Fill your boots, us fatties are always jolly remember 😉

Did you have second thoughts about the endearing salutation 🙂

Nothing wrong with saying it how it is!

Thanks bearnecessities 🙂

Knowing that I committed to updating this thread each week is a useful motivational tool, on top of the other factors of course.

I see what you mean now.

Nice try molgrips, but I know my tables, and that’s a mile – get outta here 🙂

(Thanks, I might try it).

I’m a bit confused now. If you think there’s not 8st to be lost there, how is she wrong? That’s me on 1st Jan weighing 131kg or 20.6 stone.

Mrs Senior, who is a nurse who does weight loss stuff with some of her patients, says I may never be able to healthily get down to 12.5 stone (80kg), which was my intended target when I started this thread. She says I’m too stocky.

Since posting a photo was suggested at the start, here is a link to my Flickr page (I can’t for the life of me work out how to get the BB code on my iPad, feel free to do so if you can) and two photos of my tummy when I was 131kg on January 1st.

In between the piss taking, I would be interested in any objective opinion on whether

1) that looks like a 20.5 stone man

2) there is 8 stone extra timber there

Do your worst 😀 , I know what to expect – (and don’t forget, I’m 10kg lighter now). I’m 5’10.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/139963460@N03/

I can’t bear the thought of snaking up and down with arms like a windmill and a head like a tennis spectator like I see some people doing, so it was learn it properly or remain unable to do it. It’s mainly that I need to get comfortable with the breathing, and out of that mainly the breathing out, and the bilateral breathing (my neck doesn’t turn left so well). I find it a bit odd that I’m not comfortable with front crawl breathing – as I get more tired I tend to hold my breath instead of breathing out – but am happy as a pig in shit doing it in breaststroke. Probably a mental thing, practice will sort it I’m sure. I only started swimming regularly (since school) again about a year ago, but I just love it. Open water one day, which my wife is nagging me to do as she doesn’t like to go by herself.

On my fitness pal, why does the daily calories not reduce if you input a lower weight. Shirley if you’re lighter your allowance should change accordingly ?

The FatSecret app I’m using does exactly that.

Sorry if this is a tough message.

No problem mate, I’m all too familiar with the notion of kidding myself ‘it’s ok to eat this’

The bottom line is, since I started this on Jan 1st I’m shoving an awful lot less in my gob than I was before, and by recording every single thing I’m not denying to myself how much I’m eating. The exercise I’m doing is what I was doing before, but I’m happy with that as I know it’s achievable with the time I have in the day/week. I’ve learnt before that unrealistic targets can’t be met which leads to feelings of failure.

I don’t think I’m looking for excuses to eat more – I focus on the 2000 calories target, not the 1000 deficit, so I don’t come home thinking ‘I’ve just burnt an extra 709 calories, I can eat 700 more, now what’s in the biscuit tin’. Its definitely the food that’s the important thing for me, and I see the exercise as a bonus (from the weight loss point of view, and as a goal in itself from the CV fitness point of view).

That said, the ‘more exercise = I can eat more’ trap is something I will have to be wary of so you’re right to mention it.

The psychological target of 100 kg doesn’t seem too far away.

Couple of weeks I reckon 😉 Dipped just under 19 st today, so I’m going to switch to imperial for a couple of days 🙂

I can’t couldn’t do front crawl without choking to death, so I had a lesson last week (37 years old and having a swimming lesson 😀 ) to sort this out. Now I can do a slow steady length, pause and repeat. It’ll come… Yesterday I just wanted to swim non-stop for an hour, and as the pool was empty I didn’t want to practice my front crawl when there was nobody else around for the pretty blonde lifeguard to watch.

I’m with you, I guess if it does throw it out for a day it soon goes back the other way.

I’m not getting too hung up on the daily weight, because I know there’ll be fluctuations, I just find it interesting, and if it’s down or not either way it’s motivation for that day.

I was reading about why one loses a lot at the start of a diet, and it was to do with 1 glycogen molecule binging to 3 or 4 water molecules when it is stored. Start dieting, use your stored glycogen, and you immediately start losing the weight of that water as well. Which seems to fit in with what you’ve found.

I’ll check that book out Clobber, cheers.

Thanks Andy. I think I’d fall over if my BMI ever reached 18.

I’m not lethargic, I’ve got plenty of energy for the exercise I’m doing, so I’m not really concerned that I’m overdoing it, just interested in what’s going on.

It’s working, that’s the main thing.

Yikes, that’s a long post.

Friday morning is here again. After last weeks blip I was keen to get back on track. I seem to have done so.

Last Friday I had gained 0.1kg to leave me at 123.3kg. This week I have lost 2.9kg, leaving me at 120.4kg. That’s a total loss of 10.6kg in five weeks which I’m really pleased with.

This week I have been absolutely meticulous and recorded everything that I have consumed apart from water. I have also recorded every bit of exercise I have done – using MapMyWalk for walking (works the calories out using weight, distance, gradient and speed) or a swimming calorie calculator online (uses weight, distance, time and what stroke). I know these aren’t perfect but it’s as good as I can reasonably do.

I thought the in vs out for each day might be interesting to anyone else in the same boat as me. The calories used is calculated by the FatSecret app and is based on weight as I’ve noticed it coming down. I then manually add the exercise values provided by the calculators or tools mentioned above.

I aim for 2000 calories a day as that is my daily needs (according to my weight) minus 1000. 1000 x 7 should equate to the loss of 1kg of fat.

All weighing is done in the morning, after a wee and a poo, before any food or drink has been taken.

Friday am – 123.3kg – consumed 1990 calories, no exercise that day, used up 3004, deficit of 1014

Saturday am – 122.4kg – consumed 1950, no exercise, used up 2982, deficit of 1032

Sunday am – 122.3kg – consumed 3160 (whoops), got home and decided to see if I could make up for that with exercise, walked 8 miles in 2 hours to burn 1432 calories, net deficit 1020 calories

Monday am – 121.9kg – phew, seem to have pulled it back after yesterday’s consumption disaster, and it is encouraging to know that a blip on the eating side of things can be redressed with sufficient exercise. I assumed the afterglow from 2 hours of marching meant my body was gobbling up calories all night long. Then managed to repeat that food disaster and ate 3324 calories 🙁 Did some walking to use up 448, net deficit for this day of 29 calories.

Tuesday am – 122kg – up a touch, consumed 2313 calories, only burnt 306 on my dog walk, net deficit 897.

Wednesday am – 122.1kg – up another touch, consumed 1991, 4 mile / 1 hour walk used up 569, net deficit 1480.

Thursday am – 121.3kg – 2kg down for the week, so I was feeling pretty happy despite the errors above. Had my normal breakfast and lunch, then went for a swim after work – 80 lengths (2km) of breaststroke in 65 minutes used up 730 calories – treated myself to a packet of biltong and some cheese sticks afterwards, then home for tea and two triangles of Toblerone which my MIL had brought me. Consumed 2067 and burnt 3547 yesterday, net deficit 1480.

Today – 120.4kg – a good result.

That’s a deficit for the week of 6952 calories, so I’m left wondering how that had led to a 2.9kg weight loss ???

– Could it be that I’m losing muscle as well as body fat? Not sure, but I’m doing the same amount of exercise as before, I’m getting plenty of fruit, veg and protein, so I can’t see why my body would metabolise muscle when there’s still a lot of fat to be used up. No pear drop breath or piss either.

– Perhaps the exercise calorie calculators are significantly underestimating what I’m using up?

– I wonder if the most likely explanation is that I’m overlooking the calories burnt during day to day activity? I record specific exercise, but do not account for the time spent doing housework, walking round the office up and down the stairs (my job is 90% time wise in the office but I’m not at my desk all that time).

I had originally planned to reduce the 2000 calorie daily target as my weight dropped, but given the rate I’m losing weight at I’m going to stick with 2000 until the weight loss plateaus and then have a look at it. Even an 80kg man doing the exercise I do needs 2500 calories a day to stay at 80 kg, so perhaps I will not have to reduce my 2000 calorie limit at all.

I am finding that 2000 calories is just about enough for me to feel content, just. It does require some discipline but I am not totally denying myself crisps and chocolate, just having much less. Most importantly it is manageable and not making me miserable and constantly wanting to eat, which I suspect a lower amount might do.

Now I’m going to have a big bacon sandwich 😀

I don’t have a HRM but I do use mapmywalk to estimate what I use when walking. Guess there’s a similar one for cycling, but not for swimming!

Yes, it’s a long term thing, and to be honest the way it’s gone this week I wasn’t hugely surprised.

Is there something a bit less intrusive than a HRM that you can use all the time to measure, even roughly, calories burned?

Wasn’t it marketed as an interesting feature 🙂

Been a difficult week this week, partly due to circumstances (had three days away for a family matter, eating out or at motorway services, and unable to record it all) and partly self-inflicted (being lazy about preparing meals, skipping breakfast and not bothering to record everything when at home). I’ve put on 0.1kg, which is disappointing, but perhaps a useful reminder of the need to be disciplined. On the other hand, perhaps that’s not too bad given the upheaval there has been this week. Back to it today, packed lunch made, breakfast eaten, good to go.

Well done jwt. My gaffer’s doing it too and that does help.

That’s very true! It’s going the right way, that’s the main thing.

Weigh in day is here again, and it’s a somewhat disappointing 0.8kg loss for the week. Obviously it was never going to stay at the previous rates, and in isolation I guess 0.8 is decent enough. It hasn’t been a good week in terms of getting out exercising due to work requirements this week, and I haven’t stuck to the 2000 calorie limit on any day. Still, 7.8kg lost so far, so well ahead of the 1kg/week schedule.

Here I am!

1500 kcal is VERY easy to use up

Isn’t it just, I am recording absolutely everything that passes my lips and it’s quite an eye opener.

Two nights this week I haven’t been able to finish my tea. Before, if it was sausages, I’d have four, plus mash, carrots, peas and gravy. This week, I just took two, plus less mash and the same veg. I gave the second sausage to the dogs, just too full to eat it 😯

I don’t think my exercise has gone up that much – maybe slightly greater distances, but I was doing one ride, one big walk and one or two swims a week before. I’m hoping to notice a big difference in my riding if I do lose this weight, as I reckon my CV system is probably pretty decent – like taking the engine out of a Range Rover 10yr old Land Cruiser and sticking it in a Golf. Or something 🙂

Good luck B.A.Nana, sounds like you’ve had a rough time of it.

So week 2 finished and I’m down to 124kg, an overall loss of 7kg and 2.8kg since last Friday. That’s also 3cm off my waist measurement.

I’ve had a big bike ride this week – 12 miles with 1900ft of climbing – two swims and a big walk in the hills with the dogs.

Food wise I’ve had a couple of shaky days. One after the bike ride when I joined my riding mates for a pub lunch, and yesterday when I munched a couple of chocolate bars at work. However, over the last fortnight I have learnt quite a bit about what food keeps me feeling full and what doesn’t, and probably more importantly if this is going to work long term, what foods are both filling AND that I enjoy. I think if I’m canny about what I eat I needn’t feel overly hungry or deprived.

I’ve averaged around 2300 kcal a day this week, which is over the target but has been evidently been sufficiently offset by the exercise.

I think it’s going to get harder from now on, and the ‘honeymoon period’ has all but passed, so I will have to do better at keeping disciplined. But I think it’s a good start and I’m happy enough so far.

joolsburger – indeed, 14 stone might be a more realistic weight for me, and is my interim target as that is the lowest I have ever been as an adult. If I get to 14 and find that my fat levels, waistline etc. are as they should be then I’ll be quite happy with that. 12.5 was based on the BMI charts, although I appreciate they are not perfect.

I weigh myself daily, just to see how it’s going. First thing , before eating, after a poo. It’s motivation either way – reassurance that it’s working or a wee nudge reminding me not to slack off from the discipline, depending on what it says 🙂

Appreciate all the kind words and advice. Let’s see how this week goes, back next Friday!

At least you got there in the end.

I’ll have a look at it then, see if it’s different to the one I’be got now (FatSecret)

Thanks – how long did it take you to go from 21 to 12 stone?

Cheers. The science of it is quite interesting actually.

That’s a good effort spawnofyorkshire, and encouraging to hear it can be done. One aim for me is to start playing squash again, which I used to love but wouldn’t do myself justice at the moment. Another is to start running again. I did the GNR in 2012, my second half marathon, but had horrendous problems with my Achilles tendons before, during and after, and haven’t done proper running since. I’m hoping if I can get a good bit of weight off I can run again without the Achilles problems.

br – I’ve never been 12.5 as an adult, the lowest was 14 stone, which was after a long expedition in Africa. That (14) is my interim target which I hope to reach by my birthday – this still works out at 1kg a week until then. It may be that 12.5 is not achievable for me, I will have to see, but I would be content to get to 14, and delighted to get to 12.5.

Cheers will do.

No doubt diet makes the biggest difference vs exercise, I have seen this before. I am very sceptical of the calories used figures it gives for the exercise so don’t intend to use that as justification for scoffing lots extra – obviously lengthy exercise may need a moderate bit extra.

I’m happy enough with this week’s progress, and I think the 2000 calories a day is perfectly reasonable to aim for.
And in any case a year comes by quite quickly these days.

Right then, that’s the first week done. From 131kg down to 126.8kg, so 4.2kg which is 9 and a bit pounds. Happy enough with that.

Using the formula I mentioned in my original post, which takes account of age, weight, height and activity level, I reckoned I needed around 3100 kcal a day to stay the same weight. I therefore set a daily target of 2000 kcal, since a deficit of 1100 a day should result in the loss of 1kg a week.

However, it was clear early on in the week that I was going to exceed the 1kg loss, as predicted by many on here and as is evidently common when starting a diet eating less. I also kept reading a range of articles on weight loss and there was support for the idea of easing in to the reduced food. So I took a relatively relaxed approach to the 2000 kcal target, in that I didn’t worry if I exceeded it a little. Over the last 7 days I averaged about 2500 a day. This wasn’t difficult and even after a week I would say I have noticed a reduced appetite, in so far as I think it may be fairly easy, or at least quick, to get used to eating less.

Factoring in two big walks and a 1.5hr bike ride, and what the app reckons I would have burnt doing them – my gut feeling is that the app is a little optimistic on this – 1590 kcal for 1.5hrs of mountain biking 😕 – on top of the normal dog walks, it estimates that I have used an average of approximately 3440 kcal a day. That makes the average daily deficit 910 kcal, which I’m happy enough with for the first week.

I read up a bit about why you lose a lot in the first week, and it’s to do with how your body stores glycogen in the muscles and liver (which for anyone who is interested, is vaguely along the lines of it binds to water, so when you burn up 1 glycogen then 3 waters are no longer required and, literally, piss off out of there). I’m well aware that this rate of loss is not representative of what’s achievable longer term, but it’s a few kg in the bank!

The calorie counting app is a very helpful tool in seeing how much one eats, and how the little things add up.

So that’s about 2.5kg a week – 1 a week should be a doddle!

Good effort Liam Neeson!

I did the Mifflin-St Jeor calculations to include ‘3 times per week of elevated heart rate’ – there are factors in the calculations that account, roughly, for any exercise you do.

The FatSecret app, which appears very similar to MyFitnessPal, includes an exercise diary too so I’ll log that too and review it.

make sure you understand exactly why you are so over weight

I love sweeties, crisps, chocolate, coke and ‘forget’ that I’ve eaten them when tea time comes around! Habits that I got away with from 20-30 when I did hours of sport every week did not stop when the sport did. I don’t intend to say ‘no more sweeties, crisps, chocolate or coke’ because that’s setting myself up for a fall. Consumption of these at current/prior levels, however, must cease 🙁

Suggest not viewing it as ‘a diet’, it’s just repairing our evidently broken eating habits and sticking with it.

I think using the food diary/calorie counter is going to be quite an eye opener.

Is 1kg a week really that much? Most stuff I’ve read suggests aiming for 0.5-1 kg a week so I figured that was ok?

Keep a record of your waist measurement too, so you can see fat loss?

Will do

Yes, I read about that aspect of it jimjam – there was an analogy of a HumVee using fuel compared to a hatchback. I’ve never done weights or anything to build up what’s there, so I don’t see any reason why it should decrease , as long as there is sufficient coming from my food + spare tyre? I know that if I ate too few calories there would be a risk of using muscle for energy, but I thought the body prefers to burn carbs then fat then muscle as a last resort if there’s no fat left? Probably not that simple!

Photos – the wife suggested this, maybe a before and after at the end, but not weekly 🙂