How do I lose weight?

[BethCr]

I'm trying to lose weight over the summer period and wondered how exactly to go about it. I'm reading a lot of success stories but wondered what exactly you all did to lose such fantastic amounts of weight. I'd ideally like to lose between 1 and 2 stone- ambitious I know, but I'm really determined to do this. I know I have to up my activity levels but what do I do with my diet? Do I really have to starve myself? I'd say that I eat quite healthily so am stumped as to how to change it and lose weight. I've totally given up junk food a few times and I've not lost anything, but then again I don't eat a lot of it. Any help you guys could give me would be great! Thanks.

[Prin]

It's all to do with eating fewer calories than you need, try logging everything you eat in an ap like my fitness pal , you need to under eat by around 3200 calories to lose a pound of fat (?you can also supplement the deficit by exercising if you don't eat the calories you burn, aim for1400 cal a day should give results

[BethCr in reply to Prin]

Thank you! That should help

[BethCr]

Ill definitely look into this. Thank you.

[albionjen]

Hi BethCr.

Since January I have lost nearly 3 stone, with 1 and a bit still to go until I am at a healthy BMI. My main advice to you would be exactly what Prin has already said: it is all about making sure your intake of calories is less than the amount you burn through normal life + exercise. If you take in less than you use, you will lose weight. As Prin says above, 1lb of fat is about 3200 calories. This means you need to eat about 500 calories less per day to lose 1lb per week. I try for a loss of about 1.5lb per week, which means eating 750 cal below my daily requirement. This works out to about 1400 cal, which is the same as the NHS 12 week plan target.

1 to 2 stones weight loss is a sensible target, but only expect to lose 1-2lb per week. So, loosing 1 stone may take a couple of months. Be aware that even high intensity exercise does not burn that many calories. E.g. for me a 30 min 5k run is about 350 cal. So I would need to do 10 runs like this per week to lose even 1lb, which is not going to happen! Losing weight really is mostly about keeping an eye on your diet rather than exercising more. However, doing more exercise is really helpful in making sure you lose fat rather than muscle so that you will look (and feel) in better shape.

For my weight loss, initially I was mainly just calorie counting using a free website. I now use My fittness pal, which is a really useful site for tracking food intake. If you use the site just be aware that most recipies are added by other users and not double checked for correct calories. I tend to create my calorie counts for my own recipies rather than rely on what other people have added. Also measure everything and look at the calorie content of all the things you eat and drink. Sometimes it was suprising where hidden calories are sneaking into my diet - I found that I was drinking cordials that had as many as 100 calories per glass. Here is the website in case you are interested:

myfitnesspal.com/

As I have lost weight and become more confident I have started doing more exercise. Initially this was just using Wii fitness games (Exerbeat is great fun!). I just finished the couch to 5k running plan, which I would totally recommend to anyone looking for an fun and free way to get in shape. I also joined up with a local council run gym to be able to work on strength/toning as I get closer to my target weight. Plus I will be able to run inside when it gets cold in the winter.

Sorry for the extra long post.

Good luck!

[BethCr in reply to albionjen]

Wow! Thank you so much for this I couldn't have asked for a better response. You've been ridiculously helpful! Thanks and good luck to you getting to your target weight.

[BrideToBe51213]

Hi BethCr,

In particular I would say that whenever I follow a diet I end up seeming to eat a lot more and feel properly full. The only times I feel starved is when I forget to keep suitable snacks with me and can't find something healthy (I'm still not great at planning ahead).

By sticking to 1400 calories a day I have also realised how many calories are in fruit and veg, very filling and still good on calories but it has explained to me why I have failed at diets which dont count your fruit and veg in take. I could easily eat a bag of carrot sticks which I worked out to be 120 calories I was consuming extra.

Good luck with it and if your tempted remind yourself why you want to do this

[BethCr in reply to BrideToBe51213]

Thanks for that. I'm cutting down to 1400 slowly and I already think ive eaten more just because fruit and veg has so few calories in comparison which is great. Thanks and good luck to you as well!