How can I lose 3 stone before june 2007?

Question

I need to lose 3 stone for health and vanity reasons but I keep losing motivation as I am a stress eater.

Answer 1

The first thing to do is look at your weight loss as a goal and break it down into manageable parts.

3 stones sounds like a lot of weight but if you think of it not as the 42 lbs which it is but as 42 divided by 7 months (November to May inclusive), that's only six pounds a month, which suddenly seems a lot more manageable.

Even so, it's a still not an insignificant amount and it will take work and a specific plan.

A few points occur to me:
1. I have no idea what the source of stress is in your life but is there any way that you can directly relieve that stress? If so, that will help your general well being in many more ways than just your specific weight loss goals.

2. Try to find a specific strenuous physical activity which you enjoy and that suits your budget. Some people love pumping iron in the gym but it's not for everyone, whether or not they can afford it. If you don't enjoy it, you won't keep it up but remember enjoyable isn't necessarily the same as easy especially at first - you will have to work at whatever you do.

3. If you can do an activity which adds a little muscle (we are NOT talking hare about changing your body to look like a 1980s East German shot-putter), you may find that you need to lose less simple numerical weight to achieve your desired body proportions. This is for three reasons: firstly that everything hangs better on a more toned body - you'll jiggle less; secondly, muscle is denser than fat, so if you don't lose weight, you may still lose inches; and thirdly, muscle tissue burns fat even at rest, like an idling engine.

The other aspect is diet. In fact, the word diet has taken on a terrible negative meaning - like you are depriving yourself. Your "diet" is your normal nutritional plan. Don't deprive yourself of any food you enjoy but cut back a little at a time and if necessary fill in with healthier options.

Drink lots of water (or other non-sugary drinks if you really can't cope with water).

I probably don't need to tell you that the healthiest diet consists of lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, lean meat and poultry and oily fish. Avoid processed foods as much as possible

Try to stick to whole grain versions of bread, rice and pasta which I think are tastier - the white types are nearly absorbed by your system in the same way as sugar (they are high GI (glycemic index)).

Here's a tiny bit of science and a tip: many people say that healthy food doesn't taste as good as fatty food and that's why they eat fatty food. This is partly psychological but does have a biochemical scientific basis. Many of the vaste range of delicious natural aromatic flavours which technically you smell rather than taste, are dissolved in the fat contained in food. So if you remove the fat, you may also remove the flavour. Therefore (and here comes the tip), if you're a flavour junky, try spicing your low fat food with whatever fresh herbs and spices "float your boat" to make it tastier without upping the calories.

And by the way, avoid too much salt as that has other health consequences. Oh ... and a lot of dried bottled spice powders have a lot of salt in them and that's why I said to use fresh herbs and spices

Hope all this helps. Your goal of three stones in 7 months is very achievable but you will have to work at it. Good luck.

Answer 2

A stone is 14 lbs. American and I know that :) So about 20 lbs? You have 4 months before June, so don't do anything drastic like not eat. I'd do 1400 - 1600 calories a day exercising at least 3 or 4 times a week. Cut out pop and bad carbs like white bread (carbs aren't bad!! An apple is a Carb! Lol) eat whole grains and lots of fruit and veggies. Stick with it and do it the healthy way first, and you'll be glad you did

Answer 3

No problem. That's 8 months away at an average of 5lbs a month. Doctors recommend no more than 2lbs a week weight loss so you would be well under that, so it would be safe and at a loss that it would stay off.
Is something special happening in June? Is so keep that as your motivation. Or think about how great you are going to look for the summer and be able to get into shorts and little tops.
Aim slowly, start by losing 7 lbs by Christmas. When you feel the need to eat, brush your teeth, and if you feel stressed, have a bubble filled, scented bath, relax and let all the stress float away.
Have lots of food around you to nibble on that doesn't contain many calories, like fruit, nuts, celery, peppers. And drink lots of water, hydrate your skin as well as your body.
Good luck. You can do it.

Answer 4

First of don't think that you are on a diet. Try Weight Watchers Points system. If there is not a meeting near you, you can contact them on Line. Secondly try to keep of vision in your mind as to why you need to loose weight. If for Health reasons, is it Life Threatening, if so look at what you will miss. Do it for yourself, vanity does not come into it really, your Mental State of Mind does, the more you Stress the less you Will Loose.

Answer 5

I can relate. I am on a no diet weight loss that does not require skipped meals or special foods. I have lost 24 pounds and 2 3/4" in my waist line and I have 27 more pounds to go. This was in 33 days without exercise. It has changed my health dramatically. As far as motivation ... YOU CAN DO IT IF YOU STICK TO IT

Answer 6

I think you may be able to lose 3 stone (~19kg or 40lb) over 6 months - but it's going to take hard work and dedication.
To lose the weight and keep it off you need to lose it slowly - anything more than about 2.5lb per week will basically put your body into shock and will not be sustainable.
You need to make small changes to your diet and lifestyle that you can do FOREVER, not major changes for a short period of time.
I lost about 15kg (~30 lb) over a 3 month period, and have kept it off for nearly 3 years now.

I would recommend the following steps:
- go for a brisk walk every day (at least 30mins) preferably before breakfast
- drop your alcohol intake (makes it easier to make good food choices + alcohol has lots of calories)
- watch your portion sizes - protein (meat) shouldn't be bigger than the palm of your hand, same with refined carbs (white bread, pasta, etc)
- keep a food diary... types & amounts & time of eating. It's pretty scary for a start to see just how much you eat in a day, but eventually it helps you to see where you can make improvements.
- when eating a meal, eat half of what is on your plate, then have a little rest - get up and go to the toilet, or get a drink of water, or similar. Then come back and really think about whether you need the second half, or whether you are just eating it cos it is there. Your body takes 20mins to register that it is full, by which time most people have scoffed their whole meal, and then feel bloated afterwards.
- I also recommend putting your knife and fork down between every mouthful... it makes you chew your food better (which aids digestion) and also allows your body more time to register that it's full.
- if you have a bad day (we all have them)... don't panic and throw in the towel... just get up the next morning and start again with a clean plate.
- once you've lost a bit of weight, don't think you can you back to your old eating habits... you can sneak a few of them back in every now and then, but you really do need to keep at it. I end up keeping a food diary for about a week every month or so, just to double check that I'm still doing things right.
- don't cut out all the yummy things in your life - just try to control the portion sizes and reduce the frequency - eg a couple of pieces of chocolate once in while, rather than a whole block at a time (which is what I used to do!!)
- also drink lots of water
- if you really are a 'stress eater' - try to find a replacement for eating when you are stressed... treat yourself to a massage, haircut/colour, manicure, retail therapy, a movie, or something that you love doing every now and then - these things often cost money, but unless you are on a really tight budget, surely a few $$ on a non-food treat is better than a calorie filled stress-meal.

Also - a short term trick to get you into things - but PLEASE don't keep up this trick forever, as it's not good for you.... I drank a LOT of diet coke when I first started trying to lose weight - it contains no calories, but can make you feel full so that you don't snack during the day. But I stress that this is NOT a long term trick - use it to get your body used to not eating so much, but please don't do it for too long - diet coke is definitely not good for you, even if it doesn't contain any calories.

I know these all sound like pretty boring steps, and they won't make you lose weight overnight - but stick with the good habits, and eventually you'll be a healthier you. Unfortunately it takes hard work for most people to lose weight, and usually just as much work to maintain it. That's why taking little steps and slowly building them up works better than radical steps - it's more maintainable in the long run.

Lastly - remember to smile! You are doing this to make yourself feel and look better and healthier - the healthiest thing you can do is feel good about yourself, no matter how much you weigh.

Good luck!!

Answer 7

This losing 3 stone by June 2007 sounds like you have a major social event coming up and you don't want to be embarrassed by your 'slim' contemporaries. Liposuction and the stomach stapling will easily do it up till then...

Answer 8

I lost 3 stone in three months and its easy. I simply ate less and excercised more my meals were healthy low fat and balanced all snacks were cut out and after a week i didn't miss them. I used to survive on take aways, fizzy drinks and crisps (potatoe chips (please note i spelt potatoe the correct way not the bastardised american way)). Now i eat fruit, salad veg, grilled chicken, fish and look and feel much better than i did. I used to eat when bored but my body soon got used to eating less and eating healthy, now the idea of a sugary snack or a takeaway turns my stomach, just stick it out for a week and you'll do fine. Best of luck!

Answer 9

it could be possible, but please remember a healthy rate of weight loss is between 0.5 Ib and 2 lbs per week. Change to skimmed milk - dont worry you will get used to the taste of it and Cravendale's skimmed tastes just like semi, but less calories and fat. dont use sugar it tea/coffee sweetners are a great alternative. The list will go on and on. I managed to loose 5 stone 8 Ibs on weight watchers in just short of 10 months and will reccomend the program to anyone, i too like many others was a little nervous going to meetings, but they are worth while! if you cant make yourself go, you can buy used materials off ebay, just as good, but you dont have to subscribe, this can save you a ltille fortune. I wish you well in your quest!

Answer 10

I help people to lose weight with an amazing program which is natural easy and effective and it fills you up- it's soy protien based and i also coach and follow up my clients to do the program to make sure they are getting on well ect.
A healthy weight loss is 2-3lbs a week so yes it definately is possible!
E-mail me if you're interested!
Take care