Weight Loss Discussion Thread

[clarion]

Thanks to fboab for starting the new thread.

[Chris S]

Indeed (plink goes the 50p). Much easier format too.

I'm back for more, similar drill as last year as it worked so well at shifting the lard:

Strict LCHF diet (Less than 20g Carbs per day).
Weights 3x a week.
Intervals once a week.
Lots of sleep.
Dry January.
100 Push-up Challenge
200 Sit-up Challenge

[hellymedic]

High ideals are all very well, but when you come in from a cold, invigorating walk and your body craves cake, what are you to do?

Have a BIG mug of sweet tea or hot chocolate, followed by a microwaved, sliced Bramley apple topped with sugar, spice and CUSTARD.

Lower-calorie than CAKE, still sweet, warm and comforting.

[madcow]

Time for another go. I lost more weight on holiday than at any other time , due to not eating out and doing a lot of walking as well. Three months of gardening leave in summer were also pretty good as I spent most of the time doing things rather than slobbing around.
But new job has entailed much more travelling and hotels, plus the stress that goes along with it. So weight has gone down by about 5 kg over the year but is now back to where I was in Jan 2013.
I have started by cutting out sugar in hot drinks, largely as  result of reading "Pure ,white and deadly" by John Yudkin.
Largely about the health dangers of refined sugar but good background on food consumption and its effect on health in general.
Paradox is that my current job is partly reliant on strong UK sugar demand and supply.
Reading some of the success stories on here makes me determined to  try harder to stick to the weight loss goals.

[citoyen]

Weighed myself this morning for the first time in a while... 72kg.

This means a difference of over 5kg above my lowest weight this year, 8kg above my target weight and a net gain of 2kg for the year. Not a disaster but a trend that needs to be reversed.

Need to start with seriously cutting back on the booze again.

[zigzag]

The Human Body has a Story to Tell

If your sole goal is to lose weight, if that's the reason to exercise, then yes, you are going to be disappointed. It's very hard to lose weight through exercise. But since when was that the only reason to exercise? Physical activity makes you happier, makes you smarter, helps your heart, helps digestion, and a thousand other things.

Second, the data on physical activity helps you keep weight off more than lose it. And third, you're right, there is no magic bullet and part of the problem is that once you're overweight, your body wants to stay that way. That's what we're evolved for.

There's a reason dieting is hard, people who lost weight, were at a reproductive disadvantage most of our evolutionary history. So when you diet, guess what, you exercise less, because you lose the motivation, because you're tired, right? That makes sense, because before the industrialization of food we were programmed to save that energy so we could reproduce better. If people understand the evolutionary story, they can better tackle the problem, they understand their body’s natural response.

[simonp]

Graph now seems to be working.

 

[nightrider]

Oh dear I seem to have put on 3kg in December,still in a lot better shape than I was last year.Welcome to boring January :thumbsup:Good luck on your weight loss journeys!

[SteveC]

I know it's a day late but, because I'm driving to work today (the shame  ) I had enough time to do the measurements this morning.
One advantage of having a bit of a tummy bug over the break is that I've not put any weight on. Does mean there's a lot of Christmas food still lurking about though.

[Oscar's dad]

I did an unofficial weigh in this morning.  Amazingly, I only put on about about 5 pounds in December and am still lighter than I was for much of 2013.

I'm not sure what my tactics will be for 2014 but the 100k audax planned for Sunday should be a good start.

[matthew]

Either the clothing manufacturers are less sympathetic in their cuts this year or I have gained weight whilst on restricted exercise due to work load and hip injury. 32" waists are still the right size but they don't fit easily round my arse and hips. 

I therefore aught to try to loose the extra 2 stone that sees me nearly 13st rather than the 10.5-11st I should be. Combine this with Mum saying she wants to loose some weight and the general feeling in the household that Dad needs to loose a couple of stone and I suspect there will be no buying of biscuits, sweets etc. and the evening meal portion control may get stricter.

If I can start to loose weight through reduced intake and then get the exercise levels rising again after the op at the end of January then I should reach my 67 - 70kg target unfortunately I was about 81kg when I last checked before christmas.

[Pedaldog.]

Well, Not a Good one for me last year, I think I ended up pretty much the same as when I started, maybe a tad heavier!
What is the best formula for weight loss?  I know the saying "Eat Less and Move around more" but I can't do heavy or prolonged physical stuff so I wonder what the best approach is.  I have type 2 diabetes so I am going to be hitting a Low Carb' way for the next few months at least but any other advice would be much appreciated. The only things I can't eat are Seafood, Grapefruits and I can't drink Tea.

[hellymedic]

I can't move around at all and I'm still losing weight, albeit more slowly than I would like.

My first rule is Don't Drink Sugar.

As a diabetic, you should not drink this anyway. Assume all sweet drinks are 10% sugar, give or take. 500ml Coke/fruit juice/lemonade = 50g sugar = 200 Calories. Just don't! Drink diet drinks, water or coffee.

Eat only one piece of fresh fruit if hungry between meals. Otherwise avoid eating between meals.

Don't eat whilst doing anything else. Put the computer away.

Control portion sizes and the amount of fat in your meals.

Before eating, wash your hands, set the table, dish out a modest portion of food.
Sit down, eat it.
Put plate in washing-up.

Get on with the rest of your life.

Don't eat in front of the TV.
Keep snacks out of reach.

Keep food and computers clean by washing your hands before and after meals and never handling food and computer at the same time.

Decide what you're going to do about very high-fat foods like butter and mayonnaise; either go for tiny portions of full-fat versions (my personal choice) or go for the low-fat variants in moderate quantities.

Read food labels.
Read pub & restaurant menus online before you go out so you can make an informed choice.

[Pedaldog.]

Cheers Helly. Portion control is a FAIL with me most times and I am trying to make myself deal with that straight off. I don't drink sugar, a lot of coffee but sweeteners in there and only diet fizzy drinks. I have partaken of a few beers recently but that has stopped now.

It's a huge task but it's also a huge benefit if I can lose enough lard.

[hellymedic]

It's a huge task for almost all those who wish to lose weight.
My paltry 6kg desired loss for the year still means I must rack up a deficit of about 1000 Calories every week. I don't burn much cos I'm female, no longer muscular, immobile and not very big.
If I eat too little, I get very constipated despite consuming loads of fibre.

I just accept any weight loss will take AGES and I must keep going.

[Lady Cavendish]

I had all my long hair cut off yesterday. I lost 0.6kg overnight plus I'm more aero. I've now lost 1.4 of my winter kilos, 2.6 to go.

What can I cut off next?

[citoyen]

What can I cut off next?

That Pistorius chap is pretty quick, isn't he? Just saying.

[Lady Cavendish]

I'm definitely up for getting my right foot cut off, it's useless. Maybe that's next and replaced with something more lightweight.

[hellymedic]

I had all my long hair cut off yesterday. I lost 0.6kg overnight plus I'm more aero. I've now lost 1.4 of my winter kilos, 2.6 to go.

What can I cut off next?

Coo! your ponytail weighed ten times as much as Biggsy's 

[essexian]

Joined the local gym just before the new year: well I use the pool twice a week so by becoming a member I get the gym for free, so to speak when you add up my normal monthly spend against the membership fee.

Anyway, went for my induction today and was told that as my BMI is over 35 and as I have type 2 diabetes, I get three months membership for free.   

At last.... one good thing about being overweight!  (Joking....there are no good things about being overweight).

[red marley]

After finally finding some new batteries for my scales, I have somewhat surprised myself in being 4kg lighter, post-Christmas, than I thought I was. That puts me around my PBP 2007 'racing weight' despite feeling somewhat flabby. The bad news is that that is probably largely muscle atrophy after 6 months of mobility impairment. I guess my revised target should be not to put on any weight while rebuilding strength in my legs and back.

[simonp]

Jo, I hope that means your mobility has improved.

Me, I’m 100g heavier than at Christmas and 1.5kg lighter than September. I have hardly been on the bike since the Upper Thames, though I suspect in other aspects my strength has increased due to pushing a 200-odd kg motorbike in and out the garage. I’m going to need to start getting some miles in when the weather sorts itself out, and shed a couple or two of kg by mid summer, if I’m to achieve my season’s goals.

[hulver]

Back on the low-carb wagon for now. I've started the peeing phase. Last time I went low-carb, I peed a lot after the first few days. I assume it's my body using up all the stored carbs and releasing the water that was stored with them. Or something. Anyway, I pee, a lot.

I'm hoping to get some miles in on the bike soon, but I went to an Aqua-fitness session last night, which kicked my bum. I used lots of bits of me that don't usually get any use. It's hard work waving your arms about in the air for an hour, and some of the exercises made me feel as knackered as doing a steep hill climb on fixed.

I was the only bloke there, but it wasn't too busy. I expected it to be rammed, the first session of the new year. Maybe next week will be busier.

I expected to ache a lot this morning, but I don't. Just a gentle reminder from my arms and legs not to attempt too much today.

[Chris S]

If you're peeing like a horse, be sure to add a little extra salt to your tea, or drink some broth - your kidneys will flush out a lot of sodium with that water and you may feel a bit fluey as a result (postural hypotension, shaky, maybe a bit chilled - and not in a good way).

I'm also back on the LCHF; only 10g of carbs yesterday  .

I'm also hitting the weights. The local gym is undergoing a refurb, so I'm using free-weights at home. Today is a DOMS-fest. Ah well - it helps to distract from the toothache, I suppose.

[hulver]

If you're peeing like a horse, be sure to add a little extra salt to your tea, or drink some broth - your kidneys will flush out a lot of sodium with that water and you may feel a bit fluey as a result (postural hypotension, shaky, maybe a bit chilled - and not in a good way).

Ah yes, I'd forgotten about that. Thanks for the reminder, extra salt for me