Weight Loss Discussion Thread

[mrcharly-YHT]

Lost 4.5kg in the last month on a liquid only diet. Drunk lots of huel and protein shakes, various liquidised soups. Succeeded in keeping protein at 30% of calories. Easiest weight loss ever - highly recommend getting your face smashed in by an uber taxi for weight loss.

I am an extreme sceptic of huel but understand you have limited options.

Add fat to it. olive oil, butter. Your problem is going to be getting down enough calories in a swallowable format.

[DrMekon]

Yes, I've found coconut flour and coconut oil hugely improve the taste and texture, as do coco nibs and chopped hazelnuts

[hellymedic]

I am hoping my gain this week is a temporary blip ...

I had an hotel weekend but didn't eat excessively.

0.6 down in 24 hours so might be...

[Jakob W]

Slightly artificial, in that it was the morning after a (5:2) fasting day, but the scales were at 99.9 earlier today; bodes well for genuine sub-100kg by year end...

[closetleftie]

Since my metalwork came off & I went back to work, my weight has increased from 88-89kg to 91-92 kg. 

Thinking about it, a number of things happened simultaneously as consequence of that change in circumstances:

• Walking and moving about became less strenuous because my gait is now normal again. At the same time, the fracture is still stabilising so I can't run and/or do impact stuff and I am tentative & nervous on a bike.
• My exercise pattern has always depended on exercise being integrated into my day, e.g. cycle commuting when I was well, or physio and mobilising when I had the broken leg. Now I fall in between stools, as it were.
• My work is quite irregular; incorporating as it does evenings, weekends, nights, short days, office days and so on. Planning and keeping track of diet and exercise is easier with a regular pattern. In particular, being awake overnight simply plays havoc with the appetite, darling.
• All the social functions of food and (alcoholic) drink came into play again. "Crikey that was a busy week. Curry and wine ftw!"These are legitimate functions and I won't give them up. 

So - bit of thinking required. Calorie counting works well for me as it's a bit geeky and I like a bit of data... So that'll form part of the plan.

[DrMekon]

@CL - I'm a big fan of the full Garmin system

1. Vivoactive HR for calorie tracking that syncs with Myfitnesspal
2. Garmin Index Scales that sync with Myfitnesspal
3. Myfitnesspal

I've relied purely on the data from the Vivoactive for calorie expenditure. It's worked like a charm for managing things whilst I've been recovering.

[hellymedic]

Did you weigh your metalwork, cl? 
You might find walking and housework!?! helpful.

I sympathise though; nothing like a sponge & custard to keep you going through a long night...

[sojournermike]

@CL - I'm a big fan of the full Garmin system

1. Vivoactive HR for calorie tracking that syncs with Myfitnesspal
2. Garmin Index Scales that sync with Myfitnesspal
3. Myfitnesspal

I've relied purely on the data from the Vivoactive for calorie expenditure. It's worked like a charm for managing things whilst I've been recovering.

I agree with Dr Mekon here, but don't use the MyFitnessPal food diary - simply because I can't be bothered to work out what to put into it - I don't eat stuff with bar codes basically, so it's too hard.

I am amused to see that Dr Mekon has similar lean mass to me, but materially less fat! Still, new low this morning at 13st 1lb (c. 83kg...) - all assuming the scales aren't too far out on fat percentage of course.

Mike

[closetleftie]

Did you weigh your metalwork, cl? 
You might find walking and housework!?! helpful.

I sympathise though; nothing like a sponge & custard to keep you going through a long night...

No I didn't weigh it - removal was done with entonox and a firm hand* in clinic and I was a little, ahem, disturbed afterwards so said something along the lines of "Feck that for a bag of spanners - bin the fecker". 

Walking OK - scar sites get hyperalgesic after around 30 minutes but that seems to be settling now. It's going to have to be calorie restriction.  :'(Shame, as I simply love a bit of NHS stodge & custard! 


*Well, two pairs of hands actually - one to brace the leg and the other to hold a pair of molegrips.

[sojournermike]

Did you weigh your metalwork, cl? 
You might find walking and housework!?! helpful.

I sympathise though; nothing like a sponge & custard to keep you going through a long night...

No I didn't weigh it - removal was done with entonox and a firm hand* in clinic and I was a little, ahem, disturbed afterwards so said something along the lines of "Feck that for a bag of spanners - bin the fecker". 

Walking OK - scar sites get hyperalgesic after around 30 minutes but that seems to be settling now. It's going to have to be calorie restriction.  :'(Shame, as I simply love a bit of NHS stodge & custard! 


*Well, two pairs of hands actually - one to brace the leg and the other to hold a pair of molegrips.

Ouch!

[hellymedic]

When I am serious about losing weight (which I can't pretend to be the case right now, really) I try increasing the time between feeds and keeping my feeds of modest size.
This reduces overall energy intake, without appearing too geeky.

[Butterfly]

When I am serious about losing weight (which I can't pretend to be the case right now, really) I try increasing the time between feeds and keeping my feeds of modest size.
This reduces overall energy intake, without appearing too geeky.

I find the opposite is more effective - never going more than 3 hours without something. I try to have a piece of fruit or something between meals. I find it harder if I get too hungry and I also am more likely to suffer from reflux/heartburn etc if I have had a long gap.

[Wowbagger]

For about the last fortnight I have been avoiding dairy and refined sugar. This was after some discussion with That Peli of this parish, and in response to a very nasty arthritic flare-up. In that time the weight has fallen off me to the extent that this morning when I got on the scales I was under 19 stone. This represents about half a stone off in a fortnight. Clearly not sustainable in the long run, but the curious thing is that I haven't really felt all that hungry.

Am I missing certain foods? Yes, but not all that much. I made a batch of my wonderful marmalade last weekend and I have been unable to taste it without breaking the Banned Substances rule. I am contemplating making a small batch with muscovado sugar, which is not refined. One bonus was that, when I was searching for something or lunch yesterday, I discovered that Heinz minestrone soup has no added sugar or dairy, which seems to be quite unusual for tinned food.

[L CC]

Clearly not sustainable in the long run, but the curious thing is that I haven't really felt all that hungry.

Why would doing without refined sugar and or dairy be unsustainable in the long term?

Only the very rich had sugar until very recently. Admittedly we died much younger, but it wasn't from malnutrition.
Lots of cultures do without dairy- it's only really Europeans who developed the enzymes to tolerate lactose as adults and even that is apparently in the last couple of thousand years.

[hellymedic]

Avoiding dairy and refined sugar (long-term) is very easy if you mostly eat at home.

Manufactured foods frequently contain sugar (and salt and fat).

I think we might be talking at crossed purposes; the weight loss rate is not sustainable but the diet is...

[Wowbagger]

Helly has it.

[sojournermike]

I'm pretty comfortable with dairy, provided it's whole and not skimmed. I was quite pleased to see the research published, in the media at least, that suggested that high fat cheese - including cheddar etc as well as the 'superfood' roquefort - Les to higher HDL levels and so was expected to be positive for heart health. Not a surprise to the LCHF fraternity of course.

I've continued managing down carb intake, except for after intensely knac, sorry, tiring training sessions and when I fail. I think that this means that I've just not been eating enough to maintain weight, and I do wonder how to either increase the fat intake or rebalance when I'm at a happy weight. I was 12st 9lbs this morning, albeit a little bit dehydrated.

I've also, like Wow, found that I haven't been hungry between meals and can happily run through to lunch if needs be without breakfast or, actually more impressive to me, eat a salad and an egg or a bit of cheese at lunch and function better than on a high carb meal until dinner.

Mike

PS not eating two helpings of everything helps! I am genuinely concerned about what to eat to maintain weight though. Who'd have thought it.

[Chris S]

PS not eating two helpings of everything helps! I am genuinely concerned about what to eat to maintain weight though. Who'd have thought it.

(My Bold)

From what I've read, eat a Fuck-tonne of vegetables, dressed/sautéed with Olive Oil - add about 10% of your calories as Protein, mostly seafood.

[Manotea]

AIUI... the veggies add nutrients and fibre but generally the calories come from fat and protein. We only need so much protein so it's a matter of adjusting fat to meet total calorific needs. We're so conditioned to avoid fats that's pretty hard to get used to. I've started snacking on cheese but I crave stronger flavours. Pork scratchings provide a filling and strong tasting calorific hit when needed. See also chorizo sausage. I've never been one to miss breakfast though. A cheese omelette makes a great start to the day.

I can see how veggies and vegans might struggle on this sort of diet

Ive just about reached the point where I need more calories, especially as I'm riding more and it's getting cold now. I've started eating a LOT more nuts and oil, especially for cooking and salad dressings.Frozen berries and cream make a whizzo ice cream substitute/lo carb sweet treat.

[chrisbainbridge]

we have started making LCHF smoothies.  The latest one I think may make a good ice cream.

Frozen raspberries, coconut cream, real cream, vanilla essence and celery with ice cubes.  Blended in a strong 1000w blender this comes out with a taste very much like raspberry ice cream and with no sign of ice crystals..

[sojournermike]

we have started making LCHF smoothies.  The latest one I think may make a good ice cream.

Frozen raspberries, coconut cream, real cream, vanilla essence and celery with ice cubes.  Blended in a strong 1000w blender this comes out with a taste very much like raspberry ice cream and with no sign of ice crystals..

Can't claim to be lchf, though much lower carb than in the past. I often start the day with a smoothie made with Greek yoghurt, a few cherries or raspberries and milk. Sometimes I add a teaspoon of cocoa. I enjoy, though not sure it's like ice cream - could swap out the yoghurt and milk for do le cream I suppose...

One thing I haven't got is the whole bulletproof coffee idea. Coffee is made to be drunk black as far as I am concerned.

Mike

[sojournermike]

we have started making LCHF smoothies.  The latest one I think may make a good ice cream.

Frozen raspberries, coconut cream, real cream, vanilla essence and celery with ice cubes.  Blended in a strong 1000w blender this comes out with a taste very much like raspberry ice cream and with no sign of ice crystals..

And why the celery?

Mike

[simonp]

I have started having black coffee more as milky coffees add up to a lot of calorie intake. Milk is healthy but I like Matt Fitzgerald's approach in his diet quality score metric where things that he considers good only get a +ve score for the first few servings. Crowing out other good choices because you fill the diet with one thing isn't sensible.

As for weight loss - not happening. I'm gaining muscle mass, I think, though.

[L CC]

we have started making LCHF smoothies.  The latest one I think may make a good ice cream.

Frozen raspberries, coconut cream, real cream, vanilla essence and celery with ice cubes.  Blended in a strong 1000w blender this comes out with a taste very much like raspberry ice cream and with no sign of ice crystals..

Celery? Why on earth would you put that near your mouth???

[Wowbagger]

we have started making LCHF smoothies.  The latest one I think may make a good ice cream.

Frozen raspberries, coconut cream, real cream, vanilla essence and celery with ice cubes.  Blended in a strong 1000w blender this comes out with a taste very much like raspberry ice cream and with no sign of ice crystals..

Celery? Why on earth would you put that near your mouth???

That clearly begs the question [that's enough! ... ed.]