ILE Weight Watchaz

We're not being much use to Tom, are we?

you guys who are 6 feet 120 are FREAKS. do you look like giant grasshoppers or something??

(i hate them.)

don't worry tome, us fatties have to stick together.

Someone needs to invent a computer desk chair with built-in pedals so I can read ILE and burn some fat. Ideally the pedals should power a built-in radio or tape player or something to form some kind of incentive for pedalling. Please?

(sorry, this is probably is of no use!)

No I'm not walking from Streatham to Bothwell. I'm not that desperate.

Sarah do not give up beer. People become sourpusses when they go off the beer - Tim is the exception that proves the rule.

Well it's actually roundabout 122lbs at the moment. Although I have been as low as 119lbs, I think. And when the doctor measured me I was 1/4 inch under 6 feet. But as I said before, I'm still quite a bit taller than other people who are supposedly '6 feet'.

I am sorry to report that giving up beer has helped me lose something in the region of three stone this year. Not feeling well enough to drink alcohol is very helpful in achieving this dietary change, mind.

I cannot recommend illness or abstention as sensible courses of action.

I'll need to buy some scales. I dread to think what the first reading would be.

i think i'm gonna hop on the big old book-box scale in the back today. oh, the potential for horror is rife.

So imperialism is dead, then?

I have to boast about this somewhere.

Since July I've lost 10cm off hips and waist, and my body fat's down from 14.7% to 9.5%. My blood pressure's dropped to just-below-healthy-range (which apparently is excellent), and to fulfil thread requirements I've lost half a stone.

\m/ \m/ \m/ &c.

Pretty damn good.

I just learned today, from a trivia card, that Weight Watchers in Brazil is called "Vigilantes do Peso"

I had my 2nd weight watchers meeting yesterday morning, and turns out i lost 3 lbs and change in my first week. Not bad.

Brilliant!

You need to expect that the weight will fluctuate, so some weeks you might actually go up a little bit. All normal. (I've never done it but I know several people who have)

my main prob is how to work the beer in. Today being the super bowl doesn't help, but if it doesn't rain(ha ha), i'll go biking tonight.

AA & KF that's excellent news. we should use this thread to track our progress. in 13 days of sticking to approx 1200 cals per day (with two days going up to 2000 because of pesky lager) and around 1 hrs worth of exercise (40 mins aerobic, 15 mins anaerobic) 3 times per week i have dropped 3 pounds (from 177 to 174lbs), which i am quite pleased with but godddd i wish i could just have it all zapped out and be eating this way for normality, rather than waiting til JUNE for it all to be done.

im a bit concerned about hitting a weightloss plateau in a few weeks.

Wow, that's excellent. What happens in June?

Don't worry about the plateau; if anything, celebrate it. Plateaus are a good way of measuring chunks of weight loss.

Just so I don't appear callous or insensitive, I should point out that I've never been technically overweight (78kg is my highest ever, I think, back when I was unfit), and that my current efforts are all about building physique through heavy weights training. Even though I had aimed to drop some fat, this loss (and the scale of it) took me completely by surprise.

i just have a silly limit set for june whereby i aim to be slim enough to wear a particular shirt. and once im at the lower end of the healthy bmi range i'll stop being quite as strict on the NO TAKEAWAY, NO OIL, etc rules.

will the plateau just disappear naturally and weightloss continue, or do i need to ramp up the exercise or lessen calories to kick it aside? how long do they generally last?

i think im the typical chubster in that i was nice and slim just 3 years ago, but then moved in with a partner and food became a big focus, eating rich fatty food - suddenly realised that i wasn't looking how i used to and made a firm decision to reverse it. (i see it as a kindof parallel with the world economy haha - boom years guzzling chinese and sugarry drinks, now the bubble has burst and its time for cutbacks)

i do hope my exericse + calorie-cutting will work in the longterm (over a 6 month period) but im worried im doing things wrong, like eating too much salt or not eating enough overall and my body is entering starvation mode. i think i will be ok though. i have found it difficult to find good detailed articles about all this, though the ny times has some very interesting pieces.

the one thing i am most pleased with is that by learning about the calorie content of most foodstuffs (oil and butter and soft drinks are just insane!) means that i will be much more careful about this for the rest of my life, which in the very very longterm can only be good. also good as im quite the control freak and i feel im taking back control of my life and the food that goes into it. comes as a great relief after those awful pangs of blinkered guilt after gorging myself on curries, etc.

i am quite lucky in that my partner enjoys cooking and is also keen to lose weight and eat healthier. if i lived on my own again i doubt i could do quite so well. this new diet has given me more energy and i feel more chipper and less slobby in my day-to-day life too. im at danger of prattling on about the benefits to my friends too much though!

at the moment i would most like some advice on what kind of weight lifting is best for my situation, could you recommend some good websites/articles which go into this?

i just have a silly limit set for june whereby i aim to be slim enough to wear a particular shirt.

Not silly. This is precisely the kind of goal you need to keep you motivated.

will the plateau just disappear naturally and weightloss continue, or do i need to ramp up the exercise or lessen calories to kick it aside? how long do they generally last?

Plateaus can potentially last weeks. It's the way the body reconfigures. One week you can be eating perfectly and plateau; another week you can be eating cakes and lose weight. It's your overall diet and long-term loss that count.

i do hope my exericse + calorie-cutting will work in the longterm (over a 6 month period) but im worried im doing things wrong, like eating too much salt or not eating enough overall and my body is entering starvation mode.

If you're eating enough, you'll be fine. The trick is to get enough of all the major food groups and not overindulge (or underindulge) in any areas.

A lot of people think starvation = weight loss. It's bullshit. Carbs in measure are essential, for example.

What do you do with salt that has you worried?

the one thing i am most pleased with is that by learning about the calorie content of most foodstuffs (oil and butter and soft drinks are just insane!) means that i will be much more careful about this for the rest of my life, which in the very very longterm can only be good.

Definitely. Kids should be taught this stuff in school.

this new diet has given me more energy and i feel more chipper and less slobby in my day-to-day life too.

As long as you don't think about it as 'a diet,' you could be doing it forever.

Many people think of a diet as something temporary to do in order to lose weight. RONG.

at the moment i would most like some advice on what kind of weight lifting is best for my situation, could you recommend some good websites/articles which go into this?

I really can't help you with this (my trainer does all this for me!) but bodybuilding.com is a decent resource that covers just about every aspect of weight training you can think of.

Someone start an ILE Biggest Loser thread?

We've already got the statscock.

Oh s.rose, before I forget: Eating less will not necessarily cause you to lose weight faster. If what you're doing now is working, stick to it.

If you feel the need to reduce what you eat, do it gradually. Slice around 5% off your daily intake -- no more -- and stay with that for 2-3 months.

We tend to think our bodies are like a giant balloon, and if we put in more stuff it'll get bigger. It's more about cultivating an efficient metabolism.

One of the things I like about Weight Watchers the program is that's a well-thought-out systematic approach to losing weight and changing what one eats. With the weekly meetings, there's even more of an external reinforcing structure that I need, since i'm bad at changing long-term habits.

Also, i rode my bike to the supermarket about 20-25 minutes away, up & down the hills of NE Portland. That was overdoing it just a little, as i had a backpack full of groceries on the way home. Still, this should take care of at some of the beer I drank today.

What happens if, during a healthy period, we have a massive (one-meal) blowout that involves having seconds of three different kinds of pies until we're so full we're in pain :(

What happens? You feel guilty for a while, nothing serious happens and you don't do it again.

Also, calling it a 'healthy period' implies you'll stop eating healthily.

I need to figure out how to eat less or something.

What do you do with salt that has you worried?

oh nothing particular with salt, i just plucked that out as a random example. im slowly getting a grip on the different elements of nutrition, but am i right in thinking i only REALLY need to think about calories intake? (providing im eating plenty of fruit, veg, etc and not just 1200 cals worth of sweets). the only thing i am slightly concerned about is sugar, as i do drink a lot of cordial and tea (albeit low sugar fruit juice and half cal sugar + honey in tea).

Kids should be taught this stuff in school.

absolutely. it should be made compulsory for all high street food chains to make their calorie/fat information available, if not on the menu then at least on the website. in a perfect world this should apply to all places, even small independent cafes & restaurants (if i can work out the calories for a meal i make on my own then it certainly isn't beyond a moneymaking business to do this as well).

As long as you don't think about it as 'a diet,' you could be doing it forever. Many people think of a diet as something temporary to do in order to lose weight. RONG.

damn right, when i made the decision to sort this out (in great part to the stream of post-xmas pro-healthy eating docs hosted by jamie oliver & co) i was certain not to refer to it as a 'diet' in a temporary sense. i am doing it to an extreme for the next 6 months in order to get to my ideal weight, and after that will allow more treats and meal outs, but the basic way im eating is completely changed forever.

another question about exercise, is it better to use exercise bikes or the treadmill, or they both equal? i much prefer the bikes, to be able to read and listen to music at leisure but i don't want to compromise the work im doing.

Now that I have to share a kitchen with roommates I usually don't cook anymore, thus I don't eat as much. After my separation in October I've lost probably 30-40 lbs by not eating so much and smoking 2 packs a day. Was at like 315, own to like 265 or 270 now. Also, whiskey instead of beer every night.

i seriously considered the cigarette diet as well.

s.rose: Alternate between the two, on say a monthly cycle (hur cycle geddit).

Oh my GOD smoking would be the worst health decision you could possibly make! Don't ever start!

hehe i wasnt 100% about smoking, but it did cross my mind - when i was a 10 per day smoker i was a rake!

AA, is the switch to treadmill necessary? i truly hate running and much much prefer cycling - but am i missing out on exercising certain parts of my body if i stick solely to cycling?

and perhaps related, the main problem with my body are my love handles and flabby belly, if i continue with the aerobic + anaerobic exercise + low cal eating will these problems disappear in enough time? are there any particular exercises i can do to focus on these pesky bits?

Most important fact first: You can't spot reduce. Fat goes where it wants to go.

If you don't like the treadmill, don't use it. At all. You'll only keep it up if you like doing it.

You seem to do plenty on the bike, so your legs will be getting a decent pounding. Have you looked at the rowing machine?

Oh and yes, they will disappear if you're doing everything properly.

that's good to hear about the belly flab! i had visions of a tight lean frame with a rubber ring of flab round the middle

is it really important to switch machines after a time? i might try out the cross trainer but i can't see myself sticking at it so long or enjoying it as much as the bikes. but if im getting the same results on a bike as on a different cardio machine then is it really vital to switch?

that bodybuilding site is great btw, thanks very much for that link

I only started to like running when I weighed little enough that it wasn't extremely uncomfortable - like maybe when I was only about 10 pounds overweight instead of 20 or 30.

is it really important to switch machines after a time?

Yeah. Your body gets used to a certain way of working and begins to adapt to it. It's change that has the most impact.

My weights routine changes every four weeks for this reason. You need to shake things up in order to maintain progress.

ahh damn, i didn't know this. looks like i'll have to try out the cross trainer every so often. would something like 3 wks of cycling, 1 wk of crosstrainer be enough of a change? as hurting says, it should get easier as i get lighter.

in what way do you change your weights routine, AA? i have a basic routine of 3 sets of 20 reps on about 5 or 6 machines, not too sure how i could vary them.

Try it, see if it works.

My current routine is a five-day split, meaning I go in five days a week and do a ~50 minute routine. It's all low reps/heavy weights, so I can manage four reps but no more than six. Next week I'm on two weeks of hypertrophy, doing lighter weights but ~12 reps at a time. Then it's back to low reps/heavy weights for a few weeks, but different exercises to what I'm doing now.

Also, I don't use machines unless it's absolutely necessary because generally they're sort of useless.

You should see a trainer and get a programme. Does your gym do programmes?

<i>I don't use machines unless it's absolutely necessary because generally they're sort of useless.</i>

woah, how come?

You don't get the right kind of training, stability for example. Bench pressing a barbell is 293847293749234 times more effective than using some machine that does the same thing, because you're having to hold, balance and stabilise the entire bar, rather than have a machine do all that for you.

You can't avoid machines for some exercises, like calf raises and cable rows/pulls, because there's really no other way to do those.

By contrast my trainer wants me eating five meals a day ffs. I've just spent $80 on some magical bulking powder. This had better work.

blew out any semblence of tracking my eating on tuesday night with a burrito and a 6er of Rainier's tallboys. Got good & drunk whilst watching primary election returns.

Woke up today with a mild hangover and a chest cold, making my morning all the more blah. No exercise or brisk walks for me for the last coupla days.

In other news, i found out that six pints of beer is only like 20-21 weight watchers points. Funny how that works out.

Attempting to loose the 8-ish lbs I put on during the stress fest that was the end of 2007 and then over Christmas. I've always eaten in a reasonably healthy fashion (nice fatty things in small amounts, excepting cheese and wine - I will not strip all wicked joy from my life, however much I actually enjoy raspberries, grilled fish etc.) So I've started going swiming three times a week again. I was doing this about a year and a half ago and it worked very nicely. I had a flatter stomach, noticably more toned upper arms and thighs and the bit of cellulite I did have went (I am aware I'm quite genetically lucky WRT cellulite, and I thank my grandmother's genes on a regular basis.)
So, swimming it is. Four pounds gone. Whoo hoo! Just the difficult four to go now. (I always struggle with those four-five, that's the cheese weight.)

AA, is the switch to treadmill necessary? i truly hate running and much much prefer cycling - but am i missing out on exercising certain parts of my body if i stick solely to cycling?

and perhaps related, the main problem with my body are my love handles and flabby belly, if i continue with the aerobic + anaerobic exercise + low cal eating will these problems disappear in enough time? are there any particular exercises i can do to focus on these pesky bits?

pretty sure that aerobic exercise is aerobic exercise is aerobic exercise - the point of it isn't to work certain parts of your body, the point of it is to get your heart beating faster and your lungs working harder for an extended period of time - so whatever you choose that does this is fine

kingfish, what is the logic behind lager having low points? i dont quite understand the WW system, is it not based on calories?

AA, that's annoying (for me) about the machines. im not planning to use the weights in my gym as that area is always populated by a real nasty bunch of alpha cocks, complete with roidstare. when i move to a new flat the aim is to have a spare bedroom to put an exercise bike, weights and bench in there, but that'll be at least 6 months off. i'll stick with the machines for now though.

are you a full-on bodybuilder, in that you enter competitions or is just a hobby, a personal thing to look muscular? just out of interest id like to see a photo of your shape. im taking monthly photos of my progress so i'll put them up once im at a stage im happy with.

that bodybuilding site has got me very keen on learning the full facts behind it all, and how best to use weights, though im reading a lot of contradictory points about carbs, proteins, aerobic vs anaerobic, etc. things like eating 8 small meals per day aren't an option for me, but i dont think im doing *that* much damage to my metabolism by eating 3 meals per day.

kingfish, what is the logic behind lager having low points? i dont quite understand the WW system, is it not based on calories?

It's based on calories/kilojoules and saturated fat, as far as I'm aware.

are you a full-on bodybuilder, in that you enter competitions or is just a hobby, a personal thing to look muscular? just out of interest id like to see a photo of your shape.

Full-on? Nah, just a pride/confidence thing. I've been at it for about four years, but never really had proper direction (or sufficient time) until just recently, so the results have only ever been basic. I can take photos, but I don't know if posting them in this thread, and therefore rubbing 9% body fat in the noses of people who read this and are struggling, is terribly fair. The gym thread, perhaps?

Everyone contradicts everyone else in health and training. It's really really bloody annoying. Most of the time whatever you do is okay, as long as it makes sense and is backed up. The bodybuilding site is also aimed at a wide range of people, and it can be difficult to know who's writing some of it; not to mention the fact that everyone's different, and so some techniques and supplements that work for one person may not work for another.

Stick to three meals if that's what suits you. Again, everyone's different.

s.rose, as per your request:

http://www.4bitterguys.com/adam/before.jpg

^ 2003-ish(~80kg)

http://www.4bitterguys.com/adam/after.jpg

^ 2005-ish (roughly where I am now, but perhaps 1-2% less body fat)

Had my meeting today. Have lost a total of 5 lbs since starting 2 weeks ago, so i'm down to 248 and change. I haven't weighed less than 250 lbs in several years.

(for body type analysis, i'm a shade over 6'1" with a decent back & legs from years of the rowing machine and bike; biceps & upper chest need much work, tho)

Also, i've dropped 20 lbs from last spring/summer, which is astonishing, since i think i drank MORE after changing jobs.

Brilliant! If you keep doing what you're doing, there's no reason that it shouldn't continue to drop.

What's the best way to do sit-ups? I wanna start them but I'm worried that I'll do them wrong and they'll be ineffective, or give me a hernia or something. Any diagrams or videos online to show the best way?

They're more effective if you keep your feet up against your bum and pull your chin toward your hips, rolling into it.

I read/was told once that only a small movement was needed for a sit-up to be effective, but I'm not sure if that's just an excuse to do relatively lazy/easy versions, rather than fully pulling myself up to meet my knees, which I'm not convinced I could even do one of.

Yeah. If you go all the way up, you're just rocking up and down. Your shoulders must be off the surface but you don't want to be sitting upright. This is what I mean about pulling your chin toward your hips: you lift by pulling with your abs alone, not by swivelling with back, legs, glutes etc.

If small movements are easy, you're not doing them properly.

It's probably something you need to be shown, actually.

thanks for those pics AA, very interesting. can i ask what your height and age are, and what BMI you were in the 2003 shots? i was about the equivalent of those 2003 pics when i began this whole thing 3 weeks ago so it'd be good to compare. your shape in the 2005 pics looks just excellent, it's definitely something to be proud of. i hope i'll move toward a more intensive weights routine too, once ive dropped this excess fat.

i did my third weekly weigh in this morning and it seems ive lost 7 pounds in the past 3 weeks, which im pleased with as i dont feel like ive been depriving myself at all, and even if a few bad habits drift back in eventually there are some that i'll never go near again (insanely sugary soft drinks for one) knowing what i know now. this also means that im on the very brink of entering the 'healthy' BMI - i'm 0.1 away from leaving the 'overweight' section.

having a meal out for valentines day but the plan is to just have breakfast that day, and do a strong workout at the gym so even if the meal comes to 1000 cals i'll still be under the basal rate.

as (i think) i said on the other thread, a major plan for later in the year is to move to a place with a spare bedroom and buy some workout equipment for it - machines that aren't coated with a strangers sweat! my own music blasting out! no pain-in-arse travelling to and from the gym! - but what are the best and most essential basics to start with? im thinking a decent exercise bike with a digital display, a small set of dumb bells, a basic ab cruncher. will i need a bench too? what else is vital? and where could i find a decent weight training routine, without paying a trainer?

can i ask what your height and age are, and what BMI you were in the 2003 shots?

I'm 34 in March, and ~75kg and 178cm. I'd have weighed about the same in the 2005 pic.

Not a clue about BMI, sorry. I don't even know what my BMI is right now, I just know I was massively unfit in 2003. (The relatively small drop to 75kg is fat loss offset by muscle mass increase, so weight alone is a misleading indicator.)

your shape in the 2005 pics looks just excellent, it's definitely something to be proud of.

Thanks! My current goal is to double that - not in fat loss, but in muscle size.

btw, taking unflattering photos like mine above are really important, so months/years later you have something to look back on and remind yourself what you've achieved.

i did my third weekly weigh in this morning and it seems ive lost 7 pounds in the past 3 weeks, which im pleased with as i dont feel like ive been depriving myself at all (...) this also means that im on the very brink of entering the 'healthy' BMI - i'm 0.1 away from leaving the 'overweight' section.

Wow, this is fantastic. Obtaining results like this is what keeps you going.

what are the best and most essential basics to start with?

Honestly, I'm not sure. I've only ever used public gyms. At the very least, you'd need an adjustable bench, two dumbbells and a barbell (both with changeable weights) and a standing pulley mechanism. A swiss ball would come in useful for crunches and some pulley work. Forego the ab cruncher; you can do excellent crunches with just a bench and/or swiss ball, if your technique is correct.

If you get a bike, don't get a cheap one. They don't last.

where could i find a decent weight training routine, without paying a trainer?

I just came off Max-OT, which has given me incredible strength (but not size) gains in the five weeks I've been doing it. Links:

http://www.ast-ss.com/max-ot/max-ot_intro.asp
http://www.discussbodybuilding.com/Max-Ot_Complete_Routine/m_390/tm.htm

It's crucial to do the recommended warm-ups in order to avoid injury.

I recommend a trainer initially, just to show you good technique. Particularly in the case of the Max-OT programme, the weights are so heavy that you could injure yourself if you're not doing them correctly.

You should find some other good ones at bodybuilding.com. If you swap Max-OT and hypertrophy programmes (as I'm doing now), you're supposed to notice size gains along with the strength gains.

For situps, do them crunch-style(arms folded across chest), since with the fingers linked behind the neck, you can stretch your spine all to hell.

Said my chiropractor, at least, and he had the knowing of a lotta things.

Did my weigh-in today. Turns out I lost 5.2 lbs last week(wearing pajama bottoms instead of denim & a belt helps), so i'm down to 243 or so, for the first time in, again, several years.

Wow.

Expect a plateau soon, but don't panic when it happens.

Lost another 5.1 lbs last week. Down to 238. Wheeee.

Lotsa biking did it.

Do you still enjoy the biking?

yup

Brilliant.

a 5 pound drop each week sounds very high, is that sustainable? is it right that weight drops quickly at first then slows as you reach closer to your goal?

i'm getting a steady 2 pound drop a week and feeling just great for it. fitting into clothes ive not worn in years, positive comments from friends, love handles noticeably shrinking, the only thing left is a small paunch i need to shift. the split second decision to do this in mid-jan is pretty much the best thing i've ever done. big thanks to you AA for the encouragement and advice (that bodybuilding site you linked to has proven very useful).

i'm heading to the gym three times a week now and actually look forward to it. i didn't before because i didn't have a routine or plan, it was just half-arsed ad hoc bits of cycling and weights that didn't help at all. i listen to music and read magazines while on the exercise bike - i think the more hardcore gymgang frown on it because i'm not giving it 100%, but i'd rather give 95% and have 5% of enjoyment along with it.

i have a set target of reaching good slimness by june but i think i'll reach that well before then. i'll have to reassess what i want to do then as i imagine i'll have to do a different routine to the one i have now. i can't imagine my current eating habits changing much (a 400-500 deficit on the basal metabolic rate is proving no problem at all, amazingly). it makes me shudder to think about the junk i used to eat, out of pure ignorance, a little bit of thinking and calculating has made so much of a difference. before i did this i felt i was just sliding down an inevitable slope into fattiness, like so many of my family members and the people i know around me.

i'm planning for the 3 x weekly gymtrip to be a longterm thing, but what happens when you go on holiday for a cpl of weeks? does the muscle drop off quickly, is it bad to do this?

AA, do you have any basic tips for the gym? as in, increase the weights by one level every 2 months or so or whether its better to do small number of reps at a higher weight, or more reps at a lower weight, just general things like that!

also, does weight training increase testosterone? i could sense something like this in the hours after a session on friday.

it is the 7th sense

There's no way a 5lb/wk weight drop is sustainable, in terms of continually doing so week after week after week. This last coupla weeks were my most physically demanding, if you will, since I got out and biked around for 30-50+ mins almost every day. Way I figure it, once I hit my 10% goal(around the upper 220s), the rate will change and losing a significant amount per week will require more effort & activity.

But, hell, that's a problem I should only be so fortunate to have.

I have noticed that in the 5-6 weeks i've been on weightwatchers, I've lost enough weight to decrement my daily point allowance twice.

i'm getting a steady 2 pound drop a week and feeling just great for it. fitting into clothes ive not worn in years, positive comments from friends, love handles noticeably shrinking, the only thing left is a small paunch i need to shift. the split second decision to do this in mid-jan is pretty much the best thing i've ever done. big thanks to you AA for the encouragement and advice (that bodybuilding site you linked to has proven very useful).

This is great to hear. Now that you've seen what's possible you won't go back; everyone I know who's gone through the same thing has stuck to their new weight.

i'm heading to the gym three times a week now and actually look forward to it. i didn't before because i didn't have a routine or plan, it was just half-arsed ad hoc bits of cycling and weights that didn't help at all.

Crap innit? I used to do the same thing and wonder why nothing was changing.

i listen to music and read magazines while on the exercise bike - i think the more hardcore gymgang frown on it because i'm not giving it 100%, but i'd rather give 95% and have 5% of enjoyment along with it.

Pffft. You've got to have music, and I don't think flipping through a magazine will have much of an impact. It's when you take in a novel or chat to people that you're wasting your time.

i'm planning for the 3 x weekly gymtrip to be a longterm thing, but what happens when you go on holiday for a cpl of weeks? does the muscle drop off quickly, is it bad to do this?

I've been told that you lose half your strength after two weeks off, but it's probably a bit of a stretch. You couldn't lose half your size (muscle mass) or fitness in two weeks. I'm prepared to be proven wrong though.

In October I'm going to Vietnam for two weeks, and there won't be time to do a lot of gym work. I think there's basic stuff you can do in a hotel room just to keep on top of it; when/if I find out what it is I'll stick it in the gym thread.

AA, do you have any basic tips for the gym? as in, increase the weights by one level every 2 months or so or whether its better to do small number of reps at a higher weight, or more reps at a lower weight, just general things like that!

Change everything every four weeks. That's the biggest one.

If you're doing strength training, you always want to be trying for heavier weights. If you're doing hypertrophy (as I am now), you need to be increasing the number of reps (or sets) roughly every week.

If you don't want bulk, focus on strength training. If you bulk too much, do fewer weights sessions and focus on cardio. If (like me) you want bulk, cut out cardio altogether. :)

My brother's college football weighttraining program was 3 times of 30 reps. Once you can do that, increment the weight and start again.

Is this a good diet?

Bran flakes, brown toast and coffee for breakfast

Bagel with sliced meat for lunch

Lean meat with rice and veg for tea

Apples and bananas as snacks

Cuz it's mostly all I'm eating at the moment.

30 reps?! 15 is probably enough.

Bodrick: I can count three food groups there. You could be adding to that and mixing it up. The sliced meat sounds processed. It could certainly be a lot worse though.

Yeah, you want to get meat sliced fresh from the deli, not pre-sliced packaged stuff.

Also, you should get like 2 teaspoons of "healthy oils", like olive oil or something per day.

And a multivitamin.

Some of the meat is off the counter, some is processed.

I heard multivitamins are bullshit, I dunno tho.

Olive oil is god. It's still oil though, so don't be drinking it :)

Still, two teaspoons instead of say, butter or margarine, is quite easy.

Oh, definitely. Don't cook with anything else.

Down to 236 today. Gained half-a-pound when measured last week, seem to have more than made up for it since. Am within like 7 lbs of my original 10% goal.

Must feel sooo good.

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf700/f780/f78080jkbhe.jpg

pretty good, yeah. No major life/energy changes yet, but not bad so far.

One of the many side-benefits of my increased bike-riding(60 minutes tonight, up & down portland hills), that i can drink lots of light beer at the end of the night with no problem.

Yes, i know that i'm doing the horrid thing by chugging lite beer, but such temporary concessions must be made in the course of dropping a lot of weight. Once I get to an acceptable level, i'll change up from "losing" to "maintaining", and back to the proper stuff i go.

I am so starting this asap. I am really effing tired of being such a fat-ass.

I am currently formulating my workout plan. I will post for comments.

Alright, so its been QUITE a few years since I was regularly working out and watching what I ate, so I'm starting slow.

The bare minimum rules are:
1) No fried food
2) No fast food
3) No sodas, even diet - if I'm thirsty, water
4) At least two 45 min walks a day, increasing to one 45 min walk and one jog, once my legs/ankles/feet get up to it
5) 3 times a week, gym
6) Consume no more than 1500 calories per day

I'll post each week to see what happens. Its not as if I have a particularly unhealthy lifestyle, but I'm not doing anything to get healthy, and being a desk-bound American, I have swelled. NO MORE!!!

7) lowest possible carbs after 5pm

Also you have to enjoy either doing all of this or the effects it has on your body, otherwise you may not keep it up. I don't mean this to be a sledge or a downer.

Absolutely true. I know that I have the will power to push through and get past the initial difficulties of getting into a workout routine. I just need to kick that will power in.

And totally true about the lowest possible carbs after 5pm. I tend to do that anyway, with my most carbiliscious meal being breakfast.

Ah cool, sorry then.

I'm currently at 260 (you really would never know it to see me), and want to be at 240 by the middle of August. Holding at a little more than a pound a week loss, I should be able to do it.

Hoping for more, but every single resource says that a pound/week is the guideline for sensible weight loss.

I'm currently at 260 (you really would never know it to see me)

That's for sure! 260! I would never have guessed, B.L.A.M.

Ah cool, sorry then.

No need to apologize, my man. Your results above are impressive enough for me to defer to your expertise. I am hoping to post similar ones.

That's for sure! 260! I would never have guessed, B.L.A.M.

It can be deceiving, Ned.

I'm just a large dude. 6'3", 6'6" with the afro.

Hoping for more, but every single resource says that a pound/week is the guideline for sensible weight loss.

-- B.L.A.M., Thursday, 3 April 2008 09:52 (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

Yep. If you get lucky and knock it off a bit faster, great, but don't aim to do that. Rapid weight loss is too fast for your system and it all just piles back on again.

i'm down to 231 and change as of last weekend. two months of weight watchers and i dropped 21 lbs or so.

7) lowest possible carbs after 5pm

oof, what's the science behind this? im a sucker for having 11pm sandwiches and similar. what's a good suppery snack to have instead?

and BLAM, all the best with your plans. your goals seem really similar to mine when i began, but don't try to do too much at once, bring it in slowly then it doesn't seem like such a steep curve. this thread (and a cpl of the others about gym routines) should prove invaluable, i've found AA's support and advice especially helpful.

one of the most helpful things should be counting calories, once you start logging the calorie and fat content of your meals you'll soon start eating better. you might need more than 1500 seeing as you're a tall guy, so don't feel guilty about going up to 1700-1800 some days.

and finally, good luck! if you have any questions just ask here and i'm sure someone will be able to help. in all my years of reading ilx these threads have added more joy to my life than any others, hope the same happens for you!

The WW line is that you want to stop eating 3H before bedtime, as that's how long it takes to digest your food, then your body can go on burning fat cals whilst you sleep.

Yeah.

oof, what's the science behind this?

You don't burn off anything while you're asleep. Loading on carbs before lying down for 8 hours means it all piles on as fat etc.

im a sucker for having 11pm sandwiches and similar. what's a good suppery snack to have instead?

Anything protein-rich and low-carb should satiate you. So no bread or rice or pasta. Grilled giant mushrooms are ace.

protein and healthy oils help to make you feel full(er). go for 2 tsp/day of olive oil.

more tips for suppery snacks please!

also, what is the difference in effect on your body between eating 100 calories worth of crisps and 100 calories worth of apple a day?

For one thing, 100 cals of apple will give you far more energy, along with all the vitamin bits.

Currently down to 230 lbs and change. Been sick since thursday, and unseasonably cold & rainy weather has put the kibosh on my usual night biking.

ok my update, down about 20 pounds from mid-january. i've had a few nice comments this last week or so, a suspicious "you're looking thin..." (as in they think im using drugs or cheating somehow) and a few wow you've lost weight, so that's all great. even my skin is better and ive not been sweating as much. feeling so healthy and energetic, except ive been getting mildly ill every few weeks but i think that's down to something unrelated to diet/exercise.

i've stopped the calorie counting now, as my bmi is about 22 and im feeling good. my eating habits are much better now, it's totally ingrained in my mind not to pig out on crisps or weekly takeaways and such. sticking to the 3xgym per week (how *good* does food taste after a workout, esp if its mega healthy like veg & fish), and hoping to get down another 7 pounds or maybe another full stone. probably won't come to that though, realistically i think i'll level out after losing a cpl more pounds, but that's great - esp as i bought a whole new set of clothes the other week and don't want to have to do that again anytime soon.

best thing ilx ever did: helped me not to be a fattey

i am going to a trainer for the first time: i have dropped my BMI by .78 in the first two weeks of work, as well as six pounds of quick fat.

six days of gym each week: 500 calories @ 130BPM x 3, and 3x weight routine.

my dad and stepmom came to visit tonight, so we went out for a big dinner. then i got back and my neighbors were having the first grill-out of the year, and i couldn't resist. so tonight i ate:

a bunch of mussels
fries ('frites')
bread
1/2 patty melt
crab cake
cheese cake
Anchor Steam
Dogfish IPA

and then for dessert

large burger
ear of corn
Lazy Mutt Ale x2

-- Jordan, Wednesday, April 23, 2008 2:44 AM (0 seconds ago) Bookmark Link

also, if the ultimate goal is weight loss i do not understand why it is better to do 500 calories of walking on a treadmill (+/- one hour at 130 BPM) as my trainer suggests, versus the 870 calories of elliptical workout (+/- one hour at 175 BPM) as i would do on my own.

can somebody explain?

Job security.

what is the difference in effect on your body between eating 100 calories worth of crisps and 100 calories worth of apple a day?

Arseloads of salt and saturated fat.

Sooo good to hear you've come so far btw.

remy: nfi. What's elliptical again?

remy, she's trying to keep you in the fat-burning zone of heart rate rather than the cardio building zone.

So, thanks to being at work for two weeks straight practically and running to opera rehearsals in my spare time, I've lost 10 pounds.

^ brilliant

so i am 18 lbs lighter than when i started, and my belly-fat package is riding higher-up on my abs (which, apparently, i have begun to develop) ... but somewhat strangely, my waist size (32) has not diminished at all.

last time i weighed what i now do, my waist was a definite 30.

176 - 18 = 158 lbs.

I've quit smoking and rather than gain an appetite, I've lost it, which is great as I could do with losing about a stone or so. I was very surprised really. Giving up smoking has also coincided with giving up buying cheese which I was always partial to having a nibble at when bored. I guess it's all a discipline issue really - giving up one thing has taken a lot of self control and now I'm less inclined to pig out, and more inclined to workout. I've noticed minimal effect on how my body looks (I don't really weigh myself) but there is some improvement I think :-)

So much goodness in this thread.

I've been stuck around 230 for almost 4 weeks now. Only dropped a quarter pound in the last week, but i drank a lot, didn't bike too much, so there you go. Less than 2 lbs from my 10% goal.

It always slows down. That first chunk almost falls off and the last takes ages.

Yes, but I am also a lazy drunk. So there ya go.

i have worked out for at least an hour every day since i last posted, eaten less than 1600 calories without exception (30% by volume in proteins, 120% USRDA fiber) and still i have gained 6 pounds.

my love handles are shrinking though. i credit the tri-dips and captain's chair, which has become my most loved/hated piece of equipment.

monday is my one month check-in; i'll see what part of my 17.7% body fat still remains.

Sounds like that extra weight is largely new muscle.

After weeks of plateau, finally lost a bit more and am down to 227, for the first time in 7 years. I hit my 10% loss goal. Hooray.

I followed a 3 hour, 46 mile cycle with: crisps, chips with mayo, pork scratchings, sausages and FOUR slices of chocolate cake :(

be sure to drink your water.

yay kingfish

some shitty stuff happened in my life and the air con broke downat the gym during the hottest week of the year. :-( :-( hence i've not done much exercise :-(

Go for bike rides instead; saves your joints.

here is my weight progress during the past eight weeks:

178 --> 172 --> 166 --> 158 --> 164 --> 172

and i am really fucking frustrated, because of how little i am eating (and how carefully, to get my proteins, fibers, fats) and how much i am working out. i am allowing the possibility that i have gained a lot of muscle, given the 50-60 minute resistance routine i do 6x/weekly, but i kinda think that cutting out my cardio in exchange for this resistance (or downgrading it from 3000 c./week to 1500 c./week) was an epic mistake.

plz assess my old routine vs my new one?

old routine
heavy cardio (e.g. 950c. exercise M-W-F) / heavy weightlifting
Tue-Thu-Sa)

new routine
250 cardio every day & heavy upper body weightlifting and resistance (M-W-F) / heavy lower body weightlifting and resistance (Tue-Thu-Sa)

6 hours of resistance a week sounds like overtraining to me. What/how are you lifting?

have you been measuring your waist circumference? if you're weight training , this is a good idea. i mean, it's been said before, but if your pants are fitting better, if you can actually see more muscle, how much does the scale really matter?

i have lost like 5 lbs in the past 2 wks b/c of my 40-min-each-way bike commute. which is in turn making me pay more attn to what i eat and when. also it is no longer winter. all of this is good.

i am doing an interval strength training. the 'heavy day' routine from my trainer:

3 x 15 pushups
8 x 12 toe-elevator-thingies on the stairs (i like these a lot)
3 x 1 minute planks
3 x 12 leg lifts in captain's chair
9 x 12 leg press @ 70lb. (3 sets w. feet shoulder distance apart, 3 w. feet pressed together, 3 w. feet extended as far as possible)
3 x 12 assisted dips @ 90 lb
3 x 12 assisted pullups @ 90 lb
3 x 12 lateral pulldowns @ 50 lb
3 x 12 chest press @ 65 lb (this is the hardest for me)
3 x 12 ball crunches (upper), 3 x 12 ball crunches (lower)
3 x 12 wall sits /hammer curl @ 15x2 lb
3 x 12 skullcrushers @ 20 lb
3 x 12 (ea. arm) side lifts (lean to the side, stand up straight, repeat) @ 15 lb
3 x 12 (ea. leg) mountaineers
20 reclining leg lifts

3 x 12 lunges w. 20 lb. weight over head

Oh ok. Personally, I think interval strength training is mostly just good at keeping you in the gym 6 hours a week... Is it really more than just cardio? You *are* targeting a lot of individual muscles, which is a good thing, but are you getting significantly stronger? Have your weights gone up? Are you building new muscle? You're resting each muscle group a lot going through each interval, but I feel like you're doing too many reps of too little weight. Yeah, you're doing 9 sets of 12, but 70lb leg presses is a joke. You should be doing at least your body weight.

If you weren't doing anything at all prior to 8 weeks ago, this is a fair way to get you warmed up - using the equipment, practicing form, breaking yourself in - but I think it's probably time you moved to fewer sets, fewer reps, and probably significantly more weight. Go slow, with a 4 count on the up motion and the down motion, and if you can do more than 12 reps in a set, increase the weight. I'd try alternating between your current sessions and heavier, shorter sessions to shake things up and see how things feel.

Kerm is otm here.

If you want strength, do high weights and low reps. If you want size, do low weights and high reps. Don't do low weights and low reps because you will actually be wasting your time.

At the end of your last set for each exercise, regardless of the type of weight training you're doing, you MUST be rooted. This is the best and only way to get significant results. You need to feel as though you've completely fucked your muscles. My leg presses are over 400lb, and my legs are not even that strong. Sorry but 70lb won't do a thing. Honestly. Walking up stairs will give you a better workout than 70lb, unless you weigh less than 70lb.

btw I'm not advocating injuring yourself. Build up to the heavier weights. On legs, though. you should have no trouble doing more than 150lb right now.

dieting is hard. i have like 2 more weeks. yuck

and then what?

Back on the cakes.

hahaa NO! after the diet my plan is start a healthy protein rich regimen.

diet-->diet

haha i know. well i'm one of these ppl that looks good really skinny! it sucks tho cuz i love the weight on my face, just not on my hips :/

I want to calorie count, but I cook from fresh and I don't bother measuring unless it's baking. So I basically can't be arsed.

I gained nearly 20 lbs since last year and it won't come off. I've made it a point to be more active and to eat less crap, but still no result. I was on Weight Watchers 2 years ago and it really worked, but the food kinda sucked.

ok i'm still goin. i think i've figured out if i can get past the 4th day i'm good.

but i'm definitely a little cranky this week

ok so what i'm not supposed to talk about my eating habits with my friend cuz she like can't diet? i think she just got upset with me because she's just not that way

she's like all upset now!

sur, it's her issue! you shouldn't personalize it even though that seems to be what she's doing

yes, i think she is a bit....

"Don't talk to me about fruits and vegetables! I'm on a strict bacon and Doritos regimen for medical reasons!!! It's part of my culture. It's who I AM!"

hehehehe

she's dropping the anorexia word now! look i can starve myself for 2 weeks without being anorexic. and i can talk about it! i mean, i don't talk about it all the fucking time but this is what's happening in my life. i'm hungry.

ok she just said she's jealous. this is awful i'm liveblogging an argument

starving yourself for 2 weeks doesn't seem healthy.

i don't diet healthy, i diet fast

sur i know this goes to another thread but maybe your dieting has something to do with blaxxing out (also dehydration from teh heat)

lol i know. i learned that lesson

i don't know is it insensitive to talk about things like this? i mean should i not talk about dieting around people who aren't into that kind of thing? i don't get it

just the whole concept of "dieting" seems so old fashioned, isn't it better just to eat healthy (without starving your body) all the time?

yes, most people don't want to hear about that shit.

because?

so i took the advice of this thread, and i have relost about five pounds. also, my shoulders are getting big.

everyone loses weight their own way.

ohh good!

people talk about a lot of shit i don't want to hear about but they should still be able to talk about it without any grief

well ... if somebody's health at stake for the sake of their vanity, there's a reasonable objection to be made for providing hard truths.

theoretically.

i guess i'm just on the fence when it comes to the responsibility of being sensitive discussing issues of weight around certain people. i mean, i have to hear about allll the pork chops pizza and chips. i kinda feel like, i'm gonna talk about my fucking strawberries.

because it seems vain and a lot of people are self-conscious about their weight?

xp

it's more fun to talk about eating good food than not eating good food.

Hearing about other ppls diets can be k-boring. I mean I'm not saying always boring--I read this thread, right?--but maybe yr friend is just like "OK can we talk about something else already?"

i.e. "ME"

i guess so Jordan, i guess you're right. no, really i haven't been talking her ear off about it. she just all sensitive cuz she has issues with her weight and can't lose it that way.

wow i just got upset

I get a bit annoyed when people tell me about their clearly incredibly unhealthy dieting habits, because I can't even tell whether they're looking for praise, envy, or concern, but sometimes it's obviously some kind of competitive ego-padding or attention-seeking. Like if I'm eating a sandwich for lunch, and the other person says "If I skip breakfast and lunch for another week, do you think I'll look less fat, or should I skip dinners too?" That just seems manipulative, like the person is trying to make me get really worried about them, or feel guilty that I'm not skipping meals, or something. I think there are insensitive ways to talk about it.

ok see this is the thing. i guess i get that? but whenever i talk about, i talk about because it's just a big part of my life. eating is a big part of our lives. and i'm just a very open person. so. there ya go.

"If I skip breakfast and lunch for another week, do you think I'll look less fat, or should I skip dinners too?"

but this is clearly obnoxious

It is! But I think some people just have seriously different (IMO, screwed up) views of what is normal and acceptable, and don't realize how weird their ideas are. There's also an element of self-centeredness that actually blinds them from realizing that you clearly think eating sandwiches is normal and acceptable, or else they wouldn't say it (at least I hope it's self-centeredness, and not being perfectly conscious of you and just trying to show off).

Which is not to say that you do sound or think like that. But anorexic friends make you think about anorexic psychology, and, well, that's what it looks like and why it's good to avoid!

(PS I'm talking "literally anorexic" here, not just being snide. But I think it's a slippery slope among girls of a certain age.)

yea i hear ya

and a certain type of guys too, maria

i have witnessed visible abs today, on me
b/c of all the biking but also b/c i stopped eating the things that are difficult for me to digest plus stopped the booze but esp beer ;_; but also :) b/c my digestive system has not caused me pain in days and days yaay! and i have lost 5+ lbs, i don't know, i don't have a scale, i just go by how clothes fit and clothes are getting loose

also despite my skepticism i've been doing 'em0tional freed0m technique' thing b/c my naturopath (who is also healthily skeptical of many things) did it with me re: insatiable desire for sugar and it totally worked. or something worked. whatever the case, i used it for desire for beer in social situations where everyone is drinking beer and it worked for that, which kinda blew my mind. so hey. ultimately i'd rather feel and look healthy and happy than have these overwhelming desires to eat/drink the things i obv have a difficult time with physically & mentally/emotionally.

also it is going to be a hot summer and i want to go swimming a lot and wear bikinis aw yeah

what is this technique, robyn? i need to stop having cravings for ramen. it is killing my otherwise relatively healthy diet. i just want ramen ALL THE TIME!

i have never worn a bikini and doubt i ever will. boo, they don't really sell many cute and less revealing suits...

lol: www.emofree dot com

yeah rrobyn what is yr emotional freedom thingum? and how does one apply this technique? genuinely curious

b/c i have an unhealthy relationship with cheese

i totally loled A LOT at "emofree.com" when i first saw it omg

the official site kinda seems a bit snake-oily, tbh

on that site tho there is a downloadable (for frees) pdf that explains the whole thing - i don't know what else they're saying/shilling on the site b/c i didn't read it - i'm just going on what my naturopath and a friend of my mom's (who does natural healing things and is awesome) said. it's sort of a combination of chinese medicine and like i don't know 'personal power'/affirmations/mantras? anyway it does sound a bit crazy b/c it involved tapping these meridian points and repeating the same phrase each time you tap these points. i also include the point at the top of the head, which i don't think they do in the pdf manual. if you really want to change a habit/addiction that you think is causing you problems, then i think it should work. but as with, say, smoking, if someone doesn't really want to give it up, if it's, like, a part of their identity they can't live without, then i'm guessing this technique will be rough going, tho it might have an effect after a while.

xpost yeah kinda snake-oily for sure but i think that the fact that they're giving you the manual for free says something - and it's not vague or anything, like it actually tells you what to do and you don't need to buy anything to do it.
p.s. you will feel like a total dork the first time you do it

p.s. i believe in energy meridians

surprising to no one

rrobyn, no matter what my opinions are about the specific technique, i think it's fantastic that you've found something that feels good & has tangible results for you. and belief is probably 9/10th of the reason for its success!

i could stand to believe in a few more things, i think

yeah i think i prob believe in my own abilities to stay healthy and not put myself in pain more than i believe in this specific technique, but i also believe in my yknow connection to the universe and everyone/everything in it. also i just don't have time to feel like crap or feel not-myself, i realized, so changes are being made.

eft sounds a bit like the NLP "anchoring" bit, which is about using verbal and physical cues to recall positive "resourceful" states of mind -- so if there's multiple techniques for mapping the same sort of biofeedback response, it at least makes me think there must be some valid basis for it

yeah i think it's all connected - one of the reasons i tried it is b/c of the meridians/chinese-medicine/etc connection - i think a lot of these things are just different language and methodology about the same thing, some out to make $ and/or fame, some not, same old story

My Chinese therapist did emofree on me for a PHYSICAL complaint. Did fuck-all, but he kept insisting and pushing it until I stopped seeing him. I imagine for a craving it would be effective though.

i'm really not into love handles. i mean i like them on some guys, it's like cute (ok on some guys it's really cute!), but not on me.

You could drag a Kenworth with my love handles atm.

yes we believe you

I have to gain loads of body fat. Thinking of wearing baggy tops for a while.

Back down to 228. Need to bike more.

somehow i lost almost ten pounds in the past few weeks eating pastrami sandwiches and relaxing in the pool

I'm gonna lose weight cuz I feel like a 7 when I could be an 8 or 9 (for every 25 pounds lighter). That confidence boost would do wonders on my sex drive.

i have dropped four inches off my waist through not drinking alcohol every night

I have cut out all after-dinner snacks and desserts... but I've also started having several drinks a couple of nights a week (up from a couple of drinks a week total, up from not drinking at all for several years). I'm afraid this is just evening things out overall, but I guess that's better than dessert plus booze.

yeah I drink too much... there's a good Grifters song called Day Shift with those exact lyrics.

jesus i don't look very big but today i discovered i'm just over 13 1/2 stone : - O

this must change

How's everyone doing?

since january i dropped 2 stone, look and feel great, still keeping up the 3x week gym sessions. ive taken on advice from these threads (mostly yours AA, thanks!) about switching machines, doing weights etc.

i've been doing a lot of cross trainer for the past 2 months or so - got myself up to 55mins per session (burning off approx 800 cals) which is a real result for me. as of this week i'm back on the bikes and AA what you said about your body getting used to machines really rang true, after just 10 mins i was sweating whereas it'd been taking about 20 mins on the crosstrainer lately.

weightwise i've stalled around the 10st 9-13 mark for the past 3 months, only dropping about 5 pounds in that time, but that's fine, if it keeps at this level i'll be at my goal of 10st by the end of the year, and if not that's ok as i'm happy with how i look and feel at the moment - would be nice to kill off the small roll of fat round my middle though. it's all good though as i'm eating more of what i want, rather than counting calories so slowed weightloss is a fair tradeoff.

the other day i looked back at some photos i took at the very start of all this, can't believe i let myself go so badly. shameful.

"would be nice to kill off the small roll of fat round my middle though"

tell me about it, that thing is immortal.

how are a ilxors doing coming up to the horrible annoying yuletide period

i've not lost any weight in a few months (still 10st 9ish), doing the 3x week gym trip but not aiming to increase the weights, just keeping it steady and upping the cardio by 5 mins every few weeks. im fairly content with this, i know the main reason i've not lost any weight in a while is because i've been (enjoying) eating rich food lately and im fine with that.

my plan is to do another cal-restricted cold turkey from mid-jan onwards again (1500 per day) til i lose another stone then calm down on it. the longterm goal is to get down to 10 stone and stick to that like ive stuck to 11st lately. would really like to lose this small paunch but i'll prob have to go lower than 10st to get that. not sure if it's worth it as im quite happy as i am now and i like to balance working out with enjoying eating out / cooking up slap-up feeds etc.

im openly planning to drink, be merry and eat a bunch over the xmas period - im wary of getting into a boom/bust cycle of constant dieting but i figure one fortnight-blowout every year should be fine.

17kg down in 15 weeks, and that's the only time I'm posting to this thread until I've managed the 36kg loss I'm aiming for by next June.

I really, really miss salted peanuts, and assume that I'm gonna put on about 2kg back over Xmas so, I dunno. I missed one of my tri-weekly gym sessions today for the first time since I started because of work deadlines, so maybe it's all coming horridly crashing down. It's also dispiriting to lose so much weight and still be fat, but I suppose that's what 10 years of being on first name terms with kebab shop owners in six towns will do you.

s.rose, don't be scared of a xmas binge. A few days between months of discipline isn't going to undo it all.

17kg down in 15 weeks, and that's the only time I'm posting to this thread until I've managed the 36kg loss I'm aiming for by next June.

That's pretty incredible. Hopefully you know that the second half is more difficult to lose than the first: those first few kilos always vanish quicksticks for some reason.

Anyway, you're just about bang on the halfway mark, so keep doing what you've been doing. Missing the odd gym session isn't a big deal at all (although your guilt about it is a good indication of your drive to keep up the pace). June should be achievable, but don't panic or bash yrself up if you go over.

loved that kebambulance thread

btw I love this thread.

bizzump

Huh?

Anyway I have gained back about five kgs. Sigh. I can't seem to lose'em again. Anyone want'em? I hate my flabby tummy (thanks to excess weight and having popped out two kids). :-)

What I have managed to do: quit Cola Light! I just stopped drinking it. Crap for the stomach and also very bad for my migraine attacks. So YAY i quit! I know it has little to no effect on my calory intake but at least it's healthier.

i've done my update on the gym thread, in brief: kept the weight off, still losing it verrrry slowly, another 5 or so pounds to go and i'll have beaten my target.

does anyone know how dom is getting along? this probably isn't the best place to bring this up but any chance of getting him unbanned? he was always one of ilx's better contributors

Banned and being a better contributor seems kinda conflicting. I am kidding.

How many times do you go to the gym?

I just went to the doctor and found out that I seriously need to lose some weight. Like, medical seriousness. An EKG and heartrate were fine, but blood pressure and BMI were alarming to the doctor.

I'm freaking out, and feel kind of alone on this.

No need to freak out, and remember that you are never alone. Shit, i've lost weight and i drink more beer than anybody.

I'm realizing that I have some major league weight issues, as in body image and self-confidence issues, too.

This apart from a whole other mess of stuff that has leviathaned out of the day-to-day recently. Oh, and Los Angeles is burning.

I am a pretty major stress case right now.

this last year is the healthiest i've been, in terms of sleeping super regularly, eating a proper 3 meals a day (most days), exercising regularly, and i haven't been sick (apart from a brief cold) which is AMAZING since i usually get a chest infection every fucking year. and i've cut my smoking waaaaaaaaaaaaay the fuck back. and my skin is looking better than it has in years.

and yet i've gained probably 12-15kgs in that time. it's not like i was skinny, either - i was a pretty average size 8-10.

Get serious about ramping up your exercise. This does not mean becoming a marathoner all-at-once, but just finding ways to use more of your muscles more of the time. Walking is the best starting point for anybody who doesn't already walk a lot. Start modestly and go on from there.

Do whatever exercise seems attractive to you. For example, I hate gyms and hate exercise machines, but I love to walk on trails. Therefore, I walk a lot and make sure I get out onto trails as often as I can. Being in better shape lets me hike higher and farther and to better destinations. This provides motivation for keeping in shape.

The limiting-your-eating thing is not the place to put all your focus, but it is good to figure out a way to mot increase the amount you eat as you increase your exercise. Measuring portions and sticking to them is fairly practical, if a bit fussy. A healthy diet with more fiber and more complex carbs (== more vegetables and grains) is a good way to go.

Mostly, I'd say exercise more, by any means necessary. Most city people get a tiny fraction of the exercise they need to thrive.

And good luck.

Most city people get a tiny fraction of the exercise they need to thrive. This is so true, its scary. And I started a job 6 months ago where I drive more, walk less, and eat more (damn office snacks).

I'll keep the group posted weekly. Weight = 265 right now.

yeah going back to working is kind of pissing me off because i spent the last month and a half or so totally revamping my eating habits to make sure i eat 5x day and more protein and you can't really do that when you're in a sales office with potential buyers in and out.

Yo. Weight at 258. Blood pressure WAY down.

This cardio shit works like a motherfucker. See also: salads, less beer.

stopped eating crisps, mayonnaise & cheese. less beer. borrowed mrsofthenest's lolDavina exercise DVD. cycling everywhere. 1 week so far, lost almost half a stone. feels good :-)))

come join the nutrition nazis!

nah get on the ILX running thread it's where it's at

tried running a few weeks ago, inspired partly by the tales on the running thread. Ran 3 miles and it really hurt my already-fucked-up knee. I'm also way too self-conscious to be sweaty and out-of-breath lurching around the streets of Hull. Really enjoying cycling though, achieves pretty much the same effect without hurting where it shouldn't.

going to my first weight watchers meeting on thursday. i feel like betty draper!

i don't really care about "points" but the group i was attending through my health plan ended today and i'm looking for more structure/motivation.

This helped me, but I'm the sort to go on & off it over time

-lost 3 1/2 pounds since my last weigh-in
-apparently 1 1/2 oz. of scotch is four points! i just found that out. low-fat string cheese is one point but a harmless finger of blended scotch will get me in trouble. hrmph.
-i cut down my "official" daily number of points since i'm trying to lose 10 percent of my body weight*. the amount i'm doing still allows me to have 100-calorie yogurt cups, hard boiled eggs, laughing cow light cheese wedges, sandwich thins, fruit cups sweetened with splenda. seems like you have to be really careful with carbs. carbs are my downfall.

• the 10 percent is because i'm having surgery and the doctor wants to shrink my liver so the procedure will be safer. i got a call today saying my chart looks good and i've been cleared to meet with the surgeon and schedule the date; i just have to work on losing the weight, which is what weight watchers is for.

The structure of weight watchers has helped me and I've lost a lot of weight.
I don't think it's for everyone. I think it suits some personality types more than others.
I think the best thing I did was to make an explicit decision to never buy a single branded weight watchers product.

that's probably wise, although i did buy one of the ww smart ones breakfast sandwiches at the supermarket tonight.

why oh why must weight first come off everywhere except where it last went on

i've gone down seven pounds in the past four weeks! i know it's not a lot but i'm still really happy about it.

So I'm 17.5 stone now? When did that happen? What do I do? ;_;

Like, I can still play football and cricket to an OK standard and I retain some of my agility, and have a heavy frame regardless...but this is, like, a health risk by now, right?

Return of the London Walks?

Yeah I miss that a bit. Did a great one this year from Edenbridge to Tonbridge, just need to do it more often really

I do at least 50 mins on the exercise bike every day, usually while watching some doc or tv series junk to alleviate how boring it is. I can't get into running because of metal in my ankle so this works for me. Mind you the regime has gone to hell today with cooking and early drinking leading me astray.

yeah shit it's xmas

I stopped eating between meals and cut out any and all sweet stuff three weeks ago and even tho ive got the worst sweet tooth of anyone i know its actually been alright bar the odd pang.

delighted but embarrassed to note a 10lb loss in that time which drives home just how much shite ive been shovelling into myself.

ive a figure in mind but no fuckin chance itll be voiced because the jinx is strong.

i'm trying to lose weight so i joined this uh pre-diabetic group, it's terrible and i hate it but i'm sort of eating better. "sort of" because i kind of went to an argentinian steakhouse yesterday. but other than that i'm theoretically doing better.

I thought semi-quitting drinking would help shed the kilos but its done nowt, and I am slowly turning into a white whale. I hate myself pretty massively rn tbh.

Well done deems. it is surprising how addictive sugar can be, but also how quickly cravings can subside if you avoid it.
rushomancy, there's nothing wrong with the odd nice big meal.
trayce, sometimes it takes longer than expected. cutting down drinking is something I really could do with doing myself, so your body is likely thanking you in other ways.
i do that myfitnesspal app, or at least I try to. it's not perfect for tracking calories etc but it is useful in monitoring how often you eat and what sort of stuff you're eating, even if you just do it for a week or two. it's surprising how, without even thinking about it, one can need up eating all sorts of extra things throughout the day.
one of the few advantages of having been made single again for a few weeks now, is that I've pretty much lost around 10lbs. the disadvantage is that I found I was having to pull up my jeans all day today

Boo to breakup diets tho :(

17lbs down

be skinny by christmas if this keeps up ffs

Well done!

I've just finished my third week of doing the 5:2 - 600Kcals on a fast day, your calculated (not unreasonable) allowance on a NFD, managed to squeeze in a third fast day this week so I'm going to try to do that as often as I can stand.

Fast days are not as bad as I thought other than that continuous internal buzzer of denial that sounds when you go to reach for the fridge door for the twelfth time.

Not weighing myself yet, I've got a lot to shake off so I'm holding off for a bit.

My exercise routine has gone to hell. I was doing a 100 mins a day on the bike previously and must have put about 30 lbs on since I stopped. It just feels so easy to drink too much and eat good food some days and getting back into a healthier routine feels impossible, without some trainer pointing a gun at me or something.

it's so effing hot and sunny outside that exercise and no booze are almost impossible

looked into fasting, decided if i really needed it, it would still be there...good luck tho

DL i always find that ive a summer weight well below my winter excess, more exercise and eat less

I find that gym sessions tend to help the best for me, since I've always eaten healthily. But the last place I want to be on a hot day is sweating out in a gym. But yeah, tend to find I migrate about 8-10 pounds between winter and summer

I'm far from healthy, but I've been doing the low carb thing for a little over a year now. I've resigned myself to this lifestyle for the rest of my years because: it's insanely easy for a lazy person such as myself to maintain; I'm never hungry; I can booze it up once a week without issue; and finally, I've lost and kept off 60 lbs of weight since a year ago. I'm back to my college weight again (I'm 39) but I rarely exercise though, so again, I'm not "healthy."

18 weeks in, 21lbs down, target weight for brother's wedding next week achieved

apparently it was mainly about not eating crap all day watch out for my book in stores this christmas

that's great deems, well done!

sugar - you must give up the sugar - its not mommy's littel helper - its the key to teh door of disease!

also good owrk!

otm

also otm B-)

I've lost a little over 30 lbs in the past year or so by quitting booze and most added sugar, as well as increasing my exercise.

My biggest milestone so far was just a couple weeks ago when I realized I could fit into a 38 waist (down from a 42 - for a year or so I was buying clothes from Casual Male XL). There are so many brands of trousers that top out at 38. It feels amazing to fit into a slimmer cut that's not swooshing around my ankles.

Also, at the same time my BMI (flawed system, I know) dropped from obese to overweight. I still have more work to do, but at least I'm heading in the right direction for the first time in years.

hi 5 lighter ilxors imo

starting to look old af is the only thing

So, I lost 8 lbs between last September and December of last year by cutting sugar and replacing w/ healthier nuts 'n seeds options. Cool, right? Except I ended up with major stomach cramps, yarfing frequently, and experiencing chronic, intense heartburn. I began an elimination diet and ... basically ended up eating only yogurt and nutrition bars and a few frozen Trader Joe's meals, then adding back 12 lbs, and more as I tried not to feel sick all the time.

By April I existed on bland crackers 'n stuff. Carbs, steamed veggies, and bland meat also didn't seem to affect me, but cooking stuff in a wok did. As did ordering food at every restaurant. Doctors baffled, skeptical, etc.

Around May, as a last gasp, I switched to a pseudo-paleo thing (– yes, I know paleo is bunk –) and instantly got better. After another month of analyzing food logs, I figured out that I have a semi-severe barfing/heartburn/cramping/etc. reaction to SUNFLOWER and SESAME oil. Which, as it turns out, is in (*many*) Trader Joe's products, the majority of nutrition bars, lots of fry oils, all of the salad dressings and stir-fry sauces I make, ingrained in my wok, etc.

Since late May, I've shed the twelve pounds I gained. I'm motivating myself using DietBet (app/website) and so far I've made $13. I plan to go for another two months, so my total lost from June 2017 (189) to October 2018 (160) will be a hair under 30 lbs. Deems OTM about looking older, though. But I think I look older in a good way?

did you find a new stir-frying oil that doesn't bother you?

Nothing brilliant –– any suggestions? I had to scrape out and sand-down and re-season my wok. I've been using canola for everything. Safflower and peanut oils are often cross-contaminated w/ sunflower, and my wife's got an anaphylactic reaction to avocado, so those are out. Otherwise open to suggestions.

i've seen that rice bran oil has a high smoke point but can't say i've ever knowingly seen a bottle of it.

i might consider rolling the dice with cheap light-grade olive oil.

Ugh remy that's brutal. I've been there. The butter flavor at movie theaters will have me in fetal position on the floor, feeling like I'm being stabbed in the abdomen. An ex-bf's family took me to their favorite family restaurant for special occasions and both times I thought I might have to go to the hospital. (I was fine. But it's awful.)

In my case it's probably soybean oil since that's what popcorn butter flavoring is made with. For cooking, I think I just use corn oil? Or whatever is in the cupboard. Is that bad? I used to have a huge jar of coconut oil but the flavor is so strong it ruins everything that isn't a curry.

I'm motivating myself using DietBet (app/website) and so far I've made $13.

best thing I've found is to find another fat friend and do a weight loss bet, then tell everyone you know. people get real interested in that sort of thing. plus if you tell everybody and you're still fat after the bet's over then everyone knows you're a weak failure. idk it worked for me, though the first time I did it I wound up going down like 23 lbs in a month and rebounding real hard

", I figured out that I have a semi-severe barfing/heartburn/cramping/etc. reaction to SUNFLOWER and SESAME oil."

sounds like food allergy to me

remy - grapeseed oil?

my wife has corn allergy, of all things. She gets similar results.

and sesame is like the 9th top most common allergen

I had a roommate in college who was allergic to sesame seeds and puked all over the table once at the Yaffa because the hummus she ordered had tahini in it even though they said it didn't. TBH I kind of thought she was making it up at the time.

Making up the allergy, not the puking.

Anyway - Remy that's all very interesting. I've been having issues forever and I also did an elimination diet recently but I didn't follow it quite as strictly as I could have and didn't really get any conclusive results except for that I think I might have an issue with dairy and that I def feel a million times better when I cut out all the major allergins but I need to repeat it. I just hope that some day soon I can eat without being worried I'm going to feel sick afterwards.

23lbs but not bad considering the aul fella was home and we ate out most nights the last fortnight.

look old now. ill take it.

Good going if you've been eating out a lot.

I'm incredulous at how many calories restaurants can pack into their food. It's not uncommon for me to weigh 2 - 3 lbs more the next morning after eating out: a fairly impossible 7000 - 10,500 calories.

i try not to map each meal to an immediate change that way (nb i am not a food scientist or etc) but ime a few days of rich food without a commensurate increase in physical activity is when i start to see/feel real effects.

if i overindulge (and i do) then i have convinced myself that if i can make up for it while the grub is still in my system then its gonna count less.

no doubt oversimplistic but its working for me.

I was at a dismal 241 (not my heaviest but not very far from that) on 08/16. I'm now exactly 20 lbs later. Amazing what no booze, smaller portions and a little more exercise'll do. Only real goal is to get sub-200 by year's end.

*lighter lol

Lost another 10 since my last update. So far the score is 270-ish in March of 2017 down to 227 yesterday.

I'm incredulous at how many calories restaurants can pack into their food. It's not uncommon for me to weigh 2 - 3 lbs more the next morning after eating out: a fairly impossible 7000 - 10,500 calories.

eh 2-3 lbs is a pretty standard weight fluctuation. even on my worst days I don't think I can put down 7000 calories worth of food and drinks

yeah it's not from the calories it's from the water retention. a bad restaurant meal (e.g., cheesecake factory) could be 2000 calories, not enough to gain a pound even if you burn off 0% of it

i ate a lot of cookies last week and gained 3 lbs. probably not all cookies. i will return to my normal weight on or about october 1? i'll check back lol

Iwanttobelieve.jpg

In theory, it should be quite difficult to gain weight because it takes a hell of a lot of calories to put on even a few pounds. In practice, I put on weight really quickly if I eat out (unless it’s something completely untampered with, like sashimi).

13lb - 14lb down since mid-August, on the d-mac 'not eating crap all day' plan. Hopefully can put in place a healthier permanent non-snacking lifestyle and appreciate the food I eat more.

Great job. Snacking is a non-necessary evil.

im putting together a copyright obv

kiu

it is past oct 1 and as promised i returned to average. i'm going to eat pumpkin pie today.

Restaurant dishes 'contain more calories than fast-food meals' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-46540132

Down 26 -27 lb now btw. I think I’ve reached the target weight I want to maintain.

yea I remember going to Cheesecake Factory once and being astounded how many calories were in some of those dishes. it seem physically possible.

I mean, doesn't *

I've put on like 9lbs in a week and a half what the hell? Winter is definitely coming

congrats LS

Oh hello again, my many-chinned brethren and sistren.

So... in terms of work and family, I had a very stressful autumn. I decided that I wouldn't attend too closely to dieting while I was dealing with other things. Consequently, I buried the scale under the bed and resolved not to look at it until January 1st. An hour ago, I stepped on it for the first time since August. And guess what? I've gained 21.2 lbs. I'm aghast/depressed/frustrated. I signed up for a sixth month Dietbet, which has me losing somewhere on the order of 19 lbs. Even if I'm successful, I'll still be heaver than I was a year prior. I should console myself with cheese.

What are your dieting rules this year? I've determined to be free of added sugars (like usual), processed starches, alcohol, and to cook from scratch more than half of what I consume.

ey

remy

its literally the worst day in the year to weigh yourself

obv not 21lbs worth but be fair to yourself too!

ive not been in weigh-myself/watch-myself mode all december and ive put probably 5/6 lbs back on. back to focus mode tomorrow

vague rules, really obvious:

nothing between mealtimes- huge struggle for me, behaviourally

prep for working week:
decent cereal breakfast
elevenses of fruit/grain/yoghurt
lunch sandwich

coffee and tea whenever i want, have dropped sugar from each

we p much always cook dinner from scratch, ive not changed much here except maybe keeping an eye on portions.

no eating after 8pm, which im now well used to

i said it was all really obvious stuff tbf

now that im back in focus mode, ill weigh myself before breakfast every morning. ive an excel tracker because im nerdy that way, it gives me weekly/monthly trends/milestones that keep me motivated for those shitty days when the number went up despite yr best efforts, ie if im up this week i can still have lost weight on a monthly avg, etc etc

graphs and tables the lot by god

I'm in the habit of weighing once weekly, but thinking about getting a daily scale / tracker. Do you find it's helpful?

for me, yep, i need lots of reinforcement because i slip without thinking in my habits

ywmv

Lost another 10 since my last update. So far the score is 270-ish in March of 2017 down to 227 yesterday.

― how's life, Monday, September 17, 2018 2:17 PM (seven months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Fucked this up good and proper. Total cliche of making "rare exceptions" during the holidays and having it snowball and gained about 20 of that back. Pretty disappointed in myself, because not only was my weight/size better during the six or seven months that I was keeping things up, but I felt so much better too. Started cutting out sugar again yesterday.

same! im still down a decent bit on what i started but christmas and long tail of winter killed me eating wise.

start again tomorrow

Been doing the 4:3 fasting diet consistently since June last year, and not monitoring what I eat on a non-fast day, which is bad.

On a fast day I eat 600kcals of 'something'. I'm fortunate in that I don't wake up hungry and just wait until 6pm and guzzle my allowance then I'm done for the day.

However, I've still managed to lose about 28.5 kilos so far, it's sometimes slow going (I'm in my 40s and don't exercise much right now although I've been out on my bike more and more) but it is moving in the right direction, personally I find weighing myself every week or every few days to be a huge mistake especially wrt my will and wellbeing your body can yo-yo a lot during the course of a few days, so I try to do it once every few weeks instead and just take cues from the size of my chops in the mirror's reflection, and the way clothes are getting looser and my belt size etc:

I've lost 29 lbs since the beginning of the year. Started using the Noom app. I'm basically living off 1400 calories a day and then hit the gym daily so I can drink wine at night. There are no restrictions on my diet, so it feels easy. If I can loose another 11 pounds, I'll be "happy".

Jesus that is the least sustainable sounding diet I’ve ever heard.

no restrictions eh

power to ya but look

Ha. Exactly the amount of support I expect from this board.

It's about portion control. No rules like no sugar, carbs, gluten, whatever. Going on four months and I'm fine.

yeah, i used myfitnesspal ( I haven't heard of noom) a couple of years ago and it does really work. It just gets hard after awhile to log everything in because you think you can do it in your head and you really can't. I do remember eating a lot of low cal ice cream during that time though as my end of day splurge.

xp. the wine is included in your daily 1400?

It's probably not good though that i often mulled that a bottle of wine could just be 1/2 my calories for the day.

ha xp

nope - just food. I exercise for about 45 minutes a day to account for the extra wine calories and it's seems to work. ha xp

It’s not bot being supportive but statistically 90% percent of people put back on most weight lost within 5 years and the more restrictive a diet the more danger there is of doing so. 1400 is not enough calories for an adult especially if you’re exercising a lot!

gl to you darin and i wish id yr discipline rly

thanks to you both!

yeah, I'll have to be careful about reintroducing calories gradually so my metabolism doesn't fuck up. For me personally, cutting out entire food groups for me is impossible. I'd rather die than stop eating bread.

same but also everything else i like to eat

That’s all I meant - the chance of eating that restrictively and therefore maintaining weight loss in the long run is really unlikely and the yo-yo ing can permanently fuck up your metabolism. I didn’t mean to be rude earlier I’ve just been thinking/reading about this stuff a lot lately and worry about things that sound so extreme. I hear you on the bread though - that would be a far less delicious life.

Yeah, there's a lot of crappy diets out there. What I like about the Noom app is that it really helps you apply mindfulness towards your eating habits. It's my choice to push myself w/the 1400 calorie thing, which I know is extreme. If I can gradually increase to 2000 calories a day and keep eating mindfully, I think it can be a permanent change.

I've never really needed to lose weight for health-related reasons, but this year I decided to attempt Lent for the first time in my life, Eastern Orthodox style (well, the Romanian way; I have no idea whether it's the same in other Christian Orthodox parts of the world). I wouldn't call myself religious per se, so I'm primarily doing it for cultural reasons and because it reminds me that living without meat, fish, eggs, cheese, milk, sweets and alcohol isn't madness. Besides, you're allowed a bit of wine on weekends and vegan desserts aren't frowned upon. The overall aim is to cut back on surfeit, which I think is a useful annual lesson. As it stands, I'll probably do it again next year, although I do very much look forward to gorging myself on lamb, eggs and cabbage rolls this Sunday (in Romania we use the Julian calendar for Easter and the Gregorian one for Christmas – go figure…). More to the point (of this thread), I've lost something like 6kg since the 11th of March, so it's quite effective. I'm especially glad to be rid of my sugar addiction.

1400 doesn't seem that crazy. Especially if you are already somewhat small anyway, that is pretty much the standard of what you need to lose an incremental amount every week. Plus you can actually eat a lot of food on 1400 calories.

Erica, you're right. I seem to be slipping. My relationship w food is much healthier than it was in my 20s but it's still a struggle.

Is the Noom app free?

No, it's something like $100 for 4 months, but you can try it free for 14 days to see what you think.

I was at this kind of thing years ago on paper, with the help of a nutritional information database on the web, just following some basic math I read that body weight in pounds...

x8-10: lose
11-13: maintain
14-16: gain

Add on the calories lost from exercise.

I dunno where I got this stuff.. does it ring a bell with anyone?

Anyways I found it useful for a little loss at the time and i remember still roughly how many calories are in basic foods. Keeps me from ever cutting out entire food groups and all that

I’ll just leave this here
https://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/everything-you-know-about-obesity-is-wrong/

As a life long fatty I disagree with nearly every word of that BS.

Thank you Justine.

I think that the article is mixed: it’s good at highlighting appalling and endemic fat-shaming, but it doesn’t do much at all to say what the ‘new paradigm’ or approach should be.

And at a personal level, it risks triggering a kind of complete giving up of control or unleashing a self- destructiveness that underpins my eating habits, if I’m not vigilant and positive.

44lbs down since last August btw.

Yeah, I remember when that article was circulating and otm that it has good points but it's just too sprawling. It would've been better served to have really delved into one issue, like doctor's harmful biases, without that overarching "if you are fat or obese american at any point in your life, that is your body for the rest of your life."

omg I really should take the time to proofread before posting.

A couple of years ago my weight had started creeping up and I heard 'fast five' mentioned so gave that a go. It worked fairly dramatically well within a few weeks so I've more of less kept it up since.

I don't think I'd want to do full fasting days but this is very easy for me most days. Basically first meal some time between midday and 2pm, then no more calories past five or so hours after that. No other restrictions, although my diet is also strictly plant based.

Honestly have plenty of energy in the mornings (OK, espresso helps), and if you don't eat late you don't tend to wake up hungry. Just make sure you have a good dinner.

I say "you", this is not a recommendation at all, but it does work for me and the theory makes sense.

I wasn't seriously overweight but did have a couple of extra inches around the waist. Now my weight seems to have stabilised in a really good way. So yeah, not a recommendation exactly but if that sounds like a fit then I say give it a try. I doubt it's even potentially risky in any way as you're still eating.

without that overarching "if you are fat or obese american at any point in your life, that is your body for the rest of your life."

yeah I've read that all over the place and it was seriously discouraging when I was trying to lose weight - along with the language of "I've kept it off for 3 years!", implying that obesity is just your natural state. maybe I'm one of the lucky ones.

Kinda pissed off at the people in this thread and the girls only thread who are criticizing my attempt to better myself. Being fat isn't healthy - for your body or your mind. Being fat for me has come at the expense of injuries incurred while exerising, depression over the ugly ugly clothes I've had to wear as a fat person (there are no fashionable stores for "plus size" dudes - anything you can buy in casual male xl will make you look like a retired cop at church), bad skin from sugar intake, elevated ldl cholesterol.

I'm not trying to crash diet. I'm trying to make a serious lifestyle change. And it worked until I made a mistake. Sugar is a totally addictive substance for me. It is impossible for me to eat sweets without going back again and again and again. The first time I ate sugar since quitting, I felt like I had a goddamn hangover later. But that didn't stop me from going back two weeks later. And then going back a week later. And then going back 3 days later. And then suddenly I was two-fisting ice cream every night and eating cookies for lunch and had gained back a bunch of the weight I lost.

I quit smoking too. And quitting smoking took me years of trying and failing. I've been clean from cigarettes for 15 years now. But if you looked at how many dozens of times I failed at quitting smoking, you might say that only a depressingly small fraction of anyone who quits smoking succeeds and why even bother.

I've never shamed anyone else for being fat, but being fat is a shame for me. It is a shitty, unpleasant way to exist and I'm going to do everything I can to live a healthier life.

i dont think anyone in either thread has any issues with yr attempts or diarying itt man.

certainly i found it helpful last year when making progress and yr revive came at a timely moment for me

id like to be happy with my weight, everyone is entitled to that without a drive-by comment and id imagine our targets are well within the bounds of whats normal/healthy by any measure- even if not i cant imagine nu nu ilx would or could take issue with anyones efforts to make themselves the person they want to be- coming from whatever direction.

xp to peace, man –

Mad props to you for taking care of your bodily and mental health. It's best to drown out the noise, some of which is cultural in nature. The kind of pushback you're experiencing is generally less prevalent beyond the anglosphere, as the US, UK, Canada, Australia and NZ (but not Ireland) were all in the OECD's top 10 worst offenders for obesity rates in 2016. And on that note, good luck!

its true we do consider ourselves a separate state to NZ ;)

Nobody criticized you jfc. Trying to live a healthier lifestyle is wonderful but dieting is probably one of the main reasons behind your binging on sugar. The restrict/binge cycle is really really hard to break. I say this a a former anorexic and someone who has suffered from disordered eating (including binge eating) for decades - dieting the way that we know it is not healthy and sets people up to fail. Have you heard of intuitive eating? I highly recommend looking into it. Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program that Works by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch is wonderful as is Just Eat it by Laura Thomas.

some ppl need to learn how/get permission to relax their relationship with food in order to eat healthily, others need more structure to help them feel in control, this isn't hard

I'm supping a bulmers in a pizza restaurant today with a plate of chicken wings for starters. Safe to say the diet is well and truly fucked. But it does feel good.

x-post - Actually, it is pretty hard and complicated because we've been fed mixed messages for years by the media and psuedo nutritionists etc. Also, most adults have been so fucked by years of dieting that they know longer know how to listen to their hunger cues and feed themselves properly so it's actually far from simple at all.

I'd like to go on regret as being filled with regret for actually using actually in the above post.

Also I should have said many rather than most. Ugh.

it's not eating healthily that's easy but recognising that ppl have different & conflicting needs in sorting out their relationship with food. nothing works for everyone

I have a friend who says quitting soda was harder than quitting smoking, which I guess puts things into perspective

my spouse and i enrolled in one of those pre-diabetic programs last year. it was hard, mostly because i did not get on at all with certain other people in my group, but it did work very well for both of us; we lost tons. now that the group's over the challenge is to maintain. we're not "dieting" per se but i make the effort to snack less, try to keep track of what i'm eating, weigh myself every week. the hard part is to not spiral when i'm up. everybody goes up every now and again and everybody feels terrible about it, so terrible that the temptation is strong to give up because if one is going to put this much work into it and get nothing why bother? working on my depression has intersected pretty well with work on weight loss, in terms of allowing myself to "fail" and accept the consequences without judging myself for it. not a surprise given my tendency to stress eat, really!

I assume people are being responsible that for example, if they say they are doing 1400 calories a day that is filled with all veggies/unprocessed foods, whole grains, scant oil (not my flippant bottle of wine as 1/2 of your allocation). I think food is highly personal as evidenced in these threads and that article but everyone has a different tolerance to certain changes, different motivations, different goals. I don't think it has to be one thing all the time too since.

Thanks for the book suggestions, ENBB - I've been meaning to ask on here if anyone can recommend any good books/websites/advice for a healthier psychological approach to eating.

Anyone else have any suggestions while I'm here? Thanks!

(I liked and still like that article, as I do think it's a useful counter to the ideas that 1. losing weight is a simple, purely thermodynamic equation and 2. anyone who isn't doing it is lazy and too stupid to understand and making them more ashamed will help, because 1. nope and 2. thanks for your ideas which we have heard weekly if not daily all our lives, but most of us are already pretty fucking ashamed and shame is so, so counterproductive - but obviously if it makes anyone feel like there's no point in trying then that's a bad thing too.

Congrats to anyone having success via whatever methods, commiserations to those who aren't, and please be kind to your mind as well as your body either way. Love, one platitudinous fatty)

in short peace man, nobody has any issue with your goals or yr methods and keep on keepin on imo

weight is funny and personal and idk dudes arent v encouraged to talk about struggles with it or dieting or whatever so id ask you to kiu itt regardless of what reaction might be from anyone who has their own issues and probs in this area- hopefully thats an uncontroversial sentiment

xp hi aps, good post

xp Argh, by "anyone ~else~" I mean "anyone have ~any more~ suggestions" as I totally do not want to exclude ENBB from offering any more tips! Thanks, sorry, etc

hi deems!

APS - The Fuck It Diet by Caroline Dooner.

mrs mac's credentials as an ilxor wont be boosted by her having enjoyed and rather successfully used "french women dont get fat" as a template/guide but it has def helped her lessen a constantly watchful attitude towards all food and tbh i think she mainly just wanted to imagine life as a french literature graduate champagne executive married to a rich guy

nb I realise she wasnt a great ilxor candidate on other more obvious fronts ie consorting with known terrorists

I know for me food has been a very precarious issue: having had boulemia in my 20s, it was and still is very conflicted. But I don't have an emotional bond w food anymore. But I know it'll always be a struggle anyway. Just not a control issue anymore. Because I solved what the root of it was (mommy issues lol).

And it feels awkward to say it. I even felt a failure having boulemia. But fuck it. There should be no shame in it.

Having had.

Trying to live a healthier lifestyle is wonderful but dieting is probably one of the main reasons behind your binging on sugar.

Except that before I quit, there was no restriction. There's no cycle of dieting to speak of. I think I tried quitting sugar once before as a new years thing that was destined to fail anyway. I grew up just absolutely hoovering desserts. It didn't matter to me as a young man - I was rail thin until it started catching up with me in my mid-twenties and after that I certainly didn't stop eating things I liked.

While I've been attempting to eat more nutritiously in other ways over many years, I don't view my journey as "dieting" so much as quitting a drug. Which I've successfully done before with alcohol and tobacco. I didn't get sucked back in this time because the urge to eat sugar was just so overwhelming to me after being deprived of it. I was at total peace with myself for a long time.

But I kept ending up being peer pressured to eat sweets in social situations. Mother-in-law: "C'mon peace, you're not going to have a slice of my apple pie?" "I will graciously eat a slice of pie, mother-in-law, if it means so much to you..." etc. I thought I could handle returning for an occasional nibble, but the holiday cascade of situations like this ultimately led to recklessness and overconfidence. I mean, what would happen if I took the same approach to alcohol? I would be back to daily liquor store visits in no time!

Anyway, thanks for the advice all, and ogmar on the money.

prob maybe need to start a men-only weight thread idk? the issues seem to be insurmountably different and good ppl are getting upset over it.

prob maybe need to start a men-only weight thread idk? the issues seem to be insurmountably different and good ppl are getting upset over it.

― deemsthelarker (darraghmac)

the bullshit men are told about their bodies and the bullshit women are told about their bodies are categorically different varieties of bullshit, yeah. and as a non-binary person i get to deal with both kinds. lucky me!

i'm not sure the differences are "insurmountable". also as a non-binary person having a "men's" and a "women's" weight loss thread would reinforce once again what a misfit i am, but i guess i'm used to that.

Not sure there’s such a clear gender divide. As a male with food issues, something Caitlin Moran wrote about binge eaters really resonated with me when I read it:

Overeating is the addiction of choice of "carers," and that's why it's come to be regarded as the lowest-ranking of all the addictions. It's a way of screwing yourself up while still remaining fully functional, because you have to. Fat people aren't indulging in the "luxury" of their addiction, making them useless, chaotic or a burden. Instead, they are slowly self-destructing in a way that doesn't inconvenience anyone. And that is why it's so often a woman's addiction of choice.

Interesting perspective about the carers. But I don't get why that necessarily makes it a 'woman's addiction of choice'. I mean, dudes who don't remain fully functional aren't going to be much good in their stereotypical roles either.

in 80% of OA meetings i've been to i've been the only guy there. just saying.

Good to have that perspective. Possibly a lot of dudes just never choose to do address it? Out of pure curosity, I googled up OA meetings local to me and the closest one is held in a health care center located on - I kid you not - Milkshake Lane.

fwiw OA isn't for "fat people" per se, it attracts a lot of people with disordered eating. incl. women who have been surrounded by toxic sexist bullshit about weight their whole lives.

i got criticized for my weight & appearance a lot as a young kid & it sure did fuck me up, but it's pretty clear to me that as a man i have a lot more wiggle room in life & my issues w/food would be exacerbated considerably if i had to put up with the social messaging that women do

hmmm there might be something to the "carers" quote there

ok maybe not a gender specific thread just a thread where ppl are allowed to quit sugar without the yknow

Good god that carers definition in relation to binging: so me. :-( I am better at it but even at work I have been told I erase myself and comply too much. :-(