Dieting

[Dr Doofenshmirtz]

if you want to loose weight...
1] Eat less
Especially less of the bad stuff like biscuits, chocolate, processed snacks, beer etc - Stuff you know is bad but tastes nice.
2] Exercise more
That doesn't mean running or jogging or going to the gym, just a brisk walk of 3 or 4 miles a day worked for me.

I did both of the above and went from 15 1/4 stone to 12 1/2 stone in ~six months. I'm 6'1" and now just inside the ideal weight spectrum.
What was my goal I hear you ask...cos everyone needs goals - just to be able to stand up straight and see my willy again.

It was snacks that was my downfall, especially having a biscuit or two with my cup of tea, a chocolate bar in the evening, snack before bed etc. I cut them all out and bingo. It's actually very easy to loose weight IMO.

[Zetec-S]

Dr Doofenshmirtz said:

What was my goal I hear you ask...cos everyone needs goals - just to be able to stand up straight and see my willy again.

I find it easier to wash down some penis enhancement pills with a can of coke and packet of chocolate digestives.

[NoVetec]

Highlighting the fat loss around the mons pubis would do more in the fight against teenage male obesity than showing them pictures of food pyramids and Jamie Oliver cookbooks.

[a311]

Dr Doofenshmirtz said:

if you want to loose weight...
1] Eat less
Especially less of the bad stuff like biscuits, chocolate, processed snacks, beer etc - Stuff you know is bad but tastes nice.
2] Exercise more
That doesn't mean running or jogging or going to the gym, just a brisk walk of 3 or 4 miles a day worked for me.

I did both of the above and went from 15 1/4 stone to 12 1/2 stone in ~six months. I'm 6'1" and now just inside the ideal weight spectrum.
What was my goal I hear you ask...cos everyone needs goals - just to be able to stand up straight and see my willy again.

It was snacks that was my downfall, especially having a biscuit or two with my cup of tea, a chocolate bar in the evening, snack before bed etc. I cut them all out and bingo. It's actually very easy to loose weight IMO.

Yup doesn't need to be any more complicated than that.

Did you do anything like calorie counting or just cut out the ste?

Problems with people and diets these days as I see it.

1) Too hard too soon, folk realise they've got a bit of weight to shift but invariably they go too hard choose a diet that unsustainable then fall off the wagon in short order.

2) People want fast results. Coupled with the above really. Those who go hard see instant results on the scales but fail to see it's mostly water weight so initially are kept motivated until they next weight themselves get disheartened and fall off the wagon. Seems to be the modern way wanting quick fixes for anything and everything. Depending on how much you've to loose sustainable weightless can take months/years.

3) In addition to the above folk get more exercise, join a gym do lots of cardio etc. You need energy for these things and to get this best out of exercise which is hard to do on 1200 Kcals a day.

4) Fad diets. There are many. Most tend to eliminate a large amount of foods which most can cope with short term but seldom in the long term.

Well done.

[anonymous-user]

Why was the weight tight in the first place?

[deckster]

DELETED: Comment made by a member who's account has been deleted.

Agree with that but it makes it sound easier than it is. Certainly, the theory is simple but the execution, for most people, is very, very hard.

Having the willpower and motivation to be consistent and make intelligent choices long-term is what people really struggle with. After all, we don't get fat because our default choice is to walk everywhere and eat salads.

[anonymous-user]

Whilst losing weight is good, fitness and health should also be a part of your overall wellbeing where possible. I would always include cardio of some sort and muscle work (typically resistance training) whilst eating better.

[Robertj21a]

garyhun said:

Whilst losing weight is good, fitness and health should also be a part of your overall wellbeing where possible. I would always include cardio of some sort and muscle work (typically resistance training) whilst eating better.

Yes, but most people will lose far more weight by taking care with their food/drink intake than they'll ever lose through exercise. Unless you're already a fitness fan (most overweight people probably aren't !) then the amount of effort required to lose just a pound or two is far easier achieved by simply cutting out a small snack. As far as I'm concerned, it's the small, but constant, lifestyle changes that you achieve for the long term that will shed the weight. As you say, it's important to also maintain your fitness and general health, but it's not likely to shed the weight so easily.

[The Selfish Gene]

I find it really difficult to lose weight just from cutting back on things because I don't actually go that nuts anyway.

rarely eat chocolate.

Do drink.

I have to run, and excessively to lose weight. Until I'm at 3 x 10ks a week I notice zero difference.

I guess everyone is different...........

[anonymous-user]

Robertj21a said:

garyhun said:

Whilst losing weight is good, fitness and health should also be a part of your overall wellbeing where possible. I would always include cardio of some sort and muscle work (typically resistance training) whilst eating better.

Yes, but most people will lose far more weight by taking care with their food/drink intake than they'll ever lose through exercise. Unless you're already a fitness fan (most overweight people probably aren't !) then the amount of effort required to lose just a pound or two is far easier achieved by simply cutting out a small snack. As far as I'm concerned, it's the small, but constant, lifestyle changes that you achieve for the long term that will shed the weight. As you say, it's important to also maintain your fitness and general health, but it's not likely to shed the weight so easily.

If you read what I said, I never said exercise would lose you weight. I was just pointing out that losing weight should be considered one element of your wellbeing. When I needed to lose weight I actually found that exercise made me want to eat more healthily anyway, but that's a different matter

[Robertj21a]

garyhun said:

Robertj21a said:

garyhun said:

Whilst losing weight is good, fitness and health should also be a part of your overall wellbeing where possible. I would always include cardio of some sort and muscle work (typically resistance training) whilst eating better.

Yes, but most people will lose far more weight by taking care with their food/drink intake than they'll ever lose through exercise. Unless you're already a fitness fan (most overweight people probably aren't !) then the amount of effort required to lose just a pound or two is far easier achieved by simply cutting out a small snack. As far as I'm concerned, it's the small, but constant, lifestyle changes that you achieve for the long term that will shed the weight. As you say, it's important to also maintain your fitness and general health, but it's not likely to shed the weight so easily.

If you read what I said, I never said exercise would lose you weight. I was just pointing out that losing weight should be considered one element of your wellbeing. When I needed to lose weight I actually found that exercise made me want to eat more healthily anyway, but that's a different matter

I had read what you said, and I wasn't disagreeing. I just made a statement about losing weight through food/drink intake rather than exercise.

[anonymous-user]

Robertj21a said:

garyhun said:

Robertj21a said:

garyhun said:

Whilst losing weight is good, fitness and health should also be a part of your overall wellbeing where possible. I would always include cardio of some sort and muscle work (typically resistance training) whilst eating better.

Yes, but most people will lose far more weight by taking care with their food/drink intake than they'll ever lose through exercise. Unless you're already a fitness fan (most overweight people probably aren't !) then the amount of effort required to lose just a pound or two is far easier achieved by simply cutting out a small snack. As far as I'm concerned, it's the small, but constant, lifestyle changes that you achieve for the long term that will shed the weight. As you say, it's important to also maintain your fitness and general health, but it's not likely to shed the weight so easily.

If you read what I said, I never said exercise would lose you weight. I was just pointing out that losing weight should be considered one element of your wellbeing. When I needed to lose weight I actually found that exercise made me want to eat more healthily anyway, but that's a different matter

I had read what you said, and I wasn't disagreeing. I just made a statement about losing weight through food/drink intake rather than exercise.

As the saying goes, a 6-pack is made in the kitchen, not in the gym. Or, you cannot outrun a Mars bar.

[Dr Doofenshmirtz]

a311 said:

Did you do anything like calorie counting or just cut out the ste?

Nope - non of that nonsense. I simply cut out the sweet stuff like snacks, puddings, tin of beer in the evening etc, and I walk twice a day anything from 4 to 8 miles and that is pretty much it.
I try to walk at 4mph. That's quite a strenuous walk and gets the heart working. At first I was maintaining 3.5 mph and found it hard, but now 4 - 4.3 mph is quite easy (I use an app that uses gps to give you your average speed).
Walking is way better than jogging or running IMO. It's low impact and more pleasurable. You're more likely to see wildlife and just enjoy the countryside views.
Lastly, it takes time. I lost a stone in a month when I first started...then the next stone took 4 months, and then it took another 5 weeks to lose another half a stone to where I am now (I did ramp up the walking and walking speed for a wile though).

Honestly - loosing weight needn't be difficult. Just eat sensibly and go for walks. That's ALL YOU NEED TO DO

[Dr Doofenshmirtz]

Bit of an update to my no BS dieting regime...
I'm now down to 11.6 stone / 73.6kg. So I lost about another stone since posting this thread last year.

In summary.
I'm eating a lot less. I no longer feel hungry between meals and I no longer crave snacks. Being mildly fat was just a state of mind IMO. I didn't need to eat as much as I thought I did, and the only other thing I do is walk regularly (brisk pace). Honestly...losing weight is very easy if your mind is in control of your body.
I've gone from a 36" waist to a 32". T-Shirts are now a comfortable Medium from XL and it's fantastic to be able to wear tighter fitting tops and not be self conscious about the roll of flab on display - it's cost me a lot of money buying all new clothes though!

One thing that really helped me was buying an 'intelligent' set of scales.
I got a RENPHO Bluetooth Body Fat Scale and weighed myself every other day or so - it certainly encourages you to keep going using the app and graph feature. eventually those small reductions in weight add up to several kg. 7.85 kg since I got them in Feb this year.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01N1UX8RW/ref...

Still need to get that Subcutaneous fat into the green though...it's getting there.

[gregs656]

Congratulations, I am glad you found something that works for you.