General Weight Loss Support Thread

gmisk · 20-04-2019 1:16pm

gmisk wrote: »

2 months since I started using my fitness pal.
1600 calorie goal
Gone from 77kg to 71.7kg.
I am 5 7 male, my aim is to get to 70kg
I haven't been ridiculously strict, thankfully the dog keeps me busy and walking about 12k steps a day minimum.
Dipping into this thread has been great much appreciated.

Weighed myself this morning and down to 71kg, happy out!
I will carry on for another few weeks of my fitness pal to get to 70, then I think time for a break from the app
For me I think pretty much cutting out beer has really helped

If someone is looking for a treat with fairly low calories I recommend a curly wurly btw

Penn · 21-04-2019 10:53am

Went very strict this week, but in a good way with some nice meals (made homemade chicken and mushroom soup for the first time which may become my go-to soup from now on; delicious) and snacks (never been a fan of bananas (fanabanana?) but finding them quite nice actually). Plus completed week 2 of c25k and getting more comfortable with it.

So had a great week with a 3lb loss. Have been thinking about things and have decided I'm going to relax the diet for May. Will still keep up the c25k but between a few family events and just as a reward for hitting my goal in the year, going to treat myself a bit and let loose. But come June, I'm going to start aiming to lose another stone. The goal I originally set got me just inside the healthy bmi range, but there's definitely still fat there to lose, and it'll keep me with something to aim for. Going to shift the balance between diet and exercise though, so as I'm not going too low-cal when trying to do a bunch of running too. It also means I have a bit more scope to try new meals that are a bit higher calorie, or even go back to bigger portions of what I eat now.

Anyway, I'm off to buy myself a new shirt for one of the family events I have coming up, as I had my last wardrobe clearout yesterday and had to get rid of a bunch of my old ones.

tamara25 · 21-04-2019 11:28am

Way to go Penn!!! You put all the operation transformation leaders to shame!!

Kevhog1988 · 22-04-2019 12:09am

Lost 3kg of fat last week and gained a kg of muscle. Delighted

Alf Veedersane · 22-04-2019 12:14am

theemigrant wrote: »

Lost 3kg of fat last week and gained a kg of muscle. Delighted

You won't have gained a kilo of muscle in a week.

But you're down 2kg in a week which is really well done!

silverharp · 22-04-2019 10:17pm

"they" dont make it easy lol

https://twitter.com/shanesull/status/1119937616714108929

Kevhog1988 · 25-04-2019 12:25pm

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

You won't have gained a kilo of muscle in a week.

But you're down 2kg in a week which is really well done!

Thats what the test in the gym told me?

Alf Veedersane · 25-04-2019 1:45pm

theemigrant wrote: »

Thats what the test in the gym told me?

I'm not sure what the test was but not even with a boat loaf of steroids would you put on a kilo of muscle in a week.

But the most relevant point is you're moving in the right direction!

silverharp · 26-04-2019 10:40am

the ultimate diet has been hiding in plain sight

https://brobible.com/culture/article/lent-beer-diet-weight-loss-total/

The Lenten season officially wrapped us last week, and when everything was said and done, Hall had dropped a grand total of 44 damn pounds thanks to his beer-only diet.

PictureFrame · 01-05-2019 2:15pm

Hey guys, on the start of my weight lost journey- lost 5 pounds week 1 which i'm happy with- exercising more, doing couch to 5k and walking to and from work everyday. I have a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday and that's all been going fine.

BUT I am finding myself RAVENOUS from about 7.30pm- bed around 11.30/12.00 every night.. I know i'm not actually hungry, my body is craving chocolate and crisps, because I use to have my treats in the evening at this time, grazing watching TV. Does anyone have any tips/advice on how to avoid this? I don't keep cash on me and don't let myself drive to the shops, so getting treats is that much harder- but I really am finding it the only part I struggle with, and it's such a small window- there has to be a way to fight the urge!! I generally do my runs in the morning, maybe I should be going for a 2nd run at evening time to help distract myself? As i'm almost never hungry after exercise.

Any tips appreciated, thanks.

Penn · 01-05-2019 2:42pm

PictureFrame wrote: »

Hey guys, on the start of my weight lost journey- lost 5 pounds week 1 which i'm happy with- exercising more, doing couch to 5k and walking to and from work everyday. I have a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday and that's all been going fine.

BUT I am finding myself RAVENOUS from about 7.30pm- bed around 11.30/12.00 every night.. I know i'm not actually hungry, my body is craving chocolate and crisps, because I use to have my treats in the evening at this time, grazing watching TV. Does anyone have any tips/advice on how to avoid this? I don't keep cash on me and don't let myself drive to the shops, so getting treats is that much harder- but I really am finding it the only part I struggle with, and it's such a small window- there has to be a way to fight the urge!! I generally do my runs in the morning, maybe I should be going for a 2nd run at evening time to help distract myself? As i'm almost never hungry after exercise.

Any tips appreciated, thanks.

Hi PictureFrame, well done on the 5lb so far. A great start!

Regarding your evening cravings, I'd suggest finding some healthy snacks that you might enjoy and having those instead. I used to keep some fat free vanilla greek yoghurts in the fridge, or have a small handful of nuts. I didn't often need them, but if I did want a snack, I could have that and the craving would usually pass. Or at the very least I could justify not having chocolate/crisps because I had a healthy snack. Also just drinking some extra water or flavoured water can help reduce the craving too.

It's habit more than anything at this stage. But if you can stick it out for another while, your new habit of not grazing should start to be easier to stick to.

jaykhunter · 02-05-2019 12:05am

Penn has some fantastic advice there. Cravings last about 20 minutes so if you can do something else, it will pass. Would completing some household task do the trick? Like the dishes or taking out garbage etc. Definitely right that it's a habit, a learned "this is what happens at this time of day" behavior, so you're breaking that and it'll become much easier.

I've lost over 100lbs by having four meals a day (dessert is one of them!) - fav dessert is quark + fruit + Choc shot (low calorie chocolate syrup) + chivers jelly and/or alpen light bar (70 cals). Or, there's puffed crisps that are 85 cals in Tesco/Iceland. Make sure to look out for calories. If the packaging doesn't display it, it means they're ashamed! (ie it's prob high calorie!). Also Manhattan popcorn comes in 6 packs of 15g (about 60 cals). I love the 30g cheese ones in the blue wrapper!

Congrats on the 5lbs! This is the hardest it'll ever be - forming new habits - but it'll get much much easier over time when you can pretty much go on autopilot. Keep kicking butt!

PictureFrame · 02-05-2019 12:09pm

Penn wrote: »

Hi PictureFrame, well done on the 5lb so far. A great start!

Regarding your evening cravings, I'd suggest finding some healthy snacks that you might enjoy and having those instead. I used to keep some fat free vanilla greek yoghurts in the fridge, or have a small handful of nuts. I didn't often need them, but if I did want a snack, I could have that and the craving would usually pass. Or at the very least I could justify not having chocolate/crisps because I had a healthy snack. Also just drinking some extra water or flavoured water can help reduce the craving too.

It's habit more than anything at this stage. But if you can stick it out for another while, your new habit of not grazing should start to be easier to stick to.

jaykhunter wrote: »

Penn has some fantastic advice there. Cravings last about 20 minutes so if you can do something else, it will pass. Would completing some household task do the trick? Like the dishes or taking out garbage etc. Definitely right that it's a habit, a learned "this is what happens at this time of day" behavior, so you're breaking that and it'll become much easier.

I've lost over 100lbs by having four meals a day (dessert is one of them!) - fav dessert is quark + fruit + Choc shot (low calorie chocolate syrup) + chivers jelly and/or alpen light bar (70 cals). Or, there's puffed crisps that are 85 cals in Tesco/Iceland. Make sure to look out for calories. If the packaging doesn't display it, it means they're ashamed! (ie it's prob high calorie!). Also Manhattan popcorn comes in 6 packs of 15g (about 60 cals). I love the 30g cheese ones in the blue wrapper!

Congrats on the 5lbs! This is the hardest it'll ever be - forming new habits - but it'll get much much easier over time when you can pretty much go on autopilot. Keep kicking butt!

Thanks guys- great advice. I've started having a black coffee when I feel that i'm hungry in the evenings, it's a great way to reduce hunger. Pairing it with an 80kcal dark chocolate ricecake when needed and it definitely is easing the cravings. I'm down 7 pounds now since I started 10 days ago- i'm absolutely delighted with that. I am planning on putting the scales away when I drop to under the 13 stone mark (about 4 pounds to go) and going to instead then do a weekly weigh-in. I feel a lot better in my choices and my general appreciation to how many calories some non-satisfying snacks can have, and to stay away from them.

silverharp · 02-05-2019 2:24pm

coffee in the evening, your're losing weight wrong :pac:

PictureFrame · 02-05-2019 3:07pm

What do you mean?

silverharp · 02-05-2019 3:25pm

PictureFrame wrote: »

What do you mean?

was half joking , its more that it normally comes up as a tip not to drink coffee in the evening as it can interfere with your sleep quality. Some people it can take several hours to clear the caffeine from their system others burn though it very quickly.

PictureFrame · 02-05-2019 3:31pm

bahahha would take a lot more than a cup of coffee to keep me up!! i'm 80% coffee at any one point, in my previous life- I believe I was a coffee

SusieBlue · 02-05-2019 3:57pm

PictureFrame wrote: »

Hey guys, on the start of my weight lost journey- lost 5 pounds week 1 which i'm happy with- exercising more, doing couch to 5k and walking to and from work everyday. I have a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday and that's all been going fine.

BUT I am finding myself RAVENOUS from about 7.30pm- bed around 11.30/12.00 every night.. I know i'm not actually hungry, my body is craving chocolate and crisps, because I use to have my treats in the evening at this time, grazing watching TV. Does anyone have any tips/advice on how to avoid this? I don't keep cash on me and don't let myself drive to the shops, so getting treats is that much harder- but I really am finding it the only part I struggle with, and it's such a small window- there has to be a way to fight the urge!! I generally do my runs in the morning, maybe I should be going for a 2nd run at evening time to help distract myself? As i'm almost never hungry after exercise.

Any tips appreciated, thanks.

I try to save at least 150-300 cals each day to cover the above.

For that amount of calories, if I really want to I can have a bag of Velvet Crunch crisps (85 kcals) and maybe a mini kinder chocolate bar (70 cals), or even a purple snack bar (135 kcals) with a cup of tea.
I have one of the above, or sometimes even two, most days.
Other days I have nothing but I rarely get cravings because I know there is a piece of chocolate available to me each evening if I want it.

Other than that my diet is extremely clean, no processed foods and a good balance of carbs, protein & fats, along with plenty of veg.

I find this is the best way to avoid binging.
I used to have fruit and yoghurt but while its certainly the healthier, better choice, it doesn't always satisfy a sweet tooth.

If you are in this for the long game I would advise finding a way to incorporate a little treat each day. Life is too short & it'll keep you sane.

PictureFrame · 02-05-2019 4:07pm

SusieBlue wrote: »

I try to save at least 150-300 cals each day to cover the above.

For that amount of calories, if I really want to I can have a bag of Velvet Crunch crisps (85 kcals) and maybe a mini kinder chocolate bar (70 cals), or even a purple snack bar (135 kcals) with a cup of tea.
I have one of the above, or sometimes even two, most days.
Other days I have nothing but I rarely get cravings because I know there is a piece of chocolate available to me each evening if I want it.

Other than that my diet is extremely clean, no processed foods and a good balance of carbs, protein & fats, along with plenty of veg.

I find this is the best way to avoid binging.
I used to have fruit and yoghurt but while its certainly the healthier, better choice, it doesn't always satisfy a sweet tooth.

If you are in this for the long game I would advise finding a way to incorporate a little treat each day. Life is too short & it'll keep you sane.

This is a really good point. I've not counted my calories fully yet, but would imagine i'm probably coming in at around 1,200-1400 per day. So I probably do have a few calories to spare which I could devote to this. Like yourself, my diet is quite clean, generally weetabix, salads, soda bread with low fat cheese, ricecakes and a good curry/stirfry/lean meat dinner with wholegrain carbs if i'm having any and loads of veg.

Definitely think long-term it's important to have that safety valve of the small bar of chocolate a night or every 2 nights, it really does stop you doing the big binge every few weeks!

_Underscore_ · 06-05-2019 7:29pm

First day on today - I'm officially starting at 79.8kg. I've already told myself that I'll get a takeaway this weekend just so I'll be motivated to avoid bad foods during the week as my reward for week one

Penn · 07-05-2019 12:04pm

My "the diet can be relaxed now and I'll treat myself for the month of May then maybe lose more weight" has come to an abrupt end. Went too hard on treating myself and refamiliarising myself with the local takeaway drivers to the point where in just over a week and a half, I put back on half a stone.

Oops

So treating myself for a month has turned into "That's enough f*cking treats what the hell are you doing to me, man!" and going back 90% on diet now (will afford myself a small treat on weekends, but no more than that).

It wasn't really that I went so overboard, but also just that I guess my metabolism was such from eating 1,200-1,500 calories a day for so long that anything over that had near double the effect it normally would have had. I guess I have to ease a bit more slowly back into being able to eat a somewhat-normal amount of calories. Even one of the takeaways I had wasn't anything overly calorific, but jesus I'd forgotten what it felt like to be so full. Didn't feel right at all.

At least I've put the brakes on now rather than getting to the stage of not being able to fit into my jeans and such, as I've already f*cked out all my old clothes to stop me from getting to that stage anyway.

SozBbz · 07-05-2019 12:19pm

Penn wrote: »

My "the diet can be relaxed now and I'll treat myself for the month of May then maybe lose more weight" has come to an abrupt end. Went too hard on treating myself and refamiliarising myself with the local takeaway drivers to the point where in just over a week and a half, I put back on half a stone.

Oops

So treating myself for a month has turned into "That's enough f*cking treats what the hell are you doing to me, man!" and going back 90% on diet now (will afford myself a small treat on weekends, but no more than that).

It wasn't really that I went so overboard, but also just that I guess my metabolism was such from eating 1,200-1,500 calories a day for so long that anything over that had near double the effect it normally would have had. I guess I have to ease a bit more slowly back into being able to eat a somewhat-normal amount of calories. Even one of the takeaways I had wasn't anything overly calorific, but jesus I'd forgotten what it felt like to be so full. Didn't feel right at all.

At least I've put the brakes on now rather than getting to the stage of not being able to fit into my jeans and such, as I've already f*cked out all my old clothes to stop me from getting to that stage anyway.

Don't worry too much, some of it is probably bloat. I know when I go from eating super carefully to having a blowout, that my digestive system goes out of whack from the shock of it!

Also well done for calling a halt so swiftly. Getting it off is hard, but keeping it off is another challenge in itself.

Takeaways are a killer and can sometimes be worse than you think from a calorie point of view.

https://www.safefood.eu/News/2015/Typical-Indian-takeaway-meal-for-one-contains-enou.aspx

Things like pilau rice, popadoms, naan breads etc can massively add to the calorific cost of a take away. Or prawn crackers, garlic/other dips are a killer.

Myself and my OH love Bombay Pantry but to keep things under control we share a rice and naan bread between us (many people I know get one each!) and I also order a starter dish instead of a main (Bombay shaslik - its a mix of chicken and lamb in sauce) so the portion size is smaller. Himself gets whatever main he feels like, but I just can't put that amount of food infront of myself because I'd probably eat it and then feel terrible.

I find the starter portion with a half rice/half naan leaves me nicely full but not overly so to the point where i feel sick and regretful. My eyes are always bigger than my belly so this works well for me. I'm not at all deprived, but it just removes the temptation to overdo it.

jaykhunter · 07-05-2019 5:37pm

Penn wrote: »

My "the diet can be relaxed now and I'll treat myself for the month of May then maybe lose more weight" has come to an abrupt end. Went too hard on treating myself and refamiliarising myself with the local takeaway drivers to the point where in just over a week and a half, I put back on half a stone. Oops

Yo! That's great! You're keeping on top of things and kicking back into gear. I think that's what maintenance is - making mostly smart decisions and being able to splurge, but keeping tabs on weight, so you can go back to the old routine when needed, to keep you in and around your target weight.

It must be so weird to have some treat foods somewhat regularly again, I'm sure your body has no idea what's happening

it'd be worse if it acclimatised immediately! Anyway you're a boss at this, I'm sure you'll shed it this week or the next mate.

iguana · 12-05-2019 10:50am

Penn wrote: »

So treating myself for a month has turned into "That's enough f*cking treats what the hell are you doing to me, man!" and going back 90% on diet now (will afford myself a small treat on weekends, but no more than that).

Maybe we should have a weight maintenance support thread? I've lost pretty much all the weight I need to lose and am focussed on toning up more now. But as I have lost weight and regained it in the past I'm conscious of how easy it is to take weightloss for granted and slowly slide back into a condition I'm unhappy with. Especially now I'm in my 40s. I know maintaining weightloss can be as hard as the weightloss itself and that yoyo-ing weight can be far unhealthier than staying overweight. Yet I'm actually completely dithering about throwing out all my bigger clothing. I think I need to bite the bullet and take them to the charity shop/recycling bin because I really don't want to be in an up/down cycle for good.

_Underscore_ · 13-05-2019 9:38am

_Underscore_ wrote: »

First day on today - I'm officially starting at 79.8kg. I've already told myself that I'll get a takeaway this weekend just so I'll be motivated to avoid bad foods during the week as my reward for week one

77.9kg this morning.
My takeaway consisted of a chicken breast sandwich from Supermacs with a Diet Coke which is considerably less calorific than what I would usually opt for in a takeaway.

Penn · 15-05-2019 10:10am

iguana wrote: »

Maybe we should have a weight maintenance support thread? I've lost pretty much all the weight I need to lose and am focussed on toning up more now. But as I have lost weight and regained it in the past I'm conscious of how easy it is to take weightloss for granted and slowly slide back into a condition I'm unhappy with. Especially now I'm in my 40s. I know maintaining weightloss can be as hard as the weightloss itself and that yoyo-ing weight can be far unhealthier than staying overweight. Yet I'm actually completely dithering about throwing out all my bigger clothing. I think I need to bite the bullet and take them to the charity shop/recycling bin because I really don't want to be in an up/down cycle for good.

Great idea. I'll try start one up later unless someone else gets to it first.

Mellor · 15-05-2019 10:51am

I'd say you are better off keeping the weight support (whether it's loss or maintenance) in the one thread.
Otherwise post would probably just get diluted. Maintenance is the same approach, just bigger portions and more frequent cheat meals.

Going back to takeaways every night is for the weight gain thread.

Kevhog1988 · 16-05-2019 10:16am

_Underscore_ wrote: »

First day on today - I'm officially starting at 79.8kg. I've already told myself that I'll get a takeaway this weekend just so I'll be motivated to avoid bad foods during the week as my reward for week one

Best of luck

neris · 17-05-2019 12:02pm

I hate the number 92. Cant seem to shift the scales for a period of time under 92kg. In the last few weeks Ive gone under and had a reading on the sacles of 91.2 & 90.9kg but then its back up over 92kg the next week. I am loosing weight on the tape still and have lost 5kg since November but just find it really frustrating thats the scales arent dropping more and 92 seems a constant.

Foweva Awone · 19-05-2019 8:14am

I need to do something drastic about my weight gain. I started on the medication Seroquel about 18 months ago and ever since then I've been steadily gaining weight (weight gain is a common side effect.) The dosage has recently been doubled from 75mg to 150mg and the pounds are piling on since then. Stopping/reducing the medication just isn't an option, it's vital for my mental health.

I'm thinking of starting eating Paleo even just for a few weeks, just to try and kickstart moving the scales in the other direction. Only thing I'm not willing to eliminate from my diet is Diet Coke, which is obviously not Paleo! Will try and at least cut down on it though (currently drink 4-6 cans a day.)

Current BMI is probably at least 30, with most of the weight carried around my stomach. I just feel so fat and heavy and sluggish, really need to get this under control.

General Weight Loss Support Thread

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