General Weight Loss Support Thread

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.

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 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.

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.

_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 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

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.

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.

Mellor wrote: »

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

I agree it's an arbitrary number, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it meaningless. The body still needs energy, and too many days of not getting enough energy can cause side effects. 1,200, arbitrary as it is, is a recommended minimum to make sure you're getting enough calorie intake to provide a typical required amount of energy to prevent such side effects, in the absence of being monitored by a trained professional.

I don't think it's an unreasonable recommended minimum, at least until the individual can assess how they're feeling.

Penn wrote: »

I agree it's an arbitrary number, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it meaningless.

The body still needs energy, and too many days of not getting enough energy can cause side effects. 1,200, arbitrary as it is, is a recommended minimum to make sure you're getting enough calorie intake to provide a typical required amount of energy to prevent such side effects, in the p of being monitored by a trained professional.

I don't think it's an unreasonable recommended minimum, at least until the individual can assess how they're feeling.

Im saying meaningless as it has no relationship to a person's energy needs. I agree that there is a minimum for each individual, but that amount is ovaries, a lot. A blanket 1200 minimum makes as much sense as saying everyone needs 2200 calories a day regardless of weight, activity or sex. Which I assume we all agree makes no sense.
1200 would probably be too low for me. But my GF's BMR is maybe 1400, so 1200 would be a really mild deficit.

Weighed in at under 80kg (just) for the first time in 20 years today!

Male, 38, 183cm

Starting weight Jan 1st: 97kg

Current weight: 79.9kg

Goal weight: 78kg

Niall_76 wrote: »

Great results!! What were you doing to achieve this?

Started going to the gym in Jan, with no plan or program, just to build the habit.

Lost a little bit of weight, then from about March, I got serious and started logging with MFP and doing a strength program.

Kept calories about 1500 per day, and strength program 4 days a week.

A few cheat days along the way too!

Alright, going to get fully back on the wagon and into diet-mode again. I put on 8lb since my lowest weight but that went on fairly quickly and has been fairly level the past few weeks, so I'm sure a good bit of it will come off easy enough. But I'm going to try get that 8lb back off, then knock another stone off. There's definitely still fat to be lost as there's still a bit of 'pudge' under the loose skin.

Have moved the exercise bike upstairs and am planning on getting a small TV to create a bit of a home gym, and alternate between the bike and DDPyoga. I was trying the C25K but keep getting a pain in my abdomen which a friend who runs says could be the start of a hernia and I should try build up abdominal muscle first. So if the weather turns good I'll do some light jogging/walking too. Hoping to just go ahead and join a gym at the end of the summer regardless, and get into a proper programme to build muscle (loose skin won't be loose if I pack muscle in underneath).

So, diet-mode engaged. Once more unto the breach, dear friends! Once more!

aug16 wrote: »

Hi everyone, would it be ok join in. I just posted a new thread similar to this. Didn't realise this one was here.

Well I'm once again back on a weight loss journey. Went shopping for clothes the other day and it was horrible. Have a holiday in 5 weeks, daughter's communion next year and our first family foreign holiday next year too. I weighed myself yesterday morning and was 11 st 7lbs. Aarrggh.... I'm only 5 ft. My BMI is 31 which is classed as obese. I got to my goal in weight watchers in 2012 of 8st 10lbs. Have gone back a few times since but have never lasted long. Also tried sw briefly. I'm going to follow the ww plan. My big downfalls are take aways, wine and bread. Any tips on how to replace bread? Really hope this time I can stay motivated. I am a sham to 3 children one of which has severe special needs so it's a busy house! Looking forward to chatting you all x

Hey aug16, and welcome!

Replacing bread is a tough one alright. I always found it just so quick and easy to make a few sandwiches or throw on some toast. As far a bread replacements go, I don't know how many good ones there are out there, and maybe someone else can advise better on that. I'd say to start off with though, even just reducing the amount of bread will help a lot.

Don't have any experience with WW or SW (though there are threads for both on this forum with people sharing their experiences). I just use MyFitnessPal and calorie counting. Aside from that, it just has to boil down to pure motivation. Pick small achievable targets. They say you shouldn't try to lose more than 2lb per week. Given how busy your schedule sounds (being a sahm mother with a special needs child certainly can't be easy), how about setting your first target as 7lb to lose in the next 5 weeks (to get you to 11st for your holiday)? That's just over 1lb per week, and you could lose a good bit in the first few weeks as more tends to come off quickly due to water retention if you up your water intake and eat fewer salty/processed foods).

Small steps and changes can make all the difference, and will make things easier to stick to as you go forward. Checking in here and posting your progress as you go can be great for motivation too. For almost a year I posted here every Sunday morning, the good and the bad (mostly good thankfully), but I found it great for motivation as I was doing it without a Slimming World or Weightwatchers class, so for me it helped keep me accountable and motivated to keep going.

Best of luck, aug16!

aug16 wrote: »

Thanks Penn, really good advice there. I'm already addicted to this thread. Usually I go to the ww class but with kids been on hols I'm going to try follow it at home myself and I think this thread will be a big help. Your right with the bread. Was finding it so hard to come up with food ideas for lunch /tea etc so had two slices of toast last night with poached eggs and bacon medallions. If I can keep it to two a day I'll be happy enough. It is all about small changes. I popped in for a latte this morning and usually I have a big scone with it. This morning I had a skinny latte and that was it and felt very satisfied. Fair play to you sticking to it for so long. Have you lost much?

You're making a good start anyway!

I lost 8stone in a year (a very long year ). Finished there at the start of May. I decided to treat myself in May by essentially going back to eating like I previously was (as being on a diet for a year is not fun). Unfortunately that was a bit of a bad decision as a) I could barely stomach most of what I was eating, and b) I put on about 11lb over a month and a half. So I'm back on the diet now and planning to lose even more (I was 21st, so got down to 13st, but even at 13st there's still more fat there to lose). There were things that made it a bit easier for me, no kids or partner meant I could easily plan and stick to meals, and meant there were no treats in the house as I simply didn't buy them (whereas with a family, chances are there'll be treats bought for other people which makes temptation a bit harder).

Another big thing I'd advise (aside from making small changes and setting small interim goals as you go as well as having a main overall goal), is to make sure you still enjoy what you eat. It stops feeling like a diet if you can find healthier alternatives or recipes/ingredients for things you do like, and just becomes a change rather than a restriction. For instance I loved making chicken korma, but on the diet, I swapped out coconut milk in the korma for a different method using water and ground almonds, and reduced the portion size of rice, bulking it out with some chopped spinach in the rice and just having a bit more chicken. It reduced calories, filled me just as much, and still tasted great. It also meant I could still have chicken korma so I didn't feel like I was missing out on a meal I enjoyed. I even swapped the chicken out for prawns a lot of the time which was even healthier and tasted great.

Enjoying what you eat will make things a lot easier to stick to.

Agreed. The temptation is to hit the ground running and go full bore into diet mode straight off the bat, eating nothing by raw carrots and rice cakes*. I think the best way to start off is at least identifying things you can easily swap out from your routine. Healthy alternatives and ones you'll more easily stick to. Plus portion size control of things you eat normally. See how you're going after a few weeks of that. Then try and find more areas you can improve on or more changes you can make. Gradual changes as you go on will help keep momentum going and make it easier to stick to, and it'll feel like less of a diet of restrictions, and more like you're just making better options.



* I give out about rice cakes a good bit, they're not actually that bad, just a good example.