Weight has to go

[Cathryn]

What a lovely thought.

 

[Speicher]

In that case I will be loosing another three million calories this evening.

Absolutely definately got to go out this evening a three mile walk there and back (back at 11pm).

I shall take some clothes to put on when I get to my destination.

On a more serious note, having cut down the fat content and some of the portions I am eating, I have lost that bloated feeling you sometimes get. . Did not really get going on this until the 2nd, so a few days yet before I will see any real difference on the scales, say I hopefully.

 

[jay clock]

Like most of you I am a bit of an expert on this!

I drifted up to around 100kg, peaking at 105 in Feb 2004. I went on a mountain biking holiday with three strangers, who were slimmer, fitter and younger. I could not really keep up. The photos of me with them said it all. I did Weight Watchers online and got down to 90kg fast. For 3-4 years I hovered around 90-94kg by doing lots of cycling to balance the food intake

Having taking up triathlons I have now decided to try and get down to 79.9kg (under 80!). Apart from a slight blip at Xmas I am doing fine - about 87. I do look massively better. Even better from where I was at about 92kg and less fit.

My tips.

1 I write down my weight EVERY Friday morning on a spreadsheet, even if I know I have put weight on, or even if not trying to lose weight. If I don't, it is easy to think "I have only put on a half a kg" when in fact it totals 6 over the past 12 weeks!

2 The 3500 cals to lose a pound of weight does help. So an extra 250 of exercise per day and dropping the Mars bar or 250cal of booze makes 500 in a day and 3500 in a week. Another pound gone

3 Know your weaknesses. If I have a box of Quality Street, I will eat the lot. Luckily I do not really drink

4 Do lots of exercise OF A KIND YOU LIKE. Lots. My log for 2008 showed 750 cals per day (700 in 2007) by logging the swimming biking and running every day. I now love my exercise and hate not doing it. Fitting it in in cold weather and around work is not easy, but takes some commitment.

5 On business trips I take a tub of my cereal (All Bran and Fruit and Fibre), long life milk, and eat it in my room for brekkie.... no more croissants, ok 2, ok one last one!!

6 If trying to actively lose weight I log every calorie that passes my lips and if having to estimate, I estimate high rather than low. I aim for 1500 cals net per day, so if running 10k (1000cals) I can have 2500. If doing massive bike rides, or multisport days (Sat morning I cycle 44km round trip to the pool and swim 1800m = 2000cals total, so I can have much more food.

7 Keep it up! If you think you will fail you probably will. If you think you can do it you probably will!

 

[ColinJ]

I managed to get 1.5 pounds off in my first week. As promised (threatened?), I've now started this personal weight loss/fitness blog and am recording my progress there. I've included an embarrassing picture of my beer belly to try and shame me into action!

I hope every one else is making progress too?

 

[Speicher]

ColinJ I have read your blog - excellent.

You mention smoothies. I attend a Weight Management clinic once a month. That is all I am managing to do currently, not put on weight.
However, the Nurse said that if you eat or drink smoothies, there is a lot of sugar in fruit, and it is better to eat the fruit whole, as it were. As that takes longer, and may be more satisfying, crunchy apples etc.

 

[Willow]

Well I've lost 3lb since the original post but have gone very haywire tonight - computer problems have only just emptied the work bag, totally stressed, run out of ideas and not fixed so in the process of the evening I have devoured rather too many biscuits - the shopping arrived this evening and they should have been left closed. So annoyed with myself, about to count the calorie damage now.

 

[Noodley]

Buy a good pair of trousers a size too small and see how long it takes til they fit you

 

[ColinJ]

ColinJ I have read your blog - excellent.

Thanks, that's very kind of you. It's early days yet and I am still working out how to do technical things with the blog. I actually want to make the site more like a normal website with the blog as a running commentary to what is going on, so I'm going to start adding 'static pages' soon. I'm also probably going to choose a more attractive visual 'theme'. I have a widescreen monitor and there is an awful lot of wasted space on it at the moment.

You mention smoothies. I attend a Weight Management clinic once a month. That is all I am managing to do currently, not put on weight.
However, the Nurse said that if you eat or drink smoothies, there is a lot of sugar in fruit, and it is better to eat the fruit whole, as it were. As that takes longer, and may be more satisfying, crunchy apples etc.

I've actually been having second thoughts about the smoothies (except as treats). I got really keen on them in 2006 when I was slim and I'm sure that they contributed to my weight gain. They started off small and simple and gradually got more and more OTT. After a month or two I was knocking back a smoothie every afternoon made up of: An apple, a banana, some strawberries, some grapes, some orange juice, natural yoghurt, soya milk and a small amount of concentrated ginger syrup. They were absolutely lovely, but I imagine that there were hundreds of calories in each one.

I already eat an apple a day as a snack. I usually chop a banana into my morning porridge, but perhaps I'll keep that back for another snack later in the day.

I finally decided this evening that I wasn't going to eat entire 420g tins of baked beans in one sitting any more. I don't like buying the smaller tins because they cost too much so I'm still buying the 420g tins but will split them into two portions from now on. That'll be 165 calories saved each time.

 

[ColinJ]

Buy a good pair of trousers a size too small and see how long it takes til they fit you

A couple of nights ago I tried putting on the 'baggy' shorts which I bought for a holiday in 2006. At the time, they were really comfortable because they are a 36 inch waist and I was then only a 33. Now, I can't get within 6 inches of doing them up no matter how hard I breathe in. I intend to wear them this summer and be comfortable in them again. I tell you what... I'll post a picture of me wearing them in this thread in July! If they don't fit by then, I'm going to feel really stupid, and the thought of that should help focus my mind on weight loss.

I've got hardly any trousers which fit me at the moment. I don't have much money, and I'm blowed if I'll spend it on clothes which will be too big for me in a month or two.

 

[Fnaar]

I've just munched my way through half a pack of digestive biscuits
I put on weight a bit more easily than I used to, but I can drop it really quickly too. Lucky me

 

[Willow]

A couple of nights ago I tried putting on the 'baggy' shorts which I bought for a holiday in 2006. At the time, they were really comfortable because they are a 36 inch waist and I was then only a 33. Now, I can't get within 6 inches of doing them up no matter how hard I breathe in. I intend to wear them this summer and be comfortable in them again. I tell you what... I'll post a picture of me wearing them in this thread in July! If they don't fit by then, I'm going to feel really stupid, and the thought of that should help focus my mind on weight loss.

I've got hardly any trousers which fit me at the moment. I don't have much money, and I'm blowed if I'll spend it on clothes which will be too big for me in a month or two.

Similar problem here though I have noticed my jeans and work skirts are feeling a little more comfortable even though the loss is small so far

 

[Cathryn]

I was doing really well and had lost last week's required pound (if i can lose and keep off a pound a week, I'll get there) but have just spent the day running the sampling at my company's conference...and thus snacked the entire day. Boo!!

 

[Sig SilverPrinter]

My husband is one of them really annoying people who can eat what he likes and doesn't gain weight.Hes a drummer in a punk band so burns up lots of calories doing that.Me, however,just have to look at a bag of crisps and I put weight on.I was quite shocked to discover i have put on nearly a stone since October ,most of this being over xmas when i spent 2 weeks eating and drinking and not doing a lot else.Its made me quite depressed and I just went and ate 2 biscuits

 

[Cathryn]

Eat one more biscuit tonight and then start afresh tomorrow and shift the stone!!

 

[Willow]

My husband is one of them really annoying people who can eat what he likes and doesn't gain weight.Hes a drummer in a punk band so burns up lots of calories doing that.Me, however,just have to look at a bag of crisps and I put weight on.I was quite shocked to discover i have put on nearly a stone since October ,most of this being over xmas when i spent 2 weeks eating and drinking and not doing a lot else.Its made me quite depressed and I just went and ate 2 biscuits

welcome to the thread of the try harders. Now draw a line under it, don't dwell on it and look forward to tomorrow. I had a biscuit binge yesterday - many times more than two! I am recording what I eat on a daily basis on
www.foodfocus.co.uk . I find it a really useful but simple FREE site saves me counting the calories and so far I have lost instead of gained. Even on a bad day like yesterday I'm putting it all down, it helps me to move forward.