Weight loss accountability/support 2022 edition

I’ve lost a kilo of initial glycogen/water/faeces since 1 Jan

I've gone up 1kg in that time but I think the beer was keeping me regular so I suspect that will come off quickly enough

That would be nothing for a boxer to lose in a month. I lost 7kg (from a much fatter starting point) myself last January. It’s all about doing it sustainably and not making yourself miserable.

It's quite a lot to lose from someone that is by most standards fairly slim already. 60kg at 5'9" is very much a climbers physique.

It's all a bit Instagram motivational quote stuff but I tend to subscribe to the idea that you should focus on the habits and let the weight sort itself out. In @Fox's case, there are reasons he's more than he'd like to be, and once the post op fitness returns then presumably the weight will change a bit too.

I think we're probably saying the same thing tbh. You've said you find it easy to lose the weight then easy to put it back on. So it's the habits that need fixing rather than the weight itself.

Anyway, aware that I'm sounding preachy (and I didn't intend to pick on @Fox, he just happened to post on Monday Tuesday morning when I'm procrastinating at work) and that it's all easier said than done. Just at 5'10 and 73kg then I raise an eyebrow when someone 5'9" and 67kg says "Ugh, I need this thread". I'd say the weight is perfectly healthy, just find a way to get back into the habit of doing the things that you were doing at the time you were pleased with how you looked/felt.

I tend to subscribe to the idea that you should focus on the habits and let the weight sort itself out

I agree 100% but I need a jump start with mine at my current weight.

Are you sure you weren’t just thirsty?
I’ve never woken up in the night because I’m hungry.
Woken up in the morning famished though.

I’d say one of the big challenges in the first week or two of being on a restricted calorie diet is recognising, and managing hunger.
You are in a calorie deficit. If you’re not hungry a fair amount of the time, you’re probably not in a calorie deficit.

I’d suggest for a lot of people to fast/starve for a full 24-48 hours and see what that feels like. You’ll be hungry and very grumpy, but you’re not going to die of hunger. You’re not going to suddenly atrophy all your muscles, or die of exhaustion. You’ll know what real hunger feels like, compared to the ‘I’m peckish for a snack’ feeling though.

If you always get a snack when you’re hungry, that’s a habit that’s likely to derail your progress.

Control what you can, if you must snack, make it something planned and specific (pre cut carrot sticks, an apple) rather than whatever can be raided from your fridge. You’re unlikely to be that bothered with updating MyFitnessPal at 3am while holding a magnum.

Off we go then

Jan 4th. 97.5kg. Better than i feared

First commute in.
Feel lighter.
Jeans still too tight though.
Will be those three slices of toast, I reckon.

79kg yesterday scale said. never been above 74-75 during the last 15 years.
aim to go back to my 72ish kg, I'm 181 cm.

Could be - but I woke up feeling terrible and with an overwhelming hunger! Had a slice of brown bread then felt fine and went back to bed. I have never done that before.

On each of the 1st and 2nd I think I had a 1,200 to 1,500 calorie deficit, which I've realised is too much for me. I don't mind going a bit slower and I need it to be sustainable.

Sustainable deficit will work and drastic deficit will fail.
Go from 3000 to 2500 or 2750. Don’t try going from 3000 to 1500.

This might have been covered elsewhere but is there a forum favourite smart scale? Have been eyeing up the Withings Body+ but have also seen some cheaper Chinese ones on Jeff's World (Renpho I think?!) but there's conflicting reviews out there on their accuracy.

Tanita ones seem to be the most respected/accurate but they are quite spenny.

I have the Withings one because (with a little buggering about) you can make it send your figures to Garmin Connect automatically each morning once you have stood upon it.

I got the Withings because the Garmin v1 was being phased out and impossible to buy, I'd probably get Garmin v2 today as it wouldn't require the daisy-chain of subscriptions to get the data from Withings into Garmin.

I’d disagree with such a small deficit.

1500kcal deficit a day is too much, especially if very active, but a 250kcal deficit is such a small margin per day and within the margin of error of portion size differences and exercise calorie tracking differences, that no progress may be made at all.

Also being motivated when you’re losing 200g per week, when your weight fluctuates over 1kg per day is hard work.

This is kind of why I prefer 5:2 type fasting. I find it easy to stick to the low/no calorie days and found I never over compensated on the subsequent days.

One previous routine had me eating breakfast Wednesday morning, skipping lunch and evening meals, then no breakfast Thursday morning, run 10km into work and then resuming food at lunchtime on Thursday.

(That routine worked well but it was pre-pandemic and when I worked in an office two days a week. Things are different with WFH and skipping evening meals doesn't sit well with family life. Wednesdays worked before as I'd feed my daughter before her swimming lesson and my wife would usually be out so none of us ate together anyway.)

92kg , i did get down to 79kg about 2.5 years ago with fasting and fasted rides and I thought I looked great , a lot thought I looked ill.
To be honest though I think you know by mirror, belt, feel on the bike when one sits and the gut touches where it didn’t , so I’m not going to obsess over the kg especially if I keep up strength training.
I feel great around 84kg so I’ll aim for that , trouble being at nearly 59 if you lose too much weight in the face you look old ( you don’t get wrinkles on a balloon do you?)
I am doing the StrongLifts programme but have been absent for 26 days due to health issue and it knocks you right back .Getting back into it , but it’s more riding I need to do . fasted rides seem to work really well if at a gentleman’s pace .
So in the spirit of feeling more like a rider , I’ve shaved my legs .
And as it’s a sport of marginal gains I’d like to report an instant weight loss .
It’s disgusting I know , just before it was about the block the shower

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If you’re not hungry a fair amount of the time, you’re probably not in a calorie deficit.

I would dispute this. It’s fairly easy to be in a calorie deficit and not feel hungry - you just have to eat the right foods. Eating foods with a low calorie density will help you to feel full without eating a ton of calories.

for example (and not something I would recommend doing irl) eating half a kilo of carrots would only be 200ish calories, but you wouldn’t feel hungry again for a long time.

If you focus on cutting out calorie dense foods (nuts, for instance: very nutritious but bullshit if you want to lose weight) then you can help yourself feel less hungry and dieting seems a lot less like a chore / feels more sustainable.

^^ Strong appetite suppresant right there. If only you had posted before lunch.

Please stick some googly eyes on this

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Just had a nasal wax, it looked a bit like that.

Why does cheese and butter taste so good on thick slices of granary bread. Note:- Im not a heathen and doing cheese and butter together

My two pence- it’s easy to eat five meals a day and feel full, whilst running a big deficit if you focus on lean meat and two veg.

For example a bit of chicken/venison/fish and some steamed vegetables will be around 250 calories.

Hunger isn’t just about how full your stomach and intestines are, but also your blood sugar levels, and various hormone levels.

Some foods and types (typically higher fat) have higher satiety levels.

Some diets work better (low sugar, or complex carbs) because it doesn’t spike blood glucose as quickly and doesn’t surge insulin levels, which can trigger the desire to eat food/sugar.

I’d agree with you that eating lots of nuts on a calorie restricted diet is challenging, partly as it is so difficult to portion control. Not everyone is as nutritionally strict as a pre comp bodybuilder eating 8.5 unsalted almonds per serving.

Eating 500g of celery a day might bulk up your meals for no added calories, but I doubt that it would stop you from feeling just as hungry as if you didn’t eat it.

On the whole, people will get hungry and have huge cravings when on a diet.
If there was a diet where people didn’t feel hungry, then the weight loss industry would practically disappear.

I’m just saying to expect to be hungry, and plan for it. Otherwise someone will put a couple of packets of chocolate bourbons out at work and you’ll go through the entire plate, then feel terrible afterwards.

More smaller meals is a good plan if you can commit to that schedule and deal with the meal prep.

I’ve always found 5 actual meals a day hard to plan around. I’ve had 3 meals, a protein shake and a snack.

It used to be easier, before wife and 2 kids. Serving up 14 plates/bowls of food a day, not all the same meals, would get old very quickly.

I think what this thread is starting to outline as a truth self evident is that its different for everyone. Physiologically and just as important psychologically. It'll come down to a lot of factors, even your genealogy but the only constant is that calorie deficit is required. How that manifests is up to the individuals needs.

I'm drastic calorie deficit, all calories are good calories and a lot of stubbornness. Means I lose weight quickly and I am motivated by that.

Was in the cafe on my ride today, 3.5 hour gravel ride and my mate had a bacon roll and a cake. I stuck with a cup of tea. He thought I was mad but I know what works for me. I feel better already, 4 days in.

I would again recommend the Huberman stuff on weight loss, lots about the fact that it is calories in/calories out but there is more that you can do about calories out than JUST exercise. There aren't shortcuts but there is help.
One of his recent guests, when talking about longevity rather than weight loss said that "You should never feel hungry was one of he great lies."

I managed a small 22km ride yesterday and going to do the same today. Not much bit it has me moving

Hah, maybe what I should have said is “without feeling any hungrier than usual”. Obvs people have different experiences but I find I feel hungry whether I eat 1500 or 3500 calories in a day. I find it way easier to stick to the old calorie budget if I snack on something substantial and low calorie (carrot or apple for instance) than if I snack on something more calorie dense.

Definitely valuable, as you say, to skip a meal or two in order to assess what hunger feels like over simple bored snackishness, but for me the two feel pretty much the damn same.

I started (yet another) diet on New Year's Day. I came on here thinking that this might be somewhere to get support and then i saw the posts by people who weigh significantly less than my target weight talking about how they are planning to lose even more. I shall disappear and reappear only when I have achieved what I am setting out to achieve. (That is, if I remember about this thread then or if I achieve the significant weight loss for which I strive).