How to 2 stone by October?

[Hubblebubble]

I have a milestone birthday coming up, the big 30. I'm currently 72kg, so just over 11 stone, which is overweight for my height, 5 ft 3.
I'm not one of those people with a super speedy metabolism. I've been tracking everything I eat on myfitness pal and usually eat between 1400 to 1700 a day. I swim atleast 4 times a week, sometimes more, I cycle, go to the gym once a week and also go to a weekly weight training class.
I've lost one kg in 3 weeks of this calorie counting/fitness routine, which is a bit rubbish.
Advice/suggestions welcome.

I started Michael Moseleys Fast800 last summer and lost 2 1/2 stone in 12 weeks and then continued with the principles but with more calories and am now 3 1/2 stone down. Really recommend it. Good luck with your weight loss :)

@bellac11 you've made my day! Thank you!

Eat only things that grow with a small portion of chicken or fish for dinner
If it doesn't grow don't eat it

@Hedgewitch can I ask what your BMI was to start with?

It was 34 now down to 26. I'm 52 and menopausal so extra pleased at the weight loss.

Placemarking

Well done.
If you can do it I can.
My bmi is 31.

Thank you. Theres a really lovely fast800 group on FB thats very motivating if you decide to follow the plan. And yep you can definitely do it too :)

@Sugarfree23

I’m the same height as you OP and struggled with my weight since uni (I’m now 41). I’ve very slowly managed to get my weight down from 70kg in May 2020 to 60kg, through the following:

(virtually) no bread
mostly missing breakfast, no food after 8pm
smaller plates, bowls
cooking more greens, start with greens before eating rest of meal so I don’t eat as many carbs
stopping eating before I become “stuffed”
no alcohol or caffeine (I drink copious amounts of rooibos with soya or oat milk)

I still binge snack on chocolate and love pasta but if I’ve overindulged I try to cut back over the next two days by being “good” (never starving myself though).

The first few kg will seem slow but you’re on the right track - you certainly do way more exercise than me 💪🏻 I think the key is not making yourself feel like you’re on a diet, so remain disciplined but give yourself rest days and treat yourself from time to time.

I think you will feel hungry at times if you do fasting. There are different times of fasting - I find 16:8 the easiest. Eat 10-6. Then once you've done it a few weeks you can increase the fasting time if needed.

Everything you eat that is carby make sure it's unprocessed whole grains. No potatoes, white bread, white rice etc

I put all my veg in a soup and have that as one meal a day. Then have carbs for brekky and limited carbs through out the day.

You are absolutely right that in order to lose weight you have to reduce what you eat and cannot ‘work it off’ with exercise. However exercise will help you get fitter, stronger, better shape and also helps mood. So plenty of exercise is great, try to merit ‘happy’ thought so you are enjoying it and keep going, rather than feeling as if it’s a slog. Maybe one more rest day, or substitute a brisk walk?

@JussathoB I appreciate the advice, but Sat and Sun are my rest days, thats why i cram as much as i can into the week. I'm a lone parent, so the only way I can swim/gym/class is by using my flexitime and lunchbreak. I feel really lucky to have a fully remote and flexible job, or I wouldn't be able to do anything at all.

Well sounds fantastic. And keeping up that level of exercise I would think would help you maintain any weight loss too.

If you haven't already done this, I would recommend using a TDR calculator to work out how much of a calorie deficit you are in. You say you're consuming 1400-1700 calories a day but as you don't have a huge amount to lose, 1700 may be too many. If you work out what your maintenance calorie level is (how many calories you need to eat everyday to maintain your current weight) and then subtract 500 from that - that's how many calories you should aim to eat each day. You can't fail to lose weight that way.

I think a Kg in 3 weeks is a good slow sustainable weightloss.

I lost 18Kg at about that pace, and have kept it off with no trouble apart from a bit of a rise last autumn, which I have now lost, slowly again.

I use Nutracheck and you can separate totals of calories for eating and those from exercise if that's of any help?

These would be really good starting points to work towards sustainable fat loss.
Fasting is, ultimately, a way of ensuring a calorie deficit. And if something seems extreme, go with your gut and don't go there!!

Definitely low carb! Takes a small amount of prep so you can’t just wake up one day and have carbs off the menu, but if you plan ahead to start in a few days time with some meal ideas up your sleeve it’s much easier. The effect it has had on bloating and energy levels for me has been astonishing. No more sugar crashes and way less cravings after the initial few days. Keto is the more extreme and can lead to very fast weight loss. I try to keep to 50-80g of carbs a day which isn’t as difficult. It’s a lot less than the 300+ I was eating before!