I have 3 months to lose 3 stone.

[Redshoesandtheblues]

Has anyone undertaken something similar? And, if so, how did you do it?

I keep putting it off but I now need to bite the bullet and focus.

My sister recommends Exante and has given me some shakes and bars. My SIL recommends 5:2 and calorie counting. A friend swears by juicing and 'clean' eating.

Ive got very confused as to what to go for, but I need to make a decision very soon!

I'm thinking of a month on each. Is that feasible? Or too 'bitty'?

For context, the weight has piled on over last 2 years due to menopause, health issues and downright piggery.🐷

Help!!

I’ve lost a stone in a month before, I literally didn’t eat much, maybe 700/800 calories a day, plus walked a lot.
That’s it.

Good luck!

The heart diet is supposed to be good, you can lose up to 10lb in 3 days but it's only a 3 day diet. You could do that every 3 weeks.

There's also the milk and yogurt diet, where you eat nothing but yogurt, and drink only milk, water or Bovril. It'd what bariatric patients have to do for 2 weeks prior to surgery to clean the liver. It's not pleasant though. I did it and while I lost a stone in that time, I started to crave something to chew.

Thanks for ideas , tomtom and Gretchen - I'm still debating!
I wonder if 800 calories of yoghurt per day for a couple of weeks would work well?

Not sure - the bariatric diet lets you eat unlimited yogurt, I liked Muller light. I'm not sure how many calories are in a yogurt though?

Have you thought of trying intermittent fasting OP? Also called 16:8.
You fast for 16 hours of the day (including sleep time) and only eat during an 8 hour window. Supposed to be good for metabolism and digestion, but I have also found it stops me snacking in the evenings/having a sugary coffee in the morning that I don't really need. I'm at target weight now (and am still doing it) but when I was losing weight I had a calorie limit as I can eat a lot in eight hours . My mum has just come out the other side of menopause and is in a similar situation to yourself, and she's finding that it's working for her!

I hate to be boring but you need to do something that is sustainable. Crash/faddy diets really aren’t and unless you have incredible willpower you will not stick to them. I know I can’t, and I’ve tried plenty of them.

I lost 2 stones in 12 weeks by clean eating (cutting out overly processed food) and cutting back on carbs especially bread and pasta. I ate things like sweet potatoes and brown rice instead. Lots of fish and grilled chicken. My plates were at least half vegetables or salad.

I started walking 20mins a day and built up to longer and included swimming. I started drinking lots of water too.

Oh and I also didn’t eat anything after 6pm. I think this helped as the evenings are usually when I fall into bad eating habits.

Good luck, it is doable x

It is hard, but I found intuitive eating worked for me, having tried every diet growing up! It's just getting back in tune with your body, and rather than eating meals just because it's lunch time or whatever you listen to when you are actually hungry. The principle is that you eat what you want but stop when you are full; sounds simple but it was silly how much I had lost touch with my body's natural cues! I think seeing my baby feed as well and stop when full reminded me that it is possible (sounds silly I know). I found after the first few days of taking the eat-what-you-want a bit over the top I found I actually wanted healthier stuff, and along with walking and quick YouTube workouts the weight fell off. Good luck, you can do it :) just make sure you're eating enough still, but the good stuff.

Slimming world? You need to change your habits, not just diet.

I'm another fan of Slimming World- joined last year having tried everything else, sure it wouldn't work. Have lost over 4 stone, and now my problem is trying to stop losing! After several years as afatty on every diet going I have to pinch myself every day!

Thanks everyone for taking time to reply!

I'm starting off with 800 cals intermittent fasting, using a mixture of exante shakes and a 200 cal allowance to 'spend' on stuff like yoghurt, nut milk, berries, veggies-whatever I particularly fancy on the day. Only criteria is it has to be healthy.

Its a bit mix and match at this stage but as its 1st July, it seems a good time to start with at least something constructive towards my weight loss goal.

Intuitive eating is the holy grail, Sandybval. I have a friend who is currently taking that approach but is really struggling. Her intuition says doughnuts all the time!

Haha it's not for everyone, I was sceptical at first but having tried restricting calories and never getting anywhere thought it was worth a go- but for a lot of people what failed for me works for them. I think most of the popular diets have elements which are useful, but it is so much harder in practice than just thinking oh I'll eat less and move more isn't it.

Sandy, did you read a book about intuitive eating first, or just dived into it?

This Way HTH.

You don’t need to sign up and pay. Plenty of recipes & advice on line. Google is your friend.

Thanks, BustedDreams, looks ideal!

Ive yet to manage a succesful day so far, but I'm persevering!

I caught sight of myself in the mirror this morning and it was even more unpleasant than I'd thought!

I've lost half a stone in 2 weeks following the fast800 diet. I haven't been hungry at all and I combine it with 16:8, well actually I do a 15:9 as that works better for me so I only eat between 11am and 8pm. Good luck :)

Constance1234, thats fantastic!!
Are you following the diet plan itself or diy'ing with the general rules?

Can I ask how much you wanting to lose?
After this morning's shudder, Im thinking 3 and a half more accurate!

The 800 diet will work (as any diet) if you stick to it. It is more sustainable than, say, just eating yoghurt! Instead of looking at the total amount of weight in X days, just do it one day at a time. Just say to yourself you are going to stick to 800 calories for this one day. The next morning repeat. Next thing you know a month of ‘one days’ has passed!

@Redshoesandtheblues

i'm going to pm you otherwise i will sound like i am advertising...

Redshoesandtheblues I bought the book and found it fascinating, and it really made me think about what I have been doing to my body all of these years! I also bought the cookbook and have been following recipes from there, and logging everything on My Fitness Pal. I have been shocked how easy it is, as once you get over the first couple of days, I found that my cravings for carbs and sugars have completely gone.

There are meal planners (which I haven't used) in both of the books with plans for if you want to have 2 meals a day, or 3 meals a day. I find it easy to skip breakfast and have two pretty decent sized meals. I would like to lose another 2 stone ideally!

Sod it, i have done the pm but i will post the link to what i used to lose 35lb in under 3 months.

www.naturalketosis.co.uk/

Just bought myself a batch

Iamnotacerealkiller Ouch - £170 for 14 days food is pretty pricey! Congrats on the weight loss though :)

I have lost 4 stone on keto diet and exercise. I certainly didn’t pay silly money for meals to be delivered.

@Constance1234

Yeah it isn't cheap but this is replacing 90% of everything you are eating so your own food shopping will be minimal. I found the convenience was the key thing for me as i just get tired of cooking healthy food. It is a bit less when you buy 4 weeks worth.

It also is real food. so while i know people who have had great success using meal replacement shakes. i have always been wary of them for long term health as you aren't eating food.

Also i find the shakes are packed full of artificial sweeteners (and artificial vitamins) that i don't like the idea of. Would much rather get my food from actual veg etc.

@Prisonbreak

I agree of course you don't need the meals but this was really how i started on keto. I was in my 20s overweight and had no idea about keto. this taught me the principals. I recommend it as an easy way into keto while also losing buckets of weight (i lost 8lb first week, 1 stone in 3 weeks) to prove its effectiveness. i have lost count of the number of people i have spoken to about keto who have given up after a few days and say 'i didn't work for me' and really it's a simple lack of understanding about how it works.

After a month on the packs i got a bit sick of the lack of variety and continued on my own. I find however that i have restarted low carb a few times now as i just get cooking fatigue and for that i find the meals really good if you are someone who struggles like me.

Yes the initial cost is high, especially for an untried product but i'm not sure if its that expensive. Lots of people would spend that amount on lunch and a coffee everyday if they bought it in, but this has little waste, minimal preparation and works in a work environment assuming you have access to a microwave.

Anyway i will shut up as i sound like i'm advertising which is what i was trying to avoid.

I have been reading about the exante type shake diets and that there is new thinking that actually rapid weight loss is better for long term weightloss for a number of reasons, motivation being a big one.

Adherence is the most important factor!