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 have eaten one meal a day for 5 years and I exercise. I eat more than 800 calories. Probably 1000 a day but all very healthy. My blood pressure and cholesterol back to normal. All blood tests good. I am happy.

I also tend to skip breakfast and enjoy lunch, dinner and a snack in the evening.

It’s easy to say to stop eating when full but I am never full 😢 I wish I could find that full switch but it evades me. If it’s on my plate I will eat it. I just try to eat foods with good satiety.

I’ve been doing 5:2/4:3 since 2010. I don’t overeat (apart from covid initially 😁) unless I’m out for a celebration or on holiday and even then I’ll throw in a random fast day, if it’s longer than 10 days.

I’ve pretty much kept the weight off by being disciplined. I still eat cakes and chocolate if I want to, but I just don’t gorge myself.

This is very surprising but I’m happy it works for you. For most that would be too little and would damage your body long term, but in fairness so does obesity so it’s finding the lesser of two evils really isn’t it.

Yeah it’s got to be a lifestyle change, not fasting to drop weight then expecting to return to eating how you did when you gained the weight.

The way you are doing it isn’t a diet, it’s life, and you have good structure. Glad it works 🙂

I’ve lost around 6.5 stone through a calorie deficit (about 1400kcal a day).
I also started running (only after I had already lost about 5.5) which helps maintaining now.

Like someone else said, I have seen it as a lifestyle change. When I really craved something I had it, just a smaller amount. Takeaways (not often) were things like chicken shish with rice - or even fish & chips, but then removed the batter from the fish and only had half the chips.
I made sure I had plenty of variety - lots of protein, but also carbs, fats etc.

For special occasions I would eat “normally” and enjoy it and get back to it the next day, it’s just not realistic (for me) to try and stick to something for over a year and not have “normal” days. Yes, I put on some weight over Christmas. But I then got back to it afterwards.

Treat setbacks as part of it - no “damn, messed up one day, doesn’t matter now…” but “ok, I had a bad day, but now I’m back on track and nothing terrible happens”.

Now I have two motivators to keep it off (other than generally feeling much better). I have a hiatus hernia and, weighing less, I can eat a lot of things again that were no-goes before. I had food come straight back up at my worst times which now rarely happens - and I can live without medication most of the time.
And my running. I’m running half marathons and am doing my next marathon next year, I have never done any sport before - and, of course, I’m not saying larger people cannot run, but it is a lot easier when slimmer! And maybe there’s a third, I think I have just started hitting peri, so want to be in the best position for this period of life.

Due to the issues I already had with reflux (and I’m absolutely reliant on the pill working as it should for other medical reasons), both of which can be impacted by the WL medication, this was and is a no-no for me personally.

I have lipodoema but a common comorbidity of lipodoema is obesity so, last January, I took a long hard look at myself and realised that there was certainly some non-lipodoema weight that I needed to lose. I realised that I couldn’t justify WLI and l also don’t think we know enough about the long-term effects so I went back to intermittent fasting, which is the only thing that seems to work for me. I think I have lost around two stones (I don’t like to weigh myself) and have lost most, if not all my non-lipodoema weight, which, sadly, as I am older is on my legs, arms, hips and, most distressingly of all, my abdomen so that I look larger than I am. Lipodoema fat weighs more heavily than non-lipodoema fat, too. Hey-ho. I am now a comfortable size 12 in tops or a small to medium, depending on the brand and fit. My bottom half is larger and I will have compression tights for this. A very nice doctor has actually, finally, said that I am doing everything right, health wise, and that it is the lipodoema that skews the weight on the scales - proof that the BMI scale is definitely flawed. However, I shall watch this thread with interest as I know that I will always have to watch and mentally add up calories everything I put in my mouth.

Nuts isn’t it - I think it’s the salt and sugar - and one of the main reasons you put weight on holiday as most tend to drink more ( if they drink) and you often can’t control salt intake if not cooking yourself -

Do you not actually eat at all for 24 hours - ? I think I could actually do this if I ate at 9.30am one day and nothing till 10.30am next day -

Yes nothing for 24hours. But I can only do evening to evening. I’ve tried it morning to morning and lunch to lunch and afternoon to afternoon but doesn’t work for me.

I sometimes cave at 4pm but mentally I can usually power through, unless the migraines are bad, but then I’m off my food anyway.

Oh dear that was me. Only one opinion allowed.

Exactly this, the drugs just mean it is easier to maintain.

I LOVE THIS!

When I’m done I’ll have lost about the same amount as my son (9-10st) and I’ll be picking him up regularly lol. Not sure how happy he will be about that considering he is 18 but 🤷‍♀️

Yeah and it’s annoying because I used to love a bacon but on a Saturday. I used to have 2 then dropped to 1 when I was first dieting, but then when the weight loss slowed it became really obvious that the bacon bun day I was heavy the next day and so I’ve cut it down to maybe once a month.

Someone on my WLI group has said that hers is massively improved since taking the jabs…but not sure if that is because of the weight loss or a positive effect of the jabs.

Are you still dieting? If you are then hopefully some of it will improve for you still. Keeping my fingers crossed for you 💐

Well, of course, presumably he too was once inside you - but closer to 10lb than 10st!

I’ve lost 2st since May, without WLI (and with 2 non-restrictive holidays in that period).

I fast 16:8, and calorie count during the periods I am eating. I don’t snack, basically ever. I’ve cut out crisps (my biggest vice!), chocolate, refined sugar of any kind. I only eat wholemeal bread of any kind.

I’ve found it’s helped me to continue to eat what I would have previously, but low calorie/healthier versions. I feel less restricted.

I buy protein pizzas or flatbreads, 5% mince and burgers, 0% yoghurts, low cal ice cream and 0 calorie syrups.

I eat either salad or huge portions of veg with basically everything. If we’re having cottage pie, I have less but with more veggies- etc.

I bought a treadmill for at home, and started off just with regular walking on that. More convenient and accessible for me than walking the streets!

It all sounds really obvious I know. I have found that I actually can’t eat shit anymore, oily and fatty foods make me feel unwell, so going back to them doesn’t actually seem appealing anymore.

Thank you

I lost 4 stone in 6 months. Calorie deficit, tracking and walking 4 miles every day no matter the weather.

Yeah I think that after I had him we were both growing at the same rate 😂🫣

Let me guess, when you’ve dieted before, you ate less than a child needs and deprived yourself of anything you enjoyed? This is where so many people go wrong. Calorie counting absolutely works, but you need to change your mind at.
set small goals eg lose 1 stone. Goal weight in lbs (losing 1 stone) x 12 = daily calories. I’ll bet you were eating way less than that and could sustain it.

@Boreded obesity is the comorbidity of lipodoema and, sadly, many ladies who have the condition are ten or more stones overweight on top of their lipodoema and find that bariatric surgery and injections can really help because they kickstart the process of losing the “normal” fat. The weight l have lost is the non-lipodoema weight and I was fortunate in that I didn’t have as much to lose as many other lipodoema ladies so I was able to lose it slowly on my own. I am not sure l would have qualified for injections. Thank you very much for your kind words and best wishes for your own weight loss/maintenance journey.

I’ve lost 88 pounds. In 1.5 years. Starting weight was 222 pounds. Just felt gross all the time. Missed feeling pretty and attractive. Lost the weight via calorie counting. I started using my exercise bike in the AM also. I found that really useful as I started viewing treats as x amount of time on bike to burn. So it put me off mindless eating unless I really wanted something. It also weirdly made me want to have a very healthy, balanced breakfast like eggs and berries. It just put me in a good mindset for the day. Habit stacking I believe is the term.

I also didn’t allow myself to be derailed like I previously had. In the past a bad weekend would turn into a bad week which would end up being a bad month. This summer I’ve been on holidays, weekend breaks, had boozy night outs etc and still lost 1/2 a stone by just starting again the next day. Not fasting and overly restricting. Just getting back to the plan and not feeling too guilty for not being perfect. Give yourself some grace is my advice. Every day is an opportunity to become who you want to be. I would say this to myself a lot

Proud of you for not wanting to take drugs.

Try intermittent fasting. I only eat one meal a day and its dinner. During the day, I drink coffee or other 0 calorie drinks and a ton of water.

You need to eat no more than 1200-1500 calories a day, and also go to the gym at least 4 times a week and do cardio to lose weight first, then once you are happy with the # on the scale, switch to strength training.

I was borderline obese and now I am a size XS. In a couple of months, you will be a different woman. Just takes discipline.

Consistent calorie deficit is how you do it. I’ve lost over two stone since mid July by weighing, measuring and tracking on an app (My Fitness Pal but there are others). I can’t go on WLI because I’m a type 1 diabetic. I haven’t really upped my exercise levels yet but will do so now, mostly by walking and some weight lifting with kettle bells.
I am worried about my health and in my 60s hate the fact that I struggle to even walk a mile (which I had to do today).
I find it helps to have an event or holiday or something which helps with motivation and to keep on track. Sure I’d love to eat that second slice of cake (or even the first slice), have a pizza or chips, but it is worth the calories? Generally no.
Time is going to pass anyway. Do you want to look and feel the way you do now at Christmas or Easter or your next holiday? No? Then commit to yourself.