The 2024 Weight Loss Thread
Discussion
thepritch said:
Listened to a interesting podcast (High Performance Podcast) with Tim Spector. He talks about how calorie counting and exercise doesn’t work for losing weight. I should add that those are headlines and actually what he means is calorie counting doesn’t work as it’s not sustainable, and exercise doesn’t work because you end up hungry and eating more. Essentially the body is clever and works really hard to store energy in case of food scarcity.
Contentious part over (I don’t like how it’s all phrased for headlines but get what he’s trying to say)…. He then goes on to say that eating real food, non processed, and a wide variety of it is the way to sustainably lose weight. Which is what I’m trying to do. Just eat really good food.
If you’re up for it, have a listen, it’s just come out. Interested to hear what people think.
Exercise makes you hungry, well yes and there’s nothing wrong with being hungry, it’s all about self control, and he’s always banging on about eating 30 different colors of food everyday or whatever, no wonder people are so confused over what to eat these days, cut down on processed but not completely throw in any form of exercise, one that you actually enjoy and the weight will fall off for the vast majority Contentious part over (I don’t like how it’s all phrased for headlines but get what he’s trying to say)…. He then goes on to say that eating real food, non processed, and a wide variety of it is the way to sustainably lose weight. Which is what I’m trying to do. Just eat really good food.
If you’re up for it, have a listen, it’s just come out. Interested to hear what people think.
Hands up, I have to be honest, I've failed to meet my target weight by target date (88kgs by May). End of May I was at 92.2kgs and today I weighed in at 92.4kgs. In my defence I've just returned from 2 weeks in Italy where all the norms went out of the window although the level of activity was maintained to reasonable degree with loads of walking.
So I need to set a new target date and I'll be heading down to Devon in September so I'm going to make that the new target date and I'll keep updating.
So I need to set a new target date and I'll be heading down to Devon in September so I'm going to make that the new target date and I'll keep updating.
gangzoom said:
a311 said:
So my problem isn't exercise it's being a fat b
d. I'm not a regular drinker but just love food and lots of it.
This is the real ‘key’ not eating like a pig. I find it takes constant self control, when out with friends/family etc, I can eat more than anyone else, a lot more!! I also cannot resist a good beer/glass of wine, I get people constantly asking me how I’ve managed to loss weight but still eat……the answer, during the week I hardly ever have lunch, and quite often no breakfast, its partly down to how busy the work day is, but its also because if I had lunch on a regular basis, I would be back to 30weeks pregnant dad in the blink of an eye.d. I'm not a regular drinker but just love food and lots of it.I’m essentially functioning of one meal a day M-Fs for the last couple of year, essentially intermittent fasting during the week. Dinner however is a big meal, very big, this approach seems to work for me and it’s now essentially ‘normal’ for me. What’s the long term physiological impacts, no idea, but studies suggests it shouldn’t be harmful versus 3 meals a day, and it’s certainly better than been overweight.
The studies seem to suggest, all the hormones associated with weight gain, insulin/FGF/IGF aren’t overly expressed in one large meal versus 3 smaller meals, so essentially your body is exposed to high levels of insulin/FGF/IGF only once a day versus 3 times a day.
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/ar...
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC95717...
There also might be something in the trend to monitor individual glucose levels for people without diabetes (Zoe), there seems to be some science behind how different people vary their insulin secretion in response to different sugar levels, or how different foods peak sugar levels differently in people wherefore causing difference in insulin secretion. Insulin been a key hormone in body weight homeostasis. However I’m too tight (also cannot be bothered) with even considering trying something like Zoe.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14749262/
https://e-dmj.org/journal/view.php?doi=10.4093/dmj...
Edited by gangzoom on Sunday 26th May 08:37
Everything is geared around food and it takes a lot of effort to be able to avoid excess in society, but the easiest calories to lose are those you don’t take on in the first place….
OK, so weight loss question...weight training for weight loss...big weight, low reps or low weight, high reps? Example, I usually train legs with one work set, @140kg x 10, so 1400kg lifted. Yesterday I went up to 160kg for an easy single then completed two sets of 20 reps with 60kg as part of a superset, so, 2400kg lifted..Have I expended more energy, therefore burnt more calories? I am aware that training big muscle groups continues expending energy after the workout ends and the fatigue seems similar for both methods. I am going to mix the workouts up moving forward, best of both worlds, I do value strength and believe strong ligaments, tendons, more dense musculature will help me as I grow older, but from a mathematical point of view, what's best for burning fat....
biggbn said:
OK, so weight loss question...weight training for weight loss...big weight, low reps or low weight, high reps? Example, I usually train legs with one work set, @140kg x 10, so 1400kg lifted. Yesterday I went up to 160kg for an easy single then completed two sets of 20 reps with 60kg as part of a superset, so, 2400kg lifted..Have I expended more energy, therefore burnt more calories? I am aware that training big muscle groups continues expending energy after the workout ends and the fatigue seems similar for both methods. I am going to mix the workouts up moving forward, best of both worlds, I do value strength and believe strong ligaments, tendons, more dense musculature will help me as I grow older, but from a mathematical point of view, what's best for burning fat....
I’m gonna be really boring and say it can be done BUT the most effective loss is in the kitchen, my own experience is high protein lowish carbs combined with lifting across ALL the rep range with a big nod towards cardio, this enabled me to lose about 65lb in about 14 months, don’t over think it.Weighed in today, up a bit from 76.0 to 76.4kg but I'm not overly fussed. A lot of left over BBQ was eaten this week and birthday cake so will just need to make up for it this week and go back down again. Not sure if the sudden 0.8kg drop from 76.8 to 76.0 last week was an anomaly, as I definitely wasn't expecting it. I'd rather lose weight progressively rather than these random sudden drops.
mcelliott said:
biggbn said:
OK, so weight loss question...weight training for weight loss...big weight, low reps or low weight, high reps? Example, I usually train legs with one work set, @140kg x 10, so 1400kg lifted. Yesterday I went up to 160kg for an easy single then completed two sets of 20 reps with 60kg as part of a superset, so, 2400kg lifted..Have I expended more energy, therefore burnt more calories? I am aware that training big muscle groups continues expending energy after the workout ends and the fatigue seems similar for both methods. I am going to mix the workouts up moving forward, best of both worlds, I do value strength and believe strong ligaments, tendons, more dense musculature will help me as I grow older, but from a mathematical point of view, what's best for burning fat....
I’m gonna be really boring and say it can be done BUT the most effective loss is in the kitchen, my own experience is high protein lowish carbs combined with lifting across ALL the rep range with a big nod towards cardio, this enabled me to lose about 65lb in about 14 months, don’t over think it.Achieved pretty much zero weight loss last year, started this year the same way.
Had a bit of a shocking medical end of Feb, so kicked into gear.
No fad diet (i.e. keto, Atkins, etc) instead simple clean eating.
No breakfast cereal (other than home made porridge, or boiled egg) , almost zero bread, only boiled potatoes (no mash. chips etc), no sweets, cakes etc, lunch is almost always masses of vegetables/ salads with something like tuna.
Lots and lots of fruit, nuts and greek yogurt (so hardly feel hungry or crave anything), if its a cooked meal, has to be made from scratch (single ingredients). Almost zero alcohol, occasional glass of wine a week.
Had bit of blip on holiday last month (full board) but recovered.
Work in office of over 250 people, almost always donuts, cakes and chocolates being handed out.
BMI says I need to get down to 70Kg
Chart is 6 months but weight lost in the last 3 months.
Had a bit of a shocking medical end of Feb, so kicked into gear.
No fad diet (i.e. keto, Atkins, etc) instead simple clean eating.
No breakfast cereal (other than home made porridge, or boiled egg) , almost zero bread, only boiled potatoes (no mash. chips etc), no sweets, cakes etc, lunch is almost always masses of vegetables/ salads with something like tuna.
Lots and lots of fruit, nuts and greek yogurt (so hardly feel hungry or crave anything), if its a cooked meal, has to be made from scratch (single ingredients). Almost zero alcohol, occasional glass of wine a week.
Had bit of blip on holiday last month (full board) but recovered.
Work in office of over 250 people, almost always donuts, cakes and chocolates being handed out.
BMI says I need to get down to 70Kg
Chart is 6 months but weight lost in the last 3 months.
I was reading an article the other day, it reckoned there were two clear groups of people when in comes to weight loss & wanting to loose weight. You have the first group of people who essentially just need to consider their life style, perhaps make a few small changes to their food intake and their exercise/general lifestyle, being a little more aware of what their doing.
The second group are people who know what they should be eating, they know how many calories are in any given food item and know how much exercise they should be doing but they have an issue with their relationship with with food, stemming from childhood or a previous experience perhaps, these people might need to address that issue to make progress.
It does kinda make sense in my mind, I'd say I'm in the second group but couldn't say why I struggle with food. I've always overeaten, it's like I'm not sure when my next meal will come from, I don't know why.
Anyway, I've been plodding along nicely, latest results;
Start; 342.2 lb (155.2 kg)
Current 318.6 lb (144.5 kg)
Lost 23.6lb (10.7 kg)
This is the lightest I even remember weighing in my adult life. Almost dropped me into obese class 2 instead of 3 which is nice. I'm sure how much Im aiming for tbh but 270ish perhaps would be nice.
The second group are people who know what they should be eating, they know how many calories are in any given food item and know how much exercise they should be doing but they have an issue with their relationship with with food, stemming from childhood or a previous experience perhaps, these people might need to address that issue to make progress.
It does kinda make sense in my mind, I'd say I'm in the second group but couldn't say why I struggle with food. I've always overeaten, it's like I'm not sure when my next meal will come from, I don't know why.
Anyway, I've been plodding along nicely, latest results;
Start; 342.2 lb (155.2 kg)
Current 318.6 lb (144.5 kg)
Lost 23.6lb (10.7 kg)
This is the lightest I even remember weighing in my adult life. Almost dropped me into obese class 2 instead of 3 which is nice. I'm sure how much Im aiming for tbh but 270ish perhaps would be nice.
I just weighed myself at 1300hrs, fasted. Only intake last night was a tube of Pringles, a few pistachios, and [mumbles] fingers of dark rum while I watched the football.
Last night the scale said 71.1 kg, this morning it said 70.7 kg, and this afternoon it says 69.9 kg. So a difference of 1.2 kg over 18 or so hours. I'd been steady at just under 71 kg before I went camping at a (history) festival for a week,
I'm not sure I quite believe the tale of the scale, but it is nice to sneak under 70 kg, even if I'm sat here undoing the good work with white bread and soft cheese (the hunger was getting hard to live with after 17 hours fasted).
When I started "playing along" with this thread I thought I'd be lucky to get below 73 kg in the year. Now, though, I've exceeded that (admittedly arbitrary) goal, and comfortably so. In the process I've learned a great deal about myself, and have come to accept that I was kidding myself about how much I was eating and what my "natural weight" was. I can even see that there's more that I can lose if I maintain the diet and exercise changes I've made up to now.
I've not cut any particular food out, nor had to give anything up completely, so I don't see the changes I've made as being difficult to sustain. And the increased amount of exercise is mainly cycling and running, both of which I enjoy. I feel quite positive about the second half of the year right now. Losses on the scale will probably be less dramatic, and I doubt I'll ever get my BMI down to where my Garmin Connect app wants me to aim for, but I'm chalking it all up as a success in every respect, apart from the horrible prospect of having to go shopping for clothes in smaller sizes. I've run out of holes, for example, on my favourite belt.
Good luck to all of you who are still working at losing timber. I don't mean this post as a boast, it's just that I'm genuinely surprised at just how quickly some relatively small changes have had a big effect on my weight and on my fitness...
Last night the scale said 71.1 kg, this morning it said 70.7 kg, and this afternoon it says 69.9 kg. So a difference of 1.2 kg over 18 or so hours. I'd been steady at just under 71 kg before I went camping at a (history) festival for a week,
I'm not sure I quite believe the tale of the scale, but it is nice to sneak under 70 kg, even if I'm sat here undoing the good work with white bread and soft cheese (the hunger was getting hard to live with after 17 hours fasted).
When I started "playing along" with this thread I thought I'd be lucky to get below 73 kg in the year. Now, though, I've exceeded that (admittedly arbitrary) goal, and comfortably so. In the process I've learned a great deal about myself, and have come to accept that I was kidding myself about how much I was eating and what my "natural weight" was. I can even see that there's more that I can lose if I maintain the diet and exercise changes I've made up to now.
I've not cut any particular food out, nor had to give anything up completely, so I don't see the changes I've made as being difficult to sustain. And the increased amount of exercise is mainly cycling and running, both of which I enjoy. I feel quite positive about the second half of the year right now. Losses on the scale will probably be less dramatic, and I doubt I'll ever get my BMI down to where my Garmin Connect app wants me to aim for, but I'm chalking it all up as a success in every respect, apart from the horrible prospect of having to go shopping for clothes in smaller sizes. I've run out of holes, for example, on my favourite belt.
Good luck to all of you who are still working at losing timber. I don't mean this post as a boast, it's just that I'm genuinely surprised at just how quickly some relatively small changes have had a big effect on my weight and on my fitness...
Well done to everyone for sticking at it!
I set myself a 6 month target at Xmas, was around 108KG or so late last year. Wanted to drop to 90KG by 1st July.
Met that earlier than I expected and revised it down to 80KG, I’m currently 82KG now the deadline is here.
Did hit a plateau at 82KG a couple of weeks ago, also a few more treats have crept back in.
Been mostly on unprocessed foods and fewer calories.
Still want to breach the 80KG target and make that my new ceiling if possible, which just gets me into the healthy BMI range if I do by a couple of points.
Waste measurement is now well below half my height (it wasn’t beforehand!) but I have lost some muscle mass certainly. Not too fussed about that but will be back to some resistance training to ensure no more is lost.
Suggest you take pics all the way through as it’s not obvious when you go through the process the weight is coming off and it also serves to motivate you that it’s worth it.
Before….
I set myself a 6 month target at Xmas, was around 108KG or so late last year. Wanted to drop to 90KG by 1st July.
Met that earlier than I expected and revised it down to 80KG, I’m currently 82KG now the deadline is here.
Did hit a plateau at 82KG a couple of weeks ago, also a few more treats have crept back in.
Been mostly on unprocessed foods and fewer calories.
Still want to breach the 80KG target and make that my new ceiling if possible, which just gets me into the healthy BMI range if I do by a couple of points.
Waste measurement is now well below half my height (it wasn’t beforehand!) but I have lost some muscle mass certainly. Not too fussed about that but will be back to some resistance training to ensure no more is lost.
Suggest you take pics all the way through as it’s not obvious when you go through the process the weight is coming off and it also serves to motivate you that it’s worth it.
Before….
biggbn said:
OK, so weight loss question...weight training for weight loss...big weight, low reps or low weight, high reps? Example, I usually train legs with one work set, @140kg x 10, so 1400kg lifted. Yesterday I went up to 160kg for an easy single then completed two sets of 20 reps with 60kg as part of a superset, so, 2400kg lifted..Have I expended more energy, therefore burnt more calories? I am aware that training big muscle groups continues expending energy after the workout ends and the fatigue seems similar for both methods. I am going to mix the workouts up moving forward, best of both worlds, I do value strength and believe strong ligaments, tendons, more dense musculature will help me as I grow older, but from a mathematical point of view, what's best for burning fat....
It's more complex than weight lifted = calories expended. I couldn't even come close to explaining it better than Google would. However, I think the main message I have taken away from the successful posters here is that sustainability and consistency have a massive impact. So, I would say you're better doing what you enjoy, weights wise, because that helps get you into a "virtuous cycle" where you enjoy and want to do well at something, so you do the things that support it (eat healthily, sleep more, hydrate better) and thus, you do well at it. So you want to do better and you do the things to support it... etc. etc.TLDR, do what you enjoy, except if it's vegetating on the sofa eating sweets and crisps.
I'm still ticking along, stuck stubbornly at the 80kg mark and as someone posted above, kidding myself that I'm still eating as well as I was a few months ago. I'm not. So I'm back to being more fastidious about junk. And while calorie counting may not be sustainable, what I do like about it is MFP educates me on the calories in a portion, as well as the hidden carbs and calories in say, butter/mayo/ketchup. All the little bits I forget about. So no, I can't do MFP every day, but it does help remind me that 100g of granola is not a healthy choice.
Looks like I’ll be dipping in and out this thread in the next 6+ months for advice and motivation!
Had a blood test at the docs last week and got the results back, HbA1c level is 42 so just straying into the pre-diabetes stage, also not far off 20st, I’ve always been ‘heavy’ for most of my adult life but probably put an extra couple of stone on since first Covid lockdown and working from home ever since. I’m 52.
Doc says lifestyle changes so diet and exercise.
I knew all the years of takeaways and sitting on the couch would catch up with me one day!
Had a blood test at the docs last week and got the results back, HbA1c level is 42 so just straying into the pre-diabetes stage, also not far off 20st, I’ve always been ‘heavy’ for most of my adult life but probably put an extra couple of stone on since first Covid lockdown and working from home ever since. I’m 52.
Doc says lifestyle changes so diet and exercise.
I knew all the years of takeaways and sitting on the couch would catch up with me one day!
Had a bit of a shock today, first time on the scales since May, nearly 77kg, which is pretty much the same as my weight back in 2020s when I started to try and not become 40wks due dad at 40. It's also nearly 7kg more than my lowest weight when I was really focused on dieting......
However I'm still off to afternoon tea later (and than beers), as I'm using the old wise tale 'Muscle weigh more than fat', and compared to a few years ago, the pregnancy certainly isn't showing (yet). Will get refocused after the Euros are over for England, no point pretending , which might be quite soon
.
However I'm still off to afternoon tea later (and than beers), as I'm using the old wise tale 'Muscle weigh more than fat', and compared to a few years ago, the pregnancy certainly isn't showing (yet). Will get refocused after the Euros are over for England, no point pretending , which might be quite soon
.a311 said:
Frequent thread reader and going to join in for a bit more motivation as I just can't seem to shift weight at the minute. I've fit bit Scales and watch and the app tells me I was 16st ~18 months ago and got up to 18st 8lbs in December. I'm currently hovering around 18st and despite seeing a few high 17's I just don't seem to be able to see a consistent reduction as previously.
I'm reasonably fortunate in that I'm tall at 6'4" so can hide reasonably well but anything over 17st my clothes don't fit as well and over 18st not at all and need to hit the fat wardrobe. I'm pretty active for a fat lad, walk the dog every day for 3 miles, gym 4-5 times a week where I do mostly resistance training. I used to enjoy running but due to old rugby injuries developed a issue with my hip that put an end to it.
So my problem isn't exercise it's being a fat bd. I'm not a regular drinker but just love food and lots of it. I'm going to go to my previously tried and tested method of calorie counting on MFP, min 10k steps, min 3 gym sessions a week with the goal of being consistent. Summer holiday in 85 days so setting myself a goal of being 17st or under, I'll take some measurements too so I've other metrics.
Bit of an update I've managed to meet the immediate goal and got down to ~16st 9.5lbs it's now 39 days until I go on holiday so any pound lost is a pound to be put back on! I've just tried to be consistent with what I'm eating and when mostly I've probably cut down on 90% of evening snacking I was doing which no doubt was my downfall. Was a bit of a bingey weekend last weekend with football, mates round, beers, some junk food which saw a few pounds go on. For me the stone-ish lost makes a huge difference, gut is vastly reduced and clothes fit so much better. I've not really been tracking calories but for the last 4 weeks on the run up to holiday I think I really focus and see what I can do with a bit more focus. Diet wise I've mostly tried to eliminate evening snacking but generally eating the same just less. I'm reasonably fortunate in that I'm tall at 6'4" so can hide reasonably well but anything over 17st my clothes don't fit as well and over 18st not at all and need to hit the fat wardrobe. I'm pretty active for a fat lad, walk the dog every day for 3 miles, gym 4-5 times a week where I do mostly resistance training. I used to enjoy running but due to old rugby injuries developed a issue with my hip that put an end to it.
So my problem isn't exercise it's being a fat b
d. I'm not a regular drinker but just love food and lots of it. I'm going to go to my previously tried and tested method of calorie counting on MFP, min 10k steps, min 3 gym sessions a week with the goal of being consistent. Summer holiday in 85 days so setting myself a goal of being 17st or under, I'll take some measurements too so I've other metrics.Exercise levels haven't been maintained in the gym, my son brought a bit of a lurgy into the house so a bit of that and calorie restriction saw some lousy or skipped gym sessions, I've then given myself a bit of an ankle injury. I probably need to focus on doing 3 quality gym sessions per week to get some quality over quantity.
Since the 21st June I've lost 6lbs and not really been trying. Goal was 275lbs by 7th Aug and was at 277.2 this morning. So decided to up my game a bit and aim for 270 which if I start putting in a bit more effort should be easily do-able. Recording here to hold myself to account!
Chaz
Chaz
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