Losing 40kg, a medical pathway with everyday support
Losing 40kg happens within a medical pathway, built with your GP. It can involve a specialist weight management service, psychological support and sometimes a surgical team. A nutrition club has its place alongside, for meals and everyday habits. 40kg is about 6 stone 4lb, a long journey that deserves the right people around you.
A club coach looks at your situation with you and gives you the best advice.
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A medical pathway first
A goal of 40kg often means obesity. The NHS page on overweight and obesity explains that for most adults a BMI of 30 or more is obese, with a lower threshold for people from some ethnic backgrounds. You can check yours with the NHS BMI calculator.
At this level, your GP coordinates your care. A GP can give advice on losing weight safely and refer you to weight management programmes, medicines or surgery. In England, NICE guidance on overweight and obesity management sets out how these options fit together.
When surgery is discussed
Surgery is never a first step. According to the NHS, weight loss surgery may be available if your BMI is 40 or more, or between 35 and 40 with a condition that might improve with weight loss, such as diabetes or high blood pressure. You also need to agree to healthy lifestyle changes and regular check-ups afterwards.
If surgery is offered, your GP and the hospital team talk it through with you. After an operation, eating follows a precise plan set by that team, and follow-up lasts for life.
Where the club fits in
A nutrition club does not treat obesity and does not replace any health professional. Its role is in daily life. A breakfast taken every morning, meals that build up step by step, a friendly face that helps you keep going. Regular mealtimes and meals eaten sitting down also help. After surgery, the club follows the instructions of your medical team and suggests nothing that departs from them.
Keeping going for the long haul
On a journey this long, morale and strength count as much as the plate. Celebrate each stage, and look at what your GP sees improving at each appointment. Your muscle needs protecting too, as our page on muscle and weight loss explains.
The way roles are shared between GP, coach and member is described on our page about how to lose 30kg. For the pace, our guide to lasting weight loss gives an idea of the time it takes.
At Witney Nutrition Club
This article does not replace advice from your GP or another health professional. At Witney Nutrition Club, coaches trained in nutrition support members every day and work with what your GP has decided. Tell your coach if you are under the care of a hospital team or if an operation is planned. The free assessment is a calm place to start.
Your weight loss curve
Enter your profile and the curve redraws straight away.
At the median pace, it would take about 11 weeks to lose 8 kg. At the gentlest pace, about 4 months.
The benchmark most often given for lasting weight loss is 500 g to 1 kg a week. That is the ideal zone of the chart. Above 1 kg a week on a regular basis, the body draws on its muscles as much as on its fat. That is the hatched zone.
An indicative projection. Every journey is personal and results vary from person to person. The calculation runs on your device, nothing is saved or sent. Over 65, talk to your doctor first.
How this curve is calculated
The top edge of the zone matches 500 g a week, the gentlest pace. The bottom edge matches 1 kg a week, the risk threshold.
The first weeks go faster, mostly water, then the pace slows. After 40, the median curve slows gradually, because metabolism slows. For the same effort, a man usually loses weight a little faster than a woman.
The journey curve adds plateaus of a few days and small regains, as in real life. It does not predict your own journey.
This advice is general. It does not replace medical advice.
Further reading
For day to day support, see the healthy eating programme.