Three stone to lose but 54 and it is NOT shifting: what worked for you?

[TokyoKyoto]

I'm not going on weight loss injections so if that worked, I'm really happy for you, I'm not a candidate for those - but I am getting desperate.

I usually eat at 12 (naturally) and stop before 8. I cook my own food and eat pretty healthily. Lots of veg, grains, fish, chicken, eggs. No cheese, red meat, butter, and very little bread. Some alcohol but have cut right back.

I'm not diabetic or pre-diabetic, and my thyroid is ok: recently had a health check and apart from being overweight, I am in good health.

I do weights, yoga and I walk 5km per day. I get the feeling this isn't enough, but what is the right amount to increase to?

It used to be so easy for me, and it is now impossible. I've been circling the same two kilos since the new year. I really need to lose weight - help!!

@TokyoKyoto I don’t lose at all on 1500 - even though in theory I should as am definitely in deficit - I do at 1200 but still quite slowly

@CreationNat1on I certainly lose if I cut down to 2 healthy meals a day staring at 12.00 - not hugely fast but consistent

Your body likes to maintain its norm, so it struggles to hold onto weight, until it gets used to the new norm and then it accepts the new lower requirements. So sometimes the stubborn weight, eventually drops off.

Low carb
Watch portion size / think how much you’d get on a plate in a restaurant. (Assuming you are not in the US😂)
Eat slowly.
Lots of water
No wine or beer (if you need something alcoholic like most of us do- a shot of vodka on a large glass of soda with nice lime/lemon garnish that takes time to pour. And sip slowly)
No snacking.
Soup maker to chick in a loaf of veg and stock and put on a flask for if you feel the need for a snack in the day.
Distraction from food -get absorbed in a hobby etc that requires concentration -even if sudoku/crossword etc
Worked for me 😀

@TokyoKyoto keep trying it with the2 meals only and shitloads if water/herbal teas etc - I’ve noticed if I do that then the weight does come off in chunks - like every 4 days kind of chunks. I honestly put it down to something I read about each time you eat or snack you are releasing glucose and the less you do it the better it is for weight - provided of course it’s healthy and ideally lowish carb stuff and not 2 Big Mac dinners. It might be total bunkum , but does seem to work for me - I lost 0.8 of a kilo overnight yesterday too - odd isn’t it

Place marking to read later

E tan

I would get a weighted vest for walking, as it will up the difficulty without you having to spend hours extra walking.

I'm 54, about 5 ft 4 and have 3/4 stone to lose. I have been doing the Fast 800 diet for about a month and have lost 8lbs. I also feel great. It's the only thing that has worked for me (I tend to start a diet every Monday but never stick to it).

I lost 8KG at 57 last year but it was pretty tough. I actually ate more than I used to but it was very high protein and low carb. Eg a brunch of scrambled eggs on 2 slices of smoked salmon rather than toast and a dinner of chicken and lots of green veg plus greek yoghurt and berries. I also switched my exercise from just running to a couple of sessions of weights, a short daily abs routine and 3 cardio - high pace walking on an uphill treadmill. What I noticed was that one of those cardio sessions needed to be a couple of hours long. If you can find a day some weekends to go on a really long hike (say 18+ miles) that makes a huge difference.

You are probably eating too little
I am 58 and 5 foot 5 and I can lose weight on 1700 cals a day, I am very active (walk about 1-2 hours a day, cycle 4-5 hours a week, row twice a week)
I eat plenty of protein and whole grains, some carbs but wholegrain like brown rice and bread at weekends but I make my own with plenty of whole grain and seeds.

You could also try upping the protein and doing weights, you may not lose more weight but you will lose fat

Aha yes probably I have done this before but not been consistent enough to see a pattern. I have a big family lunch on Sunday so will need to be v v careful. Previously I've always gone, oh well, I'd rather have fun and eat/drink wine 😁

Losing fat would be amazing, and I love doing weights. Steadily upping my kgs

Excellent!
The best bit of advice I was given when I was doing this was only weigh yourself every 2 weeks. Then you will always have lost something! Also due to water retention you can vary from one day to another by quite a bit

@TokyoKyoto yes that would be me too -lack of consistency, wine and simply too large portions of great quality evening meals have been my downfall - I’m not a snack er , eat very little junk food and don’t eat that much in the day compared to many others

BTW thanks all for your inspiring stories, I'm really glad I posted. It's interesting too to see how people are fitting exercise into their different lifestyles. Thanks for the motivation.

What works for me
1000 cals a day plus
16/8
Higher protein/fewer carbs
No gluten
No alcohol
I'm short so it's a fact that I lose 1lb a week on 1000, maintain on 1200 and gain on 1400.
Once I made peace with it it's OK on the whole

Do you walk fast? I walk 7-9 miles a day at pace and occasionally friends join me. But they amble which is lovely for the chat, but doesn’t feel like I’ve exercised. So walking faster (and therefore further in the same amount of time) would help too.

Yeah, quite fast! When I'm on my own. It's decent exercise. As you say, with others it can be a bit slow, but it's better than sitting in a café and having a bit of cake to go with your coffee...

The thing about alcohol - whereas it may not be "calorific" as such, your body will always burn it first before burning fat. And you do tend to lose your resistance to temptation after a few glasses of vino....

I find drinking any alcohol completely stalls weight loss. Sad but true.

@CointreauVersial yep me too - I’ve even slightly put on weight over a couple of days where I’ve had maybe half a bottle both nights and yet on paper even allowing for the wine I’m still in calorie deficit - totally baffling!!

This is odd, I drink alcohol but as part of my 1700 a day and still lose weight fine! I was very strict with the calorie counting though

If there's one thing about weight loss, it's that we're all subtly different.

Working out what works for us as individuals with different bodies and lifestyles is kind of interesting.

No alcohol beer is full of sugar! Pointless waste of calories.

Yesterday I had a slow 7km walk (slow because not alone!) and ate under 1200 cals, but no loss today. Lots of errands to do today which will mean running around like a blue-arsed fly and normally would be stressed about that but I'm plotting how I can walk between them and maximise steps at speed 😁