I wouldn't subscribe to that view myself, as starving your body will greatly affect & reduce your metabolism.
First, calorie restriction is NOT starvation, secondly, there is nothing wrong with slowing your metabolism down a bit.
This idea of your body feeding upon itself simply because you reduce you calorie intake by 20-40% is ridiculous, my diet has been working for me for decades now, no problem with muscle mass, and last week I climbed a 3,800 ft mountain for fun (I'm 52, btw).
If you are a professional weightlifter or an Olympic swimmer, sure, calorie restriction ain't for you, but most people would benefit from it, and that's science, not opinion.
I wouldn't subscribe to that view myself, as starving your body will greatly affect & reduce your metabolism.
First, calorie restriction is NOT starvation, secondly, there is nothing wrong with slowing your metabolism down a bit.
This idea of your body feeding upon itself simply because you reduce you calorie intake by 20-40% is ridiculous, my diet has been working for me for decades now, no problem with muscle mass, and last week I climbed a 3,800 ft mountain for fun (I'm 52, btw).
If you are a professional weightlifter or an Olympic swimmer, sure, calorie restriction ain't for you, but most people would benefit from it, and that's science, not opinion.
Who mentioned reducing calories by only 20%?? A starvation diet versus sensible calorific reduction are complete different concepts.
By all means slow your metabolism by a bit, but to eat a diet of say just 1000 calories a day in the long term (along the lines of what FelixLeiter is claiming to consume) & undertaking some form of exercise, whilst also (apparently) not consuming a decent mix of proteins & fats is not a sound basis for success IMO. If something like this works for you then fair play, but I have adopted a different approach with my own success.
Who mentioned reducing calories by only 20%?? A starvation diet versus sensible calorific reduction are complete different concepts.
Caloric restriction does not mean starvation diet.
This entire discussion also lacks a common frame of reference.
20-40% of what? For me personally, I consume maybe 30% less calories than I did in my twenties, and probably 60% less calories than the average American male my height (about 6'). About 1/3 come from proteins, 1/3 from fats, and 1/3 from sugars. I also take vitamins. I estimate I get between 1600-2300 calories a day, depending on physical activity, work schedule & sheer desire (or lack thereof) to eat.
By all means slow your metabolism by a bit, but to eat a diet of say just 1000 calories a day in the long term (along the lines of what FelixLeiter is claiming to consume) & undertaking some form of exercise, whilst also (apparently) not consuming a decent mix of proteins & fats is not a sound basis for success IMO.
The first part here is hard to call- we don't know her height, bone structure, metabolism, or the precise intensity of her work out routine on a weekly basis. 1000 (or 1100-1150 as she says above) *may* be perfect for her- it's difficult to say. The second part I agree with wholeheartedly; a decent mix of fats & proteins is essential.
FelixLeiter ♀Staffordshire or a pubPosts: 1,286MI6 Agent
Wow wasn't expecting so much discussion but it's nice to see different points of view.
I find 'starving' an odd word to associate with my diet because I am rarely ever hungry. In fact I've begun to realise that what I used to eat made me feel bloated and stuffed rather than just 'full'. I'm enjoying food far more at the moment.
My calories haven't changed much I don't think, from what I stated before, except that I did have a chinese takeaway at the weekend. I'm still having pretty much the same food - pitta, humus, fruit and crisps for lunch. Dinner tends to be some sort of meat or fish, veg and potato or rice, although I have had a couple of salads with meat or fish.
Exercise hasn't happened, bar a couple of walks which weren't really of great enough intensity for me to call them exercise. Exercise tends to be for 1 hour, 3 times a week, as well as my occasional 2 hour ones. I go for power walks and bike rides.
Currently I feel that what I'm doing is working for me. When I go back to university and then start term though, I'm not quite sure what is going to happen. My meals there will be the same for lunch, but dinner is often a cheap ready meal. I'll have cornflakes and greek yogurt for breakfast. Yet if I see it through and commit to playing rugby this year, they push you further than I can myself. I feel that 2 hours training and 2 lots of 1 hour fitness a week, plus a game if I'm picked, will probably need something better to fuel me than what does at the moment.
Add to this the fact I'll be drinking more alcohol (although I do plan to curb myself a little).
The whole '6 small meals and 20 minutes a day' thing won't ever fit my lifestyle. If I stick at it, I think the rugby will all be enough as it's tough to fit in already. I just need to make sure I'm take in enough to have the energy for it.
In fact I've begun to realise that what I used to eat made me feel bloated and stuffed rather than just 'full'. I'm enjoying food far more at the moment.
Well, it sounds to me that you know what you're doing, based on the above post. I'd only suggest taking a mulit-vitamin just in case.
You drink alcohol, that is. -{
I'd only suggest taking a mulit-vitamin just in case.
You drink alcohol, that is. -{
I have lime in my gin and tonic!
LOL.
Hey- here's a trick to help at uni, I learned it decades ago from a med student- drink a big glass of water an hour before drinking alcohol, then when you're done drinking you G&T, take 2 multi vitamins and another BIG glass of water. It curbs dehydration & replaces vitamins lost to the booze. Little or no hangover. :007)
just drop him a line and tell him Malcolm sent you. He'll look after you. I guarantee you'll never have done anything like it and you'll get more longer lasting results than you thought possible since starting this system fully myself in july i've lost over a stone and more than doubled the number of chin ups i can do in 3 minutes! And i've been studying the martial arts since '83 when i was 10
FelixLeiter ♀Staffordshire or a pubPosts: 1,286MI6 Agent
Thanks chrisisall for that tip! I'll try to remember it, but often these days I've had too many to be able to. I always used to drink a pint of water before bed and I'm told that fruit juice is good too, but drunk me only wants pot noodle and bed )
Agent_M the website does make that gym look really good, but the membership is a bit too much for my student budget I'm afraid!
It had been a fairly depressing week after I'd put a pound on, although I knew it was entirely my own fault because I'd not done any exercise last week. I can tell I've had a turn around in my attitudes though as in the past this sort of thing would have led me to scream "f*** it!" and raid the house for chocolate, yet instead I've found it made me more determined to get more exercise done.
Today I found I'd shifted that pound and another 2 so there's a happy me once again.
I'm left with the thought that the reason I've continued to exercise this week (and others) is that I can't get out of the habit of weighing myself every day. Whilst this gives me either neutral or disappointed feelings most the time, when I have lost something it spurs me on to do even more. For instance, I was planning a relaxing weekend but now want to fit another bike ride in. So I still can't decide whether it is a good or bad thing.
The healthy eating (and drinking) has been getting to me though so I'm off to the pub tonight. I'd usually have 5 or 6 on a Friday night but I'm going to try and stick to 3. I googled and was surprised to learn that Carling contains less than 200 calories a pint, which was nice to learn as though it's not my favourite drink, I thought it was around 300-350.
Glad to hear you're changing your habits, that's always the hardest thing for my students, everyone has habits good and bad but it takes real effort to change them. and if you don't measure you cant manage I get my guys to always take their hart rate before during and after a session and, each week we do a different challenge such as how many push ups you can do in 3 minutes, or how many punches. that way everyone can see how much you've improved.
Okay, I'm now down to 72kg, that's 11 and a quarter stone. At the start of this year I was 12 and a half stone, so that's good progress. When I hit 69kg, I'll be under 11 stone.
I'll give some tips now but if you want to avoid the lengthy spiel, I'll just say that for this sugar addict and chocoholic (same thing) a daily vitamin of D3 at 25 micrograms from Holland & Barrett has been the thing to make all the difference. It's sunshine in pill form, a mild anti-depressant and allievates hunger cravings. The weight has come off since I started on it.
Otherwise, here are my tips
1) Get your vitamins in.
Stands to reason if you're significantly overweight, you've been eating unnutritional trash, junk food. Simply, healthy food you eat and then finish, junk food never satisfies because it has no nutrients, so you keep on eating it.
Any change in eating habits is dicey then, because your body just won't be strong enough to withstand it, it will just crash. Vitamins help to smooth the transition.
I take:
a) Wassen's Selenium ACE, from Boots.
I think this is for skin care, mainly tbf.
b) Wassen's Magnesium, from Boots.
Helps curb chocolate cravings, also works with Vit D3 to make it more effective.
c) Boots' brand Co-enzyme Q10.
Energy pill of sorts, anti-ageing too they say.
d) Holland & Barrett's Vitamin D3, at 25 micrograms, that's a high dosage.
Even more necessary now sunshine is going under for winter months.
e) Holland & Barrett's Omega 3 Krill Oil, 1000mg.
Recommended by Hohn Briffa, who I have a lot of faith in. It's over £10 for a month's supply though, so try instead Cod Liver Oil 1000mg if you want.
f) Solgar's Folic Acid
Mild anti-depressant. Well, Craig is Bond for the forseeable future....
g) Solgar's Chronium Piccolate
To curb cravings.
But I'll be fair with you, I've taken most of these for a year now but as I say, the main difference is the Vit D3, and I've recently dropped the Co-Q10.
Blimey Naps, I can hear you cry. You must rattle when you walk! A healthy diet with give you all these vitamins, just change your eating habits!
True, however, it's questionable whether our veg hasn't been stripped of some nutrients in transit; we don't live in New Zealand. Plus, and I'll come onto this later, if you're a food addict, where do you get your grub? The supermarket, most likely. Where there is a load of sugary treats and confectionary to keep you obsessed. It's like the sex addict going to church in the red light district, not a good idea.
Better to not be thinking about food so much. Just pop a pill and be done with it.
2) Arm lifts or mini dumb bells
Just 1kg weights, from John Lewis. They seem so light, you'll want to buy something heavier. Don't. We're not talking about lifting, more stretching.
Stand in front of the mirror, arms by side. Do some arm lifts. Very simple. 10 reps. Then slowly, surely, windmill both arms forward, with 1kg in each hand. Then, slowly, windmill both arms backwards. Slowly raise both arms by side upwards, like a bird slowly flapping. 10 reps each. Facing mirror, one arm up, one down, push in alternate directions, see your stomach muscles tighten. That it is really, you are stretching your muscles across your stomach, that's the main thing.
This all takes, what? Five mins. It has more effect that boring dreary gym work, that's for sure.
3) Full English breakfast.
Highly calorific, but you can burn of these during the day. We're talking, bran and cornflakes first, then bacon, sausage, scrambled egg, grilled tomato, fair bit of toast. Maybe not every day. But it works, because it's sumptuous and stops you going for the KitKat/Choc croissant option on the way to work. That is just a sugar rush, wreaking havoc on your insulin levels. It's not just the calories, it's the sugar.
Realistically, it's better to find a venue near your work that serves this fare for a fiver. To cook it yourself in the morning, I can't see it happening.
Have most of your vitamins while you have this.
Oh, make a cheese and ham slice toastie and take it with you. Have this when hunger pangs kick in around, 1pm or 2pm. Then you're thru to 5pm or later and no chocolate or sugar.
These are the main things, though if you can find a way to walk a mile into work after your brekkie, better still. Get off the train or tube stop early, something like that.
Or gym membership. It gets on top of you, becomes the unfilled tax return, the unemptied waste bin. It's depressing, just sitting in the changing room, thinking, have I remembered my padlock/ £1 coin for the locker? My gym socks for the treadmill? My towell?
Often I find myself wanting a fight or argument with staff. Don't know why. Could be a rise in testosterone. The sense that I am bringing work and stress into what by rights should be my leisure time.
Studies suggest that running hard on the treadmill for say 25 mins actually lowers your metabolism, making it harder to lose those pounds! Makes sense, going on my gym habits in my late 20s. Terrific fitness levels do not make for weight loss, plus if you're a food addict, well, you just use it to justify having that choccie bar. 'I've burned off 500 calories, this is 500 calories so by rights eating it shouldn't count!' Rubbish, if anything the sugar rush will wreak even more havoc on your knackered body.
It's depressing to sit at the weights and find they're always set at some amount even Jaws would baulk at.
5) Run 10 mins before shower and breakfast.
Just round the block. Keep your kit beside your bed. Get out, stretch a bit for 2 mins, leg muscles mainly. Then jog/sprint for 1km really, gets you going. Those who boast about running 5km, well, they're fit and leanish already chances are. This kickstarts your metabolism for the day.
6) But go to the gym occasionally.
Some do a daily walkin for £10. Fitness First near St Paul's for instance. You can also do the sauna. This is good to keep tabs on how your running is going, should you unwittingly be loafing it on your morning run. The treadmill is great if you do interval training. There is a button on the machine called just that. You key in your jogging speed - around 8.5km - and your sprint speed - around 12.5km - and alternate between the two by pushing the button marked interval training after every minute. This is far more effective than just plugging away boringly, losing the will to live.
7) The plank and side plank
Astonishingly straightforward 'exercise' for abs look it up on youtube.
8) Firm bed and pilates.
TBh, if you have a gut, then a firm bed can cause problems; lying on your front your back can get out of sorts! I don't suggest a pricey pilates course; just get a cheap DVD on it on eBay. I think the person I went for was Janice Dickinson but I'll check. Really you just lie on your back, knees raises, sink the small of your back into the floor. Breathe in and out, hollowing your stomach into the floor. There's more to it than that, but if like me you've been overweight for while, well, your spine may be getting out of alignment and your posture all out. I have been walking sort of leaning forward, because stood erect, my stomach would be barrelling out in front.
9) Green tea as your tipple.
It doesn't taste great but frankly neither does coffee, you just think it does.
10) 2 litre bottle of water by desk, work though it.
One advantage in dieting a desk job can have. Often when you want suger, it's just thirst messing up your synapses.
11) Protein bars and shakes
Not too bad, I don't swear by them. But protein does curb your hunger better than bread type carbs, which tend to increase it.
12) Tesco prawn and rice for £2.50
It's good for eve grub, and you can add £1 sardines in olive oil to it. Very low in calories.
13) Avoid sandwiches, utter rubbish. Go for wraps, in particular Boots' Shapers wraps, very tasty, plus Blackberry/Strawberry/Mint Shaper bars too.
14) Know your poison
The most important point. If you're badly overweight, you're addicted to food! So give up food? No, I mean it's like being addicted to drink. Obv, it means alcoholic drink. Sameways, I mean junk food, not McDonald's in my case but choccie bars. Really, I mean sugar, because the cocoa content of these things is neglible.
Sugar, like the devil, comes in many forms and in the UK we have Whispa bars, KitKats, Galaxy bars, Turkish Delight, Cadbury's Flake, you name it. All in glossy, vibrant wrapping. Just crap, sugar in different guises.
If you can stand in front of these things any your blood actually starts to whir, you're an addict.
If you feel like it's doing the power of good when you have it, and that you're listless and unwell and not fit for purpose beforehand, you're an addict.
If you're eating 3 small choccie bars a day, you're an addict.
If you can contemplate eating those 100g choc bars going for £1 in WHSmith in one sitting, you're an addict.
That's why some of the vitamins I list above are so important.
Likewise, avoid the sugar boom and bust thing. You can get a dish from Pret a Manger, and as healthy as it seems, if you need something sweet after, it means it had too much salt in it. It's like it's deliberate to keep you buying and eating.
15) Be Careful What You Wish For
The Healthy for Men magazine did a piece on two readers who lost weight last year. The results were impressive, but how can I put this? You wouldn't have got off the sidewalk for them in their 'after' poses. Lean, whippety. Before, they did have a brooding machismo, even if it was flab.
That's why mini weights work, it stops you looking like a deflated balloon. The weight has come off my face, legs and bum. Also off my tum, by three notches on the belt, but it takes a while to catch up and there are times when I wonder if I look any better at all, because it's all relative.
I also look more like my teenage gangly self a bit, my face is really a bit too thin. That said, at some point things will level out. However, weight loss can age you, make you look a bit pre-cancerous. Nigel Lawson is the extreme example, but imo Sean Connery looked far older in NSNA than he needed to, because of his exercise regime for the role. He looked better in Outland and Highlander imo. Ditto with the likes of Gary Barlow and Jimmy Car, there is a point when they look a bit wan and Dickensian.
5 small meals a day, all protein, main meals with veg and meat / fish (grilled or steamed) at least 1-2 gram protein per KG of body weight
Loads of water & Green Tea
Join a gym, weights one day, cardio the next (routine / exercises too much to write about but find one suitable for requirements)
Avoid junk, booze and generally crap. If you must, one cheat day a week (Fri or Sat most likely time you will fall off the wagon so one of these is a good day to cheat)
If you fall off the wagon, get back on quick!
That should be enough to lose fat and add muscle to start with!!! Been doing this for 10 years plus, obviously more complex then this but thats the general guidelines I use!) I slip cardio and increase calories when wanting to get bigger!!
That's okay welshboy, but for those who are addicted to junk food, you can't just say 'avoid it'. That's like saying to an alcoholic, hey, how about ditching the booze?
That's okay welshboy, but for those who are addicted to junk food, you can't just say 'avoid it'. That's like saying to an alcoholic, hey, how about ditching the booze?
Ha - Im a chocoholic mate hence why I eat a lot of Chocolate Whey Protein to keep my filthy habbit at bay!!
My faves so far are : PHD Double Chocolate, Optimum Nutrition Choc.
Avoid Maximuscle stuff like the plague, overpriced and tastes like crap!!
As for booze, I love that too, tend to allow myself a blowout after some damn hard cardio once or twice a month.!
This site is okay if you're trying to gradually lose weight and need an idea on limiting calorie intake. It's tied into the above comments, but never really seems to advise anything less than 1,500 calories daily. I'm now down to 11 stone and will need to be on 2010 calories a day, it says, to shed another half a stone of fat by December.
Very good article, and yeah, sugar is the single most abused substance of all time.
My son has type 1 diabetes, so his sugar consumption is vastly different than most peoples. Ironically, it will force him to be healthier than most, with fewer cavities to boot.
I've found a new drug, Alpen! Of course, nuts and raisons notwithstanding, it's mainly sugar.
I know a guy in his 40s, nice fella, seems a good lot younger as he's so slim. Turns out he's got diabetes, so yeah, a sort of silver lining. Because, believe me, getting fat, borderline obese and carrying two extra stone (2 great turkeys strapped to yer body all day) it's not fun. Yet it happens to most people, and in M&S, looking for chinos, really most of the waist bands are 36in to 40in.
So One of my students when he started with me 8 weeks ago manged 38 push ups in 4 minutes, this week he knocked out 76! and not only that his form was much better so that he was working the correct muscles rather that destroying his shoulders. Just a bit of encouragement for you guys if you persevere a little on top of a little soon adds ups to a lot
FelixLeiter ♀Staffordshire or a pubPosts: 1,286MI6 Agent
Just thought I would post an update here.
I lost a stone in a month easily when I first started back in August. The next stone took several months - Christmas set me back quite a bit! It took me a month to lose the weight I had gained in less than 2 weeks and things went pretty slowly over the next few months. Looking back, I was no longer monitoring my alcohol intake and although I didn't put anything on, I wasn't losing anything either. I kicked back by upping my exercise and then at Easter decided to monitor my alcohol a bit more this term. I thought this had all gone disastrously wrong as I necked vodka on Saturday night but then I brought it all back up later. On the one hand, this was terrible and I have sworn only to drink it in martinis for the rest of my life, on the other, it seems not to have impacted on my weight loss over the past couple of weeks.
I am a bit in shock to be honest. I found out today that in the past couple of weeks I have lost 9 pounds. I couldn't believe this but then looking back, I didn't exercise much over my Easter hols and have cut back on my alcohol.
Overall I have now lost 2 and a half stone I haven't weighed this much for nearly 4 years.
Food wise, I have not had a consistent strategy at all. First term at uni I had sausages for breakfast, pitta with humus, low cal crisps and fruit for lunch, and then something to add up the calories for tea. I didn't drink much and when I did I changed what I drank - less beer, more gin and diet tonic. Far too much gin on a couple of occasions.
Second term I switched to cereal for breakfast and used the Hairy Bikers' diet book. I enjoyed the cooking and my evening meals were fab, but they did take up a lot of time and with a huge workload too I was constantly stressed. I was never at home for lunch and their topless sandwiches never filled me up. I was hungry a lot of the time. I forgot about alcohol this term. I am a member of the uni's Real Ale and Cider Society and we attended a lot of beer festivals. I am on the committee next year...
This term? I am eating bread. I went home, had some home baked bread and don't want to leave it. My dad sent me back with a loaf and I bought another from Greggs this week. They make for smaller slices than regular shop brought bread and my fillings are healthy. My weight loss is going better than last term's and so for now, brown bread is staying. Alcohol will be limited, especially beer, because I know lager is so much more tempting when the weather gets warmer. I'm a student - I won't deprive myself, but it was just becoming too much.
Exercise wise I have been fairly consistent, although it has recently changed. I properly committed to the rugby team this year and have really enjoyed it. I only played in a couple of games, but the training and fitness sessions have made a huge difference and am hoping to play a lot more next year. We are currently training for our varsity game next month. This means that we are training 3 times a week instead of once, plus our usual fitness session. In between this, I will be getting to the gym on the days we aren't training, although currently this only leaves 2 days and I am not sure I can make it on one due to uni/working.
I have gone to the gym all year and got them to set me up a programme, which I am about to have reviewed and updated. I had never done any weights before but when I said the coach wanted me to play as a forward, I got shown a few of them. I enjoy having some time at the gym which isn't all cardio. I really haven't done enough to be that strong yet but would like to continue and do more over the summer.
The one thing I forgot about when I started this post was smoking, which although not directly related to my weight has impacted on my exercise. I tried giving up completely in October and it went pretty badly. By January I was really fed up, because although I was smoking less and it had made a difference to my fitness, I was still finding it really hard. My housemate had got an electronic cigarette and so I decided to try that. I have stuck with it. I have had a few real cigarettes whilst very drunk but otherwise I am off them and really don't miss them. The fact that I am now associating the smell of cigarettes with a hangover probably helps! I really don't know if I will give up the electronic cigarette or not right now. I like being able to use it indoors, that I only use it when I have cravings, instead of at habitual times like I did with real cigarettes, that I only use it until my craving has gone - I would always finish a real cigarette. I hate still being reliant on something, but I am not ready to give it up just yet and it has made a big difference to my fitness.
I would really like to lose another stone and a half by August, which I think is achievable as I will have more time once my exams are finished at the start of June. Our varsity training should also help. I am looking forward to getting my bike out back home and using the pool at our refurbed leisure centre, as it was closed last summer. I had become somewhat downhearted at my slow progress last term, but overall I am noticing the difference (I need new clothes now - not just want, need!) and am proud of my progress.
You sound like a right lush, FelixLeiter. {:) Are you sure that it's not the sugar in the alcohol that you're drawn to rather than the alcohol itself?
I think if you stay off the sugar you are half way there. Maybe drink a pint of tap water to alternate with the ale, to keep you hydrated, as beer tends to dehydrate and then you drink more to curb the thirst, a vicious circle.
I guess it's good to mix up the diet, as most people get into a rut with their food, and eat without thinking about it.
"This is where we leave you Mr Bond."
Roger Moore 1927-2017
FelixLeiter ♀Staffordshire or a pubPosts: 1,286MI6 Agent
Thanks guys. I certainly feel it a bit more Nap! ) Wearing shirts that properly fit instead of being just a bit too tight, as well some I haven't dare wear for a couple of years. I went to a party on Saturday night and drank far less beer than I normally would, partly due to having rugby training on Sunday. It was bizarre being the only one sober by 10pm but it proved I could do it when I want to. I also attracted the glances of a lad I had met a few times last year, who has since left uni, and we have agreed to keep in touch...
I had a session at the gym today to upgrade my workout which went really well.
I think you could be right about the sugar Nap. I usually have one or two drinks of diet pop in the day and find it really hard to get through a day without one. I am trying to cut it out but will definitely try having water with my beer when I am at the pub.
Well, I use Solgar's Chronium Piccolate to curb sugar cravings, also H&B's Vit D3 25 micrograms, the latter have a 'penny sale' on now.
I you pm me your email I can send you a checklist of things to do to lose weight, they're taken from tjhis thread in fairness, but I've sent it around a few at work.
Quality fish oils and flax are very good for your general diet - taking the flax in water after your meals helps with insulin 'management'.
If you train pretty hard, then there's also a theory that Vitamin C helps re: Cortisol / stress impact on your body.
I'd definitely try to ditch cereal for breakfast and move towards a higher protein start to the day. Made a conscious decision to alter my lifestyle a few years ago and was lucky enough to have a mate who is a very well regarded PT / nutrition consultant. As bizarre as it sounds, I'm generally on steak / lean cuts of beef and / or eggs for my 1st meal of the day. Definitely feel better for it. I've completely cut out the likes of bread and milk too. Coffee with real cream is the business, so there is an upside! Another little help has been to have a cut up lime in a bottle of water each day ... apparently helps with your gut health / raises ability to process foods, as well as many other benefits too.
As Nap has just said, things such as Vit D, Magnesium and Zinc are all very good supplements if your diet isn't covering it & it's in your budget.
I've got a quick guide sheet that may be of use if anyone wants it. Helps put you on the right track & I found it a help. Drop me a line & will gladly fire it through.
Comments
This idea of your body feeding upon itself simply because you reduce you calorie intake by 20-40% is ridiculous, my diet has been working for me for decades now, no problem with muscle mass, and last week I climbed a 3,800 ft mountain for fun (I'm 52, btw).
If you are a professional weightlifter or an Olympic swimmer, sure, calorie restriction ain't for you, but most people would benefit from it, and that's science, not opinion.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
Who mentioned reducing calories by only 20%?? A starvation diet versus sensible calorific reduction are complete different concepts.
By all means slow your metabolism by a bit, but to eat a diet of say just 1000 calories a day in the long term (along the lines of what FelixLeiter is claiming to consume) & undertaking some form of exercise, whilst also (apparently) not consuming a decent mix of proteins & fats is not a sound basis for success IMO. If something like this works for you then fair play, but I have adopted a different approach with my own success.
This entire discussion also lacks a common frame of reference.
20-40% of what? For me personally, I consume maybe 30% less calories than I did in my twenties, and probably 60% less calories than the average American male my height (about 6'). About 1/3 come from proteins, 1/3 from fats, and 1/3 from sugars. I also take vitamins. I estimate I get between 1600-2300 calories a day, depending on physical activity, work schedule & sheer desire (or lack thereof) to eat. The first part here is hard to call- we don't know her height, bone structure, metabolism, or the precise intensity of her work out routine on a weekly basis. 1000 (or 1100-1150 as she says above) *may* be perfect for her- it's difficult to say. The second part I agree with wholeheartedly; a decent mix of fats & proteins is essential.
FelixLeiter, we need detailed input.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
I find 'starving' an odd word to associate with my diet because I am rarely ever hungry. In fact I've begun to realise that what I used to eat made me feel bloated and stuffed rather than just 'full'. I'm enjoying food far more at the moment.
My calories haven't changed much I don't think, from what I stated before, except that I did have a chinese takeaway at the weekend. I'm still having pretty much the same food - pitta, humus, fruit and crisps for lunch. Dinner tends to be some sort of meat or fish, veg and potato or rice, although I have had a couple of salads with meat or fish.
Exercise hasn't happened, bar a couple of walks which weren't really of great enough intensity for me to call them exercise. Exercise tends to be for 1 hour, 3 times a week, as well as my occasional 2 hour ones. I go for power walks and bike rides.
Currently I feel that what I'm doing is working for me. When I go back to university and then start term though, I'm not quite sure what is going to happen. My meals there will be the same for lunch, but dinner is often a cheap ready meal. I'll have cornflakes and greek yogurt for breakfast. Yet if I see it through and commit to playing rugby this year, they push you further than I can myself. I feel that 2 hours training and 2 lots of 1 hour fitness a week, plus a game if I'm picked, will probably need something better to fuel me than what does at the moment.
Add to this the fact I'll be drinking more alcohol (although I do plan to curb myself a little).
The whole '6 small meals and 20 minutes a day' thing won't ever fit my lifestyle. If I stick at it, I think the rugby will all be enough as it's tough to fit in already. I just need to make sure I'm take in enough to have the energy for it.
You drink alcohol, that is. -{
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
I have lime in my gin and tonic!
LOL.
Hey- here's a trick to help at uni, I learned it decades ago from a med student- drink a big glass of water an hour before drinking alcohol, then when you're done drinking you G&T, take 2 multi vitamins and another BIG glass of water. It curbs dehydration & replaces vitamins lost to the booze. Little or no hangover. :007)
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
http://www.h3performance.co.uk/
just drop him a line and tell him Malcolm sent you. He'll look after you. I guarantee you'll never have done anything like it and you'll get more longer lasting results than you thought possible since starting this system fully myself in july i've lost over a stone and more than doubled the number of chin ups i can do in 3 minutes! And i've been studying the martial arts since '83 when i was 10
www.scottacademymartialarts.co.uk
Agent_M the website does make that gym look really good, but the membership is a bit too much for my student budget I'm afraid!
It had been a fairly depressing week after I'd put a pound on, although I knew it was entirely my own fault because I'd not done any exercise last week. I can tell I've had a turn around in my attitudes though as in the past this sort of thing would have led me to scream "f*** it!" and raid the house for chocolate, yet instead I've found it made me more determined to get more exercise done.
Today I found I'd shifted that pound and another 2 so there's a happy me once again.
I'm left with the thought that the reason I've continued to exercise this week (and others) is that I can't get out of the habit of weighing myself every day. Whilst this gives me either neutral or disappointed feelings most the time, when I have lost something it spurs me on to do even more. For instance, I was planning a relaxing weekend but now want to fit another bike ride in. So I still can't decide whether it is a good or bad thing.
The healthy eating (and drinking) has been getting to me though so I'm off to the pub tonight.
Keep up the good work
www.scottacademymartialarts.co.uk
I'll give some tips now but if you want to avoid the lengthy spiel, I'll just say that for this sugar addict and chocoholic (same thing) a daily vitamin of D3 at 25 micrograms from Holland & Barrett has been the thing to make all the difference. It's sunshine in pill form, a mild anti-depressant and allievates hunger cravings. The weight has come off since I started on it.
Otherwise, here are my tips
1) Get your vitamins in.
Stands to reason if you're significantly overweight, you've been eating unnutritional trash, junk food. Simply, healthy food you eat and then finish, junk food never satisfies because it has no nutrients, so you keep on eating it.
Any change in eating habits is dicey then, because your body just won't be strong enough to withstand it, it will just crash. Vitamins help to smooth the transition.
I take:
a) Wassen's Selenium ACE, from Boots.
I think this is for skin care, mainly tbf.
b) Wassen's Magnesium, from Boots.
Helps curb chocolate cravings, also works with Vit D3 to make it more effective.
c) Boots' brand Co-enzyme Q10.
Energy pill of sorts, anti-ageing too they say.
d) Holland & Barrett's Vitamin D3, at 25 micrograms, that's a high dosage.
Even more necessary now sunshine is going under for winter months.
e) Holland & Barrett's Omega 3 Krill Oil, 1000mg.
Recommended by Hohn Briffa, who I have a lot of faith in. It's over £10 for a month's supply though, so try instead Cod Liver Oil 1000mg if you want.
f) Solgar's Folic Acid
Mild anti-depressant. Well, Craig is Bond for the forseeable future....
g) Solgar's Chronium Piccolate
To curb cravings.
But I'll be fair with you, I've taken most of these for a year now but as I say, the main difference is the Vit D3, and I've recently dropped the Co-Q10.
Blimey Naps, I can hear you cry. You must rattle when you walk! A healthy diet with give you all these vitamins, just change your eating habits!
True, however, it's questionable whether our veg hasn't been stripped of some nutrients in transit; we don't live in New Zealand. Plus, and I'll come onto this later, if you're a food addict, where do you get your grub? The supermarket, most likely. Where there is a load of sugary treats and confectionary to keep you obsessed. It's like the sex addict going to church in the red light district, not a good idea.
Better to not be thinking about food so much. Just pop a pill and be done with it.
2) Arm lifts or mini dumb bells
Just 1kg weights, from John Lewis. They seem so light, you'll want to buy something heavier. Don't. We're not talking about lifting, more stretching.
Stand in front of the mirror, arms by side. Do some arm lifts. Very simple. 10 reps. Then slowly, surely, windmill both arms forward, with 1kg in each hand. Then, slowly, windmill both arms backwards. Slowly raise both arms by side upwards, like a bird slowly flapping. 10 reps each. Facing mirror, one arm up, one down, push in alternate directions, see your stomach muscles tighten. That it is really, you are stretching your muscles across your stomach, that's the main thing.
This all takes, what? Five mins. It has more effect that boring dreary gym work, that's for sure.
3) Full English breakfast.
Highly calorific, but you can burn of these during the day. We're talking, bran and cornflakes first, then bacon, sausage, scrambled egg, grilled tomato, fair bit of toast. Maybe not every day. But it works, because it's sumptuous and stops you going for the KitKat/Choc croissant option on the way to work. That is just a sugar rush, wreaking havoc on your insulin levels. It's not just the calories, it's the sugar.
Realistically, it's better to find a venue near your work that serves this fare for a fiver. To cook it yourself in the morning, I can't see it happening.
Have most of your vitamins while you have this.
Oh, make a cheese and ham slice toastie and take it with you. Have this when hunger pangs kick in around, 1pm or 2pm. Then you're thru to 5pm or later and no chocolate or sugar.
These are the main things, though if you can find a way to walk a mile into work after your brekkie, better still. Get off the train or tube stop early, something like that.
Read my next post below for other stuff.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Or gym membership. It gets on top of you, becomes the unfilled tax return, the unemptied waste bin. It's depressing, just sitting in the changing room, thinking, have I remembered my padlock/ £1 coin for the locker? My gym socks for the treadmill? My towell?
Often I find myself wanting a fight or argument with staff. Don't know why. Could be a rise in testosterone. The sense that I am bringing work and stress into what by rights should be my leisure time.
Studies suggest that running hard on the treadmill for say 25 mins actually lowers your metabolism, making it harder to lose those pounds! Makes sense, going on my gym habits in my late 20s. Terrific fitness levels do not make for weight loss, plus if you're a food addict, well, you just use it to justify having that choccie bar. 'I've burned off 500 calories, this is 500 calories so by rights eating it shouldn't count!' Rubbish, if anything the sugar rush will wreak even more havoc on your knackered body.
It's depressing to sit at the weights and find they're always set at some amount even Jaws would baulk at.
5) Run 10 mins before shower and breakfast.
Just round the block. Keep your kit beside your bed. Get out, stretch a bit for 2 mins, leg muscles mainly. Then jog/sprint for 1km really, gets you going. Those who boast about running 5km, well, they're fit and leanish already chances are. This kickstarts your metabolism for the day.
6) But go to the gym occasionally.
Some do a daily walkin for £10. Fitness First near St Paul's for instance. You can also do the sauna. This is good to keep tabs on how your running is going, should you unwittingly be loafing it on your morning run. The treadmill is great if you do interval training. There is a button on the machine called just that. You key in your jogging speed - around 8.5km - and your sprint speed - around 12.5km - and alternate between the two by pushing the button marked interval training after every minute. This is far more effective than just plugging away boringly, losing the will to live.
7) The plank and side plank
Astonishingly straightforward 'exercise' for abs look it up on youtube.
8) Firm bed and pilates.
TBh, if you have a gut, then a firm bed can cause problems; lying on your front your back can get out of sorts! I don't suggest a pricey pilates course; just get a cheap DVD on it on eBay. I think the person I went for was Janice Dickinson but I'll check. Really you just lie on your back, knees raises, sink the small of your back into the floor. Breathe in and out, hollowing your stomach into the floor. There's more to it than that, but if like me you've been overweight for while, well, your spine may be getting out of alignment and your posture all out. I have been walking sort of leaning forward, because stood erect, my stomach would be barrelling out in front.
9) Green tea as your tipple.
It doesn't taste great but frankly neither does coffee, you just think it does.
10) 2 litre bottle of water by desk, work though it.
One advantage in dieting a desk job can have. Often when you want suger, it's just thirst messing up your synapses.
11) Protein bars and shakes
Not too bad, I don't swear by them. But protein does curb your hunger better than bread type carbs, which tend to increase it.
12) Tesco prawn and rice for £2.50
It's good for eve grub, and you can add £1 sardines in olive oil to it. Very low in calories.
13) Avoid sandwiches, utter rubbish. Go for wraps, in particular Boots' Shapers wraps, very tasty, plus Blackberry/Strawberry/Mint Shaper bars too.
14) Know your poison
The most important point. If you're badly overweight, you're addicted to food! So give up food? No, I mean it's like being addicted to drink. Obv, it means alcoholic drink. Sameways, I mean junk food, not McDonald's in my case but choccie bars. Really, I mean sugar, because the cocoa content of these things is neglible.
Sugar, like the devil, comes in many forms and in the UK we have Whispa bars, KitKats, Galaxy bars, Turkish Delight, Cadbury's Flake, you name it. All in glossy, vibrant wrapping. Just crap, sugar in different guises.
If you can stand in front of these things any your blood actually starts to whir, you're an addict.
If you feel like it's doing the power of good when you have it, and that you're listless and unwell and not fit for purpose beforehand, you're an addict.
If you're eating 3 small choccie bars a day, you're an addict.
If you can contemplate eating those 100g choc bars going for £1 in WHSmith in one sitting, you're an addict.
That's why some of the vitamins I list above are so important.
Likewise, avoid the sugar boom and bust thing. You can get a dish from Pret a Manger, and as healthy as it seems, if you need something sweet after, it means it had too much salt in it. It's like it's deliberate to keep you buying and eating.
15) Be Careful What You Wish For
The Healthy for Men magazine did a piece on two readers who lost weight last year. The results were impressive, but how can I put this? You wouldn't have got off the sidewalk for them in their 'after' poses. Lean, whippety. Before, they did have a brooding machismo, even if it was flab.
That's why mini weights work, it stops you looking like a deflated balloon. The weight has come off my face, legs and bum. Also off my tum, by three notches on the belt, but it takes a while to catch up and there are times when I wonder if I look any better at all, because it's all relative.
I also look more like my teenage gangly self a bit, my face is really a bit too thin. That said, at some point things will level out. However, weight loss can age you, make you look a bit pre-cancerous. Nigel Lawson is the extreme example, but imo Sean Connery looked far older in NSNA than he needed to, because of his exercise regime for the role. He looked better in Outland and Highlander imo. Ditto with the likes of Gary Barlow and Jimmy Car, there is a point when they look a bit wan and Dickensian.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
5 small meals a day, all protein, main meals with veg and meat / fish (grilled or steamed) at least 1-2 gram protein per KG of body weight
Loads of water & Green Tea
Join a gym, weights one day, cardio the next (routine / exercises too much to write about but find one suitable for requirements)
Avoid junk, booze and generally crap. If you must, one cheat day a week (Fri or Sat most likely time you will fall off the wagon so one of these is a good day to cheat)
If you fall off the wagon, get back on quick!
That should be enough to lose fat and add muscle to start with!!! Been doing this for 10 years plus, obviously more complex then this but thats the general guidelines I use!) I slip cardio and increase calories when wanting to get bigger!!
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Ha - Im a chocoholic mate hence why I eat a lot of Chocolate Whey Protein to keep my filthy habbit at bay!!
My faves so far are : PHD Double Chocolate, Optimum Nutrition Choc.
Avoid Maximuscle stuff like the plague, overpriced and tastes like crap!!
As for booze, I love that too, tend to allow myself a blowout after some damn hard cardio once or twice a month.!
You key in your details on the form on the right.
http://www.foodfocus.co.uk/
It asks you to register etc but I haven't, the form calculation still works.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/0/20311399
Roger Moore 1927-2017
My son has type 1 diabetes, so his sugar consumption is vastly different than most peoples. Ironically, it will force him to be healthier than most, with fewer cavities to boot.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
I know a guy in his 40s, nice fella, seems a good lot younger as he's so slim. Turns out he's got diabetes, so yeah, a sort of silver lining. Because, believe me, getting fat, borderline obese and carrying two extra stone (2 great turkeys strapped to yer body all day) it's not fun. Yet it happens to most people, and in M&S, looking for chinos, really most of the waist bands are 36in to 40in.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
www.scottacademymartialarts.co.uk
I lost a stone in a month easily when I first started back in August. The next stone took several months - Christmas set me back quite a bit! It took me a month to lose the weight I had gained in less than 2 weeks and things went pretty slowly over the next few months. Looking back, I was no longer monitoring my alcohol intake and although I didn't put anything on, I wasn't losing anything either. I kicked back by upping my exercise and then at Easter decided to monitor my alcohol a bit more this term. I thought this had all gone disastrously wrong as I necked vodka on Saturday night but then I brought it all back up later. On the one hand, this was terrible and I have sworn only to drink it in martinis for the rest of my life, on the other, it seems not to have impacted on my weight loss over the past couple of weeks.
I am a bit in shock to be honest. I found out today that in the past couple of weeks I have lost 9 pounds. I couldn't believe this but then looking back, I didn't exercise much over my Easter hols and have cut back on my alcohol.
Overall I have now lost 2 and a half stone
Food wise, I have not had a consistent strategy at all. First term at uni I had sausages for breakfast, pitta with humus, low cal crisps and fruit for lunch, and then something to add up the calories for tea. I didn't drink much and when I did I changed what I drank - less beer, more gin and diet tonic. Far too much gin on a couple of occasions.
Second term I switched to cereal for breakfast and used the Hairy Bikers' diet book. I enjoyed the cooking and my evening meals were fab, but they did take up a lot of time and with a huge workload too I was constantly stressed. I was never at home for lunch and their topless sandwiches never filled me up. I was hungry a lot of the time. I forgot about alcohol this term. I am a member of the uni's Real Ale and Cider Society and we attended a lot of beer festivals. I am on the committee next year...
This term? I am eating bread. I went home, had some home baked bread and don't want to leave it. My dad sent me back with a loaf and I bought another from Greggs this week. They make for smaller slices than regular shop brought bread and my fillings are healthy. My weight loss is going better than last term's and so for now, brown bread is staying. Alcohol will be limited, especially beer, because I know lager is so much more tempting when the weather gets warmer. I'm a student - I won't deprive myself, but it was just becoming too much.
Exercise wise I have been fairly consistent, although it has recently changed. I properly committed to the rugby team this year and have really enjoyed it. I only played in a couple of games, but the training and fitness sessions have made a huge difference and am hoping to play a lot more next year. We are currently training for our varsity game next month. This means that we are training 3 times a week instead of once, plus our usual fitness session. In between this, I will be getting to the gym on the days we aren't training, although currently this only leaves 2 days and I am not sure I can make it on one due to uni/working.
I have gone to the gym all year and got them to set me up a programme, which I am about to have reviewed and updated. I had never done any weights before but when I said the coach wanted me to play as a forward, I got shown a few of them. I enjoy having some time at the gym which isn't all cardio. I really haven't done enough to be that strong yet but would like to continue and do more over the summer.
The one thing I forgot about when I started this post was smoking, which although not directly related to my weight has impacted on my exercise. I tried giving up completely in October and it went pretty badly. By January I was really fed up, because although I was smoking less and it had made a difference to my fitness, I was still finding it really hard. My housemate had got an electronic cigarette and so I decided to try that. I have stuck with it. I have had a few real cigarettes whilst very drunk but otherwise I am off them and really don't miss them. The fact that I am now associating the smell of cigarettes with a hangover probably helps! I really don't know if I will give up the electronic cigarette or not right now. I like being able to use it indoors, that I only use it when I have cravings, instead of at habitual times like I did with real cigarettes, that I only use it until my craving has gone - I would always finish a real cigarette. I hate still being reliant on something, but I am not ready to give it up just yet and it has made a big difference to my fitness.
I would really like to lose another stone and a half by August, which I think is achievable as I will have more time once my exams are finished at the start of June. Our varsity training should also help. I am looking forward to getting my bike out back home and using the pool at our refurbed leisure centre, as it was closed last summer. I had become somewhat downhearted at my slow progress last term, but overall I am noticing the difference (I need new clothes now - not just want, need!) and am proud of my progress.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
I think if you stay off the sugar you are half way there. Maybe drink a pint of tap water to alternate with the ale, to keep you hydrated, as beer tends to dehydrate and then you drink more to curb the thirst, a vicious circle.
I guess it's good to mix up the diet, as most people get into a rut with their food, and eat without thinking about it.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I had a session at the gym today to upgrade my workout which went really well.
I think you could be right about the sugar Nap. I usually have one or two drinks of diet pop in the day and find it really hard to get through a day without one. I am trying to cut it out but will definitely try having water with my beer when I am at the pub.
I you pm me your email I can send you a checklist of things to do to lose weight, they're taken from tjhis thread in fairness, but I've sent it around a few at work.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
If you train pretty hard, then there's also a theory that Vitamin C helps re: Cortisol / stress impact on your body.
I'd definitely try to ditch cereal for breakfast and move towards a higher protein start to the day. Made a conscious decision to alter my lifestyle a few years ago and was lucky enough to have a mate who is a very well regarded PT / nutrition consultant. As bizarre as it sounds, I'm generally on steak / lean cuts of beef and / or eggs for my 1st meal of the day. Definitely feel better for it. I've completely cut out the likes of bread and milk too. Coffee with real cream is the business, so there is an upside! Another little help has been to have a cut up lime in a bottle of water each day ... apparently helps with your gut health / raises ability to process foods, as well as many other benefits too.
As Nap has just said, things such as Vit D, Magnesium and Zinc are all very good supplements if your diet isn't covering it & it's in your budget.
I've got a quick guide sheet that may be of use if anyone wants it. Helps put you on the right track & I found it a help. Drop me a line & will gladly fire it through.
Good luck to one & all and stick with it!
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I'd advise protein from another source. :007)
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS