Weight loss

[3narf]

I weighed myself today, for the first time in about 2 years.



I'm quite fit but I need to stop eating with impunity. A vegetarian diet will help as will reducing the amount of bread I eat. Beer, as well; four cans to last my four days off had started to creep up to eight.

I've just come back from the states so this is a perfect time to start. I need to lose 1 1/2 stone so maybe I need to be doing it formally, via a dietitian or a local group of portly, middle-aged ladies?

A

 

[vickster]

That's not much to lose in reality. You could pay for help or you could just eat and drink less. Not sure why it needs to be a vegetarian diet unless you're already a vegetarian

My fitness pal is fairly useful but you need to be honest on the intake

I'd be happy with only 1.5 stone to lose!

 

[Mrs M]

Good luck on the weight loss
I have recently just changed my routine, little things each day that will all add up
Had to put a belt on my jeans yesterday as they were falling down (not a pretty sight)!
Too stingy/ashamed to go to a "fat club" and want to do it myself.
I'm still a "pure chubber" but little achievements all come together and make a difference.
Best wishes xx

 

[mjr]

The States are mostly awful for finding healthy food while travelling, with a few exceptions if you avoid delicacies like their soft drinks.

That seems a bit much beer. Skip some days and it'll help.

Good luck!

 

[keithmac]

If you aim for a pound, (1/2 kg) loss a week you should be fine (500kcal deficit a day).

I just did portion control rather than weighing everything out and weighed myself twice a week to keep in check.

Do something sustainable over the long term, crash or fad diets won't keep the weight off.

My Fitness Pal forum is good for ideas as said above.

I went for CICO (calories in vs calories out), fat is not your enemy; excess calories are..

 

[Brand X]

I would suggest watching the documentary series "The Men Who Made Us Thin", you'll be surprised what the truth about diet and exercise is.

 

[3narf]

4lb loss in a week which seems OK and sustainable. I just cut out meat, most of the beer and most of the bread.

 

[Starchivore]

I posted this in a similar thread, hope you don't mind me recycling it. I think it's good advice, about how to lose weight without being hungry all the time.

http://www.jeffnovick.com/RD/Articl...Common_Sense_Approach_To_Sound_Nutrition.html

"Calorie density is simply a measure of the amount of calories in a given weight of food, most often expressed as calories per pound. A food high in calorie density provides a large amount of calories in a small weight of food, whereas a food low in calorie density has much fewer calories for the same weight of food. Therefore, for the same number of calories, one can consume a larger portion of a food lower in calorie density than a food higher in calorie density. On a day-to-day basis, people generally eat a similar amount of food, by weight. Therefore, choosing foods with a lower calorie density allows us to consume our usual amount of food (or more) while reducing our caloric intake.



Foods low in calorie density also tend to be higher in satiety so by consuming foods lower in calorie density, one can fill up on much fewer calories without having to go hungry. In addition, the foods that are lower in calorie density (fruits, veggies, starchy vegetables, intact whole grains and legumes) are also the foods highest in nutrient density. Therefore, by following a diet lower in calorie density, one also automatically consumes a diet higher in nutrient density. "

 

[coffeejo]

Pft. All things in moderation. I lost four stone a few years ago and didn't cut back on a single ounce of meat or dairy, other than through portion control.

 

[Starchivore]

Pft. All things in moderation. I lost four stone a few years ago and didn't cut back on a single ounce of meat or dairy, other than through portion control.

I haven’t been in a position of needing to lose weight, but I think I’d struggle with that. I like to eat and eat fairly large portions and I get hungry otherwise and don’t like being hungry. So for me it would make more sense to eat a large plate of steamed potatoes with broccoli and vegetable gravy (which is typically what I like to eat anyway.) I think the main reason people fail with diets so much is because they try to eat small amounts of what they used to eat, instead of changing what they eat. So they are hungry all the time and that’s hard to take.

 

[coffeejo]

I haven’t been in a position of needing to lose weight, but I think I’d struggle with that. I like to eat and eat fairly large portions and I get hungry otherwise and don’t like being hungry. So for me it would make more sense to eat a large plate of steamed potatoes with broccoli and vegetable gravy (which is typically what I like to eat anyway.) I think the main reason people fail with diets so much is because they try to eat small amounts of what they used to eat, instead of changing what they eat. So they are hungry all the time and that’s hard to take.

It's not about small amounts but a suitable amount. I reduced it gradually, got used to it. It was sustainable as well, until life, injury and illness got in the way. I've just got back on the wagon: I've had to cut out bread for health reasons and have given up chocolate* this month, but I've lost 5lbs and have actually started eating red meat again now that we're back in autumn and the slow cooker has therefore been pressed into service once more. Can't beat a hearty bowl of beef or lamb stew.

* To clarify: it's a combination of everything in moderation and limited snacking, so sugary snacks as an occasional treat rather than every day

 

[vickster]

First week will mostly be fluid loss too

 

[3narf]

I definitely didn't starve myself! I would be happy with 2lb a week though.

 

[ColinJ]

Thats too much really, for a sustainable weight loss you are supposed to be aiming for a pound to 2 pounds per week. If you starve yourself and loose a lot you tend to binge eat and put it all back on again and more besides.

It depends how big you are to start with!

I think a better target is 1% loss/week so if you weighed 200 pounds, that would be 2 pounds/week.

If you weighed 400 pounds then 4 pounds/week would be reasonable.

A 100 pound person would only be aiming to lose 1 pound/week which makes more sense for a small person. (They would have to be very short though for any weight loss to be sensible!)

 

[srw]