Weight loss: Am I doing it wrong?

Blue4u

Ok, sorry to start a new thread but I didn't really see a main one to add to. Hope this is ok.

So trying to lose weight, combination of a couple of kids and then covid has meant I have piled on the pounds so very over weight. At the moment I am just under 13 stone and my standard weight should be 10.5st. I was 14 stone 7 lbs but have lost some already

I always done running 2 nights a week but that was restricted with covid so it dropped to 1. After covid I stopped the running and start gym 2-3 times a week.

So my main question is, am I doing this right? I never have tried to lose weight so not sure.

Currently I am doing 2 nights a week running. Average about 5km per run which is with a local clubs and last night was 4 x 5 min running with 2 min walks between.

Then gym 3 times a week, 30 min session and circuits, so this morning weights, ski, cycle. 60 second each stop with no break. This changes each day.

Food wise, I have NutraCheck Calorie Counter on phone. This links to apple watch so take in exercise etc. I have a smart scales so this also updates everything on the phone so it all goes into one spot.

Give Example output

Goal 1433 KCAL 63.5 FATg

-Food 1132 KCAL 31.1 FATg

+ Exercise 1020 KCAL 39.7 FATg

= left 1321 KCAL 72.1 FATg

This would be a similar output for each day over last two weeks.

Am I doing anything wrong? thanks

fatbhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058217601/weight-loss-am-i-doing-it-wrong

No mention of diet.

endacl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118155158#Comment_118155158

100%

You’ll lose weight in the kitchen, not the gym OP

Blue4u

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118155158#Comment_118155158

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118155171#Comment_118155171

Sorry I forgot to include. So using the fit foods. So standard day is

Thin bagal with ham for breakie

Everest Protein Granola yogurt for lunch

Then one of the dinner(curry a favorite) for dinner.

Trying not to eat from 6pm to next morning

Lots of water

A pint glass of Diet coke per day(I am addicted but I dont drink tea/coffee)

The odd day is running I might have something extra like scrambled eggs in afternoon. Last night I had a 2 bar kit kat.

Plan is one dinner a week have a "cheat meal" so tomorrow I promised kids a pizza night.

fatbhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118155278#Comment_118155278

Don't forget to include amounts of alcohol, if you take any, so that people can give you better feedback.

Blue4u

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118155343#Comment_118155343

A glass of white wine tomorrow(maybe). That would be it each week, max 2 glasses. The odd occasion we will go out and have a few beers but maybe once every 2 months. The latest night out was a cinema date with the misses to watch Bond film :-) no more night clubs till 4 in morning

thefallingman

If you eat well and keep doing the running you will lose weight but it doesn't happen overnight, it took me a good 14 months to lose a couple of stone but it's done the right way and easier to keep off than doing some crazy diet. Give up the coke for water and cut out cheat meals and it will go alot quicker, give the kids pizza and you eat something else. What i found the hardest was getting my stomach used to eating less, you have to go through the rumbles to train it, at least i did and it worked. Good luck

Fionne

Calorie counting. I have lost almost 3 stone since mid-July just by calorie counting alone as I have a chronic back condition that means I can't exercise at all - I've had to switch to a standing desk at work as I can no longer sit so that's the only exercise I get as by the time I get home, I'm in agony and have to lie down even to eat meals. I have a long way to go yet as I was starting from a very high weight but I feel more confident of getting there than any other time in the past that I've tried to do it.

I use the MyFitnessPal app and record my daily food intake. It's also worth using a TDEE calculator which assesses your age, weight and fitness level to tell you how many calories you should be consuming per day. To lose weight, deduct 500 from your daily allowance or some calculators will already work that out for you. It's important to not eat under your minimum calories regularly as that's also not good for you and can even cause weight loss to stall.

I'm losing it slow and steady but it really makes you aware of what foods are worth the calories and what aren't. I still get to have the occasional treat or takeaway, if I go over one day, I just cut back the next day. I never feel like I'm missing out on too much.

Whatever you do - best of luck with it.

Blue4u

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118155390#Comment_118155390

I am in that pain.....last two weeks it doesn't know what hit it, lots of complaining. Oh my plan is to keep this long term, I expect it will probably take a good 12 months at least to get below 12 stone

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118155420#Comment_118155420

Ok do you have a target of calories per day and just try to keep under that? so at the moment mine is 1433 and I just make sure I keep under it everyday but also not eating crappy food? is that the best plan?

I seen a website saying if you are keeping too far under it that you wont lose weight as you don't have enough food or something along those lines. Confusing as hell all of this :-)

Thanks for good wishes

Teacher2020

Take your measurements and photos. Take bust, waist, hips and thighs. Compare after a month.

Sometimes progress doesn't always show on the scales, especially when you are doing a good deal of exercise. Weigh yourself once a month at the same stage in your cycle. I find the best time of the month to weigh myself is a few days after my period ends as all the bloating etc. is gone.

I am the same weight as I was 2 years ago but I am a dress size smaller so don't get disheartened if the scales is slow to move. There are other ways to measure progress.

Fionne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118155437#Comment_118155437

Try this TDEE calculator, it should give you a good idea of what calories you need to maintain or lose.

https://www.jamessmithacademy.com/macro-calculator/

Yes, in my case I have 1750 calories per day so I eat to that, or if I go over, I reduce the next day or next few days, that way I can have a splurge day and still balance it out over the week.

notAMember

Age, height and gender all make a difference here too. I know my calorie needs drop right down as I age, your own metabolism will tell you the most. I would have been about 1600 to maintain weight 10 years ago, and 1400 to lose.... now I know from tracking that my maintenance daily is closer to 1400 and I need to go to 1200 to lose weight, at least.

That website above linked tells me to lose weight my target calories would be ~1530. Personally I know I would put on weight there.

So, I think what you need to do is continue tracking.

veil

Loosing weight is quite easy if you're ready! First...skip breakfast, if it's gonna be hard, I will recommend you take little for breakfast till you can skip it entirely, you can eat as much as you can for lunch and little for dinner, some spice in meal make you lose weight (like bay leaf), then do some exercise,(in the morning and at night before taking a shower) if it's tedious, just dance, hilarious right! But it works! Do not overthink it while in the process, take it slow and steady you will get there( island of fitness).......................

Macy0161

It is calories in v calories out.

I've no idea on the accuracy of the apple watch, but my experience is that apps and watches can be inaccurate and depend on inputs (eg some max heart rate test, rather than 220-age). I did eat some exercise calories but not all.

Find a diet that works for you. What worked for me was calorie counting. Whatever is above, or below this post it really is calories in v calories out. How you achieve that can be calorie counting, low carb, intermittent fasting is whatever you can sustain. For me, calorie counting led to sustainable changes in my diet.

A "cheat meal" can easily blow a weekly deficit. Again, for me, I kept my beer and crisps night as it had to be sustainable, and giving up beer (and crisps) totally wasn't going to work long term. So I just accepting slower progress. There's no proven evidence that diet soft drinks do anything to affect weight loss adversely.

Good resources for science based advice - The Fitness Chef and Ben Carpenter. Good recipes The Fitness Chef, Food for Fitness/ Scott Baptie.

These threads tend to go way off tangent with unscientific nonsense, so my number 1 bit of advice (having gone from 125+kg to 70) is remember it really is calories in v calories out. No foods, or food groups, need to be excluded unless you actually don't like them. And also remember healthier options can be more calorific (the fitness chef is very good at showing this, as well as busting marketing bs).

Sunny Dayz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118155437#Comment_118155437

Well done on losing 1.5 stone already - do you mind me asking how long that has taken you? To answer your question about very low calories - if you consume too low in calories - your body will try to retain as much of it to allow it to function and have a bit in reserve. It might sound counter intuitive but by consuming a little extra calories your body has a bit more energy and will want to burn it off and often you body sis till burning off energy after you've finished exercising (I hope I'm explaining it right).

Also I wouldn't really pay much heed to the watches or apps that tell you how many calories you've burned - they are not accurate, and I used to try and eat back those "earned" calories (and then some!)

Otherwise I would advise to eat plenty of fruit and veg, protein, good fats, lots of water. Don't leave yourself starving. Weight loss takes time just as putting it had taken time in the first place.

Blue4u

Thanks everyone for advice. I only use the app to tell me how many calories I am taking in. Apple watch will be clocking up steps while I am typing on keyboard :-) at the same time when I run it seems to miss a lot

A cheat meal is not a blow out by the way. A cheat meal will be like steak with chips with veg, not totally bold but at least something outside the normal days. Probably with a glass of vino. Just to keep me sane.

In terms of missing breakfast? most people seem to suggest it is more important than any other meal?

Age 42, height, 175cm and gender: Male :-)

Macy0161

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118156675#Comment_118156675

Calories in v calories out - it doesn't matter when you eat over the 24 hours. Skipping meals just makes me "Hangry" - others find IF is great for them.

Blue4u

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118156982#Comment_118156982

I have tried multiple sites and they all give different calorie target

So my app is saying 1433, the TDEE is saying 2024.

At the moment I am going after the 1433 but lets say yesterday I only took in 1132.

GoogleBot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118157907#Comment_118157907

Everyone burns energy at different pace. No website /app can give you accurate figure.

GoogleBot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118155278#Comment_118155278

If you looking to lose weight not changing lifestyle, some found that eating last 12 hours before bed make losing weight steady fast.

Blue4u

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118162569#Comment_118162569

I never said I dont want to change my lifestyle?

I have made huge changes in the last two weeks, the details I have provided above are the changes I have made. before that it was completely different in terms of food especially

GoogleBot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118156675#Comment_118156675

I would not consider steak and veggies as cheat meal sounds a proper diet to me : )

Breaking fast or lunch eat when you really hungry not when someone said you should. In term of nutrients you can get them any time of the day no biggie

Blue4u

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118162984#Comment_118162984

It's once a week. Something to look forward to during the week.

Black Sheep

OP, first of all, good job on what you're doing.

If you are still losing weight and you feel like what you are doing is sustainable for you I would carry on, I don't see any red flags with what you've outlined.

If your weight loss has actually plateaued i.e no change, I would give it a couple of weeks. Not clear how productive your gym sessions might be from the point of view of gaining lean muscle mass, but there is a window as a novice lifter where you can be in a deficit and losing weight while also gaining a little muscle mass because you're beginning from a low base. If you are happier with how you are looking in the mirror, or if your waisteline measurements are still going in the right direction this could be a sign of this.

If you stay stalled - or particularly if you start to regain weight - then it comes down to calorie intake. As an exercise I do think tracking daily intake is worthwhile, and/or a food diary (Again for a short period). Although no calculation is going to be totally accurate, and they're dependent you deciding what activity level most accurately reflects your lifestyle, they are well established and a calculation of what is maintenance, what is a deficit etc. works for most people for the purpose of losing weight so I wouldn't be put off from using it.

A cheat meal will not wipe out the benefits of being calorie restricted (slight deficit) during the rest of the week. If someone is binging to the point that it does, then... Well, that's not a cheat meal, it's not intended to be permission to eat several day's worth of calories in one evening.

(To be a nit picker though, eating those two bars of kit kat before bed probably did wipe out your calorie deficit for that day, if it was two full size bars of kit kat, that was an act of self sabotage, could you have had a fun size kit kat instead?)

Aside from the mental break that a cheat meal gives - which some people need more than others - there is some evidence to suggest that refeeding when you're calorie restricted for most of the week helps with leptin levels and can be beneficial for sustaining weight loss, training while in a deficit etc.

GoogleBot

Here is one interesting fact. Smile

For average person over 30s

If you poop once a day you are gaining weight

If you poop once every 3rd day you are loosing weight

If you have poop like diarrhea you are eating poison.

JayRoc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118165897#Comment_118165897

Jaysus wept.

Blue4u

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118164334#Comment_118164334

Thanks for advice. The kit kat was because I was going running that night and I felt a bit drained to be honest. It was at 5 and I run 7-8. I have started I try not to eat after 6pm till I get up the next morning.

Thanks anyway for advice, very much appreciated.

Blue4u

Odd one, my friend recommended to take Apple Vinger Cider. So it is two table spoon everyday with water mixed in to dilute. It is awful stuff but he was saying it is good when losing weight. Some websites seem to suggest the same so just wondering if anyone heard of it or old wives tale?

Macy0161

Zero proven evidence of health benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar.

Just regarding the "cheat meal" blowing a deficit - it'd depend on the deficit to be honest. I have zero qualms about doing it, but the rare trip to the Indian takeaway which is every few months (starters, mains, sides) would go a fair way into mine to be honest! I guess just be somewhat aware - again the fitness chef has very good stuff on "still enjoying..." things but in a more mindful way.

GoogleBot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168073#Comment_118168073

I found apple cider vinegar really good one table spoon on glass of water taste like mild wine.

GoogleBot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118168257#Comment_118168257

There is a few benefits of apple cider vinegar probably for another discussion. Apple cider vinegar activates AMPK hence some claim it helps to lose weight but I wouldn't consider as weight lose product.

I drink apple cider vinegar couple of times a week specially with evening meal helps to breakdown nutrients before bed. And overall I like the taste.

StringerBell

Being honest OP it sounds like your doing fine, just stick to it now and the weight will come off gradually and sustainably.

All the different websites, diets etc it really does all boil down to creating a calorie deficit and staying patient.

Continue to exercise, continue to eat clean the majority of the time and drink plenty of water. No need to do anything extreme, if you'd be interested in it have a look around the locality and see is there a sport you could take up such as Muay Thai/Boxing to aid you.

Well done and keep it going

Blue4u

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118172307#Comment_118172307

Maybe I ain't mixing it up enough :-) tastes awful to me.

My cousin is all into home remedy stuff, she swears by the stuff so I am taking it once a day, normally in morning at 6-7

Blue4u

Sorry I am not sure if I got it correct. The weight loss app is telling me to hit 1433 calories per day

Should I try and hit that as close as close as possible, so yesterday was 1291 or is that too low?

Macy0161

By proven, I meant peer reviewed science.

MangleBadger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118173120#Comment_118173120

It doesn't really matter. Focus on the bigger picture. No calculator will tell you your exact calorie burn per day. It is just a ballpark figure. But that is ok.

For example if the calculator tells you that you burn 2500 calories per day. Take that figure, subtract say 500 calories for a normal deficit. 2000 is now your daily calorie goal. Some days you may burn 2200-2800 depending on exercise etc. Some days you may eat 1900 calories and others 2100. As long as you average around 2000 you are good. Eat 2000 calories a day for 1-2 weeks consistently and see how your weight trends. If your weight is moving in the right direction continue as you are, if you are not losing weight quickly enough the calorie calculator was probably off a little. Subtract 100 calories from 2000 and try again.

In your example if the app is telling you 1433, and you are eating that and losing weight than fantastic. Change nothing and continue. If you eat 1291 1 day that is fine. It is 1 day. 1433 is not a magic number that you have to hit exactly.

BKWDR

Firstly, until you said you were male i would've thought the 1400kcal target you were female.

All things being equal, to me 1400 seems excessively low.

I had a metabolic test carried out, id be of similar stats to you and to EXIST my body uses 2347kcal a day.

I used myfitnesspal to count calories over the week. My weekly target was 16,429. My aim per week was to come under that to have a calories deficit that week. And over time , 5 months i did that and lost a couple stone. Count everything, wine, chocolate, its only as good as how honest you are.

I also ran 2 -3 times a week but i didnt factor that into anything , that's just bonus territory. Dont rely on your gadgets to tell you anything accurate. If your watch says you burned 1000kcal running, do nothing, dont eat them back, just forget about it and refuel and scan those kcals using MFP

The running and weights will build muscle which burns more kcal and will benefit you but the diet and measuring that is where you will benefit from change

Blue4u

Thanks everyone for the advice, I am just wondering what is the best calorie counter app? I had been using Nutra Check but then it bombed me out looking for 50 quid.

I am wondering should I invest or is another one available for free or cheaper? Thanks

Macy0161

My Fitness Pal is what I use. Great that you can save meals (great for me as a creature of habit!) and recipes - you can enter all the ingredients, and how many portions and it divides it, again great if you batch cook/ cook for the household. You can scan barcodes too (but do check if it looks off!).

Blue4u

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118219536#Comment_118219536

Do you use the paid version or that available free?

Macy0161

I've used both. I currently pay, but used it for years free.