Aiming for 2 stone in 2 months...

[Ticktock40]

I posted in aibu and got some amazing advice.

I’ve just found out that I’m eligible for IVF on the NHS but I have to lose 2 stone to bring my weight into the acceptable BMI range. We’re struggling with secondary infertility and thought we were going to have to sell our souls to fund it.

I started last week just moving more, tracking calories and cutting out the crap (and basically damage limitation whilst I was off work- I even went to the pub and had a salad and Diet Coke!!! )

Today I’m starting the fast 800 (my book arrived yesterday) and I’m hoping I can lose 2 stone in 8 weeks. I know it’s going to be hard and is going to take some serious dedication but I’ve never had motivation quite like this before. I’m also doing couch25k (and am repeating week 4 as I found it so hard!)

Please feel free to join me, any support will be most gratefully received.

Great to see everyone's success stories.

Amazing to hear people’s success stories. Thank you.

Today’s been loooong, I’m so hungry and I feel knackered too. I had a salad again at lunchtime and I’m heading home for a tea of pork steaks with peppercorn sauce and green beans. Can’t wait!

How’s everyone else’s day been?

@Ticktock40 I feel really tired too . I ate dinner early,but have a snack left to have this evening. I'm passing some time having a bath and will almost certainly have another early night.

Food wise, great. 2 shakes, 1 snack (100cals) Dinner was around 530 cals and REALLY filled me up. Its amazing how much veg you can have for calories.

@ImFree2doasiwant I’m off for a bath too! A great distraction! Well done on another successful day too. They say the first few days are the hardest!

I’m dreading the weekend. That when I know I’ll find 800 calories hard! I’m going to do it though. The scales are moving already.

I think days 3-5 can be tricky. Your body is like right that’s enough of this low cal nonsense, and wants you to eat your normal amount so sends out hunger signals. You have to just try and get through it. Saying that if you do need to eat more cals just make sure you stick to low carb protein.

I am tired tonight but not as bad as last night. Way over 800 cals again today but I have lost a few pounds (water no doubt) so not going to worry.

2 shakes and a light dinner. Feeling fine. Lots of stress at work. I often used to eat up my stress.
Today I had no appetite in the evening and had to force myself to eat some dinner. Definitely under 800 cal but can't face anything more and is late anyway.
I also had a nice evening walk in the park with my dog.

Day 4 and I'm still hanging in there. Can't wait to step on the scales on Monday.

I haven't tried an 800 calorie day yet, I'm sticking to Slimming World this week. Work should be easier next week so I'll try to do a few days of Slim n Save shakes. Good luck everyone!

Still hanging around! Hunger is kicking in a bit more but as a 5:2 veteran I find it easy enough to ignore. I weighed myself this morning and I’m showing a decent loss already.

What’s everybody doing for exercise? I’m walking the dog and doing an exercise video.

@Belindabelle totally agree days 3 to 5 can be hard. Day 3 today for me, I've got a plan, really nice dinner later and some good value (for calories) snacks.

5lbs down this morning! Couldn't resist looking.

Ooh yep really feeling it today!

How's everyonescday been? Mine was hard, but I'm so pleased I stayed on my plan.

Sticking to it by the skin of my teeth. More than halfway through the first week now. Had a sneaky peek at the scales and feeling motivated to carry on. I'm told the first week is the hardest

Would love to join! 2 stones in 2 months? Yes, please! That would be a dream! What can I do? What have you been doing so far OP?

@annonymousse I'm only on day 4, but 6lbs down this morning which is definitely a motivation! Just on the verge of the next stone bracket too .

Hi, I hope you’re all doing ok.

Well done @ImFree2doasiwant on the 5 pound loss. That’s brilliant and such an incentive to carry on. I weighed this morning and I’m down 5 pounds too from Monday. We’re definitely heading for 2 stone loss in 2 months!

Another day ticked off yesterday. I’m still hungry but feeling ok and sleeping like a baby which is an added bonus.

Going to head to the shops after work and stock up on food for the weekend. I think being organised and planning meals is definitely helping me stay on track.

Getting through the weekend will be the big test for me! But the sun is shining and I’m hoping an appointment will be coming through my door any day now. 🤞🏼

I’m back from holiday

I’m on it!

Yesterday didn’t quite go to plan - miscalculated dinner and then later stood at the fridge eating chicken! (I have a weird addiction to Lidl smoked chicken slices, could easily eat a pack in one go!!)

But weighed this morning and I’m 3.5 pounds down. So happy days!

Fingers crossed for that appointment @Ticktock40

@imfreetodoasiwant that's fantastic. I'm also on 6lb loss at the beginning of day 5. The weekend may be tricky. 2 stone in 2 months is feeling very achievable

Hi all jumping on this thread as I am also loosing weight to reduce my BMI for IVF.

Can I just ask why everyone is trying to loose so much in 2 months?

I've been told by my clinic that I have 12 months am I missing something.

x

Hi, I’ve put on lots of weight in lockdown and have gone from being 1 stone overweight to 2 stone overweight... 😕

I’ve been struggling recently with my motivation... hoping I might find it with you lot! I’d like to lose 2 stone by summer solstice too! That sounds like a great goal!

I know exactly what works for me when it comes to losing weight - it worked really well for me a couple of years ago when I lost 3/4 stone in 6 weeks, with no trouble at all. I wasn’t even particularly trying to lose weight, I just wanted to eat healthier. But the weight just fell off... Sharing what I did here in case it helps!

Just these two basic things did it for me:

1. Forget calorie counting. I found that by just eating the right kind of stuff and taking care to not over-eat, the weight came off easily. Calorie counting just takes the fun out of your day, it puts extra pressure on you and unnecessary guilt/panic if you go over your daily limit.

1. Forget diet plans that are built around giving you a different recipe every bloody day. I found that trying to make all these different meals and change them up all the time was a) tedious b) expensive (lots of wastage) and c) made for a lot of yukky meals. If you know already what sort of healthy meals you like, don’t feel like you have to try loads of new things. Stick with what you know you like! For me, that was overnight oats for breakfast, usually an omelette with cheese and veg for lunch (or a power salad with chicken and avocado). For dinner, I’d eat whatever the hell I wanted, minus the carbs (small bit of brown rice/pasta ok), plus a few more veg. Snacks were things like nuts, popcorn, the occasional small bit of chocolate after my evening meal. As for drinks... I diluted my favourite drink (apple juice) with half sparkling water. I cut down my caffeine intake by about half, and used stevia instead of sugar in my coffee (there’s a really good stevia product I found called Sukrin Gold, quite expensive but almost indistinguishable from sugar).

My overall Golden Rule was to get a rough balance of protein, fat and fibre into every meal.

If you don’t yet know what kinds of healthy meals you like, IMO you’re far better off having a one-hour appointment with a nutritionist than spending money on expensive slimming clubs/apps and recipe books. A nutritionist will not only explain how it all works, he/she should give you some basic recipes which you can choose your favourites from.

What works for one person might not necessarily work for another. But this worked for me. I will be doing it again as soon as I’ve found some ways to combat my current massive sugar addiction (I’ve started a separate thread about this, if anyone has any tips to add I’d be very grateful!)

@Ticktock40 well done! And thanks for starting this thread. I really need this weight loss. Its making me utterly miserable, but I feel better already. Id LOVE 2st in a 2 months! And you're right, it feels achievable now!

I'm not sure how I will manage the weekend, I've had a good routine in place this week, while working from home. Ill just need to try and carry it on I guess.

@CrystalFlyer at least it was chicken , low cal high protein.

@annonymousse well done! Its amazing isn't ,it? Can't wait to see a new number on the scales.

@ElleL91 I think IVF is a common theme here,but for me, I have been trying and failing to lose weight 'properly. As in, by just eating healthily, and going for a slow steady loss. I just can't do it . I really struggle with moderation. Do it for a few weeks, lose a few lbs, and lose all motivation.

So when I saw Ops other thread, I though yep I'm up for that. Get a couple of stone off quickly, I'll feel and look so much better and can address the rest after that.

How much is everyone hoping to lose in total? I'm aiming for 3 - 3.5 st. That takes me to the top end of the healthy BMI range, but I kniw I will look abd feel great at that!

@ImFree2doasiwant - my ‘happy’ weight is 9st (I’m only 5 foot 2) which is almost 3 stone away!! Depending on how I feel when I get to that weight I might try for another half a stone. But definitely 3 stone to start.

To have a healthy bmi I need to lose about 6 stone but my happy weight is actually a couple of stone heavier so I'm aiming to lose 4 stone and see how I feel. The vlc I'm doing at the moment is to kick start me and get a good chunk of weight off and then will switch back to a more moderate eating plan.