Lose 2st by xmas

[maggiewoo]

Hi i want to lose 2st by Xmas, I have put weight on and hate the way I look, I try to eat healthy, but fighting a losing battle, I am not a 'sweet tooth' person, eat lots of fruit, don't drink, don't fry my food and eat lots of veg, so where am I going wrong? I have a desk job, only catching bus to and from work and walk everywhere

[Zest Healthy BMI]

Hi Maggiewoo,

Welcome to the Weight Loss NHS forum, and I hope you'll enjoy being part of this community. You've stated your goal to lose 2 stone by Xmas, and I know you're already trying to eat healthily - so well done for doing that.

I would suggest having a look at the NHS 12 week plan, as it is a really good structure, and also read our Welcome Newbie post, as there are lots of great tips and suggestions in there as well from past and present members.

If you like the idea of a weekly weigh-in, then do join us in the Monday group weigh-in.

Wishing you a great weekend, and I hope you'll find the forum helpful.

Lowcal

[MrNiceGuy]

Despite current feeling, you have more than enough time to hit your goal, maggiewoo.

Although you don’t possess a sweet tooth, by swapping other sources of simple carbohydrate (potatoes, white pasta and white rice) for complex varieties (such as beans, sweet potato, brown rice and quinoa), you’ll be reducing the rate at which insulin is secreted, thus, assisting your weight loss. Additionally, portion size also plays its part, too.

However, the key to losing weight successfully begins by knowing your numbers, so that you can achieve the correct energy balance.

In order to do so, you should ascertain how many calories are required to meet BMR (basal metabolic rate) and TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). As such, research BMR/TDEE calculators, since both are largely accurate in determining calorific needs based upon your measurements (age/weight/height) and level of activity.

Having obtained the figures required to satisfy both, seek to introduce a daily calorie deficit from your TDEE (not BMR), ensuring that the deficit introduced doesn’t take you below BMR (to ensure that metabolism continues to fire).

The more active you are, the greater the deficit you’ll be able to introduce, thus, improving your level of weekly loss.

Since walking is your only form of exercise, in order to increase activity levels, it may be worth joining a gym or investing in a home workout DVD, such as Gillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred program to increase level of weekly activity. Moreover, home workout DVDs are great for increasing confidence, allowing you to progress towards participation in group exercise classes, for example.

As for diet, aim to ensure that protein accounts for 30-35% of calorific intake and is obtained from lean meat, eggs, fish and whey powder. By ensuring that protein consumption remains relatively high, there’ll be less likelihood of a breakdown in existing muscle mass as you seek to shed the excess weight.

Fat should be obtained from healthy sources, such as fish, oils, avocado, seeds and nuts, and carbohydrate obtained from complex varieties (already listed above).

Going a little further, having obtained BMR, to understand how many calories should be obtained between the respective food groups, it’d also be worth consulting macronutrient calculators.

If you don’t wish to do so, however, when calculating your daily split between the respective food groups, take into consideration that protein and carbohydrate each contain 4Kcal per gram and that fat contains 9Kcal per gram.

As a starting point, work on a 35/40/25 split (taken as a percentage of BMR) between protein, carbohydrate and fat respectively, tweaking the carbohydrate/fat split to suit, as you figure what works best for you, but ensure that protein consumption doesn’t fall below 30% of daily intake.

[IndigoBlue61]

Hello maggiewoo 😊 I can feel your frustration! I was just the same, it feels so unfair doesn't it? The answer for me was to eat smaller portions, 😊 it wasn't an especially big change as I already ate healthily but slowly the weight has come down. Look at the links lowcal has suggested and work out what you target calories should be, 😊 Two stone is quite a lot to lose but you can lose enough to make a significant difference 😊 Very best wishes

[Hidden]

Hello,

I think that 2 stone by Christmas might be a bit of a stretch, unless you are very heavy and this is the first 2 stone of several. I reckon on losing a stone over 10-12 weeks as being very good progress, so at that pace you could be more than half way there by Christmas, maybe more.

It's certainly worth going for it!