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!!

It is perfectly possible to lose large amounts of weight without resorting to life changing bariatric surgery which often brings with it its own complications and ongoing medical issues.

I can say this as I have lost 10 stone in the last year (started 1st June 2019) following a low carb diet and eating healthily - lots of veg and good fats and protein with limited amounts of fruit.

Weigh loss as a result of surgery is because of the severely restricted liquid/soft food eating plan you have to follow afterwards. It's not a magic bullet, you are limiting calories and intake just as you do with any diet. Personally, I don't see the point.

@buckeejit of course I have. I'm gonna assume good intent from your question. But if you take a moment to think about it, do you think somone would subject themselves to surgery without try other options first. Also to have this on the NHS there's fairly strict criteria on previous weight loss attempts.

I went to my first appointment./ info session Jan 2019 and have now been referred to the surgical team. There's a delay because of covid and the psychology department is pretty backed up. So my 4 appointments took place over 6 months! I hope the surgery might be the end of this year or maybe early next year.

I understand what you mean about feeling sluggish. Unfortunately I eat fairly healthily and still don't loose weight. But glad it's working for you.

@ChequerBoard that's nice for you. Did you read the bit where I mentioned medical issues and medications which make weight loss almost impossible? I also explicitly siad it was a tool to ais weight loss. Rather than a solution.

In terms of the post op diet you have liquid for 2 weeks while you heal as is common with any stomach surgery. Then you have soft food for another 2 weeks to a month. So not really like you're sucking all your meals through a straw forever!

What it does do is reduce the size of your stomach meaningful you are full more quickly so therefore reduce calories. It also removes part of your upper stomach which regulates appitite hormonaly. This does return ayer around 6 months. It is particularly beneficial where people have issues with insulin resistance as this effects appitite hormones.

Well done you for doing your thing. But in all honesty I can't abide I'll informed judgmental people. I have read many academic research papers before deciding on this option for me.
Go ahead and share your experience but I really can't see the point in spitefully degradating an opinion you're ill informed on and will be suitable for some.

@Artartart no offence intended, you just didn't give any info & I was making conversation to see if anything had helped you previously.

It is possible to be bigger & healthy & since you mentioned wanting to be healthier I wasn't sure if you had struggled with diets before but you've since said you eat healthily so that's good.

I know a few people who have really struggled with diets due to jobs & personal situations etc. I have generally only struggled due to poor willpower. Obviously meds can have a big effect & if your medical team are happy that the op is the right path for you then good luck with it & hope you get back on track soon.

I am fortunate that I'm the only hindrance currently to my own weight loss so it's not a path I want to explore currently

@buckeejit I understand! No animosity intented I did come across a bit harsh. I've lost weight before but since having some medical issues in the past 2 years weight loss has been almost impossible. I wish the only thing stopping me was will power. Right now I'm working to keep a few kgs off which I lost as part of pre surgery goup sessions.

I'm younger for the patients they see. I also am healthy in terms of the issues which make surgery recovery difficult. I'm also at the lower end of the weight spectrum for this surgery. I'm still terrified though. More of the anesthesia than any other part.

I totally agree you can be healthy and still be in the overweight category. I know mumsnet is not a place to share this! But I know right now I'm not feeling very healthy and some of the conditions I have would benefit from weight loss. However that is definitely not the case for everyone and I don't feel just because you're say 18 stone you feel like I do.

@Artartart - read back what you have written:

'What it does do is reduce the size of your stomach meaningful you are full more quickly so therefore reduce calories. It also removes part of your upper stomach which regulates appitite hormonaly. This does return ayer around 6 months. It is particularly beneficial where people have issues with insulin resistance as this effects appitite hormones. '

As you have correctly stated you will lose weight post surgery because you are reducing calories. You do not need surgery to reduce your calorie intake or your appetite level. I suggest you research Keto diets which have been proven to be especially effective for women with PCOS (like me) and other hormonal issues.

Hope it goes well for you, it is just not something I agree with. Weight loss is much more about your psychological mindset. Surgery cannot fix that.

@ChequerBoard you have absolutely no idea bout my body and my health. You have no idea what so ever if I need surgery to reduce my calories. I'm fully aware of keto and how it works thanks. To be honest it's really odd how militant you're being about this. I'm happy this worked for you. But I'm just trying to explain my choices not push anyone to anything. Where as you seem to be unable to accept different things work for different people.

Also your tone is rude and condescending. Hope this was intentional as otherwise it is unfortunate xx

@artartart check your own tone. You have come on to this weight loss thread recommending people think about weight loss surgery. I get you think it's an answer for you, but I do think it's irresponsible of you to promote surgical solutions to others. Bariatric surgery is an ethical minefield, from which complications and adverse outcomes are extremely common.

I said this was what I was doing an thought as the thread was about significant weight loss I'd recommend this was thought about by people on the thread.

My tone is rude because you've been really rude to me as well as weird and militant about this.

Also if ya gonna be up here claiming adverse reactions and poor outcomes are common, reference that with evidence. Rather than that's not right for me so it's terrible for all.

OK I think it's pretty clear from that last post who is being rude and belligerent here.

Good luck with your surgery.

End of discussion.

@HoldingForGeneralHugs @daisyhead08 do you find that no matter how well you do, it is never good enough? I’m really just pleased that my willpower is strong, I’m starting to exercise and get stronger
Really I love the motivation from this thread and I hope that it stays nice and supportive..

Hi all, I have a lot to lose too. 2 weeks in, first week I lost 1.5kgs and this week nothing ... I keep reducing my calories daily, I'm under 500 today and I'm so depressed, surely it should be much easier at this stage?

@someonesayroadtrip are you eating less than 500 calls a day? That doesn't sound like anywhere near enough, especially if you have a lot to lose. You want a calorie deficit of around 500 cals, that way as you lose the weight you can recalculate and drop your cals to maintain the deficit you need to continue losing without actually starving yourself.

Don't fall into the trap of weighing daily - nothing is more soul destroying. Weigh once a week at most but also take measurements, sometimes the scales won't budge but you will have lost inches!

@Nixi4 yeah i do! I cant just be happy with my small wins i focus on the big picture then feel deflated! I am trying though 😊
I am envious of your willpower thats what i need to develop! Though i did resist pizza today at work (work in a hospital in the pharmacy so a few naughty freebies recently!) i wanted it so bad but i ran away 😂
Me too i havent lost much yet but its nice to gave a thread with supportive people in the same position.

@Someonesayroadtrip 500 calories a day? Id pass out if i only have that or are you doing 5:2? (Not sure it its right)

I agree with Chequerboard weighing yourself daily is a killer. I do need to do my measurements though, would people recommend measuring in the morning or just be consistent the time of day you do it?

@ChequerBoard that is an amazing loss! Can I ask if you calorie counted on low carb, and if your weight loss was fairly constant?

@HoldingForGeneralHugs I’m working from home, so stick to a routine.. and I’ve got the family watching. Will be much harder when I’m back at work, and the daily sugar offerings are there! Well done for running away from the pizza 👍

@Someonesayroadtrip your body will go into starvation mode on that number of calories, unless you are on 5:2...you didn’t put the weight on overnight, you can’t expect it to come off overnight.. I know it’s hard, we’ve all been in the same situation as you. Focus on the bigger picture, this is a long term goal.

5:2 didn’t work for me at all.. i ate so much the day after 🤣

@Nathannathan thank you! Yes, I do calorie count. I am a lifelong overeater, I need to keep track of what I have had or I would never lose an ounce.

For the last year I have stuck to less than 20g carbs a day and between 1200 to 1500 cals a day. My rate of loss was pretty constant from June 2019 until around the end of January when it slowed down considerably.

I have just started to increase my carb level a little to around 50-70g a day but keeping my cal levels to around 1300. I'm interested to see what impact this will have and am ready to go back down to 20g a day if necessary.

I had weight loss surgery a year ago. I've lost nine stone

And I highly recommend it.

Incredible @ChequerBoard, your determination is extremely admirable. I hope I can achieve similar, thanks for being inspirational.

Oh and no one does surgery 'without trying other options first'. I dieted for 20 years. It doesn't work for most people. Being grossly overweight fucks your metabolism. Your body will forever fight your best efforts and fight to put the weight back on. Obesity is a disease and surgery can help you fight it. Happy to answer any questions via PM for anyone interested.

Can i join in? I have 4st to lose to be at my pre ds weight of 11st 8. I want to be back in my size 12 jeans not current size 18s :( im going to see about starting couch to 5k too

Hi macaroni - welcome to the thread .... what plan are you following?

Hell would freeze over before I have surgery to get the weight off and I don't think it should be promoted unless a last resort type thing where people are completely housebound and immobile through their weight loss.

I do agree being obese fucks your system up though but there is lots of literature out there to address this. The calorie counting, low fat route does not work for me, I am always starving ....but there's lots of evidence low carb, Keto, blood sugar diets etc support significant weight loss and maintenance because it addresses insulin issues.

I think sugar has been my ultimate downfall - if I cut chocolate/ cakes out I completely lose cravings for bread, Fast food and other savoury things that are are bad for me. I can eat a ton of chocolate which I love but no where near the same amount of cheese which I also love. Cheese fills me up and im not hugely but chocolate makes me eat eat eat.

My body is just fucked from eating so much processed shit. I'm starting to recognise that now and it might be I have to forever ban eating chocolate because it's a slippery slope for me. Just as an alcoholic or drug addict would need to ban substances to recover. I always think I can moderate my intake but I cannot and I'm going to get my head around this fact. I don't believe everyone can do everything in moderation if you have the kind of insulin response I think I do to eating chocolate.

500 calories is too low everyday- no wonder you are miserable. Have a look at fast 800 - this might help?

Im not going to be following a plan as such im just going to be cutting out all the crap like chocolate and crisps et al. Processed shite like that is my downfall as is eating at night time so ive bought a new water bottle and going to make sure im hydrated not just "hungry" for the sake of it