Two weeks and a day later, scales said 79.1kg this morning. I'm really happy with that, average of 0.3kg a week.
*** Big Fat Weight Loss Thread ***
- Thread starter AndyCr15
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Soldato
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I'm guessing you need to poo. I've heard psyllium husk is good for that.
Update on me - hate dieting. Haven't been able to swim yet this week as I was away with work. Eaten quite a lot. Not good.
Dieting is horrible, changing the way you eat doesn’t have to be. There is no doubt that you have to run a calorie deficit to lose weight. That’s maths, or physics… whatever. What you can do is adjust your diet in a way that allows you to not be hungry. Snacks are good, eating the things that you enjoy is good. It’s about making the smart decisions to cut down on the right things.
A few things that helped me:
Weighing out carbs and calorie dense foods was key. Totally reset my idea of portion size. Loading my plate with vegetables (not potato!) fills me up and is very efficient calorie wise. Also delicious. It means that visually my plate is still full and so is my stomach.
Choosing good snacks - Kvarg yoghurt for example (83cal, 15g protein, 150g pot size). That’s the kcal as a chocolate digestive, but it has 15 times the protein and takes 5 times as long to eat.
Condiments - I love spicy sauces, and many of them are not only low calorie, but contain things like cider vinegar which can help regulate blood sugars. Encona hot pepper sauce is 5 kcal for 25 ml. Seriously good on chicken, vegetables or just about anything. Means you can make quite bland (but nutritionally good) meals come alive.
Eating what you enjoy - super important to avoid getting miserable and declaring that you’re “on a diet”. If you go down the pub and have 10 beers and a massive kebab, sure that might put your overall progress back by a bit, but it’ll probably just result in a massive poo and your overall mood being lifted. You’ll be going straight back to eating sensibly the days and weeks after and maintaining consistently. Telling yourself that you can’t go down the pub or enjoy a meal out will probably result in lower mood, lower motivation and prolonged poorer eating habits… because of that self imposed “diet”. What I’ve found interesting is that I’m looking more carefully at restaurant menus and choosing healthier and also lower calorie options. Not in every place and definitely not at the expense of having something that I really want, but I’m quite often swayed away from the 800kcal starter now!
Sorry for the rambling post! Feeling relatively motivated at the moment.
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A bloody nightmare to dunk in your tea however!
With the weather starting to get colder I'm seriously back into the porridge every morning for breakfast. 40g oats, 200ml water, and a dash of honey (naughty!) and done!
Start the day with a few squats, average 15000 steps a day, and trying to keep away from snacks,but not overly calorie counting. Must try some of that kvarg yoghurt as I can demolish a packet of biscuits if I am not careful.
Weight is ticking down slowly, which is the best way.
Bread is still very much my downfall though so have to keep working on that.
Start the day with a few squats, average 15000 steps a day, and trying to keep away from snacks,but not overly calorie counting. Must try some of that kvarg yoghurt as I can demolish a packet of biscuits if I am not careful.
Weight is ticking down slowly, which is the best way.
Bread is still very much my downfall though so have to keep working on that.
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Nairns dark chocolate oat biscuits are good for that!
Porridge is ace in the mornings. I’ve been using almond milk which is very calorie efficient and makes it a bit more interesting. Frozen summer fruits on hot porridge are amazing too. My weekend treat is full fat milk porridge with the kids and I don’t need anything on that now because I’ve got used to the almond / fruit one.
I’m also having about 80g oats. What’s your daily calorie goal?
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I don't overly calorie count these days. I have an idea of what calories are in what after a few years using MFP. Just mainly eat healthy food and stay away from junk as much as possible (not always, An occasional take out curry or a big mac meal) but it's working. As said, bread, and also having a horrendous sweet tooth doesn't help. I'll still walk past an apple to eat some biscuits.
I'm guessing around 2-2500 a day.
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I stopped being strict with calorie counting and managed to maintain weight ok, but really need to be strict if I want to lose any. I’m at the point where I’ve been a normal BMI for quite a few months without feeling miserable or thinking that I’m on a diet. This is a good thing and I’m happy with my weight. What I need to think about is whether I want to lose more body fat. This will involve losing muscle as well inevitably. I’m making more of a conscious effort with training and exercise now, but I’m extremely time limited.
I guess the reason I ask the calorie goal is that I was asking what your overall goals are?
I guess the reason I ask the calorie goal is that I was asking what your overall goals are?
I'm overweight, have been most of my adult life. I'm currently down a stone and want to lose another one which should take me into healthy BMI range. As I'm late 50's it gets harder as you get older. Heavy weightlifting is out, so I do some light stuff and squats just to maintain what muscle I have.
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This is why I prefer out and out fasting. I find it much easier to just not eat for a couple of days than to consistently eat less food day after day. Obviously need to be sensible about what you eat the rest of the time, but the aim is to get to a lifestyle that maintains weight anyway so that's not a bad thing.
I think I said before, I've been eating those Kvarg's for years, really good at around 90 cals. I like the Strataccella (sp?!) and Lemon Cheesecake 
I've brought my general intake down to around 2,100 this last week or so (from around 2,400-2,600). I'm such a routine-based person. A meal (lunch or dinner) is main, yoghurt, protein bar. One main is Huel, the other a reasonably low cal ready meal (I really like the Scratch Chicken Thai at 340 cals). Before bed was two apples, protein bar, cereal and probably a bit of choccy right before bed (about 700 cals) which helps me sleep. If I wake up, I feel hungry so I grab something else choccy like to help get me back to sleep. This happened a lot, so most nights was another 150cals or so that probably didn't get recorded. It wasn't uncommon for me to snack on something mid-morning and mid-afternoon as I would be very hungry. I know this sounds A LOT, but even with this, as I cycle so much, I can still loose weight, but recently I've probably not cycled quite as much and the weight loss has been quite slow, so I thought I'd tighten things up again.
I've cut lunch down to main and yoghurt, mostly removed the snacks, removed the choccy from before bed and removed overnight snack too... this brings me back down to around 1,950ish, so I don't mind if I allow myself something else as a snack at some point. But, if I can get in the routine, it should be good. Hopefully, I'm looking to drop another Kg or even two, before my last cycling to Spain this year at the start of November.
I've brought my general intake down to around 2,100 this last week or so (from around 2,400-2,600). I'm such a routine-based person. A meal (lunch or dinner) is main, yoghurt, protein bar. One main is Huel, the other a reasonably low cal ready meal (I really like the Scratch Chicken Thai at 340 cals). Before bed was two apples, protein bar, cereal and probably a bit of choccy right before bed (about 700 cals) which helps me sleep. If I wake up, I feel hungry so I grab something else choccy like to help get me back to sleep. This happened a lot, so most nights was another 150cals or so that probably didn't get recorded. It wasn't uncommon for me to snack on something mid-morning and mid-afternoon as I would be very hungry. I know this sounds A LOT, but even with this, as I cycle so much, I can still loose weight, but recently I've probably not cycled quite as much and the weight loss has been quite slow, so I thought I'd tighten things up again.
I've cut lunch down to main and yoghurt, mostly removed the snacks, removed the choccy from before bed and removed overnight snack too... this brings me back down to around 1,950ish, so I don't mind if I allow myself something else as a snack at some point. But, if I can get in the routine, it should be good. Hopefully, I'm looking to drop another Kg or even two, before my last cycling to Spain this year at the start of November.
Thursday - 15st 9.5
This morning - 15st 6.0
I'm fairly sure a lb or two will come back Monday and Tuesday. Much like weighing the day after a huge kebab meal, weighing after big rides goes a little the other side of the average. Still, it's the lowest I've weighed in at since June, so it's nice to see the extra effort taking effect.
This morning - 15st 6.0
I'm fairly sure a lb or two will come back Monday and Tuesday. Much like weighing the day after a huge kebab meal, weighing after big rides goes a little the other side of the average. Still, it's the lowest I've weighed in at since June, so it's nice to see the extra effort taking effect.
Great progress! Massive kebab as a one off is mostly going to be water retention from the salt isn’t it? I went up just over a kilo after a buffalo chicken burger yesterday probably for the same reason.
Frustratingly I’ve not been able to do much cycling this year (apart from short commute to work). Would have been interesting to see if there was any difference for me being significantly lighter.
Where are you heading in November for your trip?
It's kind of amazing what difference it makes... hence trying to drop even just a couple of kilos to help me keep up with the fast bleeders I'm going with
Off to Costa Daurada! Weather looks to still be in the 20's, just, but is mixing between sunny and rainy, so fingers crossed.
Soldato
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I've been considering it, although I'd probably do something like fast in the morning and eat in the afternoon and evening. I don't want to try and starve myself, but I would like to hit my calorie goal.
Soldato
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My weight has crept up this year for various reasons. Currently at 71kg post holiday which may not seem a lot but is high for me. Some of that will be water but I’ve set myself a target of 66kg to get down to over the next few weeks and months. I want to add in some weight training so that might mean losing more than 5kg of fat. I’m going to use MFP for a bit to get back on top of my eating as I know that’s where the issue is. Too many biscuits/sweets/sugary snacks, not eating enough at main meals and eating things out of habit rather than need.
Rough weekend, lazy when I finished work friday so missus grabbed me a mixed doner and chicken kebab with chips. Finished leftovers on Saturday for lunch before heading to a friends for a catch up and drinks, had 7 x Weston's Ciders which are in the region of 7.3-8.2% and then he ordered food for us - another damn kebab 
Yesterday, feeling a bit fragile, didn't eat a lot through the day - just lots of nibbles here and there and gulping coconut water like it's keeping me alive.
Nice to see scales only showing 79.9kg this morning, a touch under a kilo over my lowest point last week.
One thing I hate about my 40's - the hangovers last days instead of hours, still a bit ropey today.
Yesterday, feeling a bit fragile, didn't eat a lot through the day - just lots of nibbles here and there and gulping coconut water like it's keeping me alive.
Nice to see scales only showing 79.9kg this morning, a touch under a kilo over my lowest point last week.
One thing I hate about my 40's - the hangovers last days instead of hours, still a bit ropey today.
My wife and I have done intermittent fasting for a long time. I never found it helped much with my weight, although she lost quite a few kilos. I think it's useful if you have a problem with snacking - having a hard cut-off of "I don't eat outside of these hours" is useful, and I think it's useful for tuning you into how your body actually works. I was convinced almost all my life that I simply couldn't do without breakfast, but after a week or so of intermittent fasting I discovered how quickly my body adapted. It also gets your body more used to being hungry which makes other forms of dieting/weight loss easier. What it doesn't do, on its own, is produce sustained weight loss, IME.
The big claims made by intermittent fasting enthusiasts don't seem to be backed up by the research, but I think it still has a bunch of worthwhile benefits. That said, I've started going back to having breakfast just because, well, I like having breakfast.
The method I've got into is a fast every other weekend when I'm trying to loose weight. I stop eating after supper on Friday, and don't eat again until the Monday when I have a number of small meals with an overall calorie deficit to ease back in. During the fast I only have coffee, water, and then some electrolytes and multi-vitamins to make sure I avoid any issues from the fast. Overall that gives a deficit of around 6000 calories. So over the two weeks that works out as equivalent to a deficit of a bit over 400 calories a day. IMO, sticking to a diet with a calorie deficit of 400/day is much harder than cramming it all into two days out of two weeks. Ultimately, you only lose weight by giving your body less food than it needs so that it chews through its fat reserves instead. Also, I would expect that it has less of an issue with plateauing since your body isn't getting a sustained deficit it won't adapt in the same way.
I see really good results, about a kg/week at the moment. YMMV.
Just throwing this in as a random comment: for me I think it’s better to be strict with myself and track notable progress than allow myself to slack a bit and see slow progress.
Losing 1lb a week is too slow if you’re overweight, for me anyway.
I’ve lost a stone in the last 8 weeks or so with keeping my head down - daily exercise and eating around 1500ish kcals a day - and that makes me feel strong and in control.
Doing a half arsed effort and then getting to the end of a week with barely anything to show for it is ‘meh’.
Losing 1lb a week is too slow if you’re overweight, for me anyway.
I’ve lost a stone in the last 8 weeks or so with keeping my head down - daily exercise and eating around 1500ish kcals a day - and that makes me feel strong and in control.
Doing a half arsed effort and then getting to the end of a week with barely anything to show for it is ‘meh’.