Seriously impressive in that time frame and genuinely makes me want to join a gym! I have a bit of a gym phobia though, daft but it's all the usual things people feel. I went a few years ago and just felt so out of place around the weights, Mentally I'm in a bit of a different place at present though so might be a better experience this time around if I decide to do so.
*** Big Fat Weight Loss Thread ***
- Thread starter AndyCr15
- Start date
Soldato
Ooof, that's gonna be tough. I'm almost the same age as you (47 now) and my experience is it really slows down around the 20% point. I came down from 36% to 19% I think was the lowest. I put a bit back on, up to 24% and I'm finding it quite hard to come back down. I've lost 12 lbs since new year, but it's telling me I'm still around 22% right nowDo you know what you were when you started? (The pic on the left?)
I think I was somewhere around 35-40 body fat in that pic. Brutal
16 is the target and I'll try and hit it before 1st July. If I don't I'll not be losing sleep. It's not for any competition or anything, just a hard target to hit but if I don't get it, I'll be between 16 and 20 all being well, which is fine too. Set the bar high and even if you miss, you'll be close enough to it
Soldato
My gym is not the usual PureGym/GymCo etc...not like those commercial gyms.
I do a semi Private strength program with a gym group. There's only 4 people allowed per class (90 mins) the coach is an experienced gym owner and he does all our nutrition, exercise routines and setups for us. It's £200 a month so it's expensive but it's worth it as he pushes me to go beyond what mentally I think I can do. Good for boosting confidence when you get pushed outside your comfort zone and you find you are able to do it! They also do private events for the members like cooking schools where they bring in chefs to train you how to cook meals, subclub where you are semi submerged in a relaxation tank for 20 mins and someone is meditating so you get pulled along for the ride. Really great gym to be a part of.
I'd look for some personal training to get your knowledge up first before taking that knowledge and doing it yourself solo in the gym.
PT is about £25 an hour for a GOOD coach, but you'd only need 15-20 hours max before you'd be competant to know the techniques, good form and nutrition you'd need to do your own workouts. Leave your ego at the door and listen, learn and improve yourself and your confidence will soar.
Soldato
- Joined
- 18 Nov 2019
- Posts
- 4,243
Yeah it is annoying that you can't specifically lose fat in certain areas.
I honestly think you look great and don't need to lose anymore but I guess if you turn it into muscle and it makes you feel happy
Man of Honour
Soldato
Ditto, great work. Looks like a stronk physique is being uncovered!
Soldato
I appreciate the comments, thank you. It motivates me more, so it's really kind of you to give me feedback like that.
Soldato
I seem to have consolidated now around the 94-95kg point. Still on a very slight downward trend, but fairly stable.
I have found recently that i've been struggling to eat enough on some days when i've out running for >1hr. I might pick up something like Macadamia nuts. Something where they're sufficiently high in calories without being too delicious to the point i'll sit and eat a full bag in one go!
I've also been stocking up on various snack bars which have been on offer on HUKD recently (NAKD, Protein Snickers and PHD Smart Bars), however most of those are only 150kcal each and to eat enough to hit my calorie goals i'd be needing around 5 which i imagine is pretty damn unhealthy!
I think an order for Huel or something is probably needed. Just something i can grab at 9-10pm to fill that gap without making my wife jealous like @subbytna's protein frozen yoghurt would. The more i exercise the worse her diet seems to become. She can't do much activity due to chronic fatigue, but then if i go out and run for 6 hours and crave junk food she ends up having it with me but without the exercise to offset it!
I have found recently that i've been struggling to eat enough on some days when i've out running for >1hr. I might pick up something like Macadamia nuts. Something where they're sufficiently high in calories without being too delicious to the point i'll sit and eat a full bag in one go!
I've also been stocking up on various snack bars which have been on offer on HUKD recently (NAKD, Protein Snickers and PHD Smart Bars), however most of those are only 150kcal each and to eat enough to hit my calorie goals i'd be needing around 5 which i imagine is pretty damn unhealthy!
I think an order for Huel or something is probably needed. Just something i can grab at 9-10pm to fill that gap without making my wife jealous like @subbytna's protein frozen yoghurt would. The more i exercise the worse her diet seems to become. She can't do much activity due to chronic fatigue, but then if i go out and run for 6 hours and crave junk food she ends up having it with me but without the exercise to offset it!
I assume you're not really trying to lose more weight if you're actively eating back exercise calories though? On a non 'big' exercise day (so, maybe less than 1,000 burnt) I tend to try and stay on calorie target, maybe an extra 200 or 300, even when I feel hungry. On a big day (2,000+ cals burnt) I tend to let my stomach have more say in when I eat. Even then, it's usually only about 1,000 cals over target, so a nice deficit still (and target is a small deficit already).
This week has been odd for me. I've stayed at 215lbs for most of the week having binged quite badly at a party on Saturday, had a real tough indoor cycle session last night and this morning I've finally dropped 3lbs! I'm sure a little of that will come back tomorrow as I hydrate more, mind you, I was... err... at my lightest when I weighed this morning, when I couldn't make myself my lightest other mornings.
That makes it just over a stone lost since New Year.
Mallorca cycling in 3 weeks now, well on track for under 210 lbs by then. Then targeting the Alps in late June. I don't know when it will plateau though...? I think I probably wouldn't want to go any lower than 202lbs (14½ stone) but I don't know I can get that low anyway!
This week has been odd for me. I've stayed at 215lbs for most of the week having binged quite badly at a party on Saturday, had a real tough indoor cycle session last night and this morning I've finally dropped 3lbs! I'm sure a little of that will come back tomorrow as I hydrate more, mind you, I was... err... at my lightest when I weighed this morning, when I couldn't make myself my lightest other mornings.
That makes it just over a stone lost since New Year.Mallorca cycling in 3 weeks now, well on track for under 210 lbs by then. Then targeting the Alps in late June. I don't know when it will plateau though...? I think I probably wouldn't want to go any lower than 202lbs (14½ stone) but I don't know I can get that low anyway!
Soldato
No, it seems to be happening anyway just due to the volume of running i'm doing. I would like to lose a little more, but with it only being a week until the big run, i'm making a big effort to eat everything back just to ensure any energy stores are full given i'll be running for ~15 hours and need everything i can get 
I think the main interest will be when i get back home and what my routine settles into. I don't "feel" like i've been overdoing it, but i also know that my wife has been more understanding of me leaving her and being out for 8hours on a weekend for a big run as she knows it's in training for next week, and i imagine her patience will reduce once that's out of the way.
Having now bought some weights at home, i'm also hopeful of being able to do more weight sessions. That should help me stop looking too thin if i lose additional weight. The big plan for Sunday is to tidy up the shed and make more room for things though as it's all a bit tight in there currently.
I think the main interest will be when i get back home and what my routine settles into. I don't "feel" like i've been overdoing it, but i also know that my wife has been more understanding of me leaving her and being out for 8hours on a weekend for a big run as she knows it's in training for next week, and i imagine her patience will reduce once that's out of the way.
Having now bought some weights at home, i'm also hopeful of being able to do more weight sessions. That should help me stop looking too thin if i lose additional weight. The big plan for Sunday is to tidy up the shed and make more room for things though as it's all a bit tight in there currently.
Soldato
You're body needs to recover, before you go again, presuming you want to lost more weight?
I'd suggest you bring your calories up 100-200 per day for a week, to let your body get used to them and then go again with a reduction in calories and add in some HIIT routines a couple of times a week. 30mins HIIT will keep burning calories long after you finish doing it.
Also consider doing compound weight exercises that will actiuvate multiple muscle groups. This will burn more calories than isolation exercises and keep muscle mass in tact better during a calorie defecit.
Soldato
No, it seems to be happening anyway just due to the volume of running i'm doing. I would like to lose a little more, but with it only being a week until the big run, i'm making a big effort to eat everything back just to ensure any energy stores are full given i'll be running for ~15 hours and need everything i can get
I think the main interest will be when i get back home and what my routine settles into. I don't "feel" like i've been overdoing it, but i also know that my wife has been more understanding of me leaving her and being out for 8hours on a weekend for a big run as she knows it's in training for next week, and i imagine her patience will reduce once that's out of the way.
Having now bought some weights at home, i'm also hopeful of being able to do more weight sessions. That should help me stop looking too thin if i lose additional weight. The big plan for Sunday is to tidy up the shed and make more room for things though as it's all a bit tight in there currently.
Sorry didn't read your next post. Didn't realise it was running you were doing. If you're doing 15h hour run soon, get that pasta down the hatch and store those carbs
Do what I did, use the weight as a basis for strength and convert it to muscle mass. If you're thin to start with and looking to lean bulk, it'll be hard. You'll also not have weight behind you to lift decent amounts of weights.
Soldato
Sorry didn't read your next post. Didn't realise it was running you were doing. If you're doing 15h hour run soon, get that pasta down the hatch and store those carbs
Do what I did, use the weight as a basis for strength and convert it to muscle mass. If you're thin to start with and looking to lean bulk, it'll be hard. You'll also not have weight behind you to lift decent amounts of weights.
Oh i wouldn't say i'm thin, just that as i've lost weight it's easy to "look" thin when compared to how i was. I'm still ~95kg and 6'3. However i am conscious that due to height it's easy for me to look thin because the fat gets hidden away easy enough and so trying to add some bulk/strength would offset that.
My main goals are generally to increase leg strength. I can pretty much bench the same as i squat (50-60kg) and beyond that i find my form goes out the window and my knees buckle in. Building up that strength will then have a good knock on effect for running is my hope.
Updated pic below (Hidden in Spoilers to save everyones eyes!)
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Man of Honour
Things have picked up the pace for me over the last few weeks, I've broken the 240lb barrier and currently not too far off 235lb.
More importantly my cardio fitness and strength are still both improving, cardio massively which is nice.
More importantly my cardio fitness and strength are still both improving, cardio massively which is nice.
Ahh, I see. Yeah, kind of the plan I have for my cycling weekend coming up in 3 weeks. I don't think it's as extreme as your run, but I'm conscious I might have to go at a higher pace than I'm used to and it's also 5 straight days (3 big days and 2 small) of possibly higher intensity, so with a week to go I was planning to up my calories (and probably lessen the riding) to try and be ready for the trip.
Soldato
Oh i wouldn't say i'm thin, just that as i've lost weight it's easy to "look" thin when compared to how i was. I'm still ~95kg and 6'3. However i am conscious that due to height it's easy for me to look thin because the fat gets hidden away easy enough and so trying to add some bulk/strength would offset that.
My main goals are generally to increase leg strength. I can pretty much bench the same as i squat (50-60kg) and beyond that i find my form goes out the window and my knees buckle in. Building up that strength will then have a good knock on effect for running is my hope.
Updated pic below (Hidden in Spoilers to save everyones eyes!)
You should be squatting 90kg+ with that strength you have. Mentally it took me a year to be "happy" to squat 100kg. I kept warming up at 60kg and when I got to 100kg working weight, I was tired. Mentally 100 is a barrier as it sounds a big number. It wasn't until my coach suggested I did 2 reps from 70kg, 80kg, 90kg then hit 100kg with legs warmed up and ready.
I did 127.5kg for 15 reps on Wednesday night. My PB for squat is 1 rep max of 170kg.
Make sure your legs are pointing slightly outwards so you dont bend the knees inwards during the lift. Head neutral so not looking up or down too much to topple you over. I'd love to hear you hitting 100kg by the summer
Soldato
I think it's definitely possible. I also need to work on my ankle mobility as that's hindering my squats whereby i'm not getting enough movement in the left ankle and it causes a bit of a hip shift.
After your comments in the other thread i'm definitely going to make more effort at going heavy/less reps, vs my usual of just lying down and easily pushing out 8 reps at 40kg over and over.
After your comments in the other thread i'm definitely going to make more effort at going heavy/less reps, vs my usual of just lying down and easily pushing out 8 reps at 40kg over and over.
Man of Honour
I won't post progress pics as I'm not on a fat loss journey. But as I mentioned in the other thread I seem to have (I know I have) a type of body dismorphia issue, probably after years of weight training and playing rugby and being surrounded by men mountains. I'm just shy of 100kg and reasonably lean but struggling to focus on wanting to slim down.
Am I happy? Ish. I don't feel comfortable unless I'm looking "stocky" but you can't be stocky and lean, unless you're a freak or take special supplements.
Problem is it's harder to keep this tempo up as you get older. Most of it is mental issue but if anyone has any tips on overcoming it is be all ears.
Am I happy? Ish. I don't feel comfortable unless I'm looking "stocky" but you can't be stocky and lean, unless you're a freak or take special supplements.
Problem is it's harder to keep this tempo up as you get older. Most of it is mental issue but if anyone has any tips on overcoming it is be all ears.
It's interesting. I was always large, not necessarily 'fat'. I played American Football from 13 to 36ish, where having strength and some weight behind you was often of benefit, so I was lifting weights since 13. It's only recently when I had started to get, let's call it 'too big' so I started cycling and watching what I ate. When the weight started coming off so easily, I was overjoyed. Then I realised how different my body looked. For example, my shoulders in the bathroom mirror, looked like they'd just vanished! It wasn't just fat I was losing, it was muscle mass. I was a little uncomfortable with this at first. Like part of my identity was being that 'big guy'. Well, now my identity has changed I guess. I still don't see myself as a 'cyclist' but I'm at piece with dropping weight, even to the point I wondered about closing my gym membership as I don't 'need' upper body strength as much these days. In fact, it just slows me down up the hills
I do struggle to let go though and I'm kind of in this limbo, not a 'big guy' but also not a 'cyclist'...
Man of Honour
Yeah seems you're managing that transition well though but it is a hit isn't it? Do you feel bette for it?
I think I'd rather be a little padded than look like Ryan Reynolds in blade 3 for example.
I guess I want my cake and eat it! Literally!
I think I'd rather be a little padded than look like Ryan Reynolds in blade 3 for example.
I guess I want my cake and eat it! Literally!