OcUK Dieters Progress Thread

Freefaller · 23 Jan 2006 at 13:59

Aruffell said:
Why not just do what i'm doing? Turn any excess fat into muscle?

That's what I'm trying to do, but I'm not that bothered about being "ultra lean". 14.5st @ 6'1" are pretty good numbers I think.

Don't want to be any beefier or skinnier really.

Desmo hasn't really got any excess fat, he's pretty trim

PeterNem · 23 Jan 2006 at 14:01

You're the same height as me freefaller and I'd see something in the region of 14.5 being a good weight for me also (eventually)

GordyR · 23 Jan 2006 at 14:01

Aruffell said:
Why not just do what i'm doing? Turn any excess fat into muscle?

Well you can't actually turn fat in to muscle mate. You can either lose fat, or gain muscle. Maybe thats what you meant anyway.

Nitefly · 23 Jan 2006 at 14:04

I'm not sure if the message has been repeated but:

When I was 13, 13 stone and was waist size 36 (!). Definately overweight. I deited, dieted some more, and almost gave up. A few pounds makes no obvious difference. Then I did the thing which I should have always done. Exercise!

Running for an hour, 3 times a week does sound torturous, but go with a mate and its not too bad. I kept this up and within a year I was a waste size 28. I didn't really care what I ate, selecting what foods to eat due to their colories and content is silly IMO.

I'm curently a 34/36 (28 was just a SILLY size) and I'm just generally trying to get fitter. I can't really sum it up any more than by saying:

Stuff the diet, get exercising!

Good luck to those trying to get in shape

Aruffell · 23 Jan 2006 at 14:06

GordyR said:
Well you can't actually turn fat in to muscle mate. You can either lose fat, or gain muscle. Maybe thats what you meant anyway.

Yeah, didn't mean it like turn fat into muscle. Meant to lose the fat and gain it in muscle afterwords.

Hence why i'm back on the mad protein bulk diet and working out to lose the fat.

Desmo · 23 Jan 2006 at 14:50

Aruffell said:
Why not just do what i'm doing? Turn any excess fat into muscle?

I'm in the gym twice a week, that's enough for me. It's all weights based rather than cardio.

Aruffell · 23 Jan 2006 at 14:51

On the right track then

Desmo · 23 Jan 2006 at 14:59

Freefaller said:
Desmo hasn't really got any excess fat, he's pretty trim

You just want an extra cuddle at the next meet

As Will says, I'm not fat. BUT......I do have a little flab that I want to try and trim up a bit so this thread is still handy for me. I was thinking of adding my own info but seeing as I'm not going for it big time I didn't want to clog up the place with useless info

Aruffell · 23 Jan 2006 at 15:24

Desmo, you seem to be in pretty much the same position as me. I just have an extra layer of lightweight flab covering my abs.

Some people in this thread are trying to lose weight, some are trying to gain muscle.

It's all helpful explaining our process of doing what we are aiming for.

wassap · 23 Jan 2006 at 17:35

GordyR said:
Low carb diets work well for a number of reasons. Firstly eating higher quantities of protein/fat acts as a hunger suppressant. Secondly, and much more importantly, low carb diets control your blood sugar level.

A lot of people are highly insulin sensitive and store carbs as fat like there is no tomorrow. When you eat carbohydrates your blood sugar level spikes and your body goes in to "fat storage" mode.

Atkins is not the best example of a carb-controlled diet out there. Cycling your carbs is much more effective. In such diets you have "carb-up" days to replenish your glycogen stores and to keep your metabolism up to par.

I agree that they should not be used long term but for fat loss they are fantastic. Carb controlled diets are certainly not fad diets. They have been used by bodybuilders for decades. Such diets are not for everyone and at the end of the day it is still down to calories in/calories out. But a lot people (especially those who are insulin sensitive) will find the whole process far easier by controlling their carbohydrate intake.

This is what i do/did, have a day every couple of weeks where i carb up.

I had no problems whilst doing the atkins, like many i was worried about the side effects, so i did blood tests regularly to make sure my liver and kidney vital stats were fine, plus i wasnt one of these that had loads of fryup and red meat, fish,chicken and loads of veg were in my diet.

But yeah diets are fine for short term,but you dont really need them long term as you should (well in the ideal world) learn your lessons of why you are fat in the 1st place and put the relevant controls on the crap in.

I actually dont weigh myself anymore, instead i measure my gut, if you are going to gym aswell as watching what you eat, you dont always lose the pounds but you do lose inches.

Takhisis · 23 Jan 2006 at 17:57

SexyBetty said:
/hides in shame as I'm not far off

I'm shorter and heavier

As for weighing myself, I generally only do it every 2-4 weeks (i.e. when I remember) I don't have scales at home, I refuse to buy any, so I use the ones in Boots.

Weighed myself today and I'm the same as I was on 03/01/06 which is about 6lb more than I was just before xmas

And because of my SAD I've been feeling so depressed the past couple of weeks and this isn't helping

Trying to be positive - I've changed the levels I use on the stepper and gone up

So my stamina must be improving

Piggymon · 23 Jan 2006 at 18:48

*hugs Sam*

The evenings will be getting lighter soon and so will you

Treefrog · 23 Jan 2006 at 19:11

*big hug for Sam*

I'm rooting for ya!
Ask Mic to give you that hug he gave me at the camping meet, you can always give it me back at Alton Towers!

Roberta · 23 Jan 2006 at 19:19

wohoo said:
I actually dont weigh myself anymore, instead i measure my gut, if you are going to gym aswell as watching what you eat, you dont always lose the pounds but you do lose inches.

I totally agree.

I'm currently working as a personal trainer and 99% of my clients want to lose weight. I try to encourage them not to weigh themselves and to choose an item of clothing that is tight on them, stick to a healthy eating plan and train with me and then try it on again 4 weeks later. If they were to weigh themselves they may have only lost a few pounds and be disheartened whereas this way they get a huge boost as the difference really shows.

Serafijn · 23 Jan 2006 at 20:26

Well my monday morning weigh-in showed I've gone up by 1lb

Not quite what I was expecting since I've been good all (well most of) the week. I'm not letting it put me off tho, if anything it's made me more determined to do better this week!

I agree with those of you who don't belive in 'fad' diets, and this is why I was drawn to the GI plan. It's all about eating balanced meals and nothing is forbidden as long as you fit it into your points allowance! It's a long term plan as well, and as it's not excluding any food groups it's a really healthy plan to stick to long term.

But I'm not going to plug it any more until I see some results!!

Burnsy2023 · 23 Jan 2006 at 21:08

I kinda wish that I was overweight, just because it’d give me the motivation to be more active. I’ve been wanting to go to the gym regularly and go for a swim afterwards. I love badminton, its one of the only sports I’m actually good at and I’d like to do that for a couple of hours or so every week. I like the feeling when you’re finished; tired but you feel alive.

Unfortunately, I’m not very strong willed when it comes to this sorta stuff, so unless I live right next to the gym, or I feel like I must do it, it ends up being too low on my priorities and work gets in the way.

I must admit, I have a lot of respect for all you guys (and girls) and I hope you reach your target weights. And DON’T GIVE UP!! (especially you Piggy!)

Burnsy

Lostkat · 23 Jan 2006 at 21:26

Piggy - I feel your pain. We're doing a thing at work, where we weigh in every week. I was going ok with a 4lb loss (loads less than everyone else) until today... when I managed to put 2lbs back on. This has happened in the last day, because I weighed myself on Friday and marked it on my chart, and I was at a 4lbs loss. I had to go to the toilets and calm down because I was really upset and about to cry. Feeling really demotivated and awful at the moment, but I'm not giving up.. no way!

It can't be my exercise routine, as I'm going to the gym at least 3 times a week and doing a minimum of 50 mins cardio on the cross trainer and the running machine. I'm also doing some free weights and started back at body pump this week.

It must be my food, even though I've cut out all the rubbish and decreased my bread/carb intake:

Breakfast:
bowl of cornflakes & ss milk.
orange juice.

Lunch
low fat organic/vegan pesto cous cous with a spoonful of pine nuts & 5 greek olives,

Snacks through the day
2 clementines & an apple.

I went to college tonight, and didn't get home until 9pm, so I just had a bowl of Shreddies. I'd normally have a proper meal before 7pm though.

What am I doing wrong?

It's really quite upsetting. I had a meal with rice on Sunday and have been told that this might account for the 2lb gain, but I really am at a loss now. I know you shouldn't get so demotivated early on, and I do feel lots better etc., but I've been trying so bloody hard, and seem to have got nowhere. My colleague snacks on diet stuff (snack a jacks) etc. all day and has lost nearly a stone. I only snack on fruit or raw veg, and I'm basically still where I started.

Rant over. I feel crap

Burnsy2023 · 23 Jan 2006 at 21:32

Lostkat, just out of curiosity, did you have a pee before you weighed yourself? Its absolutley astonishing how much weight you can loose just by passing water.

Have a hug anyway *hug*

Burnsy

Haircut · 23 Jan 2006 at 21:35

Lostkat said:
What am I doing wrong? It's really quite upsetting. I had a meal with rice on Sunday and have been told that this might account for the 2lb gain, but I really am at a loss now. I know you shouldn't get so demotivated early on, and I do feel lots better etc., but I've been trying so bloody hard, and seem to have got nowhere. My colleague snacks on diet stuff (snack a jacks) etc. all day and has lost nearly a stone. I only snack on fruit or raw veg, and I'm basically still where I started.

Rant over. I feel crap

You're probably not doing anything wrong.
Think about it, 1.75 pints of water weighs 2lbs - if you have drunk a bit more liquid and not peed it out yet this could account for the weight gain.
Hell, my weight fluctuates by 4 or 5 lbs some days.
If you still haven't lost it in a month or twos time then it may be time to look at modifying your plan, but 2 lbs in a day really isn't a big deal at all.

To gain 2lbs of fat would mean you would have to have eaten 7,000 calories more than you burned. This is next to impossible, so it's going to be just water weight.

Chin up and get back to it

Matblack · 23 Jan 2006 at 21:38

burnsy2023 said:
Lostkat, just out of curiosity, did you have a pee before you weighed yourself? Its absolutley astonishing how much weight you can loose just by passing water.

Have a hug anyway *hug*

Burnsy

He's right Kate, I only ever take my definative weight from a first thing in the morning, (after a pee) weigh, its the time when your body is at its most consistant. Also, like I said earlier, hard exercise can cause you to take on water to mend muscle and as you said you have very achey legs then you maybe temporarily holding more water then usual

Don't worry

MB