# I have a mate that has lost 4 stone in 3 months



## montage (11 May 2010)

I really struggle to see how this is
1) healthy
2) he did it naturally

anybody have any experience of this sort of weight loss?


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## chillyuk (11 May 2010)

montage said:


> I really struggle to see how this is
> 1) healthy
> 2) he did it naturally
> 
> anybody have any experience of this sort of weight loss?



I did similar 3 stone in 3 months a few years ago. I was getting worried. I worked nights and had to take three or four uniforms to change during the shift as I was sweating so heavily. Having convinced myself I had cancer I went to the doctor and it turned out I had Graves Disease causing a wildly overactive thyroid. This caused my metabolism to go off the scale hence the weight loss. I had my thyroid gland totally removed just before Christmas so am still trying to get my thyroid relacement hormone right as I am now constantly tired, constantly hungry and beginning to put on weight.


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## montage (11 May 2010)

chillyuk said:


> I did similar 3 stone in 3 months a few years ago. I was getting worried. I worked nights and had to take three or four uniforms to change during the shift as I was sweating so heavily. Having convinced myself I had cancer I went to the doctor and it turned out I had Graves Disease causing a wildly overactive thyroid. This caused my metabolism to go off the scale hence the weight loss. I had my thyroid gland totally removed just before Christmas so am still trying to get my thyroid relacement hormone right as I am now constantly tired, constantly hungry and beginning to put on weight.



Sounds nasty - my mum has a thyroid issue so I know how much it can affect a person
Hope it works out


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## montage (11 May 2010)

User3143 said:


> Depends how heavy he/she was before hand.
> 
> Going from say 15 down to 11 stone I'd questioned.
> 
> Being close to 20 stone and losing four - piece of cake (pardon the pun)



It was 15-11


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## jimboalee (12 May 2010)

It also depends on the person's height and skeletal size.

A short person with 'small' skeletal proportions will have a lighter 'ideal' weight than a tall person with 'large' skeletal proportions.

What is you mate's 'ideal' weight? How much overweight are they after the weight loss?

Has your mate gone underweight? This is the time to worry.


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## ManiaMuse (12 May 2010)

I lost a stone in a week thanks to glandular fever which wasn't pleasant or pretty. Annoyingly for me it took so much longer to put the weight back on than it did to lose it even when eating like a pig/double portions etc.


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## adscrim (12 May 2010)

is 4 stone in 3 month not the kind of weight loss that extreme low calorie diets like lighter life promise?

What the reason, I wouldn't think it was healthy either.


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## Sh4rkyBloke (12 May 2010)

User3143 said:


> Depends how heavy he/she was before hand.
> 
> Going from say 15 down to 11 stone I'd questioned.
> 
> *Being close to 20 stone and losing four - piece of cake (pardon the pun)*


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## HLaB (12 May 2010)

montage said:


> I really struggle to see how this is
> 1) healthy
> 2) he did it naturally
> 
> anybody have any experience of this sort of weight loss?



I was 11 & 1/2 stone when I left school, then I got prancreatitis and fell to 9 & 1/2 in a few weeks; its certainly not healthy.


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## eldudino (12 May 2010)

I've gone from 20st to just over 13st in 18 months at 1-2lb per week loss. IMO anything faster than 1-2lb loss is going to be unsustainable. Also at that rate, from what I understand, he'll probably have lost muscle mass due to the rate of loss.


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## ChrisKH (12 May 2010)

My sister-in-law has been yo-yo dieting for years then a couple of years ago she lost 2-3 stone in about three months and managed to keep it off. No coincidence that within six months she was diagnosed with gall stones and had to have her gall bladder removed. I'm told the two (rapid weight loss and gall stones) can be linked.


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## Banjo (12 May 2010)

montage said:


> I really struggle to see how this is
> 1) healthy
> 2) he did it naturally
> 
> anybody have any experience of this sort of weight loss?




I lost 4 stone from 16 to 12 in about 10 months by taking up cycling :-) and eating less junk food but in no way dieting or depriving myselF OF BEER AND TAKEAWAY BUT ONLY OCCASIONALLY.

If your friend is exercising more than before and carefully controlling his/her diet then I would say it could be a natural and healthy weight loss.If in doubt theyshould speak to a doc obviously.


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## montage (12 May 2010)

They are aiming to lose weight yes...sorry I should have made this clear. He seems to be exercising and eating well - I'm just suspicious


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## TheBoyBilly (13 May 2010)

I wouldn't worry too much. If your mate didn't do much exercise he would lose a fair bit initially - a stone in the first month is easily achievable. All he would then need to lose is three stones in 8-10 weeks which, although not advised, isn't too drastic. That's somewhere in the region of 4 pounds per week, twice the advised rate of weight loss, but if he's eating healthily (avoiding fatty or sugary foods, alcohol etc) I don't see a long-term problem.


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## Trek Trauma Chris (16 May 2010)

montage said:


> I really struggle to see how this is
> 1) healthy
> 2) he did it naturally
> 
> anybody have any experience of this sort of weight loss?



When I was diagnosed with raised blood pressure, my G.P. asked me to lose some weight as a first measure, buy a home b.p. kit and see him in 3 months. I was 161/2 st at the time but weight trained and ran, so fairly fit. I started to train in the a.m and the p.m. 7 days a week, 30 mins weights and 30 mins running both times, cut out all rubbish food (in my case a bag of crisps or a biscuit) and stopped all booze.

2 months later my blood pressure was going through the roof, the training staff at the gym said that I was loosing too much weight too soon, so in panic went back to my G.P. after 2 months I had lost 3 st in weight and my blood pressure was normal, but at 6'2" he said that I looked too skinny and suggested I put back on half a stone, he also pointed out that these home kits for b.p. struggle to take an accurate measurment on a muscular arm as opposed to a fatty ish one hence the false reading.


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## Madcyclist (16 May 2010)

When I split with my wife at the end of January 2008 I lost 3 stone within 3 months from just over 17st. I put this down to eating better and starting to exercise much more regularly combined with the stress of breaking up. My weight has fluctuated since but trended downwards to my current weight of 10st 4lbs, increased weight loss whenever I increased the training for specific cycling goals and increased weight when winding down.

I've recently started taking protein supplements as although i'd like to be as fit and close to my ideal weight as possible for my upcoming tour I'd also like to maintain what precious little muscle mass I've got for climbing the Himalayas


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## BearPear (16 May 2010)

Mr BP lost 4 stones but it was over a longer period, about 8-10 months. He took up running, ate smaller portions, more sensible choices and curbed his sweet tooth. He was a man on a mission! He has maintained this loss through exercise, mainly cycling these days, and sensible eating.

I think the weight loss you describe is a bit too rapid, but if a person sets their mind to it, and has an iron will, they could manage it, but it isn't something I would recommend. Being a member of weighwatchers we are told that a sensible weight loss, as someone mentioned above is 1-2 lbs per week.


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## summerdays (16 May 2010)

chillyuk said:


> I did similar 3 stone in 3 months a few years ago. I was getting worried. I worked nights and had to take three or four uniforms to change during the shift as I was sweating so heavily. Having convinced myself I had cancer I went to the doctor and it turned out I had Graves Disease causing a wildly overactive thyroid. This caused my metabolism to go off the scale hence the weight loss. I had my thyroid gland totally removed just before Christmas so am still trying to get my thyroid relacement hormone right as I am now constantly tired, constantly hungry and beginning to put on weight.



That sounds a bit similar to a friend of mine... she really struggled those first 6 months, especially being tired. Now a couple of years on she just has to watch what she does more carefully than me for example. When we go for a bike ride we ride at a gentle pace, and she wears a heart monitor so that she doesn't exercise above a certain level.


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## gb155 (18 May 2010)

I was 39 stone and dropping those numbers was never an issue TBH, however if I read it right you are saying he was 15 stone and is now 11 stone ??? If thats correct then I pretty sure you already know the answer is that its not healthy, how tall is your mate ?


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