*** Big Fat Weight Loss Thread ***

I've sort of hit a wall with the calorie deficit thing. I can keep it up, but I'm really not enjoying it or eating. As I said higher up, I've gone from about 100 kg at the start of the year to a hair over 90 kg now. I'm going to take a break and go on maintenance calories once I actually drop below 90 kg to give myself a mental break. Some of my clothes are annoyingly baggy and I don't want to replace them now, and then have to do it again in a month when I lose a couple more kilos etc.
 
@dirtychinchilla - well done on the weight loss journey. A 10% loss is a real achievement. Calorie deficit is tough and it’s good to take the mental load off for sure. The only thing I have found that even at “maintenance” I tend to creep my weight up as I’m being less accountable for what I’m eating. Keep being mindful and making sensible choices, but make sure you’re eating the things that you enjoy!
 
tom_nieto said:
@dirtychinchilla - well done on the weight loss journey. A 10% loss is a real achievement. Calorie deficit is tough and it’s good to take the mental load off for sure. The only thing I have found that even at “maintenance” I tend to creep my weight up as I’m being less accountable for what I’m eating. Keep being mindful and making sensible choices, but make sure you’re eating the things that you enjoy!
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Thank you :) that's a fair comment. I have an online PT who will give me my calorie goal and macros, so he keeps me accountable fortunately. Alongside 3-4 days of weight training per week.

But you're absolutely right. I normally set me calorie goal 200 cals below what it should be so that I have a mental buffer. Somehow that works
 
I just haven’t been able to run the calorie deficit that I’d like this week. Not sure if it’s the big cycle on Sunday or the swim on Wednesday, but I’m running at around 2200-2400 kcal and feeling a bit wiped out! Should still be drifting down as Noom reckons I’m still in deficit (“weight loss zone”). Weight was 87.8kg this morning so on the right trajectory.
 
Good work. My weight seems to be relatively static at the moment, which is relatively surprising as i'm in a constant defecit according to MFP of ~600/day. One thing i have noticed is less bounciness in the 101 - 104 range and a more steady slow drop from 104 down to the current 102 so i'm fairly pleased with that. Visually i also think i look like i've dropped some weight too as my wife commented on this morning and assumed i'd lost a bit.

Some consistency in exercise the last 4-5 weeks i think is adding up and i'm assuming at some point it's just going to drop as i've been consistent with diet and exercise. Also doing better with hitting protein goals in MFP whereas i used to be around 14% of daily calories and now more like 20-22% following a switch to a Huel style drink for breakfast and occasionally lunch too. Again that helps be confident in calorie intake.
 
Has anyone had any luck controlling their diet through anything other than calories? My problem is that it becomes an obsession for me and I'm not comfortable with it - I have an addictive personality and in this case, the addiction is counting calories. That doesn't mean I stick to my goals necessarily, but it does just make me obsessive.

I can't really control my intake though - if there's food to eat, I'll eat it. Maybe something psychological in there (definitely).
 
@dirtychinchilla - the sad truth is that if weight loss is your aim, you need to take in fewer calories than you use up. There are various strategies like intermittent fasting and going very low carb that might help I suppose. What you need to look at is portion size and macros.
 
tom_nieto said:
@dirtychinchilla - the sad truth is that if weight loss is your aim, you need to take in fewer calories than you use up. There are various strategies like intermittent fasting and going very low carb that might help I suppose. What you need to look at is portion size and macros.
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I’m happy just to stay at my current weight for a while. Not sure how I can achieve that without counting calories tbh. I didn’t get fat eating nothing!
 
dirtychinchilla said:
I’m happy just to stay at my current weight for a while. Not sure how I can achieve that without counting calories tbh. I didn’t get fat eating nothing!
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Why do you think your weight is increasing rather than staying the same? Have you changed what you’re eating or your activity levels?

You probably just need to do a couple of weeks of meal planning or even meal logging (not calorie counting) and really assess your eating habits. Maybe it’s the evening snack in front of the telly? Maybe you changed your commute? Would be interesting for you to take a close look at it all.
 
dirtychinchilla said:
Has anyone had any luck controlling their diet through anything other than calories? My problem is that it becomes an obsession for me and I'm not comfortable with it - I have an addictive personality and in this case, the addiction is counting calories. That doesn't mean I stick to my goals necessarily, but it does just make me obsessive.

I can't really control my intake though - if there's food to eat, I'll eat it. Maybe something psychological in there (definitely).
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I lost most of my weight five years ago (how time flies!) by doing really low carb. No counting calories just eating meat, veg and loads of fat when I was hungry. As soon as I started introducing carbs again, everything went out of the window as I lost control and ate all the bad ones. Now I sit here, exactly where I was before at 110kg (up from 76kg in three years). I'm better not having any. :D
 
I lost my weight by strictly counting calories and perhaps I'm similar to @dirtychinchilla in that I kind of got addicted to counting the calories and there was a time it annoyed me in that I thought I would never again be able to eat without logging food in MFP, but now I've not logged anything for many months (if not a year or more) but I'm still maintaining my weight at a good point. In fact, I'd been gradually dropping by a lb a month for the last 4 to 6 months, so had a treat last night of kebab meat, chips and nuggets and was a little surprised by the size of the portions and ate too much to the point of discomfort later in the evening :cry: Oh well, I think sometimes it helps to shock the body like that :cool:

But yeah, after a while you don't really need to log/count the calories, you just get to know what/how much you can or can't eat. Thankfully, I'm a person of routine, so when I get in a routine of eating around 2,400 cals a day, I just stay in that routine.
 
tom_nieto said:
Why do you think your weight is increasing rather than staying the same? Have you changed what you’re eating or your activity levels?

You probably just need to do a couple of weeks of meal planning or even meal logging (not calorie counting) and really assess your eating habits. Maybe it’s the evening snack in front of the telly? Maybe you changed your commute? Would be interesting for you to take a close look at it all.
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I'm not gaining weight - I'm down 11 kg now. I've logged meals for many years now. I am a serial snacker, though.

ic1male said:
I lost most of my weight five years ago (how time flies!) by doing really low carb. No counting calories just eating meat, veg and loads of fat when I was hungry. As soon as I started introducing carbs again, everything went out of the window as I lost control and ate all the bad ones. Now I sit here, exactly where I was before at 110kg (up from 76kg in three years). I'm better not having any. :D
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Nice, but how the hell did you judge that? Literally just cutting carbs?

AndyCr15 said:
I lost my weight by strictly counting calories and perhaps I'm similar to @dirtychinchilla in that I kind of got addicted to counting the calories and there was a time it annoyed me in that I thought I would never again be able to eat without logging food in MFP, but now I've not logged anything for many months (if not a year or more) but I'm still maintaining my weight at a good point. In fact, I'd been gradually dropping by a lb a month for the last 4 to 6 months, so had a treat last night of kebab meat, chips and nuggets and was a little surprised by the size of the portions and ate too much to the point of discomfort later in the evening :cry: Oh well, I think sometimes it helps to shock the body like that :cool:

But yeah, after a while you don't really need to log/count the calories, you just get to know what/how much you can or can't eat. Thankfully, I'm a person of routine, so when I get in a routine of eating around 2,400 cals a day, I just stay in that routine.
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Wow, I'm impressed. I hope I can get to that place. My PT was a bit horrified that I wanted to stop counting calories, but I probably need to find a routine as you say.
 
ic1male said:
Yes, less carbs = more stable blood sugar = less cravings so I just naturally didn't eat as much as I normally would. Fat and protein fill you up more.
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I've looked into doing this as whenever I stick to high veg and lots of protein (seafood mainly) I do find I lose weight much more quickly.

I just miss carbs and like you, as soon as I start introducing them again I literally go off the rails!

I'm a terrible binger too so I'll eat really carefully and feel really proud of myself and then suddenly just go nuts again.
 
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I've not logged anything on MFP for well over 6-7 months now - here is what I do... I take a picture of everything I eat, psychologically it keeps me on track. I deep down know what I need to be eating really to keep on track either to stay in the same ballpark weight wise or to be loosing and having the process of taking a picture just reinforces it. Ultimately dropping snacks as much as possible does the main element of weight loss for me, you won't get fat eating 3 high quality, nutrient rich, balanced meals per day - i used to be all in on IIFYM type style of eating but I actually think it reinforces bad behaviours in me.
 
Well, that’s the lightest consistent week for me for a while. 87’s all week which is good. Two issues, firstly I’ve been very tired this week which is probably busy work, but might also be a byproduct of dropping weight. Secondly we’re off on holiday which will definitely help with the first issue, but will not help maintain any progress! Whilst I’m not going to deliberately go mad with eating, I’m definitely not going to be logging calories while I’m away.
 
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