So what am I doing wrong, then? (weight loss content)

Finally getting back to this, although it may be too late.

In any case, I am 5’10”, and weigh just under 15 stone (or about 94 kgs).

I want to be 12 stone (or around 75 kgs, which is what I was when I first came to the UK 10 years ago (and stayed like that for about 3 years after).

I’ll post what I am eating as soon as I get a chance.

Like many others have said, not sure you’re doing too much wrong – p’raps just expecting too much a little too soon?

I have lost just over 7kg since beginning of the year. MFP and more riding helps, but some weeks see more weight loss than others – just happy that is going in the right direction – slowly but surely; which despite all the differing views seems to be the one thing that most advice agrees on.

Keep on keeping on.

Beware that the general consensus seems to be that MFP massively overestimates the calories for cycling (and a few other exercises).

I generally knock at least a third off what it (or Endomondo) says.

You’re probably still under, but possibly not by as much as you imagined. Thanks, I was wondering how I could be in deficit by nearly 2000 calories and still alive!

OP, I meant to say earlier that it sounds to me like you’re doing just fine. Slow and steady is best IMO, if you lose it too fast you risk your body hoarding and getting into a binge/starve type cycle.

A kilo over 2 weeks is a sensible level of weight loss, and is pretty sustainable over a period of time.
I lost around 12 kilos last year over a period of about 4-5 months, and I was averaging 0.5 to 1 kilo per week weight loss. At that sort of level I could eat sensibly without going hungry, so I wasn’t tempted to start snacking.
I’ve never bothered analysing % carb or protein intake – I just stick to sensible portions and eat plenty of fruit and veg. If I need a snack between meals it’ll be more fruit.
I’ve been increasing my exercise lately by adding in some midweek gym sessions to my usual weekend walking/biking and have been at around 73kg since xmas. Since adding in the gym sessions I’ve been making a conscious effort to increase my protein intake by drinking milk after workouts and a putting an egg or two in my packed lunch, but other than that I’ve pretty well stuck to the same sort of diet.

Very good diagram here of why you should eat clean non processed food to lose weight.
I have lost over 2 stone in the past 15 months by eating clean and keeping hydrated. http://beingfabat40.wordpress.com/my-programme/

This diagram?

Well I’m convinced! Who needs science when you have a nice diagram from someone trying to sell you something.

I have lost over 2 stone in the past 15 months by eating clean and keeping hydrated.

I’ve lost 2 stone in 9 months whilst enjoying sausages, bacon, crisps and processed foods.

you’re eating too much. stop eating.

Lots of different advice as usual, with the same old chestnuts trotted out once again, as usual. It really is not as simple as ‘eat less than you burn’ if you want to get maximum weight loss.

I’ve tried most of the current and ‘old’ methods at some point or another and the only thing which has been sustainable for me is a combination of idave, low carb, regular eating (eat something with protein every 4 hours and before you go to bed), good quality low saturated fat food, loads of water and most important of all, only low to moderate levels of exercise ie. mainly walking/gentle bike rides for the first few weeks of any change in eating. I can’t remember the exact physiology for this but it works, as I lost the weight in just 3 months with very little effort or increase in exercise.

I dropped 2 1/2 stone 2 years ago and it only increases slowly if I’ve been a serious pig for weeks. A couple of 3 day ‘strict’ spells, eating whatever I fancy on day 4, sheds 1/2 a stone for me in a week and I’m 53!

did you see how christian bale lost weight to become “The machinist”? from a proper hefty bloke solid muscle. he stopped eating apart from an apple or a tin of tuna a day. He lost a shitload of weight and had a HUGELY SLIM BODY. TERRIBLY SLIM. wHICH IS GOOD

Love these threads, always fun.

Back to the OP, don’t think of it as either a marathon or a sprint. It’s a lifestyle change, if you’re gaining weight it’s a permanent change that’s required not a temporary one.

I’m sure all these fancy dancy new fangled weight loss techniques can shift weight (although anecdotal evidence suggests the weight returns in examples I know from friends). But what you want is a permanent dietary and exercise shift that is healthy to maintain until you are on you death bed.

15 days is nothing, absolutely nothing.

I’ll be very interested to see what the OP is actually eating (and when) after re-reading this again now I’m properly awake!

I can see why he is frustrated at a relatively low weight loss after halving calories (are you absolutely sure about that?) and upping exercise. Is there any difference in waist size/body shape? 2 weeks is a very short space of time and all it might take is a little tweek or adjustment of how the carb intake is achieved.

What piemonster says

what you want is a permanent dietary and exercise shift that is healthy to maintain

is the key

In any case, I am 5’10”, and weigh just under 15 stone (or about 94 kgs).

I want to be 12 stone (or around 75 kgs, which is what I was when I first came to the UK 10 years ago (and stayed like that for about 3 years after).

From your original post you kinda implied that you’d halved your daily calories to 2000. So if you’ve been on (upto) 4000 calories for +5 years, then it’ll take a fair few weeks for your body to start adjusting.

Also, these calories, are they decent fresh ones of out of a packet?

You’ve done really well. Seriously.

As above, loosing weight, and keeping it down it about a life style change, and that one is hard to do.

Just keep what you are doing, and also, keep a diary of what you are eating and drinking.
That way, you can look back and see, what you need to change.

Me, I have a sugar problem (which I solve by having just banana and milk for one (the whole day) and that cures me for a couple of weeks)
The other, is Alcohol, but I haven’t got the Mother in Law to leave the house yet.

Keep going..

You may find you are not eating 1900 but 2300 or more. You really have to be pedantic if you want to count calories.

Also you need to aim for 1600 cal to get more off.

Initially you should be able to shifty 1kg a week for a month then it will slow as you body adjust. You need to up you excerise to compensate.

it’s great eh, makes me wonder what the people that are so slim in parts of africa are doing, those slim people with nothing to eat. I reckon people are slim cos they don’t have stuff to stick in their gob. I don’t know how to turn that into a succesful modern western diet program though.. the not having enough to get fat diet?….

Great thinking kevevs.

He wants to speed up his wait loss, so following on from your your logic, I would suggest the OP pops over there and picks up one of the endemic diseases to kick-start things. Nothing with too many long term debilitating effects of course (that would be silly) – something like amoebic dysentery should fit the bill quite nicely 8)

y’know, I knew it had some negatives..

180cm/74.5kg. Jan 1 unsurprisingly same height but 83.2kg. MFP, 1800 calories, no booze in the week, cook all our food, more fresh veg and fruit etc. Smaller plates – this definitely helps. Target weight was 77kg but I kept going. Rode two/three times a week and did a bit more walking.

In the last couple of weeks I’ve relented a bit and scoffed a bit of chocolate and the odd bag of crisps. Weight has stayed about the same. So while it all is a bit complicated, I’m a simple bloke and just eat less but make it good stuff, make sure treats are treats and go exercise. It’s made a massive difference to me on the bike.

Can’t see me going back now, always been a bit weak willed but the improvements in riding bikes which I love and feeling a whole load better far outweighs (!) getting back on the beer and pies.

OP should just crack on for a bit longer and see what happens. You’re certainly not doing yourself any harm!

3500 cals per pound, or 7000 per kilo, or thereabouts

you are guessing your BMR and your calorie intake, but probably overestimate the former and underestimate the latter.

I started on mfp just after new year,targeting 1600cals per day. I found mfp great not just for the ‘absolute’ numbers but also to show me where stuff I thought wasn’t so bad actually was,so I now have a better understanding of which foods are regular vs sometimes vs rarely. However, i also found sticking to 1600cals per day quite hard with my lifestyle, I enjoy eating out with my family and I also travel with work and eating out with colleagues and customers when you are counting cals is hard.

So 4 weeks back, I switched to the 5:2 plan, which suits me way better. I think the things I learned from mfp are still useful, my intake even on eating days is usually pretty close to the 2500 +/- that is about normal for a man of my build, rarely exceeds except on special occasions, and is generally just healthier (less refined carbs/ bread, less red meat, more veg, etc). The fast days are no problem, porridge for breakfast and then grilled fish or chicken plus shedloads of veg for dinner. And the weight’s coming off still at the same healthy rate of 1-2lbs per week; so far about 20 lbs gone in 9 weeks ( had a couple of big losses in WK 1 and 2 which wasn’t a surprise since i went on to 1600cals per week after eating my own bodyweight in Christmas goodies the week before!!), now much more regular and stable.

You’d have to eat around 10 kilos of cabbage to get to 2100 kcal

You would also need to live by yourself! 😈

Lols…….

woody have you seen american psycho?

woody have you seen american psycho?

Nope, Why do you ask and would you recommend it?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01r5lmq

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/9793270/Fat-Chance-by-Robert-Lustig-and-Drinking-Water-by-James-Salzman-review.html

http://www.fabresearch.org/3210

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-lustig-md/sugar-toxic_b_2759564.html

There is some right old cobblers on this thread.

Yes, the body is a complex chap but the following is simple and true: if you eat fewer calories than you need to maintain your weight you will lose weight.

Eat less, move more, stick to a balanced diet. That’s all there is to it.

I know, easier said than done, but that’s how it is.

Carry on.

There is some right old cobblers on this thread.

There’s a fair bit in that post.

You cut your calories almost in half and still get 1900! That was a chunk of overeating.

The big thing I find is people underestimating portions. “Oh that’s about 50g so that’s 200 kcals” when infancy it’s more like double…

That link to Huffington Post is the biggest load of guff I’ve read in a long time!!

Fat. All fats release nine calories per gram when burned. But omega-3 fats are heart-healthy and will save your life, while trans fats clog your arteries, leading to a heart attack. Because a calorie is not a calorie.

Calorific value is not directly related to nutritional value, HOLD THE **** PRESS you heard it here first folks

The big thing I find is people underestimating portions.

Yep!

A set of digital kitchen scales was a major eye-opener for me.

Lots of foods have big stars on them boasting “only X calories per serving” – but the scales reveal that their “suggested serving size” wouldn’t feed a baby robin.

Yep!

A set of digital kitchen scales was a major eye-opener for me.

Lots of foods have big stars on them boasting “only X calories per serving” – but the scales reveal that their “suggested serving size” wouldn’t feed a baby robin.

Digital scales told me that I was actually eating two servings of breakfast every day. D’oh!

I was more like 3 servings!

Switched to Oats So Simple. Nice measured amount, relatively low calorie and slow release energy.

(I usually pep it up with 20g of currants to add some flavour and some faster release)

This study[/url] seems to demonstrate that it is NOT simply a case of calories in vs calories out.

Two groups on calorie restricted diets, one low fat and one very low carb ketogenic. The ketogenic group lost more weight despite taking on more calories.

Like I said, I have no doubt that reality is a lot more complex than “Calories In vs Calories Out” BUT that simplified model is easy to follow and does work.

Also, carbs are tasty.

Easy to follow? I seriously don’t think so, since everyone knows it and most people fail to follow it.

Also, carbs are tasty.

Perhaps so, certainly more so that a prescribing a dumb-down strategy of calorie restriction combined with a bit of shooting in the dark.
😉

Easy to follow? I seriously don’t think so, since everyone knows it and most people fail to follow it.

Sorry, I meant “follow” as in “comprehend”, rather than “adhere to”.

But surely if folk have difficulty adhering to a simple calorie reduction – where the calorie information they need is pretty readily available and plenty of good alternatives exist – then I suspect they struggle much more with “low carb ketogenic” or any other more complex and restrictive system?

Well no, I don’t think so. The problem with low calorie diets is that you can get really hungry. When you’re hungry, it becomes more and more difficult to avoid eating high energy snacks. Your digestive tract is a significant part of your nervous system, and has a huge hold over your brain and consequently your actions. This is why calorie restriction is hard, because you get really hungry.

Eating carbs makes you MORE hungry in the long run, which makes it worse. Eating higher protein or fat diets make hunger far more manageable, which means either you can deal with the hunger or cravings much more effectively, or you just don’t feel like eating any more.

Easy to follow? I seriously don’t think so, since everyone knows it and most people fail to follow it.

It’s easy to follow if you track exactly how much you eat and know what the calorific value is AND have the willpower to not overeat.

It is not easy to follow if you enjoy the taste of cakes. I think that’s almost certainly the overriding factor!

But surely if folk have difficulty adhering to a simple calorie reduction – where the calorie information they need is pretty readily available and plenty of good alternatives exist – then I suspect they struggle much more with “low carb ketogenic” or any other more complex and restrictive system?

I’ll admit, some folk are turned off by the science. However, surely some things in life need to be understood. Its not like you can defer any knowledge of the highway code, until after you have obtained your driving license.

Some of the issues I see with simple calorie restriction are.
1. Too many calories from foods which do not satiate the subject. Will leave them feeling hungry and so more inclined to break their daily, weekly, caloric allocation. This may be endured by the subject, short term, but will cause issues longer term, I’m thinking.

2. Caloric provenance. Some foods, mostly the processed stuff is just generally not too good for a person. Getting your self determined daily caloric allowance from sources which may include or rely heavily upon processed foods may yield a smaller waistline, but how well will it leave a person, on the inside ?. As has been mentioned before, waistline dims, scale weights are basic, possibly even crude markers of good overall physical health. imo.

Also, once the subject reaches their desired weight, how do you calculate your weight maintenance cals ?.
In Taubes example, even eating just 20 cals more than your energy neutral requirements will have you several pounds over weight, over 5, 10 years.
Can one really eat, everyday, within 20 cals of their daily, energy neutral requirement ?.
In my opinion, its a bit more than cal counting.
Yet it seems to suit some people.
So fair play.
🙂