Help - I need to lose weight, fast!

[Crankarm]

Well, I've had over 24 hours to recover and get fully hydrated since the epic cycle ride on Sunday.

Jumped on the scales and..... I really have lost 1/2 stone in the first week.

My diet was essentially no bread or cheese, no sugary foods and limited high carb meals plus one 80 mile cycle ride.

It's the Norwich 100 this weekend so I'll increase the carb intake towards the end of the week. I think 1/4 stone loss per week is probably much healthier. I am (was) 4 stone over weight so I have plenty still to lose.

1/2 a stone seems a bit on the high side for the first week. What was your weight before the loss and now? Don't forget there are various types of carbs eg refined - white pasta, white rice, brown/wholemeal pasta/rice complex. You are right to think 1/4 stone is a more healthier amount of weight loss. But depends on your intial weight. You can eat whole meal bread and a small amount of cheese just don't go over board. Fats are actually an important constituent of the diet. But good work. Try and weigh your self under the same conditions every day/week even down to having beem to the loo or taken a long drink to rehydrate after a long long ride or run.

 

[Crankarm]

Yello said "Don't go switching to skimmed milk just to avoid the fat content of full fat milk. Fat does not make you fat." Agreed re the comment about fat content (although high levels of saturated fat are not a great plus for health) but in terms of calories 500ml of full fat is 330 cals and the same amount of skimmed is 165. Since a pound of fat takes 3500 cals to shift (or add on!) then if your weight was level (ie all things were equal), then changing from full fat to skimmed would mean losing a pound every 3 weeks, ie 17 pounds in a year. (based on 500ml per day, which is my consumption with cereal and coffee and tea)

So fat does not make you fat, agreed, but moving to skimmed may help you lose weight.

Full fat milk is about 3.5-4.0% fat. Per 100ml calorific value is 300kJ. Protein 3.4g, carbohydrate 4.7g (of which sugars 4.7g LOW), fat 4.0g MEDIUM (of which saturates 2.6g MEDIUM), Sodium trace, Calcium 122.0mg. So if you have a 200-250ml serving of milk for breakfast then multiply all the above by 2.5.

Semi skimmed milk is about 1.7% fat and skimmed milk is 0.1% fat.

The wrong type of fat eaten in excessive amounts such as saturated trans fats will make you fat if you are sedentary in nature, the type of fat in chips, pies, cakes, biscuits and processed meals. It will also more than likely clog up your ateries and give you a heart attack.

Skimmed milk is disgusting .

Semi skimmed milk is the best compromise IMHO.

 

[lukesdad]

I ve used skimmed milk for 10 years its what you get used to.

 

[MrRidley]

Been watching this thread with interest so i thought it best to comment, since i quit smoking 7 weeks ago, i've put on a massive 10 lbs, i was originally 13 st, so for the past 2 weeks i've cut right down, no crap whatsoever, breakfast is weetabix/branflakes, lunch is homemade soup with a brown bread sarnie, dinner is brown rice with either chicken or vegetables, snacks are fruit all day, in the past 2 weeks i've cycled 385 miles, and the weight i've lost is Nil, Nada,Zilch, i'm still 13 st 10 lbs, and it's not muscle it's fat and i can see it, so i've come to the conclusion that the only way for me to lose weight is stop eating altogether, either my body is hoarding fat, or i'm just meant to be that size ?

 

[Telemark]

Been watching this thread with interest so i thought it best to comment, since i quit smoking 7 weeks ago, i've put on a massive 10 lbs, i was originally 13 st, so for the past 2 weeks i've cut right down, no crap whatsoever, breakfast is weetabix/branflakes, lunch is homemade soup with a brown bread sarnie, dinner is brown rice with either chicken or vegetables, snacks are fruit all day, in the past 2 weeks i've cycled 385 miles, and the weight i've lost is Nil, Nada,Zilch, i'm still 13 st 10 lbs, and it's not muscle it's fat and i can see it, so i've come to the conclusion that the only way for me to lose weight is stop eating altogether, either my body is hoarding fat, or i'm just meant to be that size ?

Great you are still a non-smoker!
Have heard similar stories from friends. They were debating with themselves that maybe they should start smoking again to loose the weight , but in the end they managed to sort out their weight again, after the 1st non-smoking phase was over, without too much of a problem... You might want to meet up with our friends from Stirling for a wee ride and chat, they seem to be doing something right ...

T

 

[e-rider]

1/2 a stone seems a bit on the high side for the first week. What was your weight before the loss and now? Don't forget there are various types of carbs eg refined - white pasta, white rice, brown/wholemeal pasta/rice complex. You are right to think 1/4 stone is a more healthier amount of weight loss. But depends on your intial weight. You can eat whole meal bread and a small amount of cheese just don't go over board. Fats are actually an important constituent of the diet. But good work. Try and weigh your self under the same conditions every day/week even down to having beem to the loo or taken a long drink to rehydrate after a long long ride or run.

I was just over 17.5 stone and now I'm just over 17 stone. I'm 6'2" and should be about 13 stone.

 

[NigC]

I think the idea of losing weight fast is a little dangerous. I've certainly heard that cutting out the bread can have a quick effect, but I'm not so sure about how healthy this is, or any other "fast weight loss" ideas. Think of it as a DIY project - take your time and do it properly, don't rush and do a bodge job.

Personally, I've just started my umpteenth attempt at losing weight. But all I'm doing is trying to cut out all the crap and do a little more exercise. I already cycle or walk to work most days, so I don't think I need to add too much extra exercise, but I am adding a little via the exercise bike when I'm up for it.

I have cut out a lot of the crap foods and stopped drinking tea and coffee at work. I never drink them at home anyway and only ever drink them at work to kill a few minutes So that's 3 or 4 cups a day, each with a tsp of sugar that's no longer entering my system Apart from that, I'm eating as normal.

I've only been going a few days so far, but I actually feel pretty good and haven't found the need to stop my hand reaching for the larder/fridge/snack tin etc. I think a major contributor to this is my new found motivation (check my other thread), which is that I'm losing weight for charity. It defintitely seems to work for me

It's too early to see for sure if the results are good, but I'm very hopeful I'm onto a winner

 

[Augustine]

Like so many folks who have posted above, I too have been reading this with great interest. So much of the advice sounds very sensible - balanced diet with lots of fruit and veg and upping the amount of exercise gradually. I'm going to give it a determined go too!

I was pondering a turbo trainer or even rollers so I can exercise on my bike at home when the weather is rotten. has anyone else tried this? any recommendations for a beginner with this kind of equiptment? (or should that be in a different thread?)

Mike

 

[screenman]

bhoyjim, at a guess you had about 2750 to 3000 calories that day, try and get below 2000 and the weight will come off. Have a look at www.livestrong.com/myplate/ if you are serious about losing weight, be honest with it and no cheating, if it enters your mouth list it down. Works wonder for everyone I know who is on it. 3 1/2 stone lost and still going down, that is since 10th January this year.

 

[jimboalee]

When on a carb and calorie controlled diet AND performing exercise in parallel, it is a good idea to get down the gym and ride the gym bike with a HRM.

Find your MAX.

Ride at 65% of max and note the Power, or better, the kCals/min you are outputting.

Ride at 90% of max and note the numbers.

I have many times in the past posted a graph of Watts vs minutes endurance statistics.

When you ride at 65% max at a steady load, after a while your HR will rise strangely without any rise in intensity, Cardiac drift.
When this happens, note the Wattage and the duration of exercise. Plot it on a printout of the graph.

Draw a line parallel to the existing line. This is an indicative kCals/min ( directly proportional to Watts ) for the duration of bike ride you are planning.

Having a peek at MY curve, for a 5 hour ride, I should go for 10 kCals/min ABSOLUTE TOPS.

At this intensity ( 65% MHR ) I would be burning a mix of carbs and fatty acids. About 40/60 fat/carbs. Therefore 6 kCals/min is the new target.

The result is :- Over a 5 hour ride at 65% MHR average, I would NOT replace 1200 kCals of the total burn, which is 1/3 lb of fat, with LITTLE chance of dropping down dead.

 

[Crankarm]

When on a carb and calorie controlled diet AND performing exercise in parallel, it is a good idea to get down the gym and ride the gym bike with a HRM.

Find your MAX.

Ride at 65% of max and note the Power, or better, the kCals/min you are outputting.

Ride at 90% of max and note the numbers.

I have many times in the past posted a graph of Watts vs minutes endurance statistics.

When you ride at 65% max at a steady load, after a while your HR will rise strangely without any rise in intensity, Cardiac drift.
When this happens, note the Wattage and the duration of exercise. Plot it on a printout of the graph.

Draw a line parallel to the existing line. This is an indicative kCals/min ( directly proportional to Watts ) for the duration of bike ride you are planning.

Having a peek at MY curve, for a 5 hour ride, I should go for 10 kCals/min ABSOLUTE TOPS.

At this intensity ( 65% MHR ) I would be burning a mix of carbs and fatty acids. About 40/60 fat/carbs. Therefore 6 kCals/min is the new target.

The result is :- Over a 5 hour ride at 65% MHR average, I would NOT replace 1200 kCals of the total burn, which is 1/3 lb of fat, with LITTLE chance of dropping down dead.

Interesting Jimboalee. Could you expand on your final result para. as I'm trying to work out exactly what you mean. Sorry, being a bit slow .

The result is :- Over a 5 hour ride at 65% MHR average, I would NOT replace 1200 kCals of the total burn, which is 1/3 lb of fat, with LITTLE chance of dropping down dead.

 

[jimboalee]

Interesting Jimboalee. Could you expand on your final result para. as I'm trying to work out exactly what you mean. Sorry, being a bit slow .

At an intensity of 65% MHR, energy for muscle activity is sought approximately 60% from glycogen and 40% from fatty acids.

My regime is to only replace the calorific content of the glycogen being used and let the body sort out fatty acids by shifting some adipose after the ride is completed.
That's a very simplified take on how it works, and is in reality more complex than this, but it reduces my fat %.... and I keep energetic throughout the ride.


"Do you expect me to talk?"
"No Jimboalee, I expect you to die."

 

[Babs]

Bananas are full of carbs.

You should really eat 3 sensible meals and 2 or 3 small snacks or your body will think you are in starvation mode and your metabolism will slow right down.

I find I have to cut out alcohol completely - it goes straight on my waist as fat and lowers my resolve to eat sensibly! It also lowers your blood sugar so makes you feel hungry.

Also I avoid grapes and bananas.

If you buy the right things from the supermarket to have in the fridge/cupboard you won't be able to eat the wrong things! ok it means that anyone else in the house can't have choccie biscuits and crisps but you are doing them a favour too!

You have to change how you eat period, if you go back to eating the wrong stuff again you will be back to square one.

Soup is good but not cream of!

When I am trying hard I usually have brown rice, in a plastic pouch that you pop in the microwave - about £1 from Asda - with a small tin of fish in sauce - mackerel, pilchards (come in too large a tin for me - but also good) or half a pack of smoked mackerel, or some baked beans, but you could have ham or chicken. I just eat the fish unheated, but I micro the rice. Cheese is best avoided unless the cottage type. I like to have a jar of pickled cucumbers to nibble with it (gherkins) and fresh tomatoes.
So what I do is go into the local to work supermarket, get enough tins soup, packets of rice and bits to go with them for the week, some oranges and apples, a small pkt mini shredded wheat, and then leave all at work.

I often have the soup at 4pm - stops me eating biscuits from the staff tin!

A small bowl of mini shredded wheat and milk is a good snack too.

Good luck - I'm trying to do the same as you!

 

[jimboalee]

It's surprising what magazines suggest you should eat, compared with what the race pros eat.

Admittedly, this is going back 12 years.
Four weetabix with full milk. Full English breakfast with white bread toast covered with runny honey. 1 litre of coffee and three Danish pastries. More toast with marmalade.

In the mussette, - Honey sandwiches, penguin bars, Danish pastries and a small bottle of glucose syrup.

It may sound 'oldie worldie' but the chap who I witnessed eat all this went on to win the Tour de France in 1999 and then another six times.

It was all calorie counted of course. One won't win races if one is overweight!!

 

[benb]

That's my kind of diet!