*** Big Fat Weight Loss Thread ***

[AndyCr15]

OK that's all my preconceptions out the window! I was going to ask why all the snacking and wouldn't a glass of water satisfy the hunger pangs but you don't seem to be doing much wrong lol!

Ha ha, thanks. While some people are probably doing better than me diet wise at the moment, I'm generally still burning 700 to 1,500 calories a day through exercise (and generally still eating under 3,000 cals) so I think that is keeping things in check. I think I know I can drop weight if I need, so to an extent I'd like to ease up on the calorie restriction. Most meals are only 350-500 cals (Huel, low cal ready meal, Muscle Food Prepped pot) and I wonder if I increase a meals cals, will I snack less? Dangerous if I don't I guess...

 

[AndyCr15]

I have a bit of a quandary. I've commented how I'm snacking a lot at night and even waking up, having a biscuit bar or protein bar and going back to sleep. This has gone on most nights over the last week or two. Sunday night is kebab night and I tend to just have a cheat evening, lots of biscuits too. I did this last night, as usual, and then slept solid for all 7+ hours of the night. Looking at my sleep score, it was 86, highest of the month, aside... guess when... last Sunday, when I had a cheat evening and scored an 87 for 8+ hours with 1 (quite late on) interruption.

Given that I don't really believe in the whole 'don't eat before bed, it doesn't get burnt' malarkey (it's always just cals in and cals out, doesn't really matter when they come in or go out) maybe it's not a bad thing to load up a little at night, to ensure I get a decent (interruption and snack free) nights sleep?

 

[AndyCr15]

Are you saying that does work? I could give it a try. I'm actually doing a little similar with Huel at different times at the moment. Maybe make a huel up of 300 cals and fill it will 5-600ml of water, so volume-wise it's pretty big, cal wise, not so much. Normally this would be breakfast or evening meal, but I'm trying it sometimes as a snack.

 

[AndyCr15]

Yeah, even though the extra water in the Huel is the same, I guess, I can't decide if the glass of water thing works for me either. Mind you, as I think about it, I've not drunk as much water recently. Maybe it was working?! I'll try upping that again for a few days. Also thinking about it, one of the last things I eat before bed is often an apple and a kiwi fruit, sometimes some grapes or strawberries too. They usually add up to around 300g and less than 200 cals. Maybe I just eat more of that, double it up perhaps.

 

[AndyCr15]

"eat more protein to feel full" doesn't work on me either

One thing I think works on me is how long it takes me to eat the calories. What I mean is, after a meal, if I have a biscuit or bar that I eat in about 30 seconds I feel like I should eat something else. I've got some Oppo Salted Caramel Ice Cream which is only about 160 calories for half a tub and I eat ice cream really slowly, kind of just letting it melt in my mouth. I think psychologically that works for me. I spend 10 minutes eating half a tub, only 160 cals but I feel like that's desert all done Fruit is similar. I make a plate of things that take me 10 mins to eat, feels like more just because it took so long to eat.

 

[AndyCr15]

I've been thinking recently about timing of things I eat. I know some people say not to eat before bed, the calories just sit there etc, but I don't buy that. It's still calories in, calories out. If I eat them all before bed, that means I didn't eat many during the day. I'll have been in deficit during the day and an overage overnight, it just balances out. What I have noticed, if I eat a lot after 7pm, I sleep a lot better. Using my sleep stats and MyFitnessPal logs, looking back over the past couple of weeks I can clearly see when I eat more than 2,100 cals in the evening, I generally only have 1 or 2 disturbances to my sleep. If I eat 1,500 or below, then I can wake 5 or 6 times in the night (in both instances I'm eating about 2,700 to 3,200 cals in most cases)

The last couple of days I've had an actually ready meal (well, MuscleFood prepped pot) at around 9pm, followed by a protein cookie/brownie and a bowl of cereal (so about 700-800 cals in total) and it's really filled me up. I'm trying this to try and stop my late night cravings that can lead to me eating 1,100 to 1,500 cals late at night. Yes, 700-800 is quite a lot to lock in to a late night meal, but if it's consistent and removes the binges I sometimes have the urge for, maybe that's better? It also has me feeling quite satiated in the morning, so I can get away with just a bowl of porridge around 9am perhaps. Lunch can be fairly light too. I think yesterday at 3pm I had eaten less than 1,000 cals (and been on a 1,200 cal burning bike ride in the morning) so 800 cals at the end of the day should be fine.

Anyway, kind of thinking aloud here, but wondered if anyone had any thoughts on it?

 

[AndyCr15]

I need to start cutting out the cheat days, I'm having far too many of them. I just weighed myself as the heaviest I've been for 4 months at 15st 6lbs. Mind you, I think it's just the volume I've eaten in the last few days. I did similar last Friday weighing 15st 3 and lost all 5lbs by the very next day!

I find it rather amazing that I cycled 202 miles last week, more than I ever have, and still weigh in so heavy this week! That's how much I must have eaten!

 

[AndyCr15]

Started my weight loss a month ago doing weights and BoxVR for cardio, according to the scales i haven't lost anything but i feel like i have, maybe the weight has just been evenly distributed is that a thing

Still i am happy with the results so far

I guess it's just me that doesn't see an image, just a grey circle like a no entry sign? Well done though, keep up the hard work!

I've definitely been eating more over the last few weeks and have put a few lbs on, I was 6lb up on my lightest a few days ago. I'm happy with my weight though, still cycling a lot and still have a good shape. I'm hoping fuelling my training with more calories is meaning I'm putting a little muscle mass back on too as part of the weight gain.

 

[AndyCr15]

Yeah, I see it now, thanks. Clear difference, well done. That's fantastic for just 1 months work, right? You must be pleased?

 

[AndyCr15]

I don't know what the flip to do. I seem to be stuck at a plateau now. If I try reducing calories, the weight isn't affected at all. It's been a few weeks since I was using my dumbbells, looks like I should make the effort and get them going again. Another option is to reduce carbs further (from 130g to 50g) and see if ketosis will start me off again. I just don't like the idea of giving up some food groups again though, even if it's only for a couple of months.

How many calories are you currently eating a day and what cardio are you doing?

 

[AndyCr15]

I would say simply up the movement, which is often what people struggle with. Between an hour and an hour and a half of low level exercise, for an entire week, if the rest is spent on your bum, isn't a lot

When I was losing weight I was creating in excess of a 1,000 calorie deficit. This led to around a stone a month coming off. (1,700 calories in and between 600 and 1,000 in exercise a day, 6 days a week)

 

[AndyCr15]

Not really changed anything my end apart from dropping total intake from about 1800 to about 1600 kcals. It seems to have done the trick, this morning touched 86.9kg on the scales so managed to break through that stubborn 90kg barrier.

That's some great work! Well done!

I've definitely been eating more over the last few weeks and have put a few lbs on, I was 6lb up on my lightest a few days ago. I'm happy with my weight though, still cycling a lot and still have a good shape. I'm hoping fuelling my training with more calories is meaning I'm putting a little muscle mass back on too as part of the weight gain.

I think my problem was, when I had a cheat meal, I was going way too over the top and just kept eating... I've cut my cheats back, so still twice a week I will let myself eat a little more, one of those is still my Sunday night kebab meat and chips, but for a few weeks I'd changed it to a mixed kebab and chicken and chips... basically two meals and then whatever I fancied for dessert.

This morning I was 211lbs, which I'm fine with, but annoyingly my body fat percentage is still over 20%, when it had previously been around 19.5. It just doesn't seem to want to come back under 20!

Strava tells me I'm still getting faster on the bike though, which is interesting, even when I had the few extra lbs on I'm breaking quite a few PR's each time I ride, which is good to see. That might be interesting, when my weight is plateauing (as it kind of is) and I stop getting faster... will I keep myself motivated to keep cycling as much?

 

[AndyCr15]

From a logical point of view, that diet seems a little weird to me. Eat 600 cals one day, then maybe 4,000 the next? Or when you say eat what you want do you still limit yourself to a certain 'volume'? Surely a more sensible approach would be 2,400 of good calories everyday? Then no need to have those horrible 600 cal days? Bottom line is still cals in against cals out over a prolonged period of time.

Obviously it's working for you though, so well done Just seems an odd route to go?

 

[AndyCr15]

This morning I was 211lbs, which I'm fine with, but annoyingly my body fat percentage is still over 20%

Looking back at my records, according to my scales my fat mass was 3st 2lbs on the day I posted that. I weighed in at exactly 211lbs this morning too, but I've been working harder in the gym the last 3 weeks or whenever they reopened and of the 211 lbs (15st 1) the scales tell me this morning 2st 13 of it is fat. Now, the level of accuracy could be poor enough to say that's not a big enough difference to be significant, but I feel like I'm a better 211lbs right now, so pleased with that. I'm eating around 2,900 to 3,300 calories most days and 6 days out of 7 I'm doing some kind of exercise, burning between 600 and 2,400 calories. What I feel good about is I've pretty much cut out the binge eating.

There is a part of me (the competitive part I guess) that wants to make a push for 14½ st. Another part of me says, don't do it, work on putting some muscle mass back on... The latter means I can keep eating more (and it's generally 200+g of protein a day) so that's the one that tends to win out.

 

[AndyCr15]

I have two days of management meetings and kind of team builds, so yesterday we filled up on snacks, chocolates, pizza and more. I'm maintained my weight for some good time now, so I went a little crazy and ate everything. I was actually almost in pain when I went to bed! I definitely won't weigh myself for at least 3 days! Today is a being a 'good food' day. Tomorrow is my first 10k run!

 

[AndyCr15]

Amazing weight loss Well done!

Interesting article on what I suspected - https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/weight-loss/problem-intermittent-fasting

To be honest, I've not read it, I listen to their podcast though, where it was explained.

Simply restricting food intake to a shorter window did not seem to change the rate at which humans burn calories or store fat. It did sometimes lead to modest weight loss but this was due to the fact that people following this schedule simply ended up eating fewer calories. No metabolic magic there.

As always, it's whatever works for you though, right?

 

[AndyCr15]

Just a mental way way of stopping overeating which works for me. One of my big issues always been eating late and consuming most calories towards evening. Now no matter how hungry I get, once it's past 10pm it's tough poop as far as my mind is concerned, no food until 2pm the next day.

I do wish I could do this. I don't think I sleep well on an empty stomach, so I almost try and limit myself more during the day, so I can eat more around 9pm, so I can have a good nights sleep. I'm sure it's a psychological thing that I could likely break out of if I really tried...

 

[AndyCr15]

Have you tried 5-2 diet?

Hell no! So I have trouble getting through the night without eating, there's no way I last on 800 or so cals for a day. I prefer just regular calorie control.

 

[AndyCr15]

Has anyone been in a position where they just don’t shift weight no matter what you do?
I’m 6’3, weigh currently around 17.7 stone. I haven’t eaten chocolate for over two months (I ate far to much of it)
I strictly walk 7k steps mon-fri and 10k a day on the weekend. Without fail.
I weigh myself every Friday morning and nothing shifts.
I need around 3000 cals to maintain my weight but on average eat around 2100 daily, probably a bit more on the weekend but equally burning 400 odd cals in exercise.
I’ve dabbled in having no breakfast to intermittently fast but it’s achieved nothing. I don’t change things regularly so a bit confused truth be told.
What gives?!

Are you sure you're recording everything and everything accurately? Weigh things from time to time to check, for example.

I would suggest you perhaps don't need 3,000 cals? I'm 6'3 and 15-5 and 3,000 cals plus about 1,000 cals of exercise a day is keeping me at my same weight.

If 7k steps is all your exercise, I would suggest you need to do a little more and higher intensity, like running, cycling, or even skipping for 30 minutes.

 

[AndyCr15]

No I’m not eating 3000 cals, that’s my maintain weight cals. Hence reducing them to 2000.

No, I know, but you said your body needs 3,000 to maintain and you based your maths off that. I'm suggesting that's possibly rather high. As I said, I aim for 3,000 and burn about 1,000 a day and I'm maintaining with that (So I would maintain with 2,000 and little exercise). When I was losing weight, I aimed under 2,000 and cycled an hour 5 or 6 times a week.

I play football twice a week and walk a lot more on the weekend.

Personally, I would suggesting upping the exercise. I know in the past I would play football once and week and go to the gym two or three times a week and this was during the years I was gaining weight. (I didn't measure cals back then, which were likely very high) Do you have a decent heart rate monitor? It would be interesting to know, for example, your average heart rate while playing football, or walking. If I didn't have an average over 120 for an hour, I didn't think I was working hard enough.

It's pretty simply really. Energy in and energy out. You need to change that some more if you're currently balanced.