Sustainable and not overly ambitious weight loss 2025: 1 stone by June - anyone care to join?

[OMGitsnotgood]

Happy New Year!
I started this thread back in June in an attempt to lose a stone by the end of September. I wanted to do this through making better food choices and exercising more, rather than following a rigid diet. (Read the old OP for more details). Posting made me feel more accountable and made me rethink my eating after a calorific day (or week! )
I didn’t lose a stone but did continue to lose weight slowly, gaining some weeks but overall a reasonable loss.

Time to refocus after the excesses of December, and it would be great to have some company.

Welcome back to those who kept me motivated on the old thread and welcome to anyone new - you don’t need to ask to join, just introduce yourself and tell us what you are trying to achieve, and hopefully the encouragement and support we can give each other will help us all.

This is my info, feel free to post whatever helps you to keep track and use this thread as you see fit.

Height: 5’4
Heaviest ever: c 13st 4
Weight June 24:: 12st 8
Lightest since June 24: 11 st 11
Current weight: 12 stone 1/2lb - which is hardly surprising, i didn’t watch what I ate or drank for most of December. I think some of that will come off easily when I refocus. Going to have a few days away visiting various friends so expect that won’t help but I don’t want to be able to enjoy those times, and be extra careful at home .

My short term goal is to get back under 12 stone by the end of January..

My dream would be a stone by June. I'm not optimistic but a reasonable goal to aim for.

Glad that so many of us are taking a sensible approach. I definitely don’t want to be on a permanent diet. If we allow ourselves to enjoy food and drink occasionally, I think it’s easier to balance it out. I’m a bit more focussed than I have been, had a few calorific occasions over the weekend but have had sensible breakfasts and lunches, and have had quite a lot of exercise so not going to feel guilty about enjoying myself a bit.

Hi,l all, just checking in.

I feel like I have overindulged recently, due to Easter, family birthdays, visitors, etc. However when I got up the courage to stand on the scales, it turned out I was the same weight as before - no gains, no losses. So if I can eat like that and not gain..... Surely I could just cut a little bit out and lose a little. Consistency is key though. Working on it.

ugh, had a horrible day yesterday. felt ill and had no appetite. luckily im feeling a lot better today. had an ok morning of work and now it's lunch -- did a little bit of cleaning and will eat shortly, not the best as just having a ready meal but i have nothing homemade after yesterday. will cook tonight instead and make soup for me and my housemate.

@Hedonismto be the same weight after enjoying various occasions would suggest you are doing something right! I wonder if we perhaps focus on the overindulgence and don’t really realise that much of the time we are being more sensible? I have found myself being the same or roughly the same after several overindulgent meals and kick myself thinking had I been a bit more careful I might have lost. But then I hadn’t gained either. The way to go if we’re in this for the long haul!

@jeomeollibyeoldulsorry you’ve not been well. I know we’re all trying to lose weight but having no appetite because you’re ill is no fun. Homemade soup really is great because it’s filling, heathy and usually low calorie. I’ve been trying to make a big pan to have for lunches so I don’t reach for the cheese!

Work stress is making me eat crap, so I made a conscious effort not to snack at all today. The scales seem to be going up, so I I really need to rein myself in. I’m going to make a list of healthy snacks for when I’m tempted by the sugary stuff.

@OMGitsnotgood thank you, yes normally i would be glad of not being hungry but obviously not when it comes with feeling like crap! totally agree with you re soup, but unfortunately im still a bit picky with soups in particular and i will only eat certain ones i make myself. 😅

had a great day yesterday was buzzing, felt fine, ate well, didnt feel hungry, exercised too! need to go walking more though as exercise is good but i do home exercise and i need fresh air too.

just struggled a bit to sleep properly and ended up falling asleep late. (does anyone else struggle with sleep? i find when ive not had a good sleep my plans for eating well basically go out the window cause i just need to get energy in me!)

@jeomeollibyeoldul I struggle with sleep when I am under stress (which is basically all the time as I do have quite a lot of stress triggers in my life and struggle a bit with anxiety). Like you, poor sleep massively influences my food choices.

I can fall asleep easily. But wake stupidly early and cannot get back to sleep. Just lie in bed while everyone else sleeps getting angry because I know I need to be asleep and will feel grotty, but also panicking about all the things I need to do and all the things that are worrying me. I wish I had some suggestions to make it easier, but I haven't conquered this one yet.

@OMGitsnotgood this is a very good point.

I am not actually overweight, although have been in the past. I am however at the top of a healthy BMI (my reason for wanting to lose weight is to have some flex in there!) so perhaps my body is just self regulating at a relatively healthy place. I think we lose trust in our own appetites sometimes.

@Hoolahoophop i empathise so much and really recognise that feeling of lying in bed knowing you "should" be sleeping. have also had this issue pretty much as long as i can remember and, like you, haven't been able to conquer it. i try to tell myself "it's not that bad, the worst that can happen is you'll be tired tomorrow, one day of being tired is manageable". but it's still so frustrating.

luckily despite some sleep issues this week i managed to keep my eating on track. i think wfh really helps me here because for e.g. when i used to take the train to work and would wake up exhausted i would inevitably reach for a lovely croissant and hot chocolate at the cafe to wake me up.

@jeomeollibyeoldul well done staying on track. I am currently packing up my house for a move, not sleeping and eating Everything in sight!

Hopefully 'the big move' will be over soon and I can get back into some kind of routine. Relax and get some sleep.

I've managed to shift 2.5lbs this week and I'm down to 10st 7.5lbs. I've been buggering around for months and fluctuating between 10.6 and 10.10 - I'd love to break the 10.6 barrier! I'm 5ft 6 so I'm not overweight but would love to get down to 10st. I've not been that weight for about 20 years (I'm 38).
I'm definitely losing weight the healthy way though, CC and lifting heavy weights with the odd bit of cardio in the mix.
How is everyone doing?

@Hoolahoophopgood luck with the move! I expect you’ve burned a few calories packing up!

Down to 10.7 this morning so I went out for a 3 mile run instead of the gym! Somehow managed my 3rd fastest 5km?! Hope everyone has a lovely Sunday

Wow @HayleyBeanthat is excellent, well done, it’s fantastic when you beak a barrier. I managed to get under 12 stone for the first time in years, having lost 1.5 stones from my heaviest. I’m not losing weight at the moment but at least I am overall keeping it off. I’d like to shift a few pounds before our holiday however, so need to get my act together. I’m grateful to everyone on this thread for keeping me going. Even when not losing, am not gaining massively

@Hoolahoophop good luck with the move! moving house is such a horrible hassle, im sure if i was moving right now any thought of "dieting" would be right off the table. 😁

@HayleyBean that's brilliant well done! i personally prefer walking to running as running is too high impact for me but im definitely full of respect for those who do it and i know it can be great for your body and mind.

im still on track today and feeling good. have had my breakfast, leftovers for lunch and i'll cook something quick and easy for dinner. exercised well yesterday so hoping to do the same today.

I’m weighing myself every other day, and no weight loss yet - I think I’m eating too much on my treat days, but gradually managing to eat less. I’ve made protein-rich lunches for the week, so that’ll help me stay on track. Aiming for small changes that I can stick to. Same as some of you, I also need to get more sleep. It’s all so much easier when you’ve had enough sleep!

@BlueberryFlapjack to be fair you are weighing quite often and it normally takes time for loss to show because of water retention and other things. it sounds like you are planning well though -- what do you normally eat to get enough protein at lunch? i try my best but i feel i could definitely do with getting more protein esp red meat as im not a big fan of it.

tired today and have the "ugh monday" feeling but im on track and just planning on doing the bare minimum and getting by today.

@jeomeollibyeoldul Yeah, I guess I’m being impatient. I’ve made a batch of orange and rosemary chicken from the Fast 800 recipe book. It’s basically chicken thighs and Mediterranean veg, roasted.

@BlueberryFlapjack that sounds delicious!

well i had an okay day yesterday, forgot i was due on though and got an unwelcome surprise, so i had some chocolate to make myself feel better. im wary of eating things like chocolate as a pick-me-up/emotional type of thing but i was really suffering so im not going to beat myself up about it. rest of the day was fine anyway, made a delicious tomato salad with dinner, the tomatoes were really lovely, im glad its getting to summer again. 😋even exercised a bit too but i was a bit sore from the day before -- going to try again today.

I’m still losing but more slowly - I’m now 11stone 0! I have lost a stone and a half now, since Jan and I’m delighted. I’m 5ft 10 so BMI is 22.0.

my goal is 10st 7, so another half to go.

I’m getting my runs done (did my first 10k) and cycling, and keeping the crap out of my diet.

@twoforj0y oh I am absolutely delighted to read your update, you have done so very well, many congratulations.

I’ve been better at not eating crap this week, and have not had a drop of alcohol since last Saturday (that will change tonight!) and have had a reasonable amount of exercise so am hopeful that there might be a slight loss this week.
i have readjusted my ‘lose a stone by June’ target to ‘try and at least lose something by June’, for a combination of reasons, some nice (too many meals out with friends/trips away); but also some traumatic and stressful that I won’t go into.
Ideally I would lose another stone, but I am 1 and a half stone under where I was 18 months ago, without following a very restrictive diet so am ok with that. I’ve not been great on this thread recently but am grateful to everyone for keeping it going and welcoming new members etc.

Try nutracheck weight tracker I have found it so helpful

@twoforj0y that's brilliant well done!

@OMGitsnotgood i hope things get easier for you soon.

ive had an alright couple of days, had a dinner out which was reasonable, didnt overeat but the food was nice. other days have gone well and ive stuck to my plan. also kept exercising and cooking. made soup again and today will have something quick and easy and light. going to cook again tomorrow. feeling positive!

So here we are on June 1st and the ‘stone by June’ hasn’t happened at all.

Height: 5’4
Heaviest ever: 13st 4
Weight June 24:: 12st 8
Lightest since June 24: 11 st 11
Weight start Jan 25:12 stone 1/2lb
Current weight: 11st 13

I know why I haven’t lost and am actually delighted that I haven’t gained in the last 6 months (overall anyway, there have been weeks I’ve gained and weeks I’ve lost).

The lessons I have learned are:
Move more: my increased exercise certainly helps during times of not eating healthily.
Breakfast: swapping toast with butter and jam for weetabix or porridge keeps me full for longer and is healthier.
Lunch: I try to swap sandwiches and crisps for something healthier (eg homemade soup, salad or boiled eggs), althougb i do enjoy sandwiches every now and then
Evenings: we usually eat heathy meals anyway with veg, but I have increased tbe amount of veg and try to reduce portion size. Not always easy when enjoying my food!
I don’t routinely buy crisps, cakes, chocolate, sweets or biscuits, just occasionally for visitors or a picnic.

I think for the next 6 months I’m not going to task myself with losing a specific amount, just to lose something.
Whilst I have failed my ‘stone by June’ target, I am pleased to have kept off the stone and a half I have lost over tbe last 18 months - and that without following a highly restrictive diet plan.

How is everyone else doing?