Only Crash Diets work.

Anybody else out there on a crash or very low-calorie diet about 800-1000 cal a day, gives a 4-5lb weight loss each week The Medics don't like people going on crash diets, but they forget the psychological side of diets, people want results, no good being on a diet losing 1-2 lb a week people will give up.

[Pineapple27]

And what will happen once you've lost the weight you need to Hidden ? You'll have learned nothing... go back to your former eating habits, regain all the weight plus more.

This forum is full of people who may have used this sort of technique in the past. But most of them (including myself) have come to understand that this isn't the answer.

Plus in the meantime, you are feeling grumpy, fed up, hungry and damaging your body.

So that really isn't the answer.... it's all about identifying the triggers and behaviours around over eating and tackling these - one at a time, so that they become embedded in our psyche. Only then can we stabilise / lose weight.

My calorie allowance (as a very short - 4ft 8" - sedentary and physically disabled older woman) is 1100 calories a day for weight loss as I am close to my goal weight. Once I get to my goal, it will rise to 1350.

[Hidden in reply to Pineapple27]

Yeah, do put about a 3rd of it back on coming off the crash diet. but over the years has resulted in a weight loss of about a stone a year.

You have to use the diet that's best for you.

You say it's about identifying triggers to overeating, well that's easy for me its work.

Working in construction 70 plus hours each week expected to do the work of 3 people and an industry with 4 times the average suicide rate.

[S11m in reply to Hidden]

I lost 4 stone in a year without counting anything.

The Lowish-Carbohydrate, Highish-Fat diet and NotEating All Day aka Intermittent Fasting was all I needed. See:

healthunlocked.com/fasting-...

[Pineapple27]

Just read your profile and 4.5 stone was what I needed to lose. It took me 2 years, losing at a steady half a pound a week. But I just kept on going.

This is my story and links to other posts that others have found helpful / supportive:

When I started my weight loss over 7 years ago (aged 49), I had 4.5 stone to lose. I lost most of my weigh using a website: weightlossresources.co.uk (which I still use to this day!) but I enjoy the support and posts on here alongside using the other site.

I have a disability that I was born with (shortening of all four limbs as a result of the drug Thalidomide my mum took when pregnant with me). As a result my mobility is minimal - and was further reduced following a serious head on car crash in 2002 when I broke my ankle. I went on to have my ankle joint fused and am still in constant pain with it.

I started my weight loss journey at 14 stone - over 7 years ago. I am just 4ft 8” tall and so was classed clinically obese.

I had been trying to lose weight all of my life since the age of 9. I had used Weight Watchers and Slimming World at various points. I would lose about a stone, then get fed up and go back to old ways of eating - the weight would return - plus a bit more. I realise with hindsight that the lack of awareness of "portion size" meant that these ways of attempting to lose weight were never going to work for me.

My disability makes exercise difficult (I am very sedentary and use a wheelchair outside of the house).

The one thing that I realised very early on in my journey was that I was just eating FAR TOO MUCH! I was a short, middle aged, sedentary female and I was eating the same as 5ft 9" active man (my now husband!). No wonder I was piling on the weight!

I started my journey at the end of February 2012, and managed to lose 4.5 stone in 2 and a half years through calorie counting and logging/weighing all of my food. That works out at 130 weeks, so on average my weight loss was less than half a pound a week - of course some weeks I lost more, others I gained... but I am trying to impress upon you the importance of just keeping on going, even though the weight may not come off as quickly as you would like it to.

I cannot stress enough how important this part of the weight loss journey is - being able to recognise just how much we are eating and address that. It is not about cutting out any foods but about being able to make informed choices about the foods we eat Also about learning how to behave differently around food. Just because food is in front of us does not mean to say that we have to eat it! Being able to exercise control and moderate intake is paramount.

I re-gained some of the weight I lost, then lost it again and have now managed to more or less maintain for the past 6 months at around 10 stone. Still considered "over weight".

Ideally I would love to drop another stone to 9 stone and maintain there.

The other great news is that it is entirely possible to lose weight without moving! Of course though, there are lots of advantages to moving a bit more - but it doesn't have to be as formal as going to a gym or out for a five mile run. A good session of house work, mowing the lawn (when the weather permits!) or even a cooking session will all burn calories and have the advantage of making you feel much better emotionally too! It's good to find something that you LIKE doing, that is enjoyable and that you are likely to sustain on a regular basis.

My weight loss journey has been long, but I am still learning new tips and tricks to help me along the way and what's more, still enjoying the challenge! I would say that my behaviour around food has changed massively - I have learned to respect food, to "break" it's control over me, and to be able to modify how I behave with food. Just because food is within sight doesn't mean I have to eat it! I don't see eating the way I do as meaning that I am missing out any more - in fact I am now able to enjoy my life and have regained the ability to do things that I struggled to do or even found impossible to do.
Eating the way that I do now means that nothing is forbidden - everything in moderation, treats little and often. I've ditched takeaways and fast food and only eat out now for special occasions rather than a couple of times a week. To start with, I resented that I had to do this, but over time I have come to accept that this is my "new way of life". I'd rather cut back but have all the benefits I enjoy with improves mobility, less pain, the ability to do things I once couldn't and knowing that my health is as good as I can make it.

Here are a few of my past posts which I hope you will find helpful and inspiring. I won't try and tell you that my journey was easy - and you'll see that there were many blips along the way, but 6 years down the line, I feel about 20 years younger than I did when I was lugging around 4 stone more.

Please do pop back to the forums and share your journey with us - we are here for you, day and night and happy to share your success or support you when you need it.

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

[RedUnicorn in reply to Pineapple27]

What a great reply and totally awe inspiring.

Hats off to you Pineapple27 🎉🎉🎉🎉

[Pineapple27 in reply to RedUnicorn]

Just written from experience RedUnicorn I too once wanted to lose the weight as quickly as possible and tried the milk shakes, the sweets, the food restriction.....

[RedUnicorn in reply to Pineapple27]

I’m so impressed that you just kept at it... my mum has too. She cut down portions and just doesn’t eat bread anymore and lost about 4 stone.

I’m doing LCHF which seems to suit me as I don’t particularly weigh/measure...

I’ve been a bit off plan up and down through the last term of school ( stress eating) but I’m back in track now and still down almost a stone since my restart in Feb.

I really think the secret for me will be the support here - keeping on coming back whatever the week has been like!

[Pineapple27 in reply to RedUnicorn]

That's the secret. Perhaps not being perfect, but keeping on going...

[IndigoBlue61]

Hello and welcome to the forum Socky

Only you can decide what is right for you. We all want quick results but I also wanted permanent good health so chose a long term strategy

You will have been given links to our Pinned Posts in your Welcome message when you first joined, please read them carefully, especially the Welcome Newbies and the Security Post.This is a very busy forum with lots going on but feel free to ask if you have any questions 😊

Best Wishes in your weight loss journey

Indigo 😊

[BerlinBetty Visitor]

'You have to use the diet that's best for you.'

But Hidden, if you were totally confident that this was best for you, I'm not sure you'd be asking for the advice and support of others on this forum, many of whom have 'been there, done that' regarding crash diets, and many of whom know that the comparatively quick results are temporary. And those results can also come at a cost:

We can all lose weight if we starve ourselves. We can also make ourselves really ill by achieving vitamin and/or mineral deficiency, also putting our bodies in serious distress mode, which can result not only in weight but hair-loss, and potentially serious loss of health through calcium deficiency which affects bones, hair and nails, if we try to lose weight at catastrophic speeds.

Do you want to be slimmer and healthier for life? Long-term success involves slow and firm discipline, Darling, not self-destructive, risky behaviour. Please think again about your motives, your strategies and the timing of your goals. Look at past successes here on this forum. Chuck out unhelpful mirrors, moronic magazine advice, any images that make you feel miserable, and here's the controversial one -

Chuck out anybody in your life who is encouraging you to think you will be more worthwhile to them or to yourself if you starve yourself into illness. I don't mean get rid of them permanently if they are important to you, but do consider putting them on one side for a while if their comments and observations make you feel lousy. You deserve more than that. And you can achieve what you deserve safely with patience, endurance and the love of good people who support you properly.

You can do this, and the right way.

With concern and positive thoughts, Betty x

[Keeppushing]

I think everyone is different ! Some people say high fat low carb diet I’ve tried for me it’s just not sustainable I felt very ill lack of energy vomity plus who wants to eat meat and cheese all day everyday? It was not a nice diet. I’m simply counting calories and in my first ten days I’ve lost 5 pounds. I limit to 1400 calories however my food is mixed with wholegrains healthily carbs not fried chips or white bread, vegetables and protein again cooked healthy no fried food at all no pastry either and it’s going great I’m not restricted such as not eating certain types of food I still get to have carbs protein brown bread and even a chocolate biscuit here and there. Everyone’s different. So you are right what’s right for you is not right for others everyone’s different.

I’ve found crash diets didn’t work for me soon as I came off them I gained the weight back and it’s too restricted. They say I’m supposed to have 2300 calories a day I don’t want to lose 1 pound per week or 2 pounds I’m losing 4/5 pounds per week on 1400/1500 a week and it’s not restricted I’m happy

[Icandoit2019]

I have noticed from experience and yo yoing on different diets, that the older I become I realise fad diets are not for me. The quicker I lose the quicker it piles on, and as boring as it is, being told it’s a healthy lifestyle and commitment for life you have to change your eating habits.

It’s has to be sustainable and enjoyable don’t treat it like a prison sentence I’m going to do this for a month or a couple months get to goal and return to my old habits. Change is hard but once the habits become ingrained it’s just part of your life.

Good luck to you on your weight loss

[Carowood Restart August 2023]

But is a crash diet sustainable.

I admit very occasionally I will throw in a day or two of really cutting back on calories - sometimes just due to circumstances.

However, this time I have concentrated on mainly cutting back on carbs and no sugar etc and eating well on 3 good colourful meals a day and not feeling deprived.

Weight loss has been steady and I am confident as nearing the finish line that I have a food plan that is now a way of life.