Well done mate, massive results there. Yes nice and slow is the way to go, I went to fast and now have another dilemma of loose saggy skin.

Cheers mate. Sorry to hear of the saggy skin, I know I will still end up with a fair bit, as I need to lose near 20 stone in total, it is inevitable, but hopefully less than if I did it quickly. How much did you lose ? Well done on the weight loss

Am currently losing, regaining, losing and regaining the same half pound. it's so frustrating!

I am little - 5'2" and 44 years old. I was 9 st 8lb a few months ago and got down to 7st 12lb just before going to Florida. Lost my weight cutting out bread, pasta and dairy. Did the NHS Choices Couch to 5K plan, however I have started that again due to a back injury where I lost my fitness. I also did the 5:2 diet as although I lost half a stone, I just couldn't get under 9st. The 5:2 worked and I still use it to some degree now where I will eat my dinner at say, 5pm on Friday and then not eat again until Saturday at 2pm. I find fasting really helps me with weight loss.

I am around 8st 5lb now and just want to get back to around 8st.. my God though, the last few llbs are tough to shift.

Good luck everyone

Hello all,

Just wanting to share my story with you- reading some of the stories here has been so inspirational, and everyone seems to be doing so well! So happy for everyone who is well on their way to their goal.

I'm Damon. I'm 22. I started my diet on 17 August last year, weighing in at 16st 7lbs. Fast forward 5 months to January, and I'd got myself down to 11st 13lbs. Then came a hospitalization in February followed by daily takeaways due to feeling rubbish, and now I'm back to tipping the scales at 13st 13lbs.

Hoping to get back down to my lowest, but it's hard maintaining a gym routine now I'm back at work. Hoping to share my journey with you (and hopefully some creamcakes if we all do well!)

Right guys thought I would check in here. I think its important to note that not all weight loss is equal, and what I mean by that is you can loss fat and lean mass. I have made a mess of my weight loss and am trying to figure out how to rectify the problem.

I am now 12.5 stone, down from 16 stone so a big loss yes, but my body fat percentage is 25%, and what that means is I have the exact same build as I did at 16 stone meaning I am skinny fat, so I have match stick arms and legs and a fat belly and chest, I lost more lean mass than fat.

So I have no choice but to go back on the diet to try and balance things out, I might have to go as low as 11 stone before everything is in similar proportion.

There are only two types of body mass you can lose - muscle or fat. The only way you would have lost 3.5 stone in muscle is if you went from being an active body builder to just sitting on a sofa for 24 hours a day. So I would imagine that most of your weight loss is fat (regardless off what the machine said), but maybe it's just come off unevenly so that you still notice a stomach. Are you still wearing the same clothes as when you were 16 stone?

I think the best thing you can do is go to see the doctor because it's possible that you've developed a slight case of Body Dsymorphic Disorder.

No way, I went from 36 to 32 waist, from XL to medium in t-shirts, Nope I don't have BDD, I am seeing what is there, 25% body fat which has been measured.

I have the same problem, I have lost around 3.5 stone, but am left with what i call menopause midriff which looks awful.., thinking of cutting out all carbs except my porridge and maybe eating more protein and fat. Any other advice would be very welcome

I've looked at myself from when I was "this weight" and I look much bigger and that's because (so I believe) is that while I am losing fat, I'm also building muscle. My legs although are big they are quite toned and muscley. I do loads of exercise during the week. I use the gym sometimes up to 6 times per week and I do over 10,000 steps everyday, my diet is full of protein to repair the muscles so factor in that it's easy to see how I am gaining the muscle and losing the fat

Male, 26. Lost 5 stone since start of February and counting. Wish I could say I had a nice balanced diet but I simply cut out every piece of junk I was having (coke all the time, plus tons of yummy food) cold turkey. Was hell first few weeks, but the worst bit is your body getting used to it. Sure I'd still love it all now, but I'm not touching anything until I get to a healthy BMI (half a stone to go). Enjoyed reading through this thread, wish I'd seen it at the start, very positive and inspiring.

That's good going.

I don't know if you've gone through weight loss in the past but just bare in mind that maintaining the weight is considerably harder than losing it in the first place. Once you've no longer got the motivation of seeing yourself getting thinner every week and you aren't on a strict diet it's very difficult to control what you eat. I'm pulling this out of the air - but I wouldn't be surprised if something like 80%+ of people with obesity problems end up putting at least most of the weight back on after a rapid loss.

That isn't my experience of maintaining a low weight. Once I got out of the habit of binging on unhealthy foods and overeating I changed my ways, lost the weight and have never looked back.

Temporary diets are fads and people will be back where they originally were. While others are on changed lifestyles.

I couldn't go back to my old ways. The majority of food is full of salt and sugar. I detest it. Or worse, processed. Let alone sodas. Disgusting.

Sadly I've put weight on the past 3 months, though it isn't fat. Getting nice toned muscle coming through doing full weight exercises. At the same time my clothes are becoming slack again. Love the leg press.

I think you've summed it up perfectly.

For me, it started as a 'diet' and then it became a new way of life.

The shocking part I found as I said was the amount of salt and sugar in everything. No doubt to your average joe they would class my food as tasteless. While most food tastes so gritty with the salt.

It's just from my own experience and those around me. I've seen it happen so many times: people losing a lot of weight in a short period of time, thinking that they've 'cracked' their problem but then the weight piles back on afterwards. Obviously there's lots of people who do succeed, but I just wanted to put a warning out there.

From my experience I would say that you should be careful if any of the below apply to your weight loss:

1. You are currently on a strict diet but believe that you can go back to eating 'nice' things once you've lost your weight.

2. You have considerably increased the amount of exercise you do.

3. You have avoided social events that might require you to eat/drink too much.

4. You have stopped drinking alcohol for the period.

Basically, anything that you are currently doing that can't be maintained in the future risks you slipping back into old habits. You'll be surprised just how easy it is to give up all of your new regime in a very short space of time.

Sorry but not my experience at all and I am coming up to the 4 stone lost mark. I went on my diet from January to June, and even when on my diet I had a cheat meal at the weekend and still had my beers on a Saturday night.

I went to maintenance over the summer but I wasn't very strict, I ate what I wanted really in moderation, still tracked everything on MFP though not 1 oz put on. I am now back on my diet to try and get my body fat percentage down but I still manage a small treat at night and a cheat meal at the weekend.

Well you're still on your diet/regime so of course you're maintaining your weight (well done by the way).

I was specifically giving a warning to people who lose weight for the first time and believe that they have managed to get rid off all the bad habits so will never put it on again. Trust me that the habits you developed over the years can't be eradicated through even months of dieting and healthy eating. The same with alcoholism, those addictions will remain in your psych ready to re-emerge if you slip up or go through a difficult period. If you're not aware of that and have a plan in place to tackle them you are susceptible to putting on all the weight again and more.

This isn't just me making things up by the way; if you look at the statistics for weight loss you'll find that an extremely high percentage of people end up heavier than when they started their loss. It's because they haven't planned for the maintenance part. As long as you do (and it sounds from your post OP that you've got it under control) then great.

I eat the 'forbidden ' stuff when I'm on holiday or out with friends, but eat healthily on normal days. Last week was away and ate lots of rubbish but I actually found myself looking forward to getting back to my mostly fruit and veg, salad etc routine diet.

I have found myself to be hungrier on the 1500 cals I usually have after eating more last week, but am guessing it will wear off after a week or so.

Try a bit of weightlifting - increases muscle and your metabolism

It's also worth mentioning that fat pretty much comes off in reverse order which for men usually means the belly and chest will be the last to go. It also depends on how long the fat has been there.

I've cut out all meat and dairy produce. Now eating fresh fruit, vegetables, seed, nuts, pulses, cous cous and sometimes tuna and fish. And good grief, I never feel hungry at all and the weight is dropping off me. I am not dieting but instead changed my diet. My energy levels are now off the scale!

Watch Forks Over Knives on Youtube. It will change the way you think about food!

Yes, stored fat cells. The ones that are harder to shift.

While I was on holiday back in July my husband and I were out drinking and we were having a great time. The DJ, whom hubby knew stuck on some tunes which I requested and I was dancing away. While my husband was having a cigarette the DJ asked me, straight face if I was pregnant. I told him no I'm just fat. It was the only thing I could say but it really upset me and dented my confidence. I told my husband once he returned and I cried so much, the copious amounts of booze I'd had probably didn't help but I felt that was a truly awful thing to say to somebody.

I'm turning into a positive though. I am still nearly 2 stone overweight and hitting 30 it's made me realise my body isn't what it was. When I'm in the gym exercising when I feel like I have nothing left to give I think of how shit his comment made me feel and carry on pushing myself.