Hello! I am 5 stones overweight! I am a pure vegeterian! Can you please help me in suggesting how i can reduce my 5 stones?

[fatgirl90]

My weight is 14 stones 2.15 lbs! My BMI is 34.5

Height is 5'4". I am trying to loose weight from past 6 years but i am not successful. I have tried gyming also.

Can anyone help me please?

[chay]

Try slimming world green days. That would be perfect for a vegetarian. I'm sure you could get the books from amazon or eBay if you didn't want to join a club. Perhaps even join online. Good luck.

[laurav2166]

Hi, I was 14.5 stone when I started my diet. I calorie count 1200 calories a day and swam 3 times a week. I'd then been stuck at 11.10 for 5 months so started couch to 5k and am now at 11.2. My biggest tip would be to be honest with yourself about how much you eat and drink, I write everything down otherwise I'd have a little of this here and a little of that there. Good luck!

[gingernut49]

As laurav2166 says above, you must log every single morsel that passes your lips. I use a great little free app called MyFitnessPal - you can even scan bar codes of foods in. I'd heartily recommend the 5:2 Diet (tinyurl.com/m9e3dep) where you eat 500 calories two non-consecutive days a week - Kate Harrison who wrote the book is also a vegetarian. It's the first diet that has been really successful for me after years of losing weight and then putting it straight back on again. I lost three stone in six months, started Couch to 5K also in January as I felt so full of energy (at 63!) and now maintain my new size 10 figure by just fasting one day a week.

[gypsydepp]

Try the 5:2 eating plan.

It actually works!

Buy the book online and read the whole thing..........good luck x

[Windswept1]

I know gingernut 49 has found the fast diet works for her and I know a few other folk it has worked for but if I get too hungry I binge so its not for me. I did the NHS plan on this site and count calories, meal plan,use smaller plates and don't get too hungry. As a vegetarian you still need to make sure you get enough protein through pulses etc. You say strict vegetarian, so that means you are not vegan. Do you eat eggs as well as dairy? I found it difficult to get through the morning on just carbs for breakfast so have started having started following the advice to have some protein, egg or beans etc.It still fits in with the calorie count. Above all regular exercise. I am 58 but have taken up jogging a couple of times a week, walk at least 3k every day, gym for strength exercises a couple of times a week and aquafit. I have only lost about a stone but body shape has changed dramatically.

Good luck & keep us posted.

[Mufasa]

I thing you have to find something that works for you. You say you've tried dieting in the past? What didn't work that time? Lots of people find the companionship of slimming clubs really helps with keeping them motivated. You also might like to listen to the lecture givenby the psychologist Kelly McGonigal on motivation.You can access it on You tube at youtube.com/watch?v=V5BXuZL...(Not working as expected?).

As a vegetarian I find that lots of different grains such as quinoa, spelt, pearl barley, bulgar wheat, brown rice which are quite high in protein and relatively low in calories are really helpful.

[kimlewes]

I am afraid that I can't help with a positive suggestion but do not be tempted to accept a free trial offer from 'Nutriberry Slim'. They will ask you to pay for carriage and proceed to use your credit card details to take large sums from your account, unless you tell them, at a very early stage, that you do not wish to take the full course of treatment. I am trying to recover almost £200 from these people at the pesent time, after responding to the 'free trial' offer in September.

[runningmam in reply to kimlewes]

This should be highlited across the community.

[Hidden]

Hi fatgirl90,

Well, my advice is to do it decide to lose weight for once and forever. There's plenty of good - and totally free - advice and help on the NHS webpages. Just google 'NHS live well lose weight'. And there's a free 12 week plan too.

But what it's really all about - having done it myself, I can say this - even if it's not easy to hear, it's about changing your eating habits.

Generally speaking the simple reason people are overweight is because they eat too much of the wrong things too often - whether they realise it, or perceive it, or are prepared to admit it (even to themselves).

Decide why YOU want to lose weight - never mind the media or your mates. This isn't about someone's body or health, it's about YOURS. So do it for a reason that matters to you.

And then, working on the basis that you can realistically and safely lose about 2 lbs a week on average, plan your weight loss. It's going to have it's spurts and it's blips and it might even take a bit longer than planned, but actually you can very probably do it, just as I and others on this blog have done.

Oh and set yourself some milestones / mini-goals to tick off as you go.

My guess is, you actually know that it's quite simply just time to get on the weight loss bus and take control of your weight, your eating and your exercise/activity.

If joining a group works for you - then do it. Personally, I didn't.

Good luck with your weight loss journey.

[Soozz]

Hi. I absolutely know where you're coming from, being a vegetarian. Last July I weighed 13 st 11 lbs (I didn't actually want to know, but a friend wrote it down for me). Now I weigh 10 st 3 lbs and feel and look so different! I started C25k and though I had a few struggles I finished it in 10 weeks. In September, as I graduated from the running programme, slightly amazed at myself, I also discovered MyFitnessPal and started the basic process of making sure that calories in we're exceeded by calories used! I was pretty relentless about it but also had a relaxation of the "rules" at Christmas. I got myself a set of diet scales and realised that my portion sizes were way too big, so I was quite strict about weighing pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, cheese etc in order to keep the MFP diary accurate.

I still run, I do other exercise too, and I got an exercise bike so that if I was getting too near the calorie limit I could do 20 minutes or so on the bike to recalculate my calorie allowance. I have more or less stopped doing MFP now but do it if I feel I'm losing the plot a bit.

As a veggie it's easy to have lots of calorific fruit, pasta, cheese, etc and still be a bit low on protein. If you try and up your protein you'll feel less hungry between meals, at least this is what I found.

All the very best with your weight loss - if I can do it, so can you! The online community here will share your triumphs and your struggles, and there'll always be someone around who can help.

[tom10000]

I've been a (mostly) vegetarian for several decades and the conclusion I've reached is I've been overdoing the carbs. Very easy as a veggie as pasta, rice, beer etc all taste soo good. But -- thing is -- lentils are about 50% carb and many vegetables are pretty high too.

A good idea is to read around a bit. There's a good bit of real science on this now and several accessible books: Yudkin, Taubes, Lustig etc. In a nut shell, exercise is important but diet is king. Cut out the more refined stuff (white flour, pure sugar, fruit drinks and so on) and replace with more fibrey vegetables. Eat fruit and whole grains - the fibre helps reduce the glucose impact.

Not sure about the whole ketogenic thing and I eat some fish, which makes things easier. But I have also lost 2 stone, mostly by swapping pasta for broccoli etc. In a phrase: it's fat or fart!

[run-buddy]

Have you worked our your BMR first?

[run-buddy]

I would suggest firstly to work out your BMR, you already know your BMI so thats a good start and have a target weight for your height. See a BMI chart. Next i would get your thyroid checked by having having a blood test at your GP.If you have hypothyroidism that can affect you from losing weight. If thats normal i would do a calorie controlled diet. Forget the gym get yourself a home cross trainer or a cardio bike.If you use the bike everyday for 30min r burn 300 calories and sticking to a 1200 calorie diet your weight should come down. Hope that helps.

[Fatdadslim]

I'm not a vegetarian but not by choice was almost totally vegetarian for a month in India. What helped me lose almost 1 stone?

I ate less bread (average loaf is small!), they don't have much cheese (am a cheesaholic), i drank less alcohol because again not convenient (didnt have car). Not much processed foods there either. I walked most places including joining neighbours for stroll after evening meal most days. Ate a lot of veg as so much variety, with chappatis made with brown flour. Drank less milk as they have very fatty buffalo milk and it didnt suit me. I also drank lots of water as even in Nov-Dec warm (not hot) and ate lots of fruit usually for lunch/snack.