I need to lose 9st+! Help!

[Modestandatinybitsexy]

Have you done this? How have you done this?

I'm 5'8" and 19st.
I know I need to eat less and move more.

I have small children and I'm still breastfeeding. Apart from the standard chasing a toddler I'm pretty sedentary. I do all the cooking, not terribly unhealthy food but probably much too much of it.

Help me give myself a kick up my huge arse please!!

Hi @buckeejit - welcome to the thread and well done on losing that stone. My BMI has just gone under 35, now have my sights on the next milestone.... Sounds like you have found something that works for you and have had a really good start....a stone in January is fantastic

Welcome buckeejit. What do you weigh currently?
I have just come back here after a period of being very demoralised and gaining weight.
Am I reading right that you have lost over a stone in a month? That must be very encouraging.

Thanks!

@Zebracat I gained a lot in the last few months of the year & was feeling a lot of shame as I should know better etc

Yes, I'm 43 & started off at 18st 9lb on 4th Jan so 1 stone & 2lb off in 4 weeks. I'm trying to not restrict anything theoretically but calorie counting honestly on my fitness pal & doing my steps is working well. I spent a few weekends making big batches of a few varieties of soup so every day having soup either for lunch or tea & going lowish carb.

During December I was drinking & eating to excess even for me so I guess the initial loss has been recently added weight. I am trying my hardest though & last spring when I started to lose it took me twice as long to lose this much. It really has spurred me on & even made me seriously think about extending dry January. I couldn't be this hardcore long term but if I can do it for another stone, I know I'll look & feel a lot better and have less guilt & Covid worry!

It must have given you a giant boost. I keep thinking I should do batch cooking. I’d have to buy a freezer though. I’m doing much the same. My problem is that I don’t properly count calories, I just find a chicken casserole on MFP, it’s not ideal. I thought I would start quite low-key this time so that I had somewhere to go . It is really important to me that this time the changes I make a are sustainable. I’ve been gaining and losing the same 10 kilos for 4 years, my DH lost 10 kilos 4 years ago, and has largely stayed the same.

Annoyingly my normal sized dh is similar - he just does a January eat less & loses a stone+ which he'll slowly add back on over the year 😒

If you've fridge room you could do a wee batch of soup & keep it in the fridge. I'm happy to eat the same thing day after day as cba thinking & planning all the time.

There's some leftover rice in the fridge so I'll defrost some prawns & add some veg for tea.

I set my alarm on my Fitbit last night to get up slightly earlier at 7am. It gave me the option of 'smart' alarm which wakes you at the optimal time in your sleep cycle up to 15 mins I think either side of your alarm. It woke me at 6.50 so I added some extra steps to my morning walk. It's like Russian roulette getting up. I quite like the extra little thrill!

Normal sized Dh is not necessarily a good thing, is it? I need to lose 25 kilos to be the same weight as him, and he is taller. Always remember Zoe Ball saying , years ago, that she felt she should be able to get into any potential suitors jeans!

He is so lovely though, always supportive, never makes me feel bad. But he cuts back on crap to support me and then gets even more svelte. I’m being so low key this time that he is still snarfing Kitkats, and I am trying really hard not to be jealous.It’s not that I want him to be fat, just want to reduce the differential

Same here. Don't think I'd ever get in dh jeans!

I don't want dh to be my size or anything, although I don't like to see him doing exercises in the evening when I'm having lazy time! 🤪

I've been lurking...still maintaining or going up slightly! Driving me nuts. Have a lot on my plate (!) at the moment so think I'm just not in the right headspace. Trying to let it not get away from me though.

Well done to all those who are keeping on keeping on!

Winningatseesaw the right headspace is crucial. I've always put weight on when I'm overwhelmed and just about keeping my head above water, so just maintaining seems a good aim.
There are definitely people who can't eat when very stressed and others who over eat to numb/ block stress, and I suspect a lot of us fall into the second category! Its very hard to fight because of course it happens when you're already at your coping limit.

I only managed to successfully start constantly losing a lot of weight once a significant stressful and very time intensive commitment was over and done with - I couldn't have done it until then.

86.6 kg this morning, which is the lowest weight I've seen in over a decade, and the same weight I was at my booking in appointment with DC1, which must have been about this time 16 years ago! I remember because I was shocked then to have a BMI of 30, though I knew I'd been putting on weight since our wedding!

2kg to get rid of to get out of the obese category, which has always been my first big goal!

After that I'll be happy if I can get rid of 10kg more, then try to maintain... I think the last 12 kg are going to take as long as the first 33 did though, as I'm losing far, far more slowly now, but still creeping in the right direction...

Winningatseesaw. How lovely to hear from you.. I’m back for another go, wishing that I hadn’t gone off the rails. But it’s going well this week. Just had our Friday night takeaway, and hoping that I haven’t overdone it . Keralan fish curry, plus some other stuff....
Until yournexthairbrainedscheme. I’m enjoying your clothes on the other thread. You look great.

@UntilYourNextHairBrainedScheme very well done on hitting that milestone. Good luck with the next 2kg. It will be a fantastic achievement to cross out of the obese BMI category.
@Winningatseesaw and @Zebracat I lurk on that S&B thread and you guys look totally awesome.... I have very little style, but it's nice to see some inspiration
Sometimes a break from it all is needed for sanity, but it can be very hard to get started again. I have found that the thought of starting to do what I have to do to start losing again is much worse than actually doing it.

Hello OP. Just seen your thread. So sorry, not time to read it all

How are you doing?

Thanks everyone. I definitely don't want to start going backwards. Part of what hasn't helped me is the scales not going down after I've been on track..and that's led to a "why do I even bother" mindset. But agree with the poster who said the thought of starting again puts them off going on track. Must keep going. Can't decide if i should stay off the scales for a while or not.

Well done @UntilYourNextHairBrainedScheme ! So happy for you having lost 33kgs and being so close to out of the obese category.

@Zebracat well done for coming back again.

Would anyone mind sharing a typical days food for them? I'd love some inspiration

Hi I'm looking for some tips and advice please, I have 5st to lose snacks are my downfall, crisps & chocolate. Ohh and fizzy juice, lots of it!

Thank you for the nice comments The style and beuty thread is nice but does make me feel clueless!

Winningatseesaw I've been doing intermittent fasting since July (18:6) so I usually don't eat til 1pm. I try to have a healthy lunch such as steamed vegetables with eggs or fish, but I eat whatever I want for dinner - normal family meal. This week things like chicken satay, cheese Spätzle (a German egg pasta type thing), Frikadellen tonight (sort of home made burgers - mince meat, bread, egg, onion), jacket potatoes with tuna, sweetcorn, mayo, hone made pizza...

I don't eat much between meals but if I feel hungry I have fruit or unsalted nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews) - I keep a glass jar of them on the kitchen counter.

Hi Storms
I don’t know if I’m fit to be inspiration. I’ve been hanging around for months and did ok, then didn’t so I’m not quite back at square 1. But I thing that does help me is to have nosnacks at all unless I am really hungry and it’s hours to my next meal. Then I have an apple. Or a carrot. Other people manage, I know, but I don’t think I could eat crisps and chocolate and drink fizzy juice and lose 5 stone.
If that sounds horrific, then I should tell you that the plus side is that I have decently sized meals of quite normal food.

Oh I do try not to eat much bread - it seems to actually make me hungry, and I seem to retain weight for a few days if I eat much bread. I have it if its part of dinner (burger bun, pizza base) or very occassionally we have a big brunch with crusty rolls and croisants, but generally avoid I avoid things like sandwiches for lunch or bread thats just a side dish (like garlic bread or bread with a bowl of soup).

I think that and not eating in the evening after dinner are the key for me. Evening snacking and stress eating were my main problems, our means have always been moderately healthy and made from scratch partly because of wanting to feed the children reasonably healthily and partly because there is simply less convenience food available in the superkets here in rural Germany, and no takeaway deliveries at all.

@Winningatseesaw . I have the same breakfast everyday, an orange and a sachet of oatsosimple, although I am about to change to making my own porridge. I’ve just had lunch which was 3 small pieces of cheese on sourdough toast. Tea tonight is beef casserole with a dumpling. I shouldn’t have the stew really,I should probably make a vegan casserole with beans, but Dh is cooking and I’m lazy! So I will try to watch my portion size.

Losing again this week - 94.1kg. @Winningatseesaw I eat only dinner on weekdays, and that is usually something like baked potato and veggie chilli, pasta bake, curry and rice or vege burger with coleslaw....nothings off limits but i use MFP to monitor my portions because at the beginning I was eating huge helpings and my weight loss stalled.
Wishing you all success this week.

Thanks all for the inspo. I think when at my best my bread intake was reduced and no snacking after dinner . These two things have changed so I'll try and reign then back in.

Well done @alphaechokiwi for the loss.

102.9 today. Annoying because I was 102.5 on Friday, but I did have a takeaway. I love going down another kilo, so that’s ok. Started some core exercises today, and once I have them as an established part of my routine, I will find an online yoga class. I am finding that I am getting less back and leg pain on my daily walk, so that’s also encouraging. But I’m determined not to forget how much obesity messes with my health and mobility.
I feel quite pleased with myself for just getting on with it. So hoping that these are long term changes. Thanks to all you people here, inspiring me.

Well done alphaechokiwi and Zebracat !

Well done zebracat!

@storms - I was a big snacker at my heaviest. Ultimately I just realised I couldn't do that any more and quit them. If I need a snack I try to have fruit... Or a hot drink. It's hard but gets easier.

85.5kg this morning (first thing) and period has finally arrived after a 9 week absence! Really must be peri...

@StormsDontLastForever welcome to the thread. Unfortunately I don't think its possible to lose weight while eating crisps and chocolate daily and drinking liads of fizzy juice, but you obviously already know that yourself. Breaking ingrained habits and changing ling running responses to stress, boredom or emotional overload is a big deal and takes strength - everyone knows the theory of eating healthily, but it isn't that simple for many of us!
Maybe you could decide to replace fizzy juice with fizzy water Monday to Friday and drink it at weekends. Then once you've made that change limit the crisps and chocolate to weekends too. Then once youre used to that limit quantities (only one 30g bag of crisps in a day on Saturday or Sunday, and one 100g bar of chocolate on the other weekend day) and limit the quantity of fizzy juice to only drink it with weekend meals and fizzy water between meals...
Cutting your favourite things out completely is unnecessary and probably wouldn't be something you could stick to, but if you know you can have them sometimes maybe its less depressing, and it would certainly make a difference.