diet tips: willpower?

Soldato
Joined
19 Jan 2006
Posts
15,940
Indeed - not rocket science.
  • Prepare you meals
  • Cut out sugar
  • Cut out the weekday booze/takeaways
  • balanced diet - nothing special - don't need huel/herbalife nonsense
  • Exercise - gym/home/anything - walk 10,000 steps a day, find a good gym, find a running club/parkrun etc
I eat 3500-4000 Calories a day - all pretty clean, no sugar, no crap. I need that just to keep my weight level as I train pretty hard 5 days a week. Anything under that and I'm starving and loose weight!!

I was 18st about 8 years ago - now 13 and a half stone and fitter/leaner in my 40's than I was in my 20's/30's.
 
Caporegime
Joined
30 Jul 2013
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28,822
How long you done the replacement shakes for, is it the Huel ones you are doing and how much weight you lost so far? I find doing shakes is only a temporary thing untill i give in.

I also have a sweet tooth and often cave in

I'm doing the 'Protein World' ones

Banana
Salted Caramel
Strawberry
Raspeberry and White chocolate.

Wife gets others because she is lactose intolerant so she can't have those. Not sure which ones she is on.

We started just before Christmas, but then....Christmas (drinking, out for lots of meals) so i'd say I've lost 1/2 stone in about a month

That's without going to the Gym....
 
Caporegime
Joined
29 Jan 2008
Posts
58,899
However when it comes to food I find i have very little at times, for example if my mates want to go for a nandos I find i have to order chips and a fizzy drink, as i don't want to pay or sit eating a boring salad lol. Another example is if it's someone’s birthday in the office and they bring in cakes I think.. [...]

TL:DR how to you become stubborn / mentally strong to saying no to bad / tasty food / takeaways / pizzs

Don't - if you go overboard with this stuff you probably won't stick to it, so don't give up going to Nando's when your friends want to. You could perhaps substitute in a diet drink for one full of sugar (though they're not great either) - but the main thing is that the odd person brining in cake to the office or the occasional trip to Nando's, even if every other week, probably isn't the main cause of your weight gain.

I know plenty of people who are very keen on fitness and quite happy to go and have a whole chicken in Nando's every so often - they're very much not fat, quite the opposite in fact, they've cut down to way less body fat than average (not that I'd really advocate going full bodybuilder either).

A few people have rather unhelpfully pointed out that you just need to eat less etc.. like no ****, I'm going to assume you're well aware of that and not patronise you with a reply like you need to try harder or just eat less.

The key is probably to do something sustainable or make smaller changes - if you're not getting regular exercise then that is an immediate obvious change - though that doesn't necessarily mean join a gym and force yourself to do some mundane and repetitive exercise 3-4 times a week... loads of people join gyms in January only to not bother going after the first few sessions then finally cancelling their membership. Instead why not take up a sport, join a local club... can be something like perhaps playing badminton regularly with your partner, or joining a squash club etc... they'll likely have little friendly tournaments - it is social, if you enter some little league or tournament then you need to arrange to play other players on a regular basis etc.. That sort of thing will be way more sustainable than a gym membership.

Maybe buy a national trust membership too - arrange to go look around a property and gardens say every other Sunday - you'll find you can easily get in 3 hours of walking doing something like that without really noticing it. Just going for a walk is sufficient to burn fat, it doesn't have to be intense cardio all the time.

Some weight training might be useful, or some stuff that just uses your own bodyweight like a yoga class... basically do something you'll actually enjoy and want to carry on doing not something that turns into a chore.

In terms of diet, some simple stuff like cutting out sugary stuff/snacks can be sufficient - if you order your food online and perhaps plan meals (and stick to meals rather than snacking between meals ) then you can probably make an exception for the odd bit of Birthday cake in the office or a trip to Nando's with your mates every so often.

There is some evidence in favour of meal replacement shakes too to the point where GPs are going to be prescribing them to patients to give them an initial start when wanting to lose weight so you could well give them a try too - you don't necessarily need to go OTT with them, I guess they are often used to replace two meals but perhaps after initially using them that way you could just use them to replace one meal.

Anyway key thing is not to punish yourself or force yourself to stick to some strict diet in order to achieve quick results but rather to make some gradual lifestyle changes that will be sustainable and that won't be a chore... and then not to worry about the odd Nando's meal as that very likely isn't the issue here. :)
 

fez

fez

Caporegime
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Tunbridge Wells
People tend to fixate on stupid things like eating out or "I had a takeaway this week". Thats not why you are overweight. To be overweight you have to consistently eat more calories than you require. If you actually had a proper diary of the foods you ate over the past month when you were gaining weight you would see that you are constantly eating the wrong thing and the wrong amount.

Going to Nandos isn't bad for you. Its grilled chicken, chips and sides. Having too much earlier in the day along with 3 refills of full fat Coke is where you will probably have gone wrong. I usually have the half chicken with 2 sides. Thats 577 calories for the chicken and then chips is 450 and garlic bread is 349. Thats 2 of the worst sides to have and the total is 1376 calories. That isn't outrageous for an adult male if he hasn't already had a large breakfast and lunch. That leaves over 1000 calories for the rest of the day even if you aren't active. As soon as you add a litre of full fat coke to that though you suddenly you add another 400 calories and you are in trouble.

Its these little extra along with snacking and overeating on a long term basis that makes you fat.
 
Caporegime
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....
Food diary, and count every single calorie.

Without knowing how much you eat (calorie wise) you can't chase. Lower those calories till you lose weight. Simples.
 
Soldato
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Midlands
Thanks Screech and others so far, find the feedback and responses very positive and it's interesting hearing other peoples stories as i know i am not the only person who has been in this boat

One thing that might help you, is to better understand the processes that actually lead to weight gain in the first place.

People gain excess weight not just because they overeat, but because for some reason the natural mechanisms of satisfaction don't seem to work very well, when people eat certain diets. What I mean by this is that people eat because they feel hungry, yet - they continue to eat even though they've consumed more than the required amount of energy they need, so they store the excess and some foods are more likely to be stored than others.

This tends to happen with people who have junk food diets, if you eat fast food, sweets and chocolate on a daily basis - whilst you're getting the right level of caloric intake your body needs to operate, calories from those foods don't contain much in the way of useful nutrients, they're mostly designed to provide pleasure only, to demonstrate this - consider the following scenario;

Most people with a mild appetite can easily sit in the cinema and eat a full tub of Pringles (around 1000 calories) without batting an eyelid, crucially - around 30-60 minutes later they still feel hungry.

However,

Take that same 1000 calories, but replace it with about 5 or 6 chicken breasts - that person is doing pretty well, if they make it past number 5, because by this point they're going to feel pretty stuffed, they're also going to continue to feel full for much longer, which makes it much less likely they'll be interested in eating snacks or eating anything else.

This happens, because the protein from the chicken causes your fat cells to release a hormone called Leptin, this is essentially a feedback mechanism which tells your brain "I'm full, please stop eating" this happens because the chicken breast contains nutrients (such as protein, and others) which trigger the body to produce this response.


The key to weight loss, is to formulate a meal plan which provides satisfaction, it's no good going from 3000 calories a day of junk, then cutting it down to 1500 calories a day of junk - because you'll be getting zero satisfaction, constantly feel hungry and will be essentially more malnourished than before - making the urge to go back to old habits much harder to defeat.

At the end of the day, a calorie is not a calorie - different foods are metabolised in different ways, at different speeds - by sticking to real food and removing junk food from your diet - you're more likely to be able to physically eat less, whilst feeling more satisfied - if you can sustain this, you will lose the intense cravings you have for junk food, over time.
 
Soldato
Joined
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2,928
not sure if more one for the sports forum, so I am looking to shift some weight, with it being the season for "new year, new me" I weight 15 and half stone and looking to shift about 3 stone in total, maybe 2 and a half. I am 6 foot tall; one thing I always struggle with all my life is just saying no to things, as I love my food, I am a bit of a “foodie or foodaholic”. I go to gym and play football as I enjoy exercise but also enjoy my food. It sounds easy like just be strong, just say no, some people for example; when it comes to gambling or alcohol will post on here and say it just takes will power to not get yourself in trouble. However when it comes to food I find i have very little at times, for example if my mates want to go for a nandos I find i have to order chips and a fizzy drink, as i don't want to pay or sit eating a boring salad lol. Another example is if it's someone’s birthday in the office and they bring in cakes I think.. Oh go on then 1 won't hurt or if my mates or girlfriend wants to order a Chinese or pizza i find it hard to resist. This kind of attitude has left me feeling overweight but i cannot seem to turn it down... want to know of others who have been in a similar position or those who have lost weight or low body fat – how do you stay on the straight and narrow and say no to things, it sounds easy in theory but I always find I cave and give in.


TL:DR how to you become stubborn / mentally strong to saying no to bad / tasty food / takeaways / pizzs

Lift heavy and build some muscle with the calories; 6' 15 stone is a reasonable weight.
 
Soldato
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Midlands
The problem with the calories in vs calories out argument, is that yes - if you burn more than you consume you lose weight.

The problem, is statistically, more than 50% of all people who lose weight - regain the weight they lost within 12-24 months.

Many people go back to old habits, because they make the same fatal mistakes, they think that restricting calories is all they need to do - but in continuing to eat even small amounts of junk processed food, they slowly go back to eating larger and larger amounts of it, resulting in over consumption and regaining of weight they previously lost.

If you fix the diet, understand that healthy satisfying food that provides the correct nutrients and feelings of satiation, learn to live like that - and regression to previous habits is far less likely.
 
Soldato
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Downtown
It's seems as though the fundamentals have been covered in this thread.

Also make sure you're getting a decent amount of sleep each and every night to recover and for hormonal balance.

A healthy diet of protein, good carbs and healthy fats. Foods that are laden with nutrients like fruits and veg, nuts, eggs and poultry. Drink enough water that your urine is slightly yellow to clear. Be aware of your daily total calorie intake.

As said add in some excerise as it really does make you feel better and I believe speeds up your metabolism.
 
Soldato
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Bristol
Well I never thought I'd be one of those people but this year I've been counting calories and it's working.

If nothing else it makes you acutely aware of just how many calories are in snacks and this alone is an excellent deterrent against snacking and fast food.
 
Don
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Well I never thought I'd be one of those people but this year I've been counting calories and it's working.

If nothing else it makes you acutely aware of just how many calories are in snacks and this alone is an excellent deterrent against snacking and fast food.

Indeed, calorie counting is a great way to learn what is in your food. I only did it for ~ 6 months but it gave me enough background to properly understand what I'm eating and I can make wise choices on what I eat.

The key to maintain weight loss is lifestyle changes, not strict eating dust and lettuce every day.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
13 Oct 2018
Posts
59
:cool:
Indeed - not rocket science.
  • Prepare you meals
  • Cut out sugar
  • Cut out the weekday booze/takeaways
  • balanced diet - nothing special - don't need huel/herbalife nonsense
  • Exercise - gym/home/anything - walk 10,000 steps a day, find a good gym, find a running club/parkrun etc
I eat 3500-4000 Calories a day - all pretty clean, no sugar, no crap. I need that just to keep my weight level as I train pretty hard 5 days a week. Anything under that and I'm starving and loose weight!!

I was 18st about 8 years ago - now 13 and a half stone and fitter/leaner in my 40's than I was in my 20's/30's.

I agree it is not rocket science, i pointed out in the opening thread that i know i should say no to the fizzys, chips, snacks etc cut out sugar , goto the gym etc, the title is more about willpower like how do people stay on the straight and narrow which i feel a few posts have gone abit off topic in terms of this is what you need to eat or do, not so much a thread of the science behind losing weight more how do you guys stick to your diets i guess is the question. I get eating kfc / pizza / mcdonalds everyday and over eating will lead to weight gain, and eating under calories and healthy and cut out processed food i will lose weight. :cool:
 

NVP

NVP

Soldato
Joined
6 Sep 2007
Posts
12,649
I can give you the advice I used to go from 18.5 stone down to 14.5 - STOP REFINED SUGAR. This will really help you out. After 2 days of no sugar your cravings will start to disappear and it will really help you stop snacking.

Then of course keep your carbs low and start exercising.

I started losing stones in a matter of weeks :)


Sounds simple, it is simple and once you get the momentum it's easier to keep at it.
 
Soldato
Joined
29 Dec 2014
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5,758
Location
Midlands
:cool:

I agree it is not rocket science, i pointed out in the opening thread that i know i should say no to the fizzys, chips, snacks etc cut out sugar , goto the gym etc, the title is more about willpower like how do people stay on the straight and narrow which i feel a few posts have gone abit off topic in terms of this is what you need to eat or do, not so much a thread of the science behind losing weight more how do you guys stick to your diets i guess is the question. I get eating kfc / pizza / mcdonalds everyday and over eating will lead to weight gain, and eating under calories and healthy and cut out processed food i will lose weight. :cool:

It's interesting, because you're describing the main difficulty that most overweight or obese people have. 90%+ of them know full well that the reason they're in that situation is because they're eating too much junk food, quite often advice such as "eat less" is given, but it's not that helpful, because you know full well - you need to eat less.

It's the same as saying to an alcoholic "Well if you'd only drink less, you wouldn't have a problem would you?" well duh.. obviously, but it's more complicated than that, often there are other factors that precede the alcoholism that are invisible to third parties, a root cause that might be a little more subtle.

You freely admit to eating too much junk food, so we know what's driving your weight gain - you've written it down yourself in your opening post and above, so saying "eat less junk food" isn't going to help, because you knew it before you wrote this thread.

What might help is understanding why you eat too much junk food.

For overweight people i've known, helped, talked too - more often than not, there's a trigger factor, something that makes you want to eat something bad that tastes great, for some people it's stress at work, could be personal issues, feelings of depression or being upset, it could be repetitive behaviour associated with something like - like sitting down for a few hours of gaming with a pizza, or surrounding yourself with people who have the same issue. These things can fall into habits, and go on and on - after a year or so, you weigh a stone or two overweight and the downward spiral is well in motion.

A second factor, is understanding that the junk food you eat - has been designed on purpose to be addictive, and hijack your bodies biology. Most sweets and other junk have been engineered to provide the maximum amount of pleasure possible (the food industry calls it the 'bliss point'), whilst suppressing your bodies natural satisfaction mechanisms, so once you get a taste for it - you can't stop liking it.

So I'd bet a at some point, a combination of the above two factors is coming into play - a trigger factor, combined with the hyper-palatable, pleasurable appeal of junk food. My advice would be to look at your life with a magnifying glass, and try to identify the events or situations which precede your craving for junk food, which will be the root cause - once you identify that root cause you can take measures to mitigate it.
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Dec 2011
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21,226
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SW3
Intermittent fasting has been good for me.

Only eat 1 meal between 6pm and 7pm and then no food at all until 6pm the next day.

Only drinking water and tea without sugar and milk.
 
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