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Weight loss

Afternoon,

quick question on weight loss.

I'm 15 stone so weight loss makes more sense for speed in triathlon than buying all types of super kit etc.

So how do you achieve desired weight loss (i guess at 6 ft 2, a stone would be a good place to start over the next couple of months)?

Is there a good combination of diet/exercise that people have found?
If eating less, how do you fuel a long bike ride or run etc? Needless to say, at 15 stone, my run is not my strongest discipline so hoping that cycling could be the key but if running will shift weight better/quicker then so be it.

All advice welcome, even the "eat less chocolate/cake/biscuits", but I need to know how to eat regularly, during the day at work and in the evening to sustain weight loss?

Thanks

A confused dieter

Comments

  • I am about to blow your mind.....well gonna try anyway.

    Firstly a food focus account, its free and it tracks your cals. http://www.foodfocus.co.uk

    Secondly start making a concious effort to avoid processed foods. Thats pretty much anything you pierce the lid of and microwave. This will probably do the most damage itself!

    Make an effort to eat more natural foods, like eggs, good cuts of meat (dont avoid the fat!), cheese, berries, fruit, veg (ton of veg!). This is a big step too.

    Work out your calorific requirement, foodfocus.co.uk will work this out for ya. try and eat about 300-500cals below it when your "cutting" weight.

    Generally a good ratio of foods is 30% carbohydrate, 40% protein and 30% fat - but eating below your calorie requirement will do the most for fat loss, eating in those ratios is meant to help.



    If your wanting less hassle and can stand being hungry (if you cant, your weak!) Ori Hofmeklers "Warrior Diet" is great, no calorie counting and not much hassle. Just being hungry thru the day puts some people off!

    Let me know what you do...I have a chubby for nutrition right now
  • TRIumphantTRIumphant Posts: 850
    Firstly, I'm no dietician or nutritioninst, and I know that there are some on this Forum far better qualified on the technicalities of your question then I to answer.

    However, I have been a regular excerciser for some years, and earlier this year weighing 87.5 kg (13 st 11 lbs) finally took the deicion to Tri. I've now completed 5 Tri's, and weigh 75.3 kg (11 st 12 lbs), a loss of 12.2 kg (almost 2 st). I have lost this through a mixure of increased exercise, and good diet. What I haven''t done is actually monitor my diet. I think that because my exercise duration and intensity increased, then I found myself needing higher quality food in order to sustain my energy levels. My diet has improved in a healthy way, with all the 'junk' elements omitted ('ish), and replaced with better quality food, and generally more of it. I'm also drinking a lot more fluid during the day, and when exercising.

    I'm sure that if I followed a pre-prepared diet, then my results could be better, but I'm more than happy with having lost 2 stone, and generally eating well, with the odd treat (or two, or three) every now and then. I work on the basis that the body craves what it needs, whether this be fruit, vegetables or chocolate.

    I'm sure that once you get into the mind set of exercising for a specific purpose (a race etc), then you're diet will almost certainly change to suit.
  • Ron99Ron99 Posts: 237
    Another thing that might be worth thinking about is increasing your muscle mass. Increasing lean muscle mass is a tricky one for endurance athletes - you need strength to perform well, but don't want to haul too much extra weight around. The thing about muscle is though, that the more you have of it, the more calories you burn at rest i.e. the more you add muscle, the leaner you get. Provided you don't bulk up too much by lifting very heavy weights (big presses, deadlifts, heavy squats etc), take creatine and eat massive amounts of protein, you should be able to do the double whammy of trimming down and getting stronger.
  • andyb99andyb99 Posts: 229
    this is the most effective 100% way to lose weight....this will REALLY blow you away

    eat LESS....move MORE!!

    lol...only joking mate good luck and welcome to the world of triathlon....get signed up for a sprint or supersprint race...that will give you the motivation to train...dont worry about the time etc....just do it....there are bigger than 15stone do these things mate .

    good luck
  • Im SpartacusIm Spartacus Posts: 204
    I lost over 7 stone a couple of years ago. I did it by calorie counting, I used a few rules as follows.

    2500 caloies = breakeven
    3000 calorie loss = 1lb of fat loss
    Bran flakes or porridge for breakfast - slow burning keep you feeling fuller for longer
    Protein keeps you feeling fuller for longer
    As does soup
    Chillie helps speed up metabolism
    Low fat dairy helps get rid of fat
    Try to have a mid am and mid pm (healthy) snack
    Muscle helps burn fat
    The odd protein shake isn't a bad thing.

    The above may or may not be correct but it worked for me and I lost my weight steadily over about 6 months. I have also helped 2 colleagues lose 3 and 5 stone respectivly using a similar plan.

    Although I was exercising during this period it was mainly for calorie burning, and was on either a fixed bike or cross trainer. I don't feel like I gained a lot of "fitness" from it though. It wasn't anywhere near the intensity that I'm doing now.

    Happy to report still a healthyish 13.5st, 6'3" have done 5 sprints 2 more pending, Leeds olly in Sept with either 70.3 or IM ambitions next year.


    Good luck, there will be a lot of people trying to put a downer on your new routine ( not here I hasten to add) DONT LISTEN TO THEM.
  • uhhh
    2500 caloies = breakeven
    3000 calorie loss = 1lb of fat loss
    you mean the other way around?
  • Im SpartacusIm Spartacus Posts: 204
    Average daily calorie consumption neede for a bloke 2500 ie break even.
    To lose a pound of fat takes 3000.
    So if you were to consume 2000 c per day it would take 6 days to lose a lb of fat (excluding exercise)
  • Jelly legsJelly legs Posts: 278
    Thats not strictly true,

    Because the body might go into a catatonic shock and would begin to fuel itself by taking the energy needed from Muscle.

    The only true way to lose weight and keep it of is

    a, Change your eating habits.
    b . Do excercise.
    c. It takes time.

    its not something that can be donr overnight.

    Basiclly you should consume a better mix of foods and cut out the crap.

    And just excercise as much as you can, when hungry instead of reaching for a choc biscuit, pick up an apple of a bannana.

    But as i say it takes time, big results to start then thats when it gets tough.
  • TommiTriTommiTri Posts: 879
    I agree totally with jelly legs, the best way to loose weight is keep training and eat healthily. To me all this calorie counting is bullsh*t, not only do we rarely have the proper portion sizes but also it WILL send you crazy.
    And 2500 are you kidding me? and surviving on 2000 a day? I consume in the region of 5000 I reckon, but then I train for approx 2-3 hours a day and I go on the approximation of a BMR of 2000 + 1000 for every hour of high intensity exercise. But even this is only a guide, as I said above I don't calorie count, I just go on how my body is feeling. And incidentally I weigh about 10 stone 10, and I am 6'1, so my BMI is just under the 20 mark, I have a body fat last measured at around 5-6%. I dropped from 11 stone 10 and christmas without calorie counting, and by using a very special diet that I will keep to myself
  • PC_67PC_67 Posts: 196
    So better hydration - everything else being equal - can make your exercise regime more effective from a weight loss perspective? Poor hydration leading to less effective energy consumption / utilisation?
  • Im SpartacusIm Spartacus Posts: 204
    I stand by my argument, it can be dressed up all you like but the amount of calories you consume and use directly affects your weight.
    And 2500 are you kidding me? and surviving on 2000 a day? I consume in the region of 5000 I reckon, but then I train for approx 2-3 hours
    Hmm I think you've missed the point somewhat, if you are training for 3 hours a day at say an average of 300calories per 30mins = 1800 calories. Therefore yes you probably are consuming nearly 5000 per day but then again you are clearly not average

    It may not be for everyone but it worked for me. I liked the structure of knowing what I was eating and knowing what calories were in what foods. The result of calorie counting is that you are lead towards having a balanced diet because the healthy stuff is low calorie. I do agree that you can become a little obsessive about it though

    Anyway each to their own
  • TommiTri wrote:
    To me all this calorie counting is bullsh*t
    Are you having a giraffe?
  • JessterJesster Posts: 482
    Calorie counting doesnt work for everyone. Personally as soon as I count calories or weigh myself i spiral off in to uncontrollable eating/starving swings.

    however if i make sure i only put good healthy stuff in and allow myself the odd treat my clothes get baggier. if i then weigh myself, regardless of what the scales say, i shift back in to being food-obsessed and bingeing again.

    So the answer for me seems to be;

    -Never ever weigh myself...ever! i know when i look good.
    -cut out all processed food and get plenty of fresh stuff and drink lots of water
    -no booze for me as it leads to eating crap, plus i'd rather get up and train than moan about a hangover.
    -eating super slowly and putting knife and fork down between chews. this really works people!!
    -i swear by having eggs on wholemeal toast in the morning too, keeps me full for AGES, i dont even think about food til nearly two in the afternoon (i go in for brekkie at 8.30) if you only do one of these things try the eggs in the morning. Two eggs, scrambled. two pieces of wholemeal toast. and for gods sake allow yourself a bit of butter too!!
    -oh, and train!!

    i've dropped a dress size since i stopped being obsessed with weighing myself six weeks ago, and i tend to stay on an even keel mentally now. plus i have a physical job so this helps too!

    Best of luck
  • Jesster wrote:
    Calorie counting doesnt work for everyone.
    [img:19tbq8xq]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Joe_facepalm.jpg[/img:19tbq8xq]

    Smoking is good for preventing cancer too
  • JessterJesster Posts: 482
    Coma, you can be a right twat sometimes.
  • Jesster wrote:
    Coma, you can be a right twat sometimes.
    Oh you dont know the half of it

    Apologies, Jess I didnt mean to be offensive
  • durhamvamdurhamvam Posts: 246
    I agree with Jess, of course calorie counting works - it's just that for some of us it doesn't suit. It makes me throughly miserable and depressed and the more I weigh myself, no matter what the result, the fatter and uglier and more depressed I feel.

    I try not to fixate on it too much and keep an eye on how my clothes fit. I wouldn't say I was losing weight at the moment though too much on in other parts of my life and I can't cope with worrying about that as well.

    It's a question of finding what works for you and sticking with it, it is about making lifelong changes to the way you eat.
  • TommiTriTommiTri Posts: 879
    Are you having a giraffe?
    No, that is what I believe, i don't need to calorie count to loose weight and I believe no one else does either. And If are doing a good amount of training i.e over an hour a day how the hell can you?
    If you go on the basis of 300 calories per 30 mins you will invariably be wrong, as we will all spend that 30 mins at different intensities therefore burning off different amounts of calories.
  • Yeah i see your point, its not an exact science however if you take the estimates and always eat about 300-500 under then you shall lose weight .

    I used to be on the same boat i believed myself to be a "hard gainer" (tess, shadow no tubby comments please ) because i wouldnt put it on even when eating. However i followed the instructions of a bodybuilder, used foodfocus.co.uk, ate the 500 above that i never ate before and hey presto, gained weight.

    I dont want the OP to think it might not work. Its been proven to work and if you have a goal of being thin and your really want it, this is the most likely route to that goal.
  • BritspinBritspin Posts: 1,655
    I can't calorie count to save my life...serving size, so I have to weight everything huh?, Oh & that apple is it an 'average' apple, or a big one? Which is it? Some apples have a higher sugar content than others does that make them more calorific? bananas? green or yellow or speckled? Hugely different sugar content, so is a green banana more or less calorific as its starchy rather than sweet? Or is it the same? Even processed food its tested once at the start of its manufacturing run....make it for 10 years is it the same? will relative amounts of meat to fat to additives alter? will that change calorific values? Iam sure I saw a programme that looked into the figures printed on packaging & they showed a huge discrepancy between what was shown & the actual content & not in a good way.
    Estimating calorie expenditure is likewise a nightmare..I go out on a ride with my Polar bike computer, Garmin GPS & feed the results into a workout software programme...all differ quite drastically in their estimation of calories expended despite my keying in the correct age, weight etc.
    So no, not for me, I go with the cutting of crap, I kinda like the 'would my Gran have been able to buy/eat this?' thought....doesn't work for exotic fruit & veg but for some stuff...it does. Get as close to unprocessed as is possible, hence porridge rather than any other cereal...most are denuded, over processed & then have to have (by law) the nutrients added back in & then they add in sugar & salt.
    Avoid baked goods all those trans fats & added stuff are alien to your digestive system, bake your own if you must.
    Oh & the exercise thing..but I take that as a given.
    Timing of food intake can make a difference I believe & not in a 'No carbs after 5pm' way, but simply nothing to heavy/fatty too late, late being close to bed time in this instance.
  • Regularly personal fitness training and weight loss exercise is the better and the best option for reducing weight, just go for the exercise regular.
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