Got 8st to lose and no idea where to start

So I currently weigh 19.8 stone which is near my very biggest and I want to get back down to 11stone for my wedding day in three years but I've no idea where to start and not many friends tips are welcome so I'd support and I'll return the support and friendship is welcome too
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Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Calorie deficit, simple as that!

    Start logging everything, weigh with scales, find some exercise you enjoy
  • Roobyzooby
    Roobyzooby Posts: 189 Member
    I faffed about for two years or so with "diets" and managed to loose about 2 stone, but it was hard to maintain long term. Since finding MFP and realising it was as simple as sticking to a calorie goal and finding an exercise that I enjoyed doing I have lost another 4 and a half stone. I am 3 and a half lbs away from my goal now, I enjoy what ever food I like, I just make sure I have the calories to cover it. Good luck with the diet, you will look great on your wedding day :)
  • crashdolly
    crashdolly Posts: 19 Member
    Congrats on your upcoming wedding! have a similar amount to lose, weighed in at 18 at 3 today and would like to hit 10 stone at some point, if you'd like to keep each other motivated I could definitely use a friend :) x
  • Numericmama373
    Numericmama373 Posts: 125 Member
    For me, it was easier to start with exercise. So my goal is to exercise 5x a week, every week, for a month. Then I get a prize.

    I'm trying to keep it beauty related. Like a trip to Sephora!
  • Numericmama373
    Numericmama373 Posts: 125 Member
    Once I was comfortable I started bringing the food into focus.
  • chantellegreenwood93
    chantellegreenwood93 Posts: 16 Member
    All are dam good suggestions any ideas on an exercise to start to try I tend to walk a lot but when I remember to eat it's bad choices which some help me at all x
  • chantellegreenwood93
    chantellegreenwood93 Posts: 16 Member
    This is me currently and I wanna get right back down again
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,532 Member
    Ditto TavistockToad.

    Well, pretty close. Enjoyable exercise & you may never get together. Sometime the best folks can do with exercise is tolerate it. Doesn't have to be a lot. Regular walking will do.

    And start working on the mental side. If you read these boards much you see person after person wrecked by their own brain. Get ready to be involved with losing for 1 or 2 weeks for every pound you want to lose. Impatience seems to be the #1 problem in WL.

    And start monitoring yourself for negative thinking. And think about how you will deal with adversity. Every hiccup is not a disaster, but your brain will try to convince you it is. Fight back.

    This is about problem solving. It's a skill set. You can learn it. Whatever you've done before has nothing to do with now. If your plan isn't working the only thing you need is a better plan. Congratulations on your future nuptials.


  • Numericmama373
    Numericmama373 Posts: 125 Member
    I use a 15 minute low impact video I get from Amazon prime for free and the. I walk for 20 - 25 minutes. I'm adding in jogging in intervals.
  • Numericmama373
    Numericmama373 Posts: 125 Member
    I figure, I can do,anything for 15 minutes. Sometimes that mantra is what pulls me through.
  • erica_today
    erica_today Posts: 185 Member
    I've lost 50 lbs I'm on the maintain boat right now. But I'll start by saying "don't eat the 3rd slice of pizza" that's my best advise as of right now.
  • VeronicaA76
    VeronicaA76 Posts: 1,116 Member
    Diets will help you lose weight, for a while. But, they don't work long term for a simple reason - they are temporary. It's weird at first, but you have to change your lifestyle. Small steps will get you there. My best advice is to get a notebook: it's tangible. Write down what you do for exercise every day. Write down your calorie deficits/surpluses. Start by taking 30 minute walks every day in addition to this app to watch your calorie intake. Do that daily, log your time and distance in your notebook. It takes about 3 weeks for a routine to become a habit. Once the daily walk habit becomes normal (where you feel the "need" to go for a walk to feel like your day is going right), make another step and repeat. I started out doing that two years ago. Now I am at the point that I don't even want junk food, at all, it grosses me out. I feel weird if I don't hit the gym and workout for 2 hours a day - rest days are harder on me than intense workout days.
  • 4homer
    4homer Posts: 457 Member
    Calorie deficit, simple as that!

    Start logging everything, weigh with scales, find some exercise you enjoy
    all of this. Cals in, cals out. Keep it simple.

  • pamfgil
    pamfgil Posts: 449 Member
    Yes, log everything you eat and drink, if you struggle with your food choices you're going to need to get organized, pre plan some days, you want to remember weight loss is not linear, your motivation will come and go, so you need to build good habits and routines you can stick to. Start slowly as you've given yourself enough time.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    All are dam good suggestions any ideas on an exercise to start to try I tend to walk a lot but when I remember to eat it's bad choices which some help me at all x

    If you walk then c25k is good?
  • InkAndApples
    InkAndApples Posts: 201 Member
    Go on to the "general diet and weight loss help" forum and read all the stickied posts there - especially the ones on accurate logging and weight loss not being linear. Knowledge is power in this situation. The mechanics of how to do it are all there.

    For the mental side: Weight loss is a long, slow process - you may find you lose very quickly at the start but this soon slows down and people often get frustrated and give up. Take regular progress photos and make an album on your phone where you can flick through them to see how far you've come.

    I weigh every day and log it in libra (android, iPhone users have happyscale) which helps me see my overall trends and not get frustrated at mini plateaus or apprenticeship gains - it also means I don't get stressed about weighing in because it's just something I do every day.

    Good luck!
  • chantellegreenwood93
    chantellegreenwood93 Posts: 16 Member
    All are dam good suggestions any ideas on an exercise to start to try I tend to walk a lot but when I remember to eat it's bad choices which some help me at all x

    If you walk then c25k is good?

    I'll look it up thank you
  • chantellegreenwood93
    chantellegreenwood93 Posts: 16 Member
    I've lost 50 lbs I'm on the maintain boat right now. But I'll start by saying "don't eat the 3rd slice of pizza" that's my best advise as of right now.

    Well done on the weight loss Hun

  • CoueCoue
    CoueCoue Posts: 69 Member
    88olds wrote: »

    And start working on the mental side. If you read these boards much you see person after person wrecked by their own brain. Get ready to be involved with losing for 1 or 2 weeks for every pound you want to lose. Impatience seems to be the #1 problem in WL.

    Very well said! This is a marathon, not a sprint.
  • chantellegreenwood93
    chantellegreenwood93 Posts: 16 Member
    In for the long haul not the short haul
  • RunawayCurves
    RunawayCurves Posts: 688 Member
    I lost 9 stone in 9 months many years ago by following a natural foods plan. Basically I ate around 1400 calories a day, 3 meals a day, all whole foods, I ate meat, eggs, dairy, veg, fruit, water and nothing else. It was super strict and i had monthly weigh ins. Some months I lost 5lb, some months I lost 20lb even though ate and did same thing whole 9 months. It averaged out as a nice neat 1 stone lost a month but in reality the weight loss was very varied from month to month let alone week to week. I try to keep that in mind, just stick with it even if scales are inconsistent.
    I gradually slipped back to old way of eating and eventually gained it all back plus lots more so it does need to be a permanent lifestyle change. I think the plan I used was too strict for me to sustain. I also lost 5 stone very quickly years ago before that on a salad diet which was also unrealistic.

    I returned to being vegan last year so that limits some of my old junk food options but plenty vegan junk food to be had. Whatever plan I ever followed the one thing that helped me stick to them as long as I did was eating a lot of veg and salad with whatever else I ate. Eating lots of veg fills up a hole leaving less room for other indulgences. I think the fibre helps me feel full. I am trying to get out of the all or nothing mentality and let myself have treats along the way but is a delicate balancing act. If I could tell myself 1 thing when I started this battle so long ago , it would be do not beat yourself up. If slip up and gorge on junk , just get back to balanced eating straight away after instead of beating myself up and then comfort eating in an endless self torture cycle.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    If you're not sure where to start, my suggestion is to take a week and do exactly as you normally do, but log everything, every bite and activity. Then look at it and see where the problems are and what can most easily be changed. Are there lower calorie foods you could substitute for some of your higher ones? Are there foods you should eat but don't (I tend to forget to eat fruit and eat junk instead.)

    Walking is great for health but not all that good for weight loss. Higher intensity activity is better for weight loss. Some strength training helps retain muscle during weight loss. What I did for exercise when I started was intervals on stationary bike, plus bodyweight squats, push-ups, and crunches. I was completely out of shape and started with ten slow minutes and wall push-ups. Now I can do toe push-ups, weighted squats, and high intensity intervals on the bike. I also do Zumba with YouTube videos. The main thing though is to find an activity you enjoy enough to stick with it.
  • dutchandkiwi
    dutchandkiwi Posts: 1,389 Member
    One of the things I did when I started is just logging, weighing my food eat as I was used to and log it. Learning to be honest with myself.
    Took two days before I started cutting out bits and bobs (calorie dense snacks) and reducing my portion sizes slightly. Reduction fo 10% at the time you don't notice really and can make a huge difference.
    Two weeks after that I decided to go cold turkey on any extra with lots of sugar (the cakes/bakes and birthday calorie bombs at work mainly)
    Combined that with just simply increasing walking.

    Took the long road that way but also learned a lot about where and how I tripped over in the past.
    I am now working towards maintenenance and lost at least 25kg
  • chantellegreenwood93
    chantellegreenwood93 Posts: 16 Member
    Seems so far my best options are log everything no matter how small it may seem (it makes big impacts along the line) be realistic in my goals and do interval exercises like walking/jogging xx

    What is everyone's goals if you don't mind me asking
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    I started at 247, current weight 192, goal weight 165. 5'8". My initial goal was to be out of the obese category of BMI, which for me is 197, but when I got there I set a new goal of healthy weight.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Seems so far my best options are log everything no matter how small it may seem (it makes big impacts along the line) be realistic in my goals and do interval exercises like walking/jogging xx

    What is everyone's goals if you don't mind me asking

    Sounds good to me!

    Mine are to lose the last 5lbs and PB my next half marathon in september
  • chantellegreenwood93
    chantellegreenwood93 Posts: 16 Member
    I started at 247, current weight 192, goal weight 165. 5'8". My initial goal was to be out of the obese category of BMI, which for me is 197, but when I got there I set a new goal of healthy weight.


    Well done for getting out of the obese category which was your initial target and your well on your way to your second goal your doing extremely well ❤️
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    I started at 247, current weight 192, goal weight 165. 5'8". My initial goal was to be out of the obese category of BMI, which for me is 197, but when I got there I set a new goal of healthy weight.


    Well done for getting out of the obese category which was your initial target and your well on your way to your second goal your doing extremely well ❤️
    Thank you!
  • chantellegreenwood93
    chantellegreenwood93 Posts: 16 Member
    Seems so far my best options are log everything no matter how small it may seem (it makes big impacts along the line) be realistic in my goals and do interval exercises like walking/jogging xx

    What is everyone's goals if you don't mind me asking

    Sounds good to me!

    Mine are to lose the last 5lbs and PB my next half marathon in september


    I'm sure you'll manage that last five with patience and keeping up all the hard work you have put in what was your PB last time may I ask?
  • chantellegreenwood93
    chantellegreenwood93 Posts: 16 Member
    I started at 247, current weight 192, goal weight 165. 5'8". My initial goal was to be out of the obese category of BMI, which for me is 197, but when I got there I set a new goal of healthy weight.


    Well done for getting out of the obese category which was your initial target and your well on your way to your second goal your doing extremely well ❤️
    Thank you!


    Your most welcome feel free to message me if you ever want some one to talk to or just post here and I'll reply