New and depressed

[MCphoenix]

Hello everyone. I'm new here today. Im 24 years old. Im 16st 10 and need to lose weight to about 10st. Me and my partner are wanting a baby. Any tips or advice on good diets thinking shakes instead of food with a salad for dinner. What is a decent realistic weight to set a goal for December??? Thank u

[EllaMidlands]

Hi. I wouldn't do a shake diet. I would make changes to your eating which are sustainable. I believe you will put weight back on if you do crash diets. If you start eating healthily with the right number of calories for your height and activity level you could lose 3 stone maybe 4. This would make a real difference to your body I am sure. I would see it as a permanent change rather than a crash diet. Good luck 🤞

[YellowRose55]

Hi MCphoenix

Welcome to the weight loss forum.

You would do better to eat a healthy balanced diet rather than shakes. It's hard to say what is a realistic weight goal for December as everyone is different but if you aim for 2 stones and keept to the plan it would be easy to achieve.

Take a look at the Welcome Newbie post in the Pinned post section at the right hand side or at the bottom if your on a mobile. Have a look at the nhs 12 week plan, many members have had success following this plan. Use the BMI checker to work out your daily calorie allowance.

Have a look at the Daily Diary which you can find on the Home page in Events. It is where all the members are sharing their daily plans on what they are eating and any exercise they are doing. This thread will give you some ideas on how to start.

Below the Pinned posts are the Topics where members share a range of weight related subjects.

Take your measurements at the start together with a photo so you can see the changes on the days the scales don't move.

We have daily weigh ins so why not come along and join us today. You can find the weigh ins on the Home page in the Events section on the right. Just click on the post in Events and record your start weight and any loss/gain or maintain for the week.

To get the most of the forum be active, share tips, recipes and experiences. Read some of the posts they are very motivating.

Have a good first week.

Rose

[SlimmerSue62]

Hi and welcome Mcphoenix have you looked at your bin to work out your calorie allowance. Most people here follow the nhs 12 week plan which is calorie controlled healthy eating. No shakes or gimmicks weight just files back on and more I know from experience. This is a lovely forum full of help and a wealth of knowledge. Someone from admin will welcome you shortly. Good luck

[Kimbell3]

The 12 week plan is easy to do. I just eat normal food just calorie count. Tried the slim fast diet and was always hungry. Why just drink when you can eat!

[Pineapple27]

Shakes are unlikely to work - you'll just get fed up very quickly. Instead, success is all about re-educating your head / stomach to new regimes - portion control, healthy choices. You need something that you can sustain once you have lost your weight... with shakes, what will happen once you go back to eating "normally"? You won't have learned anything about portion control and / or healthy foods....

Best not to give yourself a deadline either - just be happy for each week that you manage a loss. It will mean you are headed in the right direction/

If you can get your partner to join you in making some lifestyle changes, that would be excellent!

Aim for 1lb loss a week - that should be easily achievable and all those 1lb losses will soon add up!

[Hidden]

If you are wanting to prepare your body for pregnancy, then you need to be thinking healthy eating regime, proper meals, lots of protein, fruit and veg and replacement meals are no substitute for healthy food. Sorry if I sound bossy, just my opinion I know, but I think all the experts would point you in the same direction. 😊

[MCphoenix]

Thank you everyone

[MotwCoop 1 stone]

You know what MCphoenix , don't think about Christmas, think about a week or a month. Much more manageable. My weight loss is the slowest in the universe (ever in the history of womankind and no, I'm not exaggerating!) so if I look too far ahead, I just get fed up. Think shorter term, break the goal into manageable chunks...that way you get to celebrate far more often. The "I hit a goal dance" is great...

[Ceals]

Hi MCphoenix welcome to our wonderful forum.

What a fab reason for wanting to lose weight.

I would eat real food, not shake replacements, although making your own shakes/smoothies is fine because you can make it nutrient dense.

Cut out as much processed food as you can and also any fizzy drinks as they are so full of sugar.

Drop by Daily Diary and check out what others are eating, you will get loads of ideas.

Make food your friend not your enemy.

Take care

[Beth_19 5lbs Restart June 2024]

Hi MCphoenix welcome to the forums.

Others have already given great advice. You need to work out your daily calories allowance using the NHS BMI calculator and then plan a healthy balanced diet around that.

I did try shakes once but I never found them filling and was always left dissatisfied. I always felt like I was missing something. I discovered I was missing chewing my food of all things. The process of chewing is a huge part of eating and our bodies processing that we are eating and shakes simply wasn't giving that, I wasn't getting the satisfaction of taste and texture which helped me appreciate and savour my food.

You want to get into a healthy relationship with food instead of it being the enemy. With correct moderation and portion sizes there is no reason why you can't have the "nice" things we deny ourselves usually when dieting.

I would definitely advise checking out the daily diary for ideas on recipes and people have amazing recipes to share and it could help.

[Hidden]

Hi hi hi! Welcome to the group! I echo the sentiments of the others that a calorie controlled highly nutritious diet is the way to go! I really really really do. I've done every diet under the sun, and really i know now this is the best way. If u make a plan for what you're going to eat cal wise, and you join our daily diary, ul see ppl are doing it their own way in their own style! And u can do that too. There are specific nutrients that specially boost fertility and your future baby's health!

[lis56beth]

Hi MCphoenix Some great advice on this weight loss forum I agree with everyone You need to eat nutritious food See it as a healthy eating plan and not a diet Enjoy your food within recommended calorie intake

[Gaynor123]

Hi well done for joining this forum.ive tried every diet and the nhs 12 week plan is the way forward.check how many calories you need for your weight and height and start calorie counting.its the best way.i never done any excersise and i do walking and bit of skipping. I never ate breakfast and i look forward to my overnigh oats now. I think planning your meals in advance as it stops you snacking and if you feel like food have a glass of water and keep busy it usually passes.set small goalsand give yourself treats x good luck .if i can lose weight then so can you xx

[Claz]

hi. youve already got great advise from everyone already so just thought i would tell you my experience.... ive lost 2st since Jan and now weigh 17st.... and my ideal goal is to lose another 2st by the end of the year. in the past ive tried every diet going and had success with a shake diet once when i lost 2st very quickly but i also put it back on very quickly too and learnt nothing from doing it... this time ive decided that its not a race and the weight will come off slowly but i will keep it off this time without starving myself but instead eating healthy & exercising more. if i lose 2st then great but if not im not going to beat myself up about and just keep going until i feel the size i should be ! also try not to just focus on the scales either and look more on how your clothes feel. each diet work for different people so good luck with which ever diet is best for you x

[Hidden]

PS dont think it will take too long to lose the weight doing it the calorie-counting way, because you can easily lose 2 or 3 pounds a week counting all your food

[HubbysMissMouse]

Hi MCphoenix i fully understand with you as I am doing this for ivf. One thing I found out on here is that if you don't eat enough calories your body thinks you are starving it and turns what you do eat into body fat and this weighs more than eating the extra calories does so it stops you from losing weight and sometimes puts weight on instead. To stop this from happening check out your details on the NHS bmi calculator and this also gives you two amounts you are able to lose weight by and make sure you eat between these amounts and definitely not less, as this was what I was originally doing before I found this out and was never losing weight on any diet. I have now lost 2st since I upped my calories to the right amount. Hope all goes well for you and good luck with your journey.

[Hidden]

Hi MCphoenix, welcome to the forum. Got a notification that you are following me so thanks for that. I have the same amount of weight to lose as you and have had a great start here by following the NHS 12 Week Plan now into week 5 and have lost 9lbs. I agree with all the advice you have already been given. The lovely folks on here are a great help on our journey and we can learn a lot from each other. What a great reason you have for starting a healthy eating plan that you can maintain. Good luck on your journey and keep active on here.

Kx