exercise for middle aged overweight man

fairy_lights

trailingspouse wrote: »

Would appreciate some advice on how to go about this - for example, for his lunch today he's got a slice of home-cooked ham (ie not pre-sliced from a packet), some almonds, two spring onions, a cherry tomato (he doesn't like tomatoes, but I pop one in occasionally cos they're good for you), some sliced avocado, some celery, and some pumpkin seeds on a bed of baby spinach, plus an apple and two satsumas and a bottle of water. I have absolutely no idea how many calories that would be, but it seems healthy and is low in fat and carbs. .

Has he signed up for myfitnesspal? The website and app both have a 'recipe builder' feature where you can enter your ingredients in by weight and work out the total nutritional value of the meal.

fireblade28

trailingspouse wrote: »

This morning's weigh-in revealed - 15st and 1/2lb!!! SO close to being 14stone-something.

His suit trousers are starting to look baggy on him, his shirt collars are loose, and his energy levels are immense.

However - the weight loss is tailing off quite significantly now (we knew it would happen). I suspect he may be eating more than 600 calories on his fast days. I do most of the cooking, and I've never needed to count calories myself, so I'm a bit clueless. It's quite possible that I'm being a bit generous with what I put in his lunch or what I cook for dinner.

I've looked at some calorie counting websites, and they seem to be fine so long as you're eating pre-packed food, but we generally eat fresh food and cook from scratch. Would appreciate some advice on how to go about this - for example, for his lunch today he's got a slice of home-cooked ham (ie not pre-sliced from a packet), some almonds, two spring onions, a cherry tomato (he doesn't like tomatoes, but I pop one in occasionally cos they're good for you), some sliced avocado, some celery, and some pumpkin seeds on a bed of baby spinach, plus an apple and two satsumas and a bottle of water. I have absolutely no idea how many calories that would be, but it seems healthy and is low in fat and carbs.

Tonight he will have fish (salmon) with lots of green veg (but no potato, and no butter or sauce). Fruit for afters. Again, no idea how many calories that is, but it is considerably less than he used to have for an evening meal - so, basically, I know he's eating a lot less than he used to, but I suspect he's not down to 600 calories on a fast day.

Best thing to do is eat more protein and remove a third of the portions of everything else. Some studies have shown that people overestimate their calorie intake by 50% so removing a third would make it more accurate. This is rather inaccurate though so if you want to be exact then try using something like my fitness pal.

trailingspouse

A major test of will power for Mr Spouse yesterday. We were out for the day, enjoying a walk between the showers around one of our favourite towns, and stopped for lunch at a cafe. He chose a tuna salad for his lunch.

The salad arrived with a side-order of chips. He looked at them - lovingly, longingly. He mentioned the smell of them ('aroma' was the word he used...). He asked me if I would like any of them? He very carefully chose a small chip, and ate it.

And he left the rest on the plate. This is the first time in his life that he has NOT eaten chips when they were in front of him. I was so proud of him.

Mr.Generous

great thread I'm trying to do roughly the same, less diet change but hard exercise. I'm not loosing as much as op's hubby but my fitness level has shot up.

MallyGirl

trailingspouse wrote: »

I've looked at some calorie counting websites, and they seem to be fine so long as you're eating pre-packed food, but we generally eat fresh food and cook from scratch. Would appreciate some advice on how to go about this - for example, for his lunch today he's got a slice of home-cooked ham (ie not pre-sliced from a packet), some almonds, two spring onions, a cherry tomato (he doesn't like tomatoes, but I pop one in occasionally cos they're good for you), some sliced avocado, some celery, and some pumpkin seeds on a bed of baby spinach, plus an apple and two satsumas and a bottle of water. I have absolutely no idea how many calories that would be, but it seems healthy and is low in fat and carbs.

Another thumbs up for |MyFitnessPal. The app is better than the website as it prompts better and also says things like 'last time you had this you also had ...' which speeds up entry time as you just tick the boxes.

For the lunch you mentioned above - you are right that it does sound healthy but it is a bit vague on quantities which is where most diets flounder.

1oz home-cooked ham - 76
5 almonds - 35
two spring onions - 14
a cherry tomato - 3
1/2 avocado - 117
1 stick celery - 10
1 tbs pumpkin seeds - 56
baby spinach - 15
an apple - 80
two satsumas - 90

so a total of 500 cals, with 21g fat. Is that what you were expecting? Avocado and seeds are not low fat - but are good for you in moderation

trailingspouse

Thanks MallyGirl

That's great!! Can I put you on speed dial??
I think the avocado needs to go when he's on a fast day. If lunch is 500 calories, there's nothing left for dinner!! Must try harder.

Angry_Bear

And for the record, 5:2 is completely sustainable.
I've been doing it for about 5.5 years now and intend to do it forever. I don't bother on holiday, but otherwise still have two 500kcal days a week. I absolutely think that 5:2 has changed my appetite and they way I think about food even on my non-fasting days.

I used to use myfitnesspal every single day until I got into a habit and now mostly don't bother. But for a couple of days every few months I do record what I eat with the app just to check I haven't back-slid and started sneaking in too many snacks/big portions on my non-fasting days.

I lost about 8 stone and have been steady at my lowest weight for around 2 years. It's not for everyone, but if it works for your OH then great :beer:

trailingspouse

He's done it!!!! This morning's weigh-in showed 14st 13lbs. Mr Spouse now officially weighs '14 and a bit' down from his starting weight of '16 and a bit'. Psychologically, this is huge for him.

He had a struggle last night - a fast day. By about 9pm he was craving something 'snacky' like you wouldn't believe. Pre-diet he would have eaten a bag of crisps, or started on the biscuits. Well, we don't have crisps in the house any more, and he was strong-willed enough to not go for the biscuits - he ended up taking a cup of tea up to bed so that he wasn't tempted and the food was further away!!

This morning he thought it was all worthwhile when he got on the scales. Another fast day today, and also the end of his working week. I'm out for a meal tonight, so he's going to have to fend for himself - and so he should. I only do the cooking because he's out of the house 12 hours a day, not because he's incapable of it.

The weather looks lovely over the weekend so I'm going to do some serious encouraging/insisting re the exercise. If we get into a habit of walking or whatever while the weather's nice, we'll be more likely to continue to do it when the weather's not so good. But we have to get out there and do it first, before we can get into a habit!!

And we're going to have to set aside some time to go and buy him two new suits!! His existing ones really are beginning to look baggy and saggy on him, which I'm sure isn't the look he's going for! He wants to wait until he gets to his target weight - but as the weight loss is slowing down, it could take a while to get there and in the meantime he needs to look smart. He found a jumper at the back of his jumper drawer that he hasn't worn for years because it was too tight - he put it on this morning and it not only fitted, it was a bit on the generous side. All the money we're saving by not feeding him is going to go on replacing his wardrobe!

bugslet

Read this thread when you started, just popped back and a maassive round of applause to Mr TS:T:T:T

trailingspouse

A beautiful morning, tea and toast in bed watching the Qualifying (we're huge F1 fans), but that was finished by 7.30 as it was coming from Australia. So - we went for a walk!!

It was just fabulous. We're lucky enough to live just yards from the Leeds Liverpool canal, so we walked along the towpath - the birds were singing, there were geese and ducks on the water. We took our cameras and got loads of great photos. We walked further than we've ever gone along the canal before. OH has a pedometer app on his phone, and we walked 5,000 steps out bound and (obviously) another 5,000 home again. And all before 10 o'clock!!!

In the past, just walking from our house to the canal and back (literally no more than 100 yards each way) would have wiped him out for the rest of the day. Now what's he doing? He's down in the garage fixing the car with his brother. And he's on stand by to help me shift some paving slabs that are surplus to requirements and need to go to the tip.

As we were having breakfast at 6.30 this morning, and it was 10 by the time we got home again, we made the decision to have 'brunch' when we got in - bacon (grilled) and eggs (scrambled) - rather than waiting until lunch time. But in the past OH would have suggested bacon butties with a fried egg - and we would still have had something for lunch. Today, that will be us until tea time (well, maybe a cup of tea, but nothing more).

That will hopefully be the first of many such walks. The longest journey starts with a single step - or in this case, 10,000 steps!!