It can be done - I did it!

[LoserWinner]

I’ve been seriously overweight for 30+ years. The doc insisted I needed to lose weight for specific health reasons in October 2022.

I decided to change my long-term attitude to food, rather than just diet. I allowed myself to get properly hungry and then ate a meal that was heavy on veg or salad instead of constantly snacking. I replaced chocolate and cakes with fruit or cheese and stuck to low calorie (1000 calls a day), low carb, losing four stones, reducing my BMI to 23.7 from 32.5 and clothes size from 20 to 12-14. I had days off occasionally, but found that I tended to fancy lighter options from restaurant and takeaway menus anyway. My job is moderately active physically, and I didn’t do any additional exercise at all.

I’m very conscious of the risk of see-sawing back up again, but found that I don’t actually enjoy carb-heavy food any more, and I’ve gone right off chocolate and cakes, so it’s no hardship not to eat them. I’ve maintained my lower weight for some time, and I’m now stable, but it actually took me a while to stop losing weight below my target.

The health problem is under control. I didn’t have the spur to lose weight until I was scared of the consequences of being obese, but fear was a powerful reason to start and carry on. As the weight fell off, I started to realise how much better I was feeling generally, climbing stairs, walking much longer distances without sore feet etc. The only down side is that I now feel the cold a lot more.

So to all those who are struggling, hang in there. Yesterday I got rid of all my size 16, 18 and 20 clothes. It felt like the end of a bad chapter of my life :-)

I lost a similar amount.

was two stone overweight from kids, then put on another two stone in lockdown which made me officially obese.

I got a new job and couldn’t get in to my work clothes for my first week after a year of wfh. So I decided I’d had enough as I have a real thing about clothes being loose and comfortable. So I lost 3.5 stone, bmi from 32.1 to 23.4.

Funnily enough though I’d have never described myself as “seriously overweight”. I didn’t look or feel “fat”, it was only the tightness of my clothes made me realise. Not one person has commented on my weight loss, at home, at work, and I don’t actually think I look much different in before and after pics. The only noticeable difference is my trousers are looser.

I did it by ditching all the low carb/fasting stuff and going back to breakfast, lunch and dinner with a snack, calorie controlled portions.

Well done, absolutely amazing!!

Well done op. That’s very inspiring! Don’t want to be negative but 1000 calories a day is quite extreme isn’t it for the average person without health issues? I know I found it hard to stick to 1200 a day! I am now on 1600 and it’s more sustainable for me.

I did it with the support of the practice nurse and therefore under medical supervision. Urgent, substantial weight loss was a priority to deal with a health condition. Once I got used to it, I wasn’t hungry, but it took me a while to get accustomed to eating more calories once my target weight was achieved. 1200 a day is much less brutal, but the weight loss would have been slower, and at 1600 a day, it would have been way too slow to achieve the necessary health benefit.

That makes sense and I am glad it has worked for you and of course where a health condition is concerned;it’s necessary for there to be time constraints. I am just suggesting for those that are losing weight without medical supervision, then 1000 is quite a tough ask. It’s good to know it is possible though!

Thanks for posting, very motivating! You must have been very hungry? How did you deal with that?

I had a small glass of water with a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime in it, or a cup of black coffee, every time I felt hungry, unless it was actually a mealtime. It didn’t take long for my appetite to shrink a lot - and actually, I was a bit poorly for the first couple of weeks anyway, so hunger wasn’t so much on my mind. Once I got used to it, I wasn’t hungry at all except when it was time for a meal, and then I enjoyed the food so much more because I was properly ready for a meal. I still have no urge at all to snack between meals, so I have plenty of calories available for the meals I eat.

Wow, well done! How long have you maintained for so far?

I really need to get back into that headspace. That’s how I lost weight for my wedding (plus loads of exercise) and felt amazing for a few years until I had kids! Oldest is now 8, youngest is 1. Really need to get my act together now.

Well done OP! that's brilliant. I know for a fact that I couldn't keep going on 1,000 calories a day. If you've lost 4 stone since October last year and kept it off for a while you must have lost it super-fast.

Well done! So much of it is about headspace and motivation isn’t it? I had just let my eating go and was deluding myself I could get away with it; until my trousers and the scales gave me the slap I needed. I’m now in my 4th week of 1200 calories a day (ish) and am really surprised that I’ve not been tempted by all the stuff that was my downfall. My target is for my waistline to be ½ my height again.

Two months. And now I have got rid of all my bigger clothes, I can’t afford to let my weight creep up. In any case, the health issue is only ‘under control’ so it would be too risky to gain weight again.