*** Big Fat Weight Loss Thread ***

I actually find weighing myself daily more helpful but the important thing is you need to remember that the daily numbers don't matter, what you're looking for is the weekly trend.
If you only weigh yourself once a week then that could be the day that your weight for that week has spiked for whatever reason but if you've been doing it daily you can see the actual trend in your weight gain/loss.
 
Thanks guys, good advice.

My diet of 1580 calories is to lose 1lb a week.
As I'm trying to reduce belly fat, would you recommend a particular exercise to supplement the diet to speed up the process, maybe crunches or brisk walking?
 
Merlin5 said:
Thanks guys, good advice.

My diet of 1580 calories is to lose 1lb a week.
As I'm trying to reduce belly fat, would you recommend a particular exercise to supplement the diet to speed up the process, maybe crunches or brisk walking?
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A good brisk walk everyday will be spot on, it's something I use a lot now that gyms are out of the question.
 
tom_e said:
I actually find weighing myself daily more helpful but the important thing is you need to remember that the daily numbers don't matter, what you're looking for is the weekly trend.
If you only weigh yourself once a week then that could be the day that your weight for that week has spiked for whatever reason but if you've been doing it daily you can see the actual trend in your weight gain/loss.
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I agree, for the same reason. Whilst I no longer weigh myself every day, when I do weigh myself, I often do the next two or three days too, to get a better idea, as has been said, one days measurement can be a little high/low.

The amount you lost in 4 days isn't that odd, especially at the beginning. Also, bear in mind, if you are literally eating less now, I find it takes 2 to 4 days for the volume of food that you have in you to lower to the lighter amount. (eg, Sunday's is always kebab night for me. I will eat more simply in actual volume, than I normally would. If I weigh myself tomorrow, I will likely be 3 or 4lbs heavier, which will have gone my Wednesday or Thursday)

As for exercise, anything that gets your heart rate up for 30 mins or more is great. Even something like skipping. This can very quickly get your HR up over 140, so do this for 15 to 20 mins will burn a reasonable amount of cals. A brisk walk is great, as like cycling, you can sustain it for quite a long while. A decent one hour brisk walk would be great.
 
tom_e said:
A good brisk walk everyday will be spot on, it's something I use a lot now that gyms are out of the question.
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AndyCr15 said:
I agree, for the same reason. Whilst I no longer weigh myself every day, when I do weigh myself, I often do the next two or three days too, to get a better idea, as has been said, one days measurement can be a little high/low.

The amount you lost in 4 days isn't that odd, especially at the beginning. Also, bear in mind, if you are literally eating less now, I find it takes 2 to 4 days for the volume of food that you have in you to lower to the lighter amount. (eg, Sunday's is always kebab night for me. I will eat more simply in actual volume, than I normally would. If I weigh myself tomorrow, I will likely be 3 or 4lbs heavier, which will have gone my Wednesday or Thursday)

As for exercise, anything that gets your heart rate up for 30 mins or more is great. Even something like skipping. This can very quickly get your HR up over 140, so do this for 15 to 20 mins will burn a reasonable amount of cals. A brisk walk is great, as like cycling, you can sustain it for quite a long while. A decent one hour brisk walk would be great.
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Thank you very much for the guidance and support tom and andy, much appreciated. I had quite a bit of a rough evening yesterday as I was seriously craving snacks kind of like someone trying to cold turkey cigarettes. I did end up having one rich tea biscuit and one garibaldi last night (still didn't satisfy me enough) and felt a bit bad about it. That took me slightly over my calorie max to about 1,700. Still, probably not too bad I guess. Other than those, I had a stick of celery and a pear.

Never considered skipping but I might enjoy that. Might buy myself a skipping rope.

Would you recommend 30 minutes then for a walk at a fast/energetic pace, like maybe a couple of miles or more round trip and how many calories could I expect to burn? And would you recommend walking after a meal like lunch rather than before or doesn't it matter? Also, is there an android app you'd recommend showing me what speed I'm walking and telling me for how long to sustain that to burn a certain amount of calories?
 
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I think Strava has re-integrated it's ability to connect Bluetooth, so I would get a Heart rate Monitor and track your walks in Strava. These can be linked into MyFitnessPal, so you'll see credit for your exercise in calories in there. I've not used it for some time, but I think in Strava you can then keep an eye on your heart rate. If it drops down below 100-110, try and pick the pace up. I think 30 minutes would likely only burn around 250-300 cals, but it's a good start. Is jogging an option?
 
AndyCr15 said:
I think Strava has re-integrated it's ability to connect Bluetooth, so I would get a Heart rate Monitor and track your walks in Strava. These can be linked into MyFitnessPal, so you'll see credit for your exercise in calories in there. I've not used it for some time, but I think in Strava you can then keep an eye on your heart rate. If it drops down below 100-110, try and pick the pace up. I think 30 minutes would likely only burn around 250-300 cals, but it's a good start. Is jogging an option?
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Thank you Andy. I'd not heard of Strava but just seen it on Google Playstore and will install it. I'll seek out a good heart rate monitor. I'd be quite happy with 250 to 300 calories. But yes, jogging is definitely an option. Presumably I could lose more than 300 calories from 20 to 30 minutes jogging around the park?
 
AndyCr15 said:
30 mins of jogging could be anywhere from 300 to 500 cals I expect...
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Awesome. I'm going to buy the Wahoo Tickr chest strap heart rate monitor for £39.99. A watch would be great but they're much more expensive and my research tells me the strap delivers more precise data. It apparently has its own Wahoo app to show calories but I'll just need to figure out how to get ny exercise sessions across to MyFitnessPal. So I'm not sure I'll need Strava if I'm using the Wahoo app.
 
Maybe, most people use Strava as their central point and sync anything else you use through that. (I used Wahoo and sync'd to Stava). Strava will then sync into MyFP
 
I use MapMyRun and just sync my chest strap directly to that.

Also decided to go all out on my biggest problem, so in February I'm going zero refined sugar meaning no dessert :eek:
 
Hey guys, I've got a pair of Umbro exercise/jogging trousers I bought years ago which are lightweight and have a white netting in them. But they're a bit shapeless and baggy, I think I bought a size too big at the time. And putting my phone in one of the pockets weighs it down. Where do you put your phone when jogging? I might buy a thin hoodie from Tesco but don't know if its pockets will be any better for carrying the phone.

I also need lightweight jogging shoes but as sports direct is closed there's only Tesco to buy from and usually their shoes are heavy. Any inexpensive jogging shoes you'd recommend from Amazon?
 
Merlin5 said:
Hey guys, I've got a pair of Umbro exercise/jogging trousers I bought years ago which are lightweight and have a white netting in them. But they're a bit shapeless and baggy, I think I bought a size too big at the time. And putting my phone in one of the pockets weighs it down. Where do you put your phone when jogging? I might buy a thin hoodie from Tesco but don't know if its pockets will be any better for carrying the phone.

I also need lightweight jogging shoes but as sports direct is closed there's only Tesco to buy from and usually their shoes are heavy. Any inexpensive jogging shoes you'd recommend from Amazon?
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either buy an arm holster or running belt
 
Merlin5 said:
Where do you put your phone when jogging?
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Now, I have some nice Gore jogging tights, that have a tight pocket on the leg for a phone and a small zip pocket on the lower back for keys. In the past I've used a running belt that you can get off Amazon for about a tenner and it was fine.

Merlin5 said:
Any inexpensive jogging shoes you'd recommend from Amazon?
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I have no recommendations, but I will say, I was in a lot of pain when I used to run in 'regular' trainers. I spend £100+ on proper running shoes and it made a huge difference to my ability to run without pain in the souls of my feet or my shins and calves. I know it doesn't help, just bear it in mind :)
 
Merlin5 said:
I also need lightweight jogging shoes but as sports direct is closed there's only Tesco to buy from and usually their shoes are heavy. Any inexpensive jogging shoes you'd recommend from Amazon?
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It's not perfect, but try this. Will help you to find the type of shoe you want. Then you could ring somewhere like Runners Need and get their advice based on your budget

https://www.brooksrunning.com/en_gb/ShoeFinder
 
Shadowness said:
Isn't that a lot to be losing in a week!?!

I thought 0.5/1kg or so was about 'normal'
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Depends on how much fat you've got to start with 2lbs a week is a nice steady loss but you can easily double that if you're carrying a lot of water/fat without too much issue.
 
ik9000 said:
either buy an arm holster or running belt
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Thanks. Yeah, that would work well. Pity, I have a Nike armholster I bought years ago in black and yellow but it only has a narrow small pocket to accommodate my old silver ipod. I like the idea of another armholster to fit the phone, so definitely something for me to consider. I tried a couple of thin hoodies today in Tesco, none of which I liked, but they both had one external zip up chest pocket on the left. I tried them on and put my phone in and it felt fine so that could work well too.

Martynt74 said:
It's not perfect, but try this. Will help you to find the type of shoe you want. Then you could ring somewhere like Runners Need and get their advice based on your budget

https://www.brooksrunning.com/en_gb/ShoeFinder
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neoboy said:
Runrepeat are a decent place to start to compare prices too.
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Thanks Martyn and neoboy.


AndyCr15 said:
Now, I have some nice Gore jogging tights, that have a tight pocket on the leg for a phone and a small zip pocket on the lower back for keys. In the past I've used a running belt that you can get off Amazon for about a tenner and it was fine. I have no recommendations, but I will say, I was in a lot of pain when I used to run in 'regular' trainers. I spend £100+ on proper running shoes and it made a huge difference to my ability to run without pain in the souls of my feet or my shins and calves. I know it doesn't help, just bear it in mind :)
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I like the look of those tights but although my legs are slim, I'm 61 (a young looking 61 mind :p) and I think those tights are for you younger folk.


I bought three things at Tesco before I saw any replies. A pair of joggers, shoes and some long johns. What do you think of them? The shoes are actually lightweight, surprised me considering it's Tesco F&F. I tried them on and they're comfortable. £20. Should be ok for jogging?
Instead of tights, I bought thermal long johns to go under the joggers. Do you think that's a good idea? I've got some old t shirts and sweatshirts I can use for layers.
I'll just need to buy a hoodie with top pocket, preferably waterproof, and maybe a woolly hat.
I would have preferred to walk into sports direct and buy better looking clothes but of course, that's not possible at the moment.

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