General Weight Loss Support Thread

_Underscore_

Starting: 79.8 kg
Week 1: 77.9 kg
Week 2: 77 kg

leanin2019

I'm new here.

Looking to lose a few kg over summer, maybe 3.

Currently 72ish, Id probably feel good at 69kg.

Am I allowed post my weight and calories etc here?

Maybe on a weekly basis rather than daily.

_Underscore_

Starting: 79.8 kg
Week 1: 77.9 kg
Week 2: 77 kg
Week 3: 75.6 kg

mathie

Foweva Awone wrote: »

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.

You need to get off the Coke.
I was addicted to Coke years ago. 2 litres for breakfast.
I weened myself off it over a while.

It was tough for a little while but then you don't end up missing it.
People think that it'll be tough forever but it isn't.
Now I'm repulsed by the stuff.

Best of luck.

Foweva Awone

I've no interest in giving up the Diet Coke to be honest! I don't drink or smoke and I'm trying to cut out junk food, I know Diet Coke isn't good for me but I like it and if it's the only unhealthy part of my diet, I'd be doing pretty well.

dudara

1-2 cans of Diet Coke per week would be unhealthy IMO, my stomach is churning at the thought of 4-6 per day!

It may say zero calories on the label, but there are many other unhealthy considerations such as the artificial sweeteners, the citric acid and the carbonation. I do believe that you really need to evaluate that habit.

Mellor

dudara wrote: »

1-2 cans of Diet Coke per week would be unhealthy IMO, my stomach is churning at the thought of 4-6 per day!

It may say zero calories on the label, but there are many other unhealthy considerations such as the artificial sweeteners, the citric acid and the carbonation. I do believe that you really need to evaluate that habit.

I think people make way too big a deal about those issues only because it's Coke.
I've never heard anyone suggests sparkling water was an unhealthy consideration. People often touted lemon in water as a miracle cure, etc.

leanin2019

dudara wrote: »

1-2 cans of Diet Coke per week would be unhealthy IMO, my stomach is churning at the thought of 4-6 per day!

It may say zero calories on the label, but there are many other unhealthy considerations such as the artificial sweeteners, the citric acid and the carbonation. I do believe that you really need to evaluate that habit.

There is no research to support this statement. Scaremongering.

Accordingly to those with more knowledge than me whom I believe.

Foweva Awone

The healthy eating is going well so far and I'm down a few pounds. I'm recording everything on MFP even on bad days. Feeling so much more energetic and my IBS (an ongoing issue) is much improved with the clean eating.

SozBbz

dudara wrote: »

1-2 cans of Diet Coke per week would be unhealthy IMO, my stomach is churning at the thought of 4-6 per day!

It may say zero calories on the label, but there are many other unhealthy considerations such as the artificial sweeteners, the citric acid and the carbonation. I do believe that you really need to evaluate that habit.

I know theres no consensus on Diet Coke but personally I'm erring on the side of caution.

I'm sure my diet isnt perfect, but as I've gotten older I'm definitely more comfortable eating (and drinking) food that I can identify and understand.

I still eat plenty thats not good for me/not good for my waistline - cheese, wine, chocolate etc.... but I know how these products are produced and what they contain.

Diet coke has a nutritional label stating everything as "nil" yet its clearly not made of magic pixi health dust. The clever people at Diet Coke have made something tasty from artificial sweeteners and other chemicals. Grand. But all the same, I took the decision a few years ago to cut it from my life.

Also, as an aside, since I cut it out, I noticed my tastes change. At first I just cut Diet Coke and but still enjoyed the occasional soft drink at first. Over time this just got less and less and ultimately it stopped altogether. I think it definitely lessened my sweet tooth.

So while Diet Coke is calorie free, I did found that cutting it changed my taste in other things for the better.

Mellor

SozBbz wrote: »

Diet coke has a nutritional label stating everything as "nil" yet its clearly not made of magic pixi health dust.

i think you confusing nutritional label with ingredients. There is no secret about what it's made from.

It contains no fat, protein or sugar. I don't know what's scary about that.

gmisk

leanin2019 wrote: »

There is no research to support this statement. Scaremongering.

Accordingly to those with more knowledge than me whom I believe.

I thought there were quite a few adverse health effects linked to diet coke and the like (diabetes, poor bone density etc)
https://therenegadepharmacist.com/diet-coke-exposed-happens-one-hour-drinking-diet-coke-coke-zero-similar-diet-soda/


I dont think one or two a week would do much harm but if you are drinking cans upon cans every day I would think could be some serious issues.

SozBbz

Mellor wrote: »

i think you confusing nutritional label with ingredients. There is no secret about what it's made from.

It contains no fat, protein or sugar. I don't know what's scary about that.

No, I'm not. What I'm saying is that I don't like the idea of consuming something with ingredients that are not identifiable to me as foodstuffs or sources of nutrition. Was it doing me harm? Not clear. Was it doing me any good? Doubtful.

Carbonated Water, Colour (Caramel E150d), Sweeteners (Aspartame, Acesulfame K), Natural Flavourings Including Caffeine, Phosphoric Acid, Citric Acid. Contains a Source of Phenylalanine.....mmmm, delicious.

I also think theres something adictive about it. I used to be a big Diet Coke drinker, and tried to cut back on numerous occasions, but it always crept back in. I doubt the occasional can does any harm, but there is a significant cohort (which used to include me) who drink 2L per day or thereabouts. So, 5 years ago, I cut it out and I'm very happy with my decision because now my tastes have changed for the better.

Mellor

So you went from claiming the nil calories etc on the nutritional label is suspicious, "what are'they making it from pixie dust".
To posting the entire ingredients. A bit of a turn around.
Not being good for you doesn't mean it's bad for you.
Sweet foods taste good. People give into that taste becausevtgey like it, not because it's addictive.

SozBbz

Mellor wrote: »

So you went from claiming the nil calories etc on the nutritional label is suspicious, "what are'they making it from pixie dust".
To posting the entire ingredients. A bit of a turn around.
Not being good for you doesn't mean it's bad for you.
Sweet foods taste good. People give into that taste becausevtgey like it, not because it's addictive.

Why are you always so unnecessarily aggressive?

I listed the ingredients but that doesnt mean I know, or care to know what Acesulfame K is beyond it being some sort of artificial sweetener. Its a meaningless name for something that doesn't occur naturally and thats not something I choose to consume anymore.

Saying "Not being good for you doesn't mean it's bad for you".... thats just inverting what I said and adding nothing to the argument. I choose to err on the side of wanting to consume things that are good for me. Even if its calorific, like cheese, at least theres some nutritional value to it. Not proven to be actively bad isn't good enough for everyone.

I'm not going to take your word over my own experience of Diet Coke and how difficult many people find to give it up. Its goes beyond just liking sweet things.

Foweva Awone

I'm no stranger to addiction and I can tell you for a fact I'm not addicted to Diet Coke. I'd have no problem giving it up if I wanted or needed to, however I enjoy it and don't see any good reason to cut it out altogether.

Mellor

SozBbz wrote: »

Why are you always so unnecessarily aggressive?

Where was I aggressive?
There's a lot of misinformation and myth involved with dieting. I believe that misinformation confuses, overwhelms or distracts people from the actual issues of dieting.
So when, I see it posted, I'll correvtbit if I can.

I listed the ingredients but that doesnt mean I know, or care to know what Acesulfame K is beyond it being some sort of artificial sweetener. Its a meaningless name for something that doesn't occur naturally and thats not something I choose to consume anymore.

That's entirely your choice. But it has nothing to do with the nutritional label. Which was the part I rebutted.

Saying "Not being good for you doesn't mean it's bad for you".... thats just inverting what I said and adding nothing to the argument.

People are obsessed with categorising everything into good and bad. White bread is bad. Brown bread is good. McDonakds Beef is bad. Local butcher beef is good.
The reality is these things are trivial and most things reside in a neutral middle ground.

dudara

leanin2019 wrote: »

There is no research to support this statement. Scaremongering.

Accordingly to those with more knowledge than me whom I believe.

I don’t see it as scaremongering, and apologies if it comes across that way. But my gut tells me that drinking 4-6 cans a day of any soft drink can’t be a good thing.

There is some research out there that finds a correlation between carbonated cola drinks and calcium levels in women. It’s only a correlation rather than a definitive link.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/does-carbonated-water-harm-bones

Faith

There’s no strong scientific evidence that drinking Diet Coke is bad for you. There’s no evidence that it’s good for you, but ideas like it killing your tastebuds or causing diabetes or anything like that have been pretty well debunked. Here’s a good review of all of that, written by a scientist in lay language: https://theoutline.com/post/842/diet-coke-is-not-killing-you?zd=1&zi=4xhvfdmp

Basically, you’re better off drinking water, but it’s grand to drink moderate amounts of Diet Coke.

_Underscore_

Starting: 79.8 kg
Week 1: 77.9 kg
Week 2: 77 kg
Week 3: 75.6 kg
Week 4: 74.3 kg

SozBbz

_Underscore_ wrote: »

Starting: 79.8 kg
Week 1: 77.9 kg
Week 2: 77 kg
Week 3: 75.6 kg
Week 4: 74.3 kg

Well done, those are great numbers! What changes have you made?

OffalyMedic

Ok so I finally decided to stop the denial and realise I need to get healthier and loose about 15kg

Age: 26
Sex: Female
Height: 5'6"
Start Date: 4/6/19
Weight: 81.4kg
Goal: 65kg

Although very sporty I was always a little over weight in school and college. With a healthier diet and a little running along with camogie training I got down to 69kg back in 2016.
Since then I've changed careers to emergency services so meal times are when ever you get a chance and often from a shop because it's hours since you last ate etc, that with a new relationship, renovating a house and other stresses I have gradually gained weight to be out at 81kg now.

After seeing 1 too many photos of myself over the weekend I've decided to get back on track. Plan is as follows

Meals at work:
Breakfast - eggs and brown bread or weetabix
Dinner - Salad (lettuce, chicken, chorizo, ceaser dressing) mainly cause it can be ate cold in the front of a vechicle
Snack- natural yogurt, fruit, fat free jelly, 80cal crisps etc

On days off i'm just going to substitute salad for stir frys, curry, etc and reduce my carb portions (potatoe, rice, pasta) with dinners.

I think this is very managable and will track on MFP and then try get 3/4 cardio sessions in a week (camogie, jogging, cycling)

Need to post this for accountability and motivation. Thanks

Alf Veedersane

OffalyMedic wrote: »

Ok so I finally decided to stop the denial and realise I need to get healthier and loose about 15kg

Age: 26
Sex: Female
Height: 5'6"
Start Date: 4/6/19
Weight: 81.4kg
Goal: 65kg

Although very sporty I was always a little over weight in school and college. With a healthier diet and a little running along with camogie training I got down to 69kg back in 2016.
Since then I've changed careers to emergency services so meal times are when ever you get a chance and often from a shop because it's hours since you last ate etc, that with a new relationship, renovating a house and other stresses I have gradually gained weight to be out at 81kg now.

After seeing 1 too many photos of myself over the weekend I've decided to get back on track. Plan is as follows

Meals at work:
Breakfast - eggs and brown bread or weetabix
Dinner - Salad (lettuce, chicken, chorizo, ceaser dressing) mainly cause it can be ate cold in the front of a vechicle
Snack- natural yogurt, fruit, fat free jelly, 80cal crisps etc

On days off i'm just going to substitute salad for stir frys, curry, etc and reduce my carb portions (potatoe, rice, pasta) with dinners.

I think this is very managable and will track on MFP and then try get 3/4 cardio sessions in a week (camogie, jogging, cycling)

Need to post this for accountability and motivation. Thanks

One thing that should help is making batches of lunches/dinners to have with you and that will take out the having to grab something from a shop cos it's your only option.

For stuff on days off, you can bulk out stir frys etc with veg

_Underscore_

SozBbz wrote: »

Well done, those are great numbers! What changes have you made?

Thanks, hopefully I don't go off the track.

Using MFP to track calories and I'm eating on average 1400-1500 a day. I also started a full-time summer job so I'm on my feet a lot.

I guess a few changes are that I stopped drinking milk, (would have at least 1 liter/day) stopped eating ridiculous amounts of bread (wraps, sandwiches, burgers etc.) and try to limit my chocolate intake to once to twice per week.

And presumably the biggest change is that since I've finished college I haven't had any alcohol and I would have been consuming god knows how many pints per week [and I guess that could be why the first week was the biggest weight loss, mostly fluid]

leanin2019

_Underscore_ wrote: »

Thanks, hopefully I don't go off the track.

Using MFP to track calories and I'm eating on average 1400-1500 a day. I also started a full-time summer job so I'm on my feet a lot.

I guess a few changes are that I stopped drinking milk, (would have at least 1 liter/day) stopped eating ridiculous amounts of bread (wraps, sandwiches, burgers etc.) and try to limit my chocolate intake to once to twice per week.

And presumably the biggest change is that since I've finished college I haven't had any alcohol and I would have been consuming god knows how many pints per week [and I guess that could be why the first week was the biggest weight loss, mostly fluid]

1400-1500 seems low calories for 74kg. Are you male/female? What are your activity levels? Count your steps?

_Underscore_

leanin2019 wrote: »

1400-1500 seems low calories for 74kg. Are you male/female? What are your activity levels? Count your steps?

Male. I'm on my feet for approx. 8 hours a day for five days/week. Don't count my steps though.

Penn

leanin2019 wrote: »

1400-1500 seems low calories for 74kg. Are you male/female? What are your activity levels? Count your steps?

1400-1500 really isn't that low if you're trying to lose weight. I was aiming for 1200-1400 when I was around 83kg. Now admittedly, I built up to that slowly, going from around 1800 when I was 133kg and reducing it by about 50cals every 5kg lost, but 1400-1500 at 74kg should be fine, especially starting off, and especially if those calories are loaded with veg etc to keep you full.

The general recommendation, particularly on MFP, is not to go below 1,200 calories. MFP won't even lot you complete/post your entry for the day if it's below 1,200.

Mellor

Penn wrote: »

The general recommendation, particularly on MFP, is not to go below 1,200 calories. MFP won't even lot you complete/post your entry for the day if it's below 1,200.

That's an arbitrary number MFP uses. It's meaningless as far a recommended minimum.

Dial Hard

Faith wrote: »

Basically, you’re better off drinking water, but it’s grand to drink moderate amounts of Diet Coke.

Is 1.3 to 2 litres of Diet Coke every single day really considered moderate, though??? Not in my book.

gmisk

I started using MFP on Feb 14th 170cm, and was at 77KG probably the heaviest I have been
But weighed myself today June 6th and I am down to 69.5KG so pretty happy with that (I was aiming for under 70), BMI in the good range now as well.
Since May I havent lost much but still happy enough as I havent been as strict.
I saw my folks recently (I hadnt seen them since Xmas) my mum couldnt get over the change, so that was a big boost!
I recently got a Samsung Galaxy Watch Active that has definitely got me walking a bit more, plus it links into MFP automatically which is really handy.
I think the key thing for me has been to have low calorie snacks to hand.
(I like a curly wurly, Fibre 90 cinnamon and the little small dairy milk bars).
Good luck everyone and keep up the hard work, this thread has been a great help so much appreciated.