Losing a stone

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RMJRMJ Frets: 1274
edited June 2018 in Off Topic
I want to lose at least a stone in weight. Work and kids mean I struggle to carve out a consistent amount of time a day to exercise, so it tends to be hit and miss e.g. an hour bike ride once a week. I dont currently overload on calories but my diet could be better.

Anyone gone through any planned weight loss recently in similar circumstances want to share how they did it?
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  • danodano Frets: 1568
    edited June 2018
    Combination of diet and exercise.

    What goes in...
    Cut out booze for a month. Cut out crisps and chic bars and ice creams.  Smaller portions and don't eat late in the evening.  Eat more veg and reduce the amount of cards.  Maybe target 1800-2200 calories a day.

    What comes out...
    Simple cardio at home. Try the 100 push up challenge. Throw in some situps.  Doing that for 15 mins say 3 evenings a week. The other evening get out for a decent paced 30 min walk. 

    Should see a change after a month. Weight loss is life style. You have to improve what goes into your body.

    I did something similar last year and lost about 3 kg. Then started cycling more (a few 1 hr rides per week) and down about 6kg over a year.
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  • skunkwerxskunkwerx Frets: 6838
    I dropped 3 stone rapidly by cutting out sugar, fizzy drinks and chocolate. Infact I only ate breakfast which was either small cereal and bob milk, had a pouch of tilda rice for lunch or 3 scrambled eggs, and my usual dinner but just a lil smaller. 

    It was too much change too quickly and thus wasnt at all sustainable. 

    I’ve now put it all back on... 
    The only easy day, was yesterday...
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  • RMJRMJ Frets: 1274
    dano said:
    Combination of diet and exercise.

    What goes in...
    Cut out booze for a month. Cut out crisps and chic bars and ice creams.  Smaller portions and don't eat late in the evening.  Eat more veg and reduce the amount of cards.  Maybe target 1800-2200 calories a day.

    What comes out...
    Simple cardio at home. Try the 100 push up challenge. Throw in some situps.  Doing that for 15 mins say 3 evenings a week. The other evening get out for a decent paced 30 min walk. 

    Should see a change after a month. Weight loss is life style. You have to improve what goes into your body.

    I did something similar last year and lost about 3 kg. Then started cycling more (a few 1 hr rides per week) and down about 6kg over a year.
    Thanks @dano. I'll give the 100 pushups challenge a go as I can easily fit that into the day somewhere.
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  • JackobeanJackobean Frets: 667
    Two words - colon cleanse.
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  • RMJRMJ Frets: 1274
    Jackobean said:
    Two words - colon cleanse.
    Can you use more words to explain the benefits?
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  • GrunfeldGrunfeld Frets: 4027
    edited June 2018
    RMJ said:
    Anyone gone through any planned weight loss recently in similar circumstances want to share how they did it?
    TLDR:  I have reduced a stone in June.  Another stone to go, maybe a stone and a half.  Did it with a book's encouragement.

    Background:  I've been prone to weight gain literally all my life but most of the time have been reasonably slim -- it's always a bit of work for me though.  There have been a couple of long periods of heaviness too.
    I packed on 2 stone last winter and have been saying, "Oh I must do something..." from January to May this year! 
    Basically, I was just finally f*cking sick of it and read this, and it just kind of spoke to how I was feeling:
    Don’t think about “when it would be best to start…”
    The best time is now!  Don’t waste your precious time thinking about it… Just do it.  Seriously, the time is now… we’ll be dead soon.
    It's from a book called: 
    Some thoughts:
    The method works and it has got nothing to do with hypnosis.  (Despite being called "Hypno-Fasting").  The book is actually two things:
    (1)  A book on how to do Intermittent Fasting (three methods described).
    (2)  A really, really good pep-talk.  And that was what I wanted, i.e. for someone else to talk me into starting and to describe something which I know works (anyway).
    I chose that book because I AM a hypnotist (it's my 2nd career and I'm studying  it academically too), and I know of the author and he's alright, and I literally just wanted a funny, effective, pep talk.  Not hypnosis.  There is, however, a link to a hypnosis mp3 -- there's nothing wrong with it  -- it's just the shtick for the book because the author is a hypnotist (and technically it's not how I like to experience hypnosis but I seriously doubt anyone else would have any problem with it all).
    It's great to be down a belt notch and very nearly down a size in trousers.  I'm confident I'll be at my regular weight by my birthday in August.
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  • SnagsSnags Frets: 5326
    ATEOTD the only thing that works is more calories used than put in. How you achieve that is a balance of your lifestyle and psychology.

    What worked for me when I needed to lose a lot of weight (6 stone plus) was a combination over time:

    - started with 5:2 and shifted a couple of stone, then stagnated for a while
    - cut out snacks/comfort food for a bit and lost another stone, but it started to creep on because I lie to myself
    - used MyFitnessPal linked with Endomondo to calorie count. Thought I would hate it and rebel, but actually enjoyed it, and it kept me honest

    Kept at my target weight for a while, then started comfort eating again (you HAVE to change your eating habits long term to keep it off) so am back working on better behaviours / approaches to stress/reward and slowly edging back to where I want to be.
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  • SnagsSnags Frets: 5326
    Should say that my total weight loss was over two or three years so that I could sustain it. I'd dropped weight with crash diets before, but without changing habits long term it's just an illusion. 
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  • Bygone_TonesBygone_Tones Frets: 1527
    I've lost about half a stone in the last three weeks. How? by eating only fruit and veg and nothing else. Except maybe a handful of nuts in my smoothies, and sometimes scrambled eggs. Cut out dairy, meat, sugar & sweeteners, and anything that common sense tells you is bad for you. Swap cups of tea for herbal tea.

    I also got myself a nutribullet (blender) and substitute one meal a day for a smoothie.

    You dont really NEED to exercise to lose weight, focus on what you are eating. Obviously if you can fit exercise in too then it will definitely help speed things up.

    Lastly I also changed my mindset, and have made it my no.1 priority in life to look after myself, rather than getting distracted by other crap. The 1st thing I do in the morning is walk down to the supermarket and buy some fruit and veg.

    When most people say they "don't have time" what they really mean is they dont have the energy. Its easy to sit down and watch corrie for 30 minutes, but going for a jog for 30 minutes is a different matter. The time is the same. Having the motivation and energy to do it is the problem. The answer to that is to priortise whats important to you in life and do them first in the day when you do have the energy.
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  • skunkwerxskunkwerx Frets: 6838
    ^ muchly truly. 

    Its also about habits. Break old ones and implement new ones. This isnt easy and requires practice and time. 

    Start small and its much much more likely to stick and be effective. 
    The only easy day, was yesterday...
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  • Paul_CPaul_C Frets: 7670

    I want to lose a little right now, I'm a few lbs over what I've been for the last couple of years. I ought to lose a stone and a half.

    My technique is to stop eating so much, especially sugary things, but I've got into a bit of a habit recently ;)

    When I'm properly trying I usually don't eat breakfast (not because I think it's the right way to do it, just that I'm not often hungry at that time) and try to leave eating as late as possible. If I can keep my daily intake to around 1000kCal then the weight goes down, it doesn't matter what the calories are. So I can eat whatever I want as long as there's not too much of it.

    I'm sure this wouldn't work for everyone, but it works for me.
    "I'll probably be in the bins at Newport Pagnell services."  fretmeister
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  • axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
    edited June 2018
    I'm down a stone this year! I exercise tons but eat loads. I'm basically skipping breakfast 3-4 days a week, eating less bread for lunch and less carbs for dinner. 

    I'd say that eating less/better is the key, not exercise
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  • SchnozzSchnozz Frets: 1926
    I've lost two stone since February...

    I have bran flakes or porridge for breakfast and I chuck in peanut butter or whey protein

    I eat 150g of roast chicken from the butchers on my lunch break (and plain bel vita biscuits), but I also drink a fully skimmed pint of milk

    In the evenings I'll have pretty much whatever I want (avoid fried food), but eat apricots or prunes after

    I go to the gym three times a week (1 to 1 and a half hours) and eat a can of tuna afterwards and will maybe have some Holland & Barrett protein pills before, if it's straight after work

    You can do other things like substitute honey for sugar and go to low fat/sugar alcohol like vodka, if you can't pass it up completely

    Cycling makes me eat more than the actual exercise! Walking/hiking seems to work a treat though

    Good luck! And don't listen to body builders or those that see the gym as a 'hobby', because music is your hobby
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  • thermionicthermionic Frets: 9498
    Grunfeld said:
    It's from a book called: 

    I tried this and it worked a treat. Apparently when I thought I was snacking on apples I was actually eating onions.
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  • randellarandella Frets: 4086
    Think about it as more of a life change than a 'diet' - that way it becomes habit rather than a temporary fix. 

    If you're prone to takeaways, make your own. They quickly become a nice treat and a home-made curry is about three times better for you. 

    If you like the sweet stuff, cut it right back and then it becomes more of a treat rather than something to do in the office at 11am every day.

    This is how I worked it anyway. 
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  • DLMDLM Frets: 2513
    edited June 2018
    dano said:

    chic bars

    As further proof that everyone is different, these actually help me lose weight: as I'm such a tightwad, I don't order much.

    Can't fully wean myself off, though. That Nile Rogers. heart



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  • SnapSnap Frets: 6256

    I've been into fitness, keeping trim all my life. Weight loss is 80% about diet. Exercise will do very little if anything in terms of weight loss if your diet is wrong. That's why you will see regular gym goers shift no weight, and why the gym I go to is full of middle aged blokes who've been going for years and still have the belly.

    Just cut down the amount of food you eat, ditch biscuits, cakes, sweets, all that crap. Cut down the booze if you drink - lots of calories in alcohol.

    Eat regular meals, and limit any snacking to a handful of nuts. Drink plenty of water.

    There is conflicting advice on eating later in the evening, so tbh I wouldn't worry about that.


    Nutribullits and smoothies. JUst watch what you put in them - fruit is full of sugar and you can soon rack up unknown calories but putting the wrong stuff in your blender. It needs to be veg, not fruit.


    As has been said, its about changing habits.



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  • meltedbuzzboxmeltedbuzzbox Frets: 10337
    axisus said:
    I'm down a stone this year! I exercise tons but eat loads. I'm basically skipping breakfast 3-4 days a week, eating less bread for lunch and less carbs for dinner. 

    I'd say that eating less/better is the key, not exercise
    Diet is definitely the biggest overall factor to weight loss. You can run 10 miles a day but if you are eating nothing but Miccy D's you wont get the best results. 

    Ultimately it depends on what outcome you want @RMJ ;
    If you want to lose some weight and move better I would say do something like the Joe Wicks DVD 4 to 5 times a week (or some hiit sessions from youtube) (its 15 - 25 mins depending on what you do). Thats the easiest way to get started.
    Start your day on protein.
    Replace the volume of carbs you eat with green veg (totally removing carbs will probably make you feel very tired so). Try and save your carbs until the evening, try to avoid massive dinners as well, you are better eating a bigger lunch. Keep the sugar intake as low as you can, sugar tends to accelerate hunger.
    Don't skip breakfast either, that can lead to some bad eating habbits. 


    The Bigsby was the first successful design of what is now called a whammy bar or tremolo arm, although vibrato is the technically correct term for the musical effect it produces. In standard usage, tremolo is a rapid fluctuation of the volume of a note, while vibrato is a fluctuation in pitch. The origin of this nonstandard usage of the term by electric guitarists is attributed to Leo Fender, who also used the term “vibrato” to refer to what is really a tremolo effect.
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  • RMJRMJ Frets: 1274
    Thanks everyone for the advice. Of all of the comments posted here I think diet is the thing I can change most easily within my daily routine.

    What is good to snack on between meals if needed? Raw veg?
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  • GarthyGarthy Frets: 2268
    Become a vegan and make sure you tell everyone.
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