40kg goal, and why planned pauses to hold your weight are part of the journey
On a 40kg goal, about 6 stone 4lb, planned pauses where you simply hold your weight steady are part of the journey, not a failure. A goal this size often takes a year or more. Very few people can push hard the whole way, and trying to usually ends in burnout.
A coach at the club looks closely at where you stand and offers the best guidance.
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Start with your GP
Before you begin, book a check with your GP. The NHS page on overweight and obesity in adults explains the support your GP can offer and why a health check matters at the start. Your GP can also advise you on medication and any condition that needs watching.
What a rest stop looks like
A rest stop is a stretch of a few weeks where the aim is to keep your weight stable rather than lower it. You eat a little more than in a losing phase, keep your habits and let your body and mind settle. It is a chance to practise what keeping weight off feels like.
- Plan them in advance. For example after every 10kg, or around a holiday or a busy season at work.
- Keep the routines. Same breakfast, same walks, same bedtime. Only the portions change a little.
- Agree an end date. A pause has a start and a finish, so it does not drift into giving up.
Moving more, sitting less
At the start, formal exercise may feel hard. Reducing time sitting is a gentler first step. The NHS page on the health benefits of exercise notes that many adults spend more than 7 hours a day sitting down. Breaking up those long periods in a chair is a good place to begin. Stand during phone calls, walk to the end of the road and back, and build from there. Later on, a flat walk along the Hessle foreshore is a fine weekend target.
Keeping your spirits up
Long goals have low moments. Keep a list of the changes that are not about the scales, like tying your shoes more easily or sleeping better. Our article on stopping yo-yo dieting helps if you have tried many times before, and breaking a plateau covers the weeks when nothing seems to move. When the end is in sight, our section on keeping 40kg off is there for you.
Getting support from the people around you
A long journey is easier with company. Tell a friend or relative what you are doing and ask them to check in now and then. Some people find a walking buddy, others share a weekly shopping trip. Feeling understood on the hard days makes it far more likely you will keep going.
Every weekday morning and Saturdays too
Willerby Nutrition is open from 7am to 11am on weekdays and from 8am to 11am on Saturdays. Members have breakfast at the club and a daily check-in with a coach trained in nutrition, which makes planning each phase and each pause a shared job. A free assessment is the first step.
A 40kg goal should always be supervised by your GP. This article gives general information only and is not medical advice.
Your own weight loss curve
Type in your profile and the line redraws immediately.
At the middle pace, 8 kg comes off in about 11 weeks. At the gentlest pace you are looking at about 4 months.
The usual guide for weight loss that lasts is between 500 g and 1 kg per week, which forms the best band on the chart. Keep exceeding 1 kg per week and the body burns muscle nearly as much as fat. That is the striped band.
A rough projection only. Everyone follows their own path and results differ. Your device does the sums and nothing is stored or sent. At 65 or older, see your doctor first.
The way this curve is worked out
The zone tops out at 500 g every week, the gentlest pace, and bottoms out at 1 kg every week, the level where the risk starts.
Early weeks go quicker, largely because of water, and then things level off. After 40, the typical curve flattens gradually as metabolism slows. For similar effort, men tend to shed weight slightly sooner than women.
The journey curve includes flat spells lasting several days and slight regains, just like everyday life. It cannot tell you how yours will go.
These tips are general ones. They do not stand in for medical advice.
Further reading
For help from day to day, take a look at the healthy eating programme.