*** Big Fat Weight Loss Thread ***

My advice to anyone serious, and I don't have to lose much, a couple of kilos here and there, if you're serious write down everything you eat and drink and calculate the calories. Then look at your lifestyle, are you active or sedentary? We all eat a lot more than we think, we're very efficient at using calories, energy, if we weren't we'd soon starve to death. Skip meals, it has a lot of added benefits and reminds you what hungry feels like and not eating for a couple of hours doesn't leave you starving ;) I've done it recently and feel a lot more spritely despite being the wrong side of 50.
 
I feel like I'm cheating because I know in the morning I am often lighter (which is why I usually weigh myself in the afternoon/evening) but I couldn't resist a cheap way to feel good.

In January I was 84.76kg. This morning I was 84.4kg. I'll probably be back around 84.9 by the end of the day but I liked the number.

Funnily enough; When I was 90kg I didn't feel fat but I knew i had a bit of weight to shift. A friend who is basically a string bean said I should try and get to 75Kg. At the time that seemed like a unrealistically low weight to aim for but now I don't think it's as bad as I first though.

79Kg is still the main target though. Just can't wait to do some exercise now
 
Junglist said:
I feel like I'm cheating because I know in the morning I am often lighter (which is why I usually weigh myself in the afternoon/evening) but I couldn't resist a cheap way to feel good.

In January I was 84.76kg. This morning I was 84.4kg. I'll probably be back around 84.9 by the end of the day but I liked the number.

Funnily enough; When I was 90kg I didn't feel fat but I knew i had a bit of weight to shift. A friend who is basically a string bean said I should try and get to 75Kg. At the time that seemed like a unrealistically low weight to aim for but now I don't think it's as bad as I first though.

79Kg is still the main target though. Just can't wait to do some exercise now
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It's good to have a target. I don't worry too much about the scales as once you start exercising you do also put on muscle. I like the old school, "Can you pinch more than an inch?". It's actually a pretty good guide. The thing I find is the older you get the more it pays to keep on top of it as you don't lose it at 50 like you do at 30 ;)
 
It's weird. My partner is sure I have body dysmorphia lol. I feel like I haven't lost any weight but she says my back looks a lot slimmer (odd) and all my chinos are now really baggy on the waist so clearly it's working!

Yet all I see when I look down is a pot belly :cry:
 
Mirror and clothes are more important to me than figures on a scale - although the scale gives you a good idea of trend across days/weeks and an immediate satisfaction hit whereas it can take a while to really notice differences in clothing and the mirror.

I had someone ask me the other day if I was ill as i've lost some weight lately - well thanks, glad you noticed - bet you wouldn't ask about my health if I was piling the weight on.
 
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SixTwoSix said:
Mirror and clothes are more important to me than figures on a scale - although the scale gives you a good idea of trend across days/weeks and an immediate satisfaction hit whereas it can take a while to really notice differences in clothing and the mirror.

I had someone ask me the other day if I was ill as i've lost some weight lately - well thanks, glad you noticed - bet you wouldn't ask about my health if I was piling the weight on.
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I do use my trousers as a guide. If they get tighter it's time to start skipping some meals or have smaller portions. By modern standards I'd be considered skinny but I was always pretty active and like that so an extra 5kg or so is quite noticeable.

Never look down it gives you that distorted image like being too close to a camera lens :cry: That said I was looking at a photo the other day and couldn't see myself in it, then realised I was that old looking bloke in the corner :eek::eek:...:cry:
 
Junglist said:
I feel like I'm cheating because I know in the morning I am often lighter (which is why I usually weigh myself in the afternoon/evening) but I couldn't resist a cheap way to feel good.
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That's not why I weigh in the morning. I weigh first thing out of bed as it's going to be more consistent and accurate. If you weigh in the afternoon or evening I feel like you've introduced a whole load of variables. I'm sure you've heard about how your body weight can fluctuate through the day by around 2kg? So, why not take the weight at a set time before the other factors can take effect? I thought that just made sense, no?
 
AndyCr15 said:
That's not why I weigh in the morning. I weigh first thing out of bed as it's going to be more consistent and accurate. If you weigh in the afternoon or evening I feel like you've introduced a whole load of variables. I'm sure you've heard about how your body weight can fluctuate through the day by around 2kg? So, why not take the weight at a set time before the other factors can take effect? I thought that just made sense, no?
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For sure that makes sense. I just feel there was a few times where what you mentioned happened. I was 86 in the morning and 88 in the evening. It was disheartening but I feel if I say I’m the lighter the I’m lying to myself.

Maybe that’s just being hard on myself for no reason
 
Junglist said:
For sure that makes sense. I just feel there was a few times where what you mentioned happened. I was 86 in the morning and 88 in the evening. It was disheartening but I feel if I say I’m the lighter the I’m lying to myself.

Maybe that’s just being hard on myself for no reason
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Not sure if it's being hard on yourself or just being a bit daft :p :D

Like Andy says, weigh yourself in the morning after you've done your morning business. That gives you the most consistent look at how your weight is actually changing.
If you weigh at any other time of the day you're also weighing whatever food and fluid you've consumed that day. If you've just drank a litre of water you're then 1kg heavier than you were 5 minutes before, if you've just eaten a big meal then you're another kg or so heavier.

I kind of get where you're coming from but it's just a one way journey to messing with your head rather than pushing you on.

It's the same reason that generally weighing every day is better than once a week because then you can see the actual trend rather than a single point each week which might happen to be the day you wake up 2lbs heavier due to consuming more salt/carbs/whatever the night before and therefore holding a little more fluid but in reality the trend would show you're for example 1lb down compared to last week rather than 2lb up.
 
tom_e said:
Not sure if it's being hard on yourself or just being a bit daft :p :D
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Ooof. Brutal! :cry:

I agree though. The actual number means very little to me. Well, no, I have a target but even then everything's relative. My target means nothing to anyone else, it's just a number. I wouldn't look at someone else's weight and think 'wow, that dude's so much lighter/heavier than me!' because the actual number means nothing, it's how that number changes day by day and over the months. The more important thing is 'I lost 6 lbs in 2 months' and I only really know this if I have a reliable number :)
 
tom_e said:
...which might happen to be the day you wake up 2lbs heavier due to consuming more salt/carbs/whatever the night before
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Case in point, i'm up 0.7kg from the same time yesterday morning, I did more exercise yesterday and ate less calories than the day before - however the foods I ate yesterday were quite salty so I already expected to be up due to the body retaining water.
 
Junglist said:
Surely I've posted on these forums for long enough now that most users know my posts/opinions are often daft/stupid :cry:
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Our opinions are based on what we know and what we have experienced. The trick is to change as new data comes in ;)

In all serious though I suggest people record their weight and calorie intake every day for a month, long enough to see, and calculate what your intake needs to be for maintenance. It will vary a lot from a 5 foot 80 year old to a 6 foot 6", 20 year old athlete. Once you know how much you can eat without gaining or losing you can decide how much to cut back if you want to lose weight. I like tasty stuff as much as anyone but it helps to try and think of food as fuel/repair and not just something for pleasure. I did a lot of biology in my youth so that probably helps me thinking that way.
 
I've just never really cared all that much about weight loss so I've never develed into it too much. I just assumed it was a simple eat less calories + burn more calories = profit, well, loss.
And my experience so far has been that as it seems cutting out foods overloaded in sugar and full fat milk wasn't too great for me :p Though cutting it all out made me realise quite how bad it all is as I haven't changed my lifestyle other than consciously cutting out the rubbish and here i am ~6kg lighter.

Here I am looking at lighter bikes and components when I've almost lost the weight of an entire bike already!
 
Junglist said:
I've just never really cared all that much about weight loss so I've never develed into it too much. I just assumed it was a simple eat less calories + burn more calories = profit, well, loss.
And my experience so far has been that as it seems cutting out foods overloaded in sugar and full fat milk wasn't too great for me :p Though cutting it all out made me realise quite how bad it all is as I haven't changed my lifestyle other than consciously cutting out the rubbish and here i am ~6kg lighter.

Here I am looking at lighter bikes and components when I've almost lost the weight of an entire bike already!
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I have read that somewhere. People spend a fortune on a carbon fibre bike to save a few pounds when they could lose a few stone and increase their performance massively. Same for runners, the good ones are like whippets! Definitely makes sense to lose first by diet then get fit with the exercise. I used to run 10k's and I would burn about 900Kcal in a race but I can eat that in a few minutes. Sugar is the big one, we don't need refined sugar, your body will create sugar from more complex carbohydrates. You'll die without fat in your diet, used to be a thing for trappers to be stuck and only have rabbits to eat and die because they are so low fat. Your brain is also 60% fat. I have full fat everything but reduce the quantities, very good cholesterol levels and touch wood boringly healthy.
 
I started my weight loss journey 3 weeks ago. My method is cutting out sugar (I have a massive sweet tooth), using intermittent fasting, cutting my portions in half, eating more veg and trying to walk more. Working well so far. Finding it pretty easy. I am tired some days, though.

Start weight 94kg. Start bodyfat 24.5%.
Current weight 90kg. Current bodyfat 22.2%.
Goal weight 80kg or 18% bodyfat. Whichever comes first.

Once I reach that goal I'll reassess.

I'm 182cm for reference.

EDIT: Also, I'm not counting calories per say. I'm just making sure each of my meals are no more than about 500 calories.
 
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Nitefly said:
Have hit the 14 stone threshold (from 16.5 - which was ‘fat Nitefly’ mode) \o/

Going to aim for 12 and take a view, before looking to put lean weight back on.
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Good plan, I often see people running who really need to lose the weight first then get fit/strong. Those extra pounds can really hammer your body, especially if you don't have the strength too. I've never been that heavy but I would now do a fair bit of strength training before starting on anything too vigorous.
 
Troezar said:
Good plan, I often see people running who really need to lose the weight first then get fit/strong. Those extra pounds can really hammer your body, especially if you don't have the strength too. I've never been that heavy but I would now do a fair bit of strength training before starting on anything too vigorous.
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Doing a lot of swimming at the mo which is the kindest exercise on the body I think!

Sadly my back has flared up again (historic slipped disc) so weights are on hold for now until it calms down.
 
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