Losing weight

[Racers]

Steve you could take up a sport...

:wink:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-38721106

Pete, who is fat according to my BMI.

 

[cutting42]

Hi Steve and thread contributors

Long time since we have spoken but a great post and subsequent discussion. A smattering of tired old stereotype comments and some great suggestions here. Thought I would add my experience as I have been through it a couple of times over the years.

To the people who claim it is easy, no it is not easy! The concept of less in and more out is simple certainly but actually knowing how to moderate intake for us who's bodies are not naturally slim is a huge challenge. Some have compared it as not as hard as giving up smoking. Well I have done that as well and would say giving up smoking is much easier. You can survive without smoking but you cannot survive without eating. Most smokers who try to cut down the amount they smoke will fail, they are much more likely to succeed by stopping.

I have tried the low carb approach a few years ago and was successful in losing weight fairly quickly but ultimately failed as I was unable to permanently remove carbs from my diet and they crept back in and weight piled back on.

I have had success over the past year or so with portion control and reducing between meal snacks approach. Learning to stop when full and not to eat as habit. I eat normal food in smaller portions, I now snack but typically on fruit only and still have treats but they are once a week not every day. Like Steve I love to cook and that can be a challenge as we like to taste and serve ourselves the tastiest bits and the temptation to serve large portions is always there.

I started after a mid life health check picked up on highish cholesterol, BP heading in the wrong direction, borderline type 2 diabetes and being greatly overweight. I was 19 1/2 stone at 5'10" very unfit and aged 50 so it was time to sort it out.

Using the above approach and going to the gym 5 days a week I am now around 14 1/2 stone with a resting heart rate of 48, can run a 30 min 5K and well out of the risk area for blood sugar, BP or cholesterol. I do not consider it a diet, it is what I do now and I still plan to reduce further as I would like to get into the correct BMI range.

In short I think your approach is pretty good Steve but I would definitely try to keep a balance in all food groups so you don't get any cravings. Concentrate on the portions sizes, avoid snacks, we rarely need them and are usually having them as we are bored or keeping others company.

 

[Jacob]

...
To the people who claim it is easy, no it is not easy! The concept of less in and more out is simple certainly but actually knowing how to moderate intake for us who's bodies are not naturally slim is a huge challenge. ....

OK not easy but I think it's easier if you keep it simple and try to eat less (half portions, no snacks etc) rather than a complicated strategy involving calory counting, low carbs, substitute foods.
Basically because its easy to remember and you always know what you should do. You can always refine it with less sugar, salt etc, but you have a base line reference all the time in all circumstances. i.e. eat half what you normally would (or a lot less at least) and if in doubt eat less than the others at the table!

 

[cutting42]

OK not easy but I think it's easier if you keep it simple and try to eat less (half portions, no snacks etc) rather than a complicated strategy involving calory counting, low carbs, substitute foods.

Yes, absolutely, completely agree with that. It also becomes much easier to turn into a way of life, not a diet as such.

 

[transatlantic]

OK not easy but I think it's easier if you keep it simple and try to eat less (half portions, no snacks etc) rather than a complicated strategy involving calory counting, low carbs, substitute foods.

Yes, absolutely, completely agree with that. It also becomes much easier to turn into a way of life, not a diet as such.

I honestly don't see the point in these silly diets, unless perhaps you're rapidly losing weight for an event or a life threatening condition. Begin something you can keep to indefinately. Yes it might be slower, but that just gives your body more time to adjust.

 

[Benchwayze]

I am obese. according to my BMI.

So I'd rather measure my fat-lean percentage.
As it happens according to that figure, I am still obese! (Fat is a noun; not an adjective.)

Okay. so I am obese!

But since I started low-carb, it is steadily reducing.

John

 

[acewoodturner]

I am 53 years old and never have bought (or been given) trousers that are bigger than a 30 inch waist. In fact I also need to wear a belt to stop them falling down. I could probably fit into my old school trousers if I still had them. My secret is not to over eat in the first place and keeping busy in the workshop. I have always maintained that it is easier to not put on weight than it is to take it off! In fact as I work as a self employed cabinet maker/laser engraver I have actually lost a bit of weight this year as my jeans are a bit looser around the waist than they usually are. I mill all my own timber up with an Alaskan mill and do other tree surgery as well. I also cut and split my own firewood for the workshop.
Now if only I could stop smoking I would be a lot happier, I don't drink alcohol so I don't need to worry about stopping that though!

Mike

 

[Benchwayze]

Mike. Had you been living in ancient times you would probably succumbed in winter an d not made it through. Us fatties who "overeat" had reserves to fall back on. So they say! Although much as you probably disbelieve me I have never over eaten in my life. My job caused me to fall back on Junk food quite often. I know that now. And I eat my fill of good food and i am losing weight.

 

[Steve Maskery]

For anyone interested in the science of why many diets don't result in long-term weight loss and why often people put weight back on even though they have reduced their calorie intake, and why it is not as simple as calories in minus calories out, this is a good lecture. He's a medical doctor, not a quack. It's half an hour, but worth it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETkwZIi3R7w

 

[bugbear]

For anyone interested in the science of why many diets don't result in long-term weight loss and why often people put weight back on even though they have reduced their calorie intake, and why it is not as simple as calories in minus calories out, this is a good lecture. He's a medical doctor, not a quack. It's half an hour, but worth it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETkwZIi3R7w

Slightly worried about the motive of a man who writes a diet book instead of an academic paper. :?

EDIT; now I'm really worried.

On one of his web pages he makes The Big Claim

https://www.dietdoctor.com/the-calorie-debacle

The Women’s Health Initiative was the most ambitious, important weight loss study ever done. This enormous randomized trial involving almost 50,000 women evaluated this low-fat, low calorie approach to weight loss.


But when the final results were tallied in 2006, there was only crushing disappointment. Despite good compliance, over 7 years of calorie counting led to virtually no weight loss.


Being a cynic, I checked the actual WHI, and not Fung's representation of it.

https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/whi/diet_mod.htm

It's written in a very dry style, to say the least.

In fact, the "dietary intervention" part of the study involved replacing calories from fat in the diet with calories from other sources, and did NOT even set overall calorie intake reduction as a goal.

The dietery intervention was in fact being tested to see if it helped health, in particular w.r.t. breast and colorectal cancer.

This level of misrepresentation rings alarm bells, at least for me.

BugBear

 

[lurker]

For anyone interested in the science of why many diets don't result in long-term weight loss and why often people put weight back on even though they have reduced their calorie intake, and why it is not as simple as calories in minus calories out, this is a good lecture. He's a medical doctor, not a quack. It's half an hour, but worth it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETkwZIi3R7w

Slightly worried about the motive of a man who writes a diet book instead of an academic paper. :?

BugBear

Not much money to be made out of the latter.
Being poor is not a virtue

 

[Steve Maskery]

Possibly because a diet book will reach a gazillion times as many people as a paper? And anyway, are you sure he has not written an academic paper? The two are not mutually exclusive.
Watch the lecture, then decide.

 

[Jacob]

Mike. Had you been living in ancient times you would probably succumbed in winter an d not made it through. .....

Or shipwrecked - fatties survive much longer in cold water. In fact skinny people have been known to die of shock after jumping into very cold water.
I'd get some weight on if I were you - you never know when you might need it!

 

[bugbear]

For anyone interested in the science of why many diets don't result in long-term weight loss and why often people put weight back on even though they have reduced their calorie intake, and why it is not as simple as calories in minus calories out, this is a good lecture. He's a medical doctor, not a quack. It's half an hour, but worth it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETkwZIi3R7w

Slightly worried about the motive of a man who writes a diet book instead of an academic paper. :?

BugBear

Not much money to be made out of the latter.
Being poor is not a virtue

Money is an excellent motivation for lying.

Check out "Belle Gibson" for a fine example of lying about fad diets to make money.

BugBear

 

[acewoodturner]

Mike. Had you been living in ancient times you would probably succumbed in winter an d not made it through. .....

Or shipwrecked - fatties survive much longer in cold water. In fact skinny people have been known to die of shock after jumping into very cold water.
I'd get some weight on if I were you - you never know when you might need it!

The chances of me being shipwrecked or ending up in the North Sea are pretty remote so I wont waste time worrying about that. Also don't think that we wont have food in the house for a month or two either so I am ok on that score as well.
One of the things that does concern me is overweight children. I live about 50m from a primary school and about half the kids walk past my kitchen window. From observations over several years I would say that at least half if not more of these kids are overweight and are taken to school by overweight parents. I am being polite here as I could say that they are obese and unhealthy but I wont. This is a ticking timebomb for the future and as well documented in a thread on this forum can lead to unpleasant and painful medical issues. The chances of a skinny person picking these up are very much lower if you are a 'skinny'.
In these politically correct times why aren't school nurses allowed to intervene, after all it is a health issue and prevention is certainly better than cure.

Mike

 

[Alexam]

Good point Mike.
These kids, as well as the parents, can be seen everywhere. I believe it's all the 'junk' food that is available and lack of training, or understanding. A great burden on the NHS for the future.
Malcolm

 

[Farmer Giles]

I had to lose weight and exercise or go on blood pressure lowering tablets. I've seen what long term use of BP tablets has done to my pa (along with the other 8 tablets he takes a day) so I chose the former but don't like fad diets and I'm not one for exercising for the sake of it.

Diet wise, I cut out most but not all carbs. No white rice, fewer spuds, no white pasta, no white bread and less bread in general. Much less beer, more wine! But I still need calories so I upped the protein and fats a bit and I uppded the veggies a lot. Nothing extreme and I haven't had any issue changing my lifestyle accordingly. I don't call it a diet, it is now the way I eat. I still go for the occasional curry with a naan and the odd pizza but my day to day diet has changed.

In terms of exercise, initially I did go on the bike and to the gym because I was unfit and my BP was very high. However now I have bought a dog and walk a lot. I still go to the gym but that's because I can go during my lunch hour at work so doesn't cut into my workshop time

I lost 6kg in a few months, I wasn't massively overweight, down from 81 to 75kg and my BP is about normal unless I have a few beers/wines.

I had high cholestrol before and that has gone down a little but I am not worried about that, Statins as a preventative measure for heart disease is a big con in my researched opinion and "high" cholestrol is no indicator of being unhealthy, all this cholestrol blocking arteries is also largely a big con in my researched opinion. Total mortality of people on statins for preventative reasons and people not is just about the same, you just die of something else!

 

[Steve Maskery]

Well I don't plan on giving a running commentary on this, but I have lost 10lb from my peak, in 4 weeks, am sleeping better than I have for 7 years, my chronic indigestion has gone and I feel great. I'm still a Big Bloke, of course, and I intend to continue, but I'm not missing my carbs anywhere nearly as much as I expected to. I'm enjoying what I am eating and I am eating a lot less. I've not yet made a meal and thought, "That's not a proper dinner". And I have never felt unhappily hungry.

So, so far, so good.

 

[Racers]

Excellent news Steve, I am really pleased for you.

Pete

 

[Benchwayze]

Great news Steve, and Farmer.

I was doing quite well on low carb too, but since my wife got ill and then worse, I haven't had so much time for woodwork, walking, and the garden. But I am still losing steadily, so I am not complaining. I just had to buy four new pairs of trousers. Two pairs of cords (I don't wear jeans) and two pairs of decent worsted, for socialising. All of these 'pants' are 4 inches less around the middle so I must be getting something right.

I have also started buying grass fed meat online. My butcher's meat was good quality, but it wasn't completely grass fed. Now, I don't buy so much meat because it's more expensive, but by the cringe, it's beautiful meat, and half the quantities on my plate satisfy me. With cauliflower cheese of course! :mrgreen:

Best of luck

John