The stone starts shifting, today!

[Chubbybetty]

I am 45 and 5ft 2". I have been a size 6/8 for most of my adult life. I put on about a stone in lockdown. Managed to lose it (largely through stress) for my wedding a couple of years ago, and have since piled it back on, mainly through too much cheese and wine and a love of cooking/feeding other people. I eat mostly low carb and Mediterranean style but have become a bit more lax, I don't really snack and do a fair amount of exercise (including strength training) I'm now more a size 10 with a small spare tyre and a large chest. I detest my body like this. On a short, small frame, 1 stone is a lot and really shows. Yesterday I didn't even want to leave the house with my husband to go for a drink in the sun as I thought I looked hideous. Today it all changes. I have started working with an online wellness/fitness coach recently and she said something this morning that made me stop and think - how sad it is that people literally don't want to be in photo's with their families because of their weight. This is me. I hate that I am so hard on myself because of my size and speak to myself in a way I'd never speak to anyone else. I hate that for the last few years every nice thing we've done, has always had the niggling thought that I'd enjoy it more if I were a stone lighter. I know I have lots of 'mind work' to do aorund my relationship with my weight (hence the coach) but on the physical front today is re-set. Binning the alcohol, more strict with the carbs and cheese. I aim to lose 7lbs in the next 4/5 weeks. Posting here for accountability really. Anyone else having a 're-set' today? Good luck!

@GrazeConcern well done! Sounds like great progress. I agree that it is difficult to not want the quick fix and get stuck in the 'fail' cycle. Yes, I do always rationally know that you don't gain fat that quickly. Anyway, after my 48 hour fast this week, I am down to 8st 11 this morning, I think that's the lightest I've been since starting this thread. Back to OMAD now, and will probably fast again next week. My coach is doing a Summer shred at the moment so really encouraging us to up workouts/activity. Am doing 4 strength workouts, and 2 'other' (whatever I fancy on the day) per week, and have started going for a walk at 6am every day. At least 10k steps. Feeling pretty good this week 😎.

Well done everyone on your losses. @Mummy3214lbs is amazing! @Chubbybettyi take my hat off to you for your incredible fast and well done on bringing the lightest you’ve been since starting this thread. I have carried on with Rick B (not Nick!) and do a 30 minute workout every morning before I do anything else. Really hoping there’ll be a loss on the scales on Friday. Went to a festival at the weekend and ate before I went and fuelled myself on vodka and Diet Coke to avoid pizza and burgers. Sort of backfired though, cos although I didn’t eat while there, I was ravenous and hungover the next day so didn’t eat as well as usual (= ate loads!) Love this group - thanks everyone and sorry didn’t mention everyone - forget who said what once I start typing.

*being, not bringing!

I’m home and all caught up - sounds like you’re all really on it! My trip doesn’t seem to have had a disastrous effect, but my weight gain or loss is always delayed by a couple of weeks. I’ve given myself until tomorrow to recover and get over my jet lag, but then I am back on it and determined to reverse this weight gain. As someone else said, slow and steady is the only way for me so I’m also aiming for no more than half a pound a week. I measure in kilos, so 1kg per month for me. I’m currently hovering dangerously close to 64, so I’d like to be comfortably under 63 by the middle of July.

@Swearwolf hope you had a great trip. Sounds like you have a good plan in place.

1lb up for me today but I had 2 pints of cider last night. Also, my coach has just reminded us all that the scales will probably go uo in very hit weather due to water retention so if your scales up today guys din't despair! BBQ tonight (the obsession continues!) - chicken end vegetable kebabs, homemade turkey burgers and salad.

Just catching up on the thread. It sounds like some of you are making good progress - well done.

My Happy Scale app is pretty much a straight line. I’m still stuck at 8st11, so I’ve lost a pound since Easter! I contacted the Nutritionist on Nutracheck and they suggested to put my settings to half a pound a week, which gives me 1545 calories per day. That just feels really high for me (but I’ve also not been losing weight on lower calories). Does anyone have any thoughts (especially those of you around a similar weight)?

I’m just so confused, I feel I’m putting so much effort in, but nothing is working. I feel/look too big for me and really want to get back to my ‘happy’ weight around 8st. (However, I’m not overly worried about the number on the scales, more about losing the extra fat, especially on my tummy.)

Hi @Autumnleaves82 that sounds really frustrating. I’m in the same boat as the scales show no loss whatsoever after a week of daily workouts, getting my steps in, eating salads and drinking green tea. I cannot believe that I haven’t been in calorie deficit. 1500-odd calories a day doesn’t sound like you’d lose on it. I feel a bit confused with all the contradictory messages and I also feel like I’m going to be stuck at 9’3 forever. 🤬

Hey, late joiner here! Interesting thread - a lot of progress seems to be happening. I’m reading through for ideas!

Posting here so I don’t forget but I’m going to reset my weight loss journey on Tuesday as I’m currently in the middle of my period and that affects my scale reading and also my ability to exercise and stay low calorie. But I want to lose about a stone too initially. And then maybe another half a stone in the long term.

Welcome @Pinkiesheetie!

Welcome @Pinkiesheetie
Just jumping on to wish everyone a good weekend, my 'damp June' is going pretty well - I only had a 1/2 beer last night instead of 3 glasses of wine and a gin. Not only do I feel better for it, I noticed that I was so much more able to resist temptation.
We're having a BBQ later, but I generally find it quite easy to restrain myself, and we're not having a ton of desserts which would often be a weakness for me, so fingers crossed. I also met my first Happy Scale milestone on Thursday - whoop! I'm really hoping this 1/2 pound a week goal approach works for me, because nothing else has!

All the stuck people - you could be retaining some water in the heat perhaps? I’d keep going and see if you get a sudden downwards whoosh in a couple of weeks.

I’ve done barely any exercise all week so am not weighing myself! I am feeling ok, though, and don’t think I’ve been overeating. I did have too many gins on Friday night, but am now back on it.

DH has lost 4kg in his first month on mounjaro, and has now moved up from the lowest dose to a higher one. That’s like ten pounds, it would take me all year to lose that much!!! But his changing eating habits are helping me too I think, our dinners are lighter.

Hi everyone, how is it going for everyone? How did your weekends go? I’ve lost around 0.5kg this week which I’m really pleased with - almost double my target. Finally feel like I might be making some proper progress.

Hello everyone! Can I join? I posted earlier today about feeling really down about the 1-1.5st I put on a couple of years ago after starting a new medication (I have Crohn’s disease and the drug worked really well for me but led to weight gain probably due to a combination of drug side effect and just being freer to eat what I want now I’m feeling better). I also feel a bit silly over it as I’m still normal BMI (5’4” and went from around 8st to just over 9st) but really feeling not myself in my body, especially my tummy where a lot of the weight seems to have gone! I’m desperate to shift it so would love to join you all and will read back the thread for all your tips and tricks!

Catching up reading all the posts, some losses and some stalls, keep on keeping on and we’ll get there.

Isle of Wight festival was brilliant but omg the rubbish I ate for four days! Home now and back on it; intermittent fasting and lots of protein and veg. I was on the go the whole time with lots of walking and dancing so I’m hoping it doesn’t take long to get back to how I felt pre festival. My stomach is definitely bloated and I swear I have a double chin but I’ll not be despondent.

Thanks for the welcomes! 🤗

Ok I’m back now to officially start!

I’m at the end of my period so maybe still a little heavier than usual but should be more or less accurate.

As of this morning (before I ate anything) I was 67kg/10stone 7. I am only 5ft 2 and started off as 13 stone and have gradually lost weight over the last couple of years.

I’d love to lose 1 stone by end of summer and 1.5 stone by end of this year.

Around 9 stone - give or take a few pounds - was my perfect weight throughout my 20s and early 30s. I had a small waist and wore size 8 jeans.

So my goal weight is 9 stone/58Kg and goal waist size is 26 inches. Really want to lose 5Kg by September.

I have an ongoing injury so it’s mainly going to be about diet although I am doing gentle daily exercise just to keep healthy and flexible. Intermittent fasting with an eating window of 12noon - 7pm and eating two meals a day with minimal snacks is my ideal

I’m another 0.5kg down this morning - my weight does fluctuate a lot so am tracking the graph on my Garmin app, the line is moving downwards again at last so I’m relieved. Down to 63kg flat, which is under 10 stone again. As a short-term goal I would like to be 62kg by my birthday, this time next month. That’s 9 stone 10, which used to be my absolute upper weight limit (oh if I’d only known I’d spend eight years closer to 11 stone!). I’m feeling good anyway, back into exercise and trying to keep alcohol in check as that seems to snowball into bad eating habits and I think is the key to success for me.

Welcome @Pinkiesheetie Your target and plan sounds great. I’m looking forward to seeing your progress. It’s so interesting how we must all store our weight differently. I’m the same height as you, but currently bursting out of my size 12 clothes at 8st12 and feeling ‘too big’ for me. I find it so interesting that you are a size 8 at that weight. I guess that reinforces again that the number on the scales is not what is important, but just feeling/looking how we all feel our best. Do you mind me asking what type of body shape you think you have?

Welcome @MunsteadWood You’ll see from this thread that a few of us have similar start/goal weights to you.

Well done @GrazeConcern and @Swearwolf on your progress.

Thanks @Autumnleaves82 !

Yes it’s so fascinating about body composition and how different two people can look at the same weight . When I was younger I had a friend my height and we’d regularly swap clothes. To look at us, you wouldn’t have known she was 1.5 stone lighter than me.

I think some of it is to do with how muscular you are. I know they’re not as accurate as DEXA scans but according to all the home body analysis scales I’ve used I have high muscle and bone rate.

Not too sure of my current body shape but when I was 9 stone I was hourglass, had slim-ish long legs, small waist, big butt and big chest. When I gained weight a few years ago I was horrified at how shapeless I looked. The shape is coming back now I’ve lost ten inches off my waist . I have a shorter upper body and unfortunately a lot of the weight is stored on my stomach, back and arms right now. I think they’ll all slim down once I get to my GW though.

Thanks for replying @Pinkiesheetie Do you do weights workouts to contribute to your high muscle mass? That’s currently what I’m trying to focus on, but I’m not currently seeing much progress. I have thin arms and legs with all my extra pounds on my stomach, along with a big chest. I think (?) I will feel/look more like me if I can lose around 12 pounds to get to 8 stone, but I’m definitely more bothered about losing the stomach fat than simply getting to a certain number on the scales.

How’s everyone else doing? I know I say this often, but I’m so pleased we have this thread.

Just checking in to say I'm still here, and welcome to @Pinkiesheetie and @MunsteadWood 👋

I've been up and down for the last week and a bit. The heat may have contributed but the ice cream certainly didn't help!

I've also been out of routine at work, coinciding with my Pilates tutor being on holiday, which has resulted in not shopping properly. All terrible excuses really, but interesting to see how easily my eating habits can go to pot when I lose focus. I'm planning a fridge clear-out and healthy shop for this afternoon.

I've still been weighing every morning and I'm 1.6lb over my lowest recent weight, taking me back to where I was on 9 June. There's nothing in my diary for the next couple of weeks so hopefully I'll get that back off, and a bit more, pretty quickly.

Glad you had a great time @DurhamDurhamand I'm sure you'll soon be back on track.

Well done to @GrazeConcern and @Swearwolf - I also have my birthday in about a month's time and would like a few more pounds gone by then.

@MarmiteWine It’s just life rather than terrible excuses, it’s so hard sometimes when you’re out of routine and things slip. Having a fridge clear out is a great step back, heartbreaking at the same time though when you’re throwing out tasty morsels 😆
I’ve a few events such as wedding and a birthday party to go to this month but I find it easy to ignore the treats if they fall outside of my intermittent fasting window. If it’s within the window I’ll eat them with no regrets.

No probs! I find talking about this stuff so interesting actually @Autumnleaves82 I have light (2kg and 5Kg) dumbbells and maybe once every couple of weeks I’ll do a short workout like this https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=onLTHQ1KE50&pp=ygUNZml0YnltaWsgYXJtcw%3D%3D I would like to get more consistent with weights though but I’m focusing on gentle cardio workouts for now.

Do you have a lot of protein in your diet? How often are you doing the weights workouts? From what I understand increasing protein intake alongside regular weight workouts really helps to build muscle. And gradually increasing the weight you are lifting helps too apparently.

When I was slim and at the gym, I had a lot of muscle definition in my legs and arms even though I mainly did cardio, but my stomach was slightly on the chubby side at 9 stone. It wasn’t flat until I was 8.5 stone, but I looked thinner than my friend who was 7.5 stone at that weight! And I started having issues with my period too, so as much as I loved my flat stomach that weight wasn’t for me.

Yeah same, I’m more concerned with the weight on my stomach. I also find seeing my body fat percentage helpful too. It’s not all about the scale weight. I wear a size 10/12 but I have this pair of size 10 trousers that don’t close properly over my stomach, I try them now on now and again to check how far up the zip is going!

I agree - it’s a great thread!

Thanks so much for the welcome @Autumnleaves82! So pleased to have found this thread.

I got back to tracking food yesterday on MyFitnessPal. Feels tedious and not in keeping with how I like to think about food but I guess that’s part of the problem! I had what felt to me like quite a restrained day food-wise which came out at 1450 calories. Makes me wonder how much I must have been eating before! I also did plenty of walking (12k steps) and a swim after a work.

I’m trying to figure out what might work for me as I’ve previously struggled to stick to low calorie diets. I think a problem for me is portion size (have tended eat similar to DH who is bigger than me and does loads of sport) so I’m going to work on keeping that in check and reframe my expectation of what a “normal” portion is, plus focus on lots of veg and protein so I don’t feel hungry, and avoid sweet/carbs snacks like biscuits and toast which I suspect is also part of the problem. Alcohol only at weekends, and only small amounts. Bring it on!

Hi Losers! (well actually winners, for being here and trying, but you know what I mean!). I have been MIA for a few days so just catching up now.

@GrazeConcern another 0.5kg is great, as you've said before, slow and steady wins the race. How is your damp June going? Mine still feels slightly wet, I blame the weather for being nice and encouraging me to want a cider or a Pimms.

@Swearwolf yes I definitely think the weather causes water retention and bloating in general. My coach was talking about it last week and telling us all not to panic when the scales go up at the moment.

@MunsteadWood Welcome! Great to have you here. We have a similar amount to lose (although I am only 5ft 2) and it isn't silly at all to feel that at our size 9st is too heavy; my genuinely hapy weight is aorund 7st 10, but I'll be elated to get to 8st this year.

@DurhamDurham sounds like you had a great time at the IOW festival, and in the grand scheme of things that few days of enjoying yourself (which we all absolutely must!) isn't going to have too much impact long term I'm sure.

@Pinkiesheetie welcome! Good to have you. Your goals sound very realistic. Good luck!

@MarmiteWine Your brthday sounds like a good goal to have in mind. You can do it!

@Autumnleaves82 your comments about how we store fat is really interesting. Even being 11bs heavier than I would like, I'm still in a lot of my size 8 clothes, although I also have a fair few that are a bit snug now. I would say I'm about halfway between size 8 and size 10 (so size 9 I guess). Like you, I'm very pleased we have this group, and that we're all still showing up and supporting each other.

As for my progress, I went in to last weekend at 8st 11 after another (shorter) fast last week. By Monday morning I was 9st 1 (again!) but I feel a lot of it was water retention and general heat bloat. I have not fasted properly this week but my calories have been low and today I am back to 8st 11. Really hoping that in the next few days I'll break that barrier and be 8st 10 (or less) for the first time in a while. We're going to a wedding and have a family party in just over two weeks; would dearly love to hit 8st 7 by then but probably a bit optimistic. I've sadly concluded that for me the only thing that really works is fasting or very low calorie.