Mutual support thread for those currently losing or working towards losing a lot of weight

[UntilYourNextHairBrainedScheme]

This is a mutual support thread for anyone who wants (and needs) to lose a lot of weight, is mid way through losing a lot of weight, or is nearing the end of a big weight loss and wants to continue to support and be supported as maintenance approaches.

The previous thread has been massively helpful to regular posters, as we share both our losses and our plateau or gains, congratulate or console, and talk about what works for us while understanding that different things work for different people, and we are all different ages, all have different families/ households/ people to plan around, different commitments, different working lives and different health conditions which partly determine our approaches.

We are all on this journey together - this thread is for us to encourage one another, post updates, chat about what we're doing, how we're doing, share stories and thoughts and sometimes wander slightly off topic if we want, but everyone posting should be somewhere along the journey towards escaping high BMI obesity.

The previous thread was started by someone who no longer posts and initially asked how to lose 9 stone - it developed into a support thread for people with varying amounts left to lose but all of whom started out with at least 5 or 6 stone + / 30 or 35 kg + to lose, very roughly...

No links to selling sites or unsolicited "helpful" lectures please - mutual support from existing and new posters all actually living this big weight loss now, or just starting out, welcome!

Previous thread here:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/weight_loss_chat/3894410-i-need-to-lose-9st-help

@Zebracat how annoying for you 🙁 I don't have any advice (don't think I can give advice when I can't sort my own weight loss out 🤦) but just wanted to send some support. You will get there! How long have you been having 1800 calories?

@WeightlossKin Ages actually. It’s what My Fitness Pal set when I was 107 kgs, so probably should come down. Also, I am a shocker for guesstimating. So , really, I know what I need to do!
Thanks for your support tho.

Maybe you can reduce it just by a tiny bit and use it as motivation to stop guessing? Maybe that's all it'll take to get it going again!

Zebracat sounds like you do know what you need to do if 1800 was right when you were 12 kg heavier. It seems also to be widely acknowledged that most people under estimate calories if they don't weigh food. I don't calorie count so I can't really offer any more useful advice, but it sounds as though you don't need it and know what to do!

I stood on the scale this morning and the Kg gain has gone, period arrived on Sunday evening so I think it was at least partially that, but have also cut back on portions. Back at 71.9, which is 1.5 kg from the top of the healthy BMI category for me.

Thanks @UntilYourNextHairBrainedScheme, and @WeightlossKin Hare, very glad that nasty kilo took itself off. A healthy BMI within spitting distance is absolutely wonderful.
I do know what I need to do, and I will do it. I really want to see some actual progress here. Although there is that thing that the body sets a weight for itself. Mine used to be between 105 and 110 kilos, and is now around 95, so that’s not nothing, it’s just I would like it to set itself at around 90 now and then I would only be overweight.

Hooray for that kg being gone @UntilYourNextHairBrainedScheme! Healthy BMI not being far away is my dream! How exciting for you 😊
@Zebracat that's such good progress already. How long has it taken you to get this far?

I went to slimming world last night and lost 2.5lbs 😱 the first time I've ever lost more than 1lb two weeks in a row. Since January I've never lost 2.5lbs in one week. I've actually lost 28.5lbs in total now. Wish I'd rejoined slimming world sooner instead of being stubborn about it. I've got 4 more stone to go until my "target" of a BMI of 30. But I've never ever been anywhere near that.

I was on this thread early on but I have a few personal issues and my head has not been in the right place. I know what I need to do but my motivation has been awol. Got 2.5 stones to go of 6 in total. I’m starting properly on 1 August but will try and be mindful until then about what I’m eating. Been catching up on how everyone is doing some great losses happening

Still stuck at 16st 11lbs, but I've learned from past experience over the months that this is what my body seems to do. Lose a chunk of weight then stop for a week or two, then lose again. No idea why my body does this. Just weird I guess haha

Hope everyone has a nice weekend

I don't know the exact scientific's of it all, but I think I read somewhere that after you lose quite a bit, your body resets and it's a way of your body healing itself. Hence why sometimes you plateau, then there's a "whoosh" No idea if that's true or not. Or I could be talking bollocks

Hi! Just checking in to say I'm still here but have had a bonkers few days and not feeling very chatty. My discipline has slipped a bit but I really can't imagine going back to how things used to be. 7.6kg lost so far💪

Hi All,

I dropped off the thread as I've just been focused on returning to work and recovering from the broken ankle. I'm now able to get around a bit more easily so it's time to focus back on eating healthily and expanding on the exercise I've been able to do. Hopefully everyone is doing well and I'm looking forward to catching up with you all.

I'll let you know the results of my weigh-in later. Slightly dreading it but I'm back here and that's a good start.

@MamaNewtNewt - welcome back to the thread. I hope your ankle is recovering.
Welcome back too to @Notthissticky and @Readytostartagain...
I'm not weighing in today, I'm on holiday. But I feel like I'm doing well with food and hopefully won't have gained when I return.
Happy Sunday from rainy Devon

Thanks @alphaechokiwi I'm getting there. Still not plucked up the courage to weigh myself!

@MamaNewtNewt , welcome back. @alphaechokiwi I ve also been to Devon , fora long weekend came back weighing 97.4 kgs. That extra 2 kilos can just piss off!
I do struggle in the summer, out of my routine.

I've lost 13lbs since 14 june

@SnowyMouse .That is wonderful. Well done. Be proud

Zebracat how's it going now?

WeightlossKin well done on this week and the total loss - both excellent progress!

Readytostartagain hope the personal issues ate less stressful now? Its almost impossible to lose weight when stressed if you're not the kind of person who forgets to eat/ can't face food when stressed! I know I use food it as a rather damaging coping mechanism and a lot of people do. You've lost and kept off a lot of weight though! Three and a half stone gone is excellent!

BippityBoppity87 you're absolutely right its normal to stay the same for a week or two after a bigger loss, and you're actually losing really, really well if you look at your progress over the last few months.

Notthissticky great you're still with us and still maintaining a good loss! Hope you can find your motivation again! Although I actually think boring habit forming is better than adrenaline fueled motivation so not feeling chatty about weight loss but not being able to imagine going back to how things were is probably pretty good - forming healthy habits and not needing to talk or think about them is positive really!

SnowyMouse yay! Excellent progress!

alphaechokiwi I hope you're enjoying your holiday!

I stood on the scales and saw 70.1 kg this morning, which is a BMI of 24.8 which is a healthy weight obviously! Took about 13 months all together then, to lose 49kg and go from a BMI of 41 to 24.8.

Not sure how how that last fairly big loss of over a kg suddenly happened but suspect that actually the week of eating a bit more, then going back to a bit less, actually helped. It really does seem to help keep the metabolism ticking over to mix things up on a regular basis, even if in my case I usually do it by accident!

I think I'd like to aim to maintain at just under 70kg, for a tiny buffer, but I won't go any lower than 68/69kg for various reasons - skin is just about ok but a little lose on upper arms and belly and I don't want to make that worse, plus to be embarrassingly honest I don't want to lose my breasts, which have already reduced a lot in size and required hundreds of € in bra expenditure over the last year Plus I'm really happy with my wardrobe and have spent quite a lot on clothes I want to keep wearing . On the health side people at the top end of a healthy weight actually have a better chance of surviving intensive care... I don't think there's any good reason to lose any more weight tbh

Hope you're all well

Well, I've just gone on the scales and apparently I've put on 5lbs. Tried in different places of the house to see if it was the floor boards, but nope, it says I'm back at 17st 2lbs. So according to the scales I've put on 5lbs in just under 2 weeks If I didn't find this so comical, I would cry lol. What's that all about 😂 I'm not mad, just really confused

Oh well. Maybe just a minor setback

Well done @UntilYourNextHairBrainedScheme !

Oh dear @BippityBoppity87, I hope it's just a blip. Could it be your monthly?

@UntilYourNextHairBrainedScheme I am so happy for you.. and yo7 have a plan -sensible as ever. Will be really interested to hear about maintenance. Having gained 2 kilos over a weekend when I thought I was being quite careful, it does seem quite tricky. I day I walked 15 kilometres, and on that basis thought an ice cream would be ok. Evidently not. Although 3 hotel breakfasts, 2 lots of fish and chips and quite a lot of alcohol probably also played a part. Oh yes and cake, very good cake.It is coming off again now I’m home.
@BippityBoppity87boppity. There are enormous variations in weigh5 from day t9 day. If you can look back without coming across the kind of obvious fat makers that I have listed, then try to trust the process. Bodies are complex

@Zebracat I'll be interested to know how quickly that comes back off for you 😊 surely most of it will be water retention from the increase in alcohol and salty food?

@BippityBoppity87 how bizarre! Hopefully just a strange blip as others have said and next time you weigh it'll be gone. Unless you can look back and think of why it might be genuine or what might be the reason?

@UntilYourNextHairBrainedScheme a healthy BMI 🎉 I can only imagine how amazing that feels! Good luck with maintaining and hooray enjoying all your lovely new clothes 😊 Do you plan to continue to weigh yourself as often?

Hope everyone else is having a good week so far!

@SnowyMouse No time of the month. I have the implant, which I've had for just over two years. No periods or anything, so I don't think it's that

@Zebracat Yes, I agree. Definitely complex. I'm not too bothered about it. Just one of those things I think and nothing I have done "wrong" per se, and hopefully it will sort itself out

@WeightlossKin So strange! I'm guessing it's probably just water weight? No way I could have put on 5lbs of fat in a week and a half, that's not physically possible surely unless I was eating 4,000 calories a day or something, which I definitely haven't been!

How strange.

I agree I think you'd know if you'd eaten 4000 calories a day for a week and a half! 😂
But sometimes doing something like... suddenly eating a whole pizza when you've been on a strict diet the rest of the time can make you bloated/constipated and retain water? It's very unlikely to be genuine weight gain surely. Are you drinking enough??

@WeightlossKin No not really. Not as much as I should be. I think it could be that. I drink a lot of tea and coffee. But with skimmed milk and sweetener, unless it's the caffeine making me retain water, I have no idea