BareBones Fatfighters - The weigh in

[Bearbonesnorm]

maybe try last thing tonight to see if there's
Any difference

My experience is that you weigh less in a morning than you do at night. Pick a weigh in time and stick to it, altering times will just give you false figures that mean nothing.

As a non-drinker it's very easy for me to say, 'cut the drink out'. It's dead calories and carbs at that, it might seem hard but it'll make a real difference.

Also worth considering some type of resistance exercise to build muscle mass. The more muscle you have the more calories your body will readily burn. The scales might tell you're actually gaining weight but the mirror and your clothes will tell the truth.

And one last thing - it's a long-term process, any additional weight you're carrying didn't appear over night, so there's no reason to think it'll go over night either

[Richard G]

Just so people don't feel too disheartened about their weekly weigh ins, here's a pic from the graph I use to see if I'm trending / averaging in the right direction when bulking / cutting.



Probably not that easy to see, but each of those lines represents a kg, and the lines are "Green: Daily Weight", "Blue: 7 Day Avg", "Red: 30 Day Avg".

At a couple of times there the biggest weekly variance amounted to about 3kg (6.6lbs). Or in other words, if I was doing it weekly I could have weighed say, 70kg (11st 0lbs) last week, and 73kg (11st 6lbs) this week even though I was actually trending downwards.

[whitestone]

+1 to what both Stuart and Richard have just said.

If you look at your target weight then consider when you were last consistently that weight then most of us are looking at weights that last saw the light of day a decade or more ago. Your body has had all that time to get used to the extra weight you are now carrying, it considers it "normal", so the trick is to lose weight without your body (or subconscious if you prefer) realising what's happening otherwise it will just think that it's entering a period of starvation and lay down fat reserves "to see it through". This is what the 1Kg (or 2lbs if you prefer) weight loss per week upper limit is trying to prevent. Sure it's not as jaw dropping as the fad diet figures but you are much less likely to put all the weight, and more, back on in six or twelve months' time.

What Richard's graph doesn't show (dunno if he has the data or is willing to share it) are the other factors: level of exercise; amounts of stress both work and domestic; illness. These all can impact how we or our subconscious decide to eat and handle those calories.

[Fat tyre kicker]

Thanks for the wise words,I do normally weigh myself first thing,
Still getting my head round the 'diet', the one thing I do miss is toast,
I love a couple of rounds in a morning ( whole meal or low fat seeded)
But I've had none since I started,as for booze, I'll cut out the cider,it was
A festive remnant and maybe just have a wee scotch ( and not half a bottle )
I've had no potatos, rice or noodles as well as the bread,made cauliflower rice
To go with curry (homemade,no fat) and Moroccan chicken. If im hungry,I snack
On cooked meats (cured Spanish pork leg hung in kitchen) or approx 40/50g of
Peanuts maybe every other day. Take today for example,had a boiled egg cold
For breakfast and now warming homemade chicken & mushroom soup, probably
Having cooked meats/cheese sliced peppers and olives for tea

[Bearbonesnorm]

You seem to be cutting down on the carbs (IMO good thing) but I'm getting mixed messages on the fat. Purely through my own experience and with nothing to back it up, I found that if I remove carbs but keep eating fat, I lose weight.

It also sounds like you're not really enjoying what you're eating, which means maintaining it will be extra hard and will very quickly feel like a chore. For it to work, it needs to feel completely normal and certainly not like any kind of 'diet' ... this isn't short term, it's for the rest of your life.

[Richard G]

That was the biggest thing for me. I'd done diet (successfully), then the diets ended, and everything came back and more. It's about making changes that become natural.

Oh, and just in case people didn't know, at one point I was more than four stone (27kg) overweight, and I'm not a big guy, so you can imagine how that looked. it's easy to look at the whippet version of me now and assume that I've always been a scrawny wretch.

What Richard's graph doesn't show (dunno if he has the data or is willing to share it) are the other factors: level of exercise; amounts of stress both work and domestic; illness. These all can impact how we or our subconscious decide to eat and handle those calories.

I have it... heart rate variability data too, but it all gets a bit scientific and confusing.

[whitestone]

I have it... heart rate variability data too, but it all gets a bit scientific and confusing.

Going OT - I used to check my heart rate every morning before getting out of bed (I used a Polar HRM). I've a fairly low resting HR and could tell a day or two before any other symptoms appeared if I was starting with a cold or some other illness as my RHR would rise by 15% or so. I saw somewhere that the England Rugby team do their training with HRMs and the coaches can similarly tell if an illness is on the way and they stop that player from training so as not to cause any damage to their hearts.

Some recommend only weighing yourself weekly to avoid getting depressed at daily variation but a daily "blip" could occur on your weighing day and you wouldn't know that it was just a one off so you could then get into a cycle of over-compensation.

[Richard G]

Thankfully I've long since learned not to get too disheartened by any short term fluctuations. Especially as I often use the weekend for cheat days after massive rides.

That said, I wont take scales with me on a holiday because yeah, that way leads to obsession. Anything I gain when relaxing for a bit I can take off again with time.... and despite what those wankers at BikeRadar etc seem to think, everyone needs to take their foot off the gas from time to time and relax.

[Fat tyre kicker]

Cheers Stu, to be fair ,I am enjoying what I'm eating,it's the 'convenience ' side
Of a slice of toast I probably miss...especially as I make it most mornings for the
Children I look after ...not really missing the carbs apart from that,I'm aiming
For a very low carb/ healthy fats kind of balance alongside my wife's S/world.
I did have a dull heavy kind of headache at the end of the first week but that's gone
Now......I've quit drinking before and the weight does drop quicker so that's this
Weekends challenge (I normally only have a drink one night at a weekend)

Edit ; Richard....very true

[Richard G]

For what it's worth, I still drink (as apparently, those in The Star can tell you)... but, I don't make it a habit. If I'm going to enjoy myself, I'm going to enjoy myself. The worst sort of drinking is the sort done to try and relax after work, or to get to sleep, or because you NEED IT.

I'm never going to quit drinking, I enjoy it too much, but it is something I can most definitely control.

[godivatrailrider]

Second week weigh in;
Not very happy,back UP to 18st 4
Out most of the day Sunday at 'Degla surfing the trails, stuck to
Plan food wise, had whisky and a few Ciders( I know- sugar!) so maybe
That's derailing me.....I weighed myself first thing this morn though and had
Drank a litre of water through the night, maybe try last thing tonight to see if there's
Any difference

It's soul destroying , isn't it. :( My lad KNOWS he's been less than vaguely exciting so had few expectations. I thought I'd done well with food, alcohol & exercise so had some expectations of a drop.
To apparently put 3 lb on is heart breaking.
Stay off the Sad Step.... only weigh once a month maybe.

[godivatrailrider]

For what it's worth, I still drink (as apparently, those in The Star can tell you)... but, I don't make it a habit. If I'm going to enjoy myself, I'm going to enjoy myself. The worst sort of drinking is the sort done to try and relax after work, or to get to sleep, or because you NEED IT.

I'm never going to quit drinking, I enjoy it too much, but it is something I can most definitely control.

PRAISE BE to that !!

[Fat tyre kicker]

Gee....some night out you had there
I know what you're saying and to be fair, drinking plays havoc with my
Sciatica and Arthritus at times so I've got to watch what I drink, definately
Got to adjust to a reward/ treat night out thing than just doing it cos it's Saturday
Kind of thing

[NorwayCalling]

not really enjoying what you're eating, which means maintaining it will be extra hard and will very quickly feel like a chore. For it to work, it needs to feel completely normal and certainly not like any kind of 'diet' ... this isn't short term, it's for the rest of your life.

Completely agree with the above...

I am not on a diet and the whole point of this Fat fighters thing was light hearted way for all of us to share in the highs and lows of making permanent changes to our lifestyles. I for one am not going to stop eating pizza or potato's, I am just not going to eat vast amounts of it (like I have for years and years).

All I am doing is cutting the size of the meals I am eating, not snacking in between (so much), thinking more about having food in the house and not "oh well takeaway tonight, as we have nothing in" etc. Eating less will reduce the calorific intake and that's what I feel I need, less energy in and help restore the energy in = energy out balance.

We are all different and should all have different ways in getting to our end ambition/targets/goals. Just remember, being happy with what you are doing, its meant to be stress free.

This is why I only weigh in every 2 weeks, not every day or week but every 2 weeks. If i go up, then i go up, down is always a bonus but as I said for the outset, change was overdue and I need to restore the balance in my eating habits. No food will be off limits, no ratio of food will be off limits (no giving up carbs for me), no calories will be off limits (pudding, don't mind if i do). The only thing i am proactively doing is avoiding "red label foods" i.e. red for high fat, high sugar etc on processed foods and sugar filled drinks (fizzy water for me please).

BUT and this is the important bit for me, I will not be eating a whole family size pork pie in one go or the whole order of sweet n sour chicken and chips, a 14" pizza, half the apple pie etc.

I am often referred to (and i often refer to myself) as a Labrador dog, can't refuse food, especially if it is free or if I have paid for it in a restaurant (brought up having to clear plate... oh the 70's...). Great when young, useless in middle age!

i now realize i don't have to eat everything, I don't have to bolt down my food and eat the whole takeaway in one sitting.

This is tough in many ways, we all know its going to be tough - hence my putting it out to others as I am sure there will be hard times ahead for all. Mutual support i suppose.

What am i saying... I don't really know, I can't offer words of encouragement as these are already within us all, we know deep down inside we can do this, trust the force and don't fight it, fighting the force will only lead to the dark side...

[Fat tyre kicker]

Cheers NorwayCalling, I'm sure it will settle down soon enough,when I
Get the weight moving I'll be happier and will enjoy earning treats, strangely
Enough I've been approximately this weight for a couple of years,no matter
What I consume,perhaps I assumed the carb cull would work quicker,
Anyway,I'm not panicking, consumption is down and exercise is up so
I'll play the long game and see what transpires

[PeterC]

Good post Norway, very much agree with your thought and those of Stu. I probably had my last homemade steak and stilton shortcrust pastry pie for a while though
Apologies, for lateness with weigh in, I'm now at 73.8 kg. Not much, but as the wife was working Xmas and New Year (didn't stop the eating though) we been doing some visiting which meant lots of traditional Hungarian cooking. Also a couple of nights half board in a hotel with buffet breakfast and dinner. So surprised really to have lost a little and not put any on. Not much biking at the moment but been getting in a bit of walking which probably helped. Not got measurements this time, I'll do that at the next one.
All the best to everyone some good results up thread.
Peter

[godivatrailrider]

If folks are struggling with the variety , or lack there of, of meals I'd strong suggest getting the 3x Joe Wicks books. I think some of his portions are excessive but if you tailor them to suit you have some amazing meals available.

His Katsu Chicken is fantastic. It's a Post Workout meal .... but that sauce is simple and brilliant.

https://www.panmacmillan.com/blogs/blue ... rry-recipe

His Chicken Pie, Philly Steak, Creamy Chicken, Bad Boy Burritos ..... all stunning.

We've been through the books and listed the initial ones we're most interested in , maybe 50 meals, if /when we get bored we'll go through them again and pick some more.

[Yorlin]

A few friends have said the Hairy Bikers diet books are pretty good.

[Richard G]

Just under 3kg to go for me. I have absolutely no idea how long that'll take though. Really hope not much more than a couple of months.

Finding the calorie deficit is definitely impacting my workouts now, though more the weight training than the turbo stuff.

[Blair512]

A few friends have said the Hairy Bikers diet books are pretty good.

That's what I've been using. It's not necessarily low carb but they are healthy meals that the whole family enjoys. I've tried to cut carbs during the day to minimum and a hairy bikers recipe for dinner and it seems to be working.

[Fat tyre kicker]

My wife uses the Hairy biker books, the paprika chicken is lovely

[Yorlin]

I saw that one on the telly (ITV500 or something) it looked good.

I've gone in a belt notch! Keep forgetting to weigh myself though!

Does anybody go to the gym? I got a subscription for christmas and it's got a swimming pool and machines. I like the running machines but I'm scared of being shot off the end of them if I turn up the speed to high.

[FLV]

It also sounds like you're not really enjoying what you're eating, which means maintaining it will be extra hard and will very quickly feel like a chore. For it to work, it needs to feel completely normal and certainly not like any kind of 'diet' ... this isn't short term, it's for the rest of your life.

I have this trouble. I really like Pies and real ales. Substituting this is tricky.

I also still dont own any scales, but so far am not seeing any visible results from my minor efforts.

I do really need to up the effort levels.

[bearlymoving]

Stay off the Sad Step.... only weigh once a month maybe.

I've been weighing daily, first thing after I get up. I've also been making notes of what I did the previous day if I did something relevant to my weight.

I can see the impact that 6 pints and a burger had, a couple of weeks ago. I was over 1kg heavier the following morning, even though I'd thrown up in the night (I suspect a dodgy burger).

I can also see the impact that eating a lot less has. Every day that I restrict myself to just 600 calories in the evening (I aim to do it twice a week) I lose around 1kg. I put most of it back on the following day (I suspect carb-related water retention), but I can also see the overall trend.

In fact, it's the trend over the course of a week I find to be the really useful (and motivating) thing. I get early warning if what I'm doing isn't having any impact. My weight flatlined for a bit about a week ago, which pissed me off. But, I could see exactly when I'd screwed it up, and corrected my behaviour.

If I hadn't been using the scales each morning I don't think I'd have known I wasn't actually losing weight, and therefore wouldn't have corrected it. And I'd be annoyed…

[Richard G]

Does anybody go to the gym? I got a subscription for christmas and it's got a swimming pool and machines. I like the running machines but I'm scared of being shot off the end of them if I turn up the speed to high.

I built my own. Sadly it's made buying a new house a MASSIVE pain in the arse (the power rack requires a certain garage height).

If I hadn't been using the scales each morning I don't think I'd have known I wasn't actually losing weight, and therefore wouldn't have corrected it. And I'd be annoyed…

Aye, that's the method I've used for a while now... if you can get past the fact that the scale will always fluctuate heavily and instead look at the rolling average.