FAT Loss 31 December 2012 at 8:13PM in MoneySaving dads 14 replies 3K views

blackburn_w

well its the time of year for all those silly New Year Resolutions, but im fat and need to loose a good few stone,

any to the money saving point, my wife wants to start weight watchers, and im happy to do it along side her, but don't want to pay £5 a week for it, I know I can get a free voucher to join and first meeting but, I want to know how to work out these pro point things my self as if it works I need to know how many points I need in say 3 weeks, then 6....

kingfisherblue

I am on Slimming World, which is much easier to follow as there is so little counting/weighing of foods to do. I know some people join to get the pack, then follow the plan at home and don't go back for any more meetings. It might be worth attending the first meeting only, to get you points amount, but if the points amount is likely to change as you lose weight, I would think you would have to attend meetings.

biteyerlegs

shocked myself into action when i weighed myself just post christmas( i was overweight anyway). anyway i have never been as heavy in my life and that's the best motivation i need!
the most important thing to do is get out there and start walking to my mind! stick your weightwatchers etc and save your money. that's my advice. eat sensibly restrict your portions and don't snack! simple.

yvonne13_2

OP well done in supporting yourself and your wife in this weight loss journey.

As another poster has already said don't waste your money paying for classes unless you really need to but there are many free online websites that can help you do the same job.

Free online website to help manage your food intake try https://www.foodfocus.co.uk

Free online exercise go on youtube and enter "passion 4 profession"

I hope this information helps.

Happy money saving

closed

forget points, count calories - it's free on the back of most food packets, or just eat less than you normally do

3500 calories = 1 pound of fat

Corelli

Minimins is a great weight loss site with support for all the plans (inc WW) and general weight loss not tied in with a plan. I know the SW section is great with information on how it all works, and the section called bring your head inside and the rest will follow which is mainly where people talk about the emotional issues that hold them back and how to deal with them.

http://www.minimins.com/

Meadows

Last year I decided to try Weight Watchers (but being a money saver) I sourced all I need to know from on line about points, how to etc.
And with in seven months I had lost 4 stone. It was the easiest weight loss I have ever done and did not feel I went hungry or without any food groups.
Not having a sweet tooth I did not eat sweet foods, I ate plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables along side bread, wraps, crispbreads, crumpets, muffins, potatoes, rice, pasta, meat, fish etc. You can even drink alcohol if you want as long as you stay with in you allowance. No foods are bad foods, every thing in moderation and a balanced diet!
You get a daily allowance and a weekly allowance (I hardly ever went into any of the weekly and managed just fine on the daily allowance).
I reducerd my daily allowance points as I dropped weight and at one point when I reached a Plateau I played around with the points (the body is lazy and it expect a level of food an therefore works less hard, so by swapping around the points - some days low, some high and then some medium over a week) for two weeks, I kick started the weight loss again and went back to my normal daily allowance.

I had to watch my weight around October as I had just brought a very expensive dress for our daughters wedding and could not afford to lose much if any weight prior to the day in November.

Over the Christmas period I continued to maintain weight but was not rigid in counting my daily points (after several months I knew what I could and couldn't eat).
Now we are back to a normal routine I have decide to hunker down, go for another stone in the next few months. This will take me to my lowest weight as an Adult and I am not looking to go beyond that extra stone and then just maintain this weight.

It is all about mind set and you have to do it for you and not for anyone else, you also have to learn and not slip back into old habits (I always thought I ate small portions until I did the Weight Watchers - :think: oh no I didn't. I used to think (as we are led to believe that as you get older it is harder to lose the weight :huh: no its not. As the saying goes "You are what you eat" and we can't expect to eat, be less active and lose weight!).

Many years ago I lost a fair amount of weight (but did not learn and soon slipped back to old habits - not so with my latest loss as I am always aware of what I am eating), at this time I did loads of exercise and assumed that is what helped the weight loss, well it did to a point but it is more toning and keeping the body active, with my recent loss I have done a little exercise 30 - 50 minutes static bike for between 1 -4 times a week, which has not only toned my legs but made the body healthy, so just goes to show you don't have to pay loads at the Gym or start with good intentions that drop by the way side, go out for brisk walks or buy a cheap bit of exercise kit just to keep you active.

http://www.wijvallenaf.nl/Weight-Watchers/Daily-Propoints-Target-Calculator.php

http://www.livestrong.com/article/87914-calculate-point-allowance-weight-watchers/

http://www.calculatorcat.com/free_calculators/weight_watchers_calculator.phtml

http://www.calculator.net/weight-watchers-points-calculator.html

blackburn_w

thanks for all the comments,
Iv been to my free meeting and got my points to start, I really do want to do it for myself but doing with my wife will support both of us.

blackburn_w

Iv watched the hairy diters on bbc 2, it will be on I player and it brings up Meadows point about portion control...... and that's most peoples biggest problem.
I found (now in the past) we would buy some family meal deals, like pasta garlic bread and a pub for £5 and eat it between us, and that's for 4 people, were now cooking from scratch......

Gra76

I've tried a few different diets over the years but the best one so far (and the one I'm still on) is simply counting the calories and doing a bit of exercise.

I've lost nearly 2 stone in 3-4 months just be reducing my calorie intake during the week (although I don't count them at weekends).

I aim for 1500-1600 calories a day from Monday to Friday. I play badminton on a Tuesday night and I help out coaching an under 8's football team as well.

If you can live with a steady 2-3lb a week weight loss then all you need is some motivation, a bit of willpower and the ability to do some basic maths before you eat anything.

Bufger

I started to lose weight last September. On 3rd Sept I weighed 20st 3lbs and now I weigh 17st 6lbs. I'm still losing by roughly 2lbs per week

All I do is count calories and offset any big nights out or events coming up by doing extra workouts or gym sessions beforehand, then i effectively 'earn' my night out.

I use an app on my phone & iPad called myfitnesspal. You can also do it online using their website and its completely free.

Strength training is much more important than cardio to sustained weight loss. You'll find lots of myths on the web but having a healthy amount of calories and strength training will give you a better result (albeit slower) than pure cardio. I know one person that lost 3st in 4.5 months from cardio alone but his body fat % only changed slightly and his doctor said the term for it was 'skinny fat'. Adding lean muscle mass reduces this skinny fat effect and increases your metabolism.