Weight / Fat loss

Weightloss sounds so much less mysterious in ScienceNumbers®

Much help, thanks. I'd dropped from 110kg+ to 97 doing 2-3 group rides a week, plus running on Saturday and 1-2 swim sessions, with my University triathlon club. But then I went to California over Christmas and ate too much and got out the habit. Now I'm out of university, I think dietary control has to come more to the fore, there's just way too much conflicting information and budget concerns are ever present. I will embrace the bean salads

I'm unconvinced this is a good or accurate app... I really just use it to log whatever the scales say as it's simpler than me maintaining a spreadsheet and it makes a nice graph.

That number is from the last 7 days average only. The trend analysis in the app is a bit crappy.

I will embrace the bean salads

Just embrace portion sizes, and avoiding obviously bad things (processed foods inc' cured and smoked items, as well as obviously highly calorific meals too often).

And if it's a small size you'll be forced to stay that size!

In have a suit in the loft that I had made when I was at university (made in HK, so cheap as chips).

I was around 65kg back then, so could probably not even fit a leg in the waistband now.

Really good post.

I need to drastically change my diet. Since being promoted into a new role about 6 months ago, my diet and exercise habits have completely changed.

I have longer working hours with less exercise and with plenty of food on hand in the office. I eat far too much and, although the food is usually pretty healthy, i've gained more weight than i have for years. With a two week holiday in the middle of the last 6 months, i'm now 86.5Kg.

My BMI is now 28.5 which embarrasses me as late as December last year, it was around 23.

I've already started cutting back on portion size but I need to find more time to exercise properly.

I'm aiming to be 79Kg by December and then push for 75Kg by the time i get married in June next year. Both goals are very achievable but i can already see my current work life balance getting in the way...

My parents have left so it's back to work tomorrow and back on to calorie counting I think. Probably reduce the booze intake a bit too. Meh. Losing weight is no fun.

it's the boring bit you have to do in-between all the fun gaining. like riding uphill before you get to enjoy the down. sort of.

But hills are actually enjoyable. Calorie control just isn't. Ever.

A week into my new regime. Starting at ~90kg (BMI=30) and an initial target of 76kg (the weight I was when I did London-Edinburgh-London in 2009) with 80kg by skiing holiday in February. Aiming for 0.5kg a week (managed it before for long periods) which is ~500kcal a day deficit.

• Paying more attention to portion control
  
• Having breakfast every day (weetabix or shredded wheat and semi-skimmed milk) - often used to skip breakfast completely
  
• Smaller healthier lunch (only being in the office two days a week makes this easier) and no sweet snacks (not much of a sweet tooth anyway)
  
• Not finishing off daughter's food when she doesn't eat it all
  
• Cutting down on beer (but not cutting it out completely)
  
• Increased and more varied exercise (have a bit more time now that daughter has started school) and not over-compensating with food
  
• Lots of intermediate goals (run distance, swim distance, cycling power, etc) to keep me motivated
  

I am now humiliatingly fat with visible rolls in places that there were previously no rolls at all and where there should never be rolls, ever.

I'm putting this down to epic stress levels since the start of the year, coupled with the oven in my flat breaking and the landlady not bothering to replace it because... I don't know, something about money. I'm not sure how that means she can get out of her contractual obligations, but whatever. Anyway, not having an oven means I could either have a diet consisting of sandwiches, soup, boiled or mashed potatoes, cheap ready-made crap, and pasta, or I could starve. I chose the terrible diet instead of the starving one.

I'm surprised at how bad it got - I had no idea how much I relied on being able to use an oven to get some variety out of what I eat and to enjoy the things I've made.

Hopefully some of that stress is lifting now, and now that I've also got a working oven again perhaps I'll be able to get a grip of myself and stop eating entire boxes of biscuits in one go, for christ's sake. Jesus. I disgust myself sometimes :(

Right now a typical week looks like:-

Monday: 2km cycle (school run), core strength, Run (20 mins, aiming for 45mins), 2km cycle
Tuesday: Cycle commute (12km), 5x5 intervals on work gym bike before lunch, Cycle commute (12km), 5-a-side football (40min), 6km other cycling (to/from football), pub for a couple of beers
Wednesday: 2km cycle (school run), core, Run (20 mins, aiming for 45 mins), 2km cycle
Thursday: Cycle commute (12km), 5x5 intervals on work gym bike before lunch, 5-a-side football (1h), pub for too many beers, 4km other cycling (to/from station)
Friday (off work): 2km cycle (school run), core, 60km cycle, swim (20 mins, aiming for 1h), run (20 mins, aiming for 1h20), 2km cycle (school run)
Saturday: Family time (maybe the odd parkrun)
Sunday: Family time

The "core" workout is currently just:-

• the 100 pushup challenge (week 1 col 2 at the moment)
  
• stretching (years and years of cycling and 5-a-side to undo)
  
  

Run:

• Slowly building up to do ~45 mins on Mon/Wed and 1h20 on Friday. Mostly at ~10.5kph
  
• When that base is ready will vary sessions for tempo/speed/base and aim for a ~45m 10k Mon/Wed and a 1h 14k on a Friday
  
• Occasional Parkruns
  
  

Cycle:

• Some commuting as base miles plus other utility cycling
  
• Intervals on gym work bike (focus on 5x5 to begin with, at least it's not 2x20)
  
• Friday blast around Richmond Park for 5 or 6 laps (only managed 4 last Saturday)
  
• Once base is a bit more solid then change intervals to focus on weaknesses
  
• Occasional longer ride (200km or 300km Audax) when I get a free weekend
  
  

Swim:

• Start with a 20 minute swim and slowly build up to 1h swim
  
• Then aim on increasing distance within that 1h
  
• Training ladders, lessons to refine technique, kick/pull sessions, local pool has Swimtag which is very useful
  
  

Fridays will get jigged about as required, so I may focus mostly on one of running, swimming or cycling at the expense of the others.

At least if I don't shift the weight doing that I'll be a fuckload less unfit.

Another minor success story here - I've lost around 10kg in the last couple of months, bringing my BMI down to 21.5. I'm now back down to "fairly skinny" in man-on-the-street terms, though still at least 5kg off a decent cycling weight even for a nodder like me. It's great not having any wobbly bits, and climbing is easier. I still have a grabbable amount of thickness around the middle which I'm hoping a steady 5km on the treadmill 2/3 times a week will help shift. I feel I owe my tumbledryer an apology after blaming it for shrinking a lot of my clothes...turns out I was just getting flabby, as a lot of trousers and tops are starting to feel pretty baggy now!

As outlined by many other people I've been trying to exercise portion control and cutting down on processed food/chocolate/general crap, but I suspect the biggest factor is that I've stopped drinking beer.

But hills are actually enjoyable.

The words of a psychopath.

and how sustainable is it?

Kept up that rate for 8 months, some years ago. Tails off as you approach ideal weight, ofc.

What's a good low-carb potato/pasta substitute that isn't cous cous (which I detest)?

Quinoa.

Freekeh.

Thanks, I'll try them. Anything has to be better than the plastic-semolina taste of couscous!

Couscous and a little bit of olive oil and seasoning is lovely!

Cauliflower rice aka grated cauliflower

That sounds good!

For potato? You can make a lovely mashed potato substitute using Celeriac. Or white beans. For couscous, I can think of one off-the-wall suggestion from the raw food community: raw parsnips. Peel and chop the parsnips, add a small amount of soy sauce, sesame oil and cider vinegar, blitz them in the blender till they're down to sushi-rice size flakes. Goes nicely in a salad or as a "rice" base for other food.

Strips of raw courgette can be an interesting pasta substitute.

note @Dramatic_Hammer you aren't doing yourself many favors by choking down the couscous. It is roughly the same as pasta http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/nutritional-value-couscous-vs-processed-pasta-2085.html

RE strips of courgette for pasta one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/Veggetti-1000203-Spiral-Vegetable-Cutter/dp/B00IIVRB3W/ helps

Also chucking it around in a frying pan for a few minutes before combining with the sauce is good. I like it more than pasta sometimes, but then I usually buy a few bread rolls to go along with it because I also like carbs.

@Velocio how come no smoked fish? I always assumed those were good for you (isn't it just fish and smoke?)

Cauliflower rice aka grated cauliflower

Tried this the other week after seeing Jamie Oliver do it. It tastes so good.