Are you winning the battle of the bulge?
Poll: Are you winning the battle of the bulge?
Total Members Polled: 46
Discussion
Another new year, another resolution to lose weight.
I did well during this year as I managed to get down to a reasonable weight. Like 90-95% of people, my BMI is a reasonable indicator. Above 25 I am overweight. Fortunately I have never got that fat - never obese (above 30) - but at the same time I have mainly been overweight with spells of normal weight.
This year the problem was that after losing the weight my daughter got sick and ended up in hospital and stress eating saw all my gains (losses) reversed.
Although the reversal was quicker this year it followed a similar pattern. To lose weight I have to cut down and cut out alcohol, desserts, cakes and crisps but it is very hard to deny myself permanently and even taking my foot off the brake slightly means I start to gain weight again. Hence the yo yoing.
Anyone managed to lose weight and keep it off permanently (more than 5 years)?
I did well during this year as I managed to get down to a reasonable weight. Like 90-95% of people, my BMI is a reasonable indicator. Above 25 I am overweight. Fortunately I have never got that fat - never obese (above 30) - but at the same time I have mainly been overweight with spells of normal weight.
This year the problem was that after losing the weight my daughter got sick and ended up in hospital and stress eating saw all my gains (losses) reversed.
Although the reversal was quicker this year it followed a similar pattern. To lose weight I have to cut down and cut out alcohol, desserts, cakes and crisps but it is very hard to deny myself permanently and even taking my foot off the brake slightly means I start to gain weight again. Hence the yo yoing.
Anyone managed to lose weight and keep it off permanently (more than 5 years)?
Always put back on in December but by end of Jan, when back on normal food again, I lose about 3k to sit back at 95kg. Few years ago I was way over 120kg. Bread and dairy because I shouldn't have it makes me bloat and hold weight and I always eat more of it at this time of year. I'll be back on the mountains with the Dog soon so will soon go. My lowest is 90kg but had to be in quite the deficit to do that last time and also at the time was under quite a bit of stress.
Got my BMI down to 28, from 33 about 10 years ago.
Will put on a couple of kilos over Xmas, but will have lost them in a few weeks.
Have a pretty good handle on controlling my weight now.
Best advice... get a calorie counter app and log EVERYTHING... I use MyFitnessPal. Found it really eye opening just how easy it is to over consume.
Will put on a couple of kilos over Xmas, but will have lost them in a few weeks.
Have a pretty good handle on controlling my weight now.
Best advice... get a calorie counter app and log EVERYTHING... I use MyFitnessPal. Found it really eye opening just how easy it is to over consume.
Edited by GappySmeg on Thursday 2nd January 11:18
Generally speaking I've lost weight - so much so that I found a lipoma in my chest that I had to have removed, it was hidden under the excess weight.
I now yo-yo from that low to a lower weight and back again. Cutting alcohol, walking daily and using the crosstrainer 5x a week help.
There's no secret short cuts at this age!
I now yo-yo from that low to a lower weight and back again. Cutting alcohol, walking daily and using the crosstrainer 5x a week help.
There's no secret short cuts at this age!
Is a BMI a good indicator for that many people? 90-95%? Isn't it generally seen as a rather poor way to gauge a healthy weight? I would have thought it would be better to get down a gym with 1 of the body fat analysers and see what that shows your % body fat is and also more important your visceral fat.
Basically though you need to eat less and do more.
Basically though you need to eat less and do more.
We were on atkins prior to Xmas, I'm one of the few that BMI doesn't work well for, my suggested weight is where I was at at 17 and I was like a lat, I'd like to get back there but in reality if I get to the body shape I want again I'll still be overweight which I'm fine with. I was however extremely fat. Probably morbidly obese. Still reasonably fit, ski etc. But I could feel my fitness being affected by my weight so it was time to sort it.
Atkins works well for us, it's an easy diet to keep to, flexible enough to still be able to enjoy food to a degree and most importantly not feel hungry all the time. I lost 2.5-3 stone before Xmas. Pleasingly having come off the diet a couple of days before Xmas and not going back on properly till after this weekend I've only put 3 pounds back on which will take me a week or so to shift.
It wouldn't work for everyone, but it's worked for us, I feel substantially better than I have for years and hopefully as the weight loss continues so will that.
Atkins works well for us, it's an easy diet to keep to, flexible enough to still be able to enjoy food to a degree and most importantly not feel hungry all the time. I lost 2.5-3 stone before Xmas. Pleasingly having come off the diet a couple of days before Xmas and not going back on properly till after this weekend I've only put 3 pounds back on which will take me a week or so to shift.
It wouldn't work for everyone, but it's worked for us, I feel substantially better than I have for years and hopefully as the weight loss continues so will that.
I always keep an eye on my weight: back when I was 19 I put a lot of weight on due to some personal issues.
I'm just under 6ft 5ins tall and had a 46 inch waist and weighed about 24 stone at my biggest. I found the ladies were not interested any more so I decided to do something about it sharpish. Lots of long walks with the family dog (bloody great fat Labrador!), no booze for a few months and lots of healthy eating and the weight was gone.
I'm 50 this year and it does get harder to keep the weight off. I try to keep it to about 16.5 stone. I have a 38 inch waist (36 with some clothing brands) with a 48/50 inch chest. I swore to myself that I would NEVER go over a 38 inch waist ever again and I never have... I do like a drink so that's the main issue for me. I try to only have a beer or several at the weekends and once during the week.
Most meals are cooked from scratch and I avoid takeaways and anything with added sugar. Once you lose the taste for ultra processed crap you soon find that you find the idea of it quite repulsive. I had a sausage bread roll/bap a couple of months ago after a particularly tough hike: it was made with cheap Richmond sausages or similar. I had one bite and threw the filthy muck into the nearest bin (avoid the swimming pool cafe in Hathersage: nice coffee but the food is s
t).
I walk approx 20 miles during the week and normally go for a 9-13 mile hike in the Peak District most weekends (walks tend to be 13 - 18 miles in the summer when there is more daylight). I'm lucky as I only live 5 miles from work, so it's train in and walk home. Doesn't matter if it's pouring down with rain, I still do it.
I'm also lucky not to have a sweet tooth: my missus and I still have chocolate left over from Xmas 2023!
BMI: I tend to avoid using the online calculators as the say I 'need' to weigh anywhere between 11 - 15 stone. The lower end of that is frankly not achievable or healthy for me. Exercise, healthy balanced diet and just generally looking after yourself is better than obsessing over BMI stats. Just my opinion.
TLDR: you can keep the weight off but you have to really monitor everything you eat and get a bit of exercise. Sounds easy, but it ain't.
Best advice I would give is to find exercise that you enjoy. I like walking and always have done as I'm quite a solitary chap. A crowded and noisy gym does not appeal to me in the slightest.
I'm just under 6ft 5ins tall and had a 46 inch waist and weighed about 24 stone at my biggest. I found the ladies were not interested any more so I decided to do something about it sharpish. Lots of long walks with the family dog (bloody great fat Labrador!), no booze for a few months and lots of healthy eating and the weight was gone.
I'm 50 this year and it does get harder to keep the weight off. I try to keep it to about 16.5 stone. I have a 38 inch waist (36 with some clothing brands) with a 48/50 inch chest. I swore to myself that I would NEVER go over a 38 inch waist ever again and I never have... I do like a drink so that's the main issue for me. I try to only have a beer or several at the weekends and once during the week.
Most meals are cooked from scratch and I avoid takeaways and anything with added sugar. Once you lose the taste for ultra processed crap you soon find that you find the idea of it quite repulsive. I had a sausage bread roll/bap a couple of months ago after a particularly tough hike: it was made with cheap Richmond sausages or similar. I had one bite and threw the filthy muck into the nearest bin (avoid the swimming pool cafe in Hathersage: nice coffee but the food is s
t).I walk approx 20 miles during the week and normally go for a 9-13 mile hike in the Peak District most weekends (walks tend to be 13 - 18 miles in the summer when there is more daylight). I'm lucky as I only live 5 miles from work, so it's train in and walk home. Doesn't matter if it's pouring down with rain, I still do it.
I'm also lucky not to have a sweet tooth: my missus and I still have chocolate left over from Xmas 2023!
BMI: I tend to avoid using the online calculators as the say I 'need' to weigh anywhere between 11 - 15 stone. The lower end of that is frankly not achievable or healthy for me. Exercise, healthy balanced diet and just generally looking after yourself is better than obsessing over BMI stats. Just my opinion.
TLDR: you can keep the weight off but you have to really monitor everything you eat and get a bit of exercise. Sounds easy, but it ain't.
Best advice I would give is to find exercise that you enjoy. I like walking and always have done as I'm quite a solitary chap. A crowded and noisy gym does not appeal to me in the slightest.
Wacky Racer said:
I've completely cut out bread, cakes ,chips, pies, chocolate, beer, rice pudding, butter, biscuits for a month and substituted two Slimfast shakes a day
And it hasn't made a blind bit of difference.
Need to get the treadmill and exercise bike out of storage.
You lose weight through what you eat over what you do. I never cut anything out, I just reduce the quantity of what I eat, that way it's something that you can do for life rather than a few months. And it hasn't made a blind bit of difference.
Need to get the treadmill and exercise bike out of storage.
Jimjimhim said:
Wacky Racer said:
I've completely cut out bread, cakes ,chips, pies, chocolate, beer, rice pudding, butter, biscuits for a month and substituted two Slimfast shakes a day
And it hasn't made a blind bit of difference.
Need to get the treadmill and exercise bike out of storage.
You lose weight through what you eat over what you do. I never cut anything out, I just reduce the quantity of what I eat, that way it's something that you can do for life rather than a few months. And it hasn't made a blind bit of difference.
Need to get the treadmill and exercise bike out of storage.
I don't need to lose a lot. just over 7/8 kilos, all down to willpower at the end of the day.
Wacky Racer said:
Jimjimhim said:
Wacky Racer said:
I've completely cut out bread, cakes ,chips, pies, chocolate, beer, rice pudding, butter, biscuits for a month and substituted two Slimfast shakes a day
And it hasn't made a blind bit of difference.
Need to get the treadmill and exercise bike out of storage.
You lose weight through what you eat over what you do. I never cut anything out, I just reduce the quantity of what I eat, that way it's something that you can do for life rather than a few months. And it hasn't made a blind bit of difference.
Need to get the treadmill and exercise bike out of storage.
I don't need to lose a lot. just over 7/8 kilos, all down to willpower at the end of the day.
Guess I'm one of the irritating 16% (correct as going to press) who never puts any real weight on - currently 7 pounds heavier than when I left uni in 2004.
Even more irritatingly I really don't watch what I eat - am partial to a takeaway, love a beer and full fat Coke and am known to get through multiple packets of crisps in one sitting.
However I'm also fairly active (struggle to sit still for too long and play golf a couple of times a week) and whenever I've done any calorie tracking I've been around 2500 - 3000, usually the higher figure in summer when I'm golfing more.
I also use 50s Ozempic, or smoke as it's more usually called. Breakfast is usually a cigarette and a coffee or an energy drink depending what mood I'm in.
Sorry
Even more irritatingly I really don't watch what I eat - am partial to a takeaway, love a beer and full fat Coke and am known to get through multiple packets of crisps in one sitting.
However I'm also fairly active (struggle to sit still for too long and play golf a couple of times a week) and whenever I've done any calorie tracking I've been around 2500 - 3000, usually the higher figure in summer when I'm golfing more.
I also use 50s Ozempic, or smoke as it's more usually called. Breakfast is usually a cigarette and a coffee or an energy drink depending what mood I'm in.
Sorry
bodhi said:
Guess I'm one of the irritating 16% (correct as going to press) who never puts any real weight on - currently 7 pounds heavier than when I left uni in 2004.
Even more irritatingly I really don't watch what I eat - am partial to a takeaway, love a beer and full fat Coke and am known to get through multiple packets of crisps in one sitting.
However I'm also fairly active (struggle to sit still for too long and play golf a couple of times a week) and whenever I've done any calorie tracking I've been around 2500 - 3000, usually the higher figure in summer when I'm golfing more.
I also use 50s Ozempic, or smoke as it's more usually called. Breakfast is usually a cigarette and a coffee or an energy drink depending what mood I'm in.
Sorry
Be very careful though, you can be thin and still be unhealthy especially when it comes to visceral fat which is the dangerous stuff around vital organs. Even more irritatingly I really don't watch what I eat - am partial to a takeaway, love a beer and full fat Coke and am known to get through multiple packets of crisps in one sitting.
However I'm also fairly active (struggle to sit still for too long and play golf a couple of times a week) and whenever I've done any calorie tracking I've been around 2500 - 3000, usually the higher figure in summer when I'm golfing more.
I also use 50s Ozempic, or smoke as it's more usually called. Breakfast is usually a cigarette and a coffee or an energy drink depending what mood I'm in.
Sorry
Without wanting to be a , the amounts people talk of losing on threads like these are always staggering. 20/30/40kg+ (3/4/5/6/7/8+ stone). Losing 40kg would see me dead. Equally, imagining what hauling round even an extra 20kg would be like is hard for me, let alone an extra 50kg. Surely you must be constantly absolutely knackered? Clothes must feel horrendous, and I imagine you’re just hot all the time. Moving around must just be generally hard.
My self confidence would be on the floor if I looked like a bag of dough without my clothes on. Perhaps I’m too shallow/vain and it doesn’t affect others as it would me, but I am genuinely curious how bad it feels to have so much excess weight. Is it as bad as I imagine?
Full respect to anyone who says enough is enough and chooses to make a change. Go for it and make it sustainable. Focus on lifestyle change and don’t make it all about weight. Just like you’ll never get rich if you just focus on the money.
, the amounts people talk of losing on threads like these are always staggering. 20/30/40kg+ (3/4/5/6/7/8+ stone). Losing 40kg would see me dead. Equally, imagining what hauling round even an extra 20kg would be like is hard for me, let alone an extra 50kg. Surely you must be constantly absolutely knackered? Clothes must feel horrendous, and I imagine you’re just hot all the time. Moving around must just be generally hard. My self confidence would be on the floor if I looked like a bag of dough without my clothes on. Perhaps I’m too shallow/vain and it doesn’t affect others as it would me, but I am genuinely curious how bad it feels to have so much excess weight. Is it as bad as I imagine?
Full respect to anyone who says enough is enough and chooses to make a change. Go for it and make it sustainable. Focus on lifestyle change and don’t make it all about weight. Just like you’ll never get rich if you just focus on the money.
Edited by jonathan_roberts on Thursday 2nd January 18:26
Wacky Racer said:
Jimjimhim said:
Don't rush the weight loss, a nice steady loss is better than a quick loss that comes back.
Cheers Jim, I'll keep that in mind.A kilo a week should be easily achievable.
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