Losing Fat

Please no “move more/ eat less” sh*te…

Well...

Seriously though, if you're looking for magic bullets or clever fixes, there aren't any. I'm sure you know what a 'good' diet is and isn't, and how what you're eating compares to that. Ditto, exercise. And, possibly, what an excessive amount of booze is and isn't, and how what you drink compares to that. There's not much else to say really.

Avoid ultra-processed foods as much as possible. You'll naturally take on board less calories even if you eat the same amounts. 

MyFitnessPal is a good starting point, it is essentially move more/eat less but it quantifies it for you. Even if you continue eating and drinking as you do, noting it in the app is very interesting. 

i have managed to drop a couple of stone over the last few month.

very limited carbs, increased protein.  this is the only way i manage to lose weight.

I hit 97kg last week so this week I've started doing something about it. I eat far too much food so won't be easy but making a small start this week with some healthy lunches.

In a similar position but 5 years younger, I signed up to the Noom app. Its not groundbreaking, but has made me think much more about my choices, why I make them and how I can make better ones*

I'm not looking at sudden weight loss, and averaging a pound a week, but already find I'm no longer craving things I was binging a couple of months ago.

I believe there's a book now which is way cheaper than the app, though the app follows me around relentlessly, which i seem to need.

*before anyone wants to get judgemental, I have a longstanding isdue with mental health and it manifests itself with food.

I'm rapidly approaching 65 but Garmin tells me that my "Fitness Age" is only 55. That dropped by about 4 years since March when I began to take running a bit more seriously and managed to lose 4-5kg in the process. I'm now lighter than I've been for more than 30 years and that's despite being a regular/keen cyclist during that period. I've hardly modified my diet - volume or content - this year either. Unlikely that's going to work for everyone though 😀

It really can be a much harder gig as you get older.
So find a plan* that works for you ,then stick to it until you reach the tipping point
After that it just becomes how you live
It's efin hard,but the rewards are high.
* nothing so severe that it makes you miserable
For health reasons,I have just launched into a big plan for over the winter and beyond,I sense when I get to my tipping point,I will be (mostly) vegetarian .

So jist git oan wi it.
Good luck

Time for some comfort food and a pint…..

Yeah, about that... 🤣

Eat less, mostly veg, eat nothing that you granny wouldn't recognise as food. Cut down on the booze as much as you feel you can, Go for a ride on your bike as much as you can.  You're going to be in this for the long haul, sustainable weight loss is about 1/2 kilo a week, make a plan for it to take most of a year to loose a good portion of that 20kgs. Get in the right head space before you start. 

Back in 2020 my GP said I was pre-diabetic, I got this book:

https://amzn.eu/d/hSpX8Ja

followed the diet for 6 weeks and lost a stone and a half...

There is so much info on here already on weight loss so you should be able to find plenty of good advice.

But ultimately you'll need to cut down on the grub and move more. Sorry but it is as simple as that. 

We all love a pint and a pie but they're both highly calorific and pretty terrible for health. 

Cutting down on your intake when it's getting dark and cold out and are heading ever closer to Christmas is incredibly hard.

So I wish you good luck, I'm sure you could make a real life change for the better if you really set your heart on it. 👍

But ultimately you’ll need to cut down on the grub and/or move more.

I don't think it's necessary to do both, though they can each have a part to play.

I've lost a stone this year, after never "being able" to lose weight before. Finally realised I was kidding myself on about middle-aged spread being something that nothing could be done about. Anyway, its not really rocket science it just needs to be done. I don't like to give things labels but unavoidable - my headlines are:
- 16 hour fasting. Not always, 3 or 4 days a week would do. This isn't a hardship, it gets you used to the difference between "wanting" and "needing" food which largely means cutting out snacking (apart from anything else) and generally reducing intake.
- Reduced simple carbs (pasta, rice, bread). Doesn't have to be zero, but can be.
Both of these have had a surprising and unexpected positive effect on performance while exercising, and mental health.
- DO exercise throughout - don't think "I'm not eating as much, or I'm hungry therefore won't exercise". This can take some getting used to mentally more than physically, so start small and you'll realise that you don't need to be stuffed full of pasta before going out on the bike.
The simple takeaway (no pun) is that we generally overeat, and eat rubbish even when you might not think you are.

low carb, high protein diet works if you are a greedy bastard like me.

typical day, 6 eggs for breakfast, however you like em, with grilled toms, or bacon some days.

snack on nuts

massive salad for lunch, with protein. smoked mackeral is my fave.

apples or bananas mid afternoon

meat/fish with 4 or 5 veg for tea. sometimes with sweet potatoes, or a jacket spud.

Think about the booze.  300 calories per pint IIRC.  7 pints is a days worth of calories.  a few years ago I got up to nearly 15 stone - my booze intake had gone from a couple of pints a couple of times a week to several pints several times a week - about 6000 extra empty calories a week or 2/3 days worth of food

Cutting back the booze and a bit more exercise I lost 2 stone over a year.

Last years big bike ride I lost a further stone.

Unfortunately eat less move more is the only answer.  Eating better will hel pbut the only way you gain weight is with a calorie surplus, the only way to lose it is with a calorie deficit

easy version is as close to zero carbs for evening meal as poss, and any carbs anyway switch to wholemeal if poss (pasta, rice, noodles etc)

I lost over 30kg during lockdown by following a strict keto diet. It's bloody hard at first, but gets easier over time. As a happy coincidence, my cholesterol fell over 25% (and it was bang on normal before I started).

Subsequently, my dad died and...

*before anyone wants to get judgemental, I have a longstanding isdue with mental health and it manifests itself with food.

I fell a long way off the wagon and I'm pretty much back where I started. 😓

15 months ago i was 103kg.  Currently at 84kg and will hopefully be down to below 80kg before the end of the year.  That includes complete recomposition of my body shape and muscles.  Triangle shape now.  Gone from XL in most and XXL in some to Medium in most clothes.

Havent done a single cardio session and everything ive done is completely sustainable and tbh its 'normal' now rather than doing anything special.  I just have good habits.  Someone asked the other day how my diet is going, i answered i am not on a diet, i just dont eat so much shite anymore.  That doesnt mean i dont have junk food, just not as often.

Myfitnesspal app - Brilliant

Walking as much and as often as you can - I do 2-3 30min walks every day but some days its much more.  Ive got knackered joints but the more ive walked the stronger my legs have got.  Still cant do anything more than flat but i can go for hours.

Skinny whip bars are only 80 calories and give chocolate fix

Asda have 4 protein pots for £3.  They are not particular high in calories but good for protein

Fruit in last chance section is a bargain and big tubs of it are very filling.  Eat loads

Marks & Spencer protein meals with yellow (last chance) stickers are cheaper and very tasty with low calorie figures

Substitute wraps for bread.  Ive tried to cut bread out entirely as it doesnt agree with me.

Pinch Of Nom books are worth their weight in gold.  90% of meals cooked in my house come from these books and EVERYONE loves them.  You know what calories you are putting in and everything is fresh.

I took up weights but you have cycling so i dont think you need to do anything exercise wise to make big differences.

TBH just paying a bit of attention to your eating makes a huge difference.  I eat better, know exactly whats going in and the weight just dropped off.  Considering i packed a load of muscle on to i have probably lost more than i realise.  Now that ive had so long doing it i can happily last way better without needing treats but i am often so far under my calorie requirement that i can have anything i like and still be losing weight.  I had a 2000 calorie Premier inn breakfast yesterday and i am still under my weekly target.  Once i get to my target of below 80kg i will be looking at eating maintenance calories.  Imagine having to eat EXTRA to get to a figure, thats gonna be so much fun :-).

Not for everyone i know but its pretty straightforward once you get everything in place.  Message me if you fancy chatting

I'm just over a month into a pretty strict keto. I intend to keep going in this way until Christmas if possible, and then go to a more sensible and sustainable carb-slightly-restricted, no carbs from bad sources, more exercise type affair. I'm not weighing myself, just judging on the number of belt holes I'm going in (currently nudging 2) and how many inches I can pinch.

Energy levels are only slightly down, and the key thing will be keeping discipline (ie not necking a box of mince pies a day) in the run-up to Christmas, and getting back on it within a few days to start pushing towards Spring.

My asthma and heartburn is already a lot better as well, which is a bonus.

To help cut down the drinking beer sitting at home Ive got into a good habit of buying bottles of nice sparking water and putting lime and or lemon juice in.

I’m not quite as old as you (42) but I’ve noticed as I’ve aged it’s harder to shed fat already.

Whats worked for me is downloading an app and rigidly filling it in daily aiming at a target. In my case net 1700 calories a day ish. <br /><br />

A key thing to get your calories reasonably accurate is having some digital scales easily at hand in the kitchen - weighing stuff like rice / pasta / potatoes / cheese is an eye opener in terms of calories you might be stuffing in that you don’t realise.

Also, you can make more informed decisions about stuff like alcohol - I used to drink maybe 3-4 ciders a week on average but that’s about 220 calories of empty calories per pint.  I now have 1 or 2x 25ml measures of spiced rum instead per week. Having an actual measure is also an eye opener - when you pour it freehand it’s so easy to make a double or even triple. 70 calories per shot broadly so I’m saving a decent amount of calories there.

I try to have lower calorie meals whether possible and more snacks in between because that works for me - I like to graze all day.

Ditching high sugar cereals is another good place to lose calories - I have 50g of porridge for breakfast most days with mostly water (75-100ml of semi skimmed milk too), 15g of sultanas and sugar free syrup. Under 300 calories but the oats fill you up quite well.

I don’t always rigidly stick to 1700 all the time - if I’m going out for a meal or a family thing then that odd day just goes out the window.

Ive been using the ‘Lose It’ app for this since mid 2021 ish I think - I found it more user friendly than my fitness pal. I used to free version for ages - but they started to make it really annoying with pop up ads so when there was a chance to pay £8.99 to delete ads for a year I took that.

When I started I was up at 84kgs but now my weight is around 76-77kgs most of the time and I feel a lot better for it.

Not a clue what my body fat level really is - I know I eat too many sugary snacks and too many carbonated drinks so those are the things I could really do with reducing next.

another tip to avoid empty calories - coke and the like are packed with sugar - 35 g in a canof coke or 140 calories - howerver diet coke is worse as its artificial sweetness stimulates your body to produce insulin in response to the sweet taste and thus your blood sugar drops making you hungry so you eat more!  diet coke makes you fatter weirdly

Cut carbs and sugar. Intermittent fast 18:6. Thank me later

It's also worth saying that you should probably think as much about why you want to lose weight as how to actually do it.  Losing weight is difficult and at some point you will start to falter and that's when you need the why bit to see you through it.  If you just want to be a bit lighter because you fancy being lighter that's probably not going to cut it.  Your problem is you are already fit so you will really have to investigate why you think the extra 20kg is life shortening/threatening and not just 'bad' to keep you going

For me I found my blood pressure was going up and I would much rather lose weight/reduce alcohol to help get it down than be on drugs the rest of my life to keep it lower

I lost 10kg in 2 months pretty much following the Tim spector/Michael Mosley podcast, just 1 thing, the live show summary.

Q summary, intermittent fasting, no ultraprocessed food, 30 plant types a week to get good gut health.  Latter is easy but you have to shop carefully.  Keep rotating the plant types to stop boredom.

It really works, fat just burns off in the fasting periods.  Best of luck go for it

Slightly younger but similar boat over the past year. From 99kg to 84kg, I am 6ft1, only wear size M and 32W jeans (down from XL and 36W). What I have learnt and has worked for me:

- lose weight gradually. Don't be tempted to go all out. Your body will think there is a crisis and will want to make you eat to compensate
- I litteraly eat around 40% less but I haven't particularly improved the quality of my food yet
- I do 100 press ups and 100 stomach crunches a day, every day, religiously.
- I play 10 hours of intense tennis a week on average throughout the year, probably close to 12 in the summer. Not always easy but retired so works for me. Cycling has never made me lose weight, however intense. But tennis does, I don't know why. It's also a good core workout with the right technique. And bloody good fun.

HTH.

I lost 1.5st recently. Zero exercise, and I was never ever hungry.
All I did was not have any added sugar and zero carbs. Loads of animal fat and I ate until I couldn't eat any more. The weight fell off.

Eat less. Eat your normal breakfast but halve the amount you eat at lunch and dinner.

Switch half your cycling to running. I hate running, but running on the flat is much harder work than cycling on the flat. You'll get fitter and burn more calories running than just cruising around on a bike for the same amount of time.

If you want to lose serious amounts of weight, you will need to be hungry and tired most of the time.

Another Noom user here. It worked really well for me. No foods are of the menu, instead you learn how to integrate them into your calorie budget. I find the daily lessons, weigh in and calorie counting help keep me on track. The psychology aspect takes it one step further.

I'm on my second stint now. I lost 15kg first time round. I then kept that off for 6 months - those lessons must have stuck in my brain. I'm now going to lose 20kg. I've tried keto and intermittent fasting but neither worked for me. Noom does. YMMV.

I am currently wearing a continues glucose monitor (libre3) along with logging my meals on myfitnesspal it is providing the impetus to eat far more healthily.

The CGM allows me to see what meals spike blood sugar (and then insulin) which increases fat storage, not cheap but I have done it for a month just to learn about my body and take the lessons forward when I won't be wearing one.

other stuff I have learnt during this month while devouring information and trying to discern the real "knowledgeable" medical professionals and scientists from the charlatan influencers and fake doctors.

1, fibre is really really important, if you are using myfitnesspal make sure you log and display your fibre, aim for over 35g a day. I find it quite easy to add mixed seeds and chia seeds to many meals to increase the fibre.
2, The gut microbiome is important, and fibre is important for that but also try and get some fermented food into your diet.
3, Muscle raises metabolism and buffers sugar spikes, train with weights don't just do cardio.
4, If you don't sleep well, do something about it (that is a whole other thread).
5, It is a mental game, high protein low carb diets are not a magic bullet from a physiological perspective, however they are a way of many people to cope with calorie restriction (including me). But make sure you are getting the fibre target. Keto diets are not well supported by science, and can become unhealthy very quickly if done even slightly wrong (or even if done correctly).
6, Educate yourself about ultra processed foods, and try and remove as much of them from your intake as possible.

If you want to do further reading/viewing about the subject I would suggest Tim Spector and Chris Van Tulleken.

Seriously though, if you’re looking for magic bullets or clever fixes, there aren’t any.

You say that but there are tricks that work for some people. I suppose that if a trick works for enough people it starts to get touted as a magic bullet which is bollocks obviously.

Time restricted eating works for me. I don't eat breakfast, have lunch about 1.30 and dinner about 7. I’ve never been massively overweight and I'm lucky in that I generally like healthy foods but TRE has worked for me when I've needed to lose a few pounds.

Of course all time restricted eating does is make you eat less but I find it makes it easy for me to eat less which is a massive thing. It's also helped with gut issues like bloating and reflux and I generally feel better when doing it so it's now my regular pattern and not just a temporary thing.

It won't work for everyone, my sister in law was utterly appalled by the idea, but it’s worth considering.

Then it comes to body composition- yes BMI obese as expected, however visceral fat not good which is worrying, 77kg muscle (good), visceral fat 20 kg (bad). Metabolic age 73 vs actual 58, FFS!

May I ask how much you weigh, as 20kg fat to 77kg muscle doesn't seem bad - you say you're a big guy, that's a lot of muscle.

Compare to this (only taken from a sensor on my watch, so to be taken with a pinch of salt), but you'd have a lower fat/muscle percentage than me.

I had a similar test to you, I'll dig out the real results later

I'll post up a typical days meal plan for me when I'm losing weight later

howerver diet coke is worse as its artificial sweetness stimulates your body to produce insulin in response to the sweet taste and thus your blood sugar drops making you hungry so you eat more!

Whilst I'm not advocating for diet soft drinks this is far from proven and it winds me up when it gets posted as fact. Mostly it's based off a 10 year old study with 17 participants and using sucralose not aspartame. Yes, some later studies have supported the results but others have contradicted them. It is more widely accepted that they can lead to an increased BMI but that's due to other factors.

Another +1 for running. Not a silver bullet but more effective than cycling.

Fair enough fuzzywuzzy

Pretty much what Ton said.
Increase your fibre intake for breakfast, then cut out the simple starchy carbs after lunch.
So no chips , pasta , rice , bread etc .
Dinner just protein and a heap of veg . No alcohol and eat early if you can.
Walk every day if you are able to find 20 minutes.
This keeps me at 72kg , 5ft 11 tal. 54 yr old

Noom worked for me too, I now use my fitness Pal to track my calorie intake so I can stay at the weight I need to be 

Another +1 for running. Not a silver bullet but more effective than cycling.

This. But with caution. Start slow and short to avoid injury and pay attention to your body’s feedback!

When I started running (in my late 30s) I began with 500m run, walk back home! 4 or 5 times a week, to get the muscles used to it. After many years of riding I had the engine to run much more, but not the legs to cope.

Up to 1km run, didn’t start running 2km until after a couple of months. After 6 months I’d worked up to 25min jog 3-4 times a week, doing 5k in 25mins after a year of slow build.

It’s a great way to get a meaningful work out in about 30 minutes, including a shower!

I’m faster now, but have remained undamaged so far!

On the running vs cycling thing I always used to find that the case until I got a turbo trainer. If you’re following fixed erg style workouts you know you’re going to hit a die I fix calorie burn - often out just cycling along your freewheeling at times / not at the same intensity etc. I’ve also found Zwift racing burns a max amount of calories vs time training. <br /><br />

Out running I’m just surviving as I hate it so much - just want it done. But then we’re all different and it’s trying things out and finding what works for you.

I’d recommend listening to the Mandy Meyer podcast or following her social media. She’s a straight talking South African weight loss coach and great at visualisations and has lots of hints about dieting mindset. She’s very much in the camp of long term lifestyle changes rather than trying to get the quick wins. If nothing else I find her style very funny and easy to relate to.

58 also, but I'm probably the last person to ask losing weight advice from as I pretty much weigh the same as I did 40 years ago and I eat very well, with no consideration to calories BUT 99% of what we eat is fresh and if it is cakes & the like, usually home-made.

But, use a smaller plate, bowl, cup - not tiny, just smaller - say breakfast plate rather than dinner plate and rather than buying large cans/bottles of beer, get the 330ml ones and use an appropriate glass.  Or if wine is your tipple, again a smaller glass - avoid spirits.

I did get a Garmin Fenix 6 watch last year, mainly for ease of ride recording & uploading)and now have over a years worth of data.  49 for fitness age and my weight has (only) varied between 169lbs and 176lbs.  I'd recommend one, and far better than my OH's Apple watch which has to be charged at least daily, this one will run for up to 14 days, and I commonly get 10 days even with 4-5 long rides recorded.

Here's a list of how many calories you burn per hour of activity (taken from here https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/exercise/art-20050999)

Activity (1-hour duration)<br />160 lbs. (73 kg)<br />Aerobics, low-impact<br />365<br />Aerobics, water<br />402<br />Bicycling, < 10 mph, leisure<br />292<br />Dancing, ballroom<br />219<br />Elliptical trainer, moderate effort<br />365<br />Golfing, carrying clubs<br />314<br />Hiking<br />438<br />Running, 5 mph<br />606<br />Skiing, downhill<br />314<br />Swimming laps, light or moderate<br />423<br />Walking, 3.5 mph<br />314

So running does burn more than the rest (double what cycling does) but also has high impact on the body. Mix it up with swimming, walking and cycling then that would be a good balance.

But 600 calories is less than 8 chocolate digestive biscuits, so you can see how a few snacks here and there can make a bigger impact than running a couple of hours a week.

Bread for me is the real culprit for me consuming excessive calories, a slice of if white bread is about 75 calories. I'd happily have three slices with a mug of tea in the evening. But if I've already eaten all the calories I need for the day then this is going to be stored as fat. Three slices of bread would take over 30 minutes to walk off. Do this regularly and your weight will go up. 

As is often said, it ultimately comes down to calories in vs calories out. It's definitely worth doing some calorie counting of your current diet, it might surprise you and it might also help identify the main problem area(s). If you reduce or eliminate one or two particularly bad things that may well get you into a calorie deficit without making more drastic changes - it's then just a case of how quickly you want to shed weight and what else you're prepared to do in order to achieve that (i.e. more dietary control and/or more exercise).

Noom is good, it provides a lot of useful info (although you may find you know a lot of it already), however it does requirement a fair amount of commitment to implement everything it suggests. Again though if you don't need to shed weight fast or aren't currently gaining weight fast you only need to implement some changes to get yourself into a calorie deficit.

My main issues have been portion control, too much processed food and skipping meals (as not hungry at the time) then snacking later. All 3 are greatly helped since signing up to a meal prep service (I'd previously tried meal kit services but I'm lazy and it was a lot of hassle cooking for one every night + it still only addressed one or two meals a day). The service I use now delivers freshly prepared batch-cooked meals you then just microwave (you need to freeze a couple of the days worth if doing the 5 day plan as there's no preservatives etc. in them). All meals are under 600 calories (mostly due to portion size as they have decent amounts of protein in etc. to compensate). It's working well for me (can provide a link via DMs if anyone's interested), it's not cheap but not crazy expensive either (£93 inc. delivery for 5 days x 3 meals), main issue I have now is not just ordering takeaways over the weekend :p