General Weight Loss Support Thread

newcar2016

EllieK2 wrote: »

300 grams fluctuation from day to day is nothing to worry about, especially if you're tracking it by using a scale. If you're looking for real accuracy when using a scale, weigh yourself every day at the same time for 2 weeks and make an average. That's your real weight.

If you drink 0.5l water you're going to "weigh" 0.5kg more. That's why the scale sucks.

I usually weigh myself at 7 or 8am in the morning, so should be reasonably consistent I would have thought. But yes, my scales records my weight online, and records the weekly average, which is the thing to look at really I suppose.

For example the last five weeks weekly averages:

31072016 - 06082016: 74.9KG
07082016 - 13082016: 74.2KG
14082016 - 20082016: 73.1KG
21082016 - 27082016: 72.3KG
28082016 - 03092016: 71.9KG

Alf Veedersane

newcar2016 wrote: »

I usually weigh myself at 7 or 8am in the morning, so should be reasonably consistent I would have thought

The scales doesn't account for things like water retention during a woman's cycle.

My own daily weight could fluctuate across a range of 1.5-2 kg across a week.

newcar2016

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

The scales doesn't account for things like water retention during a woman's cycle.

My own daily weight could fluctuate across a range of 1.5-2 kg across a week.

I'm not a woman however.

EllieK2

newcar2016 wrote: »

EllieK2 wrote: »

300 grams fluctuation from day to day is nothing to worry about, especially if you're tracking it by using a scale. If you're looking for real accuracy when using a scale, weigh yourself every day at the same time for 2 weeks and make an average. That's your real weight.

If you drink 0.5l water you're going to "weigh" 0.5kg more. That's why the scale sucks.

I usually weigh myself at 7 or 8am in the morning, so should be reasonably consistent I would have thought. But yes, my scales records my weight online, and records the weekly average, which is the thing to look at really I suppose.

For example the last five weeks weekly averages:

31072016 - 06082016: 74.9KG
07082016 - 13082016: 74.2KG
14082016 - 20082016: 73.1KG
21082016 - 27082016: 72.3KG
28082016 - 03092016: 71.9KG

You are definitely losing weight according to this, and at a very good pace.

Edit: Losing weight when you are 72kg as a man? Unless you are short or training for a sport that requires it... umm.

Alf Veedersane

newcar2016 wrote: »

I'm not a woman however.

You might want to reconsider how you dress so!

The point stands though. Day to day fluctuations don't give an accurate picture.

newcar2016

EllieK2 wrote: »

You are definitely losing weight according to this, and at a very good pace.

Edit: Losing weight when you are 72kg as a man? Unless you are short or training for a sport that requires it... umm.

I'm pretty short, 178cm or 5 foot 10. BMI is 22.7.

I still have alot of body fat though, on my belly and love handles. Like a serious amount. You can slap my belly and it wobbles. You can grab a massive chuck of fat with your hands on my belly and love handles.

I probably notice it more now as it stands out after other fat has gone around my mid-upper torso etc.

So definetely scope to cut down to 65kg ish I'd say, then Ill concentrate on gaining with heavy lifting :pac:

Im gonna get my body fat tested properly soon.

It is mad though that some people tend to hold weight better, like in celebrity operation transformation Elaine Crowley is 100kg and 5 foot 7 and doesn't look it at all

EllieK2

newcar2016 wrote: »

EllieK2 wrote: »

You are definitely losing weight according to this, and at a very good pace.

Edit: Losing weight when you are 72kg as a man? Unless you are short or training for a sport that requires it... umm.

I'm pretty short, 178cm or 5 foot 10. BMI is 22.7.

I still have alot of body fat though, on my belly and love handles. Like a serious amount. You can slap my belly and it wobbles. You can grab a massive chuck of fat with your hands on my belly and love handles. I probably notice it more now as it stands out after other fat has gone around my mid-upper torso etc.

So definetely scope to cut down to 65kg ish I'd say, then Ill concentrate on gaining with heavy lifting :pac:

Im gonna get my body fat tested properly soon.

Makes sense! For most people (including myself - but women are hella different) it's the most stubborn area.

jokettle

i've been slacking off a lot on tracking my intake (ended my impressive MFP streak by not logging in enough ) because I've just started a 3 year college course and have had to move into an AirBnB for a few weeks until I find proper accommodation. The landlady doesn't seem to cook; the oven is crap and there aren't many cooking utensils around. That plus the stress of starting an intense course in a new city has put watching my food intake to the very bottom of my priority list.

I got home this weekend and weighed myself, and I'm still in my maintenance range I knew I was doing ok with eyeballing amounts of food and not going overboard, but having proof via both the scales and my clothes really helped! I've been meal prepping this weekend so I don't have to navigate the crappy airbnb kitchen again though.

Speaking of clothes, I treated myself to 2 pairs of Levi's today. I finally have jeans that fit, thanks to their half sizes! Being between normal sizes was driving me crazy. Plus I got a student discount

slingerz

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by it all? I've been trying to lose weight with years everything from weight watchers to educogym to a mad bobybuilding gym. Nothing has ever worked for me.

Getting married next summer and pretty depressed at the thought of the impending disappointment in failing to lose weight and looking a state in the pictures for ever.

My food is poor, I know that without ever logging a food diary. Some days good more days beyond belief pathetic.

I seriously struggle for motivation, I go to the gym and see lads around me in serious condition and in my head I think im not too far off them. In reality and in photographs I couldn't be further from the truth.

I need to train with regularity maybe 5 times a week and to eat well. I know that and accept that. I just can't get myself to adhere to that.

Alf Veedersane

slingerz wrote: »

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by it all? I've been trying to lose weight with years everything from weight watchers to educogym to a mad bobybuilding gym. Nothing has ever worked for me.

Getting married next summer and pretty depressed at the thought of the impending disappointment in failing to lose weight and looking a state in the pictures for ever.

My food is poor, I know that without ever logging a food diary. Some days good more days beyond belief pathetic.

I seriously struggle for motivation, I go to the gym and see lads around me in serious condition and in my head I think im not too far off them. In reality and in photographs I couldn't be further from the truth.

I need to train with regularity maybe 5 times a week and to eat well. I know that and accept that. I just can't get myself to adhere to that.

Nothing has worked because you don't want it enough to stick to it.

It can be done but it needs some discipline.

In all likelihood you know the changes you need to make or the foods you need to cut back/cut out. That's where it starts.

You don't need to focus on how much you need to change - you just need to focus on making a change...on taking that first step in the direction you want to go. One foot in front of the other.

But you need to start take control of yourself and your choices. Simple changes. Stop making the wrong choices and then feeling sorry for yourself.

Because by making the right choices, you'll start to feel like you're taking back control...that you're making positive changes and that turns into a positive mindset. Like a positive feedback loop.

But make one simple change tomorrow. Start by removing the junk from your house and build on that.

newcar2016

slingerz wrote: »

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by it all? I've been trying to lose weight with years everything from weight watchers to educogym to a mad bobybuilding gym. Nothing has ever worked for me.

Getting married next summer and pretty depressed at the thought of the impending disappointment in failing to lose weight and looking a state in the pictures for ever.

My food is poor, I know that without ever logging a food diary. Some days good more days beyond belief pathetic.

I seriously struggle for motivation, I go to the gym and see lads around me in serious condition and in my head I think im not too far off them. In reality and in photographs I couldn't be further from the truth.

I need to train with regularity maybe 5 times a week and to eat well. I know that and accept that. I just can't get myself to adhere to that.

Try going to a strength and conditioning gym of some sort rather than a normal gym, more sociable and involving so you are more likely to go. Do more walking, and weigh yourself every day using a WIFI scales that logs your weight automatically online and most crucially stick to a certain amount of calories on most days. 2000 perhaps.

newcar2016

I've been a complete pig this morning and estimate my calories at 2095calories and it's 1120am.

Reckon I could do a 20 hour fast till 730am tomorrow with no ill effects if I drink alot of water!? Heard fasting can have health benefits too.

livedadream

newcar2016 wrote: »

I've been a complete pig this morning and estimate my calories at 2095calories and it's 1120am.

Reckon I could do a 20 hour fast till 730am tomorrow with no ill effects if I drink alot of water!? Heard fasting can have health benefits too.

have a reasonable lunch and dinner and do some exercise this evening.

you wont gain weight by eating poorly one day, the same as you dont lose weight by eating well one day.

get back on track now and focus for the rest of the day.

Dolbert

^This. Just get back on track and eat well for the rest of the day. Don't starve yourself because you overate, that's not a road you want to go down.

newcar2016

newcar2016 wrote: »

I've been a complete pig this morning and estimate my calories at 2095calories and it's 1120am.

Reckon I could do a 20 hour fast till 730am tomorrow with no ill effects if I drink alot of water!? Heard fasting can have health benefits too.

livedadream wrote: »

have a reasonable lunch and dinner and do some exercise this evening.

you wont gain weight by eating poorly one day, the same as you dont lose weight by eating well one day.

get back on track now and focus for the rest of the day.

Dolbert wrote: »

^This. Just get back on track and eat well for the rest of the day. Don't starve yourself because you overate, that's not a road you want to go down.

No major harm done seemingly. Ended the day at about 2500calories but I ended up doing quite a bit of exercise, an hour in the garden in the heat, a sweaty gym session and an hours relaxed walk in the evening to cool down.

Ended up actually dropping half a Kg day on day but could be hydration at play!

livedadream

newcar2016 wrote: »

No major harm done seemingly. Ended the day at about 2500calories but I ended up doing quite a bit of exercise, an hour in the garden in the heat, a sweaty gym session and an hours relaxed walk in the evening to cool down.

Ended up actually dropping half a Kg day on day but could be hydration at play!

i dunno how people weight themselves every day it would drive me demented!
fair play.

just be careful about cutting calories that much, less than 500 calories between 11am and lets say bed time of 10pm is very little especially if you had a tough workout.

newcar2016

livedadream wrote: »

i dunno how people weight themselves every day it would drive me demented!
fair play.

just be careful about cutting calories that much, less than 500 calories between 11am and lets say bed time of 10pm is very little especially if you had a tough workout.

Didn't want any more than I had tbh. Was absolutely stuffed after the morning feed!

livedadream

newcar2016 wrote: »

Didn't want any more than I had tbh. Was absolutely stuffed after the morning feed!

very true...

good job on getting back on track though...

Penny Tration

Had a half pound gain last week. I had eaten stuff I don't usually eat, like paninis, but I'd stayed under my calories (700 under maintenance), so i got annoyed and ate circles around myself this week getting weighed in half an hour so I'll face the inevitable damage and get back on it!

Penny Tration

Lost 1lb. :eek:

Makapakka

Anyone using my fitness pal, how would you recommend making it easier for yourself? MFP is the only thing that works for me regarding weight-loss but the thought of weighing everything out is really putting me off! I share a house so have limited space to store premade/pre-weighed foods. All advice welcome!

hardCopy

Makapakka wrote: »

Anyone using my fitness pal, how would you recommend making it easier for yourself? MFP is the only thing that works for me regarding weight-loss but the thought of weighing everything out is really putting me off! I share a house so have limited space to store premade/pre-weighed foods. All advice welcome!

If you can't batch cook then try to find individual portions of foods that fit your macros. A couple of examples, porridge that comes with it's own scoop, I know my breakfast portion is pretty much the same every time, likewise a tub of cottage cheese, I just eat the whole tub for breakfast and don't need to weigh.

I'll eyeball some things when it's relatively easy, e.g. I'm confident enough to guess when I've used half a tub of curry paste, but I wouldn't try to guess at what a 6th of one looks like.

Weighing stuff really isn't that big of an undertaking, and if you pack a lunch for work you'll only ever have to do it in your own kitchen.

Batch cooking does make things easier. I could log a recipe with a whole packet of chicken fillets, two tins of tomatoes, half a jar of curry paste, two tins of chickpeas and a medium onion. That would make four dinners without needing a scale, I'd be happy enough to quarter up a pan of thick stew without a scale, again if I was making 6 or 8 portions I wouldn't trust my eye, I'd use the scale to portion up.

Bananaleaf

i have a small digital scale that I keep in the kitchen. It has a 'tare' button which means if I put my plate on it, it will calculate the weight of the plate and then minus it from the total weight. I can add food straight to the plate and weigh that way. It makes things a lot easier

Michellenman

I weigh all my food and its grand, it's a bit time consuming to begin with but it really does become second nature.

I'm terrible at eye balling amounts. I have probably 3 or 4 cups of tea a day and was guesstimating the milk at about 20 mls each time. Decided to measure it once and it was nearly 70mls. That was nearly 600 cals a week that I wasn't counting! Once you measure something once it'll be in your recent items, I've never measured the milk in my tea again

Was up half a pound this morning, well deserved! Had 3 surprise nights out that I hadn't planned for last week and while I was good the day after each of them I reckon I deserve the half a pound if not more! Looking forward to a loss next week

newcar2016

Michellenman wrote: »

I weigh all my food and its grand, it's a bit time consuming to begin with but it really does become second nature.

I'm terrible at eye balling amounts. I have probably 3 or 4 cups of tea a day and was guesstimating the milk at about 20 mls each time. Decided to measure it once and it was nearly 70mls. That was nearly 600 cals a week that I wasn't counting! Once you measure something once it'll be in your recent items, I've never measured the milk in my tea again

Was up half a pound this morning, well deserved! Had 3 surprise nights out that I hadn't planned for last week and while I was good the day after each of them I reckon I deserve the half a pound if not more! Looking forward to a loss next week

I worked out my cups of tea at 45calories each. Purely from milk(low fat), don't take sugar. Drink too much of the stuff tbh

Jrop

Woo hoo ! after 2 weeks of sts I lost 2 pounds

Michellenman

Not supposed to weigh in until tomorrow but heading to my boyfriends family home for the weekend and as tempted as I was to pack the scales I figured I better just do it today instead down a pound! Put on half a pound last week so really this is just half a pound over nearly 3 weeks.. Slightly disappointed if I'm honest. I was good on calories and did more exercise that most weeks. I wish I was one of these people who can lose 3 or 4 pounds in a week. I get a pound a week, max! Still, it's all good as long as it's going in the right direction!

Faith

Great work! I'm the same, M, though. Other people seem to lose weight twice as fast as I do, but I reckon, in my case, it's because I'm just not as strict. Which is fine for me, because I think my rate of loss is sustainable to me. If I can lose when I eat out 3 times a week, I can maintain when I eat out 3 times a week!

I stopped weighing myself after my scales trauma a couple of weeks ago . I'm moving to my own place next week and will get my own scale there and start again. But I'm pretty confident that I'm maintaining, which is enough for me. I'm tracking every day which is really helping, and when I know there's going to be a mad evening, I try to plan for that a little bit.

Maintaining seems to be helping the fat to redistribute a little, too. My tummy feel flatter than it possibly ever has before (to my mind, anyway) and my face looks thinner too

Jrop

Down half a pound ! Gobsmacked cos it's TOM

shamkhurana450

Thanks for posting!!! Great idea!!!