'I lost 1 stone in 6 weeks on the “do I really look like that?!” plan' discussion

Former_MSE_Lawrence

This is the discussion to link on the back of Martin's blog. Please read the blog first, as this discussion follows it.

Read Martin's 'I lost 1 stone in 6 weeks on the “do I really look like that?!” plan' Blog.

Click reply to discuss below.

beer_tins

Well done Martin. Myself, I recently dropped about a stone and a half through exercise and not much else. A couple of points though:

1) Diet drinks like diet coke contain aspartame, which makes you crave fat. Try to stick to natural sugar free (or low sugar) drinks.

2) Special K contains more calories than normal corn flakes. A lot of food branded as low fat has more sugar to make up for it and no less calories.

3) Not eating late. This one is a bit of a myth, as long as you burn off more calories than you consume (or the same if you want to stay the same weight) it doesn't matter what you eat or when. it is based on research that says that obese people eat more late at night than people of normal weight. It neglects the fact that they also eat more during other times of the day (in most cases).

PleaseDont

Congratulations, Martin! As you note, though, the hard thing is keeping weight off. May I suggest you do some investigation into low-carb eating? Your diet plan includes a lot of what the body considers sugar (cereal, fruit, milk), and as beer tins noted, aspartame is very, very bad for you. If you eat low-carb you can eat more calories and still lose and/or maintain. You could even have your original breakfast of eggs and mushrooms, without the baguette. You would also not be hungry.

tibsie

Congratulations Martin!!

Couple of points...
First, you can't stop a diet and keep the weight off because you will go back to eating more calories than you need. Gradually introduce more calories into your diet until the weight stops falling and stays steady. Then just keep watching the calories and the scales. Don't let that weight creep back again!!

Second, not eating late isn't a myth, if you have calories swimming in your blood and not being used (while you sleep) your fat cells will be "helpful" and store them for you. If you've had a chance to burn them off before bed then this won't happen.

Tom
Losing weight as well.

beer_tins

tibsie wrote: »

Congratulations Martin!!
Second, not eating late isn't a myth, if you have calories swimming in your blood and not being used (while you sleep) your fat cells will be "helpful" and store them for you. If you've had a chance to burn them off before bed then this won't happen.

Tom
Losing weight as well.

Sorry to take issue, but it is a myth. From the bbc just today: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7789302.stm

Your body will balance it's energy as you sleep. If your body has used less calories than it's taken in, it will store fat. If it has used more, it will replenish your glycogen stores instead.

As for low-carb diets, they do help fast weight loss, but I'm not convinced about the long term benefits. Sadly, most of the weight you lose is muscle tissue and water. On top of that you go into ketosis, which can cause bad breath, fatigue and nausea. You also miss out on essential vitamins and nutrients, as you can have little fruit & veg. I'd stick to a balanced diet and not cut out any major food groups. Calorie control and exercise is the healthy way to go about it.

lisa21

Well done Martin! I plan on doing the same just after Christmas....mind you I have been planning on doing it for the last 5 years

jorichste

well done!! losing weight can be tough, especially when you're so busy. Good luck keeping it off

kezbabybabe

Hey Martin,

Glad to hear someone else call it 'healthy eating' and not a diet.

I had to lose a stone and a 1/2 last year, as I'd put this on after my cycling accident. I found I was sluggish, tired and my digestion was not working too well.

I made a conscience decision to start exercising more (Cycling back and forth to work) and reduce my snacks. I did this by having salads in summer and soups in winter.

As you're a numbers person, you'll probably agree with me on this one, but I weigh myself each week and keep track of how much I weigh. This helped me to figure out if I was up or down.

I can successfully say that I've been able to keep my weigh at a stable level this year, without too much change to my diet. (I'm still allowed choccies and things, as long as I counteract it with exercise. :j

Keep up the good work Martin! A lot of people will look up to you for your honesty!

Kerry

PleaseDont

As for low-carb diets, they do help fast weight loss, but I'm not convinced about the long term benefits. Sadly, most of the weight you lose is muscle tissue and water. On top of that you go into ketosis, which can cause bad breath, fatigue and nausea. You also miss out on essential vitamins and nutrients, as you can have little fruit & veg. I'd stick to a balanced diet and not cut out any major food groups. Calorie control and exercise is the healthy way to go about it.

Sorry, but this information is as inaccurate as the myth about eating late. This is not the place for an extended discussion about it, but I do need to address your statements.

You do lose a few pounds of water during the first few days, as you do with any diet. After that you lose fat, not muscle, because you are eating sufficient protein, unlike with a low-cal diet. It does take two or three days for ketosis to kick in, but after that most people experience increased energy, as well as a reduced appetite. Most people on low-carb diets eat a lot more vegetables than the average person, and moderate amounts of fruit, especially berries. You can also incorporate a modest amount of whole grains. What you do cut out is sugar and refined carbohydrates, which are not only not necessary for a balanced diet, but detrimental to health. These foods did not even exist until very recently in human history.

Airwolf1

Well done me old son, I'd like to lose some too.

When I married (nearly 3 years ago) I was 11.5 stone, and got up to 12.5. A gew weeks back, I was in hospital being sick etc, so couldn't eat, which has got me down to 12.2, there or thereabouts.

I may give what Martin has done a go, but what foods should I eat then? Directed to PleaseDont or someone else.

Thank you

PleaseDont

Airwolf1, you can do something as simple as cutting out sugar and white flour, and that might work for you, especially if you are a man (men lose weight more easily than women due to a lot of factors).

If you want to get into low-carbing, there are a lot of different approaches, including South Beach, Protein Power, Atkins, etc. Here is a page that discusses these and others. With Atkins you go through a two-week induction period wherein you keep your carbs very low (20 grams per day). This is to get you into ketosis quickly. Here is a list of the allowed foods during the induction period; essentially you can have meat, fish, eggs, cheese, cream, butter and olive oil, and three cups of vegetables per day. After the two weeks you introduce more carbohydrates (beginning with more vegetables, then nuts, then fruits, etc.) each week. (If you're interested in Atkins, I suggest you buy his 2002 book, which you can get used for very little money. The people who are running the foundation now have strayed from his program.) Here is a link to download a short version of the Protein Power program, which is similar.

You're better off sticking with real food and avoiding packaged "low-carb" foods, which sometimes have misleading carb counts, and are usually full of chemicals anyway. Be sure to look at ingredients lists on packaged and prepared foods, as you'll be surprised to see how many of them contain some type of sugar, even foods that aren't sweet.

You can Google "low-carb" and get a lot more information. Good luck!