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Had slow progress recently, despite being ok with diet but not doing a ton exercise. Then I remembered how the iDave diet stressed the importance of re-feed days when I hadn't been doing them. So on Saturday I pigged out, and went up 0.6kg. This morning I'm 0.2kg lower than I was Saturday morning... Let's see how I do this week.
The normal diet, by definition, is currently one that is causing people to become fatter and fatter.
I was gonna leave this thread to poopscoop's updates, but nah - not when someone can come out with such garbage as that.
Who's becoming fatter and fatter? There are 12 people in this (pretty average IT) office and only 2 are overweight - one of those smokes and does no exercise, the other is on a diet and buying a bike.
Because the other 10 all do "Regular Exercise". Or is "regular exercise" like "balanced diet" - has to be defined in minute detail into heart rates, power meterage and distances?
Good work to the OP and others that have done other diets and kept the weight off. I myself used MyFitnessPal at a reasonable level (2100 calories daily) and it really showed to me how much I was pigging out portion wise. I got that under control and lost two stone.
The other eye opener for me with MFP was that activities I was doing didn't burn half as many calories as I thought and how bad some foods were for calories. The sunday morning bike ride hadn't actually burnt enough calories to consume the fry up afterwards! Hell it had barely burned enough calories for the lucozade I had drunk during!
Eat less and exercise more really is the answer. whichever diet you use to eat less 5:2, atkins, low carb etc good on you!
Who’s becoming fatter and fatter? There are 12 people in this (pretty average IT) office and only 2 are overweight – one of those smokes and does no exercise, the other is on a diet and buying a bike.
maybe by your extremely small sample size but have you read any news/stats on obesity. It's a bit of a problem
"Obesity levels in the UK have more than trebled in the last 30 years and, on current estimates, more than half the population could be obese by 2050."
Europe's obesity league:
UK: 24.9%
Ireland: 24.5%
Spain: 24.1%
Portugal: 21.6%
Germany: 21.3%
Belgium: 19.1%
Austria: 18.3%
Italy: 17.2%
Sweden: 16.6%
France: 15.6%
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2648644
"he prevalence of obesity has doubled in 73 countries around the world and steadily increased in others since 1980, and health problems resulting from being overweight or obese now affect more than 2 billion people, according to a study by an international group of researchers published in the New England Journal of Medicine."
This is all great info but ultimately meaningless when compared to the data Debz has collected from the 11 people he works with.
If Zoe Harcombe is being used as a source then we might be in trouble.
3rd week update.
Not a happy bunny. Down from 19.9 to 19.4 so only 5lb loss this week.
Got to pin down why. Been having lots of omelettes and although very low carb I suspect they might be the issue. Was actually hoping to have broken 19stone this week.
No matter, will see how I get on next week. 😀
Thinking about doing the idave diet. Poopscoop what meals are you doing? Egg an sausage and beans for breakfast sounds good. But what about lunch. We currently already cook a fair amount of veg so don't think evening meal will be difficult to adjust to.
only 5lb loss this week.
Have you tried cutting out the protein and fats as well. Reckon that should help shift the weight a bit quicker.
5lbs in a week is a big loss by any standards. Dont health experts/drs advise against rapid weight loss? My understanding is that it's unhealthier and more likely to fail as opposed to a steady, gradual loss as part of permanent lifestyle changes?
I think it depends on how husky the person is beforehand. For example if you're 100lb over, 5-10lb a week is easily doable.
5lbs is a good loss. What you are doing is working so stick to it. the hardest part of weight loss is the waiting.
@ poopscoop. I don't think it's the omelettes a 4 egg omelette only contains 25 g of protein.
I eat 3 omelettes a week with bacon, cream cheese,and mushrooms fried in butter it's the added fat that stops the hunger.
Eating too much protein on a low carb diet, will cause the liver to convert the amino acids found in protein into sugar,this can seriously halt your weight
loss And spike insulin causing premature hunger.
Reduce your protein intake a little, increase your fat intake, and lots and lots of salad /Veges.
Have you thought about intermittent fasting,this is something I started last week and has been a huge help in weight loss, but also given me more energy as the body runs on fat.
Oh and don't forget, you've lost a stone in 3 weeks, you feel better,you'll look better and there's more to come.
Because your made of more than just body fat Poop. The foods you've stopped eating are more than just carbohydrates. You body is using its glycogen stores to compensate for the lack of carbs and reduced salt intake can reduce water retention - as I said previously don't be surprised if it slows down just keep with it if you find it's a manageable way to not eat more than you need.
You might find measuring things like around your belly, thighs, arms etc gives you a better idea of whats going on than merely weight.
only 5lb loss this week.
Thats nearly half a stone in a week! WTF are you expecting?
the hardest part of weight loss is the waiting.
I'd say it's keeping it off.
The initial large weight loss will be down to your reduced intake of carbohydrates , your body stores water due to your carbohydrate consumption, it's not exact science but the latest research from Johns Hopkins shows that an average body will gain 2.7g of water for every gram of glycogen stored from 1g of carbohydrate intake, your kidneys will tend to hold onto water soluble sodium due to carbohydrate intake
i am not a scientist but due to living with ms i have a very healthy interest in diet/immune response/nutritional uptake/gut microbial and general diet related health woo woo and i'm currently in a ms gut micriobiom clinical research group to serve as a possible cure or to reverse MS,
Just had a meeting my consultant today, we didn't really discuss my condition in much detail at all (apart from the essentials) but we did spend 30 mins over coffee discussing the latest gut microbiom research with reference to how our western diet has changed dramatically over the previous few decades and the effect it subsequently has to our long term health prospects.
somethingion? : stop eating processed foods, cut out all additional sugars/processed veg oils and reduce carbohydrate intake
Speaking from experience (23 stone to 14.5 stone), I would stick to trying to shift 1.5 to 2 lbs a week and doing it over a longer period of time. More than this can be a bonus every now and then but I wouldn't be trying for it every week or even very often. You will be much more likely to crash and burn and end up bigger than you started.
Give your body time to adjust to gradual weight loss and the changes that go along with that and you will end up healthier, better looking (skin has more time to adapt), happier and give youself a much better chance of keeping it off.
Keeping it off is the battle. you need to get yourself into a managable and sustainable regime and stick to it the rest of your days. You can do this losing 1.5 to 2lbs a week and come time to adapt to a maintenance regime it will be an easier transition than trying to go from starvation (5lbs + a week) to healthy.
It's unlikely that you put the weight on at a rate of 5lbs a week so take it easy on yourself and take it off gradually and be one of the 3% that manages to keep it off rather than the 97% who put it all back on and then some.
Don't believe me? Take a look at the biggest loser contestants who were losing 5 lbs+ every week over 6months and see what they look like now a couple of years later. And that was with 'help from the pros'.
I’d say it’s keeping it off.
I agree but you do have to get there first.
There was an interesting outsideonline podcast recently where they spoke to an obesity researcher and author about why eating too much of the wrong stuff is hardwired into the brain:
http://outside.prx.org/2018/02/dispatches-ep-15-your-hungry-brain-is-making-you-fat/
It's quite basic stuff, but interesting and actually has some basic solutions: stuff like not leaving unhealthy snack foods openly visible in your kitchen and - yes I know this is obvious - not buying them in the first place.
Slightly more involved than that - goes into the fundamentals of why we crave sugary stuff - and even as someone who's doesn't have weight issues, an interesting take on why it's so hard to change long-term dietary habits.
only 5lb loss this week.
Only?
That's huge. Do not change what you are doing until you hit a plateau. I am not sure what on earth your expectations are, but they seem unrealistic. If it were an easy quick fix then there'd be no fat people. 5lbs a week is serious weight loss. Trying to go quicker will be unsustainable I reckon.
You've slowed down losing water for the reasons Somafunk has stated.
If you think you've dropped 5lbs of fat you're probably going to be disappointed.
5lbs = 2.3kg
2.3kg of fat = 20,700 cals
As soon as you start eating carbs again guess whats going to happen? Yep! You'll pull in more water! Which means the scales will read higher.
As an aside, measuring how much force that gravity exerts upon your body is a really shitty way of measuring body composition and progress in the improvement of body composition.
Did you measure your waist, thighs, chest, upper arms etc before you started? Any difference after 3 weeks? Clothes fitting differently?
Have you been counting calories as well as carb grams? If I was 21 stone (circa 133kg) I would be shooting for 3500cals per day with 2g per kg of protein, 2g per kg of carb with the rest of your cals coming from fat.
I'm about 100kg and since the new year I have been averaging about 3200cals per day. Lost over an inch of my waist, abs are starting to come through and rest of the body is defo looking more cut.
I have been aiming for equal thirds of cals coming from Protein, carbs and Fat.
The above is combined with heavy weight training 4 times a week, a bike ride a week (if I'm lucky), walking for an hour a day for commute/at lunch and coaching rugby a couple of times a week.
I've not lost any strength on my bench, squat, deadlift or OHP since cutting back the cals.
If you think you’ve dropped 5lbs of fat you’re probably going to be disappointed.
5lbs = 2.3kg
2.3kg of fat = 20,700 cals
That's assuming that the only way for fat to leave the body is to convert it into physical work.. not sure that's true. We all know people who can eat what they like and stay skinny without doing loads of exercise. Question is, where do those calories go?
Fat leaves the body as CO2 and H2O
Yeah but why and how? What triggers that chemical reaction? Is there more than one stimulus triggering lipolysis or lipogenesis?
it gets converted to muscle, everyone knows that 😉
I agree with molgrips. Stick to what you are doing (which is working really well) until you plateau. Then review and make a change.
Yeah but why and how? What triggers that chemical reaction? Is there more than one stimulus triggering lipolysis or lipogenesis?
Magic or pixie dust.
This week's update.
Now 18st 10lb.
That's about 13lb loss in the week.
Fasted for 2 individual days.... Obviously helped!
How many lbs do you think there are in a stone?
All very commendable, but what’s the statistics on diets not working and people ending up weighing more than they did before ? 9/10 ?
Rene.....Doh!
Yes,lost 8Lb!
I went all metric for a second, sorry guys.
Still, under 19st which is great to see on the scales. 🙂
"I’d say it’s keeping it off."
Jamie, i'm 15kg down and it's stayed off. Not saying it works for everyone, but sure has for me.
Going Low carb isn’t a diet it’s a change of mindset. Once you stop eating carbs there are no cravings. You feel generally much better with higher energy levels. Stable blood sugar with no crashes. It’s easy to maintain. You become lean, burn fat much faster it’s a win win. Got to be better than peeing about counting points or calories. Just cut the carbs and increase your fibre greens, protein and fat a bit. Greek yogurt has become my go to pudding with a few seeds and berries.
OP, are you drinking any alcohol whilst doing your weight loss thing? I did the iDave a few years ago and went from 15.5 stone to 11.5, most of that time I abstained from booze. Since then then the weight slowly crept back up to 15.5, but I was drinking, snacking.
I went Vegan in January and am sticking with it. Not worrying about carbs at all and the weight is dropping off. Eating really well and rarely go hungry, not experienced any spikes or fatigue, and nothing with a face died in the process. Drinking on and off too.
I gained back weight after losing it the first time I did iDiet. But then, that was because I went back to how I was eating before, so it's to be expected...
>Is the low-carb thing sustainable long term, or will you just eat sensibly once the crash is complete?
It can be for some people. My sister and bil have been doing it for years, they just made it their regular diet. They're both super into their mountain biking and my sister reckons it stops her from fatiguing during races. However, she is a particularly strong willed individual and may well be making it work through shere bloody mindedness alone lol
This week's update:
Down to 18st 6Lb.
So 4Lb lost. I suspect it should be a little more but constipated at the moment so will increase the veg to aid that. 😳 lol
Not far from the weight my turbo can take to allow me to go on Zwift. 🚴 🙂
Congrats sir !
Getting there.
I honestly feel so much better already. I felt like I waddled as i walked and I no longer wheeze as i breath. 😃
This week's update.
Lost 5lb, down to 18st 1lb. 🙂
Looking forward to getting below 18st next week.
Then in can start Zwifting which should help the weight loss and fitness a lot. 😉
Good work 👍
Poopscoop - we’ll done! When I was hardcore low-carbing last year, I found sticking to the diet easier if I didn’t try too much hard exercise.
Try an early morning fasted ride on swift too. Steady cardio zone rather than full out, for max fat burning.
How soon after starting did people find that their energy levels for riding started recovering? - I understand that there will be a transition period after starting a low-carb diet where adaptation has not yet happened, so the muscles are looking for something you're not providing.
I'm about a week in, not feeling rough day-to-day, but tried my normal 20 mile loop today, and it was Godawful - felt like the legs were full of lactate within a few seconds of real effort. Somehow scraped up the main climb but just couldn't get the legs back after that.
If it's going to take weeks and weeks I may have to go back to a Low GI, medium carb diet so I can fuel my spring rides.
One of the problems I suppose is that I'm calorie-deprived as well as carb-deprived. I'm eating a fair amount of good stuff but only hitting 1,600 calories a day max.
For all those wondering if it is for them just try it. It’s not a diet because once you try it it just becomes the norm. No massive hunger pangs or sugar crashes just sustained weight loss then normal low carb eating to maintain your weight. Cut out the white pasta and bread and white rice. Replace with wholemeal varieties and cut the quantity down to about a quarter. Increase the veg and fibre and don’t forget good fat and good protein. Think of sugar as poison. Snack on Nuts and fruit. Eggs are great for low carb. What I have noticed more over the 3 or so years I’ve been low carb Is I’ve become leaner but with more noticeable muscle. The fat just seems to disappear. I have tried to make an effort to include more weight training as well as cycling. That has made a massive difference to my overall fitness. I can honestly say I have never felt hungry and sometimes have to remember to eat.
Martin I felt the same as you. Remember to eat some fat to get your fuel for riding. It takes a bit longer to convert to energy but you will be able to sustain much longer rides eventually. I don’t bonk anymore because I’m fuelling myself from fat not carbs. I remember feeling crap for about the first 3-4 miles then realising that I was getting faster over time when everybody else was getting tired! One other strange thing is my water consumption decreased. I think that’s because I am not processing carbs maybe.
You may find it beneficial to supplement your regime with a ketone supplement to aid fat burning, good info Here by Ben Greenfield & Dominic D’Agostino
So you eat fat immediately pre-ride in the same way you'd eat carbs? What kind of stuff? How long after starting did it take you to start feeling as good on climbs etc as you did when you were carb-fuelled? I'm hoping some weight loss will help with this too.
Keep going!
The iDave diet stipulated you eat as much as you want from the allowed foods. So no need to restrict calories as well. I find it too hard to do both.
Re getting used to it - I never get fully acxustoacc to it, I always need to supplement with some carbs around the riding. But that may be because I am a type II person rather than type I.
Some interesting info there lads, thanks.
I reckon I am going to feel pretty bad on Zwift for a while..... Then again I did anyway! Lol
17 stone 11lb today, so 4lb lost this week.
Time to get Zwift all sorted. 😀
Great work again 👍
Really looking forward to Zwift, got to find the bloody fans though!
They are at the side of the road clapping usually on the London routes
👍😀🤗👏
😂
I love my adoring fans as I sprint in for last place! 😃
Great work poopers, after following your progress, I'm going to try this...eventually. 😎
Nice one poopsy, you must be feeling and seeing a difference now.
Going great so far! Well done sir.
I was about 22 stone around 10 years ago. Did exercise and fad diets on and off for years, dropped a stone here and there.
Since I rediscovered cycling a bout 3 1/2 years ago and see a personal trainer, I'm not currently 14st 9lbs and the fittest I've ever been (33 years old, 6ft 2ins).
The key for me was to find something you enjoy and not to fret about falling off the wagon food wise. Just carry on and don't guilt yourself over treats 🙂
I don't have any end goal in mind, just keep doing what I'm doing.
Martin hutch - I often find I struggle up the first hill, but get better, almost as if the first hill is a switch.
This week's update 17.5lb, so 6lb lost this week. 😃
Zwift setup should be ready in a few days too!
That's amazing going! I'm astounded at your performance
Well done, Poopscoop, truly inspirational; bought myself a set of scales (arrived in the post today, 19st 6lb. Eeek!) and will be reading your posts with interest. If I can get back down to between 14 - 15st I'll be happy.
Keep up the good work, buddy!
Incredible progress. I really wouldn't have thought it would have been sustainable. Huge respect. If you've done any before/after photos they must look great
17stone spot on this week!
5lb loss.
I've gone from wheezing and puffing just walking around to feeling almost how I used to.
Now to get actually fitter rather than lighter but only "sofa fit". Not so hard when Spring finally arrives! 😃
Following this with interest, keep it up!! 🙂
Nice.
Take it easy on the exercise at first. If you go nuts you might create unstoppable cravings for sweet stuff - that's what happens to me, anyway.
I hope you've been taking pictures so we can make a freaky disappearing Poopscoop gif.
That's again just remarkable mate.... Absolutely remarkable.
Well done PS. It is remarkable how the weight just falls off and it has nothing it would seem to do with fat consumption more carb consumption. People have remarked how have I kept the weight off I just tell them I eat low carb. It's not a diet it's a lifestyle thing.
16 stone 10 this week. 😃
16 stone 8lb so a smaller loss of 2lb... But still going the right way. 😃
good effort make sure it becomes a lifestyle change
One of the unfortunate things about weight loss is that as you approach your goal you lose less weight each week (although if you expressed it as a percentage of your current weight the difference would be much less!) which can obviously be demoralizing, but you can see why that's the case, right? 🙂
Well done Poopscoop, FWIW I've been on a low carb diet for about 12 months. Find it very easily sustainable with no real cravings or position where I feel like I'd fall off the wagon. The odd day off for missus birthday and over Christmas made only a small difference and I didn't struggle going back to low carbs once I'd had had an off day. Lost probably about 15kg (90 down to 75) and feel better than I ever have done!!
Go on son! Fair play to you!
Any chance of sharing your favourite recipes?