Help - I need to lose weight, fast!

[e-rider]

As regards Mucky D's or any of that ilk. I avoid it as far as possible. The only ones I have been into in the past decade would be Dusseldorf and Basel, when travelling with people who like that sort of thing.


Thank you Yello for your guidance on this, and apologies to Tundragumski for taking over this thread.

That's OK I was enjoying the read. I have a nut allergy so I should probably not start including those.

My short-term approach is going to be no: bread, cheese or beer. As a long term goal I really need to investigate further and make a sustainable plan.

 

[jimboalee]

Someone mentioned Robert Atkins.

Atkins approached application of his theory the wrong way round.
He started off his dieter by allowing them 15g of carbs per day. The result was a dramatic fat loss, but the victim suffered headaches from the sudden change to ketogenic living. "No pain, no loss" in this instance.
After the initial week, he allowed 20g of carbs per day and measured the rate of fat loss.
This continued until the dieter came to a carbs g/day where no fat loss was achieved. This was called "Threshold for weight loss".
I followed this regime and found my sedentary "Threshold for weight loss" was 45g ( 180 kCals ) of carbs per day.

Now this was tricky when I was riding 100km and 200km Audax rides and commuting 35 miles per day. It was an intense juggling act with my 'cals' spreadsheet.

What he should have done ( everything is easy in hindsight ) was to start his dieter off at 100g of carbs per day and take off 10g until the happy dieter started to lose fat. If there was fat loss at 100g, there would be more with less.

There is no reason why a cyclist who rides less than two hours per day commuting cannot apply my version of the Atkins regime.

 

[Archie_tect]

10000 steps a day.

Tundra,
Set yourself the target of walking 10000 steps every day...including every step you take not only 'going out for a wlk'.... amazing how that coupled with eating less brings the weight off steadily and evenly, plus it does you good. 10000 steps is about 5 miles so it's easy to top up with a walk at lunchtime round where you live/ work and in the evening after work.

i got a fee pedometer from Kelloggs and you'd be surprised how many steps you do in a day. [+ I use stairs where I can not escalators or lifts- except up to the 9th floor in Newcastle Civic Centre when I'm visiting the planners!]

 

[e-rider]

Can you eat too many bananas? I ask because now on my second day of the 'diet' I have realised that I have nothing in the house that doesn't involve bread or cheese except bananas.

This has made me notice that I was probably eating way too much bread and cheese, but now I'm sat at work with no lunch!

I already munched 4 bananas yesterday and it looks like a repeat today. There is a shop near-by (co-op) - what should I buy for lunch?

 

[Crackle]

Well I know what I'd buy for lunch. Either some chicken strips and a yoghurt drink and banana or some humus and cucumber for dipping and a yoghurt drink (those innocent ones). Whether that would suit you is another matter.

 

[Banjo]

I Lost 4 stone last year going from 16 to 12 stone on 5 ft 9inches height.

I didnt ban anything as it only makes you crave for it.I just identified the high calorie food stuff and reduced my intake of it.Initially I was losing 3 or 4 lb per week but this slows down as you get lighter.

 

[Speicher]

Bearing in mind how expensive those Innocent drinky things are, would it be better to have some milk and fruit separately? This is not a criticism of your suggestion Crackle, cos I can see how convenience and time come into the equation.

I think I read recently that "smoothies" deprive you of the fibre in fruit, and you end up with extra sugar because you would not eat so much fruit normally in one go.

 

[e-rider]

I Lost 4 stone last year going from 16 to 12 stone on 5 ft 9inches height.

I didnt ban anything as it only makes you crave for it.I just identified the high calorie food stuff and reduced my intake of it.Initially I was losing 3 or 4 lb per week but this slows down as you get lighter.

That's amazing. You must have been eating something 'special' before losing 4 stone in 1 year. I would like to lose 4 stone too but I'd be happy with 2.

2 days in and my approach is simple so far: no bread or cheese or anything sugary.

 

[Speicher]

I Lost 4 stone last year going from 16 to 12 stone on 5 ft 9inches height.

I didnt ban anything as it only makes you crave for it.I just identified the high calorie food stuff and reduced my intake of it.Initially I was losing 3 or 4 lb per week but this slows down as you get lighter.

If I could follow your good example, I would be very happy, The height versus weight charts would suggest that I loose nearly five stone, but I think then that everyone would say I looked ill. I would like to loose three stone ideally. Loosing a stone fairly quickly would kick me up the backside start me into further action. Then continue to loose gradually.

The same greengrocers (how old-fashioned is that?) where I buy my fruit and vegetables, also sells my favourite chocolate (Snickers ).

 

[yello]

Atkins approached application of his theory the wrong way round.

For an athlete or anyone undertaking any high intensity exercise, yes I'd agree. For someone wanting to loose weight fast (like the OP) then 'low carb' is a way of achieving that... but that obviously isn't an approach for someone wanting to ride 200km audaxes! It's why I suggested avoiding high intensity exercise.

Not all low carb diets intend to induce a ketotic state, as Atkins did. I agree, it's somewhat of a painful method of finding your optimum daily carb intake. I wouldn't do it personally because I ride bigger distances but not on a daily basis, so my carb requirement varies immensely on a day-to-day basis.

But that's not to say the general principles of a low GI diet can't be applied to an athletes diet, making the type of modifications that you have made.

 

[Crackle]

Bearing in mind how expensive those Innocent drinky things are, would it be better to have some milk and fruit separately? This is not a criticism of your suggestion Crackle, cos I can see how convenience and time come into the equation.

I think I read recently that "smoothies" deprive you of the fibre in fruit, and you end up with extra sugar because you would not eat so much fruit normally in one go.

No you're right. That's a convenience lunch plan, plus I like the vanilla smoothies and every diet needs a treat in it.

 

[e-rider]

If I could follow your good example, I would be very happy, The height versus weight charts would suggest that I loose nearly five stone, but I think then that everyone would say I looked ill. I would like to loose three stone ideally. Loosing a stone fairly quickly would kick me up the backside start me into further action. Then continue to loose gradually.

The same greengrocers (how old-fashioned is that?) where I buy my fruit and vegetables, also sells my favourite chocolate (Snickers ).

Speicher, it sounds like we are starting off on a similar path requiring a 1 stone loss quickly and then another 2 or 3 over a longer time period. Perhaps we should work together and share tips. I plan a weigh-in tomorrow to see if the first 3 days have produced any results.

 

[Speicher]

I think you would be most likely to make more progress than I am.
My exercise levels are currently zero, for lots of different reasons.
It would be good on here to share tips, and advice from others.

So far I have cut out bread and cheese, changed from full fat milk in coffee to semi-skimmed, and from semi-skimmed in porridge to skimmed milk. Late night munchy attacks are dealt with by raisins and skimmed milk. I now use whole grain rice instead of white, and have eliminated crisps completely. All these changes are sunstainable, I hope.

Probably next is to exercise more.

 

[yello]

Can you eat too many bananas?

You can eat too much of anything! Fruit generally is quite high in sugar (and has a highish GI) but bananas especially. It's why it's a favoured athletes snack. Watch the tennis on tele, you'll see bananas being munched quite a bit!

That's not to say that fruit is bad news for those wanting to loose weight though; it contains needed micro-nutrients AND the sugars are slow release, so it is infinity better for you than cake! You won't get sugar rush from fruit! Just go easy on it, bananas especially. Pineapple too btw. Avocado (and maybe berries??), are low in sugar so you can munch those.

 

[benb]

You can eat too much of anything! Fruit generally is quite high in sugar (and has a highish GI) but bananas especially. It's why it's a favoured athletes snack. Watch the tennis on tele, you'll see bananas being munched quite a bit!

That's not to say that fruit is bad news for those wanting to loose weight though; it contains needed micro-nutrients AND the sugars are slow release, so it is infinity better for you than cake! You won't get sugar rush from fruit! Just go easy on it, bananas especially. Pineapple too btw. Avocado (and maybe berries??), are low in sugar so you can munch those.

Rubbish. Fruits generally, and bananas in particular have an exceptionally low glycemic index.