# Weight loss help



## Boss1981 (Jan 5, 2017)

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could maybe help or give me some advice on weight loss

I'm 36yrs old, about 5,10 and weigh (as of this morning) 90.9kg

im looking to get down to about 78kg

i currently do 3 x 45mins HITT sessions with a few 3-5k treadmill runs a week

im not looking to gain muscle mass or that just get fitter and lose the weight for a job I've applied for

this is roughly what I eat every day

Up at 4am, have banana on drive to work

5am 200g Greek Yogurt & grapes/melon

8am 2 Boiled eggs

11am Protein Shake + Banana

2pm chicken & Rice + Veg

4:30pm 2x weetabix/Cheerios before gym

7pm chicken or steak & Rice + veg

8pm bed

*Sometimes swap rice for home made sweet pot fries or Turnip

I make up two days meals at a time consisting of 3 x whole chicken breasts with 1 pack of uncle bens 250g microwave rice split into four tubs

Thanks in advance


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## Boss1981 (Jan 5, 2017)

I've lost about 3kg so far but now seem to have stuck

ive been reading up on intermittent fasting, that would really suit me with the hours I work, does anyone know if it really works ?


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## Fadi (Dec 14, 2010)

Intermittent fasting is extremely effective due to its very powerfully effective blood sugar regulation/stabilisation, and of course by default, (if you only eat twice in 24 hours), the effect this has on insulin release.

There's more to this of course, however I've given you the fundamental reasons for the effectiveness of such protocol, especially as one gets older and (perhaps) becomes more insulin resistant than sensitive.

Cheers.


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## Boss1981 (Jan 5, 2017)

Thanks for the reply, it really would suit me due to my work life balance, I'm just wondering what to eat and how much during the window, I know I'd need to get my 1900-2000 calories in, I'm still very new to clean eating and diets etc


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## Fadi (Dec 14, 2010)

Boss1981 said:


> I'm just wondering what to eat ...


 Food; *real* food!

Either you begin psychoanalysing me due to my "peculiar" reply to you Sir, or you take the easier option by looking up the meaning of "real food". In no way am I being "funny" here, as this would be the exact manner in which I would reply to you in person. I am but one person, internet forum or in real life, I'm the one and the same.

I'll help you out ...

Generally speaking, "real food" is any food that does *not* come in a box or similar. Also, real food is any food that has the nutrients your body needs. Is spaghetti real food..., does it qualify to be on the list of "real" food? We can write one whole article pertaining to just that one question. Spaghetti some would consider King when it comes to the macronutrient that is carbohydrates. In fact, some would prefer it over any other food to replenish their muscle glycogen stores, So based on that alone, would you say it's real food? Yes, based on that alone, it does qualify. If you ate nothing but pasta, would your body suffer, nutritionally speaking, or would it achieve optimal health? It would suffer.

What is the solution?

You made mention of the magical word in your small post above, can you tell what that word is? It's the word "balance". If you eat sweet potatoes (for example) as your main starchy carbohydrates food, and with that, you have plenty of nutrient dense vegies, nutrient dense yet nearly devoid of caloric density. In other words, if your main foods are real foods that are full of nutrients, then in that case, having some pasta to replenish your glycogen stores and fuel your future workouts, is no crime that deserves any form of rebuke. I am against rigidity in anything, be that training or nutrition. Flexibility leads to sustainability and consistency both, in effort (with your workouts), and in the kitchen with your food.

Be either a lion or a pussycat, for the choice is all yours to make. A hungry lion is in no need of being told what to eat (when a gazelle and/or a zebra) is in near vicinity, this beast knows exactly what his body thrives on and how much he needs to eat to maintain optimum health strength and power. A pussycat? Ah well, a can of mushed up fish or similar would do ... thank you very much..., i.e. a pussycat has given up its right to being its own master, as the big cats in the wild insist on being and remaining so.

*Real food list*

Eggs, organ meats, oysters, meat, chicken, fish, dairy etc...

Sweet potatoes, legumes, red rice, vegetables, fruits etc ...

Nuts, seeds, avocados, olives, coconut, dark chocolate 90%, cocoa 24% fat, (butter, olive oil, avocado oils etc if and necessary)...

Bone broth, tea(white/green/black), coffee, aniseed, thyme etc...

Ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, fennel, coriander, cumin, Nigella sativa (not Nigella Lawson  !) etc ...



Boss1981 said:


> and how much during the window


 You've answered yourself it seems ...



Boss1981 said:


> I know I'd need to get my 1900-2000 calories in


 Taking into account this whole thread, the aim is/was to lose some weight yes? If weight loss is the aim, then a slight caloric deficit/below maintenance level would facilitate the reaching of that goal. Alternatively, if you believe that your body needs between 1900 -2000 calories to maintain your current weight, and you have not tried intermittent fasting before, then it may be an option for you to maintain such a caloric intake, and see if your weight would shift downwards. If it does, and I believe it will, it would be a case of being overweight due to a hormonal imbalance first and foremost over an excessive caloric intake, as the cause of you being overweight. In other words, a calorie is not a calorie..., a calorie in calorie out is not the whole and simplistic story in this particular case.

I put that last sentence in italic to make a point, and that is most on here, would disagree with me, and I very much respect that, though I believe a bit of research on this subject matter would prove my case to be applicable under such (hormonal) circumstances (if the case was hormonal related), as one being relating to insulin over-stimulation/fluctuations throughout the day..., a major problem that can be masterfully cured by intermittent fasting over all other nutritional protocols (such as a reduction in caloric intake for example). I'm after a permanent solution over a Band-Aid solution whenever is necessary and applicable.



Boss1981 said:


> I'm still very new to clean eating and diets etc


 Last time I checked, the antonym of "clean" is dirty! With all due respect Sir, there's food and then there's food. Clean and otherwise is foreign to me. I understand there are foods, many foods that are processed beyond recognition of its original status. If that is what you mean by clean, and otherwise, then in this case you've solved your own puzzle without needing my help Sir. I say that because I know I'm dealing with a mature person here, who's able to differentiate between a whole chicken and KFC; between an apple and an apple pie. In case you think I'm rubbishing such man made foods or am trying to restrict your choice and flexibility..., you're welcome to go back and refer to my original example re having pasta etc above.

I'll leave it here, as I'm sure I've said enough to get you moving more and thinking less, as nothing is more crippling then paralysis by analysis.

Bon Appétit.


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## Boss1981 (Jan 5, 2017)

Thank you for that, some good reading and info that I needed, I'll let you know my progress


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## Sasnak (Oct 11, 2016)

Have a read of this whilst you consider Fadi's advice. Contains strong language, but it's bang on.

http://physiqonomics.com/fat-loss/

Credit to @Sparkey for the original link to this.


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## Boss1981 (Jan 5, 2017)

Thanks, had a quick look at that, some really good info there aswell


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## 66983 (May 30, 2016)

Boss1981 said:


> Hi, I was wondering if anyone could maybe help or give me some advice on weight loss
> 
> I'm 36yrs old, about 5,10 and weigh (as of this morning) 90.9kg
> 
> ...


 Your already doing more than enough cardio a week.

To be honest looking at what you're eating it's a possibility you're under eating, doing this with only make the body hold onto fat .

You really need to work out your TDEE here: www.tdeecalculator.net

Then reduce calories by 300-500 a day.

weight loss should be 1-1.5lbs a week .


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## Jordan08 (Feb 17, 2014)

Multiply your weight in lbs by 13. That is a good starting point for your calories.


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## Boss1981 (Jan 5, 2017)

Jatin Bhatia said:


> Multiply your weight in lbs by 13. That is a good starting point for your calories.


 That would make it 2600 calories

so do I take 500 away from that then ?


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## Jordan08 (Feb 17, 2014)

Boss1981 said:


> That would make it 2600 calories
> 
> so do I take 500 away from that then ?


 No. 2600 as starting calories.


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## Boss1981 (Jan 5, 2017)

Jatin Bhatia said:


> No. 2600 as starting calories.


 Right this is what confuses me, so that's the calories I should be eating to lose weight ?

the thing I'm worried about is knowing what and how much to eat during the 8 hour window to consume the full 2600 ?, I have access to plenty meat & chicken due to working for a butchers but what do I load it up with, potatoes, rice, pasta ??

this is where I worry I'll fail


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## Boss1981 (Jan 5, 2017)

I really do think IF will suit me down to the ground as I tried it today and because I start work at 5am, I was too busy up until 13:30pm and didn't even think about eating until then and I'm always asleep by 20:30 at the very latest


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## Jordan08 (Feb 17, 2014)

Boss1981 said:


> Right this is what confuses me, so that's the calories I should be eating to lose weight ?
> 
> the thing I'm worried about is knowing what and how much to eat during the 8 hour window to consume the full 2600 ?, I have access to plenty meat & chicken due to working for a butchers but what do I load it up with, potatoes, rice, pasta ??
> 
> this is where I worry I'll fail


 As said above either calculate your tdee and deduct 500 or just multiply your weight by 13. Figures would come close.

Now, multiply your weight in lbs by .82 for calculating protein intake

For Fats by .33 and rest can be filled with carbs.

You can also play with these figures. However, i would not go below .8 and .33 for protein and fats.


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Intermittent fasting 'works' if it leads to you eating fewer calories in pretty much exactly the same way that any other diet that leads you to eating the same total calories. It suits some people as it's an approach that helps them to stick to a lower daily calorie target but otherwise I would stick to a more 'normal' eating pattern.


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## Jordan08 (Feb 17, 2014)

Boss1981 said:


> I really do think IF will suit me down to the ground as I tried it today and because I start work at 5am, I was too busy up until 13:30pm and didn't even think about eating until then and I'm always asleep by 20:30 at the very latest


 IF is no magic mate. Though, if it suirs your routine then it's a different story.


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## Boss1981 (Jan 5, 2017)

Jatin Bhatia said:


> IF is no magic mate. Though, if it suirs your routine then it's a different story.


 It defo suits my routine, that's why it appeals to me so much, just have to get the calorie intake right


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## Jordan08 (Feb 17, 2014)

Boss1981 said:


> It defo suits my routine, that's why it appeals to me so much, just have to get the calorie intake right


 Then it's fine. Moreover, insulin senstivity benefits are also quite exagerrated in some of the IF protocols.


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## Boss1981 (Jan 5, 2017)

Jatin Bhatia said:


> Then it's fine. Moreover, insulin senstivity benefits are also quite exagerrated in some of the IF protocols.


 If I'm struggling to get my calories in with food could i make it up with a few protein shakes within the 8 hour window ?


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## Jordan08 (Feb 17, 2014)

Boss1981 said:


> If I'm struggling to get my calories in with food could i make it up with a few protein shakes within the 8 hour window ?


 Yes. Food is king though


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Boss1981 said:


> If I'm struggling to get my calories in with food could i make it up with a few protein shakes within the 8 hour window ?


 If you're genuinely struggling to eat enough calories then I'd be about 99% sure you're eating too much for your fat loss goal.


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## Boss1981 (Jan 5, 2017)

Ultrasonic said:


> If you're genuinely struggling to eat enough calories then I'd be about 99% sure you're eating too much for your fat loss goal.


 My problem right now is "how much is enough", if I'm correct and I need to eat 2300 per day to lose weight then how do I fit these into the eight hour window, I always go to the gym within this time aswell, what sort of meals do I eat ?, steak & pasta ?, all rice and chicken ?, steak burgers and sweet pot fries ?, I'm not very good at working out how many calories are in say 2 chicken fillets or 1 x 8oz sirloin, the diet I was on (shown in first post) obviously wasn't enough calories it seems, IF would suit my work/life balance a lot better, it's the food = calories I'm struggling to get my head round just now lol


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Boss1981 said:


> My problem right now is "how much is enough", if I'm correct and I need to eat 2300 per day to lose weight then how do I fit these into the eight hour window,


 The idea with IF is to basically do it however you want.

I wouldn't do IF, but if I was somehow forced to I'd have protein in three meals, one right at the start of the 'window', one half way through and one just at the end. I say this due to the slight advantage for stimulating muscle growth/retention of periodic larger portions of protein.



> I always go to the gym within this time aswell, what sort of meals do I eat ?, steak & pasta ?, all rice and chicken ?, steak burgers and sweet pot fries ?, I'm not very good at working out how many calories are in say 2 chicken fillets or 1 x 8oz sirloin, the diet I was on (shown in first post) obviously wasn't enough calories it seems, IF would suit my work/life balance a lot better, it's the food = calories I'm struggling to get my head round just now lol


 Plenty of people lose fat using IF without counting calories. This is part of its appeal. If you make the feeding window short enough and don't just stupidly binge then you'll probably find you lose weight. You could simply try this and see.

If you want to start counting calories then I'd suggest using Myfitnesspal to track and plan what you eat.


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## Boss1981 (Jan 5, 2017)

Ultrasonic said:


> The idea with IF is to basically do it however you want.
> 
> I wouldn't do IF, but if I was somehow forced to I'd have protein in three meals, one right at the start of the 'window', one half way through and one just at the end. I say this due to the slight advantage for stimulating muscle growth/retention of periodic larger portions of protein.
> 
> ...


 My biggest worry is I do IF, don't eat enough calories and don't lose any weight its just so appealing though as it works for me with my lifestyle as I said before

i don't generally eat rubbish or junk food at all, I always have good meals, I might just try shortening the window and eating what I can (in moderation) and seeing how I go from there


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Boss1981 said:


> My biggest worry is I do IF, don't eat enough calories and don't lose any weight


 If you didn't lose weight it would mean you'd eaten too many calories, not too few!


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## Boss1981 (Jan 5, 2017)

Ultrasonic said:


> If you didn't lose weight it would mean you'd eaten too many calories, not too few!


 Also what do people drink during the fasting time ?, I can't drink water on it's own, I always have the no added sugar squash mixed in, I hate coffee & tea so that's out

i read somewhere people were drinking zero calorie energy drinks I.e the white cans of monster ?


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Boss1981 said:


> Also what do people drink during the fasting time ?, I can't drink water on it's own, I always have the no added sugar squash mixed in, I hate coffee & tea so that's out
> 
> i read somewhere people were drinking zero calorie energy drinks I.e the white cans of monster ?


 Well obviously you could drink just water, don't be so pathetic.

I'd just drink whatever low calorie drinks you want though, and forget about any 'magic' from fasting.


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## superdrol (Aug 9, 2012)

How many calories are in a chicken breast or sirloin steak

for this pick Tesco or Asda and use there macros for the foods, making sure you use raw weights for them as protein values will remain accurate and when cutting that's the most important macro

stuff like rice and pasta use dry weights for as it's more accurate as they only absorb water but cooking time will vary the cooked weight

use sauces to add flavour and add macros to your total

are you using my fitness pal to track calories? I'm guessing not, but if you are make sure you check each and every food to the label and whether the macros are cooked or uncooked (some foods give a list of ingredients for it grilled for example, if your grilling the food then use the cooked macros, I buy gammon steaks from Aldi and they list macros per steak grilled for example)


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## Boss1981 (Jan 5, 2017)

Ultrasonic said:


> Well obviously you could drink just water, don't be so pathetic.
> 
> I'd just drink whatever low calorie drinks you want though, and forget about any 'magic' from fasting.


 I don't think you get what I mean, if I try drinking water on it's own with no flavour I just gag and heave, I've been like this since I was a child, that's why I add I tiny bit of squash, it helps it go down


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## Boss1981 (Jan 5, 2017)

superdrol said:


> How many calories are in a chicken breast or sirloin steak
> 
> for this pick Tesco or Asda and use there macros for the foods, making sure you use raw weights for them as protein values will remain accurate and when cutting that's the most important macro
> 
> ...


 I work for a butcher company so I source all my food from there, it comes straight off the cut so no labels unfortunately, I'll probably have to weigh everything and work it out myself, this is where I'll probably come unstuck


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## superdrol (Aug 9, 2012)

Boss1981 said:


> I work for a butcher company so I source all my food from there, it comes straight off the cut so no labels unfortunately, I'll probably have to weigh everything and work it out myself, this is where I'll probably come unstuck


 Your missing the point, use the nutritional information from a supermarket unless your chicken or sirloin is different somehow?? A chicken breast is a chicken breast! You should be weighing it anyway for correct macros


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Boss1981 said:


> I don't think you get what I mean, if I try drinking water on it's own with no flavour I just gag and heave, I've been like this since I was a child, that's why I add I tiny bit of squash, it helps it go down


 I guarantee you'd manage to drink just water if it was all you had access to. You've just allowed yourself to get conditioned to responding the way you do. Obviously you can drink whatever you want but I'm not buying for a second that this is any sort of legitimate 'condition'.


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## superdrol (Aug 9, 2012)

I gave you a raw chicken breast macro above as well after I edited it


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## Fadi (Dec 14, 2010)

Boss1981 said:


> this is where I worry I'll fail


 Your desire for success, ought to overwhelm your fear of failure. Furthermore, you need to be ready to fail, for that alone, would seriously prepare you for success, and this is no joke. If you fail now with whatever has been suggested to you on UK-M, you'd set yourself up to be in the best possible position to kick ass the next time you have another go. So please keep in mind mate, failure is but a detour, and *never* a dead-end Street.

To success ...

Cheers.


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## Boss1981 (Jan 5, 2017)

Ultrasonic said:


> I guarantee you'd manage to drink just water if it was all you had access to. You've just allowed yourself to get conditioned to responding the way you do. Obviously you can drink whatever you want but I'm not buying for a second that this is any sort of legitimate 'condition'.


 Just came across this in the shops


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## superdrol (Aug 9, 2012)

Boss1981 said:


> Just came across this in the shops
> 
> View attachment 147846
> 
> ...


 Drink cherry Pepsi max if you want something that's sweet but with next to zero cals


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

You can basically drink any low calorie drink you want. Just make sure you don't end up unintentionally having loads of caffeine I guess.

I actually drink the same whether gaining weight or focusing on fat loss now as nothing I have contains any significant calories.


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## Boss1981 (Jan 5, 2017)

Ultrasonic said:


> You can basically drink any low calorie drink you want. Just make sure you don't end up unintentionally having loads of caffeine I guess.
> 
> I actually drink the same whether gaining weight or focusing on fat loss now as nothing I have contains any significant calories.





superdrol said:


> Drink cherry Pepsi max if you want something that's sweet but with next to zero cals





Fadi said:


> Your desire for success, ought to overwhelm your fear of failure. Furthermore, you need to be ready to fail, for that alone, would seriously prepare you for success, and this is no joke. If you fail now with whatever has been suggested to you on UK-M, you'd set yourself up to be in the best possible position to kick ass the next time you have another go. So please keep in mind mate, failure is but a detour, and *never* a dead-end Street.
> 
> To success ...
> 
> Cheers.


 Well guys, five days on intermittent fasting and dropped just under 2kg so far

hope this keeps up at this rate


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## adderadam (Jun 14, 2017)

personally I tried many things and I've lost weight before.

One time I lost weight is when I went on a vegan diet, every morning I made a big pot of vegetable soup and ate that throughout the day, it made maybe 6 bowls worth of soup. That's filling because it's lots of vegetables and water, but low calorie. Then also I ate lentils, beans, fruits, nuts, seeds, soya milk and things like that. For maybe the first 2 weeks I had a bad craving for cheese and dairy and that was eventually replaced with a consistent craving for soya milk. The problem with that diet is I did lose weight, my weight got as low as 85kg (currently I'm 105kg) but I became more like skinny fat and weak feeling, lost a lot of muscle, I think maybe you should take creatine and maybe one or two other things when on a vegan diet as well as regular vitamin supplements.

The second way I lost weight quite rapidly is going on a no carb diet. Again for the first 1-2 weeks it's really difficult, I think that's true for any diet then the body just accepts the new diet and cravings for the old foods go away. So I'd eat maybe cottage cheese for breakfast, half a chicken for dinner, the other half for tea and maybe something else too like some fish. I found after the initial 1-2 weeks my body adapted really well to this diet and it even felt filling whilst I was losing weight quite rapidly. I used a fibre supplement. I think this diet was better for working out and keeping or even gaining more muscle whilst dieting and losing fat, whilst I lost more weight but also more muscle with the vegan diet. With this diet I was losing on average 1.25kg per week.

I also took multivitamins whilst on both of these diets.

Another time I lost a lot of weight was from depression just lying in bed not eating much at all for a few months, got down to 80kgs from probably 95kgs, that's really bad though because I lost a lot of muscle and it's not a good look.

Another time was when I lived in Morocco for 4 months, there I probably walked 10-20 miles every day because walking can be more common than getting a bus, taxi or driving everywhere, the lifestyle was very different, my diet also was not good and ate too much bread, I also lost muscle and started to become more like skinny fat but probably lost 10-15kgs in the 4 months, was around 90kgs by the end of that and probably 105kgs before I went there.

So that's all the ways I've ever lost weight and I think the no carb diet is best for me and best for keeping muscle and lifting weights whilst dieting, that's the only one where I didn't feel weak too but I could keep feeling strong. I did not count calories with the no carb diet, just ate chicken until I was sick of it, the thing that filled me up was getting bored with the food eating too much of the same thing, it was effective though.

Oh another thing joining a muay thai gym where they teach pro fighters and want to get you in fighting shape even if you dont want to be a pro fighter, I lost about 3-4kg after the first 3 or 4 weeks of going there. If you can find martial arts lessons enjoyable you could take it up, it's more fun for me than running on a treadmill in the gym.


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## Simon90 (Oct 28, 2017)

Mate I know how you could lose between 40 to 80lbs atleast in around half an hour...thats right! It sounds impossible but bearing in mind the average leg weighs 20percent of full body weight then if you was to cut one off you'd instantly lose around 40lbs...if you cut two off you've lost around 80lbs! And that's without any diet or cardio...and not only that but you'd have a valid excuse to not train legs


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