Weight Loss Discussion Thread

[chrisonabike]

Ive been following YACF for years now but have seldom ventured beyond the 'Audax' section so this thread is new to me and I plan to follow it.

I have a familiar story - left school/Uni - work - kids - poor diet choices etc etc leading to a weight above 18 stone at age 34. Started cycling again about 10 years ago and havent really stopped and saw a big weight drop of a stone within a few months. Ever since then though its been hard to maintain a steady weight loss especially given a propensity for occasional bad diet choices and booze.

I have tried several 'diets' or approaches such as fasting (2/5 or 16/8), hairy bikers and so on although none have lasted particularly well. Currently trying my own interpretation of a low carb high fat diet (that is low carbs derived from wheat) which entails eggs (occasionally also bacon or kipper) for breakfast (if im riding to work ill ride fasted and eat 2/3 boiled eggs together with a black coffee); lunch is usually some kind of protein such as chicken or meat with basmati rice/potato(sweet/normal) as is dinner; I try and add in as much veg as possible such as broccoli, pepper, tomato and also some mixed nuts. I even allow myself a beer or glass or two of wine.  The first week of this the scales were dropping down suspiciously fast (1lb a day) which took me from my current plateau of 15'3" to an unheard of drop beyond the 15 stone mark to 14'11". Calorie wise this was coming out at 2000-2300 kcal per day which seemed enough (although at 6'5" and 15 stone Im supposed to be eating way more than that)

Alas a weekend of birthdays (booze, cake, burgers, crisps) and no cycling put paid to that and pushed it all back up to 15'3" so Im not sure how genuine this loss was. Im going to stick to this 'diet' though as it doesnt feel like im denying myself and it does mean I dont snack very much,  although I do wonder if Im kidding myself that I can get away with the beer.

I promised myself 10 years ago that if I got below 13 stone id buy a Colnago. I think this might still be a long way off at my snails pace weight loss which is just as well as I cant afford one.

[closetleftie]

88.6kg this morning. I might just-just make my target of 85kg by August. Although I might need to cheat and say 85kg after frame removal.... 

[SteveC]

Well the technique of having a hotel breakfast as I wouldn't get lunch on the course last week wasn't a success. 
Not that I really expected it. Why do expensive hotels always have such crap bread? A couple of decent pieces of toast would see me through.

[Ningishzidda]

How expensive was the hotel?
Which hotel?

[SteveC]

To be fair it wasn't that expensive a hotel because work won't pay for expensive ones. But the bread was still crap.

[closetleftie]

Back up to 89.8kg after another pin site infection. Combination of sitting on my arse and comfort eating. Balls. But getting better so can move around again. Back on the wagon!

[hellymedic]

I have decided I am Thin Enough.
I seem to be unable to lose any more weight.
My BMI is 22.5, which is not very low but is OK.
The gap between my wrist bones is concave at the back.
I am still carrying a lot of lard on my hips but there is little in my belly.

[closetleftie]

I have decided I am Thin Enough.
I seem to be unable to lose any more weight.
My BMI is 22.5, which is not very low but is OK.
The gap between my wrist bones is concave at the back.
I am still carrying a lot of lard on my hips but there is little in my belly.

22.5 is perfect, no? "Ideal body weight" an' all that. Well done.

(Mekon says maintenance is more tricky than loss. I've never had to try.  )

[hellymedic]

I have decided I am Thin Enough.
I seem to be unable to lose any more weight.
My BMI is 22.5, which is not very low but is OK.
The gap between my wrist bones is concave at the back.
I am still carrying a lot of lard on my hips but there is little in my belly.

22.5 is perfect, no? "Ideal body weight" an' all that. Well done.

(Mekon says maintenance is more tricky than loss. I've never had to try.  )

IMO BMI is a con, which only works if your height is very close to 1.73m (square root of 3) and most humans aren't built like Flat Stanley.

I am carrying a LOT of lard on my hips and thighs; it's not a matter of 'pinching an inch' - more like 3 or 4...

Mekon is a long lad and pretty light now.

I still don't really understand why we continue to use BMI for what must be closer to a cubic than a square function.

We don't/can't apply it to kids (a typical 3-4 year old weighs around 15kg, is a metre tall and is NOT thin with a BMI of 15)  but continue to use it for adults because most adults' heights are roughly similar and we are too lazy to change our formulæ.

[woollypigs]

One kg down since last weighing - 94.8kg.

[hellymedic]

Well done, woolly!

[SteveC]

IMO BMI is a con, which only works if your height is very close to 1.73m (square root of 3) and most humans aren't built like Flat Stanley.
<snip>
I still don't really understand why we continue to use BMI for what must be closer to a cubic than a square function.

We don't/can't apply it to kids but continue to use it for adults because most adults' heights are roughly similar and we are too lazy to change our formulæ.

Because no-one has come up with a similarly easy to calculate formula which is any better?
I remember starting a thread about such alternatives some years ago and I don't think we came to any firm conclusions.

ETA: https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=28005.msg508225#msg508225

[woollypigs]

Ta, Helly, just celebrated with some ice cream

I'm somewhere between 194 and 195, depending if round up or down I'm either normal or over weight.

[hellymedic]

A little bit of plain ice cream is actually quite low in sugar, fat and energy.

Our staple Sainsbury's vanilla Soft Scoop is about 70kcal/100 ml; top a few fresh strawberries with this and enjoy!

[woollypigs]

It wasn't this ice cream - http://m.tesco.com/h5/groceries/r/www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=263585215&gclid=Cj0KEQjwwYK8BRC0ta6LhOPC0v0BEiQApv6jYcbdmvUZM36oTjycomhM5pYiVVaiQTfl9yhbdpt_uTIaApYm8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds - this time, but that is now our stable sweet stuff for pud.

[crowriver]

Well I'm back on the 5:2 fasting after some ridiculous weight gain this summer. Tipped the scales at 85kg a couple of weeks ago, the heaviest I've ever been in my life.

Nowt to blame but my own laziness and excessive alcohol intake whilst on holiday in South East Europe.
Back to a slightly better 82.6kg today after some fasting. Long term win is to get back into the 70s (kg, not decades). Hopefully my resolve will stay the distance...

[hellymedic]

I've not weighed myself for a while. I have very swollen summer ankles and doubt there's been much fat gain - or loss.

[simonp]

Rowing seems to have substantially increased my weight. Or I'm getting fatter.

Shoulders, arms, chest are bigger. Probably a stronger core as well. I'm not quite as lean as I was.

I managed to finish the £16 American Breakfast at the Mocha Berry cafe in Glastonbury yesterday. This is a first. Definite increase in appetite to match.

[Jakob W]

Weight currently somewhere between 106 and 107 kg, and a couple of inches off the waist; despite plateauing for the past few weeks I'm still losing weight overall at about a pound a week. I've been trying intermittent fasting (5:2), because I'm intrigued about the health claims beyond weight loss, and it seems to be working pretty well for me. I've found it helps to be busy, though - I can get a bit lethargic and grumpy on fast days if not distracted.

My exercise regime has been a bit more spotty than ideal, but have been managing to keep up a couple of short kettlebell sessions a week for the past few weeks, and that seems to be helping a bit.

Just need to keep on keeping on; sub-100 kg by year end still looks eminently doable.

[bikey-mikey]

As the almost never ending 600s stretch on I'm down to 60.6 kgs....  I've done nothing dietary wise at all, and I eat whatever and whenever I please - e.g. back home from the Nat 400 and after a meal I had a serves 6 Sainsburys trifle....

The riding loses the weight, is my message.... (if you have the time, I admit...)

[simonp]

Was certainly lighter when cycling more. Otoh I could not pull 7:13 for a 2K on the rowing machine.

[Ningishzidda]

Considering energy requirement is about 20 kCals per km, 600 km requires 12,000 kCals, and that’s not including the climbing.
Why doesn’t it surprise me that a cyclist who rides regular 600s loses weight.

[hellymedic]

Given that I can't ride and I like eating, in moderation, I think I'll just try to stick at 62kg or so.

Less is not happening.

[crowriver]

I've found it helps to be busy, though - I can get a bit lethargic and grumpy on fast days if not distracted.

Yeah, good to do it on a day where you are fairly active physically or mentally, otherwise your mind inevitably focuses on your empty feeling tum... 

[lou boutin]

I've finally got on the scales.  I lost 10lbs at the start of the year and I'm still at that weight.  I'm trying to lose weight again although this might not be the best time to try, so if I don't gain while I recover, it will be okay.