*** Big Fat Weight Loss Thread ***

Hi guys. I got directed here by Tom_e. I started a 1,580 calorie controlled eating diet on Thursday and so far it's going well using the MyFitnessPal app. I'm 5 foot 11" and all my excess weight is on my my stomach and waist, it's a paunch. There's no excess fat anywhere else.

I'd been eating a lot of chocolate, biscuits, crisps, popcorn and bread and have cut those out since Thursday. I've been eating chicken, veg, brown rice, ryvita, celery, fruit, some cheddar cheese, fruit, porridge.

I'm aiming for anywhere between 12 stone 4 to 12st 10lb. The NHS BMI calculator tells me 12st 10lb is at the top end of the healthy weight range for my height.

My weight on Thursday was 13 stone 3lbs. Yesterday it was 13 stone 1lb and this morning 12 stone 13lb which is a 25.3 BMI. Clearly it can't be 4lb actual fat dropping off in only 3 days dieting so does anyone know what else can cause me to lose 4lb? My scales are working accurately as far as I can tell.

EDIT: Haven't eaten anything yet, only had a cup of tea. Just weighed myself again, scales saying exactly 13st. Then they said 12st 13lb again. Hmm, strange. Can anyone recommend me electronic scales they use that they know is very accurate?
 
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Your weight naturally varies over the course of several days making it hard to see what’s going on. Even when you think it should go down because of exercise or calorie reduction, sometimes it stays the same or even goes up! You’re better off doing it once a week. If you haven’t lost anything after a month, then you need to try something else.
 
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.
 
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 :)
 
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