*** Big Fat Weight Loss Thread ***

[AndyCr15]

If there's already a fairly generic thread about this, please link it and I'll close this one

Last March I decided at 302lbs (21st 8 / 137kg and about 36% body fat) I was just far too heavy. I'm generally quite big at 6'3 and most people always said I never looked fat, but I saw one (not very flattering) video of me that made me realise my size was not acceptable.

The short version is I got my bike out the next day and started cycling. I installed MyFitnessPal and cut calories to a pretty extreme 1,700 and weight started dropping of right away. For 6 months I lost a stone a month and by September I was under 16st. I should add, it was not just about cutting calories, but also eating right. More fruit and veg, less biscuits and crisps etc.

Calories gradually increased through that time and I'm now eating 2,750 with various 'cheat days' where I'm sure they go up over 4,000 calories with ease and I'm 215lbs (15st 5 / 97½kg) this morning with about 20½% body fat.

My goal for this year is 210lbs (15st / 95kg) which I might lower as it looks like I'll get there quite soon, having started at 16st on Jan 1st (I ate a lot over Xmas and New Year!).

So, what's your story? What are your goals? How are you getting there?


LINKS

DIET & FOOD

Huel Thread

One Meal A Day Thread

EXERCISE

Running Thread

Road Cycling Thread

Gym Thread

 

[Martynt74]

Good idea. I've often looked for similar threads but never been bothered to create my own. We can see it as an OCUK Weightwatchers which holds people to account a little more.

As for my story

I've pretty much always been fairly big, as an adult i probably hovered around 100kg. Then i stopped working in Manchester which included walking a few miles a day to train stations, around town etc to working on an industrial site and just driving to work, sitting at a desk, driving home and sitting on the sofa. Over around 6 months i put on about 3 stone without really noticing until i was 19 stone (120kg).

In around Sept 15 I worked away and used that as an opportunity to reduce food intake, go to the gym and started running as in the evenings/weekends i didn't have much else to do. I'd never really ran before so it was tough but i stuck at it. Ended up getting down to around 14 stone (90kg) in 12 months and was fairly fit and healthy.

In Oct 16, got back home and got back into a lazy routine, evenings spent on the sofa with a bottle of wine etc. My weight started creeping up again but like @AndyCr15 i was fairly tall at 6"3 so it wasn't as obvious. I ran every now and then but probably only once or twice a month.

Got to around Nov 17 and i entered a local 10k and started running a lot more. Thats been a relatively constant theme now since then. Some months i've ran more, others less. But always a few times a week. My lousy diet though counter-acted the exercise and i held steady around 17 stone (105kg).

At the end of 2019 i decided to make a more conscious effort to reduce my weight. Start eating better and get lighter which in turn would benefit my running and reduce injuries in ankles/knees that've flared up. I've also set my goals to do some ~50 mile races and hauling around 17 stone wouldn't be pleasant!

So i started the year at 108kg (again, as with Andy i ate a lot over Christmas!), i'm now down to 103kg.


(Ignore the mix of weights, i always used to work in stone, but when i worked away the scales were KG and i've stuck with that ever since!)

 

[Andybtsn]

Good thread.

I took inspiration from @Feek weight loss and followed in his footsteps (excuse the pun). I've contacted a few on here, including Andy to get tips on weight loss.

I've battled with weight for the past decade but at the start of 2019, I weighed in at 18 stone 9lb, the heaviest I've ever been. I'm 6'3 but I never felt like I could get away with it!

I started controlling my calories, eating 2500 a day. I was inconsistent but I did start dropping pounds.

8 months later, August 23rd, I weighed in at 17 stone 9lb. I work at a desk every day so did little in terms of exercise other than football for an hour twice a week.
I read Feek's thread and I then started walking, ensuring sure I did 10k steps a day, every day. Since then, I have achieved this, only failing on 2 days when I was ill (my birthday and the following day!) - I have dropped another stone since August 23rd, weighing in at 16st 6lb.

Christmas, well mainly the whole of December and January, has massively messed with my eating, I've slipped quite a bit but always ensured I did my steps to try counteract it.

I need to sort my eating again to reach my goal of 15 stone. I will then see where I do from there.

The walking is just a way of life now, I literally can't go a day without completing my steps. Every day is orchestrated around how I complete them. We got a dog in October last year so this gave me a new purpose for walking.

Below are my monthly stats for steps. I got the watch in April hence it starting then. I did start in July 2019 but was consistent with hitting 10k a day until Aug 23rd. The 11,255 figure i the average for a day. I tend to do a lot more than 10k, especially on weekends with the family.

 

[AndyCr15]

ensuring sure I did 10k steps a day, every day. Since then, I have achieved this, only failing on 2 days when I was ill (my birthday and the following day!)

That's great to keep it up that well. It's funny what motivates you sometimes. I was on a streak of hitting 10K steps (I often don't) and one day I went for a 20 minute walk, just to hit my target. I don't think I've ever just gone out for a walk for the sake of it before...

For me, Strava challenges work really well. For example, do two 30 minute sessions a week to start the year. There was one last year about only having two days off a week for 4 weeks and it really made me go out and ride a few times when I probably wouldn't have otherwise. Zwift do things too where you have to ride in events to unlock new kit. I found myself 'Riding London' in December and clocked up loads of miles I wouldn't normally have done.

**EDIT** What do you guys do meal-wise? I tend to now stick to breakfast, lunch, dinner and then around 300 calories before bed, to get me through the night. At present I'm aiming at 2,750 calories a day, but honestly, without snacking it's sometimes hard to get this many calories in!

Also, I've switched back to caffeinated coffee as there are some benefits to it with training and weight loss. I have a thread here about it.

 

[FishLicker]

I'll pop my head in from time to time.

I'm not massively fat but certainly more than I would like @ 13st 12lbs when I weighed myself last weekend, I'm 5'10" and 40 y/o so I should probably be around 12st maximum I would say?

Diet's normally alright. Fruit/protein shake for breakfast most mornings, salad and chicken/tuna or a chicken/salad wrap for dinner and pretty much eat what I like on a night - obviously being mindful of calories.

My main downfall is booze at the weekend, and I do like a sweet treat now and again.

Exercise - I do a fair bit of walking (minimum 10,000 steps), and lift dumb bells twice a week, compound routine, 1 set to 10 reps (except legs where I do 3 sets), done slowly, and upping the weight each week.

I will probably have to get an exercise bike or normal one when I move as currently I'm able to walk to work which is where I currently get my exercise but it's not really vigorous enough to get good heart/lung benefits IMO.

 

[Musty Pie]

Good work Andy!

Don't have a weight loss journey myself, but I'm trying to stick to regular training programs in my work gym to stay in a reasonable shape.

keep up the good work! Ill stop in now and then to see how your doing.

Out of interest for this thread, personal circumstance is something i would be interested to read about, as people with kids or busy lives etc, i want to know how people work around their lives and their goals etc.

 

[Lartyconshayo]

I actually got into OMAD through another thread on this forum about two years ago when I was 105kg ( 188cm / 6'2" ) I got down to 82.5kg but was eating mainly plant based keto and felt like carp all the time after eating.

Over the last 18 months I've put it all back on because I've been turning to food / drink in times of stress as I always have - the last three months of 2019 though I really went for it and on 28/12 was on the scale at 104.1kg

I've always walked as I can't drive ( although started taking lessons just before xmas at 41 almost at 10 hours in now ) - I have tried to remove a lot of the stressors that lead me to emotional eating / drinking. I've knocked the booze on the head altogether, deactivated facebook account and stopped reading the news. I removed any games or apps from my phone ( well not reddit yet ! ) that cause me to waste time. I'm getting a lot better sleep. I'm reading books and started studying for the compTIA network+ and doing driving lessons. I am cooking for my family more as well and keeping on top of household chores ( I work from home so juggle that with running the household - collecting the nipper and so on )

I've been on and off with fasting since discovering OMAD through these forums and do a more extended version now - I eat once every 48 hours for the last 4 weeks - taking a salt water electrolyte mix on the days in between to keep the body happy. I don't do any resistance exercise ( although I would like to but I have an upper arm injury dealing with physio right now ) but I still walk everywhere.

For refeeds I eat meat now and I always keep a tight window of 1 hour - although I may open this up. I mainly eat tinned fish ( mackerel / sardines ) rib-eye steak, eggs , tofu, kimchi, a big salad with some cheese usually feta, avocado. Dessert is usually yogurt , hemp seeds, fortified yeast and tahini - I might throw some frozen berries in there as well. I always eat in the first half of the day - this has been a game changer for me. I feel much better than going to sleep on a big feed. Note I don't eat ALL these foods every time but they are a base to pick from. I don't calorie count - just try and eat nutritious food - I aim to try and pull myself out of ketosis because I think the body needs balance between the sugar burning and fat burning state. But simply put fast longer than you eat and eat until comfortably full is my mantra right now. I just finished a 72 and might start doing them for the next 28 or at least a mix of 48/72 depending on how I feel.

After 28 days I'm currently retailing at 91kg. Aim is to to get to approx 73kg which I think will be right for my height.

I've always been "bigger" I was about 18 stone by about 16 y old. At the time I went jogging for 6 months and dropped 6 stone which I maintained until mid twenties ( bit of a party bunny ) but eventually my heavy boozing and fooding lifestyle caught up with me and 25-41 been up and down. Without fasting though I've found trying to manage hunger much harder. Now I feel pretty great all the time.

Now removing the stressors that I can control - facebook/news/telly and spending my energy improving myself and facing my fears of failure ( sod it who cares if you mess up - just try again ) I'm feeling a bit more at peace with the world and my lot.


EDIT - OMAD thread https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/one-meal-a-day-omad.18794955/

 

[Martynt74]

Out of interest for this thread, personal circumstance is something i would be interested to read about, as people with kids or busy lives etc, i want to know how people work around their lives and their goals etc.

I try to run early on in the day to avoid it having an impact on family life. I'll do a longer run on a Sunday morning but i go around 8am so am back by 10am to spend the day with the family.

On weekdays i'll try and run before work.

Pobably helps my kids are older now, imagine it's a lot harder with younger ones.

 

[Musty Pie]

Good luck to all on their journeys - Having something like this will be good to act as a support group!

Remember the best plans are the ones you can stick to!

 

[Lartyconshayo]

I do most of my walking when the lad is in school - on weekends the mrs will be in the house with him - my WOE makes it a bit different for family meal time but as I do a lot of the cooking I still feel involved and I can sit at the table with them and take part in the social aspect

 

[AndyCr15]

Wow, one meal every 48 hours sounds crazy to me! Does it take some getting used to? I feel like I wouldn't sleep for the hunger pangs? I also worry I'd have no energy (mind you, I'm jogging/cycling/lifting almost every day, which I guess wouldn't mix well with OMAD)

Btw, I heard about this diet rating study here from the Nutrition Diva Podcast. Quite interesting. Keto doesn't come out of it well.

 

[Psymonkee]

Been working on weightloss with a serious attitude for the past 15 months. Bit of a blip for Christmas but currently down around 8st. Long, LONG way to go though. I might do a thread when I'm done or at least feel more comfortable talking publically about my weight.

 

[AndyCr15]

Wow, that's some great work. Would be interesting to hear what sort of things you've done to achieve it.

 

[doodah]

Thanks for starting the thread and great work.

In a similar predicament - where my height and figure hide my typical 15-16st and so people think I don't seem that heavy or I'll have lost weight when I have in fact gained it .

I can lose weight quite easily, I just always have issues maintaining it and usually do it through diet alone (the last time I went to the gym - all of my leg issues decided to manifest). This year I'm going for the multi prong approach - diet and exercise but not just through the gym but also squash. I'm currently 100kg and a BMI calculator reckons I need to lose 20kg to get back into the green which seems a lot.

Goals are to do better portion control, cut down on snacks, lose at least 10kg by the summer, get back to the gym though this time concentrate more on weights and get better control of my various hypermobility pains and aches.

 

[Musty Pie]

Thanks for starting the thread and great work.

In a similar predicament - where my height and figure hide my typical 15-16st and so people think I don't seem that heavy or I'll have lost weight when I have in fact gained it .

I can lose weight quite easily, I just always have issues maintaining it and usually do it through diet alone (the last time I went to the gym - all of my leg issues decided to manifest). This year I'm going for the multi prong approach - diet and exercise but not just through the gym but also squash. I'm currently 100kg and a BMI calculator reckons I need to lose 20kg to get back into the green which seems a lot.

Goals are to do better portion control, cut down on snacks, lose at least 10kg by the summer, get back to the gym though this time concentrate more on weights and get better control of my various hypermobility pains and aches.

Don't pay too much attention to BMI....

 

[doodah]

Yeah I know you shouldn't but I am like Trump, about as close to 30 as you can get .

 

[oneilldo]

Yeah I know you shouldn't but I am like Trump, about as close to 30 as you can get .

Just be careful with squash and hypermobility. I talk from experience although was the first proper injury I had and have been playing for years.

I hyperextended my knee and ended up twisting when landing which led to dislocated knee and ruptured ACL.

I was training for half iron man cycling part (was due to do a relay) and playing squash a few times a week. So likely one of the reasons could be slight knee instability brought about by quads being too strong and no strength work on hamstrings. I'm going to be sure to do work on both quads and hamstrings during rehab and before I return to the court.

 

[MrRockliffe]

Similar story to you - 6ft 1, never “fat” but I got to the point where I wasn’t happy with the way I looked and felt. I’d slowly been increasing in weight and size since moving back from Spain, and dramatic weight increase during the past 2 years which have been somewhat difficult for me. In addition, I was rinsing through jeans - crotch area was wearing constantly.

Cut my calorie intake, trying to cut sugar intake and doing more exercise.

118kg beginning of September, now at 102kg.

My running is almost at 10 km/h at 2% incline for 12 minutes with various sprints in between. Building muscle too.

My goal is to do a 5k run and hit 15 ish stone with decent bulk.

Edit: due to dieting, I’m taking multi vitamins and omega 3 - not sure if it’s helping but I don’t think it’s doing harm

Overall much happier - tired a lot but that’s due to being in the middle of exam season and training hard.


Edit 2: owe most of my success with calorie intake reduction due to intermittent fasting. It has helped me gain control and perspective of what I’m eating

 

[Trig]

I did a similar thing a few years back, mum had a picture of me and I was like, erm, wtaf...

I lost 2st and 4" off my waist in about 6 months, not from eating particularly better, but just watching portion size, a KFC box meal with sides just became a normal burger meal, smaller portions at home, and not finishing off what everyone else left (hate to see it wasted, so ate anything left), and cutting back on bread as I would have 2 slices with pretty much any meal, to the point where I used to say "Its not a meal if you cant put it between 2 slices of bread" made for some interesting sandwiches but probably wasn't helping..
IMHO there are certain types of people when it comes to food and diet, those who want things you tell them they cant have and never get anywhere due to lack of will power, or those that do the stupid fad diets and then once they hit their target weight stop doing whatever it was they were doing that got them to where they wanted to be. You have to make permanent sustainable changes, eating less and doing more will always drop weight but if it's not a long term thing, you won't get anywhere..

It was after I knackered my back that my weight started to go back up again, nice to see hypermobility being mentioned in here, I'd always had double-jointed fingers and was flexible but it wasn't until I pulled the muscles in the bottom of my back, did a round of Naproxen and then Diclophenysomethingorother that I went to the NHS physio, she made it 200% worse to the point that I had to sit down and brace myself when I thought I was going to sneeze, ended up going to a sports physio and in about 5 minutes he'd noticed my knees bent backwards, got me to stand up and bend my arms down with palms up that I even found out what it was, he explained it and basically told me that the NHS bird had done me over and not noticed it..

 

[doodah]

Just be careful with squash and hypermobility. I talk from experience although was the first proper injury I had and have been playing for years.

I hyperextended my knee and ended up twisting when landing which led to dislocated knee and ruptured ACL.

I was training for half iron man cycling part (was due to do a relay) and playing squash a few times a week. So likely one of the reasons could be slight knee instability brought about by quads being too strong and no strength work on hamstrings. I'm going to be sure to do work on both quads and hamstrings during rehab and before I return to the court.

Useful to know, thank you. Only found out I had it a couple of years ago and have subsequently had a number of issues with my legs (most of which is low level). Only just learning about it/implications now and didn't even think about squash . I only play intermittently/at most once a week and at a pretty low level. Regardless of the condition, I need to build my strength across the board any way. Wonder if it's worth using a PT for the first few hours who knows about hypermobility as the only machines I have used a gym is the rowing machine and treadmill.

Good luck with your recovery .