General Weight Loss Support Thread

A few unexpected events led to a 2lb gain this week. Not overly concerned. Some of it was outside my control, some of it wasn't. But nothing like a slap in the face to wake you up (which is partially why I got fired from that sleep study).

Time to get back on the saddle (exercise bike, not horse) and power on!

aug16 wrote: »

Well I weighed in at ww today. Week 1 and down 1.5 lbs. Was happy with that considering my blow out sat night. Now to keep going.... how's everyone else getting on?

Great start, aug16! How are you finding the changes you've made so far?

Could be another dicey week for me this week. Have been helping a friend through some personal stuff the last two weeks or so (which has involved a fair bit of takeaways and beers), another friend took me out for a big meal for some help I've been giving him and the wife with something, and my mother broke her wrist so I was up and down to hospital and other family members houses, grabbing stuff on the go or lashings of tea and biscuits.

Should be almost all sorted now. Whatever comes of my weigh-in Sunday, it is what it is. Just gotta make the number go downwards from there.

Prominent_Dawg wrote: »

Is it a realistic goal to set to lose 7kg in 5weeks? I feel it is, however I know I'm going to struggle purely because I've been off track of months now and my body is just used to the endless sugar and carbs I've been feeding it, has anyone any advice for the first week?, I've set a goal of 2kg.

Also it depends on how overweight you are to begin with.

If you've 7kg to go to your goal, then its very unlikely.

If you're say 30kg over, then maybe you could have a good go at it.

7kg in 5 weeks would be asking a lot in that case. Even 5kg could be tough. Like I said, a decent start to shock the body and losing water weight could give you a boost at the start, but to lose 1kg a week you'd be looking at less than 1400 calories a day most likely (depending on height, age, activity etc). I lost 50kg in a year and by the end I was eating around 1300 calories a day, but I had the benefit of being able to get used to that and going from 1900 to 1300 calories a day slowly. Jumping right in at 1300-1400 calories a day to lose 5kg in 5 weeks would be very tough.

Again, not saying it's not possible, but it'd be tough.

Okay. Posting here for a bit of accountability. Was 16st 9lbs a few years ago, lowest weight was 11st 9lbs, have maintained at 13st 8 for the last 3 years which I’m delighted about BUT, I’m ready for the rest. Goal weight is 10st. Going to try my usual pace of 0.5stone per month if possible. I’d be happy with 12 stone by Xmas!

Down 9.5kg since November 1st last year. Started at 97kg with 1st target of getting under 88kg which finally managed this week after 2 weeks of a plateau. 2.5 inches off the waist and can finally get back into suits I havent been able to wear for the last few years. Things were going good up until June when just fell off the weight loss wagon and was eating crap and boozing and putting a bit back on which was very noticeable on holidays in August so nailed that on the head and got back on track. Next target 85kg.

Just started a new diet as I put on a bit of weight during quarantine from eating take away too much (4-5 times a week!) and have also started experiencing digestive issues. I went to the doctor's office not long ago and got weighed and am still in the good range for my height, just towards the end of it. And the gastroentrologist suggested cutting out carbonated drinks and dairy. I tried a half-baked version of that, but I'm apparently someone who needs hard boundaries, so this is me implementing that.

So for the next four weeks (as of last Thursday), I can only drink water (I've never done this before - sugary, carbonated drinks are a vice of mine) and eat fresh, clean foods (no processed crap) and I can't go out to eat. This is Day 5 and I've stuck with it so far. I drink two large bottles of water a day and follow the following diet:

Breakfast - two medium boiled eggs, each on a slice of whole wheat toast, no butter
Lunch - a vegan flatbread or smoothie from Daily Harvest - the flatbreads run about 350 calories and the smoothies run about 300 after adding some type of milk - I use oat milk or almond)
Snack - Cherry tomatoes, if I need something - I don't find that I do usually. Just drinking more water is usually enough.
Dinner - a lean meat (chicken, pork or fish) grilled and grilled veggies (asparagus, broccoli or courgette), usually grilled with a half tablespoon of olive oil

This usually brings me to around 1200 calories and each meal is just enough to tide me over to the next. I don't have a scale, so can't say how much weight, if any, I've lost so far, but I look much less bloated and my digestion has cleared up since starting. There have been some temptations, but knowing what I'm going to eat on any given day, and having those things be relatively simple to prepare has made it much easier for me to shut those down.

In the evenings I try to do an hour of workout. The first half hour is dedicated to what I call high octane dance, where I go hard and sweat. The second half hour is some pilates core training, some weight training and a stretch/cool down dance.

Once the four weeks is up, I'll look to keep going, but fold in two days a month where I can eat out.

I'm going to do weekly at the same time of day.

We've a digital scales that's very consistent as long as I measure on the same piece of floor each time.

Niall_76 wrote: »

For me weekly is best. Daily fluctuations can play with emotions too much and hinder progress

You can also have a daily fluctuations on a weekly weigh in date. Which means you don’t see progress for 2 or 3 weeks.
If you accept daily fluctuations you can very easily spot the trend downwards.

I do daily just before I have my morning shower.

I find fluid retention is a big factor. I've meds for it which I take during the week which can often account for a kg over the week

MouseMan01 wrote: »

I went from 135kg to ~90kg in around 13 weeks or so.

Calorie deficit, healthy, non-portion controlled diet. Mixture of resistance training and cardio training.

I'm not a PT or nutritionist but I'd be happy to answer any questions.

I made a short web video about it for my youtube channel. PM me if you're interested. I'll send on the link.

NB. Not in the weight loss business. Won't try to sell you anything.

Just happy to help. :-)

Or you can ask me anything here if you wish...

Just needed to put this down on paper (virtual paper LOL) as I've hit that wall and really need to get the weight off. I'm 42, was relatively active - playing 2 games of soccer a week. 90 mins - fairly intense... And was pretty fit & fast at around 15 stone & 6'2" (Have never really been lower than this) - but the covid weight is piling on.

I'm now a smidge under 17 stone. I need to get back to 15 stone minimum. 14 stone "and XX:D lbs" would be dreaming - as I'm a broad/big build.

So - I guess I just wanted this post as a point of reference.

Here's what I know I need to do.

• Cut back on the beer. Far too easy to crack a can and unwind these days... Limit to a few beers to the weekend ONLY. Max 6 beers total.

• Cut out the treats at work. I usually hit the vending machine for a "bar" at 11am. Replace with fruit. Try and kill the tea, maybe - (hot) water and lemon?

• Portion size - My plate is always too full. I eat brekkie, lunch and dinner - religiously at 8am, 2pm and 6pm... need to look at better options, smaller portions.

• Try and get out for a 3-5km run two or three times a week. I used to love running, but that's 10-12 years or more ago. The knees and body are older!

• Lift some weights. I've a small setup in the attic that's never used. Time to fix that.

I guess I don't have a tonne of bad habits. I have a fry on a friday as a treat. We (me & wife, no kids) allow ourselves 1 take away, usually saturday - and I have grown quite lazy and fond of the sauce... (boredom mostly) as Covid has killed any of our usual weekend trips to the beach or my sporting outlets.

So here's hoping a routine and a little sacrifice daily will add up at the end of the month(s)!