If you've lost a few stone in weight without surgery & kept it off, please tell me how you did it?

I have seven fresh prunes first thing every morning. Works for me. Never constipated.

Starting the day with porridge, then some vegetable soup for lunch should help your guts keep working.

I second Jaxjacky - more pulses and plenty of veg. I find red lentils the most gentle pulse and they are easy and quick to cook. As well as making lentil soup I often do a lentil and tomato mix and vary the herbs and spices I add. It’s good with whole grain rice and leafy greens.

There really isn't enough fibre in what you're eating, which could be why you're constipated. Eat more veg - loads of it!

BTW I think the overall quantity is about right. It's more or less what I eat every day and I haven't put on weight for years. However, I'm nearly 6 foot and am not trying to lose weight.

PS. You could try steaming your veg rather than roasting them or eating them raw.

I stopped liking sugar.

I lost 4 stones 8years ago and haven't put any of it back on. I found the 8/16 plan on here. I believe my success was due to modest targets. I aimed to lose only 1 lb per week which was manageable without stress or disappointment. Also my loss was so gradual that no one noticed or commented with the result that I wasn't focussed on. Great! I did not remove one single item from my diet but I did eat slightly less of every single one. Have to confess my whole eating regime has now changed in that I seldom have a full blown meal. I mostly snack as and when I fancy. Admittedly this is much easier for one living alone. Also I seem to have evolved to a more 'healthy' diet by experimentation and choice. The benefits to my sense of wellbeing are remarkable. Thought I was okay before I started but this ability to run up a hill is fascinating. Small beer, eh, but I'm happy. Recommend it to anyone who has failed in the past. Think I had tried every diet known. Hopeless failure.
Be kind and gentle to yourself in the process. It's doable.

('not very mobile, due to age' is nonsense to me. It's due to being unfit - so build up the exercise and it'll solve the constipation too.)

Walking for an hour a day definitely works. It gets the metabolism going. That's fast, purposeful walking - not just meandering about or toddling along.

You can divide it into two or three shorter sessions too. Make sure that hills are involved and go at a pace where your heart is pumping and you're slightly out of breath.

All the above is so much easier when you have an energetic dog to exercise. One who has to stay on a lead.

When I had a second (foster) dog, for ten months, that needed separate walks (behaviour issues) I lost two stone - with no wish to - no dieting!

well I joined slimming world many years ago and was told I could have on my plate as many vegetables as I wanted, just cut right down on everything else and of course the naughty snacks. I lost 5lbs very quickly. Fair enough that was all I needed to lose as I went along with a friend who wanted company. Vegetables didn't include potatoes though.

Mary read pears sequel thread on diet and exercising forum . NanKate started it you will find plenty of help and support there.. We are a friendly bunch. All ages ,shapes and sizes.

Keeping up fluid intake is SO very important (whatever sort of diet anyone is on). Indeed, a glass of water drunk just prior to having a meal will help to make you feel fuller quicker.

Fruit and/or Vegetables are the next in importance.

Personally, I never totally cut out carbs when I am dieting (am at present -getting rid of lockdown pounds). Just cut them down so, have my porridge at brekkie, one small slice of Nimble bread at lunchtime (usually as part of my egg(2) either boiled or poached lunch), and a little pasta with my salad in the evening,. But I have a very large mug of tea in the morning, again at lunchtime, mug of coffee in afternoon, then water at tea time and a mug of green tea at about 7 ish. IF I feel I want a snack it will be something like a carrot or an apple.

MarytheBookeeper isn't it nice when you are trying to loose weight and nearly everyone advises you to eat more!

To be honest, if I was eating that every day, I’d give up, you need more variety and it doesn’t look very filling. I did slimming world about 5 years ago, lost three stone. Give or take 5 to 7 pounds, I’ve kept it off, if it starts going on I cut the carbohydrates. If you google 7 day slimming world menus it’ll give you some ideas. You don’t say what oil you use for stir fry or roasting, I don’t like spray light, but you can buy a sprayer, makes it easier to use less of your preferred oil. Eat more pulses, lentils, beans etc, good for your gut and filling, leafy vegetables, steamed or lightly boiled and fruit. And, to get you going unsweetened prune juice, 63k per 100ml.
There are online exercises, even armchair ones for over XX age to get your body moving. Good luck.

I lost nearly 2 stones 8 years go and have kept it off. Ideally i have another to lose but havnt managed that, it’s hard, we all know that. However am very happy I have kept it off fir so long.
Your diet looks ok. If anything you could probably eat a bit more. Slimming world allowed syns which meant a daily sweet treat but best not to go overboard especially if you are stuck. Have fruit but take it easy as there is a lot of natural sugar in it. Drink lots if water, will help with the gut problems.
Don’t expect to lose a lot quickly, if you lose a pound a week you are doing very well, half pound is also fine, it all adds up. Be patient, be proud. You can do it if you want to., it’s not easy but don’t give up.

6 years ago I lost 2 stone on the 5:2 diet and I have not put it back on.

Like others I would suggest that you up your consumption of fruit and, especially veg, you just cannot eat too much of them. They are low calorie andwill give you the fibre bulk you need to make your bowels work properly.

The other problem may be the bacteria in your biome. In everybody's gut there are millions, possibly billions of bacteria. These bacteria make up the 'biome'. What bacteria you have in your gut is very much a product of your diet. If you have previously been eating, as you describe, your biome will have evolved to contain bacteria that is at home dealing with highly processed carbohydrates (white bread, pasta etc) and sugar. Now you are eating differently (and better) your biome will need to evolve to contain better and healthier bacteria accustomed to digesting a diet rich in fruit and veg and low on sugar. This will take time. You are doing the best thing you can do to help this process by eating Kefir every day.

Sometimes, when you are making so many changes to your eating habits, the body can take a time to adjust to the new situation and weight loss is initially low.

As for exercise, you could try Tai Chi, particularly Tai Chi specifically for older people. It is very gentle exercise done standing up or sitting and just requires you to move your body gently and easily and without force. There are lots of classes of all kinds online, but I would suggest waiting until Leisure Centres etc are open and start with a class with a teacher present and then find a YouTube video that suits you to do extra classes at home.

I started Tai Chi when a class or over 55s started in my village hall. During Lockdown, as well as a zoom class with my tutor. I looked at 10 or so inline exercise classes until I found one that suited me.

But well done, a three stone loss will be within your grasp, eating as you describe.

Mary, I think it is probably the lack of carbs in your diet. Not that you are following what used to be called the Atkins diet, but... what you describe does sound similarish. And the Atkins was known for causing constipation.

Try adding a couple of kiwi's a day to your diet. They have a scientifically proven effect on gut motility. I've added a link (as evidence) but there are thousands of other articles online. An added bonus of them is the large amount of vitamin C they contain.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6590324/

Hardly a day goes by without my having an apple! I also have plenty of vegetables, often in soup which, when blended, is easily digested. Breakfast is the one meal in which I have mainly carbs, usually muesli, which fills me up so that I have no desire for snacks between meals. Lunch can be a diced apple with a similar quantity of diced cheese. Evening meal can be a salad or cooked veg with salmon or an omelette. Once in a while, I have a jacket potato with a cheese or tuna filling, but anything starchy is difficult to digest. It has been slow and sure for the past year, but well over 2 stone has gone and I am within half a stone of my 'fighting weight' though another few pounds over and above wouldn't harm!

In my early 60s I went on a healthy diet. All the right size portions and balance of carbs, protein, fibre etc. No naughty snacks and very little alcohol. I also exercised every day till I worked up a sweat, I lost 2 stone in 9 months.

Kept it off for just over a year. Then had an injury which meant no exercise. Affected me mentally and I started to snack too much. Platefuls still stayed the same.

After two years, I put all the weight back. So exercise is vital.

These days (I'm 71 now) my exercise is walking the dog as briskly as I can and I still do pilates. I've very slowly lost 1/2 of what I put on but I have the odd cake or biscuit.

Looking at what you are eating and the bloating, it could be a food intolerance but I would definitely eat more fruit.

Gentle walk is good but do it for a good length of time or lots of short walks. A pilates or yoga class (lots on youtube) will help. It's the best exercise for constipation.

Good luck.

2and a half stone 6 years ago. Eat low carb whenever possible and do 16: 8 . I don’ t eat between 8 at night and 12 noon.

Eat as much fruit and veg as you can to help with the constipation. Also, drink lots of water, and try and walk a couple of times a day, as crazyH says. I have muesli in the mornings, with 3-4 dried apricots and a dessert spoonful of flaxseed. That helps with constipation. Your current diet sounds pretty good, health wise.

Take this with good spirit : I think your weaknesses are the huge number of chocolates and sweets you used to eat. Go back to your healthy home food but dump the said chocolates etc and you’re half way there.
Then, add more fruit to your diet and problem solved. Probably try a gentle walk twice a day rather than once.
Good luck.
Perhaps a professional will come along with the right advice