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Main Boards => General Walking Discussion => Topic started by: Forkbeard on 23:51:04, 18/02/18

Title: Losing weight!
Post by: Forkbeard on 23:51:04, 18/02/18
I've been ill since November and had a knee problem before that and have ended up pretty disheartened wit the amount of weight I've gained  while not walking (or much working). I need to go on a diet and do some exercise at home. I'm back up to doing a bit of walking but am not happy that I don't fit into some of my walk in gear anymore! So feel a bit uncomfortable going very far at the moment.


In a nutshell I need some advice on diet and exercise for weight loss. Can anybody help out?
Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: tom83 on 01:28:16, 19/02/18
In a nutshell, eat less and move more.


I know your situation, as Im around 1.5 stone over what I would like to be, but Ive actually lost a stone since January 1st. First off, work out a maximum daily calorie intake for yourself. The average male's daily recommended calorie intake is 2500, I set myself a limit of between 1700 and 1900 and stuck to it (with the occasional cheat day thrown in).


The hardest part is planning meals, and breaking habits. I found Stir Fry's a quick meal fix, especially as you can mix them up a bit with different flavours,  vegetables and meats etc.


Basically if you cut your daily calorie intake down, you don't need to exercise as much to lose weight, but don't cut your calorie intake down too much as this can have negative effects, such as fat storage (where your body goes into starvation mode, and stores calories as fat), and worse conditions that actually cause ill health.


To summerise, plan your meals weekly, count the calories, no snacks, take into account drinks too. and keep as active as you can. The weight will come off.


Hope that helps.
Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: RogerA on 08:59:54, 19/02/18
I've spent most of my life being overweight and much of the past few years dieting - I'm not sure whether that makes me an expert dieter as I've done so many or really rubbish because I've needed to.

I lost about 5.5 stone last year so it can be done but then put about a stone back on this year so also know its hard to make weight loss stick.

What I find works for me is to keep it simple and to keep control of what I eat - something I find difficult to do and know how to handle when I get home from work to be presented with a 3000 calory laden favorite meal cooked for me with love.

Eat less move more is wonderful advice from tom83 - very simple very true.

I find that for me that to stay the same weight I can eat 2200 calories a day if my activity is about 5000 steps. (Everyone is slightly different).
What I've worked out is that if I eat about 35000 less calories/year which is ~100 less calories/day every day then I should lose about 1 stone over the year.
Similarly If I walk an extra 700000 extra steps/year which is  ~1 extra mile/day every day then I should also lose about 1 stone over the year.

The point being that little changes, stuck to rigidly over a long period of time can be effective. Also probably more healthy than a quick fix big loss over a short time diet.

I aimed for 1700 calories/day and an extra 3 miles/day for a whole year which should have lost me 8 stone which means either my numbers are wrong or I didnt stick to it as rigidly as I would have liked to - perhaps some of both.

Tracking weight and calory intake can also help, I also find taking a photo of my face every month is a very visual track of progress.

Best of luck,
Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: Islandplodder on 10:54:37, 19/02/18

Walking does help a surprising amount.
Another thing I have found is that if you really cut down on anything with sugar in it only takes a few days to lose your 'sweet tooth' and that makes it much easier to keep the calories down as cakes and sweets really do look less attractive.
Eat slowly, and if you still feel hungry at the end of a meal wait 15 minutes before you have anything else, you often find you can manage quite happily without it, it's as if your stomach needs time to tell your brain you've had enough.
Drink lots of water, sometimes when you think you are hungry you are really thirsty, and also water fills you up a bit.
I have also found, though it's a bit counter-intuitive, that if I'm not getting enough exercise I tend to eat more, it's as if I am out of balance.
All of which wisdom should suggest I am as thin as a rake, which I'm not, but slimmer than I was a few years ago.  I don't manage to take all of my own advice.....
Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: gunwharfman on 12:12:33, 19/02/18
If you graze througout the day, try going back to set mealtimes only.

I lose weight easily, my wife hates shopping so we are often opening cupboards and all that's there are crumbs. Sometimes not even crumbs!

Eat lots of fruit and veg raw.

Cheap psychology I know but I think using a smaller plate might be of help?

Get out of the house everyday and walk, daily if you can and at a brisk pace.

Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: ninthace on 12:38:47, 19/02/18
Hiking is not a great way of burning off calories compared with other activities but it has many other benefits.  I found these calculators which may be interesting:
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/calories_burned.asp?exercise=208 (http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/calories_burned.asp?exercise=208)
https://caloriesburnedhq.com/calories-burned-hiking/ (https://caloriesburnedhq.com/calories-burned-hiking/)


The latter is more plausible but I think they are both optimistic in terms of calories burnt IMHO.  There was an interesting article in the Daily Telegraph today saying that people tend to underestimate their calorie intake by 50%. Unsurprisingly the fatter people were, the more they tended to underestimate their intake. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/19/fat-britain-average-person-eats-50-calories-realise/
Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: jimbob on 13:55:49, 19/02/18
Current thought on exercise is that short , extremely sharp bursts (to the point of exhaustion) do more to bump your metabolism than long "casual" forms of exercise. When losing weight I tend to eat a lot of cabbage, which I like as it fills me up and keeps visitors away, thus less temptation to eat biscuits, drink tea(beer) and sit on my backside.
I try to walk 4 miles a day as advised by my cardio nurse. But I am sure she would not be too happy at the speed I do it at. However it does help with my fitness, if not my weight.


Good advice on the sugar by the way, chuck this out of your diet and you will not feel so hungry. Watch out for food which uses sugar as a preservative such as shop bought pizzas, because they also add a huge amount of salt to cover the sweetness. most supermarket ready meals have high sugar ( or fructose or artificial sweeteners). My cardio advice sheets were a complete eye opener as to what they add to modern foods. I was advised to use butter rather than spread, for instance, as they know what is in butter and how it affects the body, since they stopped selling margarine. Using spreads, which are not legally defined in its chemical make up, they have no idea how it affects the body yet. I had not realised that margarine, which makeup is legally defined, had disappeared altogether from shops. Spread and Margarine are not the same.
 Mind you I was told to ensure the butter was warm before use, so as to use as little as possible.
Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: tom83 on 13:57:26, 19/02/18


Cheap psychology I know but I think using a smaller plate might be of help?



This is sound advice, you can actually trick your brain into thinking your eating more than you are, and feeling fuller whilst lowering calorie intake.
Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: RogerA on 14:17:12, 19/02/18

This is sound advice, you can actually trick your brain into thinking your eating more than you are, and feeling fuller whilst lowering calorie intake.

hmm ... we're all different ... different things work for different people ... this dosent work for me ... great if it works for you
Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: Forkbeard on 15:01:09, 19/02/18
Thanks for the replies.


Most of them make sense and I definitely need to cut out the sweet stuff; I never used to have a sweet tooth and it seems to be a problem since I've got a bit older. I'm also going to aim for 1700 calories per day and get out walking every day again, even if it's a couple of miles at a time - luckily I only have one speed and it's full speed ahead, so that should help get my heart rate up. I have cut down on junk but still need to cut out the snacky stuff and eat smaller portions of what I do eat.


Since I've not been working I've been getting up at different times and eating whatever at whatever time, I need to get a daily plan worked out food-wise, back at work or not.


I've not got off to a bad start today, done 1.5 miles and had about 600 calories - a 3 egg mushroom omelette, granola bar and a bit of fruit (and coffee, skimmed milk, no sugar). We're going shopping later so I can get some decent food in and walk there and back.
Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: Forkbeard on 15:05:56, 19/02/18
If you graze througout the day, try going back to set mealtimes only.

I lose weight easily, my wife hates shopping so we are often opening cupboards and all that's there are crumbs. Sometimes not even crumbs!

Eat lots of fruit and veg raw.

Cheap psychology I know but I think using a smaller plate might be of help?

Get out of the house everyday and walk, daily if you can and at a brisk pace.


The small plate thing might be a good idea, or at least try and measure out foods such as pasta/other carbs. I eat too much of these, especially in the winter as a comfort food type thing. I've been looking at the bupa website and their recommended portion sizes of carbs are tiny compared to what I eat.
Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: gunwharfman on 15:50:29, 19/02/18
Another suggestion, go back a few years and read Susie Orbach's (I think its spelt correctly?) book, 'Dieting makes you fat'.

I've never dieted myself, although at times I eat less food, it all depends on my mood. Is this dieting? Never really sure what 'to diet' actually means?

My GP, who's retired now, always told us that the most dangerous stuff, in his opinion, is salt and sugar. My wife and I havn't bought such items, except on odd occasions when we have had work done in and/or on our house, just to keep the staff happy, or when visitors come and obviously can't live without it. Why do so many tradesmen have one to three teaspoons of sugar in their coffee or tea? I suppose its the same as asking why do so many off them read the Sun as well? When they have finished their work and have gone we just flush the rest away. Likewise, fish and chips, we never have salt on them, only vinegar.

Sorry but I only ramble on like this because to achieve a 'genuine and lasting' weight loss, I suspect it is much more comlicated than capitalism wants us to believe. Obviously for them its a cash cow! The observation I made years ago and I'm still of the same opinion now, is that there is a vast world wide industry out there, enticing people to spend and diet in all sorts of ways. They were there when I was young and they are still there selling their ideas (nonsense?) but interstingly people are still fat! My conclusion as a simple member of the public, is that dieting does NOT work! It may appear to work, peoples do notice when their weight drops, but as soon as they realx, there weight goes up because most people I think just go back to their old life and eating routine.

I get emailed hassled by something call Jane Plan, I've no idea who they are or what their selling, but the emails come to me most day. I just delete them.
Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: jimbob on 16:42:48, 19/02/18
Oh and another thing is that if you have a big garden start to grow your own veg. If not try and get a half or quarter allotment.  I tend to grow most of my own veg, seasonal gluts yes, but we have a big freezer. About the only veg we buy are the the out of season stuff. i.e. courgettes in winter time.  A couple of square metres can grow a huge amount of grub if you throw away the planting guides and just pack it in.  Veg tends to be healthy calorie wise , fresh veg is healthier, seemingly. But the exercise involved is not using the same muscle groups continuously like walking, but the bending, lifting, carrying etc can make for a more complete form of exercise. 
In the past I had a set of scales and a notebook with me at all times. Over the last few years I have come to recognise (and frequently ignore) the correct portion sizes.

My main interest in losing weight is that it makes walking distances easier if I am not carrying a lump of weight around my belly. Saves kneews, hips and back by being lighter.
Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: forgotmyoldpassword on 16:53:07, 20/02/18
The reason being in shape is coveted is that it takes effort and dedication to achieve - anyone is able to eat more than they need and carry around a couple of spare tyres - but being purposeful with losing weight is all about self control.  I'm not going to tell you to start an allotment (even though it may be a good idea), but I'll throw in a few useful ideas for time sensitive health gains.


- Sugar, cut it out, if you must indulge, buy fruit instead to satisfy this urge as it takes longer to eat and generally comes in smaller portions
- Again, replace sugar for sweeteners if you are partial to cake/etc.  I'm not going to say exist on a diet of celery, but realistically you're more likely to stick to a healthy eating plan if it contains some things you enjoy eating (just healthier version of it).
- For exercise, the current thoughts are that provided you don't have any underlying health problems, HIIT is the most effective method of working out to strengthen the heart, with a cost of 20-30minutes 2-3 times a week.
- The 'cost' of gyms or equipment isn't a barrier to entry.  Walking somewhere is free, and I personally use a skipping rope for cardio if the weather is dreadful.
- Consider apps like myfitnesspal for food consumption, it's very easy indeed to eat 'dead calories' and exceed your goal, then wonder why you never seem to feel healthier.
Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: gunwharfman on 17:45:02, 20/02/18
I like the skipping rope idea. Haven't had a go at that for years. I wonder if I still could?
Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: RogerA 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.




Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: Islandplodder 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.
Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: Mel 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



Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: alan de enfield 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.
Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: Forkbeard 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


Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: gunwharfman on 12:34:18, 24/02/18
Today in the Guardian. Susie Orbach is still alive!


https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/feb/24/susie-orbach-fat-is-a-feminist-issue-psychotherapist-how-i-eat
Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: Mel 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".


Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: Mel on 23:04:41, 24/02/18
(duplicated post trying to edit the above one!!)
Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: gunwharfman 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?

Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: jimbob 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.
Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: Mel 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. 



Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: lostme1 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  :(
Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: sussamb on 14:48:38, 25/02/18
Probably didn't move much so no weight loss
Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: gunwharfman 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?
Title: Re: Losing weight!
Post by: MichaelUK 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