2012 Weight Loss Thread

[Scoop]

I'm back

Thanks for the pictures of your cats Erik. I love cats, although they do make me sneeze. Our neighbours have cats galore so I can pet them whenever I want - they all come over to me (apart from Jacob). So I see Winston (persian blue), Denby (rag doll), Dalton (siamese), Sooty (very large and black) and James (white and ginger). I always have to have a hayfever tablet afterwards

Wendy. You are very inspiring. Just seeing your progress on the meter board is astonishing. Well done for the weight loss and for wanting to make a difference to yourself in spite of the challenging circumstances =D> and don't give up

Christine - look on the bright side. If I was your weight I'd be on an intravenous drip Good luck with the new challenge - we all know how much determination you've got

Mikkel - that is some impressive weight loss Well done my friend and keep it going.

Paul - this is you and me together bro. We can do this. It's not like we love food or anything You kick me and I'll kick you.

3 weeks since last weigh in due to Madchester and other various lifethreatening situations (like being 3 stone overweight)

29/04/12____126.6______+0.0___________+0.0
06/05/12____127.3______+0.7___________+0.7
13/05/12____125.0______-2.3___________-1.6
20/05/12____124.2______-0.8___________-2.4
27/05/12____125.4______+1.2___________-1.2
03/06/12____124.8______-0.6___________-1.8
10/06/12____122.8______-2.0___________-3.8
17/06/12____122.6______-0.2___________-4.0
24/06/12____122.4______-0.2___________-4.2
30/06/12____122.6______+0.2___________-4.0
22/07/12____121.1______-1.5___________-5.5

Slowly, slowly. It's taking a while but we're getting there. That is three weeks worth so it looks more impressive but I think I'm gradually getting the hang of this 'losing-weight-by-eating-less' lark [-o<

[Grobi]

Well done on your recent weight loss Laurence! =D> You're nearly down to 120kg now, keep it up!

Slowly, slowly. It's taking a while but we're getting there. That is three weeks worth so it looks more impressive

I wouldn't call 0.5kg per week slowly. That's quite a healthy rate in my book and it's more than you have managed in the three weeks before. Seems you're really getting used to losing weight now.

[Wolfmiester]

I agree Peter, 0.5kg/week is oft recommended for long term loss.
Your total is now a decent loss Lawrence, getting in to a groove (oh, no. please don't dance )

[cweed]

Great job Scoop!

July 23...156lbs
July 30...150.9...-5.1lbs

Funny thing is all I have done is eat normally, without the summer time treats like ice cream and beer. So the water weight is gone, but the remaining 16 lbs to get back to lightweight will be harder.

[Scoop]

Thanks Peter, Steve and Christine Don't worry Steve. I only dance when I get a PB so it's a long way off

Christine - amazing weight loss - you must be one of those who can pick it up and put it down as you wish. Great start.

As for me I didn't weigh in this weekend because the scales were being serviced at Halfords and, and, because I had to shave the hairs in my ears and the shaver blew up and I had to call the fire brigade

But I will do it next week (probably)

[Scoop]

29/04/12____126.6______+0.0___________+0.0
06/05/12____127.3______+0.7___________+0.7
13/05/12____125.0______-2.3___________-1.6
20/05/12____124.2______-0.8___________-2.4
27/05/12____125.4______+1.2___________-1.2
03/06/12____124.8______-0.6___________-1.8
10/06/12____122.8______-2.0___________-3.8
17/06/12____122.6______-0.2___________-4.0
24/06/12____122.4______-0.2___________-4.2
30/06/12____122.6______+0.2___________-4.0
22/07/12____121.1______-1.5___________-5.5
05/08/12____120.5______-0.6___________-6.1

I've done a lot of distance this week so I wanted to make sure I wasn't reading too much dehydration into this weigh-in. Therefore had my customary two cups of coffee before the scales. Weight is definitely going - belt is much looser even on the new notch I created in it.

Now here is an interesting thing. When I started to lose weight I bought a pair of digital scales from ASDA. In the past there has been the odd tendency to cheat with mechanical scales - adjusting the little wheel, rocking backwards and forwards to find the 'optimum' reading With the new scales I can't do that. They take a reading and then lock it in and that's it. But out of curiosity I dug the old scales out this morning for a comparison and they give me 114kg This means that either I am vastly heavier than I have believed for the past 10 years, or that the digital scales are overestimating me (which I doubt). The long and short of it is that I need to lose more weight - I was 95kg when I was 22. The problem is that my wife hates it when I'm thin (even though she's allowed to be) as she says I look ill.

Maybe better to look ill than to actually be ill though. As someone said, you see a lot of oldies and a lot of fatties but you don't see many old fatties!

[Wendy]

Well done! And better skinny than overweight. You'll live a lot longer, that's for sure. All the studies say the skinnies live longer......

I need to do something. I'm holding steady but not losing. My husband was recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and has to lose weight and started low-carbing. He has lost 6Kg in 8 weeks and I am very proud of him but I already low carb (except for the chocolate and I'm cutting down, honest). I'm going to watch Horizon tomorrow which has an interesting program about fasting at intervals. The BBC site says the reporter tried fasting down to 600 cals two days a week and eating normally the other five. The guy said there was no wanting to gorge on the non-fasting days. It sounds interesting but I don't want to get over-tired and I also wouldn't want to cut down the distance work because I enjoy it so much. I'd need to really think.

[Daffy]

Now here is an interesting thing. When I started to lose weight I bought a pair of digital scales from ASDA. In the past there has been the odd tendency to cheat with mechanical scales - adjusting the little wheel, rocking backwards and forwards to find the 'optimum' reading With the new scales I can't do that. They take a reading and then lock it in and that's it. But out of curiosity I dug the old scales out this morning for a comparison and they give me 114kg This means that either I am vastly heavier than I have believed for the past 10 years, or that the digital scales are overestimating me (which I doubt).

You and I were made in the same mould, Laurence. When I got the erg for home I ordered the digital scales too, in a fit of blind optimism. They consistently weigh me quite a bit heavier than my old trusty bathroom scales. Suffice to say - the old bathroom scales are in the bathroom, and the new honest scales are in the bedroom cupboard. My reasoning is that I know what I want to weigh on the old system, so I'm sticking to that baseline.

(If there is a choice between two identical items of clothing, and one says 12 and one says 14, guess which one I would choose!) (Notice also that size zero is not mentioned.)

[Grobi]

because I had to shave the hairs in my ears

Looks like you shaved a huge amount of hair Laurence, another loss of 0.6kg, well done! Keep up the good work!

[Shang-Chi]

Really crazy weight this afternoon

Date__________mass [kg]______change_______________total change
16/05/10______98.5___________+0.0__________________+0.0

____________________________________________________________________________

03/01/11______96.0___________-2.0__________________-2.5
08/01/11______95.6___________-0.4__________________-2.9
24/05/11______93.0___________-2.6__________________-5.5
27/05/11______89.6___________-3.4__________________-8.9
____________________________________________________________________________
Jan.
09/01/12______91.5___________+0.9__________________-7.0
11/01/12______90.1___________-1.4__________________-8.4
19/01/12______89.6___________-0.5__________________-8.9
22/01/12______89.1___________-0.5__________________-9.4
25/01/12______88.7___________-0.4__________________-9.8
Feb.
12/02/12______90.0___________+1.3__________________-8.5
26/02/12______89.3___________-0.7__________________-9.2
____________________________________________________________________________
Apr.
01/04/12______92.5___________+3.2__________________-6.0
____________________________________________________________________________
July
23/07/12______87.1___________-5.4__________________-11.4
28/07/12______88.1___________+1.0__________________-10.4
____________________________________________________________________________
Aug.
11/08/12______85.4___________-2.7__________________-13.1 kg. lost since 16/5/10 and 7.5 kg. since 01/04/12

[zootMutant]

That's great progress, Mikkel, well done!

[Shang-Chi]

That's great progress, Mikkel, well done!

Thanks Zoot. The health coach and fitness coach has paid off already.

[Scoop]

Thanks Peter, Jane and Wendy Jane, the scales problem must be universal. How can they be so unsympathetic? Either that or gravity has increased since my youth

Wendy, I have often thought about the fast, but I'm so frightened of finding myself on the floor during work. There is nothing worse than running out of energy. If I had a desk job I'd do it tomorrow.

Mikkel - that's a fantastic effort. Well done for such consistent weight loss.

Plenty of erging for me in the sun. I'm bound to have lost loads

29/04/12____126.6______+0.0___________+0.0
06/05/12____127.3______+0.7___________+0.7
13/05/12____125.0______-2.3___________-1.6
20/05/12____124.2______-0.8___________-2.4
27/05/12____125.4______+1.2___________-1.2
03/06/12____124.8______-0.6___________-1.8
10/06/12____122.8______-2.0___________-3.8
17/06/12____122.6______-0.2___________-4.0
24/06/12____122.4______-0.2___________-4.2
30/06/12____122.6______+0.2___________-4.0
22/07/12____121.1______-1.5___________-5.5
05/08/12____120.5______-0.6___________-6.1
12/08/12____121.0______+0.5___________-5.6

And after my HM yesterday too. Who'd have thought that getting invited to an 'All-you-can-eat-Chinese-buffet-birthday-party-with-free-beer' last night would make a difference

Back to the drawing board.

[zootMutant]

And after my HM yesterday too. Who'd have thought that getting invited to an 'All-you-can-eat-Chinese-buffet-birthday-party-with-free-beer' last night would make a difference

How often do you weigh yourself, Scoop?

I only ask because my weight can easily vary ±2 lbs based on water balance. When I am serious about my weight, I weigh myself every morning, but then take a weekly average and mark that down in my log. This evens out the effects of a massive workout with the gradual replenishing of food and water afterward...

[Scoop]

How often do you weigh yourself, Scoop?

Every Sunday morning. As I'm at my most indulgent on Saturday I want to have the 'least optimistic' reading.

I'm not being pessimistic. I'm trying to be honest with myself. You can't fix the problem unless you know the extent of it.

I'm sure it will all average itself out but thanks for the sentiment. I know that an important part of losing weight is staying positive

[cweed]

Scoop I weigh in on Monday's as weekends tend to be my most indulgent times and I actually make better food choices all weekend knowing I am publicly posting my weight on Monday.
July 23...156lbs
July 30...150.9...-5.1lbs
Aug 6...forgot to weigh in...unlike some I do not have the ear shaving fire brigade excuse
Aug 13...149.2...-6.8lbs

And Scoop I am not one of those people who "can pick it up and put it down" when I like. But when I initially transition from junk to paleo I lose a lot of water weight quickly. Then I hit plateaus at completely mental barrier weights (150 or when I get close to lightweight 140). For some reason I will stay at 151 or 141 for much longer than say 147.

Wendy I am not a fan of fasting. Have you looked at the Paleo Diet for Athletes? It might be a better alternative and allow you to do the distance work you love!

I have two digital scales and one reads 1 pound lighter than the other. You would think they would need to meet some sort of accuracy standard.

Mikkel great work! Scoop I will not even touch Chinese food much less all you can eat as a mere two mouthfuls magically translates to a disproportionate weight gain. Stay steady and that weight will come off, Zoot is right it can easily be water.

[chipmunkcheeks]

I just want to encourage those who are trying to lose weight.

In February of 2010 I weighed 120 kg (which at 5'4 is morbidly obese). I am now weighing in at 47 kg. It was a very hard slog but with grit and determination I did it.

I just wanted to say to anyone trying to lose weight, however little or much, YOU CAN DO IT!!!

Good luck with it!

[strider77]

Keep it up Laurence and Christine =D> =D>

Mikkel-phenomenal progress =D>

Abbi-or should I say 39% of old Abbi-Incredible-well done =D> Inspirational

[zootMutant]

I just wanted to say to anyone trying to lose weight, however little or much, YOU CAN DO IT!!!

Well said!!

[Tina Gallasch]

I have two digital scales and one reads 1 pound lighter than the other.

I'd always pick the lighter scales

[andyhad]

This looks like the place to be for me. I've just joined, having been back in training for a bit over a month. Basically, used to be a rower in the UK, and did a shed load of km on the water and on the erg. And burned up a load of calories every day as a result. Stopping rowing = no longer burning calories AND being able to drink beer - double weight gain whammy. And I've got the willpower of a labrador So competing at about 85kg in the early-mid 90s has translated into my current state: at the age of 40 I'm out of breath walking up stairs and obese. I'm currently living in Cambodia (beer and food is cheap!), but seem to have turned the corner finally -

Joined a gym on July 12th, and did my first 20' (split over 2:30).
Have done a few 80' now, and passed the 250km mark this week.

I bought some scales on the 16th, and weighed in at 133.9kg
Weighed in the last two mornings at 125.3kg

Have read some really inspiring stories on various forums, and I'm already feeling better, clothes are looser. My original aims were to dip under 110kg, and pass the 1000km mark by the year's end - and to get under 100kg by my birthday (Feb). The weird thing is how easily it's going at the moment. Having failed to get going so many times in recent years, it's like a switch has suddenly been turned from "fat lazy b*****d" mode to "obsessive trainer" mode. Have given up beer (in the week), barely eating meat, loads of fruit and veggies - and it's dropping off. Note sure how long this will last (presumably until my holiday next month), but enjoying it while it lasts.

What the hell happens to your skin when you do this kind of thing?! Is it going to shrink back? Stretch marks are better than diabetes and heart disease, of course...

[chipmunkcheeks]

Good work!! Keep it going!! Weight loss is never easy, believe me I know, but you will do it! I made a mistake, I never did any exercise to lose weight, but if I had I wouldn't have had loose skin as much as I do, and stretch marks I can't comment on, because I obtained them when i was pregnant! BUT like yuo say, they are so much better than diabetes, heart disease and a whole host of other crap you are risking at a heavy weight.

Keep it up!!!

[Shang-Chi]

Really crazy weight this afternoon

Date__________mass [kg]______change_______________total change
16/05/10______98.5___________+0.0__________________+0.0

____________________________________________________________________________

03/01/11______96.0___________-2.0__________________-2.5
08/01/11______95.6___________-0.4__________________-2.9
24/05/11______93.0___________-2.6__________________-5.5
27/05/11______89.6___________-3.4__________________-8.9
____________________________________________________________________________
Jan.
09/01/12______91.5___________+0.9__________________-7.0
11/01/12______90.1___________-1.4__________________-8.4
19/01/12______89.6___________-0.5__________________-8.9
22/01/12______89.1___________-0.5__________________-9.4
25/01/12______88.7___________-0.4__________________-9.8
Feb.
12/02/12______90.0___________+1.3__________________-8.5
26/02/12______89.3___________-0.7__________________-9.2
____________________________________________________________________________
Apr.
01/04/12______92.5___________+3.2__________________-6.0
____________________________________________________________________________
July
23/07/12______87.1___________-5.4__________________-11.4
28/07/12______88.1___________+1.0__________________-10.4
____________________________________________________________________________
Aug.
11/08/12______85.4___________-2.7__________________-13.1 kg. lost since 16/5/10 and 7.5 kg. since 01/04/12.
18/08/12______84.9___________-0.5__________________-13.6 kg. lost. Another half kg.lost since last week and 8.0 kg. since 01/04/12 My lovest weight since I can't remember =D>

[zootMutant]

Another half kg.lost since last week and 8.0 kg. since 01/04/12 My lovest weight since I can't remember

Well done, Mikkel!

The weird thing is how easily it's going at the moment. Having failed to get going so many times in recent years

Don't worry... it will get a lot harder! But we'll all be around to lend support and get you through those hard times. 8.6 kg is quite a lot to lose in one month, a more sustainable number will be around 0.5-4 kg/month, so don't be surprised if next month's progress is slower... just keep plugging away at the rowing and eating right and you'll see progress.

Okay. I'm in. My fake target is to lose 54 lbs. over the next two years. I say 'fake' because I'm not primarily interested in weight, I'm interested in % body fat. My target is 15-20% body fat, but right now I'm close to 30%. I think I can lose 0.5% per month. (In the past, I've found that if I lose weight too fast, I loose a lot of muscle and the target keeps receding.) So the goal is 'slow but steady'.

2012_Aug
weight: 229.1 lbs
target loss: 3.86 stone
[note to self: it looks much easier if you express weight in pounds and target loss in stone]

Waist: 45.5"
Hips: 43.0"
Rt Forearm: 12.25"
Rt Wrist: 7.25"

Calculated Body Fat: 26.7%
Fat: 61.1 lbs
Lean: 168.1 lbs

[andyhad]

I'm sure it will get harder!

Weird phenomenon this weekend - I did a hash on Saturday, and smashed my PB (ok, PB for this century) on Sunday. Did exactly the same last month - long hard run through the country (which here means through rice paddies - bloody hard going at times) has resulted in a step improvement in splits which hard started to plateau a bit. Don't remember this sort of thing when I was training years ago - is that usual?!

Bonus compared to the previous hash - don't seem to have put any weight on despite hitting the beers and bbq afterwards. Feels like a get out of jail free card! Held at 125kg for the last couple of days, so just shy of the 9kg mark down I'm weighing every day for rapid feedback for guilt purposes.

Am going to try a half marathon next weekend, see how that goes. The trouble with being fat and slow is that distance based ergs last longer - doesn't seem fair having to work for longer than fit people