The 2024 Weight Loss Thread

[S100HP]

MBVitoria said:

TameRacingDriver said:

So I've decided to weigh myself daily, and it's already shown the effect of temporary weight gain after consuming heavily over the Xmas, as I'm already 2kg down on yesterday easy victory and I wish it was that easy or I'd hit my target in less than 2 weeks

I'm also a daily weigher, just to keep my mind on it. Fascinating how weight can vary by up to a kilo or two in a normal day. I guess water is a lot of that.

Same for me. When I don't daily weigh is when it goes wrong. Out of sight, out of mind.

Down to 106.8 today, from 107.5 yesterday. Mad how much it changes.

[warp9]

Hello all. Right, I'm also in! I had a great start to 2023 as I was attempting to train for a half marathon, but pushed too hard, picked up an injury then fell off the wagon in February. I then made a bunch of excuses about not doing exercise and also developed a love of cheese and biscuits around 9pm. I've ended up being the heaviest I've ever been at 245lbs. Target is 200lbs by the end of this year

So, new year, new start! My plan:
1. Count calories.
2. 16:8 fasting. I find this relatively easy to do when at work M-F. Less so at the weekend. My view is that it helps reduce calorie intake.
3. Eat healthier. No crappy snacks and raiding the fridge when I get home or cheese at 9pm.
4. Drink less booze. I'm currently doing dry January, but would like to carry it forward.
5. Regular exercise. A combo of Yoga, HIIT, Pelaton, weights at the gym. I'm aiming for 4 x 1 hour sessions a week.

I did a 30 min beginners pelaton session last night and went to a 1hour yoga session at my gym this morning, which really fkin hurt! Diet is all on track. So far so good!

Do any of you have any suggestions on what are good go to snacks that aren't nuts?

[thepritch]

warp9 said:

I did a 30 min beginners pelaton session last night and went to a 1hour yoga session at my gym this morning, which really fkin hurt!

Do any of you have any suggestions on what are good go to snacks that aren't nuts?

Yep - roast some chickpeas. Bake in a flat tray until crispy. Sprinkle some with sea salt and pepper. Others with herbs. They go really crunchy and are very moreish. Maybe try some with some spices (I assume some spices will works others won’t. They seems to last pretty well in a airtight container.

We also make our own granola bars - but they’re all nuts so maybe not what you want. Nuts though, in my mind are full of good fats. It’s just eating them in moderation I struggle with!

And similar to you, I do Pilates. It hurts too!

Edited by thepritch on Wednesday 3rd January 14:00

[thepritch]

Really interesting to hear the different approaches - daily weighs, no weighing etc, calorie control, no calorie control, exercise etc. Nice thread. Keep it up, that’s half way through day 3!!

I tend not to weigh myself as when I get on the ‘wagon’, I have pretty good will power and don’t need much motivation. Also I dislike the daily fluctuations of scales and tried to just monitor the trends. I now use the good old trousers belt ‘getting looser’ method to get a good feel how I’m progressing.

So far so good - actually put some lunch back in the Tupperware today as I stopped when I FELT full, not when I finished the plate.

Good luck all!

[warp9]

thepritch - Thanks for the suggestion with chick peas. I shall give it a go this weekend. And I concur, granola bars are delish, but way too moreish!

What is the consensus for sharing recipes on this thread? I'd be interested to hear what others have for lunch as I used to buy a soggy sandwich + crisps + fizzy pop meal deal from the local supermarket. This is clearly now not an option (well not often anyway). Today I did a bean salad with mackerel, but not sure I can keep that up on a regular basis. What else do you all have?

[TameRacingDriver]

warp9 said:

What is the consensus for sharing recipes on this thread? I'd be interested to hear what others have for lunch as I used to buy a soggy sandwich + crisps + fizzy pop meal deal from the local supermarket. This is clearly now not an option (well not often anyway). Today I did a bean salad with mackerel, but not sure I can keep that up on a regular basis. What else do you all have?

Working from home and having butchers and grocers on the doorstep certainly gives you more options.

Today I had chicken big soup and a bun but that's only because I've got a cold and feel sorry for myself / lazy

However normally I'd have something like a flavoured chicken breast with salad. Butcher does lovely ones like mexican style and ginger and chilli, really tasty, bung them into an air fryer and chop some salad. Job done.

Another is tuna on a jacket potato, again with a helping of salad. Very tasty. No mayo, although I do season the tuna with a little vinegar, salt and pepper, delicious.

Sometimes I might have an omelette, 3 eggs, a bit of ham and cheese sprinkled on, and again served with a salad. Not bad, omelettes aren't my favourite but they are satisfying when you're in the mood.

Or sometimes I'm just lazy and will have a jacket with beans and cheese or beans on toast.

Also I highly recommend Pizza Express light salad dressing, delicious, game changer for me as a traditional salad dodger I also sometimes put a little grated cheese in the salad but do it sparingly, however again it elevates it into another league for me.

Though of course I'd also be interested to see what others do.

[mcelliott]

A good snack for me is greek yogurt with a sprinkling of blueberries sometimes with a cube of grated dark chocolate, or cottage cheese on toast, the key to losing weight is keeping protein high so you're not losing too much muscle, of course adding resistance training helps hugely to any weight loss program but I realise it's not for everyone.

[g3org3y]

warp9 said:

Do any of you have any suggestions on what are good go to snacks that aren't nuts?

Pumpkin seeds for me.

I have a container where I've marked out 30g as a portion. They (like many snack type things) are easy to overeat.

[McGee_22]

g3org3y said:

warp9 said:

Do any of you have any suggestions on what are good go to snacks that aren't nuts?

Pumpkin seeds for me.

I have a container where I've marked out 30g as a portion. They (like many snack type things) are easy to overeat.

Raisins for me.

[OMITN]

A thought - as I sit in the car outside a dance studio waiting for daughter to reappear after 10 hours in there (she doesn’t need to diet!) - should we move the meals/snacks/recipes to a separate thread?

There are always loads of good suggestions but I find they get lost among the motivation, weigh-ins (and occasional excuses!).

[22]

Well, no one said it would be easy. A couple of good days to start the year but woke up feeling rotten yesterday and sat munching trash feeling sorry for myself. I expect ups and downs, but ideally not on day 3. Don't feel a whole lot better today, but will try and keep myself busy.

By sticking to the thread last year, I learned to pick myself up, dust myself down and a little blip won't stop the bigger battle. Over the course of 11 months the trend was a good one.

It's easy to think you can't do it, but all of us can.

[thepritch]

22 said:

It's easy to think you can't do it, but all of us can.

Absolutely, we all can! (And you’ll have a better day today

I find I raid the fridge frequently (WFH) - but recognising this as more out of habit rather than actual hunger is important.

As I’ve been trying to cut down my coffee consumption too, to one rather special home made flat white in morning, I’m now on just cups of hot water the rest of the day. It helps in many ways. When I have a habitual ‘fridge’ moment, I now go and boil the kettle instead. It’s replaced the action (distraction?) and I am now drinking more water, which is a positive benefit - I was hardly drinking any before. It warms me up, I have a cup at my desk, and I’m still consuming something.

[TameRacingDriver]

S100HP said:

MBVitoria said:

TameRacingDriver said:

So I've decided to weigh myself daily, and it's already shown the effect of temporary weight gain after consuming heavily over the Xmas, as I'm already 2kg down on yesterday easy victory and I wish it was that easy or I'd hit my target in less than 2 weeks

I'm also a daily weigher, just to keep my mind on it. Fascinating how weight can vary by up to a kilo or two in a normal day. I guess water is a lot of that.

Same for me. When I don't daily weigh is when it goes wrong. Out of sight, out of mind.

Down to 106.8 today, from 107.5 yesterday. Mad how much it changes.

Jesus another 0.75kg today. I know it'll massively slow down but if not I'll be popping to the hospital to make sure I'm not dying

[caminator11]

Alright, i'm in this year too.

I had a fairly good 2023, checking my logs I dropped down from 118kg to a 97kg at my lowest. However I think with a bit of work stress and lack of focus I allowed old habits to take over and after the festive period I'm up at 108.5kg.

Still - a better starting point than last year and more learnings to take forward from 2023. I can easily stick to my program, I just need to want to. With 40 approaching in July I really do want to this time around.

Good luck everyone!!

[scz4]

Will update the Wiki as enough is enough.

I'm 44 now, 168cm and weighed in at 85.5kg on 1st Jan. The heaviest I've EVER been and now have the pregnant look and moobs ? ? Was hovering around 82/83kg in Q4, this is despite last year being the most active ever, ran 1200km with a month off due to injury (multiple half marathon events) I also enjoy both mountain and road biking.

I still somehow managed to put on 4kg last year, mainly over eating before running for energy then getting the munchies afterwards. The lightest I've been in the last 15 years is 74kg which felt great but didn't last long, but know I should be around 70kg for a healthy weight for my height. So, I ideally want to lose at least 12kg+ this year. Based on previous experience, I think I can get down to 77/78kg quite easily in 3 months, but after that it will be tough.

Focus for me is:
- Don't focus on exercise as the solution.
- Massively reduce sugar intake. This is the main lifestyle change to ensure I can maintain any weight loss
- Rreduce carbs on days I'm not exercising
- Don’t pig out when travelling with work or on holiday
- Trying the 16-8 intermittent fasting at the moment since 2nd Jan, only the third day in but going ok, although deliberately not exercising, not sure how it will go when I do. Main reason is simply to reduce calorie intake rather than the other potential benefits.
- Depending on how it goes, might join a "fat club" for motivation. Not to follow a particular plan or calorie count, previously it was more about the shame of turning up and not losing weight. This worked really well for me when I was at my lightest.

Edited by scz4 on Thursday 4th January 10:57

[Smitters]

Watched an interesting vid on YT yesterday - four tips that were given were:

Keep a food diary
Plan meals to suit exercise
Eat more veggies - research seasonings if you find them boring
Portion control - hand in hand with point 1 - often we (and I, certainly) need to relearn what is an appropriate portion

Linked to #4 is also calorie density - understand what will make us feel full for less calories. The example was an apple vs jellybeans. You'd need only a few jelly beans to match the apple's caloric value, yet we often fail to realise this and take more than is required. Same story for nuts, dates, dried fruit etc.

For me, I'm just pleased to be eating predominantly healthy food. If I'm not 80% good, 20% bad, it's a reversal of the last month, which was only 20% good, with days between veggie intakes. I'm doing a virtual cycling tour, so I have to eat and recover well, or I'll feel horrible come the next raceday. It's really helping me make good decisions.

[warp9]

thepritch said:

I find I raid the fridge frequently (WFH) - but recognising this as more out of habit rather than actual hunger is important.

This is where I also struggle. I'm hungry when I get back from work, hit the fridge, eat cold meats and cheese, even though I can have dinner ready in 20 mins. That desire of a quick food fix is so strong!

I try to focus on hunger being an indication of the need to eat in a timely way, not how much I need to eat.

[TameRacingDriver]

scz4 said:

- Don't focus on exercise as the solution.
- Massively reduce sugar intake. This is the main lifestyle change to ensure I can maintain any weight loss

I've been watching loads of videos and they all say the same thing - exercise for weight loss doesn't really work. Yes you burn calories but most people will likely compensate for that by eating more, and if you somehow resist the temptation to do that, your body will just lower your metabolism instead. Sneaky fker, don't you think?

The sugar is a big one for me as I love sweets. But I have family history of diabetes so I definitely need to cut down there.

Smitters said:

Watched an interesting vid on YT yesterday - four tips that were given were:

- Keep a food diary
- Portion control - hand in hand with point 1 - often we (and I, certainly) need to relearn what is an appropriate portion

I honestly think tracking could be a game changer for me. I feel like food is a little like spending on a credit card, it's still spending money but it doesn't seem that way until you actually look at the balance.

I'm using an app called FatSecret, and I really like it (other apps are available), it keeps me accountable on a day by day basis, and it clearly lets you see if you're on track. Also useful is the breakdown of macros.

As I said before I'm trying to keep sugar down so it's useful for me to see how much I'm consuming in a day. Also useful for tracking protein levels (I'm trying to aim for around 100g of protein or more per day). You can do the same for carbs, fat, salt etc. Very useful to see it written down. I also note that some of the videos I'm watching have been suggesting to aim for 30g fibre per day but I'm already seeing that I'm struggling to hit that target so I may need to tweak the diet a little for that, not sure how yet though.

Portion control is another Biggie for me. Sunday lunches I make are often enormous, and then I sometimes had another meal on a night. If I want a big Sunday dinner then I shouldn't eat any more large meals, but ideally, I shouldn't over eat. Same with steak - always buy a huge one, and there's no need really. I can even have the odd sweet treat as long as I keep it sensible.

If anything I'd say most people could have great results without changing anything in their diet if they just reduce their portions by say 20% (dependent on how much they ate too begin with obviously).

Good luck to you both.

[Smitters]

TameRacingDriver said:

I honestly think tracking could be a game changer for me. I feel like food is a little like spending on a credit card, it's still spending money but it doesn't seem that way until you actually look at the balance.

It always is with me - I can't pinpoint the exact thing, but every time I've had success at losing weight, it's been by tracking it with MFP. I understand why some people don't or perhaps even shouldn't, but there's a very clear link for me.

[thepritch]

I think there are many pros/cons for tracking, so it’s very much an individual thing.

IME, When I did it for weight loss to hit a certain race weight, I used my fitness pal and logged everything. Along with the training, I felt I became a simple machine - food became energy in, riding was energy out. Hated it. I really fell out of love with food. But as I said, try it as it clearly works, just I had to do some serious mental gymnastics.