16 stone down to 12, again*

[Bandit110]

*15st2 to 13st this time

6ft3" male, sedantary job, lazy social life.....

New year, new outlook and all that, I want to tidy myself up a bit and feel good again, lose most if not all of the tyre, the moobs and
stop stressing my jeans and waistcoats

I did this before, maybe 10 years ago, was 16 (poss 17) stone and trimmed it off with gym visits, badminton, big walks and the like,
but I'm older now, 40, with a job with a difficult pattern to it.

I'm in decentish shape, not bad considering my lifestyle, I keep being told I don't need to lose anything!
but I don't feel great about the way I look.

I'd just like to hear some advice on how, if anyone has dealt with a similar goal, is cutting out bread and bad carbs a must?
Will a gallon of water a day transform me? I'm never going to be a runner or a high fitness person, walking and cycling hopefully.....

A few good things I have going for me;

I have pretty good will power
I don't smoke
I'm not a picky eater
I don't eat big or very bad generally
I drink whisky and not beer

P.s. I went to Greece in September and wasn't best pleased about myself then,
I'm going to Lanzarote first week in March so this is partly my motivation :-)

[shirt]

Read the keto thread. Easy 1kg a week loss whether you exercise or not

[Slyjoe]

Definitely look into the Keto diet -
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/foods

[Fermit and Sexy Sarah]

Saying it how it is, and in no way throwing out an insult, you know you're overweight. The obvious thing I would say is to look at why that is. Do you graze too much, too many takeaways, or too much of the wrong stuff? This can then be a starting point, address these things directly. During one period, many years ago, I grew a belly, and it really hit my confidence. I cut out white bread, pasta and trimmed back on the beer. That alone worked for me. I hear chewing gum can help if you're a grazer, it fools your brain that you're eating supposedly. Good luck with it.

[grumbledoak]

You get thin in the kitchen.

You could read a few books by Gary Taubes and Nina Teicholz to understand it all, or just go Keto and IF (i.e. skip breakfast) and wait.

[TameRacingDriver]

Eat and drink less, move more. Simples. I’m not a fan of fad diets; will you stick to them forever? It is also not that good for you to cut out entire food groups. Whatever works though...

[Robertj21a]

Just cut out/down on bread/pasta/rice/potatoes/crisps etc and get a bit more active. Avoid snacking unless it's simply things like carrots, grapes, a few nuts etc.

[KrazyIvan]

TameRacingDriver said:

Eat and drink less, move more. Simples.

Not to be rude to you TRD, but It really is not that simple, other wise we would not be facing the problems we currently are as a country/continent/species. There is a mental element that the eat less/move more sentiment does not address.

OP as you have already done it before i would look back to what worked last time and start there, but as others have said you need to address why your currently over weight, otherwise you put it back on again.

[Teddy Lop]

Bandit110 said:

I'd just like to hear some advice on how, if anyone has dealt with a similar goal, is cutting out bread and bad carbs a must?

is it a must? No, lots of methods which work for some and not others.
Is it a good way to shift a few stone? For sure, went from 18>13 st, late 30s, I don't excercise as on feet all day with manual job. I find it easy to fast most days too.

[Sparkyhd]

TameRacingDriver said:

Eat and drink less, move more. Simples.

Agreed, plus the tricky bit of willpower.

If you're listing whisky vs beer as one of your strengths you need to work harder for willpower to take control of self delusion.

[Monkeylegend]

Less calories in, more out and lose the waistcoats

Does anyone still wear them these days?

[popeyewhite]

grumbledoak said:

You get thin in the kitchen.

You get fat in the kitchen as well.


Lifestyle change/exercise/diet. If you already have a reasonably balanced diet then exercise and changing your lifestyle will be the determining factors in weightloss and keeping the weight off.

[alock]

I'm 5'10" and 42.

October 2017 - 18 stone
October 2018 - 13 stone 8lb

Since then I haven't weighed myself because I've changed my life to a point where I don't worry about my weight. I have dropped another belt hole though so know I'm still shrinking.

My target now is clothes sizes. I replaced my predominantly XXL (with some XXXL) wardrobe with XL, then with L, and I now have a few M (including skin tight lycra for cycling). By summer, everything will be M.

The key for me was deciding what was important to me, and what was just habit. This will be different for everyone and hence what I did probably won't work for most.

Simplistically, I just eat less. I know many people want to talk about types of food. Good carbs, bad carbs, good fat, bad fat, etc... but I can't be doing with that.

I eat less by eating fewer meals rather than smaller portion sizes or restricted food types. One meal a day is fine. Why do you eat 3 meals a day anyway? The human body hasn't evolved to need 3 meals a day. It's just habit. It took me a couple of weeks of will power to shift to a one meal a day routine, I now don't think about food or meals and yet continue to lose weight. I enjoy a takeaway pizza with the kids. I enjoy a Chinese and I go out for half a dozen beers when I want.

I have taken up cycling, but for me exercise is predominantly about health, whereas diet is for weight.

[Fermit and Sexy Sarah]

One other tip. Use smaller dinner plates. This sound sarcastic, but it's not, your brain simply sees a full plate of food, but you're consuming less.

[Bandit110]

Fermit and Sexy Sarah said:

Saying it how it is, and in no way throwing out an insult, you know you're overweight. The obvious thing I would say is to look at why that is. Do you graze too much, too many takeaways, or too much of the wrong stuff? This can then be a starting point, address these things directly. During one period, many years ago, I grew a belly, and it really hit my confidence. I cut out white bread, pasta and trimmed back on the beer. That alone worked for me. I hear chewing gum can help if you're a grazer, it fools your brain that you're eating supposedly. Good luck with it.

It's probably a little of everything, mainly socialising, though that isn't a 'lets see how much we can eat while we're having a get together', more of a 'lets go for a brekkie sandwich or something', maybe a weekly takeaway....

just reading you say I'm overweight hit home abit! so thanks!

[Bandit110]

cutting out the bad carbs is a must, I do head towards potatoes, rice, bread etc, the keto reading has been interesting so far, though I know I wont follow a regular diet, more so take pointers and do what i feel will be good for me

[Bandit110]

Sparkyhd said:

If you're listing whisky vs beer as one of your strengths you need to work harder for willpower to take control of self delusion.

Well I didn't say it was a strength..... merely saying I haven't got to cut the beer out.

Please don't post anything else unless it's helpful

[Teddy Lop]

Bandit110 said:

Fermit and Sexy Sarah said:

Saying it how it is, and in no way throwing out an insult, you know you're overweight. The obvious thing I would say is to look at why that is. Do you graze too much, too many takeaways, or too much of the wrong stuff? This can then be a starting point, address these things directly. During one period, many years ago, I grew a belly, and it really hit my confidence. I cut out white bread, pasta and trimmed back on the beer. That alone worked for me. I hear chewing gum can help if you're a grazer, it fools your brain that you're eating supposedly. Good luck with it.

It's probably a little of everything, mainly socialising, though that isn't a 'lets see how much we can eat while we're having a get together', more of a 'lets go for a brekkie sandwich or something', maybe a weekly takeaway....

just reading you say I'm overweight hit home abit! so thanks!

yeah you need to sieze the lead on this kind of stuff and suggest options with little pressure to eat e.g. a coffee shop etc, at least for the initial lead in. I'm quite comfortable sitting while others eat and have good appetite control but its a real issue for a lot of other people, even my own mum is obsessing over a spread at lunchtime when i drop in for a couple of hours even though they like me don't eat a large lunch normally!

[Fermit and Sexy Sarah]

Bandit110 said:

Fermit and Sexy Sarah said:

Saying it how it is, and in no way throwing out an insult, you know you're overweight. The obvious thing I would say is to look at why that is. Do you graze too much, too many takeaways, or too much of the wrong stuff? This can then be a starting point, address these things directly. During one period, many years ago, I grew a belly, and it really hit my confidence. I cut out white bread, pasta and trimmed back on the beer. That alone worked for me. I hear chewing gum can help if you're a grazer, it fools your brain that you're eating supposedly. Good luck with it.

It's probably a little of everything, mainly socialising, though that isn't a 'lets see how much we can eat while we're having a get together', more of a 'lets go for a brekkie sandwich or something', maybe a weekly takeaway....

just reading you say I'm overweight hit home abit! so thanks!

Hopefully no offence caused, that was not my intention. Takeaways can add up, the calories/fat can be massive (a Dominos 100g Garlic & Herb dip has 675 calories!) We try to limit ourselves to one, possibly two a month take outs.

Edited by Fermit and Sexy Sarah on Sunday 30th December 15:06

[TameRacingDriver]

KrazyIvan said:

Not to be rude to you TRD, but It really is not that simple, other wise we would not be facing the problems we currently are as a country/continent/species. There is a mental element that the eat less/move more sentiment does not address.

I’m afraid we will have to agree to disagree then we're facing the problems because we eat and drink too much and it really is that simple to me.

Too many people try to find other things to blame, never their fault.

I myself am overweight but I know it’s because I drink too much beer and eat too many sweets. Once I cut down after Xmas festivities are over I know it will come straight off, it just requires willpower which is what many people lack nowadays.

I say don’t do fad diets because in the long run, they don’t get stuck to. Eliminating an entire food group neither seems a good idea nor sustainable to me. Have what you like, in moderation, it needs to be no more complicated.