How to lose weight - it's simple

gemmajenkins0208

bigfreddiel wrote: »

Sugar is a problem for you.

The reason your fat is all that snacking you do between meals. You don't know you're doing it but that's the reason.

fj

But that's the thing. I do not snack in between meals, not even subconsciously.

I just simply do not have the time to...

Angry_Bear

bigfreddiel wrote: »

And when that pound of muscle turns to fat as t surely will, just think how large you're going to be!


Cheers fj

Oh dear. If none of your other comments on this thread showed how little you understand about body composition and health, this one would say it all. :rotfl:

luckygirl1

Yes, I believe just cutting down on your food and exercising is the best way to lose weight, but it's a lot harder than it sounds. I've struggled with my weight and would like to lose 20 pounds for many years.

BettyBoof

bigfreddiel wrote: »

BTW My target is 70kg, need to lose 5kg, but it's not happening, so I'm in the same boat as all of you who are too heavy

So if it's so easy, why isn't it working for you??

gemmajenkins0208

BettyBoof wrote: »

So if it's so easy, why isn't it working for you??

THIS!!! A thousand times this! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

KellyOn_2

I also want to lose some weight. For that purpose I run every day 5k and eat only healthy food

gemmajenkins0208

KellyOn wrote: »

I also want to lose some weight. For that purpose I run every day 5k and eat only healthy food

You've got it.

Something that makes you sweat and makes it a bit harder to breath and your calories out being more than your calories in.

FBaby

I work in a manual job where I am constantly on my feet for 6-8 hours every day. I have 1 milky coffee with 2 and a half sugars for breakfast as I'm never hungry enough but know I need something. I have 1 brown bread sandwich with ham and no spread for lunch and a fresh, homemade cooked meal when I get in the door every evening and I carry a litre bottle of water around with me all day which is empty by the time I get home.

Different possibilities:
- How many more coffees with 2 1/2 sugars do you have during the day?
- How big is your sandwich? A sandwich can be anything between 250 calories and 1500 depending on thickness of bread, size of it, how much harm you put in. Are you really saying you eat this everyday with nothing else at all? No crisp, no chocolate bars?
- Your evening meal might be healthy, but your plate might be way too big.

So to give an example:
-cofee throughout the day: 500 calories
- sandwich (and the pack of crips every other day): 500 calories
- the occasional snack forgotten about: 150 calories
- the healthy meal (that also includes a dessert): 1500 calories
- the glass of wine/pint of beer: 200 calories

Added all together: 2850 and not only you don't lose weight but you put some on gradually. Even if you actually have less, say 2300 a day, which might be ok to maintain, if you make it up during the weekend with 3000 calories a day, that's 1000 extra calories (or more) a week, which again, will see you putting on weight gradually.

Counting calories is really boring and depressing, but I did find it helpful to do so for a few weeks years back. I was 100% honest, no trying to fudge by say forgetting the cups of tea etc... and I realise how quickly it goes. I don't need to calories any longer, I can benchmark against what I know constitute what is within the 1800 that I can have, so I do know quite easily when I start eating too much, even though it actually seems very marginal to me.

gemmajenkins0208

Thanks for your input FBaby.

I have one coffee in the morning before I leave for work as that's all I have time for. No coffees at work as I use my break to go out for a cigarette and no way will I buy coffees from coffee places - they cost so damn much!

My sandwich is usually leftover meat from the Sunday roast until about Wednesday and then Thursday and Friday I use the Morrisons premium ham slices in the packet, usually 2 or 3 slices per sandwich. The bread is just the cheap Morrisons value brown loaf for a few pence. I don't like butter/margarine so I use mustard instead.

My mum tries to slip other things into my lunch bag but I always take them home again, uneaten.

I don't know if our dinner plates are too big/small but let's say I had homemade bangers and mash with beans for tea last night. I would have had 2 serving spoons of mash, 2 sausages and 1 tablespoon of beans with it. I wouldn't have put this hulking great huge pile of mash on my plate and then drown it in beans.

I used Myfitnesspal religiously for about 6 weeks back in the summer. It said I was just under my calorie goal 9 times out of 10, so I don't know what's going on...

benten69

For those who say "it's not that simple", it really is. Let me try and break this down for you.

Imagine your body as a car with a fuel tank, and the food you eat is the fuel you put into it. More calories = more fuel.

If you're car (body) has a 50L fuel tank, and it's filled to the top, then you burn 25L (from living & breathing daily + exercise, etc), then you need to replenish it with 25L of fuel to maintain weight.

If you only fill it up with 10L of fuel, then burn another 25L the next day, the fuel tank will go down to just 10L. This is the same as a calorie deficit. You are burning more energy than you are putting in. However your body needs the same energy REGARDLESS. So what does it do? It breaks down fat and muscle mass for energy, which means you lose weight.

On the other hand, if you start with 50L, then use 25L of fuel and fill your car (body) up with 50L of fuel, you have an excess.

Unlike a car, the fuel (energy) from the food does not just overflow and come out. What does your body do with this extra 25L you have put in? It stores it as fat!

It really is that simple. However, some people have high metabolism (think big thirsty petrol engine that uses lots of fuel) and other people have slow metabolism (think small diesel engine with huge MPG). Hence some people can eat lots and not gain weight, others can't do that.

You don't HAVE to exercise, but you DO have to create a CALORIE DEFICIT. Exercising is just moving and burning more fuel (energy), which helps balance out the over-eating. However you CAN be a couch potato and eat 1000 calories a day and you WILL lose weight, as most people need approx 1600 calories just to live each day and support main functions like the brain, lungs, heart, etc.

So if you sit in bed all day, consume 1000 calories and your body burns 1600 calories you have created a 600 calorie a day deficit which will result in weight loss, but not a healthy one!

You also have to remember that 1lb of fat is approx 3500 calories! So having a 500 calorie a day deficit will only lead to a loss of 1lb of fat a week! Not to mention your body can also break down muscle for energy as it's quicker and easier to break down muscle for energy than fat.

Then there is the fact that starving yourself can cause your body to go into "survival mode" where it tries to conserve calories and energy as it thinks it is about do go into a long term fast (think bears hibernating over winter).

So there are a few things to think about, but end of the day....if you burn more energy than what you consume daily, you will lose weight.