fight the flab

[thebish]

just to see if there is any interest...

I don't know if I am the only one who might be slightly out of condition as age advances and might be a couple of stone above my previously ideal fighting-fit teenage buff-weight as I sneak quietly past 50...

but - well - I'm a bit too fat. So - not for the first time - I am just embarking on a campaign to slim down. It's too late for me to achieve a beach-bod in time for the summer - but - hey, I feel less hungry when it's hot, so I figured summer is as good a time as any!

this is a thread for anyone who is making a conscious effort to trim the flab - a place to share your triumphs and disasters - tears and joys, heartache, sadness and pain... a place to find a friendly encouraging arm to help you on your journey to the new you... etc....

[Gary the Enfield]

just to see if there is any interest...

I don't know if I am the only one who might be slightly out of condition as age advances and might be a couple of stone above my previously ideal fighting-fit teenage buff-weight as I sneak quietly past 50...

but - well - I'm a bit too fat. So - not for the first time - I am just embarking on a campaign to slim down. It's too late for me to achieve a beach-bod in time for the summer - but - hey, I feel less hungry when it's hot, so I figured summer is as good a time as any!

this is a thread for anyone who is making a conscious effort to trim the flab - a place to share your triumphs and disasters - tears and joys, heartache, sadness and pain... a place to find a friendly encouraging arm to help you on your journey to the new you... etc....

Good for you.

Word to the wise. Eat less and exercise more. Magic formula for weight loss.

Forget your faddy diets, this is where it all starts. You can fine tune from there.

When I say exercise I don't mean a long walk either. Do something that gets you out of breath and your heart racing three times a week for 30 minutes each time.

[Bruce Rioja]

With you on this, Bish. I can see myself morphing into my Dad, and he died at 58, so it's not simply for aesthetic reasons. My problem here though is that my favourite pastime and specialist subject is eating and drinking.

[thebish]

so... I am about 5ft 9ins and last week I weighed near enough 14stone, I have a BMI of 25.5 (which isn't disastrous - but it does put me firmly in the "overweight" category)

so... the only way I have successfully lost weight in the past is by calorie-counting - which is what i am doing with the aid of myfitnesspal.com (which is basically a food and exercise diary - and it calculates the calorie intake and calories burned totals - and suggests what those totals should be in order to lose xlbs per week.)

because i am fairly impatient I have opted to lose 2lbs per week - which means that I have to eat about 1000 calories under what i should normally eat each day. (I can exercise and "earn" more calories to eat - but I haven't phased in the exercise yet - but I will because it is kinda good for you!)

end of week 1: i have lost 6lbs

it is quite normal (I think) to lose more than expected in week one - it is probably water-loss (I am told) - because I am now also drinking the recommended 2litres of water each day - which (actually) is qute filling! (I am told that drinking more water helps you lose weight caused by water-retention - though that was on the internet so it might be bollox!)

I have found that cutting out bread and not eating between meals (whilst waiting for kettle to boil) has pretty much given me the calorie-cut that i needed.. in fact - some days I have to drink wine and eat chocolate at the end of the day to get my calorie intake UP to the recommended level and avoid going into "starvation mode"!

next week I will add in some regular daily sessions on the cross-trainer... and while it's warm - will probably go out for a swim in the sea...

so... anyone else?

I'm aware that this all sounds very girly - but - hey - it's the 21st century - we're thoroughly modern men! so - recipe ideas also welcome here!!

[Prufrock]

I think the water thing is that if you're not drinking enough your body goes all 'camel' and thinks 'well, I might got much where that came from so save it all up'. I drink feck loads of water usually but get really dehydrated if I have a spell without, which is presumably the opposite effect in that my body literally pisses it all away.

[Prufrock]

Also, make sure the low-calorie stuff you eat is interesting. It's worth adding a few calories to stick a dressing on a salad which means you can eat that every day, rather than what some people do which is eat mega-bland stuff for a few days then fall off the wagon and have a KFC.

Guessing that wont be a problem for you Bish, as you seem pretty creative on that front, as I suppose veggies often have to be, but for others who don't normally do much with fruit and veg that'd be my advice.

[Gary the Enfield]

so... I am about 5ft 9ins and last week I weighed near enough 14stone, I have a BMI of 25.5 (which isn't disastrous - but it does put me firmly in the "overweight" category)

so... the only way I have successfully lost weight in the past is by calorie-counting - which is what i am doing with the aid of myfitnesspal.com (which is basically a food and exercise diary - and it calculates the calorie intake and calories burned totals - and suggests what those totals should be in order to lose xlbs per week.)

because i am fairly impatient I have opted to lose 2lbs per week - which means that I have to eat about 1000 calories under what i should normally eat each day. (I can exercise and "earn" more calories to eat - but I haven't phased in the exercise yet - but I will because it is kinda good for you!)

end of week 1: i have lost 6lbs

it is quite normal (I think) to lose more than expected in week one - it is probably water-loss (I am told) - because I am now also drinking the recommended 2litres of water each day - which (actually) is qute filling! (I am told that drinking more water helps you lose weight caused by water-retention - though that was on the internet so it might be bollox!)

I have found that cutting out bread and not eating between meals (whilst waiting for kettle to boil) has pretty much given me the calorie-cut that i needed.. in fact - some days I have to drink wine and eat chocolate at the end of the day to get my calorie intake UP to the recommended level and avoid going into "starvation mode"!

next week I will add in some regular daily sessions on the cross-trainer... and while it's warm - will probably go out for a swim in the sea...

so... anyone else?

I'm aware that this all sounds very girly - but - hey - it's the 21st century - we're thoroughly modern men! so - recipe ideas also welcome here!!

My wife is doing 1,000 calories a day and exercising by swimming three times a week. She has a recipe book which you may want to check out.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j& ... 8758,d.ZGU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Harry Genshaw]

Seems like you've got off to a great start Bish -well done. You'll get into those medium dungarees for xmas

Personally, my weakness is lunch time. If I don't make the effort and take something healthy to work I end up buying out. It costs more, is less healthy and I'm more likely to buy a bag of crisps to go with it than a banana

[General Mannerheim]

i need a target, like a holiday or a race ive entered. when ive got a target i can be quite disciplined, will train hard several times a week, in addition to my usual squash playing and bike riding pursuits. I always kick things off by just cutting out crisps, cake and chocolate - and try to reduce the bread intake which is the hardest part. a good filling healthy breakfast, like granola with fruit and yoghurt will mean i can manage of just some soup at lunch. for tea ill have whatever i want but maybe without the chips, or the bread.

if i maintained my regime all the time i could happily just eat what i want. trouble is i get back from holiday eat what i want but without the training, pile it back on - then repeat.

[KeyserSoze]

I'm trying something i read once - cycle/run in to work, eat big breakfast, then a medium lunch and small tea. This is mixed with cardio stuff and then some HIIT during the week, which has done me alright so far. I'm never been a small lad but it's quite satisfying to see some (albeit muted) definition on my body!

Weakness for me is beer. You could stick broken glass on the pavement to it, but after a session, I will still run to the kebab shop and order the biggest thing in there.

[thebish]

Also, make sure the low-calorie stuff you eat is interesting. It's worth adding a few calories to stick a dressing on a salad which means you can eat that every day, rather than what some people do which is eat mega-bland stuff for a few days then fall off the wagon and have a KFC.

Guessing that wont be a problem for you Bish, as you seem pretty creative on that front, as I suppose veggies often have to be, but for others who don't normally do much with fruit and veg that'd be my advice.

^ very good tips! I am a bit salad-phobic - so standard salad ingredients (lettuce) are not playing a prominent role unless they are bulked up with summat else...

I do eat what is described as a salad often for lunch - a brown lentil salad... which is filling - but also has a lovely sharp bite to it - and I often bulk it up with a big handful of steamed spring greens - which have virtually no calories but are green so (by law!) very good for you - and add a gloriously bitter contrast...

Ingredients: makes enough for about 5 days

1 cup dry brown lentils
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup finely diced carrots
1/3 cup finely diced celery (I replace this with cucumber as celery is disgusting!)
1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
1/4 cup minced parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
5 tbsp lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
(I add other stuff like a dash of balsamic vinegar and sometimes anchovies from the local fish shop...)


Directions:

In a medium saucepan combine lentils, bay leaf, and thyme. Add enough water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered until lentils are tender but not mushy, about 16 to 20 minutes. Drain lentils and discard bay leaf. Place in a large work bowl with carrots, celery, red pepper, red onion, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss to combine and serve chilled or room temperature.

[Bruce Rioja]

Personally, my weakness is lunch time. If I don't make the effort and take something healthy to work I end up buying out. It costs more, is less healthy and I'm more likely to buy a bag of crisps to go with it than a banana

I never (or incredibly rarely) eat breakfast, which I believe isn't really good practice. As such, by lunchtime I'm bloody ravenous, like I am now. Like you, Harry, I've got myself into the habit of bringing-in now (ham salad today ) rather than buying into the Tesco mayo-with-everything meal deal, or going to the local bakers with good intentions yet coming back with neither money nor self-respect

[thebish]

My wife is doing 1,000 calories a day and exercising by swimming three times a week. She has a recipe book which you may want to check out.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j& ... 8758,d.ZGU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

she's just using the recipes rather than actually doing the actual 5;2 fast diet??

[Prufrock]

Seems like you've got off to a great start Bish -well done. You'll get into those medium dungarees for xmas

Personally, my weakness is lunch time. If I don't make the effort and take something healthy to work I end up buying out. It costs more, is less healthy and I'm more likely to buy a bag of crisps to go with it than a banana

Yep, I've got me one of these now:



Salad goes in the bottom. Fill up the little ice-block which keeps it cold (you can get ones where instead of an ice-block you get a little tray for snacks but I'm not going to have a fridge from Sept so the ice-block is good). Little pot for a dressing (keeping it separate means stuff doesn't go soggy). Clip together knife and fork which are pretty sturdy for that sort of thing, although still a bit shit. Saves a shit ton of money and is way healthier.

I get to be a cool kid and bring salad to work!

[General Mannerheim]

yes booze is a killer. not only is it dead calorific by itself, you get the munches! and your inhibitions have gone so you'll eat owt. i also crave junk all the next day!!

[thebish]

i need a target, like a holiday or a race ive entered. when ive got a target i can be quite disciplined, will train hard several times a week, in addition to my usual squash playing and bike riding pursuits. I always kick things off by just cutting out crisps, cake and chocolate - and try to reduce the bread intake which is the hardest part. a good filling healthy breakfast, like granola with fruit and yoghurt will mean i can manage of just some soup at lunch. for tea ill have whatever i want but maybe without the chips, or the bread.

if i maintained my regime all the time i could happily just eat what i want. trouble is i get back from holiday eat what i want but without the training, pile it back on - then repeat.

that sounds very much like the cycle i have got stuck in over the last 10 years...

[Gary the Enfield]

My wife is doing 1,000 calories a day and exercising by swimming three times a week. She has a recipe book which you may want to check out.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j& ... 8758,d.ZGU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

she's just using the recipes rather than actually doing the actual 5;2 fast diet??

She can't do the 5:2 for health reasons. So she sticks rigidly to 1,000 calories every day instead.

[thebish]

I'm trying something i read once - cycle/run in to work, eat big breakfast, then a medium lunch and small tea. This is mixed with cardio stuff and then some HIIT during the week, which has done me alright so far. I'm never been a small lad but it's quite satisfying to see some (albeit muted) definition on my body!

Weakness for me is beer. You could stick broken glass on the pavement to it, but after a session, I will still run to the kebab shop and order the biggest thing in there.

what's HIIT?

as for kebab-time - not a temptation i have as a vegetarian!

[Gary the Enfield]

I'm trying something i read once - cycle/run in to work, eat big breakfast, then a medium lunch and small tea. This is mixed with cardio stuff and then some HIIT during the week, which has done me alright so far. I'm never been a small lad but it's quite satisfying to see some (albeit muted) definition on my body!

Weakness for me is beer. You could stick broken glass on the pavement to it, but after a session, I will still run to the kebab shop and order the biggest thing in there.

what's HIIT?

as for kebab-time - not a temptation i have as a vegetarian!

High Intensity (or High Impact) Training

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j& ... 8758,d.ZGU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[KeyserSoze]

high-intensitiy interval training - just circuits of push-ups, situps, burpees etc. It's horrible but i like it as it mixes some cardio with strength and conditioning.

damn ye! not even the delicious salads in them?!