General Weight Loss Support Thread

quickbeam

tamara25 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. I also have a very sluggish metabolism & a very sedentary desk job, doesn’t help... is it possible to lose the weight without exercising? I try to fit in walking but often feel I’m getting nowhere & get very disheartened

Absolutely. Diet is much more important than exercise. "You can't out run a bad diet". Any exercise is a bonus.

Mellor

quickbeam wrote: »

Carb-cutting and intermittent fasting are fads and will never give you permanent results as they're not sustainable.

Well that's incorrect on a number of levels.

For a start, a weight loss diet only needs to be sustainable for as long as you need to lose weight. After that you move to maintenance. You can't temporarily lose fat. If you lose it, it's been burned. If you regain fat lost previously that's and entirely new quantity of energy that you've over eaten.

Also, many people follow a low-carb and/or IF as long term maintenance diets. Not sure why you think you can't.

tamara25

I already do a type of low carb diet as I find too many carbs are very filling for me & as mentioned before my metabolism is on the sluggish side. I have bread or ryvita at lunch but no cereal in morning & evenings are usually some protein & veg. I’m all the time looking up supplements that might help also, I’m taking spirulina at present which I find very good. I was also thinking of trying kelp as heard it’s good for the thyroid. Have you any other tips/advice that might help?

silverharp

quickbeam wrote: »

1320 sounds about right, as I'm the same height (more or less). Are you not losing it when you stick to that amount?

If you're eating more than that amount, then just eat less so you're eating that amount. Be conscientious about your food choices, and log everything.

MFP is only a guide. If you are eating 1320 and still not losing, then go to 1270 and try that for a week or two. You might need to play around with your optimum calorie intake that's required to lose weight.

Carb-cutting and intermittent fasting are fads and will never give you permanent results as they're not sustainable. Just cut your intake.

this is the problem with conventional dieting advice, it works great for people who are obviously obese however telling someone to drop 50 calories a day for "permanent" weight loss is viewing the human body more like a mounted engine in a climate controlled lab and ignoring human physiology which is hormonal based, what you eat and when you eat is part of the equation beyond simply counting calories.

if someone is eating ~1300 calories a day and not losing weight it means their body is working on a budget of ~1300 calories and if they did reduce their calories by a 100 say, their body would work off that budget, the person might feel cold more often or "lack energy" to do stuff they wanted so the body is affecting and ramping down the "calories out"
in such a situation most likely the person cant access their fat stores , so they need to train their body to become more fat adapted. IF and fasting are excellent tools to open up the body's fat stores which would change the "budget" and cutting carbs reduces insulin which is a fat storing hormone.

Alf Veedersane

silverharp wrote: »

this is the problem with conventional dieting advice, it works great for people who are obviously obese however telling someone to drop 50 calories a day for "permanent" weight loss is viewing the human body more like a mounted engine in a climate controlled lab and ignoring human physiology which is hormonal based, what you eat and when you eat is part of the equation beyond simply counting calories.

if someone is eating ~1300 calories a day and not losing weight it means their body is working on a budget of ~1300 calories and if they did reduce their calories by a 100 say, their body would work off that budget, the person might feel cold more often or "lack energy" to do stuff they wanted so the body is affecting and ramping down the "calories out"
in such a situation most likely the person cant access their fat stores , so they need to train their body to become more fat adapted. IF and fasting are excellent tools to open up the body's fat stores which would change the "budget" and cutting carbs reduces insulin which is a fat storing hormone.

That overcomplicates it for the majority. Also, insulin doesn't store and protect fat when you're in a deficit.

CI/CO is a model that can't account for everything but enough to work for the most part.

tamara25

Thanks for your input silverharp. Which type of intermittent fasting is more beneficial? I personally prefer the 16 8 or 15 9 approach. Eating only during a 8 or 9 hour window. If I did this more often would it speed up my weight loss do you think?

silverharp

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

That overcomplicates it for the majority. Also, insulin doesn't store and protect fat when you're in a deficit.

CI/CO is a model that can't account for everything but enough to work for the most part.

i dont think giving people more tools if they re frustrated with the old tools is over complicating things, it's no more complicated the telling someone to weigh and track their food or following a weight watchers diet. there is far to much yoyo dieting about and repeat business for weight loss companies to suggest that people have enough or the right information.

"when you're in a deficit" im sure this is mostly true though i'd imagine its possible to be in a position where you store fat and lose protein from the body. The main point is though that the insulin affect in some would slow their metabolism down so the body would balance its books and there wouldnt be the deficit you were planning or you end up with a maintenance figure where you feel crap and your diet looks like a prison sentence which will invariably be dumped

tamara25 wrote:

Thanks for your input silverharp. Which type of intermittent fasting is more beneficial? I personally prefer the 16 8 or 15 9 approach. Eating only during a 8 or 9 hour window. If I did this more often would it speed up my weight loss do you think?

whatever fits in with your routine best , i had no problem with 18 6 cos of work but if i was off work for a week 16 8 is fine. i doubt incremental hours have any affect you would notice. i mixed it with a 5/2 approach so i threw in 2 days where i only ate ~600 calories, a Monday and Thursday and that worked well.

Alf Veedersane

silverharp wrote: »

i dont think giving people more tools if they re frustrated with the old tools is over complicating things, it's no more complicated the telling someone to weigh and track their food or following a weight watchers diet. there is far to much yoyo dieting about and repeat business for weight loss companies to suggest that people have enough or the right information.

"when you're in a deficit" im sure this is mostly true though i'd imagine its possible to be in a position where you store fat and lose protein from the body. The main point is though that the insulin affect in some would slow their metabolism down so the body would balance its books and there wouldnt be the deficit you were planning or you end up with a maintenance figure where you feel crap and your diet looks like a prison sentence which will invariably be dumped

My main issue is that it reads as though (a) carbs are a problem and (b) the only ways to address it are IF and/or low carb.

If the OP's maintenance is 1300 kcal, it doesn't really matter how they go about meeting their goals (we're not talking extremes like Twinkle diets) and IF or low-carb are routes to managing calories.

No issue with IF or low carb by any stretch

Mellor

silverharp wrote: »

"when you're in a deficit" im sure this is mostly true though i'd imagine its possible to be in a position where you store fat and lose protein from the body.

It's probably possible to concoct a situation where that could happen. Such as a diet with zero protein and high sugar and a small deficit.
But it's also would pointin out that the muscle you're catabolising is less energy dense than the fat you are storing. So I'm that cause you'd still lose weight.

SusieBlue

tamara25 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. I also have a very sluggish metabolism & a very sedentary desk job, doesn’t help... is it possible to lose the weight without exercising? I try to fit in walking but often feel I’m getting nowhere & get very disheartened

A word of advice from someone who had been trying to lose weight with no exercise for the last 3 years with inconsistent success.
I am by no means an expert but this is just my own feelings as someone who has struggled too.

It can be done, when you are in a deficit you will drop weight.
But in my opinion, simply being in a deficit won't bring about the changes to your body shape that you seem to want.
I have only lost 18/20lb ish since I started PT but I've dropped 3 dress sizes. I have been this weight before, previously, but looked much larger because my body composition was different.
I'm much leaner and have less body fat, so I look a lot slimmer than I did when I was previously this weight when I wasn't exercising.

I'll never be one of those #fitfam people that loves exercise and lives for the gym, but I do 45 minutes of PT three times a week because the sacrifice is worth it for the changes it has brought to my body.
My sessions are mostly HIIT mixed with weight training, so even a kettlebells class a few times a week will help you see a difference.

I hope that makes sense, I feel like I'm not getting my point across very well. Just my two cents, from someone who has struggled and now feels like they've unlocked the hidden secret.

silverharp

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

My main issue is that it reads as though (a) carbs are a problem and (b) the only ways to address it are IF and/or low carb.

If the OP's maintenance is 1300 kcal, it doesn't really matter how they go about meeting their goals (we're not talking extremes like Twinkle diets) and IF or low-carb are routes to managing calories.

No issue with IF or low carb by any stretch

at the end of the day you do what works but for the group of people that have stalled losing weight or its crept back up after losing it, at least part of the explanation will likely be down to their metabolism slowing down and its here that the "eat less move more" might not work so well and it could be useful to break out other tools.
I believe there have been studies for example following bariatric patients and one observation was that their metabolism doesn't stall whereas someone put on a low cal diet which would be less extreme did see their metabolism drop.

Alf Veedersane

silverharp wrote: »

at the end of the day you do what works but for the group of people that have stalled losing weight or its crept back up after losing it, at least part of the explanation will likely be down to their metabolism slowing down and its here that the "eat less move more" might not work so well and it could be useful to break out other tools.
I believe there have been studies for example following bariatric patients and one observation was that their metabolism doesn't stall whereas someone put on a low cal diet which would be less extreme did see their metabolism drop.

I don't disagree that there are several tools. I just think that there are too many past examples of people not recording what they eat accurately or honestly to know their intake. And frankly there at far too many people that suggest their metabolism is slow without any basis.

I'm not suggesting not to try IF or low-carb. Like I said, no issue with them...they're ultimately tools to get to the same place. It just read like the answer is low-carb/IF, though I appreciate it may not have been the intention.

Anyway, tamara, you don't need to exercise to lose weight but you should exercise for general health.

Penn

Another 3lb down this week. Big family meal today though. Didn't go overly mad, but didn't restrict myself too much either. Still though, had the first (but hopefully not last) wardrobe clear out this weekend, getting rid of clothes that no longer fit me, as well as finding old clothes that hadn't fit me for a few years.

BilboBagOfCans

SusieBlue wrote: »

tamara25 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. I also have a very sluggish metabolism & a very sedentary desk job, doesn’t help... is it possible to lose the weight without exercising? I try to fit in walking but often feel I’m getting nowhere & get very disheartened

A word of advice from someone who had been trying to lose weight with no exercise for the last 3 years with inconsistent success.
I am by no means an expert but this is just my own feelings as someone who has struggled too.

It can be done, when you are in a deficit you will drop weight.
But in my opinion, simply being in a deficit won't bring about the changes to your body shape that you seem to want.
I have only lost 18/20lb ish since I started PT but I've dropped 3 dress sizes. I have been this weight before, previously, but looked much larger because my body composition was different.
I'm much leaner and have less body fat, so I look a lot slimmer than I did when I was previously this weight when I wasn't exercising.

I'll never be one of those #fitfam people that loves exercise and lives for the gym, but I do 45 minutes of PT three times a week because the sacrifice is worth it for the changes it has brought to my body.
My sessions are mostly HIIT mixed with weight training, so even a kettlebells class a few times a week will help you see a difference.

I hope that makes sense, I feel like I'm not getting my point across very well. Just my two cents, from someone who has struggled and now feels like they've unlocked the hidden secret.

How much is the PT sessions? If love to do it but always thought it was too expensive

BilboBagOfCans

Getting back into it the last few days.i don't own a scale and I think it's for the best as previously when I saw numbers I liked, I still wasn't happy as I was flabby. I now want to go by how clothes feel. Did some hiit today and feel good, looking forward to getting more into exercise

tamara25

I try to walk minimum 3 times weekly for roughly 45 minutes. Am I completely wasting my time doing it? Should I be going to a gym instead & combining weights with cardio?

Penn

tamara25 wrote: »

I try to walk minimum 3 times weekly for roughly 45 minutes. Am I completely wasting my time doing it? Should I be going to a gym instead & combining weights with cardio?

You're not wasting your time, as it's still burning calories. But compared to other forms of exercise it'll burn fewer calories. It all depends on how much weight you want to lose, how quickly, and if you can afford gym etc. Weights/Cardio combo programs in a gym are apparently great for boosting your metabolism, which helps you burn calories for longer.

I'm doing a good bit of walking the last few weeks too, especially with the good weather. But heading into Autumn/Winter now, I know I'm not going to be able to do as much walking, so chances are I'm going to buy myself an exercise bike for home. That'll be my exercise for Autumn/Winter. Then once I get into the final stretch of weightloss or if I start plateauing and can't get past it, that's when I'll start going to the gym.

Ultimately though it all depends on your own goals, circumstances and preferences. No form of exercise is wasting your time, but not all forms of exercise are equal, and a proper weights/cardio program in a gym would yield better results than walking. But as the old saying goes, weightloss is 80% diet, 20% exercise.

silverharp

i wouldnt think of exercise mainly in terms of calories out but other things like mood, motivation to be at a healthier weight so you can enjoy your exercise better. do whatever you enjoy

Penn

Another 3lb week. One more pound and I'll hit 3 stone in under 4 months.

Then I'm off on holidays for a week, where diet will be thrown away, so that might push me back under the 3 stone loss. But at least I'll get to hit 3 stone again

Faith

Sadly, but predictably, I have regained all of the weight I lost two years ago. There are good reasons for this, so I'm not beating myself up too much, but it's still disappointing. Mostly, it's irritating because I'm back to feeling so self-conscious.

So, I'm back on the wagon! As of yesterday, I'm back to healthy eating patterns. I have updated MyFitnessPal and Happy Scale and I am aiming to lose 18lbs between now and Christmas, which is 18 weeks away. A loss of 1lb a week should be manageable without feeling like I'm depriving myself too much. I'll probably do a Sober October to give my liver a break, and I'm moving to a new job site in November which will be in cycling distance (although I'm not pinning much on that because of weather!). Mostly, I'm just going to be a bit more disciplined with my food. Portions sizes and snacking had gotten way out of control!

I have also made changes in that, in the past, my weight loss goals were always my "ideal" weight. But this time, my goal is for a "realistic" weight, which feels much more manageable to achieve. I'm less likely to get discouraged because the goal weight is SO FAR away. When I achieve my realistic weight, I can decide at that point if I want to continue or not, but it takes a lot of pressure off me. I'm never going to be a waif, but I can at least be happy with my appearance!

I'll try and keep this thread updated and hopefully Penn's incredible progress will motivate me

Penn

Faith wrote: »

Sadly, but predictably, I have regained all of the weight I lost two years ago. There are good reasons for this, so I'm not beating myself up too much, but it's still disappointing. Mostly, it's irritating because I'm back to feeling so self-conscious.

So, I'm back on the wagon! As of yesterday, I'm back to healthy eating patterns. I have updated MyFitnessPal and Happy Scale and I am aiming to lose 18lbs between now and Christmas, which is 18 weeks away. A loss of 1lb a week should be manageable without feeling like I'm depriving myself too much. I'll probably do a Sober October to give my liver a break, and I'm moving to a new job site in November which will be in cycling distance (although I'm not pinning much on that because of weather!). Mostly, I'm just going to be a bit more disciplined with my food. Portions sizes and snacking had gotten way out of control!

I have also made changes in that, in the past, my weight loss goals were always my "ideal" weight. But this time, my goal is for a "realistic" weight, which feels much more manageable to achieve. I'm less likely to get discouraged because the goal weight is SO FAR away. When I achieve my realistic weight, I can decide at that point if I want to continue or not, but it takes a lot of pressure off me. I'm never going to be a waif, but I can at least be happy with my appearance!

I'll try and keep this thread updated and hopefully Penn's incredible progress will motivate me

Trust me, when it comes to diet and exercise I'm usually the laziest, fussiest guy around. So if I can do it, anyone can. You sound like you're on the money in terms of goals and ideals, so no doubt you'll crush it. Look forward to seeing your progress!

Sycamore Tree

42 years old. Have decided enough is enough. I need to get rid of this big fat belly.

I am starting by logging all my foods in the fitbit app. I think it helps focus on what I am eating and reduces the constant snacking. I will try and eat healthy and increase the exercise.

Just 3 days in and I feel better already.

iguana

I've been lurking for a while. I lost all my baby weight and then some when my son was 1, through diet aided by breastfeeding, and was a really healthy weight. Apart from the fact that I walked everywhere I did no exercise and my son was a terrible sleeper so I was always utterly exhausted. Unfortunately I have a blood pressure condition where when I am ill or under stress my blood pressure plummets and I pass out when upright. Shortly before my son turned two I was under stress, got an infection and ended up hospitalised for several days on IV fluids until my blood pressure got back into the normal range. Unfortunately it kept slipping down and I was passing out a lot which isn't great when caring for a toddler. Ultimately when I felt my head start to swim from a drop in blood pressure, salty, stodgy, fatty food/a can of coke was an instant way to feel normal again and it was the path I chose. That coupled with learning to drive a couple of years ago meant that my weight slowly started to climb again. I don't tend to ever weigh myself but 2 and half years ago, I went up a jeans size, 18mo ago I went up again and at the start of the summer it was either go up again or lose weight.

I'll be 40 at the end of this year and feel like I'm at a point where what i do now could be determining my health and fitness levels for life. So I quit processed sugar and by eliminating snacking I found my appetite decreased and I started running a calorie deficit. I think I've lost about 8kg and have 4kg to go to get back into a healthy range. I've achieved that entirely by reduced consumption but I know I need to get some serious exercise started soon or my blood pressure will start dropping again. When I have extra weight on, I never feel my head swim or real fogginess when I'm tired, at a lower weight I do. Regular exercise should help that significantly. Atm my plan is to do 30 minutes cycling either for real or on my exercise bike along with push-ups 15-10-5 morning and evening. I have diastasis recti from pregnancy so can't do most abdominal strengthening exercises. Once I get my fitness levels from totally crap to passable, I am considering starting crossfit training.

I'm also hoping that the exercise reinvigorates me. At first I was enjoying the weight loss and it feels great to keep going backwards with the jeans I fit into. But it's started to get really boring. I think a big problem is that each time I drop a jeans size it feels super for a day or two, then I get used to it and realise how much I still have to lose. I'd had the idea that I was a kilo or 2 overweight but realising that I I was closer to 12-14kg (which is close to obese at my height) is shocking. Our perception of overweight is very skewed, so as I lose weight it's obviously great but it's also not great to see that I still have quite a ways to go to be normal and a lot of work to do to be fit and healthy. I also know that as Christmas approaches, I'm more likely to eat sugar and drink alcohol (I very rarely drink the rest of the year but do a bit at Christmas). So I want to have a fitness regime that I enjoy to help counter that excess and make it easier to not let the unhealthy eating slip back to my norm.

Faith

That boredom with weight loss is a real issue. It’s great when you step on the scales and there’s a loss, or you fit into a small clothing size, it most of the time it’s just mundane. Food becomes a bit more of a chore and you have to think more about nutritional balances when you’re eating less calories.

I find getting involved in online weight loss communities to be motivating during those lulls. This thread is good, and /r/loseit on reddit can be quite good too. I set myself goals as well, like if I lose 10lbs, I can buy myself something special (I have clearly defined prizes), and I keep track of the loss on a whiteboard in my kitchen so I can see it all.

Faith

I did my first weigh in today. I always get the motivation to start diets on a Monday but I think Friday is a good day for weighing in as it allows you to relax a bit over the weekend and recover on the weekdays.

Anyway, first weigh in and I’m down 3lbs. Obviously that’s nearly 100% water weight, but I’m fine with that. I was retaining a lot of water and I look a bit less bloated now. This is also my usual pattern: big loss the first weigh in, and every subsequent weigh in will follow no pattern whatsoever. Even if I do everything right, I could be up next week! I’ve learned to keep my expectations realistic (although it never stops being disappointing when you don’t see a loss, tbh).

In any case, thoigh, I’m now 15lbs from my goal and have 17 weeks left, so it has definitely become even more achievable.

iguana

I foolishly over did it exercising during the week and aggravated what turns out to be an inguinal hernia. I have to wear control pants until it feels better. I may need to revise my long-term fitness plan because cross-fit with a hernia may not be viable. Static cycling is the best exercise recommended while I heal and getting to and maintaining a healthy weight is the best long-term tactic for dealing with the hernia. So it's extra important to lose these last few kilos and keep them off.

But the silver lining is, in the control pants, I can wear my favourite jeans! When I'm at a healthy weight I don't need control pants to fit in them and they are still a comfy loose fit rather than snug like they are now. But it's still pretty amazing as in May I was getting too big for jeans two sizes bigger and my favourite jeans wouldn't go on, never mind do up and be wearable.

Michellenman

After gaining back the nearly 2 stone I lost 18 months ago I’ve been given the kick up the bum to get back to it. I lost that 2 stone in 12 weeks so no wonder it went back on so quickly and easily. Plan is to do this slow and steady, I’d be glad of a stone gone by Christmas! Have prepped some veggies and breakfasts for the rest of the week and put some Bologna’s style dishes in the freezer so I’m feeling positive! My weigh day is Friday so I’ll check back in then.

tamara25

I posted recently about trying to shift a stone in weight & got good advice back. Another poster here mentioned about joining a gym as that is probably the guaranteed way of really changing my body shape all over. I think deep down I know the answer already but here goes I’m putting it out there for feedback/comments. So I’m a typical apple shape, female, 44. Carrying all my excess weight around my torso. Following my fitness pal & am on 1320 calories a day which feels right for me. I’m walking 3-4 times a week about 45 minutes. This was my routine last year for about 3 months. My legs got very toned & noticed my stomach flatter. I tried on a pair of jeans then one day & was so dissapointed when they wouldn’t fit around the waist. I just felt I had worked so hard for very small results. I think I only lost a few lbs. rang a local gym recently & the guy I was talking to said he would do up a program for me to tone my lower & upper body. It won’t be easy to fit it in time wise with work & kids & extra expense too. But it would be a dream come true to finally go down a size in clothes & to get my confidence back. Well guys & girls what do you think?

Alf Veedersane

Toning isn't really a thing in and of itself but part of it means reducing body fat so he could probably help with that. He can't target where it comes off - it comes off but where it comes off first can't be dictated by the exercises you do.

If you can afford the time and cost of the gym work, give it a go. It will stand to you. If not, do what you can and keep working on the diet. It's a marathon, not a sprint o don't put yourself under time pressure to get results.

tamara25

Thanks Alf, still very undecided.. do you think I will eventually reach my goal by what I’m doing at present? Have s friend who goes to the gym and she has definitely gone down 2 dress sizes. She looks very well...