talkmagic.co.uk

I figure I might as well post it here so as many people as possible see what I'm trying to do.

I'm a 29 year old chunky guy whom on my 29th (last) birthday weighed roughly 28 and a half stone. On a weighbridge. On My Dad's farm. I have a 160cm waist as of the 11th, , and I've been like this most of my life. This depresses me. I did admittedly celebrate the measurement at the time as for the last X amount of years my weight in stones has always been higher than my age in years. Add in the fact that both my Dad and Mum are diabetic and I'm not, and it makes things worse.

My initial aim was to weigh myself on my 30th birthday (Boxing day) and have a weight in stones less than my age, but that's effectively continuing what I've been doing for the last few years (i.e. nothing) and propel myself towards an early death. It's also relatively simple, but not something really "good". My new vaguely realistic aim is to lose 30lb by my 30th birthday. I'd say that's doable.

My ultimate aim lose enough weight that I can buy a straitjacket for myself and look badass whilst wearing it. Long way off, I know.

My plan of attack? Since I'm now temporarily living with my mother, I can copy her diet. She's also got both a Wii (with Wii Fit) and a Kinect, but I know full well that the Wii Fit has a weight limit. ruling that out. I'm going to try and play stuff on the Kinect, as it's a drastic change from my constantly relaxed and unenthusiastic lifestyle.
How am I going to measure the changes? Since I won't have access to the weighbridge all the time, I'll be measuring my waist weekly, as I'd guess that the gut will go eventually.

Anyone else going to join me in my fat-loss endeavours?

Now. Off to Dance Central 2 I go...

I can more than relate; since being saddled with a wheelchair for getting around I've packed on 60+ lbs. that I'd love to get rid of but I've yet to find anything in the magic libraries that will fix it. In fact, I've noticed that many a mage has been plump and fluffy or at least evolve into such. . . I remember when Bill Malone was pencil thin, pimple-faced and had a huge afro but look at him now

You have a reasonable goal the catch is, lighting that fire under your tukkis every day and sometimes several times a day, to stick with it. That means walking as much as you can and/or riding a bike, going swimming and any other physical activity you can do that will get your cardio up and make the muscle groups in your body WORK. It also means watching what you eat and believe it or not, where it comes from. There was a recent study shared on the Green Network here in the states, that proved the fact that people who eat in accordance to the seasons and took in only foods raised/grown within 50 miles of their residents, not only lost weight but generally became healthier, loosing allergies and other maladies. I'm not talking about going organic and vegan and all that trendy B.S. just going back to how things were prior to the 1950s and mass production/heavy processing of food stuffs; buy local and if possible, "organic" that includes your meats & poultry. I've been doing this to the best of my ability and it has made a huge difference.

Cut out White Sugar as well as as many wheat-based products as you can or, such as in the case of bread, go to a higher "raw grain" type such as Oat or Health Nut blends. There's another super healthy bread some people call Bible Bread in that the recipe is found in the Old Testament (EZEKIEL 4:9) is exceptionally nutritious and credited to helping folks drop weight quickly.

You can't loose the weight by diet alone, it's just that simple. You must burn off the calories you take in each day plus and that means you have to get active and that can be the hardest part, just know that it's better than the alternatives you're facing.

Don't bother with a diet yet, start eating properly with sensible portions and stopping when your full. Get out and walk too, I lost 4 stone when I got a dog. I'd just walk till I was tired, then turn round and walk home.

Get your 5 a day, salad on your kebab doesn't count. Replace snacks with fruit etc

Drink plenty of water, you might be thirsty but thinking your hungry.

When your big you don't have to do much to lose weight. Take it slow and easy and the weight starts dropping off, when it slows down that's when you need to start making lifestyle choices.

By chance I received this in an email blog from www.streethypnosis.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A retired policeman once told the legendary hypnotist, Milton Erickson...
"I have emphysema, high blood pressure, and, as you can see, I am grossly overweight. I drink too much. I eat too much.
"I want a job but my emphysema and blood pressure prevent that. I would like to cut down on my smoking. I'd like to get rid of it.
"I'd like to quit drinking about a fifth of whiskey a day and I'd like to eat sensibly."

After some factfinding, Erickson summarized the situation.
"So you have a handy restaurant, grocery and liquor store near your house.
"You say you want to jog, but you can't. "However, you CAN walk.
"All right, buy your cigarettes one pack at a time. Walk across town to buy your pack.
"That will get you in shape.
"As for groceries, don't go to the one by your place. Find another one at least a mile away.
"And buy JUST enough for one meal. That's three nice walks a day.
"As for the liquor, you can drink all you want to.
"Take your first drink at a bar at least a mile away.
"If you want a second drink, find another bar at least a mile away.
"If you want a third, find another bar a mile away."

The policeman looked at Milton Erickson angrily. He cursed at him. And left.

A month later, a new patient came by to see Erickson and told him this...
"A policeman referred me to you and said you were the only psychologist in town who knew what he was doing."

This story is worth reading a few times.
There are many levels to it.
Here's one...

Erickson did not DEPRIVE his subject of his wants. He didn't say you can't do this, or you must stop that. That's what well-meaning friends and family do. Notice it never works.
Instead, Erickson tells the policeman what he CAN do.
He can drink all he want, smokes all he wants, eats all he wants. But he must walk.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The text may be copyright, and I have reduced it for brevity.
Origin: Clifford Mee, www.streethypnosis.com

Lee's advice is completely seconded. I've lost 3 stone from simple diet changes and a bit more exercise (an hour of walking a day).

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/L-CARNITINE-500mg-1x90-Energy-Fat-Burner-Muscle-Growth-/280696581532?pt=UK_Health_Beauty_Vitamins_Supplements&hash=item415ad1ed9c ive found thease very helpfull they make you feel less hungry and provide your body the fuel when you exersise and you can tell if there working because the give you hot flushes.
I've gone from a trouser size 44 (20st) to a curent 38" (16st) with diet and basic exersise and can now see mussle tone and viens, best advuce i can give is not to weigh yourself instead pick a vien on your arm you can bearly see and watch that on a weekly basis you'll be surprised how quickly you'll see it joined by others and remember that the gut is the last place to go, that and change your plates to side plates for your food, you will be eating less but still feel that your getting a full plate, no one like to look at three letue leafs on a massic dinner plate.
and if you have them stairs are your friend if you need to tke something upstairs split it into two journeys and you have instantly doubled your normal workload and in a very short time it becomes a habit and your doing extra exersise without even knowing it.
your talking to a bloke that used to eat 3 full breakfasts at one sitting and 4 big-macs as a snack, so i know were your comming from, face facts its going to be a 3 year plan and a lifestyle changing experience, but all you need to do is make a small change every week and it soon mounts up.

so to recap:-

don't way yourself religiosly it only leads to depression, especialy as mussle weighs more than fat per volume.
don't look at your waist and measure it as a bench mark, becuase in the first 2/3rds of your weight loss as you loose it from your back and shoulders your waist will actualy gett bigger as gravity pulls it down, if you must check your gut feel it for densness, it will cycle between hard and soft as you loose underlying fat first.

do look for the signs of fat disapearing from your arms and legs ie check your veins.
do use smaller plates to give you the psychological edge, one scoop less of mash makes all the diference if it still fills the plate.
do split up your usual tasks to make them longer like taking individual items upsataris to the airing cupboard instead of the whole pile.
do remember its a long term plan and don't beat yourself up because you had 6 marsbars instead of 5.
make a small change each week, in the car park check how much you need to pay for your ticket then go back to your car to get the change then pay and display your ticket, take the stairs one floor instaed of the lift.

change your life one piece at a time and remember you spent a long time adding the wieght give it the same respect when trying to loose it, if your that desperate get yorself an aqua-vac and a stanly knife............. kidding.

If you have a smart phone, find an app for calorie counting; there are quite a few free ones. If you keep track of your intake, you will see if there is room to spare. Even when I was really watching my foo, there was still room for the occasional pizza or snack, which helps a lot with morale

Before any large meal drink a glass of cold water. It fills the tum and you won't eat as much as before. As for excercise, three or four times a week do something which leaves you slightly out of breath - no, not frantic sex and not smoking! Without overding things, walk a bit faster, go up and down stairs a little faster than usual, avoid lifts, use the stairs where possible. If you use the bus, how about walking to a stop further on from the usual one, and getting off a stop earlier, so you get a bit of excercise that way.

However before all of that, chat to your doctor, or the practice Health Advisor/Nurse and get him/her to check you out and run any ideas for diet and excercise past them first. Your local pharmacist will be able to offer advice as well so you don't have to do it all on your own. Best of luck with your plan of action, you're already on the way to being slimmer and less chubby!

1. Walk everywhere you go. Don't drive or take lifts. It takes longer at first but once you're used to it it gets easier and you realise walking is the most reliable form of transport ever invented.
Take a look at old documentary footage from the early 20th Century and count how many fat people you see. Almost nearly none. There aren't any because they walked almost everywhere they went.

2. Eat a decent breakfast, (light lunch if really needed) and dinner and don't eat between meals. If your family are diabetic then you should find eating decent meals and not eating anything in between is a fairly routine thing anyway. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Hope this helps.

Same boat. I just started my diet (again) as once again I have inadvertently climbed back up to 17st, and my cardiologist harps on at me that if I don't get down to 13st or less I won't be alive much longer.

What dieting advice I can offer boils down to:

if you're going to calorie count, actually COUNT. Assuming that the tiny bit of chicken you had can't possibly have been more than 100kcal is the road to ruin. The difference between boiling roasting or frying something can more than double the calorific value.Same goes for sauces and crispy coatings. Just because the cooked chicken breast you find in the supermarket is high in protein and low in fat, doesn't mean you can get thin on KFC.

Avoid habitual snacking and treats. Treats are the worst things you can indulge in because your brain is a wily one and will think up ever more excuses for a treat. the last time I realised my diet wasn't working was the point at which my regular eating habits had descended into a treat after EVERY meal (pudding, right?) and an excuse for some kind of ultra treat at least twice a week. If you have more than 36 people in your extended circle of acquaintances (friends, family, coworkers, neighbours) statistically you'll have a birthday around you (with cake and a party) every 10 days. When people around you celebrate, you feel left out if you can't join in, and they celebrate far more than just their birthdays. It's easy to get lulled into the mindset of "Well I'm over eating but it's not my fault, I'm here at this party and the only food on offer is bad for me.)

Plan ahead. When you start to actually calorie count you'll quickly start to realise that a sandwich from the petrol station is 600kcal. I'm trying to keep under 1200kcal so that's half my intake in one meal. If I make a sandwich at home however I can construct it for about 300kcal. The situation for snacking is even worse. I remember the shame when I realised I'd been good all day and then doubled my calorie intake by simply having a small bag of pick and mix in the cinema. Whilst avoiding snacks is noble, always make sure there's something on hand to eat, because otherwise you'll be forced to buy something on the spot, and no one seems to care that the most commonly consumed snacks are all sold in packets that contain more than one serving. I once bought a bag of nuts in an airport, thinking these are healthy, these are nuts, nuts are good for you. And they are. Except that the smallest bag on offer was in fact an 800kcal bag of nuts.

Get a new addiction. Maybe this one is a personal thing but whenever you give up one thing you'll find yourself with a lot of time in which you would normally be doing that one thing doing nothing. When I can't eat I get fidgety, hungry, and I don't know what to do with myself. This is the reason a lot of ex-smokers gain weight. The cigs weren't keeping them thin, rather the absence of the cigs leaves them with a void they fill by eating. If I didn't have a heart condition I'd probably take up smoking to fill the void left buy continually snacking. As it is I've found a less dangerous addiction - internet gaming. I don't know if it'll work out but it keeps my mind of eating and for now that seems to be enough.

Not being a doctor I can't really recommend any of this advice on a scientific basis, and given that I'm STILL overweight I'd have a hard time recommending it on a personal level but I think somewhere in there is what I believe will be the seed of what actually makes me lose weight when I stick to it for more than a month.

Oh, and also go for long walks. Everyone else has said it and it's true, the few times when I almost reached my goal weights I was walking and cycling everywhere, and the times when I was too far away from civilisation to avoid using cars or trains, I ballooned. Also that time I worked as IT support for a company that coordinated snack deliveries and there was literally a cupboard full of free samples just RIGHT THERE, and not little bags, full packets of biscuits and jumbo sharing bags of nachos (which I didn't share).

Good lord, I'm a monster.

-Stacy

Some excellent help has been given and has encouraged me for the past few days to do at least an hour walk.
Everyone has steered you away from exercise, and they have a valid point, the diet needs to.come first. But thought I might add, if you decide to exercise, when I was going to the gym last year, I went with someone that pushed me into doing exercises and encouraged me. It was the only time that I have actually exercised properly and felt good about it.

It's not about discouraging exorcise its about making changes that will stick, will be enjoyed and won't feel like effort!

Actually things that initially feel like a bit of effort, if kept up, will often stop seeming like effort after a while. So perhaps a little effort. But don't run before you can walk. To the shops. To buy veg.

-Stacy

Mancunian Lee wrote:It's not about discouraging exorcise its about making changes that will stick, will be enjoyed and won't feel like effort!

Sorry I did not mean that exercise was being pushed out all together, but other options were being given to start with before looking at exercising.
I just thought i'd add about my experience with exercising as it had not been touched much in the thread.

I think the key to it all is exercise. The more you do, the thinner you will end up. I don't mean hardcore exercise. But walk a bit more, take the stairs, leave the car at home occasionally.

But here is a bit of encouraging news. If you are physically fit and exercise regularly, then being overweight has been found not to have any real impact on life expectancy. That's right - fat people live to a hundred too. Just as long as they exercise. That is a constant source of annoyance to my doctor. I am twenty stone, and every time she examines me I can feel her annoyance that my cholestoral is low, my blood pressure normal, and my heart healthy.

If you increase the amount of exercise in your life, and gradually cut down on food, you will see a gradual but steady improvement in your weight. Unlike the results of a crash diet, the changes could be permanent for you. It might take a long time, but you will get there.

On the topic of treats, I would recommend cutting back on treats rather than eliminating them. I do not have a sweet tooth, but I love jellies. Instead of buying a bag when I am peckish I buy a bag once every couple of weeks. I have three or four, then put them aside for a few days. That way I don't deny myself the treats - and rebel against the health regime - but I do end up having far less of them, in a quite natural way. It feels painless, and I enjoy the jellies far more now, as scarcity seems to add a bit to the flavour!

Best of luck with it.