Awesome stuff. I'm still slowly dropping and quite happy with it. It's not as fast as i'd have hoped (given estimations from MFP) but as long as it's on the right trajectory and it doesn't feel like i'm restricting myself then i'm not bothered if it takes a bit longer.
Whilst it sounds cruel, it's been really helped by my wife having a huge flare in her illness. She's the kind of normal person who can buy snacks and then slowly eat them over a week. When at the supermarket i'm strong and can easily not buy anything. However if she gets something, she pushes me to get something too because she knows (correctly) that when she's sat on the sofa eating crisps at night i'll just look longingly at her (for the food).
Because of her health she's not had an appetite for around 6 weeks. So this combination means that i'm not buying any junk food at all.
My partner and I have been on a ‘stopping eating mindlessly and move more’ drive for the last couple of months. I’ve dropped from just over 16st to 15st 6lbs over this time.
We’ve done more walking, some running, and I’ve been fasting a couple of days a week. We’ve not changed what we eat massively other than making sure we eat snacks selectively.
My partner and I have been on a ‘stopping eating mindlessly and move more’ drive for the last couple of months. I’ve dropped from just over 16st to 15st 6lbs over this time.
We’ve done more walking, some running, and I’ve been fasting a couple of days a week. We’ve not changed what we eat massively other than making sure we eat snacks selectively.
That's the big one for a lot of people stopping what is basically boredom eating. It's definitely something I'm very guilty of especially if I'm tired.
I think working from home is a really difficult context - well it has been for us. Going to make a coffee also means standing beside the fridge and cupboards for five minutes - resisting the temptation used to be so hard. Actually I used to end up eating without even thinking about it!
Yep my WFH days are also generally the days I'll eat worse, when I'm in the office I take my food and avoid the vending machines. Like you say far too easy just to wonder in the kitchen and mindlessly pick.
Had my cholesterol test today (last in April was all above high ref limits), and it has all dropped by at least 50% and I'm in all the 'green' ranges. I have been on statins for the first time (40mg) for 1.5 months but I have no doubt that the diet and exercise has helped massively too and hopefully I can stop taking them. I think this is especially evident on the Triglycerides (that aren't primarily effected by the meds), which dropped from 2.8 to 1.1. I don't know if this means the HbA1c result will also have reduced but I'd like to think they are linked, that would also take me out of 'pre-diabetic'.
Some positive results to counter the weight not going down too much the other month, though as I said, I had lost a few inches off my waist. Most importantly perhaps, this lack of snacking and the pressure my brain puts on me to do a cardio session means this is probably now the norm. I don't even miss the snacks really.
Stats for anyone curious or wants to compare.
M, 40, 14st 10. Non smoker/drinker.
Ref Limits
Apr 2025
July 2025
Total
<5.0
7.1
3.5
Non HDL
<4.0
5.6
2.4
LDL
< 3.0
4.3
1.9
HDL
> 1.0
1.5
1.1
Ratio
N/A
4.7
3.2
Triglycerides
< 2.0 (non fasting)
2.8
1.1
Got some resistance bands finally, not really looked how to use them but there's some basic exercises with them.
I didn’t in the end actually. I’ve managed to keep up with swimming and a few weekend cycles which is helping massively for now. Going to enjoy being more relaxed over the next couple of weeks (have over eaten this evening after arriving at a restaurant very hungry ).
Will see whether I can feasibly fit in an online PT and will have a look once I’m back from holidays. Are things still going well with your sessions with him?
I didn’t in the end actually. I’ve managed to keep up with swimming and a few weekend cycles which is helping massively for now. Going to enjoy being more relaxed over the next couple of weeks (have over eaten this evening after arriving at a restaurant very hungry ).
Will see whether I can feasibly fit in an online PT and will have a look once I’m back from holidays. Are things still going well with your sessions with him?
Fair enough dude. That's brilliant though, well done. I wish I could be bothered to swim regularly
Yeah man it's been great. I'm down 6 kg since I started with him and I'm feeling much stronger. I have a weak back, and so much of my training so far has focused on strengthening it. I feel pretty solid now - not really worrying about my back at all, which is a great feeling. He's been brilliant.
I was planning my own training before now and lost about 4 kg in three months, which was OK, but I couldn't really direct it like he can to ensure I'm actually fixing the stuff that's broken.
I’ve not even got going yet. I’m pretty much waiting for the stars to align (diet, exercise, etc.) And I have to wait for a Monday to start. And if I eat something wrong on Monday, I have the rest of the week off to eat what I want until the next Monday.
I’ve set up Strava, I’ve set up Runna but not got the motivation to lace up my trainers either. What a pickle!
Martyn Thompson is a runner from Spain. Join Strava to track your activities, analyze your performance, and follow friends. Strava members can plan routes, participate in motivating challenges, and join clubs. Get started by signing up for free.
Hit 84.6 this week, then went to a beer festival on saturday drinking and eating til the early morning. Got a deload week running wise next week and a wedding to attend but I am on track to be at 35KG lost shortly. I think I may have another 5KG in my before i start having to consider a strategy for staying at the same weight for a decent period.
This might sound silly, but something you can try... change the order in which you do things. Most people decide if they will go for a run, then they put their running gear on. Try putting all your running gear on, then decide if you will go for a run. For some people, this works really well... "Hmm, I've got all the gear on, I might as well do 10 minutes running", then just go from their.
I do it on mornings I need to go to the gym. Out of bed, I put all my gym gear on and get my gym bag ready. They I make my coffee and check emails... then "Well, I have all my gear on, might as well head to the gym."
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).
I think the suggestion I've seen mentioned on in this thread several times on managing carbohydrate levels along with the emphasis on protein/fats, is a great starting to point.
It seems to work well for most people and is something I can't ever see me deviating from by much, if at all. However, I just wanted to throw in my thoughts/experiences, so apologies in advance for the ramble/going off on a tangent!
Like your self, I also have an addictive personality, although I believe this is far from being an uncommon factor among people, although I expect it does vary between individuals.
However, due to the widespread access to processed 'food' and its addictive quality, this makes it increasingly more difficult to 'allow things in moderation'.
I'm sure those smaller, sour apples that I remember as a child have largely now been replaced with gigantic sugar bombs for fruit!
For a very long period and up until around the spring of this year, I was tracking calories (and carbs).
Although as useful a method as any to quantify the amount of energy coming in/out, the problem that steadily arose for me was that I started to find the whole process becoming a grind. I just wasn't enjoying it.
Once could argue that it's hardly a natural process or thing to do. After all, I doubt our ancestors did it!
I think the concern I have is that it can encourage, particularly over the long term, erratic food habits/behaviours/disorders, and on an emotional/physical level, I found myself wanting to rebel against it.
To feel that way, 'something' was clearly out of balance, and although clearly a workable solution for a period of time, I'm not so sure if it's a maintainable method to permanently employ (at least for me anyway).
This might read a little odd, but if you consider a wild (not domesticated) animal grazing in a field, it will eat/drink until it's had its fill, as it doesn't know when the next meal is coming from.
And if I'm to be honest, I think now and again, but not too often, it's a wonderful and natural release to eat more than is required, both on a physical and emotional level, and to just enjoy yourself until completely satisfied.
The problem, of course, is that most of us do know when the next meal is coming from, and sadly, this is exacerbated by, for example—but not limited to, fruit being engineered to be sweeter and sugar being so normalized within society, processed or otherwise.
TLDR:
If, like myself, you've become fed up with counting calories, try replacing it with 'portions/servings' and strongly emphasizing protein if needing to eat more than normal.
As a night owl, I also found that saving more of my food portions for the evening has made a noticeable difference!
So, instead of having, say, oat bran with oat milk, flaxseed, etc., in the morning, I tend to have it in the evening.
If you're genuinely hungry, it's not wrong to eat: even if it means that you are eating more than normal.
Food deprivation is a huge stress and eventually, something will have to give.
FWIW: the cravings that I started to see increase back in the spring have now all but gone. So, if you restrict too much, your body will rebel.
And with that, I'm off to indulge in a bit of melon! Good luck!
Given it's the end of July i figured i'd do a slight update. It's still being a slow process and given it feels i've cut out snacking almost completely and reducing alcohol whilst also ramping up exercise for the last 2 months gives me concern if exercise drops and eating slips a little!
This is the last 180 days which shows a bit of bounciness but a reasonable downward trajectory from the start of June when i made a more concerted effort . Shows the benefit of not focusing on the numbers as the 30th June i was 101.8kg which was a little out of trend, and the end of July is also 101.9kg but a slight rise against the trending. Taking each number in isolation would be demoralising but the graph shows i'm on the right track at least.
In August i'm going to really try and work on booze. I mentioned before that in my head i drank around 3-4 times a week but expected the total to be <10 a week (generally 330ml cans or small beers at bars). An app i downloaded suggested that certainly isn't the case! With it being rare that i hit even 2 days in a row without having a drink. I don't see it as an alcohol problem as such as most days it's just a single small beer because of the sun and it's nice to go out for a walk with the wife and sit at a cafe. Main days for higher quantities would be Tuesday (Spanish class at a local bar) and then Saturday/Sunday.
Whilst the calories are tracked and MFP shows me under my targets, it's certainly not calories i need to be consuming given the slightly stubborn drop of weight. I also wonder if the body constantly removing small amounts of alcohol is having a long term impact so the plus part is today marks my fourth day with nothing despite a few opportunities
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).
I’m pretty much waiting for the stars to align (diet, exercise, etc.) And I have to wait for a Monday to start. And if I eat something wrong on Monday, I have the rest of the week off to eat what I want until the next Monday. 
