Weight loss accountability/support 2024 edition

I've always gone by my waist size, at my worst I was 38 inch waist, i can now get into 31 inch 501s - giving up alcohol and using the car less (and bikes more) was main driver. My real breakthrough was when my BMI went sub 25 (im now 23.7) and I was no longer considered overweight. MH and skin so much better too.

was amused to see that having been eating healthy for exactly three weeks and having lost 15lbs I got a facebook memory yesterday from 2010 when I originally lost a bunch of weight and got healthy following my dads stroke that said "i've been eating healthy for 3 weeks and have lost 15lbs".

14 years apart to the day. what a weird coincidence.

I'm away on an interail trip to Copenhagen with mini mashton mk II.

I decided not to bring my scales.

I am in withdrawl! Literally pining for a measurement.

Weighing myself after my morning shit is like the highlight of my day as I get to see a payoff for eating fuck all the day before, which in turns motivates me to do more of the same that day.

except every time I do any kind of physical activity at the moment my weight jumps about 0.4kg from water retention which often kills the progress for the last two days.

weight is coming down steadily and I know why the number has gone up on these days and the weight loss is continuing in the background still but it's so fucking annoying.

also had runners knee since tues so no running which has been annoying as I've not been able to see any progress there having to do long walks instead which with the dog take twice as long as he has to sniff every single thing we pass.

on the cusp of 125kg now (125.1 yesterday, 125.5 today). hoping to be clear of the 120s well before end of april and would be amazing if i could be sniffing 110kg by early june for my birthday.

except every time I do any kind of physical activity at the moment my weight jumps about 0.4kg from water retention which often kills the progress for the last two days.

Ah, I hadn't grokked this before.

Thanks

Yeah, might not always be the case but thankfully was spot on this time, went 125.1 -> 125.5 -> 124.8, eating exactly the same but took it little easier on the legs yesterday and let my body recover and loss continued apace. hopefully once I'm back down a bit more and body is under less strain when active the effects are less pronounced so it's less 1 step forward, 2 steps back every time.

Do people have a go to low sugar protein bar recipe? Or any other home made protein snack recipes?
I’m going to try this, as buying grenade bars is a bit spenny at £1.50 each at their cheapest.
https://sugarfreelondoner.com/low-carb-peanut-butter-protein-bars/

Also, after years, I feel like I’ve finally cracked it.
I’ve stabilised at 78kg, down from a high of 88kg. 81kg used to be my “fit” weight when running, but I’m now maintaining 3kg less, feeling and looking better than ever.
Learning to eat dinner earlier and fasting til noon seems to be the deal breaker. And I’m now enjoying learning to up my calories a bit as exertion increases, but doing it in a balanced way that isn’t overeating (I did a big run, give me a million pizza please etc). If anything I need to learn to be comfortable re-introducing calories as I’m erring on the side of not enough sometimes. But generally all is well.

Gratuitous photos incoming.
88kg -78kg

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Holy shit, you are ripped!

Nice work fella

I'd be delighted with the bottom picture! Great stuff.

I'm still struggling to shift the weight, I probably need to do a bit more exercise. My carbs are on track, maybe I'm eating too much protein or too many calories? It's frustrating, I'm hovering around 98kgs.

Went down to 97.5kgs which I thought was the breakthrough but then went back up to 100kgs the next day.

But I do feel better. And lighter.

Fucking hell, great work mate!

I'd be delighted with the bottom picture!

I no rite?

89 and rising, from 82 at the beginning of the year. I'm not really doing this right, am I.

I'm assuming climbing gym. Cos topless anywhere else >>>>>>>>>>>

Great work though!

I'm assuming climbing gym. Cos topless anywhere else >>>>>>>>>>>

Climbing gym : yes
Topless at climbing gym : still a no from me.

My mate insisted on taking the photo as I got changed to send to the group chat because he couldn’t believe it. Lol. And if I’m honest, I’m in the best shape of my life and I’m more than vain enough, so I wasn’t about to say no.

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Heh. My divorce saw me at the fittest I've ever been.

New diet just dropped: irreconcilable differences.

My ex wife has lost 20kg herself.
Initially it was stress for both of us, but now I can’t but help wonder, what the fuck were we both doing so wrong as a couple that we piled on the pounds so much?!

Just need to get some sunshine now lad ;)

Cracking work!

from one ripped guy to another equally ripped and buffed dude.

I hit 10% body weight lost this morning. weighing in a shade under 120kg down from 132.6kg at start or march.

in honor i'll attach the pic of the "key"ring i got from weight watchers I got for losing 10% when I last did this whole thing back in 2010.

also up to halfway through week 5 of the runners world 6 week C25k plan. been feeling pretty strong through it so hoping to complete a 5k next weekend if all goes well.

next weight target: 114kg(18st)

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"Key" ring indeed!

Top work mate!

also up to halfway through week 5 of the runners world 6 week C25k plan. been feeling pretty strong through it so hoping to complete a 5k next weekend if all goes well.

had to fucking say it didn't I. sore knee since day after I posted that so missed last 2 runs. ffs.

thankfully i didn't bother signing up to any runs to encourage myself so it's fine taking it a bit slower as needed, i just want to crack on though as i've been enjoying it.

I’m having a similar experience at the moment. I’m struggling to get out running, but I think booking races is going to be counterproductive. Booking races or making plans is fairly standard for me to help me gear up and get on with it, but at the moment I think that extra pressure would tip the balance from positive encouragement into unnecessary pressure that spoils the enjoyment I am having with the little running I’m managing.

At the end of the day, less running that’s maintained over a longer period is more constructive than a short period of high activity that gets curtailed by injury or burnout.

@Nef @HatBeard Have you looked at ParkRun - nice organised event and you get a time, but free and no need to commit to any particular event

Of course! Annoyingly it’s rare that I have a Saturday morning free but they’ve been a great alternative if I’ve got a hankering for a “race effort” rather than some fell race that I entered months beforehand.

I pushed my luck at a couple races recently - got away with one, and basically had a breakdown on the other, lol. And when you’ve driven a couple hours to get there, and had to organise it, it feels hard to back out when not feeling great. Just totally unnecessary extra pressure when you’re already feeling it!

Hoping that summertime midweek races will be the key. Local, short, low key, low stress and lots of fun - but most importantly, entry on the day so just see how you feel on the day and take it or leave it. Time will tell.

weirdly i enjoy normal organised races but never really been a fan of parkruns.

I've not put an update in here for a while.

I'm down to 76.75kg from 91.
Body fat down to just above 20 percent.

I've started resistance training and Pilates and am seeing real gains in muscle mass, strength and definition.

I'm riding more, training for a mixed surface century to Bristol in late June. Got in 96 tail wind assisted kilometres on Monday.

I am probably the fittest I have ever been, which at 45 years old is pretty good going!

Ideally I'd like my body fat to come down further, to make visible abs a possibility at some point, but it obstinately will not.

Any tips?

Amazing gains!
From personal experience, abs have shown up for me when either I’ve been doing lots of cardio, or I’ve had a strict diet. It’s calorie expenditure or intake restriction, and then the luck of the draw with genetics with how your abs actually look.
Some people can be incredibly lean and not have very visible abs. For example, I have quite big abdominal muscles - so they show up in some form without being incredibly lean. While I’ve got friends who are very lean without massively visible abs at all.

My takeaway from it though, is that the extent to which I’ve had to exercise or restrict diet to maintain abs is not negligible, and I definitely wonder how maintainable it will be!