Health and weight loss discussion thread

So lets all get healthy together, support each and get to our goal weights.

Post your info in this thread if you fancy taking part

Come on we can do this !!!!!!!!

* lose

Good job, man. How are you going about it?

-Byshop

@Byshop: low carb, kind of around 40 carbs per day.

Generally keeping my sugars low along with calories under control. Around 2000 tops a day.

That'll do it. I'm trying to get back down to competition weight so I'm keeping it to under 20 grams of carbs a day. Got a little ways to go yet.

I miss bread. :(

-Byshop

@Byshop: 20grams is very low hard work to stick to.

I may lower my carb in take to 20grams as I get a little closer to my goal weight to combat stalls when they happen.

@thehig1: I was also about the same size as you were and I lost alot of weight and now, I weight about 170lb. I used to weight 240lb and it took me just about 2 years to get it all down.

Pro tip: Try to trick you're brain by not eating too much sweets such as cookies or anything that leads to fattening. You gotta drink water, but if you need caffeine, try drinking coffee/tea with no sugar added. Do exercise on a daily basic. A little 10 jumps a day or anything like that adds to the body each passing day. Good luck. Try avoiding eating pasta.

@davillain-: eating low carb means no pasta, bread chips or anything with sugar in.

Activity wise despite being pretty heavy im fairly fit, can log for a few miles, play football weekly.

Cravings for sugar are starting to go, I have protien bars that are low in sugar occasionally for sweet tooth needs.

That's my target. I may be exceeding it from time to time but not by a huge margin so I figure aim low in case I go over. Mainly I stick to red and white meat straight from the butcher, cheeses like moz/fresh moz, and uncooked baby spinach. There are a few things I can enjoy in moderation like sunflower seeds and less sugary jerky varieties. Seaweed snacks are good to nibble on. As far as restaurant foods go, there are tons of options if you remove/don't eat certain parts of the order. Chicken wings and most forms of bbq (so long as its not smothered in sauce) are all good. Avocado is also good but personally I don't like them.

I make salads with grilled chicken, uncooked baby spinach (uncooked spinach cards don't get absorbed, but if you cook it then it's a problem), fresh mozz, jalapenos, bacon bits (real ones, fake ones are full of carbs), and olives with a sugar free dressing on the side.

I found this recipe for keto fried chicken online. It uses a combination of ground sunflower and sesame seeds with some salt, pepper, and herbs as "breading" and you "fry" it by cooking it on a baking sheet lined with avocado oil. I made it last week and it was amazingly good. Not the lowest in terms of calories but it certainly stays within carb limits without sacrificing flavor. Fried chicken was one of the many things I assumed I'd have to do completely without while cutting weight.

There's also a recipe for something called Cloud Bread which is like a fake bread made of sour cream. My wife tried making it for me but it was just too weird. It -looks- like bread but that's where the similarities end and it pretty much dissolves in water or your mouth. I wasn't a fan.

Unsweetened almond juice hits some of the same notes as dairy milk but its a pale substitute.

You can eat pizza if you avoid the crust and don't go crazy on the sauce (tomato paste sweetened with some sugar).

Stuff to avoid ends up being pretty much literally any baked good, any juice or soda (not that I was a fan of either to begin with), any sweets (my wife laughs at me when I read the packaging and ask for 1/4th of the Oreo cookie she's eating), milk (that one's a bummer), any breaded meat, and nearly all condiments. A few are ok, like hot sauces and mustard (I like me some Grey Poupon). BBQ sauces are the worth as they are loaded with sugar. Even some dry rubs are mostly sugar. I bought one from a local BBQ place and was shocked to see it had like 3 grams of sugar per QUARTER TEASPOON.

There are, however, several brands of sugar free BBQ sauce that are very low carb. They taste a little bit different, but they are actually pretty decent. Stubb's sugar free BBQ has a bunch of flavors and Guy's sugar free are both pretty good. Stubbs you can find locally in some markets.

-Byshop

I strongly suggest doing some weightlifting while losing weight. Might need to increase protein intake. This will allow you to retain much more musclemass while getting rid of fat.

I am on a diet too and started in mid December I started around 276 and now I'm 246 of today. I'm to ugly to post pictures lol but anyways congrats man!!!

@Byshop: some good tips thanks, once my loss slows I will be cutting my carbs rarther than calories.

@horgen: Your spot on, about 10 years ago I lost a lot of weight, but had to loose more than I wanted to get rid of my belly, weight training will help stop my body taking weight of areas I dont want it too

@warmblur: Congrats to you keep it up, if you dont want to post pictures thats ok but keep us updated, your weight loss is similar to mine.

What have you been doing to shift the weight ?

Another benefit is that you will get stronger if you are relatively untrained/unfit. I think almost any beginner program with planned deload or reset will do you good. Granted as you lose weight, getting stronger in your upper body is difficult. Legs and core have it easier. Or should I say is prioritized when running on a deficit. In other words, you might not get much stronger at bench press or should press, but squat and deadlift are two exercises can very well improve on.

@horgen: @Byshop:

Can we get this topic stickied or get a similar topic regarding user weight loss stickied? Might be a way to get users to interact more, compete lightly at losing weight, and feeling more like they're part of a community.

We could have it stickied for a quarter. Well through Q2 since we are almost done with Q1. That way it is enough time to get some decent results without going overboard at it. If users are up for it.

@Serraph105: good idea.

Sounds like a good idea to me.

@thehig1:

-Byshop

All this talk of limited carb intake makes me a little anxious.

Thanks man, for me I'm more or less on a protein diet I go on the treadmill almost everyday burn about 150 calories then later go outside for a walk that's about half a mile or something like that. I gave up chips for now and have ice cream as a snack. I also have lean pockets on my diet and different types of burritos. My biggest thing is trying not to eat after 5 pm it's a really hard though may nibble on some crackers or have a sucker that's how I been doing it so far. My goal weight is 150 I can feel a difference with my 30 pound lost now I'm moving quicker I can tell.

Good job man, have been though it myself lost 55kg in a year.

Check out the ketogenic diet for when you hit the wall. It might help you get those last 30 pounds off. And, no, it's not just eating steak and butter and bacon :P It's all about healthy fats, satiety, changing your body chemistry, and feeling good about it. I was on a 65% calories from fat, 30% from protein, and like 5% or less from carbs (max 40 carbs/day). You can get ketogenic test strips you piss on to keep you on track.

I'm suffering from my own weight issues, and have quite a ways to go. It's tough, I know how hard you have worked, so I tip my hat to you. Keep fighting the good fight. Healthy body, healthy mind.

@mrbojangles25: keto is effectively low carb which is what im doing anyway.

When I shall I plan on lowering my carb intake further rarther than my calorie intake.

That and a some weight training should do the trick.

If your trying to loose weight too stay active in this thread keep me updated on how its going.

@npiet1: well done man that's impressive.

Have you been able to maintain you current weight ?

That's a big challenge too, what to do with your diet when you reach your goal.

Last time I lost a lot of weight I slipped back into old habbits and ended up gaining the weight back and plus some.

@thehig1: I just made my meals smaller and only ate 1 meal a day and got use to the feeling of hunger. Energy in, energy out. I do have to watch out though, sometimes I'll go a couple of days without realising I haven't eaten.

Yeah, I sorta do maintain. If I start putting on weight, I'll just eat less.

I don't watch or count anything. I just eat what I want for dinner and that's it.

Quite Inspiring.. Thanks for sharing your motivating journey with us.

@jameswatson12: cheers man, keep an eye on this thread I aint done yet :)

Whoa, there is already a lot of visible progress! You're looking great! I just recently started to seriously go on a weight loss journey myself. I stopped drinking soda and drink low sugar juices or sometimes, sparkling water. It's a pretty tough journey.

@-paranorman-: its hard work, still fighting the urge to binge eat daily.

@thehig1 good work dude, can already see the results!

I fluctuate with my weight myself, I'm currently circa 220-230 lbs at 6ft tall (I very, very rarely weigh myself as it's just depressing lol) but am making a conscious effort lately to shift some extra. I've ditched snacking completely, which I didn't do toooo much of, but more than I needed. Me and my girlfriend generally eat freshly cooked foods, mostly stir-fry or jacket potato with tuna. It's not often we have 'yellow food' aka freezer food, more so when we're in a rush. I've noticed in the last week or so since stopping snacking though that my tshirts already fit better.

I bloody love my food so I haven't been that guy when you're out with friends, and I stuffed my face at my friend's wedding at the weekend. I think the idea of eating generally healthily 99% of the time means that you can splurge when you have an event.

Maybe I'll weigh myself when I get home from work today and semi-join you on your journey!

@goodzorr: get on board man post pics too!

Ermmmm maybe! I'll think about it haha.

Good luck, man. You'll feel a lot better without the extra weight, not to mention the health benefits. I'd suggest l-carnitine caps to help you burn fat, up to 2 g a day, with lots of omega 3.

i'll get them, anything to give me an extra edge cheers

Get yourself a Wii... okay just kidding.

Way to go though man! Your weight loss story is very inspiring, and you already look like a different person in those pics.

Keep up the good work, and I hope you have a sunny wedding. :D

Yea, 40-50 is the sweet spot. Keep at it. Good luck.

@thehig1: Yo. You hear this?

@Byshop said:

@horgen said:

@Serraph105 said:

@horgen: @Byshop:

Can we get this topic stickied or get a similar topic regarding user weight loss stickied? Might be a way to get users to interact more, compete lightly at losing weight, and feeling more like they're part of a community.

We could have it stickied for a quarter. Well through Q2 since we are almost done with Q1. That way it is enough time to get some decent results without going overboard at it. If users are up for it.

Sounds like a good idea to me.

@thehig1:

-Byshop

Rename it the thread so it isn't all about boosting your ego @thehig1 :P Stickied!

@horgen: yeah go ahead rename it to anything, the discussion and support is the important part.

Edit:renamed it to weight loss thread.

Good Luck. By the looks of things, you're doing a good job so far.

Speaking of losing weight, I am also trying to lose some weight even though it isn't easy for me haha.

Based on my experience losing weight, eating fewer carbs is the key to success. My target was eating a maximum of 50-60g carbs every day, including some exercise which can be a walk in the park. If you work in an office job, have a low carb lunch. A salad tossed with some chicken and some sauce can do the trick.

@omegamaster: luckily my job is fairly active im often walkibg around somewere.

I still exercise when I finish work too.

Low carb is definitely the way to go.

Daily Morning Walk is good for health.

One thing I need to stop doing is weighing my self daily, I get frustrated if I dont see a loss and I know how illogical that is.

Weight Fluctuates so much and it isn't the soul measure of progress, other things like clothes fitting better, progress pictures, feeling fitter or hitting tougher targets in exercise are great measures of progress

Anyone wanting a little inspiration check out "Obesetobeast" on you tube, he lost 180lbs a few years ago and has maintained a good weight for years now, he posts videos often and gives great advice.

So anyone up for a little weight loss competition? if you are post your current weight on here and I'll edit the front page to monitor all our progress, Ill use my current weight as my starting weight.

@thehig1: I tried last fall losing some weight as a challenge for myself. I also ended up weighing myself about every damn day. It was like the first thing I did in the morning. Logged it in an excel file and had it compare average over 7 days. That usually showed some difference despite it feeling like none from day to day.

In a few weeks I might start another mini weight loss again.

BTW - Highly recommend these, really cheap and useful, more so than a weight scale imo, as it doesn't accurately reflect weight loss.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ascensia-Ketostix-Reagent-Strips-Ketone/dp/B008ETHFN4

@uninspiredcup: I usually go by the mirror and see. Stop when I am happy.

Lost another pound, looks like I'm averaging about a pound every 3 days for now.

Good pace!

@horgen: been in work on 12 hour shifts last few days so that's without exercise.

Got 3 days off after tomorrow so I'll go to the gym ive just joined and have 5 a side football to play on Thursday night.

Short term goal is to loose another 7lbs by April 1st.

I have jury duty then and should be able to fit into my suit at that weight.

Weightloss is mainly done through changing your eating habits.

@horgen: it is, but exercise helps and can be the kick to get you past a stall.