Hello

[Emily2020]

Hello. My names Emily. I am 32 and desperate to lose weight (again). I have lost around 15 stone on slimming world over the years but have gained it all back. I was diagnosed with a rare brain condition called Intracranial Hypertension in 2006 and was told I needed to lose weight, which I did, and my symptoms got a lot better. Unfortunately i have now regained the weight I lost and am starting to suffer again. I also have other health issues which I personally think are not helped by my weight. I am on sertraline and propanolol for anxiety and panic attacks which I dont think is helping my weight at all. I weigh around 17.5 stone and I want to lose about 6 stone!

[Subtle_badger]

Hello Emily.

SW is great for losing weight, but really not so good for keeping it off.

I want to suggest you look at Low Carb/High(Healthy) Fat. It's kind of the opposite of SW and a shock at first but a lot of people have a lot of long term success with it.

Whatever path you chose, welcome.

[Emily2020 in reply to Subtle_badger]

Hi! When you say low carb, how low does it need to be?

[Subtle_badger in reply to Emily2020]

Caveat: I am not at all qualified to be giving you advice! 🤨

As low as you like! You will need to do some research and decide what is right for you.

First step is giving up added sugars and processed food.

Second is giving up starchy food: pasta, bread, rice, potatoes.

You will also want to cut down on fruit.

At that point, I would call it lower carb. Replace the missing carbs with more veggies, mostly those that grow above the ground. And fat. Olive oil and avocado obviously, but fatty cuts of meat, and butter and cream etc.

Some people go much further than that, only eating 20g of carbs a day or even less on the zero carb diet. I don't think there are any of them on here.

Start reading here dietdoctor.com/low-carb

[SofaJockey in reply to Subtle_badger]

I can certainly agree with Subtle_badger . I've used exactly this style of diet (low carb (not no carb), low sugar plus some exercise) to shift 4 stone in 6 months. The important thing for me is that I'm still eating 'full fat' food, so I don't get hungry and eat less. If I hate the food I'm only going to stop eating it and ditch the diet or revert when it's done, so a diet that's sustainable is one where I'm happy to keep eating that way on an ongoing basis.

[Tiggerr]

Hi Emily and welcome

As you've been yo yo dieting, I'm going to suggest the same as Subtle_badger.

You asked about how many carbs and there's quite a range as to what followers stick to.

If you have time, have a read through today's Daily Diary. A number of the menus posted are lchf (others cal control) and reading their menus may give you a real time insight.

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

Good luck!

[IndigoBlue61]

Hello and Welcome to the Weight Loss Forum Emily 😊

As others have said, finding a plan you can follow without feeling hungry and deprived is key to sustainable weight loss. The best way is YOUR way. Ultimately you need to eat less calories, and LowCarbHighFat is one way of doing that as the higher fat content really helps curb hunger and sweet cravings. But you need to do the research and be honest with youself 😊

If you haven’t already then please read the Pinned Posts here healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh... Please read it carefully so you can find all the information you need to find your way around.

As a peer to peer support group we rely on mutual encouragement, and nothing beats joining in, reading posts and replying to others. Our group Weigh-in and the Daily Diary are probably the best places to start.

Best wishes in your weight loss journey

Indigo 😊

[S11m]

Hi, Emily2020 , welcome.

If you "slim smart" weight loss is not so hard! It is not all about motivation and masochism.

Some 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 Snacking All Day AKA Intermittent Fasting (IF). See:

Newbies IF FAQ:

healthunlocked.com/fasting-...

The Fasting and Furious Forum, here on Health Unlocked:

healthunlocked.com/fasting-...

[SofaJockey in reply to S11m]

This might be a topic for another thread, and I know it's trendy, but I have to say i remain suspicious of Intermittent Fasting which seems to be 'skip breakfast and snack what you want'... 🤔

[S11m in reply to SofaJockey]

IF is popular because it works.

I eat breakfast and then I do not eat after 14:00.

It works best with LCHF.

[Subtle_badger in reply to SofaJockey]

You are missing the point. When you skip breakfast, you can't snack because it's still not your feeding window.

But yes, IF isn't everything. You still need to consider what you eat in your eating window.

[SofaJockey in reply to Subtle_badger]

Got it. I'm tempted to try IF over a 10 hour window, that way I can still have my breakfast and meals, and just elect to miss out on the midnight munchies. I presume there is nothing magical as to why it has to be 8 hours rather than 10 hours? 😊

[Subtle_badger in reply to SofaJockey]

Start at whatever is comfortable for you. I suggest 12:12 as a start,if you are having a midnight snack.

The body kicks into fat burning mode (ketosis) after 12 hours or so, so longer fasts presumably longer fasts burn more fat, but shorter ones still have benefit.

[Hidden in reply to SofaJockey]

IF is really just a way of eating when you're hungry rather than because its "lunchtime" etc. It has other benefits besides weight loss. I love IF 😀

[SofaJockey]

That's a helpful insight. Yet I see conflicting advice that says have a good breakfast (which I do) followed by a good lunch and dinner. Perhaps eliminating the late night snack, with a 10 hour feeding window from Breakfast (9.00am) to Dinner (7pm) might bring some benefits offered by the IF theory without breaking anything else?

Then, I've been pleased to lose around 1kg per week, these last 26 weeks, I'm not sure how safe it would be to lose weight faster.

[Subtle_badger in reply to SofaJockey]

You are doing something that works for you. Great.

That is no evidence that something else might not work for someone else.

The downside of n=1 is that you can't prove that anyone else will benefit from you experiment.

[Slimmer_swimmer]

Emily,

You are welcome here!

Follow the great advice on this website. Plan your meals in advance - and give away any food items that might undermine you...

Then watch the weight drop!

Due join one of the weekly weight in groups - this will keep you motivated and on track.

You can do this - plus it's fun to message with the lovely people here!

[Hopalong1 Host 3 stone]

Hello Emily, I have found the Daily Diary really helpful for weight loss and food planning. Other members offer support. I have gone from low fat to low carb this year. I wish you all the very best with your weight loss journey

[Hidden]

Hey Emily welcome! 👋Wishing you all the best finding an eating/ exercise plan that works for you. Think longterm not quick fix and you'll be grand! 😊

[Lesley1234567]

Welcome Emily , you always get a positive response here, keep posting on the forum, there is always someone who will reply.

I do the LCHF, I cook all my meals from scratch, don’t buy any prepared foods as I like to know what I am eating.

Eating less carbs and adding good fats to your diet does make you feel fuller and will also curb any sweet cravings you may have, a lot of savoury snacks are high in sugar/ carbohydrates, check out the nutrition labels.

I believe most people naturally fall into intermittent fasting because they are really not hungry anyway. I can easily do 16 hours and more some days. Before LCHF I was always hungry now I don’t even eat my recommended daily calorie allowance although I enjoy eating nuts, cream in my coffee and cheese.

Please take a look at LCHF I think it could possibly work for you, it may seem difficult initially but I think when I began I over complicated it😀😀

[Craftyperson]

Hi and welcome, sorry to hear about your health issues and especially them returning. It sounds like weight loss will definitely improve things and this is just the place. Unlike slimming world it's about sensible normal healthy eating of freshly made foods, more of a healthy eating regime for life so more likely to keep the weight off. Take a look at what admin sends and see what you think will work best for you. Joining in a weigh day will give you plenty of support you can join Wednesday wobble warriors from 9pm tonight I may be biased but we're very supportive. Good luck

[Emily2020]

Thanks everybody for the welcomed and the advice. I'm going to give calorie counting a go. I should find breakfast and lunch quite easy but its tea time I'm worried about. I cook for 8 people most nights and I'm not sure how to make CC fit in with that. Any help with that would be greatly appreciated!

[SofaJockey in reply to Emily2020]

I cook for between 3 and 5 so I understand some of that situation. I try to cook all meals with a core protein portion size of 130-170g, plus veggies. That's the core meal. Then I'll add carbs / pasta / rice / potato / bread, as required, but that's for them, because the core meal portion works by itself, being tasty, filling and fits my diet. My diet particularly improved when I took over the cooking because then I don't have to eat the nonsense the rest of my family were serving up. 😊