July/August Weight Loss Challenge

[channlluv]

Thanks, ladies.

Ultra, you're right. I don't have a real plan. I do need to mix it up with weights. I'm back on my bike tomorrow, though. My 37-lb steel-frame MTB. The last time I lost 20 lbs, it was on this bike.

Veronica, I have to pause my walks because my feet hurt so much sometimes. Like a neuroma in the balls of my feet.

Roxy

[goldfinch]

Thanks, ladies.

Ultra, you're right. I don't have a real plan. I do need to mix it up with weights. I'm back on my bike tomorrow, though. My 37-lb steel-frame MTB. The last time I lost 20 lbs, it was on this bike.

Veronica, I have to pause my walks because my feet hurt so much sometimes. Like a neuroma in the balls of my feet.

Roxy

If the plan is to lose weight you just about have to reduce your calories. In fact, lots of exercise can make it harder to lose weight as it increases your appetite and people tend to overestimate the calories out when they are looking at how much to eat. There is some evidence that people who keep a food diary do better at losing weight. I have to count calories and keep the diary--I use the Livestrong site. If I don't count I know that I will not estimate correctly.

[ny biker]

FWIW, I lost 10 lbs a few years ago by reducing portion sizes. I saw some dude on tv talking about how to lose weight, and he mostly he just said "I"ll tell you an important secret after this commercial," but I did manage to hear secret #1 which was eat when you fell physically hungry and stop eating as soon as you start to feel full.

It made sense, since so many people eat for other reasons, like boredom and emotions, and many were probably taught (like me) to always eat everything on their plates when they were growing up.

So instead of eating a whole sandwich for lunch, even though I was full before I finished it, I would eat half and put the other half in the fridge. Then instead of a late afternoon snack, I would eat the other half of the sandwich.

For dinner, I started making smaller portions for the same reason -- I was always full before I finished eating, so I figured I didn't need to eat so much.

Anyway, even doing this it helps to focus on healthier foods and stuff like that, but I did find it helpful.

[Veronica]

I really like this guy's blog. He has lots of good advice.

Veronica

[Catrin]

I lost 50 pounds in a little over a year. This was from a very high protein, moderate carb, lower fat diet, and LOTS of exercise that featured pretty heavy strength training and lots of cycling/spinning. I was under medical advice regarding all of the above as my successful attempt to reverse the onset of type 2 diabetes.

Since then I've pulled back on the protein percentage (though it is still high), and also moderated the exercise a bit to prevent a repeat of the overuse injuries of last year. I haven't changed the type of exercise, just pulled back a bit on the strength training (only twice a week for the riding season), and no spinning unless it rains. My weight has stabilized and just bounces around in a 4 pound range, though I would love to lose another 10 pounds. I do suspect, however, that if I DO lose those 10 pounds, that I would decide that I needed to go down further...

[goldfinch]

FWIW, I lost 10 lbs a few years ago by reducing portion sizes. I saw some dude on tv talking about how to lose weight, and he mostly he just said "I"ll tell you an important secret after this commercial," but I did manage to hear secret #1 which was eat when you fell physically hungry and stop eating as soon as you start to feel full.

I have heard that advice but hunger is a funny thing. I often feel really hungry and also rarely feel full. This was true when I wasn't dieting and continues to be true now. Maybe it was years of overeating but my gauge for hungry and satiety is unreliable. The gauge does work a little better if I watch the carbs and lean towards a higher protein, higher fat diet.

[channlluv]

Thank you all for the support. I really do appreciate it. What I really need is something simple to stick to, and then the willpower to do it.

I renewed my Y membership today. I'm working from my Food to Live By and Master Your Metabolism cookbooks. I'm recording what I eat in Lose It. I haven't yet, but I'm going to be adding weights soon. I have tons of support. There's no reason this shouldn't work.

Roxy

[redrhodie]

It seems like a lot of the people here who have had successful weight loss have worked out with a personal trainer. How much do you think that has helped, and why?

[Veronica]

I honestly hadn't thought about how much sugar and unnecessary carbs I was eating. Prior to working with a trainer, I had been doing and training to ride double centuries - really how fat could I be?

I kept a diary of my foods and we pored over it and that really helped me drop the last ten pounds.

Additionally the added muscle - I've gained 5 pounds of muscle in three years - burns more calories. And I haven't added to my calorie count.

I really don't know how many calories I'm eating a day now. But here is a typical day:

B: 3/4 cup Great Grains cereal on top of 3/4 cup non fat Greek yogurt mixed with a serving of Brown Cow yogurt.

S: an apple with 4 (?) TBS peanut butter. I don't measure it, so I'm guessing

L: a bunch of fresh spinach with about 6 oz grilled chicken, some cherry tomatoes, some almonds, 5 croutons (I count!) and 2 TBS balsamic vinaigrette - always measured.

S: nuts, or a protein bar, or trail mix

D: basically a plate of meat, chicken or fish


I should eat more veggies, but I really don't like them.

Days I'm doing two cardio sessions I do eat more carbs - cinnamon toast and some pasta usually.


Veronica

[chryss]

It seems like a lot of the people here who have had successful weight loss have worked out with a personal trainer. How much do you think that has helped, and why?

I worked with a personal trainer during my last months in London, between October 2010 and January 2011. When I started, I had been cycling to work most days (a bit over 3 miles / 5 km one way), and was eating what I thought was not badly (well... it wasn't, quality-wise, but the portions were too large and there were occasional excesses on sweets beyond what I could afford), but hadn't seen any weight loss from a start at nearly 230 lbs. I hadn't done any organised sport in maybe 20 years, had never been to a gym, wouldn't know where to start using the machines, thought fitness wasn't for me. I'm also not naturally coordinated.

So when I signed up for a gym I also took a special offer of a few sessions with a trainer. The gym (a large Virgin Active in London) hooked me up with a young man called Jason, and it was a great match. (First important point: you need to be comfortable with your trainer's style.) He was immensely helpful: he pushed me more than I would have, set me a reasonable but doable strength training program and *simple* effective cardio. During the time with him I went down nearly 30 pounds, and he was very proud of me.

What I didn't work on with Jason but have seen others benefit was nutrition. My frank opinion -- and the following is full of assertions I'm not backing up by much -- is that it is really quite hard to eat the right amount of calories and the right stuff. Most overweight people don't seem to overeat by very much, so like myself it may be hard to see what's wrong with the eating. And almost worse, once people decide to lose weight, I see a lot go for an excessively low 1000-1200 calories and strenuous exercise. I also think it's harder for a woman as our margin of error tends to be smaller. I used (still use) Myfitnespal for calorie counting, read about BMR, listened to the (slightly dogmatic but useful) Fat2Fit Radio podcast, and ate 1400 calories or thereabouts, plus a little extra on high exercise days and once-a-month occasions for about 8 months before upping the calories a little. I've seen others do similar programs supervised by a trainer with great success.

[indysteel]

Thank you all for the support. I really do appreciate it. What I really need is something simple to stick to, and then the willpower to do it.

I renewed my Y membership today. I'm working from my Food to Live By and Master Your Metabolism cookbooks. I'm recording what I eat in Lose It. I haven't yet, but I'm going to be adding weights soon. I have tons of support. There's no reason this shouldn't work.

Roxy

A lot of Ys offer a free session or two with a Wellness specialist and/or personal trainer. Plus, their personal trainer opportunities are often fairly reasonable. You might look into that.

[Catrin]

Personal training is expensive, but very well worth it. I've done it for two years, though will likely have to drop it in December

For me it provides personal accountability, motivation, and his knowledge on how to best meet my goals. He also knows how to work around my physical limitations and to keep me from hurting myself.