How did you lose your weight and how long did it take?

[Lastchancesaloon1]

I need to lose about 20 pounds, I'm 11 stone, about 5 ft 4 and just feel sluggish and clothes are not fitting anymore. Just want to see how people lost their weight and maybe I can see which method seems to be the most common.
I love junk food, pizza , cake etc and I have no willpower. Which is why I'm still carrying the extra weight despite trying to lose it for 3 years.

I am (was) is a similar position to you OP but 11 stone and 5 ft 2. The only thing that has worked for me is calorie deficit. So I am approaching 150lb (from 162lb) and essentially I just eat healthy food with the odd piece of dark chocolate and maybe a bag of crisps once a week. I did join a gym, went for weights etc (do cardio anyway) which helped but you cannot out exercise a bad diet.

So I tend to eat twice a day, late breakfast (something like overnight oats) and lunch. Maybe a small snack in the early evening. Lots of veg, protein, alcohol is a bare minimum as are carbohydrates. Drink lots of water.

p.s. if you buy it you will eat it so don't buy the sugary snacks to begin with.

I've lost 2 stone since November 2022- so not amazing but consistent

Massively cut carbs, upped the eggs, ham, tinned fish , cut alcohol to 2 glasses 2 days a week only- hugely upped salad and vegetables. No cake, no biscuits, no desserts .( apart from small Greek yoghurt with some berry's 2 or 3 times a week) - 2 litres of water a day.

Did 1 month of no sugar, really clean eating and no snacks plus walking every day and lost not even half a pound. Signed up to SW and have lost 3 stone in 6 months. It's been really easy so far. I do it on line so no meetings. It's basically clean eating/low fat and sugar. It'll be something I'll have to stick to long term or it'll go back on, like anything really. I've not really changed any of the meals I usually cook, just adapted them slightly, I used to be very gung ho with olive oil and lots of bread.

So, clean eating and no sugar didn't work for you, but clean eating and no sugar did?

I needed to ditch the olive oil, peanut butter and avocados plus bread etc.

** I wasn't eating nearly enough veg or salad either.

I suspect it was the bread that was the main issue. I lot a lot of weight when I cut bread despite eating lots of olive oil and peanut butter.

9 stone in 30 weeks thanks to severe hyperemisis 😐I don't recommend it, it was awful and the amount of skin I've been left with cause it was so fast is horrible. I had a lot to lose when I fell pregnant, but losing that much that quick was bad.

Flour and sugar have a lot to answer for. It's unlikely that peanut butter/olive oil/avocados would be the cause of excess weight, unless excess kcal are being added to the diet elsewhere.

I need to be careful with oil even without bread, which is hard as I was brought up in a country where they slosh it on everything 😂

Oh I was totally addicted to sugar too, tastes have completely changed now, if I have something now I used to like it doesn't taste anything like I remember it.

I lost 100lbs in 18months. Went from roughly 15stone 8 to 8stone 5 (I'm 5'1)

Got myself an online coach who created a meal plan based on my calories and macros and i stuck to it religiously.

Weight train 4x a week, steps and cardio which were also all set by my coach.

The calories and macros were adjusted every week if necessary

So basically a very controlled calorie deficit

It is interesting how tastes change when sugar is cut. It really is just like an addiction. When I first started my diet this cheesecake was my weekly treat
https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/english-cheesecake-company-lemon-mascarpone/590697-691626-691627?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0-L_gOXe_wIVSMTtCh1xfAD6EAQYAyABEgL3ZPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
but over a few weeks I decided it was far too sweet. I can't even imagine enjoying it anymore and would much rather have a few berries or a square of dark chocolate.

@Watchkeys I would get intense cravings for chocolate if I deprived myself of it and would then end up going to the shop and buying a load of family sized bars

I'm calorie counting and couldn't do without my evening sweet snacks. I have been trying all the different Grenade and PHD Smart Bars.

They aren't cheap but low in sugar and high in protein. Having one of these on an evening has really helped me steer clear of other chocolaty goodies.

I can't deny myself bread and chocolate/ treats completely , I have to factor them into the day- just make sure it's a small piece of wholemeal bread or a wholemeal pitta (rather than multiple pieces !) I make low cal jelly mixed with soya yoghurt which makes a mousse/ milk jelly type of dessert that I have with lots of berries. Unfortunately I can't eat dark chocolate at all otherwise I'd have a square of that. If I don't I feel deprived and end up eating loads of crap.

This one
https://tdeecalculator.net/

I ate carbs & chocolate, still do, I just eat it as part of my daily calorie total. If I go over my calories one day I will have under the next couple of days so it evens out. My Fitness Pal has helped me see where calories hide and has helped me make better choices.

I don't think water flushes fat out, does it?

I wish!