General Weight Loss Support Thread

Penn

SozBbz wrote: »

How close are you to your target weight? I'm guessing close enough as it sounds like you've lost lots already.

Anyhow, i think you need to mentally prepare yourself for the fact that such consistant big losses are going to get harder to come by as you aproach your target weight. Know it, accept it and don't let any setbacks stop you.

I know you can explain away this week and thats grand, as you say 5lbs over 2 weeks is brilliant. You will probably have weeks from now on where you've done the right things but the scales just haven't shown it for whatever reason.

You've done so well so don't let this push you off track! Weight loss is not perfectly linear and sometimes the scales won't say what you want or think you deserve. Just know that if you're doing the right things, the losses will happen, but maybe not so predictably on a weekly basis as you've seen to date.

I'm now two stone off my target weight, which I aim to have lost by the end of April.

But you're right, I've definitely been feeling the past two months that the more weight I lose, the lower my calorie allowance goes and the tighter I get to my daily calorie allowance (whereas I used to be comfortably under it). So I knew the weeks of 3lb losses were likely coming to an end, but still hoped to maintain a 2lb loss per week. The 1lb this week was a bit of a sting, but given the previous week's loss and my general rate of loss for the past few months, I'm still well ahead of my overall target, and just have to accept that as calorie limits get tighter, I might just have weeks where I don't hit the target. So long as the number is still going down though, it'll keep me on the right track.

Plus after Xmas I plan on starting to start some cardio and get into a proper routine, which should help a lot too.

Faith

The general advice is that a loss of 1lb a week is achievable, assuming you don't have a significant amount of weight to lose.

Sometimes I think it's easier for people who do have a lot of weight to lose, because you can get comfortable with the new eating patterns and routines while losing plenty of weight each week, which is motivating. When you're trying to lose less weight, you see less loss every week anyway, even when you do everything correctly, and it can be quite demotivating and easy to fall off the wagon out of frustration or hopelessness.

As you get closer to your target weight, you can expect to have weeks where you plateau and weeks where yo gain. Just keep on trucking, and remember how far you've come!

I'm miles of the wagon (so far off it that I now resemble the wagon ). I'll be back on in January, but I'm going to unsubscribe from this thread, I think. I'm so contrary that other people's weight loss demotivates me, because I get jealous that I haven't had the same results. Every time I've been successful with weight loss, I've done it quietly and on my own

tamara25

Question about training in gym for short period? So firstly I know about the rules for weight loss. 80% diet and 20% exercise. But if you really want to tone up & get a more defined shape it involves a combination of weight training & cardio. So this is a silly question but I genuinely not sure of the answer. So I’m going to the gym for say 3 months. If I was to stop the gym work then & just continue on with cardio do I go back to my original body shape then. Hope I’m making sense to someone!!

neris

What's everyone's weight expectations for the Christmas period? I'm expecting to put weight back on. Hope to keep it to 1kg max put on and try get a good few walks with the dog in & maybe cycles if weather stays mildish. Beer will be my undoing more then food

Bassfish

neris wrote: »

What's everyone's weight expectations for the Christmas period? I'm expecting to put weight back on. Hope to keep it to 1kg max put on and try get a good few walks with the dog in & maybe cycles if weather stays mildish. Beer will be my undoing more then food

Same here, being realistic that I'll put a bit on but will try to keep it some what civilised. I'll have the things I love at Christmas, nice cheese, paté etc. I'm just not having things like tins of roses or selection boxes in the house as I'll just mindlessly eat them without even enjoying them really!

Penn

Managed to lose 1lb this week, and probably lucky to have done so. Very calorific night over the weekend, but absolutely worth it and had to be done. Got lots of compliments over my appearance and weightloss too, so that's always a joy. The 1lb also brings me to 75% to my target.

Last full week before Xmas now, so a good week will keep me back in good habits and set me up right for Xmas. I don't think I'll hit 6stone lost by Xmas as that'd require 3lb, but 2lb will get me to 15stone, and I think the lightest I'll have been in probably about 15 years. That'll do nicely, I think.

neris wrote: »

What's everyone's weight expectations for the Christmas period? I'm expecting to put weight back on. Hope to keep it to 1kg max put on and try get a good few walks with the dog in & maybe cycles if weather stays mildish. Beer will be my undoing more then food

I'm hoping to maintain over Xmas, as I think the bad days of food and drink will hopefully be balanced by the good days of diet and exercise. At worst if I put on 2lb, I'll accept that.

silverharp

Im treating xmas as a strategic refeed time, going to make sure I have lots of protein type foods arounds , smoked fish and good quality meats etc. I don’t have a sweet tooth so “quality street “ does nothing for me anyway. As I mostly only eat 1 to 2 meals per day, not doing any kind of IF will feel like pushing the boat out. I don’t really have the time to be in a gym but I have some of my wife’s visitor passes to use up so that will be a change , will be off the bike for 2 weeks , hopefully I will get some nice walks and a bit of running in weather permitting.

neris

Dropped over a kilo this week which I'm delighted and surprised with. Had a bad weigh in last Friday not losing anything so in frustration hit the wine popcorn and mince pies over last weekend with no exercise till Sunday night. Good bit of walking and diet this week to bring me down 5.5kg in total since start of November but still about 10kg to go to where I want to be (back in 2011 ) but my aim is may to June to be there

planes01

Just came across this thread and posting for the first time. Facebook popped up a memory from 8yrs ago which made me realize that I have spent that length of time thinking about and trying to manage my weight.
Really frustrating and I’m a bit sick of the daily mental drain, even ifs it’s just in the background it’s still having a negative impact.
I did an online course with a galway fitness guy a few yrs ago. It had a closed Facebook support group which I could comment into daily or a few times a week. Found the connection with others to be a high part of my success over the 90 days.
Hoping to use this forum in the same way or does anyone know of an ongoing face book group that they would recommend end?
I’m 43yr old male
Weigh 13st 08lbs
Have arthritis in me right ankle which restricts me in a few small ways
I have a work life which is shift work based so its hard to get a routine but when I do get into a flow it feels great
I eat a lot of biscuits, bars, ice cream and breakfast wraps.

Looking forward sharing progress here and thanks to those who keep the post going
Brian

neris

What weight are you trying to get down to our are you just trying to control your weight? Cut out the foods you mentioned and you'll be on your way

jaykhunter

planes01 wrote: »

I’m 43yr old male Weigh 13st 08lbs Have arthritis in me right ankle which restricts me in a few small ways
I have a work life which is shift work based so its hard to get a routine but when I do get into a flow it feels great
I eat a lot of biscuits, bars, ice cream and breakfast wraps. Looking forward sharing progress here and thanks to those who keep the post going
Brian

Welcome Brian! I've had a health overhaul this year (about 6 stone in the last 8 months), I recommend eating as many whole foods as you can - ie cook your own meals so you know exactly what's in it. Stay away from pre-packaged meals: companies don't care if you lose weight or eat healthy, they just want it to taste good so you'll have it again. So having simple foods and improving the taste with spices is my biggest thing. Oh and Quark (fat free cottage cheese). Between that and fry light (1 cal spray oil) has been a game changer!

Penn

Penn wrote: »

Last full week before Xmas now, so a good week will keep me back in good habits and set me up right for Xmas. I don't think I'll hit 6stone lost by Xmas as that'd require 3lb, but 2lb will get me to 15stone, and I think the lightest I'll have been in probably about 15 years. That'll do nicely, I think.

Suck it, Me from the past! 3.5lb this week. The good days in between the bad from the past few weeks have caught up with me and given me a nice Xmas present.

So this'll be my last update for 2018. Since May:
6 stone (38kg) lost
42" waist to 36" (though almost 12" lost around my stomach itself)
"I hope this XXL fits me" to "I think this L fits me"

So, the fitbit is off, my 100+ day streak on MFP is about to be broken, and I am going to eat the f*ck out of this Xmas dinner and enjoy the rest of the festivities this week has to offer. Then back on the horse next week.

Just want to say a huge thanks to everyone for their support and advice over the last 8 months. It genuinely made a big difference and I can only hope I can repay in kind going forward.

Merry Xmas, folks! Have a brilliant one!

Alf Veedersane

Penn wrote: »

Suck it, Me from the past! 3.5lb this week. The good days in between the bad from the past few weeks have caught up with me and given me a nice Xmas present.

So this'll be my last update for 2018. Since May:
6 stone (38kg) lost
42" waist to 36" (though almost 12" lost around my stomach itself)
"I hope this XXL fits me" to "I think this L fits me"

So, the fitbit is off, my 100+ day streak on MFP is about to be broken, and I am going to eat the f*ck out of this Xmas dinner and enjoy the rest of the festivities this week has to offer. Then back on the horse next week.

Just want to say a huge thanks to everyone for their support and advice over the last 8 months. It genuinely made a big difference and I can only hope I can repay in kind going forward.

Merry Xmas, folks! Have a brilliant one!

Congratulations. Enjoy the hell out of your well-earned break. Your progress has doubtless inspired several posters

Penn

jaykhunter wrote: »

Welcome Brian! I've had a health overhaul this year (about 6 stone in the last 8 months), I recommend eating as many whole foods as you can - ie cook your own meals so you know exactly what's in it. Stay away from pre-packaged meals: companies don't care if you lose weight or eat healthy, they just want it to taste good so you'll have it again. So having simple foods and improving the taste with spices is my biggest thing. Oh and Quark (fat free cottage cheese). Between that and fry light (1 cal spray oil) has been a game changer!

Agree completely with Jay. Planning is key, and even though you do shift work which can make a routine a bit harder, you can still plan and prep ahead. Once you get used to it it becomes routine by itself.

Making simple curries or chili that you can freeze in portions and have throughout the week is easy and usually tastes better than prepackaged ones (as you can tailor the spices etc to your own liking).

Just keep an eye on portions size and calories and you'll see the difference in no time with not a huge amount of effort.

Good luck!

jaykhunter

That's phenomenal Penn, congratulations mate! You're an inspiration to me and many people here Xmas gorging well-deserved!

BilboBagOfCans

Any of you guys have any websites for recipes to get your veg in? Need to try get my 5 a day!

tamara25

When are people getting back into healthy eating or is it too early to mention this? 🀫 I’ve been off the wagon for a good bit before Christmas, haven’t put weight on but still want to shift the extra stone I’m carrying around! Not back to work till the 7th. Feel like starting tomorrow being honest cause otherwise I will keep eating rubbish & will feel like s pig when January comes 😲 so calorie counting, walking & some supplements. I really hope 2019 will be my year to finally succeed ðŸ‘

JeffKenna

tamara25 wrote: »

When are people getting back into healthy eating or is it too early to mention this? 🀫 I’ve been off the wagon for a good bit before Christmas, haven’t put weight on but still want to shift the extra stone I’m carrying around! Not back to work till the 7th. Feel like starting tomorrow being honest cause otherwise I will keep eating rubbish & will feel like s pig when January comes 😲 so calorie counting, walking & some supplements. I really hope 2019 will be my year to finally succeed ðŸ‘

I set the alarm for 7 this morning and did an hours excerise to get back into it.

Best of luck for 2019!

Penn

tamara25 wrote: »

When are people getting back into healthy eating or is it too early to mention this? 🀫 I’ve been off the wagon for a good bit before Christmas, haven’t put weight on but still want to shift the extra stone I’m carrying around! Not back to work till the 7th. Feel like starting tomorrow being honest cause otherwise I will keep eating rubbish & will feel like s pig when January comes 😲 so calorie counting, walking & some supplements. I really hope 2019 will be my year to finally succeed ðŸ‘

Technically, I'm back at it today. Back eating healthy without logging on MFP (I basically know what I need to eat today calorie-wise but might still afford myself a treat). Might do a bit on the exercise bike today too but also might not.

Still have a few family meals or nights out coming up this week where I won't be thinking about diet or calories, but I'm at nothing today really so no reason why I can't go back into the good habits to help offset the last few days and the coming days. Will also help me not slide too far into bad habits that would mean I'd struggle to get back into good habits.

tamara25

Some exercise questions guys/gals, I have a cross trainer & treadmill in attic. There is also a lovely wood near me which has lots of steep hills & really feel like I’m doing a great workout when I’m there. Does it matter which type of exercise I go for? Indoors/outdoors, will one type benefit me more than the other? My legs always tone up from the walking but the fat around the middle is a different story.. any tips on helping with that? Finally there will probably be classes starting in January near me, using kettlebells etc. have to get back into the guy that runs them to find out more. Is this option better for overall toning? Sorry very obvious/common sense questions but would like some feedback on them!

Alf Veedersane

tamara25 wrote: »

Some exercise questions guys/gals, I have a cross trainer & treadmill in attic. There is also a lovely wood near me which has lots of steep hills & really feel like I’m doing a great workout when I’m there. Does it matter which type of exercise I go for? Indoors/outdoors, will one type benefit me more than the other? My legs always tone up from the walking but the fat around the middle is a different story.. any tips on helping with that? Finally there will probably be classes starting in January near me, using kettlebells etc. have to get back into the guy that runs them to find out more. Is this option better for overall toning? Sorry very obvious/common sense questions but would like some feedback on them!

It doesn't matter so much whether it's indoors or outdoors ultimately. Thought you would lilely go for longer outdoors. Enjoying it is the main thing.

When you lose fat, you can't dictate where it comes from. Just keep at it and it should start to come off the middle

Penn

tamara25 wrote: »

Some exercise questions guys/gals, I have a cross trainer & treadmill in attic. There is also a lovely wood near me which has lots of steep hills & really feel like I’m doing a great workout when I’m there. Does it matter which type of exercise I go for? Indoors/outdoors, will one type benefit me more than the other? My legs always tone up from the walking but the fat around the middle is a different story.. any tips on helping with that? Finally there will probably be classes starting in January near me, using kettlebells etc. have to get back into the guy that runs them to find out more. Is this option better for overall toning? Sorry very obvious/common sense questions but would like some feedback on them!

With regards to losing fat around your middle, I read something a while back while explains it. We store fat in chest/stomach areas first because it helps protect organs. After that, we store it in legs, arms, ass etc too. So when you start losing weight, you tend to lose more fat from those other areas first, and then you lose more from chest/stomach second.

I noticed it myself where even after I'd lost 4 stone, I didn't feel like my stomach had gotten that much smaller (though I was measuring it and I was getting thinner). But the last while, I really notice it shifting more from my stomach these days.

So unfortunately, I don't think there's any way to specifically lose weight from one area. Even doing exercises focused on one area will build the muscle behind the fat, but the rate at which the fat goes from that area is still determined by your overall progress. Just keep pushing on. It'll happen.

As for exercise, whatever works for you and you think you can stick to best, that's the right way to go. Indoors, outdoors, cardio, weights... It'll all be beneficial regardless. That said, weights can help with skin tightening and toning up, building the muscle under the fat. But, as you put on muscle weight, it might balance out your weight loss from dieting. So you might weigh yourself and feel like you haven't lost anything or not lost enough, but that's because muscle weighs more than fat. That's where tracking your body measurements as well as just your weight comes in. Just something to bear in mind.

tamara25

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

It doesn't matter so much whether it's indoors or outdoors ultimately. Thought you would lilely go for longer outdoors. Enjoying it is the main thing.

When you lose fat, you can't dictate where it comes from. Just keep at it and it should start to come off the middle

thanks Alf, being honest I get so low at times about how I look.. i really miss the figure I had before I had children.

tamara25

Thanks Penn also for your reply. It’s easier for me to keep up the walking as I just put on my runners & head out the door when I want. No extra expense involved either.

Alf Veedersane

tamara25 wrote: »

thanks Alf, being honest I get so low at times about how I look.. i really miss the figure I had before I had children.

Key is not to focus on how far away from where you want to be that you are.

Focus on every little step in the journey to where you want to be.

Every pound on the right direction is moving in the right direction and that's all you can do.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.


I used to run a bit and when I got to the point that I'd never be able to run however far was left, I'd focus on reaching the next lamp post, and then the next one, and then the next one....until I made it to the end.

Same principle. Focus on every pound in the right direction until you get there.

SozBbz

BilboBagOfCans wrote: »

Any of you guys have any websites for recipes to get your veg in? Need to try get my 5 a day!

There are some good vegan/vegetarian cookbooks and websites around. I'm neither, but am trying to eat a bit less meat and be more sustainable.

I like the Little Green Spoon for example, and also the Happy Pear cookbook. I also use both the Jamie Oliver website and BBC Good Food website where you can use the filters to just see veg dishes.

banoffe2

Hi everyone , thanks for all the posts and honesty! I need to get on board! always fluctuate with a stone extra, have lost it with Slimming groups and back on again once my finger is off the button, my weakness is sweet stuff, cakes, biscuits, chocolate. I always eat a healthy brekie, routinely pint of water and lemon, first thing, then porridge with a hint of honey, minimalist, break a fat free yogurt, with fruit and cup of tea, lunch usually salad, sometimes with 2 ryvita brown rye, and dinner in the eve, a protein , veg, sometimes little potato, no sauces, and another pint of water before evening meal. My downfall is treats at work especially coming up to Xmas, also when I run to the shop on the way home, I could pick up a packet of small snacks and the the lot of them, not intentionally, then that puts an end to my planned walk. I am aware of my weakness and triggers, my bmi is under 25 and people in the group ask me what I am doing there, but I know myself, the difference of fitting comfortably into a size 12 is right for me and a great feeling, I am back to the size 14 now and the plan is to get back to 12. If I loose 12 lbs I will be a fee slimmer. I know I can do it and perhaps writing it down and reaching out is the first step, for those who have lots to loose, please understand its not easy either when you have little to loose!
Anyway I stood on the scales after ~Xmas and it gave the kick I neded, I am down 2 lbs already, that due to not eating any sweet stuff for 2 days, a record for me! Had some fruit instead and went for swim and walk each day , drinking lots of water. Hope next time I report there will be less of me here!!!
Good luck to everyone here, new year, new beginning, increased energy and confidence

iguana

Weighed myself for the first time in ages yesterday and I'm down to a BMI of 23.7. I'm ecstatic as I've definitely regained more of my sweet tooth over the last while, so I thought I might be in danger over Christmas. But I've been able to adapt well to doing things like having a light supper if I had dessert with dinner or just deciding not to eat the potatoes because they are on my dinner plate if I don't actually feel hungry for them. So I think that with a bit of thought, I should be able to maintain a healthy body weight going forward. I highly recommend cutting out processed sugar to anyone wanting to lose weight. It was horrible, truly horrible, for the first few weeks but since then I've found myself to be much more in tune with whether or not I'm hungry rather than just craving a sugar hit. Other than that I find that having a really good, protein heavy breakfast to be key. When breakfast is enjoyable but really, really filling, it's so much easier for me to stay on a healthy path for the day. I was very, very close to a BMI of 30 back at the start of May, so am very glad that I managed to turn that around and turned 40 a few weeks ago at a healthy weight.

Penn

Back fully and firmly on the horse from today. Haven't been counting calories or wearing the fitbit since the day before Xmas eve, but I've still been weighing myself just to keep a general eye on things. Had a few good/medium days in between the bad, so looking like I'll have either maintained or even lost a pound or two by my next official weigh-in on Sunday (depending on when the calories taken in during a big family meal yesterday properly kick in).

Hope it's a great 2019 for anyone starting or still on the journey!

radley2019

Portion sizes is my problem. Thinking about using side plates instead of Dinner ones, and maybe stop eating chocolate, ice cream and everything thats sweet!!:(