Author Topic: Losing weight!  (Read 2827 times)

RogerA

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Re: Losing weight!
« Reply #15 on: 18:22:38, 20/02/18 »
We can only speak from our own perspective, which I'll do giving my view of the world but also understanding that not everyone will agree.

What I see is that the world is divided into 2 types of people, those that tend to be slim and those that tend to be fat - I'm in the latter camp.

This isnt an excuse in the way my mum always excused my fatness as 'just big boned' or similar, but it does appear the case to me that some people have some sort of switch in their head that says "you're full = stop eating" where other people have a different switch that says "theres food available = eat it".
I have no idea whether this is genetic or the way we're conditioned; nature or nurture.

I say this isnt an excuse, even though re-reading the above it does sound like one - or at least a way of saying 'its not my fault - its just the way I am'. The reason I say it isnt, or at least shouldnt be, is that we in so many ways act against our nature/nurture in todays world - I'm pretty sure its fairly unnatural even for a teenager to spend 15 straight hours playing call of duty without eating drinking or taking a toilet break...

When it comes to dieting or weight gain/loss I think the upshot of it is that those that tend to thinness seemingly are unable to understand why its not as simple as just eating less / moving more - logically I know it really is that simple yet at the same I know from experience it just is not. The opposite is also true those that tend to fat just do not understand how all those thin people can seemingly eat everything they want and never gain any weight - of course they dont and they would but thats not really the point - seriously though guys: how do you do that?

So is it best to take advice from someone whos always eaten healthily, never had a weight problem and always had a healthy lifestyle or from someone whos dieted for years and despite occassional success never managed to make it stick; if they appear to have succeeded in losing weight is in most likelihood just hasnt regained their weight - yet.
I dont know - probably neither - I wish I did know - I wish more I knew how to make it work and stay working. Perhaps as gunwharfman said 'dieting makes you fat' which is probably true ... great I can stop dieting but what do I do instead ... I dont have a clue

What I do know is that I enjoy the fact that I've taken up walking again, I enjoy the walks and I enjoy sense of achievement at the end of a walk I wouldnt have been able to contemplate 12-18 months ago.
I also like the fact that whatever else can be said about dieting or weight loss/gain walking is unlikely to ever be a bad idea and might help. (Though you do need to take it steady when recovering from hernias as I found out last year).

I'm sorry this wasnt meant to be a long ramble, it was supposed to be short, pithy, hopefully amusing one or two liner with a semi-serious point - well I failed there :) . If anyone reads this far I'll hope to be excused.





Islandplodder

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Re: Losing weight!
« Reply #16 on: 19:18:15, 20/02/18 »

I think you are probably right.
And, as you say, walking can't do any harm, and will probably help.
I had a eureka moment once on my way up a hill when I realised that in the past 18 months I had lost the weight of my rucksack.  Somehow I found that really encouraging, and it helped me reach, and keep, a reasonably healthy weight, if still in possession of a spare tyre or two.
And, if I think about it, it was mostly walking that achieved that.

Mel

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Re: Losing weight!
« Reply #17 on: 23:33:25, 20/02/18 »
I think plate sizes have got bigger over the years.  My Gran's "dinner service" plates (donkeys years old) are a fair bit smaller than modern dinner plates.


My thoughts...



Replace fast / junk / processed food with it's unprocessed equivalent (empty calories with nutritional ones).  You'll be surprised how much MORE you can eat and still lose weight doing this.


If injury means you can't be more active then reduce your calorie intake. 


Or, keep eating as you are and increase your physical activity.


Eat because you are hungry and not because you're bored.


... and if I practiced what I preached I'd be slim and fit as a racing snake so I'd best add that Willpower Is Required  ;D




alan de enfield

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Re: Losing weight!
« Reply #18 on: 00:07:05, 23/02/18 »

I took early retirement in 2005 and was a fairly 'normal' shape and weight for a 6-footer.
My weight gradually increased from around 12 stone to 17 stone 13 pounds by late 2014, on a long haul flight back from Cambodia I was very ill and was overheating so much that I was pouring cups of cold water all over my chest to try and cool down. It turns out my body was in sugar overload and trying to 'burn up' all the calories.


I went to the GP, and after blood tests informed me I had a blood sugar of 112, Cholesterol of somewhere over 12 and would be dead in 12 months.


A bit of a wake up call.


I had always walked (in my younger days) doing the Pennine Way, Cornwall Coastal Footpath, Offas Dyke, the Lyke Wake Walk and any number of day hikes in Derbyshire, North Wales and the Lake District, so decided that an improved diet and more exercise should start me on the road to recovery.


I started walking a couple of miles a day steadily increasing to between 4 and 10 miles about 5 or 6 times a week, cut out sugar and reduced the number of Carbs and saturated fat. The weight started to fall off so I decided to pack my rucksack with a pound for every pound I'd lost - after losing 4 stone in about 11 months I decided that carrying a 56 lb pack was not much good for an 'old 'in so just kept the weight pack weight the same, another few weeks and I was down to 12 stone 13 lbs (5 stone loss).


That turned out to be too much loss and it became uncomfortable sitting in the bath or on a hard chair as it was painful on a bony-bum. I slowly allowed my weight to increase to 13 stone 13 lbs and was much more comfortable.


I maintained, within a few pounds this weight (up and down a couple of pounds) until last Summer when my Son was diagnosed with a serious illness and all sorts of family problems and I stopped walking - I have since put on another 12 pounds and am now finding it almost impossible to shift it.


Sorry for the rambling post, but I just wanted to say yes - you can lose the weight but you must really want to, or have some incentive to do so, you will need to be very disciplined and will probably end up with a very boring 'menu' of low-fat, low sugar, low carbs and low salt foods but it will be worth it.


I am now no longer classed as diabetic having a blood sugar of 5.3 and my Cholesterol is 3.5 - just need to get rid of a few pounds so I am walking again.

Forkbeard

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Re: Losing weight!
« Reply #19 on: 00:28:58, 23/02/18 »
I think plate sizes have got bigger over the years.  My Gran's "dinner service" plates (donkeys years old) are a fair bit smaller than modern dinner plates.


My thoughts...



Replace fast / junk / processed food with it's unprocessed equivalent (empty calories with nutritional ones).  You'll be surprised how much MORE you can eat and still lose weight doing this.


If injury means you can't be more active then reduce your calorie intake. 


Or, keep eating as you are and increase your physical activity.


Eat because you are hungry and not because you're bored.


... and if I practiced what I preached I'd be slim and fit as a racing snake so I'd best add that Willpower Is Required  ;D


I pretty much agree with everything you said here (and everyone else), and yes, dinner plates now seem to be large food display platters rather than a sensible sized plate.


 In theory I know how to eat and cook, and portion size is something I normally watch, but I'm  in the grip of eating 'for pleasure' in the absence of anything other to do. Inactivity is the cousin of laziness, and laziness is the cousin of depression - it's a vicious circle. The less i do the less I feel like doing. I usually enjoy cooking  and eating pretty well but fast food has snook in. I'm feeling the cold like never before this reason too. Maybe I'm getting old(er)!


I was just beginning to get over my knee injury and pretty much smashed it up on the concrete and I'm back to square one.


I think honestly I may be feeling sorry for myself as well  :-\ . It's a motivation/mental issue as much as diet. Ironically walking keeps me sane and it's the one thing I haven't been doing.


Thanks for all the replies, I have been reading but there's too many to reply individually  O0



gunwharfman

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Re: Losing weight!
« Reply #20 on: 12:34:18, 24/02/18 »

Mel

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Re: Losing weight!
« Reply #21 on: 23:02:49, 24/02/18 »
I pretty much agree with everything you said here (and everyone else), and yes, dinner plates now seem to be large food display platters rather than a sensible sized plate. In theory I know how to eat and cook, and portion size is something I normally watch, but I'm  in the grip of eating 'for pleasure' in the absence of anything other to do. Inactivity is the cousin of laziness, and laziness is the cousin of depression - it's a vicious circle. The less i do the less I feel like doing. I usually enjoy cooking  and eating pretty well but fast food has snook in. I'm feeling the cold like never before this reason too. Maybe I'm getting old(er)!I was just beginning to get over my knee injury and pretty much smashed it up on the concrete and I'm back to square one. I think honestly I may be feeling sorry for myself as well  :-\  . It's a motivation/mental issue as much as diet. Ironically walking keeps me sane and it's the one thing I haven't been doing.Thanks for all the replies, I have been reading but there's too many to reply individually  O0


I can relate to most of that.  Injury and frustration at not being able to get out and about as much as you want breeds a sort of apathy where you WANT to get out and do more but you don't want the aches and pains that go with it.... so you sit and do nowt! Mebby eat a bowl of Doritos, then a cheese sarnie, followed by a bag of goodies whilst googling all the walks you'd like to do.  Sod it, can't be bothered to cook so ring for a takeaway.  It's woefully self-perpetuating.


Interesting point about feeling the cold though.  My personal take on that is that the lack of activity is making your metabolism slow down, so it's even easier to gain weight  :-[


(can you tell I've been there and bought the tee-shirt on this subject?  ;D  )


It still does boil down to willpower though, and making small changes so it doesn't all seem so .... daunting .... and you don't feel over-faced with the enormity of "The Task Ahead".


My small changes have been my Challenge365 (walk a mile a day for a year) project.  Cutting out sliced bread and breadcakes from my diet (chicken and coleslaw wraps are the new packed lunch).  Snacking on a tub of pre-prepared fruit (grapes, peeled satsuma, chopped apple and such like) on my walks - they're sweet and juicy (plus, the apple makes me burp and gets rid of that "false hunger" feeling.... too much information?  :D  ) - even my longer walks really don't require high energy calorie intake and I've plenty of "energy" stored in my hips and thighs anyway thanks  :-[  If I'm going to snack in between meals then remove all temptation of crisps and biscuits (ie. don't buy them) and replace with fruit (ie. do buy those!) and finally, portion sizes, they don't need to be as big as you think/have gotten used to and you won't feel any less full by cutting them down.


Oh, no.  THIS is finally... smaller plate piled with food looks, psychologically, more filling than a larger plate with the same amount of food scattered about on it.  Eat yoghurts, puddings, breakfast cereals and yes, even soup, with a teaspoon... again, psychologically, you're putting food in your mouth more often so your brain thinks you're eating more than you really, actually, physically are  O0


I really am a firm believer in the sayings "everything in moderation" and "a BIT of what you fancy does you good".



Mel

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Re: Losing weight!
« Reply #22 on: 23:04:41, 24/02/18 »
(duplicated post trying to edit the above one!!)

gunwharfman

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Re: Losing weight!
« Reply #23 on: 09:53:42, 25/02/18 »
Its a fact of my life but after about 4-5 days of hiking I start to lose weight, mostly around my waist area. I know it to be true because I keep having to go to the next hole in my belt. I'm not overweight to start with but in between hikes I get a bit podgy and flabby in that area. I run most days but that makes no difference to my waistline.

I was watching the BBC news this morning and they were discussing jockey's weight loss methods, extreme sweating, etc which is not good for their long term health, but it does seem to do the job on the day.

What interested me was when the weight loss expert seemed to suggest that to lose weight people should get up and go out for a run, BEFORE eating anything. I presume a brisk walk would help as well?

When I am at home I get up and have breakfast, I then go out later in the day to run. When I'm on a hike, I get up, have a drink of water, get organised and go! I might have a couple of squares of chocolate but no more or most likely I do not eat at all until a couple of hours later. I've never given it much thought but could this be one of the reasons why I start lose weight when I hike and do not when I'm at home?


jimbob

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Re: Losing weight!
« Reply #24 on: 12:43:07, 25/02/18 »
GWM a couple of squares of chocolate?

Now that is extreme  discipline. I would eat the whole one kilo bar and be searching for more immediately.  Chocolate is one of those sweets I must avoid as I truly think it is my (now not so secret ) addiction.

Sugar to any sort makes me ravenous, but chocolate is the bees knees in its efforts to make me pile on weight ,none of which is muscle.
Too little, too late, too bad......

Mel

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Re: Losing weight!
« Reply #25 on: 13:34:33, 25/02/18 »
GWM I have a theory...


At home, you're doing (in comparison) short, sharp bursts of exercise which is exercising your heart muscle.


On a trail you're doing longer but lower intensity exercise which is metabolising fat stores. 




lostme1

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Re: Losing weight!
« Reply #26 on: 14:33:15, 25/02/18 »
I haven't eaten for the last 3 days as I have flu. So in need of something positive with feeling this ill I weighed myself. Haven't loss any weight  :(
These boots are made for walking.... so long as the rest of my body agrees

sussamb

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Re: Losing weight!
« Reply #27 on: 14:48:38, 25/02/18 »
Probably didn't move much so no weight loss
Where there's a will ...

gunwharfman

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Re: Losing weight!
« Reply #28 on: 16:26:43, 25/02/18 »
Mel, I think you may be right. As I've said before I think to-days people graze a lot of the time, I'm sure its not good to feed oneself in this way? Schoolchildren walk past our house, a lot are fat, even 10 year olds, I wonder how many parents blame the teachers?

MichaelUK

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Re: Losing weight!
« Reply #29 on: 16:46:16, 25/02/18 »
My thoughts for what they are worth! 7 years ago I was quite fit, ran daily, gym 4 times a week, long Sunday run of 20 mile +. I'm 5` 8", and was 12 stone,  30 - 32 inch waist. For reasons I stopped everything, weight crept up. I was eating too much of crap foods, which I didn't normally eat, and drinking more; and yes with hindsight, I was depressed. 4 years ago, at 15 1/2 stone I had a heart attack, fortunately not a fatal one! Despite the warning my weight crept up even further, and no exercise. March last year I was 17 1/2 stone. Decided then it was time to get control back; motivation, willpower etc. I'm now 11 stone 10 lb, walk approximately 60 mile a week, with power walks added into the mix. I have a few pounds to go to reach my target weight of 11st 4lb.
So to my words of wisdom! Calories in, calories out. If we eat more than we need = weight gain. There are 3500 caloies in a pound of fat, reduce your weekly intake by that amount and you should lose a pound in weight. Look on the tinternet for TDEE calculators, Total Daily Energy Expenditure. This will give the calories needed to maintain or los weight. I dont see it as a diet, I see it as a way of life, healthy choices. Fat people live to eat, thin people eat to live; a generalisation I know. Nothing tastes better than thin! Give your self a weekly or monthly treat. Eat slowly, drink plenty of water, especially when eating. We can often feel hungry due to dehydration. If you have a bad day, forget it and move on. Be motivated, but realistic when setting goals. Have a long term goal, broken down into shorter term, achievable goals. Exercise; good for the body and mind. Rest when you need to.
Im at the point now where I'm slowly increasing my calorie intake from 1700 a day up to 2400 a day. I dont eat back the calories used when exercising.
Hope this helps

 

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