Goals?

[Annekelly58]

What are reasonable targets/timescales to set? 50percent off seems daunting.

[IndigoBlue61]

Hello again 😊

When I began my journey (on an NHS led weight loss scheme) we were advised to aim for 5% initially, with a hope of 10% which significantly improves health and well-being. Personally, I tried to make small permanent changes, in a step by step fashion, that I could stick to long term. The scheme ran for 10 weeks and in that time I had significantly changed my mindset and health outlook 😊

[Annekelly58 in reply to IndigoBlue61]

Thanks that's helpful.

[S11m]

We normally recommend losing one or two pounds a week (or half to one kg) but some members with a lot to lose can, initially, lose more.

Weight lost slowly is easier to keep off, and, if you lose the last stone or so slowly, you get a smmothe transition from losing to maintaining.

Start by losing a stone or so - what weight would you like to be at Christmas - and will you be able to get into that bikini next Summer?

Many of us here find that what works is a combination of The Low Carbohydrate, High-Fat (LCHF) diet (see the forum here on Health Unlocked) and Not Eating All Day AKA Intermittent Fasting (IF). See:

healthunlocked.com/fasting-...

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

[Annekelly58 in reply to S11m]

Thank you, that is helpful, but the idea of high fat seems odd to me.

[S11m in reply to Annekelly58]

Odd? That is because of 50 years of WHO & NHS misinformation!

[Hidden]

Hi Annekelly58 - when you say 50% off, does this mean you are aiming in the long term to lose 50% of your current weight?

[Annekelly58 in reply to Hidden]

Probably just short of that, but pretty much. Rubbish isn't it. I've been like this for 3 decades and at one time was 4 stones heavier than I am now.

[Hidden in reply to Annekelly58]

It's taken me from Jan 2018 up until now and i have lost (in total) around 1 stone off half of my body weight. It is achievable but it just takes time.

It took me 36 years to get to the weight i was - so i was never going to lose it all very quickly but it just takes a bit of determination and changing all those old bad habits.

I did this mainly by changing what type of foods i ate (from processed foods to mainly home cooked, healthy foods) and bit by bit it has slowly come off!

The support from this forum as also been a big help with my weight loss and coming on as much as possible, giving / receiving support really does help!

As suggested by others, 1-2lbs a week is a good aim and i'd say that is an achievable target to aim for!

Good luck on your journey - i hope you get involved on the forum and use some of the great challenge threads and tools that are here for free!

[Annekelly58 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks very much. That's so encouraging

[Barcud 48kg]

Hi, don't panic you are not alone, set small goals and celebrate each one. I have lost 47Kg 7.5 stone, over a third of my weight, since June 1st 2018 so that's about half a stone a month but started off faster than that. Here's a link to a post I put up on my first anniversary and you will see from the graph it has steadied off but even now 3 months on from this it is still going down. healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh....

I did it losing sacks of dog food (12kg) the first one took 2 months the next one 3 the third one 4 and this 4th one is any day now so 5.5 months.

I have done it by cutting out refined carbs (bread, pasta cakes etc) and cutting right down on rice and potato (possibly once a week, but increasing fat, so full fat greek yoghurt and fruit and seeds for breakfast which keep me full until lunch so no urge to snack, probably 50g of cheese a day on omelettes or/and as a snack with an apple after evening meal. I would urge you to join in here, you will get lots of support and some great ideas oh and my favourite one EAT ENOUGH! Find your calorie range (in the links you were given in your first post) and eat towards the middle to top you'll be amazed! By not eating enough your body panics that there is a famine and starts storing and you get the urge to snack.

Good luck and I look forward to following your journey

[Annekelly58 in reply to Barcud]

You are amazing. Congratulations. Thanks so much for the advice.

[telute]

I found working out how long it would take me to lose what I needed to lose at 1lb a week helpful just to get a sense of timescales. And to reassure myself that it didn’t need to happen overnight.

I tend to set small goals of about half a stone - and aim to lose that roughly every two months. This is pretty achievable- and allows for holidays and the odd slip up.

I’ve also found using a app that tracks weight lost over time really helpful. It’s easy when it’s not going well to forget how far you’ve come and being able to look at a graph showing how much you’ve lost is a great pick me up.

[Annekelly58 in reply to telute]

That's really useful advice. Thank you.