Telling your weight loss story WITHOUT drugs

[Chaostheory12]

I need to lose four stones. I've lost weight many times in the past using calorie counting but four stones seems insurmountable . I can't stay on a diet for more than about three weeks.
I don't want to use MJ etc so tell me how you did it and how you kept you yourself motivated. .

I lost 4.5 stone on slimming world a few years ago, I found it only really worked if I stayed for group. Hearing everyone’s experiences & meal ideas inspired me to keep going.

I'm not taking WL drugs because I don't want to prioritise the money for them. I'm really tired of being talked down to as if I'm some dullard because I won't.

I've lost 2st + in four months so far. I'm calorie counting using Nutracheck, generally doing 16:8 and walking a lot. Nothing is off limits because I can't do deprivation.

I've really struggled in the past and have never lasted more than a couple of weeks, but if anything the WLI have indirectly helped me because I want to prove to myself that they're unnecessary for me.

The last time I succeeded without drugs was during covid. It's called The Hobbit Diet and has very simple rules - never more than 200 calories of food at a time, and minimum 2hrs before eating again and then only if actually hungry. So you start off grazing almost constantly and can fit in 1800 calories between waking up and bedtime, BUT as you progress you find you can stretch out the time between eating opportunities and can gradually reach a really good calorie deficit without feeling too hungry. It's important to balance each micro-meal with protien and vegetable-matter for fibre. It takes up a huge amount of time at first (though you can make full size meals and have a host of little tupperware pots in the fridge with 200cal portions that are quick to grab) which makes it difficult to follow if you have a full time job (I was furloughed at the time)

I lost about 6 stone on this back in 2020. I did then put it back on by 2024 and am now using the meds, but that was because I got seriously ill and I didn't have the capacity to exercise or the energy to make healthy meals.

20 stone down to 9 1/2 stone. I started with a food diary, plenty of salads and fruit. Cut right back on carbs. Downloaded the couch to 10K and followed that.
These days I don’t keep a diary or run but I do ensure I’m out daily for a good walk, keeping treats to a minimum. I also don’t drink booze anymore. Eat a lot of fruit and salads still with a small meal. I usually use a small plate rather than a large dinner size plate. Sugar based drinks are also kept to a minimum. Nutracheck app is brilliant. No WL drugs involved.

Great job, well done. Do make sure you're getting plenty of protein in though, you'll thank yourself for that when you get old.

Absolutely, nothing works for everyone. I'm maintaining atm, so I need to cut down something for further weight loss. Fasting is also a lifestyle change, not a diet. I've found my blood sugars are more stable and I don't crave carbs or feel very hungry a lot. But it won't work for everyone.

I lost 6st without drugs - they weren’t a thing then. Every week when I went into the supermarket to shop, I picked up something weighing the amount I’d lost in total so far. It started with a pound of flour. Then a kilo of sugar. Soon it was 3kg of potatoes. Then 5kg sack of rice. Each time I told myself ‘I used to carry that underneath my skin’. After that I moved on to B&Q, and used tins of paint and bags of plaster. A sack of cement is 25kg, which is just under 4st. Seeing and lifting the amount I’d lost was an incredibly powerful incentive to stick with it. I didn’t regain afterwards at all, and have remained stable for years now. If I needed a reminder, I’d pop into B&Q, put a 25kg sack of cement in a 13kg wheelbarrow, and ask myself if I wanted all that inside me again.

No there is nothing that works for everyone,

the sad fact is 80 percent of peiple who lose weight will regain it all within five years, the success of losing weight is not just the number on the scales and getting it down it’s keeping it off for a lifetime, so a complete change in lifestyle is required,for ever.

20 percent of dieters can do that, I’m not one, this is the first time I’ve successfully lost weight and kept it off, and changed my lifestyle, clean and healthy diet, lots of exercise, lots of water, limited booze,with a clear head ie no constant battles with myself and the food I want to eat v the scales, it’s lovely to be healthy again, and it’s lovely to know your clothes will always fit, and not feel deprived or hungry,

anyone who can get the weight off and keep it off, I honestly take my hat off to, I couldn’t, for a variety of reasons, most peiple can’t, and it’s miserable way to live for them, and that’s just mental health, obesity is the biggest killer in society, the number one cause of cancer in non smokers, and the second in smokers, and that’s before we get to all the other issues, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, gallstones, pancreatitis, fatty liver disease, , the list goes on and on, it is the single most prevalent and fatal disease we have in society,and self curing is impossible for 80 percent,

but for 20 percent it is not, they can do it, and honestly, I am very envious, I’d love to have been able to diet once and then keep it off for a lifetime.

Yes I’ve kept it off by similar things to you although I do pile 4 or 5lbs on every holiday due to drinking every day . I instantly though get straight back into the watching it the minute I get back and it’s annoying as usually takes 2 or 3 weeks to get those lbs off

As soon as I say the word ‘diet’ I know I will fail. I have started the 16:8 fasting. Something I can cope with. 3 days in and I’ve lost 1lb. I’m dead chuffed! I too have many stones to lose.

Fantastically well done !! I noticed slim French people on holiday all seemed to have a small plate of salad first - I suspect it’s because besides being good for you, it takes the edge off shovelling a big plateful in - none seemed to have starters or deserts- just this salad plate!

I did similar but actually kicked off with5 weeks of mounjaro - I didn’t like the indegestion or the feeling like morning sickness for 3 days a week so came off them however what I did do was stick with the habits I had developed - more water, more protein, stopping if full , smaller portions eaten more slowly and often eating 550 cals around 11.30 and same again around 7.30 pm plus just a banana or tangerine in the middle

I think the key is to stop looking at it as one huge amount of weight you need to lose. Four stones sounds overwhelming, but losing a little at a time is much more manageable. I’ve found that being too strict with yourself usually makes it harder to stick with things long term. Small changes you can live with are better than a perfect diet that only lasts three weeks. You’ll have good days and bad days, and that’s completely normal. The important thing is not to give up just because you’ve had a bad day. Try to focus on building habits rather than chasing quick results, and remember that you don’t have to be motivated every day — sometimes you just have to keep going. You can do this, one step at a time!

When I previously wanted to lose weight I did intermittent fasting - 2 days a week.

Now though I have lost & maintained it through a generally healthy diet and lots of exercise. I don't know how old you are, but we only get one life so I wanted to start treating my body well. You get out what you put in. So I mainly aim to fuel my body with all the variety and nutrients it needs. Also start with half portions of everything and savour it. And volume eating - lunches are big salads with protein plus chopped up fruit for afters. I try to go for the least bad options re biscuits etc - oatcakes, sweet or savoury are 40 cals, rich tea 35 cals. I've also now stopped drinking. This will all save you a ton of money too. No butter on toast, either avo or beans plus egg/s.

I am 3 stone lighter. If I want cake I have good stuff or homemade but half a piece with fat free Greek yoghurt - i see this like cream now.

I’m the same with alcohol - I never ever lose weight at weekends if drinking alcohol even if my total calorie intake is the same including alcohol

I lost 5 stone on the 5:2 before it was even a thing as my rheumatologist told my fasting was good for getting my inflammation down.

I did put on a stone during Covid, but did get rid of it. Ditch the milk in tea and coffee. I can do 24 hours fasting, which is really good for fat burning. I don’t have milk in tea or coffee, as I think of that as wasted calories. If I can’t do a 24 hour ( I have seizures and migraines as well as RA) I do 16:8. There are days/weeks I can’t do it at all, so I calorie count. I’m just careful.

I take holidays off, but if I’m away for more than 10 days, I will throw in a fast day, to help or skip breakfast.

good luck.

I used to be 15 stone I’m now just under 10.

Also no butter ever. If I have a sandwich I have one slice of bread, with lettuce, tomato and then protein filling. I generally skip breakfast so lunch is first meal if I have to otherwise piece of Fruit in the afternoon. Dinner is around 7pm. Plenty of vegetables. Don’t overeat. Lots of water. Stop eating once full. No eating once I’ve cleared up.

I lost a stone by only eating between 11am and 7pm but it took about a year. I still stick to the routine. If I had been strict about calories as well I am sure it would have been quicker.

I’m in my sixties- I decided at the beginning of July this year that I needed to lose weight- I didn’t start with an amount in mind. I started by deciding to make a healthier choice once or twice a day about what I was going to eat
I increased the protein and decreased the carbs. I have Greek yogurt for breakfast every day
I use an app to record calories
I have lost a stone so far and am happy with the rate of loss

I took part in the Zoe research project 2 year ago. Since then, I have lost 48kg or 7.5 stone!!!!

Zoe taught me to (1) eat an even wider variety and larger quantity of veg, pulses, nuts, seeds, fruit and other plant-based ingredients. (2) have more olive oil
and other ‘good’ fats such a oily fish (3) I convert
carbs to blood glucose very quickly so as I don’t exercise (ill health) I needed to dramatically reduce potatoes, pasta, rice and bread (I was only eating whole grain and eating potato skin but they still spiked my blood sugar (4) despite it’s reputation for releasing energy slowly, porridge works in the opposite way for me, which explains why I was always starving mid morning after having porridge for breakfast- even though I had it with fruit, nuts and seeds (5) focus on lean protein and reduce red meat due to saturated fat (6) minimise consumption of
factory-made food and make as much as possible from raw ingredients (7) The Zoe
app gives each food a score based on what they knew about my biology - so surprisingly bananas and blueberries had quite low scores but strawberries and raspberries were almost perfect. (8) Don’t aim for perfection- what you eat on one day doesn’t matter. The long term trend does matter.

Controversial, but I lost several stones eating one meal a day. It’s was the only thing that worked for me and I think it quietened my food noise similar to what I hear the drugs described as doing. I eat a very healthy meal once a day and I am a bit more flexible during weekends and holidays now I have lost the weight. I feel the healthiest I have ever been. Plenty of energy and never sick. I don’t think it would work for everyone though.

No I was ok actually. I just made sure for the first couple of days to be mindful of eating enough to prevent feeling sick. Because the appetite suppression is good I can occasionally end up eating a little less than I should, I knew I was going on a holiday that would mean a lot of exercise in a really hot climate (orlando in September) so I would need the extra food and drink. I stopped a couple of days before I was due to travel, and made sure to eat a couple of larger (but still healthy and maintenance level) meals, just to prevent being low energy or dehydrated when I got there.

I take them for the psychological impact as much as the suppression too. When you are paying for something to help you lose weight it incentivises not spending money on takeaway or alcohol. I needed to stop my enabler (DH) from suggesting bad foods too, so spending on the jabs definitely helped with that.

If you are absolutely wanting to diet and lose weight (just as I was) but struggle to stay on it for a long time (just like I do) the jabs can be that thing that makes it easier. They won’t do the weight loss for you, the diet and exercise does that, but they will make it so much easier to stick to it, almost to the point where very little willpower is needed. You break the habits pretty quickly, and if you stay on a low dose you learn to manage with what little hunger you may occasionally feel by making better choices than you did previously

Yeah, that’s basically starving yourself, it will work but to what end…you’ll end up with muscle loss etc.

But if it’s short term, it is safe to eat just 800 calories a day for 12 weeks…that’s what you sometimes get put on before some surgeries and treatments to reduce weight rapidly. So you’ll get people saying it’s the wrong way - well yes obviously, but it will work and isn’t harmful short term

Bacon for me…my body just holds all fluids after that so weight goes up

I think that’s the same with the fasting diets…starve yourself for a couple of days and when you eat again you’ll over eat. You’ll also give up way faster too.

Needs to be an entire lifestyle change, not just drastically changing for a short period then craving everything you miss.