Had enough of the belly, it's time to go!!
Discussion
I guess this is half a question of getting help, and half a diary so that in a years time I can look back and see how far I've come.
I've spent the last ten years progressing in my career. Moving from a physical based job in the first two, to slowly more sedentary positions over the years. I love cooking, I love eating, I love a nice glass or three of wine in the evening. But right now, I feel really really fat. I cook almost all meals from scratch with fresh ingredients, I don't eat a lot of processed food or crisps or chocolate generally. But everyone likes a treat every now and again. I know that I'm guilty of overportioning that I'm trying hard to fix.
I'm 35, 5'9", and weigh 100kg as of this morning. Pretty much all of it round my belly. Company medicals will class me as obese but I do have a very broad frame and carry it better than I should. I probably would like to aim for being around 80kg.
When I'm at home I generally walk the dog twice a day usually for about 45m to 1hr. I have a bike. I also have an old cross training that I'm going to dust off and get some usage out of. Whilst I'm at work I generally have access to a well equipped gym but I really hate going when it's busy and for the past few weeks I've been going for 2 x 30 minute cross training sessions when I have the opportunity rather than sitting at my desk. On average I've been doing about 6-7km cross training most days and so far I hate the first 10 minutes but once warmed up I'm not too bad. I do love the energy boost that it's been giving me. This is from someone with very sedentary hobbies and lifestyle.
I refuse to pay for a gym when I have beautiful countryside right at my doorstep to go explore. The only thing that pains me is running. Not only is it atrociously bad for my knees but I have feet as flat as Keira Knightly's chest and get horrendous shin splints.
So I can cycle, hike, cross train and do non accessory exercises at home (ie non-weights etc).
Well.. i'm generally just a bit lost, confused by all the plans and methods and routines and unsure of how to structure things to make the best of my time.
I've spent the last ten years progressing in my career. Moving from a physical based job in the first two, to slowly more sedentary positions over the years. I love cooking, I love eating, I love a nice glass or three of wine in the evening. But right now, I feel really really fat. I cook almost all meals from scratch with fresh ingredients, I don't eat a lot of processed food or crisps or chocolate generally. But everyone likes a treat every now and again. I know that I'm guilty of overportioning that I'm trying hard to fix.
I'm 35, 5'9", and weigh 100kg as of this morning. Pretty much all of it round my belly. Company medicals will class me as obese but I do have a very broad frame and carry it better than I should. I probably would like to aim for being around 80kg.
When I'm at home I generally walk the dog twice a day usually for about 45m to 1hr. I have a bike. I also have an old cross training that I'm going to dust off and get some usage out of. Whilst I'm at work I generally have access to a well equipped gym but I really hate going when it's busy and for the past few weeks I've been going for 2 x 30 minute cross training sessions when I have the opportunity rather than sitting at my desk. On average I've been doing about 6-7km cross training most days and so far I hate the first 10 minutes but once warmed up I'm not too bad. I do love the energy boost that it's been giving me. This is from someone with very sedentary hobbies and lifestyle.
I refuse to pay for a gym when I have beautiful countryside right at my doorstep to go explore. The only thing that pains me is running. Not only is it atrociously bad for my knees but I have feet as flat as Keira Knightly's chest and get horrendous shin splints.
So I can cycle, hike, cross train and do non accessory exercises at home (ie non-weights etc).
Well.. i'm generally just a bit lost, confused by all the plans and methods and routines and unsure of how to structure things to make the best of my time.
Exercise will help, but from my experience no amount of exercise can compensate for too much food and drink.
OK, before anyone leaps in - yes, clearly some amount of exercise can compensate, but I'm talking about what a not terribly dedicated person like me can achieve, rather than having to spend every day running a marathon!
So - when I went to the gym three times a week, running for 30 minutes and doing a few resistance exercises my weight remained pretty constant, as did my body shape. When I went on a diet (basically swapped my lunchtime meal for a chicken salad with no dressing - no other changes) I dropped a kilo a week.
The moral of the story - it's far easier to cut 500 calories a day out of your diet than it is to run for an hour every day!
OK, before anyone leaps in - yes, clearly some amount of exercise can compensate, but I'm talking about what a not terribly dedicated person like me can achieve, rather than having to spend every day running a marathon!
So - when I went to the gym three times a week, running for 30 minutes and doing a few resistance exercises my weight remained pretty constant, as did my body shape. When I went on a diet (basically swapped my lunchtime meal for a chicken salad with no dressing - no other changes) I dropped a kilo a week.
The moral of the story - it's far easier to cut 500 calories a day out of your diet than it is to run for an hour every day!
DanL said:
Exercise will help, but from my experience no amount of exercise can compensate for too much food and drink.
OK, before anyone leaps in - yes, clearly some amount of exercise can compensate, but I'm talking about what a not terribly dedicated person like me can achieve, rather than having to spend every day running a marathon!
So - when I went to the gym three times a week, running for 30 minutes and doing a few resistance exercises my weight remained pretty constant, as did my body shape. When I went on a diet (basically swapped my lunchtime meal for a chicken salad with no dressing - no other changes) I dropped a kilo a week.
The moral of the story - it's far easier to cut 500 calories a day out of your diet than it is to run for an hour every day!
Yup. You get fit in the gym, slim in the kitchen. Mostly.OK, before anyone leaps in - yes, clearly some amount of exercise can compensate, but I'm talking about what a not terribly dedicated person like me can achieve, rather than having to spend every day running a marathon!
So - when I went to the gym three times a week, running for 30 minutes and doing a few resistance exercises my weight remained pretty constant, as did my body shape. When I went on a diet (basically swapped my lunchtime meal for a chicken salad with no dressing - no other changes) I dropped a kilo a week.
The moral of the story - it's far easier to cut 500 calories a day out of your diet than it is to run for an hour every day!
Hate to break the bad news, I'm 5ft 8in and weigh 66kg. Not sure where you got the 80kg as an 'ideal weight' from...
From what you say, you cook from scratch which is no bad thing but how much and often are you eating? You also mention having a couple of glasses or three of wine, that alone will contribute to the weight gain. It's so easy to drink in mega calories and alcohol, soft drinks and rich drinks like lattes, etc might seem harmless but will help you pack on the spare tyre.
From what you say, you cook from scratch which is no bad thing but how much and often are you eating? You also mention having a couple of glasses or three of wine, that alone will contribute to the weight gain. It's so easy to drink in mega calories and alcohol, soft drinks and rich drinks like lattes, etc might seem harmless but will help you pack on the spare tyre.
amare32 said:
Hate to break the bad news, I'm 5ft 8in and weigh 66kg. Not sure where you got the 80kg as an 'ideal weight' from...
From what you say, you cook from scratch which is no bad thing but how much and often are you eating? You also mention having a couple of glasses or three of wine, that alone will contribute to the weight gain. It's so easy to drink in mega calories and alcohol, soft drinks and rich drinks like lattes, etc might seem harmless but will help you pack on the spare tyre.
I didn't suggest it was an ideal weight. But it's a target weight that I'd like to hit. I think I was about 12 stone when I was at Uni, so 76kg. I'd love to get back to that level. In addition of course I want to gain fitness, not just end up like a stick with a belly. From what you say, you cook from scratch which is no bad thing but how much and often are you eating? You also mention having a couple of glasses or three of wine, that alone will contribute to the weight gain. It's so easy to drink in mega calories and alcohol, soft drinks and rich drinks like lattes, etc might seem harmless but will help you pack on the spare tyre.
At work I do two meals a day at 11:00 and 17:30, trying to limit carbs and stick to white meat, fish and veg.
At home it's generally fruit + black coffee for breakfast, home made soup + sandwich for lunch. Dinner is where both myself and my wife fall down. Both in portion size and what we make. We both love to cook and try new recipes. I guess that's the largest adjustment we need to make. Alcohol is a bad one I know.
But I drink black coffee with no sugar, we don't do puddings, I don't drink fizzy juice. I just have a very sedentary set of hobbies and interests. A lot of it is just self motivation to get off the sofa in the evening and do other things.
Edited by RichTT on Wednesday 4th February 18:35
Edited by RichTT on Monday 9th March 10:02
I asked similar just before Christmas. With help from the good folks of PH I have lost 8lb 13oz/4kg in the past 5 weeks. I have done limited cycling (8 miles per week) I walk on average only 5-6000 steps a day but more at weekends. The biggest thing I found was portion size and I was snacking way too much (I should point out I have been off the alcohol for the last 4 months as well, except the odd pint once a month.
I still do smash down a bag of haribo or a box of chocolate fingers once a week but I consider that a treat to my lack of self control and cutting out booze and cigarettes however because I've been calorie counting throughout the day I normally have enough spare to treat myself.
So I've gone from 104.1kg to 100.1kg my current target is 90kg and my current eating habits will have me at 95/96kg by 5 weeks time, now I've got some shoe covers for my bike I aim to increase my cycling to 40 mile a week so that should hopefully see me achieve that target sooner.
I still do smash down a bag of haribo or a box of chocolate fingers once a week but I consider that a treat to my lack of self control and cutting out booze and cigarettes however because I've been calorie counting throughout the day I normally have enough spare to treat myself.
So I've gone from 104.1kg to 100.1kg my current target is 90kg and my current eating habits will have me at 95/96kg by 5 weeks time, now I've got some shoe covers for my bike I aim to increase my cycling to 40 mile a week so that should hopefully see me achieve that target sooner.
OP,
Get strava. Ride a bike 3 days a week (inc friday night), plus 1 weekend day. Certainly worked for me - the Friday ride kept me out of the pub which was a huge bonus!
Use Strava to make sure you go faster / further / hillier every week. It's publically viewable, so great motivation to push =)
Get strava. Ride a bike 3 days a week (inc friday night), plus 1 weekend day. Certainly worked for me - the Friday ride kept me out of the pub which was a huge bonus!
Use Strava to make sure you go faster / further / hillier every week. It's publically viewable, so great motivation to push =)
I started on a health regime 3 years ago.
The key factors for me were
1/ exercise, just do it, commit to 5-6 sessions a week, don't make excuses, treat it as a priority.
2/ don't graze, 4 meals a day with portion control.
3/ it's OK to be hungry...... this is the key one for me, I will not die or harm myself by having hunger pangs.
Keep it simple.
The key factors for me were
1/ exercise, just do it, commit to 5-6 sessions a week, don't make excuses, treat it as a priority.
2/ don't graze, 4 meals a day with portion control.
3/ it's OK to be hungry...... this is the key one for me, I will not die or harm myself by having hunger pangs.
Keep it simple.
Well, did my first weigh in after the first month of this new 'life'.
Down from 16 stone 4 to 15 stone 7, and that was just over a week ago. Pretty happy with that. Looks like the key for me is eating breakfast, avoiding mid-week drinking and making sure I'm more active when I'm offshore. Using the MiBand to make sure I'm doing 10k at least per day is a real motivator. Easy to do 7-14km when I'm at home walking the dog every day. But having to make a real effort to get to the gym every day while at work is the big step.
Down from 16 stone 4 to 15 stone 7, and that was just over a week ago. Pretty happy with that. Looks like the key for me is eating breakfast, avoiding mid-week drinking and making sure I'm more active when I'm offshore. Using the MiBand to make sure I'm doing 10k at least per day is a real motivator. Easy to do 7-14km when I'm at home walking the dog every day. But having to make a real effort to get to the gym every day while at work is the big step.
For many 'social'/average drinkers, just quitting the alcohol will be enough to make a dramatic reduction to their (empty) calorie intake. A few glasses of wine can easily exceed 500 kcals, beer's about 200 kcals a pint. Over the days/weeks/months this is an extraordinary surplus which gets laid down as fat.
Good work so far, and keep on keeping on!
Good work so far, and keep on keeping on!
I did one of those 6 week courses of high intensity interval training linked to a diet. Now this did work (I lost over a stone) however I'm just not a gym freak and found it really hard to keep up the excercise bit. What it did do is teach me a bit more about food. I had far too much sugars in my diet and a lot of carbs which were not getting worked off. As mentioned, it's easier to shift the weight with diet. The excercise will help and also does wonders for toning but if you just want to shed some weight, watch what you eat.
I installed one of those calrorie counting apps just as a guide to see what my average day looked like. I'd suggest putting a few days worth of diary in there and see how many calories you're puttiung away and also the breakdown of fats, protien and carbs. This can help you visualise what you're eating and help to reduce some of the bad things. For example, I made an effort recently to take in no more than 1500 cals per day. After a week I saw some noticable weight loss. Portion control also helps.
Unfortunetaly I've let bad habbits slip back as I tend to have a chocolate snack after a main meal again and I'm putting on the pounds. Just because you know a bit more about food, doesn't mean you stick to the plan!
I installed one of those calrorie counting apps just as a guide to see what my average day looked like. I'd suggest putting a few days worth of diary in there and see how many calories you're puttiung away and also the breakdown of fats, protien and carbs. This can help you visualise what you're eating and help to reduce some of the bad things. For example, I made an effort recently to take in no more than 1500 cals per day. After a week I saw some noticable weight loss. Portion control also helps.
Unfortunetaly I've let bad habbits slip back as I tend to have a chocolate snack after a main meal again and I'm putting on the pounds. Just because you know a bit more about food, doesn't mean you stick to the plan!
LordGrover said:
For many 'social'/average drinkers, just quitting the alcohol will be enough to make a dramatic reduction to their (empty) calorie intake. A few glasses of wine can easily exceed 500 kcals, beer's about 200 kcals a pint. Over the days/weeks/months this is an extraordinary surplus which gets laid down as fat.
Or do what any hardened alcoholic does and don't eat. That's why many proper alcoholics are so gaunt. 
toon10 said:
Unfortunetaly I've let bad habbits slip back as I tend to have a chocolate snack after a main meal again and I'm putting on the pounds. Just because you know a bit more about food, doesn't mean you stick to the plan!
Heh. I was waiting for that bit. This is the problem for most people who do the highly focused diet and exercise thing. Keeps people like me in business. 
You're best off making lifestyle changes that you will adopt for good. This will mean that, for instance, I was able to celebrate my birthday with reckless abandon over the weekend (Chinese restaurant on Saturday, Nandos on Sunday, flexing six pack on Monday
).Find an activity that means you naturally use more calories than you would normally by vegging in front of the TV. Whether that is a gym (most people hate gyms) or taking up a sport (most people will blitz hundreds of calories without realising the time's passing) is up to you.
And generally try to eat more vegetables and fewer carbs and less junk food (not inherently bad for dieting but tend to be higher in calories - healthy doesn't mean low calorie and low calorie doesn't mean healthy).
Funnily, my late afternoon's sports pre-workout snack is a packet of Hula Hoops, a Penguin and a Belvita thing. All fitting within my calorie budget for the day.
LordGrover said:
For many 'social'/average drinkers, just quitting the alcohol will be enough to make a dramatic reduction to their (empty) calorie intake.
This, this and this again. Up to last year, I already had a decent diet and was training hard, but stopping my 2 heavy nights out each month made a massive difference to my progress. I have a beer or glass of wine once every two weeks now and there's nothing I miss about alcohol at all.Oh, and sugar too. It's not rocket science, but if you can cut most of the crap out of your diet most of the time and control your calorie intake, the weight will come off. All about consistency over time.
For me, it's a combination of not eating / drinking rubbish most of the time (still treat myself to a meal out or whatever once every couple of weeks) and making a habit of exercise; a good weights programme in the gym will create muscle which means you're then actively burning the calories you take in all the time.
Good luck - keep us posted!
I would recommend swimming.
Dropped from 97kg to a more healthy 84.5kg in 6 months.
I did it for my ankle (bad dislocation during leg break) to get movement back, but I still go swimming now and Im getting fitter and fitter.
I dropped most of the takeaway, some of the drink and feel better for it.
Dropped from 97kg to a more healthy 84.5kg in 6 months.
I did it for my ankle (bad dislocation during leg break) to get movement back, but I still go swimming now and Im getting fitter and fitter.
I dropped most of the takeaway, some of the drink and feel better for it.
I lost 10+ kgs in the past and it was mainly out a radical change in diet.
It's painful at first but your body gets used to it after a while.
I only have a carb-heavy meal once a week (pasta, risotto), rest is soup, grilled lean meat/fish, lots of boiled vegetables. If I'm still feeling peckish I'll have a tin of tuna (in brine, not oil). All in I try to have less than 1700 calories a day, often have as little as 1000.
Absolutely no sugar, desserts, fried stuff, use as little oil as possible etc.
Calorie counting apps are helpful in that you can set goals and get extra motivation when hitting them.
I also like a drink but try to stay dry during the week, let myself go a bit at the weekends but I always try to compensate if I've had a heavy session.
Discipline is key. It's too easy to have a hard night out, then mope around the house with a hangover and give into a massive takeaway, and undo all the hard work of the previous week.
Exercise is important and will help you reach your goals faster, but the real difference will be made on changing your diet.
It's painful at first but your body gets used to it after a while.
I only have a carb-heavy meal once a week (pasta, risotto), rest is soup, grilled lean meat/fish, lots of boiled vegetables. If I'm still feeling peckish I'll have a tin of tuna (in brine, not oil). All in I try to have less than 1700 calories a day, often have as little as 1000.
Absolutely no sugar, desserts, fried stuff, use as little oil as possible etc.
Calorie counting apps are helpful in that you can set goals and get extra motivation when hitting them.
I also like a drink but try to stay dry during the week, let myself go a bit at the weekends but I always try to compensate if I've had a heavy session.
Discipline is key. It's too easy to have a hard night out, then mope around the house with a hangover and give into a massive takeaway, and undo all the hard work of the previous week.
Exercise is important and will help you reach your goals faster, but the real difference will be made on changing your diet.
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