If you needed to lose 7.5 stone....

[chalkyc2]

...as that would get you just into 'normal' bmi range....well what would you do? It seems such a massive amount - a whole extra person! Nearly two of my skinny 8 year old!

Is it a case of just man up, move more, eat less? Or do I, at this stage/level of loss needed, need to consider something more drastic? I need to do this - am feeling rubbish after a 2 week holiday. My kids will start to get embarrassed by me. I was not comfortable on the plane home 😥

I've been normal-ish size before. It's just kind of crept on over the last 6 years - I suppose an extra stone a year. I just eat too much every meal time I guess - I eat pretty normal stuff but don't really hold back on the odd dessert so portion size must be a problem. But clearly this isn't good!

To add - no time between work and kids for weight watchers meeting or gym really - my schedule is hugely tight and I don't have any evening childcare. So any exercise needs to basically be on my commute - this is doable. I have tried online things before with little success.

I have lost a stone since the end of June by following the fast800 diet, combined with the 16:8 way of eating where you fast for 16 hours a day and eat within an 8 hour window (I do 12pm to 8pm). It’s actually pretty easy as you do much of the fasting part while you are asleep. I’d recommend reading Michael Mosley’s fast800 book first as is very motivating and has been a real wake up call as to what I have been doing to my body and health all this time!

I have about 2.5 stone to lose. I started with the fast 800 3 weeks ago and lost half a stone in the first 2 weeks. I thought that was perhaps a little too quick! I'm switching to the 5:2 from this week.

I was pleasantly surprised by the meal plans and recipes - only really one dish I wouldn't make again; they're mostly really tasty and easy to cook. I'm hoping this means the long-term lifestyle change becomes easier because the food still tastes good!

I needed to lose 6.5 to get into healthy range. Have been chipping away at it since January with SW and now 3 stone to go. For me going to a group helps keep me accountable but whatever method you choose they’re all ultimately just about calorie restriction, so it’s finding the method of doing that which fits best with your life. Loose skin probably will end up happening (I already had some before in any case) but for me it’s better than the alternative.

In 2017 I lost 5 stone on the LCHF bootcamp on mumsnet. Lost a further stone in 2018. I would have liked to have lost one more stone, but that isn’t happening without changes I’m not willing to make for my overall mental and emotional health. I’m still on LCHF, rarely have even minor deviations. It’s just how I eat now, I don’t think I will ever go back to how I ate before - which was, by current advice ‘healthy’. I feel great though, it’s worth it :)

In March I was 17st 4 (BMI 40.4) and I'm now 15st 9 (BMI 36.4). I've done this through mindful eating and it hasn't felt super restrictive but to be honest, tomorrow I'm starting Exante's 800 kcal plan. I lost three stone in ten weeks on this before, I just need to tackle the issue of maintenance afterwards.

I have a holiday in October and then next year there is an extended family weekend away for my dad's 60th in February, my 30th in May, and my Master's graduation in June. My goal weight is 9st 6 (BMI 22) so that's another 6+ stone still to lose but I don't want to dread these events because I feel fat and uncomfortable.

Weight training. Honestly - you wont get bulky, you'll add muscles which will make you look better as you lose fat and you'll keep burning fat long after you've stopped training. Lift heavy 3-4 times a week, if you can, get some advice from a PT or sign up to something like the Sweat app which has multiple weight training workouts you can follow at the gym or at home.

And manage your diet really really strictly - weigh everything so you know exactly what portions are supposed to look like. Eat much more protein and fat (will fill you up) and much less carbs, and stick to veggies and greens if you can - just cut out the sugary stuff altogether, much easier than thinking you can just have a bit and then eating too much.

Break your target down into mini goals and celebrate each one with a non-food reward.
Think of the next 12 months as just a short time in the grand scheme of things - think how you will feel when you've lost the weight and you recognise yourself again. Keep visualising how it will feel to go shopping and pick up what you like, not what will cover you up. How it feels to see photos of yourself and like them, not be in the background all the time.

I lost 46kg and 5 dress sizes in the last 14 months doing just this. Now a size 10 and well into healthy BMI. Finally feel like myself again - you will too!

Remember it is ok to make yourself a priority in your life, to make your health, and yes your appearance if you want to, a priority. You deserve to feel good in your own skin.

The fundamentals are that you need to eat less calories than you burn, therefore be in a calorie deficit, how you choose to do this is up to you

What worked for me was setting smaller goals, so rather having a big "need to lose 7 stone" cloud hanging over your head, make a target to eat in a calorie deficit every single day in a week, or to hit 10k steps every day in a week- something that is realistic for you

Google a macro calculator to find out how many calories you should be eating in a day to lose weight, then download My Fitness Pal and use that to track calories. MFP usually drops calories too low so using an online calculator is better. James Smith PT goes into more details about this if you are interested, go on his website and he send you an email explaining why

I was in this same boat, 10 years ago, creeping weight gain, tight schedule, kids, job, needed to lose 7 stone, no idea where to start, and really frustrated. I just... started: walking, when i could, and tried different diets, (starting with the Food Doctor book) , switching to a new ones as soon as the old one stopped working, and adding as much physical exercise into my day as possible, gardening, housework, etc. No tv, no computer. I lost over 4 stone and I've kept it off (with fasting and low carb atm) but my doctor and I did discover I had several underlying health problems that make it virtually impossible to ever get down to my ideal weight: hypothyroidism, and lipoedema, particularly, though some of the asthma meds I was on also caused weight gain. Now I don't need those, at least. No more asthma, no more gallstones.
I'm still 2.5 stone overweight but I'm in much better shape, and on the heavy side of normal rather than being obese. I'm jeans size UK 12.
I hope this is some help I've no miracle diets or exercises to offer, just best wishes.

Thanks for all the inspirational stories - keep them coming!! Didn't have any sweet stuff over the weekend so that's a start!!

I do think whatever 'diet' needs to be long term sustainable. I'm not sure I can commit my life to never having breakfast or totally cutting sugar or carbs - and whilst I crave a quick fix the posts on here confirm that this is a year long project really. I need to look into exercise options - I love weights and Pt but and time and cash short currently!

Well done @chalkyc2, cutting out the sweet stuff is good. . I did weights with a pt early this morning, and I have been on my sofa ever since, had to beg a cup of tea from the resident teen. Keep thinking a morning gardening would have the same effect on my bod but would also mean a tidy garden.. I need to lose a third of my body weight, to be in the healthy zone, but they are numbers not seen since I was a teen. So my goals are smaller, currently to get under 100k/16 st. 20 kilos/3.5 st takes me to overweight, rather than obese. But I think us reverse dysmorphics may actually have more muscle than normal, I have a feeling that I will be pretty lean at 80 k.

Course that could be more deluded bollocks.

Being diagnosed with T2 diabetes was my wake up call. I've tried every diet under the sun but am now doing really well using the 16:8 fasting. For the 1st week, I ate normally just within an 8 hour window and still managed to lose about 4lbs, so over each week I've done something a bit more.... now I'm carb watching, making sure I eat loads of veg and have upped my fitbit steps to 12.5k. It's so black and white for me - you can't eat outside the 8 hours so all temptation stops and cutting out snacks has probably made the biggest difference.

Weight training. Honestly - you wont get bulky, you'll add muscles which will make you look better as you lose fat and you'll keep burning fat long after you've stopped training. Lift heavy 3-4 times a week, if you can, get some advice from a PT or sign up to something like the Sweat app which has multiple weight training workouts you can follow at the gym or at home.

Completely endorse this.

Just to put people's minds at rest, here are my before and after pics (for anyone who hasn't seen them )

I lift (very) heavy weights three or four times a week and I haven't turned into a giant muscle woman or anything. You won't. It's really difficult for women to get muscly without taking stuff. Trust me

Wow @legs - impressive well done!

I do have some dumbbells somewhere. Need to dig all that stuff out!