.
If you lose 4 pounds per month then that’s a 4 stone loss in a year.
I had to get into the mindset that i’d much rather have a year of having to make an effort to lose weight, rather than spending the rest of my life unhappy with the way I looked

That's brilliant advice Frosty! Going to cut and paste and print that!!

Hijack away scoop, partly why I posted is for the encouragement of hearing how others are getting on!

Just realised I’m terrible at maths. A 2 pound weight loss per month is 28 pounds (2 stone) in a year, and a 4 pound weight loss per month is 3 stone 4 pounds loss in a year (which is still amazing)

Thanks both . This thread is really helpful!

Have you a plan to start scoop?

Now is probably the right time to start weight lifting to readjust where the weight is sitting on your body. You can walk as many steps as you want, or run for miles on a treadmill, but weight training is the most effective by far at sculpting your body. You may put some weight on as you gain muscle, but your measurements will decrease.