audio-talk

I've been noticing my weight increasing over the past 12 months and have avoided the bathroom scales like the plague.
This afternoon, I got in the shower and couldn't see my feet unless I sucked my stomach in.
Getting out, I decided to brave the scales and got the shock of my life

Heading for 17st ferchrissakes!:shock:
Last time I weighed myself I was 14 and a half stones, and that is overweight for someone my height and build, so nearly 17st is bloody horrendous.

This is much, much worse than I thought.

To get healthy I need to shed four stones.
I have difficulty putting shoes on.
my back hurts most of the time,
knees hurt.

The irony is, I was this weight about ten years ago.
I went to WeightWatchers, and over the course of six months got down to 12 and a half stone.
I'm one of the 95% of dieters who put all the weight loss back on again.
This time however at nearly 56 I'm at a dangerous age and if something is not done about this, there could be consequences for long term health.

Having dieted before I know it's not rocket science and there's no need to live on salads or stop drinking beer, I did it before and it's more urgent than before that, I get the weight off and keep it off.

I'm going to record my weight every Saturday on this thread so it's public.
I need to do this so it concentrates my mind, otherwise I'll never do it.

So

start weight ........16st 9lbs

I almost hit 17st (108kg) a few years back - my natural weight is around 15st 6lb (98kg) - I'm 6' 4", so don't *look* fat, but my GP knows better.

I lost 11 kg in 3 months by radically reducing my carb input. No rice, potatoes, bread, sugar (incl. jams, honey, marmalade, chocolate etc.) cereals, bananas etc. When you look, its amazing just how much of the stuff we eat contains loads of carbs, especially so-called "health" bars and similar...

I eat as much as I like of meat, most veg (not root stuff as that contains lots of carbs), eggs, butter & cheese etc. If I go to GBK, I just don't have the bun (or chips!)... Tomato ketchup, sweet chilli sauce etc. are nearly 50% sugar (all sugars are carbs).

It was hell for the first two weeks, then became much much easier.

Weight crept back up slowly over 3 years to 16st (102kg), so every year I have a month of just eating a lot less.

Note that most of your dietary fibre comes from foods with carbs, so you should take a fibre tablet every day (Holland & Barrett sell them as "Psyllium Husks").

Easy! Much easier if you have domestic help (i.e. temptation is kept to a minimum...)

You have my sympathy and encouragement . I too am afeared of the scales, having put on nearly 2st in the last 5 years .
I'm just debating whether to join you in the reporting, but last time I tried reducing the calories for a while, nothing happened other than a reduction in my already limited energy , so I'm scared it'll just be a depressing reminder each week .
I'll mull over it for a while .
Certainly it's a good idea and a brave move .

I'm only 5' 10" so 16st 9lbs is not good.

The regime you describe Nick is similar to the Weightwatchers way of doing things.
Plenty of fresh veg and fruit apart from bananas, lean cuts of meat and salad.
Pasta or similar carbs once a week, fish.
Pastries, biscuits and chocolate are out of the question except maybe as a once a month treat.
The regime I went on allowed for four pints of beer or the equivalent in units of wine per week and wasn't really difficult provided you had the right attitude.

Dieting with others rather than going it alone is the key, or having a partner on your side.

Mark, regarding energy problems, you do need to make sure your card intake is sensible when trying to lose weight. your carbs need to be about 30% of your calorie intake, otherwise you just get all sluggish, feel crap and give up.

Put it this way, last time I lost the weight and reached my goal weight, we celebrated by going to Whitby. I was able to jog up the steps leading to Whitby Abbey, barely breaking sweat. I kid you not.

Steve, you probably know this, if you can take up some form of regular exercise and stick at it your success of keeping the weight off will that much greater...

Neal wrote:Steve, you probably know this, if you can take up some form of regular exercise and stick at it your success of keeping the weight off will that much greater...

Aye.. I used to go for a half hour brisk walk, every night without fail, whatever the weather. Not only was it good exercise, it was also a great way of saving up points so I could go for a pint.

I ended up at 12 and a half stones last time after 6 months, starting at 16st
so its doable.

Bear in mind what sort of carbs you're eating. Refined sugar, white bread etc are absorbed very quickly, far more quickly than they can be burned up,so the body, being clever and frugal, immediately stores them as fat cos you never know what's around the corner. Slow-release carbs (porridge, brown bread, baked beans) absorb much more slowly so get burned up before they can be stored. A bowl of porridge for breakfast will keep you going 'til lunch without feeling hungry without put the weight on, whereas the refined stuff will pile on the weight without satisfying your hunger for more than an hour or so.

I'm 5' 11" and my job involved sitting in a chair for 12 hours. I don't think too much about my weight (Jane does that for me....), but I have a bowl of porridge for breakfast and my bag contains a decent lunch/tea (spag bog or whatever the rest of the family had last night, or a decent Riverford organic pastie), two bananas, a couple of apples or pears and half a dozen digestive biscuits. When I get home (about 10:30 pm) I'll have a cup of tea and a snack. Weight is fairly constant between 11st 3lbs and 11 st 6lbs.

shane wrote:Weight is fairly constant between 11st 3lbs and 11 st 6lbs.

I 'ate you Butler

Steve, I find myself in much the same boat as you, just turned 56 and heading towards 17st; I only better you by being 6ft tall!

I've found it really hard since an accident over the Christmas break 2009 that resulted in 6-7mths on crutches. I recovered from the fracture but the after affects of the injury and surgery inhibit my ability to exercise as I used to (walking, jogging, five a side, cycling) and the weight has crept up on me.

I too need to try some sort of weight loss regime or I'll be headed for an early exit! Maybe I'll join you - let me sleep on it.

Ray

Like Shane I start the day with porridge. Don't eat a scrap until the morning jobs all completed. This involves carrying heavy tools in and out of 4 or 5 houses plus walking around house to check various items. Then stop for fish and chips. Afternoon same as morning. Don't eat a scrap then home for two courses. Don't eat at all after dinner and definitely nothing long before bed.

Hold a consistent 13 stone 5/10 when I was 16 but shortened since then. 10stone when 16 rose to 13 and stay there by active work life all day every day and never eat between meals no sugar in tea.

SteveTheShadow wrote:I'm only 5' 10" so 16st 9lbs is not good.

The regime you describe Nick is similar to the Weightwatchers way of doing things.

Weightwatchers is all about calorie counting (though they call it "points").

If you haven't changed anything but your weight is creeping up unexpectedly, it might be a good idea to speak to your GP... May just be your metabolism slowing with age (as it does), but worth a check...

I have a sedentary job - mostly desk bound and a fair few lunches, though I don't drink or smoke and do a fair amount of exercise (tennis,squash,cycling,swimming,walking etc.).

Basically by being sensible and eating less to balance input energy vs output, the weight goes...

You are right about doing it with someone else - when I lost that 11kg it was a competition at work - 7 of us - standardised weigh in each week using a reference set of digital scales in the gym. It was a competition - whoever lost the greatest percentage of their starting weight over the 3 months won - 50 quid entrance, winner takes all.

I lost badly the first year but won the second - the winner generally bought "a good lunch" for the other competitors, so it wasn't really about the money. Honest !

But it works. (for me, anyway).

My biggest problem is snacking. This has plagued me for a long time.
My calorie intake has skyrocketed over the last year through snacking, and my exercise level has dropped, so its small wonder the weight has piled on.

SteveTheShadow wrote:My biggest problem is snacking. This has plagued me for a long time.
My calorie intake has skyrocketed over the last year through snacking, and my exercise level has dropped, so its small wonder the weight has piled on.

I find the easiest way to avoid "snacking" is to not buy the snacks in the first place.

I normally avoid buying cakes and biscuits, although my weakness is late night cheese and savoury biscuits.

We are now thinking of cutting out the cake and biscuits here at Chez M.H. and I thought of trying fruit in lieu of. Stopped eating crisps about a year ago (heard somewhere a bag of crisps every day is like drinking 250 litres of frying oil per year). However we still eat cake at every evening teatime, that's every day! Only properly dawned on me recently.