Weight / Fat loss

Josh, you're an architect now. You need to develop a nicely-rounded figure so that you can wear those black turtleneck sweaters properly and they don't just blow around you in the wind. ;)

Funny, I didn't have you down as an enforcer of stereotypes...

;-I

Funny, I didn't have you down as an enforcer of stereotypes...

;-I

Just read thread whilst eating huge lunch.... actually very interesting. (thread, not lunch, got ripped off)

If I had my way, I'd only eat what I could catch and grow or forage for. That'll keep ya thin!

And what's all this rubbish about drinking loads of water during the day and while eating? Your just diluting any nutrients and flushing them away. Also reducing your stomach juices ability to digest properly. You don't need 2.5 litres of water most of the time. A lot of your fluids can come from food. It's pretty easy to regulate. Feel thirsty, have some water.

Funny, I didn't have you down as an enforcer of stereotypes...

;-I

You also need an old SAAB 900 Turbo.

Funny, I didn't have you down as an enforcer of stereotypes...

;-I

Stereotypes? Stereotypes? It's the truth, I tell you!

Stereotypes? Stereotypes? It's the truth, I tell you!

looks around office

Not one black garment in sight, Scout's honour!

I've wanted to lose 10-15kg for as long as I can remember. I am a little bit soft where I should be nice and taut. I think I will try to get down to 70kg this Summer. The problem is that I just feel so hungry all the bloody time and it's a total distraction. Losing weight for me by eating less = feeling deprived of food.

try walking dude, especially with more daylight.

looks around office

Not one black garment in sight, Scout's honour!

That's even worse--they've clearly all bunked off for the afternoon to sip lattes in trendy cafés.

Where have you been, Guy? Are you back in London?

Still in Birmingham, still ill.

Would be a good place this though for everyone to talk about how they are getting on with losing weight and such.

:(

Best wishes, hope to see you around again sometime!

So a lot of conflicting info here, but curious about the water stuff. I drink a lot of water naturally. Always have. Probably 1.5-3l a day. The mayo clinic does not mention this being to much (in fact, it seems about right): http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283

No mention of it flushing nutrients away, but instead mention of the health benefits of it delivering nutrients to other parts of the body and flushing toxins...

So. Sources on 2l+ of water a day being bad for you?

Thats Bullcrapola mate. Poor nutrient absorption has nothing to do with what is a normal fluid intake.
Alcohol, nicotine, caffeine and refined sugar all affect the nutirent absorption of our food, and in many instances, deplete the body of certain minerals that are required to absorb water and assist enzymes utilised within digestion.

You're safe mate!

@ Konijn
this is quite common, and for a lot of people (and a lot of yourselves maybe) you consider yourselves to be very active, yet cannot seem to get rid of that paunch/love handles.....
A lot of my clients that i have worked with in the past (certainly not my current caseloads - they are morbidly obese) want to look "well toned", "ripped", and "lean".

This is not possible if your body is in a constant state of repair.
All i'm going to say is that recovery is vital. Replenishing the body with correct nutrients (and this is the hard part) for the correct activity means the body will burn fat as fuel during rest. We all presume that we do this don't we? Well sorry, its not always the case.

Umm, I'd be happy to settle for dropping a dress size and being able to climb hills a bit faster, don't really want to get "ripped". Really not sure I exercise at anything like high enough intensity to worrying about overtraining, I think the problem is more that these last 8lbs are the hardest to shift as I'm already 'slim', so getting down to 'lean enough to be competitive on a bike' is the challenge.

Oh - i understand, i was just using the "ripped" as an extreme.
I think what i was trying to get at in a way, is that many of us feast on our own muscle tissue to provide fuel for the activities that we take part in, and never actually replenish these stores. This, in turn leaves the muscles "soft" in appearance, and blunts the fat burning process. It then becomes a vicious roundabout - confusing the body as to whether it should be burning glycogen for fuel, or replenishing it for muscle storage.
Overtraining was not what i meant - and i apologise if that came across. I simply mean to address the simple fact that recovery food is the key to success, and sustained elevation of our metabolism.
As you can tell, I'm not one for describing things via the written word!

Umm, I'd be happy to settle for dropping a dress size and being able to climb hills a bit faster, don't really want to get "ripped". Really not sure I exercise at anything like high enough intensity to worrying about overtraining, I think the problem is more that these last 8lbs are the hardest to shift as I'm already 'slim', so getting down to 'lean enough to be competitive on a bike' is the challenge.

but at the level most of us cycle at a bit of extra here and there isn't going to make much of a difference. turning those 40miles into 80 will do more than losing 8lbs.

the women who are racing locally all look to be various shapes and not kelly holmes ripped. you certainly wouldn't judge their results on their body shape or how lean they look.

80 miles would be too big of a jump at the moment, but I understand the point, and yes I'll be upping the distance this summer. I guess I was mostly just complaining that weight had initially been coming off easily since I started swimming, but now I'm having to work harder at it and am going to need train more intelligently. Being leaner wont hurt though (I'm no sprinter), plus there's the benefit in better self-image/confidence.

So a lot of conflicting info here, but curious about the water stuff. I drink a lot of water naturally. Always have. Probably 1.5-3l a day. The mayo clinic does not mention this being to much (in fact, it seems about right): http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283

No mention of it flushing nutrients away, but instead mention of the health benefits of it delivering nutrients to other parts of the body and flushing toxins...

So. Sources on 2l+ of water a day being bad for you?

Mostly anecdotal and probably not to be believed mate. But every ones different and when I see people at work with different body masses cramming in bottles of water it makes me worry. I have read something about it somewhere (from my mum and she is always right...) I'll dig it up. Also, the not drinking heaps while eating may be an old wives tale but it is logical that it would dilute stomach acid.

As it is, I drink probably about 2 litres, if not more a day but I am sweating quite a bit so along with water I make sure there's some salts in there. Just feel a hard and fast rule is a bit silly thats all.

konijn, you are not in anything like the position that you need desperately to lose weight. You are slim and fit. When you increase your level of training, you will lose what weight you need to lose, if any. Far more important for you is to ensure that you have adequate fuel for your level of exercise.

I gave up drinking and lost........nothing
I gave up smoking and I put on............nothing
I took up long distance running and I lost............nothing
I used fitday to weigh and write down EVERY calorie in and out, weighing every gram of everything in and all exercise done and I lost 5kg.
The key was that before I was overestimating portion size and the number of calories in what I saw as small things like the oil I used to cook with. Once I started writing that down I managed to keep a good log and started losing.

Anyone able to reccommend a calorie counting app?

it's pretty easy to keep track of when I'm only having three meals a day (and the same breakfast everyday) but it would still be useful.

One that let's me add in each ingredient as I put it into the pan would be useful for dinner...

Anyone able to reccommend a calorie counting app?

What platform?

Also those who want to try veggie stuff, I heartily recommend this site, so much goodness!
[possibly too many cakes though ...]
http://www.101cookbooks.com/

As far as Vegan stuff goes, go edgy. www.postpunkkitchen.com

I'm on an iPhone.

I'm on an iPhone.

I'm afraid you're beyond help then ... ;p
[no idea sorry, can't find the old online one I used, and i'm on android now]

Although my android one goes to http://fatsecret.com/ t hey may do an iPhone one

Lose as many carbs from your diet as you can.