Losing weight

[BearTricks]

I completely agree with David that losing weight is a simple case of calories in vs calories out. Having been on the keto diet successfully, however, I can tell you that it works like nothing else. I was doing it strictly, calculating my portions every day, and I found it incredibly difficult to eat my requisite amount of calories for the day.

The difference is that ketosis negates a need for exercise by burning your existing fat, whereas in a regular diet the body stores the fat and expects you to burn the sugars you're getting from carbohydrates. I lost three stone while I was on it. Subsequently I have put two of those stones back on.

Interestingly, my cousin has severe epilepsy and a ketogenic diet is one of the only things that reliably controls her fits.

As I said earlier it is also completely unsustainable in the modern world. I was making decent money at the time and could afford it, but at the moment the amount of meat I was buying would destroy my bank account.

 

[finneyb]

Top 10 popular diets reviewed http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/P ... eview.aspx

Hope that helps

Brian

 

[Skeety]

Good luck Steve!!

It's all about finding out what works for you, what you like, what you don't.

Over the years I have probably tried most of the main diets out there. Always lost weight but then put it back on.

About 7 years ago I was at my peak weight (37 Stone) many reasons but not gluttony, just very long hours and had really bad eating habits. I started by reducing my portions very slowly, didn't really cut much out but went from having it 3 times a week to twice then once whilst adding new dishes and learning to cook much better.

I agree with you that cooking for 1 is a PITA, I started cooking for 2 or 4 and freezing the spare portions.

I'm no expert whatsoever but am now not far off my ideal weight of 19 Stone (i'm 6' 5"), still got about 3\4 of a Stone to lose but due to the amount of muscle I have now due to doing a lot more physical stuff I'm happy.

Slowly slowly catchy monkey Good luck!

Jon.

 

[Benchwayze]

Steve.

I am losing weight steadily, without fasting and without counting calories.
Although I think fasting is a good idea if you are worried about too much protein/fat. I should mention that I do have days when I just don't feel like eating at all, and I subsist on water and maybe a few raw nuts.

Anyone who wants to know more could Google the 'Diet Doctor' and study, and see what they think.

That's all I will say, because the last time I mentioned this on the forum I was told by a 'conventional-wisdom' nutritionist that I was making myself look foolish, even stupid. He even half-convinced me I was wrong, so I lapsed. But I am back at it again and with success (Two stones in three months) . I hope you too don't encounter hostility from 'health professionals'

Finally, a quotation I like :

Mankind is the only animal smart enough to actually make food, and stupid enough to eat it!
When I say 'make food' I don't mean cooking it. That is producing a dish. I mean making the food itself; e.g. Bread!

Looks like you are on a similar track to me though!

Cheers

John

 

[Doug71]

Try the 16:8 diet, had never heard of it till two weeks ago but realised I have done it for years without realising and never had any weight issues.

Basically you fast for 16hrs a day (your asleep for 8 of these) and eat normally for 8 hrs. Seems like I only ever have time for coffee at breakfast so my first meal is lunch at 12ish, have a snack later on then main meal at 8 pm.

Theory is something like if you eat every 2-3hrs then your body never gets round to using the stored fat.

Google it, apparently it's what Hugh Jackman does and he's not in bad shape.

 

[beech1948]

Interesting thread.

I'm 68 yrs old and a type 2 diabetic. Fat/weight caused that.

19 months ago I weighed 123Kg and my ideal weight would be about 80 Kg

Physically I'm OK. Still quite strong, agile, flexible but obviously thats tapering off as I age.

I lost 24.6 Kg as of December 2016.

My method was to ignore diets. Ugh!!

I cut out as much carbohydrates as possible....bread/biscuits/cake ( well only 80% of cake) etc etc

I do not buy any processed foods at all unless they have unless it has less than 7% sugar to 100g of food. Tough to find

We cook everything from scratch ( except the odd fish and chips).

Its one of those adapt to survive things and I intend to be harassing my kids for some time to come.

Portions are 30% less than 19 months ago and I drink maybe a bottle of wine a week.

I walk 5 miles a day. Now takes me about 65 minutes.
I ride my bike over the same 5 miles daily takes less than 30 minutes
I lift weights every other day and perform some pilates exercises
I stretch like a pro athlete every day.

So no diet just focus and letting the right things become a habit ( Believe - Behave - Become ). Target for end of year is 80Kg or less and hopefully just possibly a return to no diabetes or maybe very little diabetic problems.

Given that my weight is now below 100Kg next Monday morning at 6 am rain or shine I will recommence running. Start with walk 200 yds run 200 yds and go from there.

Marathons next year. Ha!

Given I was depressive, lacking in purpose and generally down some 19 months ago focussing on this helped dramatically. Exercise helps dramatically as well but it does not need to be a full on gym experience. I walk the streets, cycle the streets and use some cheap to buy weights and bars.

Diets are just repressive.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

"Diets are just repressive" - absolutely! I agree with that almost 100%, the slight qualification being that there are some medical conditions that do require care with diet.

I've come to the conclusion that most of the talk about diets is counter-productive at best, and downright baloney at worst. I've seen too many people stick rigidly to various diet regimes, come down to their target weight, rejoice mightily - and then pile on the weight again.

Much better to think about eating well. All the time. Lots of fresh fruit and vegetables (especially green vegetables), a bit of meat, a bit of fish, natural fats like olive oil and butter rather than artificial ones like margarine, plenty of water (tea and coffee are OK), and gradually eliminate the bad stuff like packet dinners and microwave meals. Then a little bit of what you fancy does you good - but aim for 'occasional treat' rather than three times a week. Don't just cut things out suddenly, cut down slowly. Don't suddenly change diet, but gradually move towards better. Your body will tell you if you're going the right way.

Sounds as if you enjoy cooking, and don't do junk food - that's a huge plus! I'd agree that cooking for one can be a bit troublesome, but agree with the point made above about cooking a dish and saving two or three portions for later days (which also gives you extra time for other things on those days, which is a nice bonus). The best 'cooking for one' recipe book I know of is Delia Smith's 'One is Fun' - great variety of recipes, and they work!

The very best 'diet' advice I've ever heard is to eat real food (not man-made stuff), mostly - though not exclusively - plants, and not too much. It really is that simple - but getting there can take some time.

 

[DennisCA]

didn't read your wall of text but,

There's no secret to losing weight, or any special diet that you must follow.
Simply eat less calories than you need and that's it. Not a rocketscience...
Exericising really doesn't burns that much calories, you need to run for like an hour to burn 500calories, or you might as well just not eat 3 donuts and you got the same effect.However once you start doing some physical activities you realize how hard its to burn calories off that way and you automaticly stop eating all the high-calorie junk food so it's still kinda win-win..

I think the easiest way is to stop eating bread/cookies and anything of that sort of stuff and the rest is easy.

A lot of these diets, what they really end up doing is making you take more care of what you eat and end up reducing your total calorie intake. All these diets like LCHF or whatever, people tend to ascribe secret mechanisms to them and make up all kinds of things about insulin causing fat and whatnot that just isn't true. In the end it's all just that these diets when studied, are found to reduce total calorie intake. And that's why they work. As long as you are able to follow them.

I've been on the LCHF diet, which is like keto, and I dropped a lot of kilos. I couldn't live without bread or carbs in the long run though, and I've put weight back on, and then back off. I tend to swing between 80-90 kilos and it's a good weight for me (188cm). I used to be 98kg in my late teens, then I went into the military (conscription) and was down to 79kg in 6 months, despite a heavy calorie diet. All that marching in the woods with heavy loads. Never gone back up to that weight fortunately.

 

[skipdiver]

Having been on the fad diets and yo-yo weight treadmill, i took the long term view in Sept 15 to change my habits, in both eating and exercise. I have lost three stone in that time and am much more mobile than i was. I had plantar fasciitis (heel pain) and lower back and hip pain all the time. I now have none of that and walk every day, usually 5 miles but sometimes due to being busy, i just spend all day working in the workshop instead. As long as you are moving you are burning calories, with the added benefit that you are not constantly eating snacks because your mind is focused elsewhere. Basically, eat less and move more. It's not complicated.

 

[monkeybiter]

The fact that I had become permanently fat was something that I accepted as a consequence of 'good living', and it didn't bother me too much. Then the type 2 diagnosis focussed my attention on my current position on my personal timeline, potentially 30% had just been knocked off my time left. I've been generally happy for the last 20yrs, but not much for the 30 before that. The idea that there's only 10-15 useful years left is quite sobering, so [after that confessional ramble] my decision to lose weight and gain fitness is was serious and important.
I once heard someone tell an anecdote about waiting in an airport and going for a burger for 'recreational eating'. I think this phrase describes a general problem society has today, food's cheap and it presses enough buttons to be a pleasurable experience. Eating for entertainment and/or pleasure will make you liable to get fat, but we all want a bit of extra comfort.
Because I enjoy the pleasure of nice textures and flavours of food my tendency was to get as much on my plate as possible, and of course you have to clear your plate.
But I have proven to myself that any hunger disappears very quickly, so I have simply reduced my portions, and it has worked, blood sugar is good, cholesterol is good, mobility is better. Last year I lost just over two stones, although I did then pile a stone back on on an indulgent holiday, but I know that's temporary and acceptable.
Sorry for the 'wall of text' :wink:

 

[Jacob]

It's easy. Eat less. Especially sugary and fatty things. Aim at 50%.
Doesn't mean you have to substitute weird garbage, quite the opposite - treat yourself to nice stuff ; instead of a 1lb cheap steak you have 1/2lb of the very best, and so on.
We have fish n chips every Friday - one normal portion is enough for two - it fills two plates.
Pub meals are always huge - we share one between us. It means you can have starter and pudding too, but half portions.
And so on.

 

[monkeybiter]

Splitting portions between a couple sounds like a good idea, I'll try to give it a try [if you know what I mean]. Your first sentence is incorrect though, it's not easy. Choosing less is not automatic for many people, you have to remember to go against your first instinct every time.

 

[Benchwayze]

I've seen too many people stick rigidly to various diet regimes, come down to their target weight, rejoice mightily - and then pile on the weight again.


The very best 'diet' advice I've ever heard is to eat real food (not man-made stuff), mostly - though not exclusively - plants, and not too much. It really is that simple - but getting there can take some time.

CC,

Absolutely!
Don't 'go on a diet'. Change your mindset and choose a new way of eating instead. Looking at it like that I see it as a lifestyle choice. I wonder how many more years I have!

Cheers.

John

 

[MusicMan]

It usually takes about three weeks to break a habit or start a new one, unless there is an addiction involved. So after about a month it will become easy, though agreed it is not at first. But a month isn't very long, really.

 

[Jacob]

Splitting portions between a couple sounds like a good idea, I'll try to give it a try [if you know what I mean]. Your first sentence is incorrect though, it's not easy. Choosing less is not automatic for many people, you have to remember to go against your first instinct every time.

It's a lot easier than giving up smoking!
One trick is to welcome the stress and not let it control you - if you feel hungry remind yourself that this means that you are losing weight, you aren't going to die and your next little snack will be along in good time!

 

[monkeybiter]

It's a lot easier than giving up smoking!
One trick is to welcome the stress and not let it control you - if you feel hungry remind yourself that this means that you are losing weight, you aren't going to die and your next little snack will be along in good time!

I fully agree with both points, I witnessed my wife struggling to give up smoking, three attempts before success.
My attitude is 'embrace the hunger', that's when I know I'm losing weight. However this year I need to incorporate exercise as well, I've lost an awful lot of strength and motivation which becomes a bit of a vicious circle, the worse it gets the worse it gets.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Mike, that is all good, thank you.
I'm not diabetic, as far as I know, but the doc wants me to have a GTT, I'm not far off, I think.

Personally I'm not at all afraid of dying. I have no family of my own and I most certainly don't want the long slow miserable death that my dad had and my mum is having. No way. I'd rather jump, TBH. It's not that I have a death wish, I don't at the mo, but if the Grim Reaper comes after me tomorrow, I won't fight him off.

Trying to lose weight is not trying to extend my life, but for as long as I have to live it, I'd rather it was as good as it can be.

 

[Jacob]

Exercise helps a lot. First cos it's nice to get out there in the fresh air - don't think I've ever regretted forcing myself off the settee and getting on me bike - if the weather is really rubbish you just cut it short and come back to a warm fire and a shower. Second cos it gives you a good reason for losing a bit of weight - what's the point of pedalling up Cromford Hill carrying 2 stones of fat?
hmm haven't been out much lately must try harder.

 

[Steve Maskery]

I used to walk 7-10 miles every Sunday until I did my knee in but since then walks have been shorter and a lot less often.

 

[Jacob]

I used to walk 7-10 miles every Sunday until I did my knee in but since then walks have been shorter and a lot less often.

Bicycle? I know a one legged cyclist who gets out a lot.
Bike can be more gentle than walking - no impact or stretching and gears to take off the pressure.