need help with weight issues

[cpical]

Low fat will not change anything! Low fat products (I mean the stuff you buy in the supermarket) should be forbidden! What will change something is cutting on sugar, that is fructose-containing sugars! Breakfast cereals, fruit juice, all candies, lollies jams,... And your appetite will get back to "normal" and you will lose weight, slowly but steadily.
Read "Sweet poison" by David Gillespie.

[wombatK]

The most straightforward and accurate method for "further investigation" is a full body scan (I have heard them called Dexa Scans). A fully body scan will accurately assess amount of lean muscle and % body fat. .

Hi-tech and expensive - hardly straightforward. So expensive that it's difficult to use them for routine purposes or the majority of people.

the routine monitoring of body composition among athletes across state academies and institutes of sport in Australia is the measurement of skinfolds at several anatomically identified sites on the body; seven sites (triceps, subscapular, biceps, supraspinale, abdominal, front thigh, medial calf) are chosen as this accounts for individual variation in body fat distribution. This is often referred to as the ‘skinfold sum’. Approximately one half of the body’s total fat stores are subcutaneous (i.e. below the surface of the skin), the remainder is internal, surrounding vital organs and other tissues i.e. visceral. While skinfolds are unable to estimate visceral fat, this is rarely an issue in athletes.

from http://www.sportsdietitians.com.au/reso ... eet_21.pdf

It is also considered the gold standard by dietitians. In practice, clinical and sports dietitians get very good at estimating the extent and distribution of your body fat. The expense of DXA scans is an unnecessary one - both in terms of the $ cost and the risks arising from x-ray exposure.

Cheers

[Comedian]

I must say, when I was at my heaviest (107kg/187cm) I was in the pre-obese class 1 category... LOL. I saw that I had to get to 87 to get into the normal range and thought it was simply unachievable. I thought the lowest I would ever get would be about 97 due to my large frame (big bones).

As I sit here tonight I'm at 90kg and 87 looks like it would be perfect for me. What's more, I think it's achievable. This is a great surprise to me. But, as I've found I was fat everywhere and didn't know it. My watch is about 2 links to big, my arse has shrunk, my manboobs have shrunk leaving quite a hole between them. Most surprisingly, even my feet are smaller because old shoes are now too wide/high so I even had fat feet. Importantly, my waist is now smaller than the max recommended for men which is a good thing.

In summary, I think BMI is a vague thing, but it may be closer than you think and you may loose fat in places you didn't even know you had fat. I think if you are big boned like me you should aim for the very upper end of the BMI for your height. My bmi range is 65-87 and I'll be very very happy if I could maintain 85-87.

http://www.health.gov.au/internet/healt ... t/your-bmi

[casual_cyclist]

The most straightforward and accurate method for "further investigation" is a full body scan (I have heard them called Dexa Scans). A fully body scan will accurately assess amount of lean muscle and % body fat. .

Hi-tech and expensive - hardly straightforward. So expensive that it's difficult to use them for routine purposes or the majority of people.

I wasn't suggesting scans for routine purposes for the majority of people. I was suggesting specifically for outlyers (unusual cases) for whom BMI is not a good tool. I am also not suggesting frequent scans for individuals. I don't know what "expensive" is but I am a complete tightarse and would pay the $85 or so (1) that it would cost for such a scan *. Looks like a complete body analysis can be done for $120. For a single scan, I think the benefit outweighs the risk of x-ray exposure.

(1) http://www.bonehealthforlife.org.au/con ... ew/23/483/
(2) http://www.bodycomposition.com.au/publi ... p?pageid=8

* I don't because I think that BMI does apply to me. I don't have an unusual body composition that would prevent me from using BMI as a rough guide.

How much radiation do I receive from a DEXA scan?

You will receive radiation from a DEXA scan. The amount however is very low and is considered by many to be a non-invasive procedure. This is not the case with Body Composition Australia. We will not hide the fact that you do receive approximately 1-4 microSieverts from the total body composition scan. To provide a comparison with other radiation souces and procedures, an airline flight from Darwin to Perth results in exposure to 16 microSieverts (ARPANSA) and a normal chest x-ray exposes you to approximately 40 microSievets (ARPANSA). This practice does not permit a person to undertake more than 4 total body composition scans in a year unless under medical referral.

[/quote]

Of course if you don't need one, don't get one. There is no point exposing yourself to radiation without a specific purpose...

[sogood]

Apparently clenbuterol works well...

[eucryphia]

Try this; Paleolithic diet with a different regime of exercise. Both are simple to implement and inexpensive, especially if you are already avoid processed food and attend a gym.

The underlying theories go into some depth of human physiology, gene expression, carbohydrate metabolism and the role of insulin.

It directly challenges the lifestyles of a lot of cyclists on this forum; it recommends the elimination of low nutrient density carbohydrate foods from the diet; sugar, grains and grain based products, legumes & starchy vegetables.

It replaces long duration, low intensity excercise; aerobics, running (and long distance cycling!) with short stints of high intensity exercise to failure, with long recovery periods.

The reading materials do involve a fair bit of US 'hype', but if you can set aside your prejudice you will find the underlying science compelling.

[casual_cyclist]

Apparently clenbuterol works well...

So do tapeworms... but I don't recommend them either

[bigfriendlyvegan]

Apparently clenbuterol works well...

So do tapeworms... but I don't recommend them either

They're using tape worms in trials as a "cure" for coeliacs and crohns disease. There are, apparently, some cultures in the world where tapeworms are used symbioticly (sp?). It's a weird world.

David

[xx68]

Try a book called eat "right for your type" it works on the principle that some foods are no good for you dependent on your blood type .

I personally lost approx 50kgs in 8 months .........but i bought a lawnmowing run !
Now it doesnt really matter what i eat , i just lose weight , and get sunburnt and my back aches - as do my hips ......I'm getting old !

[Myddraal]

( I chose not too as although he was thin, his face looked gaunt and his eyes where sucked in etc etc-Basically I looked healthier than him).

Pics or it didn't happen. No offense, but I hear plenty of fat people say people who are pretty much at an ideal weight are too thin. If you're going for books, not that I've ever tried one but my first choice would be the CSIRO one released a few years ago. If any are going to work, it'll be that one.

Im not super rich so cant afford to get a personal trainer, and we dont have the luxury of unlimited budget on the weekly grocery shop.

You don't need a personal trainer to exercise, you just need someone to exercise with and compete against even if it's your wife or kids. You can find plenty of information on exercises and how to do them properly for free on the net if you want to. As for the food budget, garbage. The cheapest way to eat is to eat healthily, fact. Home brand weet-bix for breakfast and a bit of fruit, fresh vegetables and some meat for tea, and make yourself a decent salad sandwich for lunch. Just don't butter the bread. Instead of butter make sure you keep the juiciest things in the middle and the ham and lettuce near the bread to help stop it from going soggy. That's about $1 for breakfast, $2 for lunch and maybe $5 for tea at most. That's an entire days food for less than the cost of 1 small Mcdonald's meal. It's cheaper per person if you can buy food on a larger scale (which you can because you have a family). Don't buy pre made meals or microwave stuff. Just a few spices and sauces is all you need to make something taste great. How many packets of chips or other junk food could you get for that? Not much. If you're buying them for your kids, start making them eat healthily. If they complain about it, you'll be doing them a serious favour in the long run telling them to eat it or go hungry. Chips and lollies are things which should be taken as treats, once every two months is probably too much.

Don't just stick to meat and veggies though obviously, try out different things. Those $10 meal recipes coles and woolies have aren't half bad, and can be done cheaper if you go for less extravagant ingredients than they recommend. If you're worried about portion size, eat until when you stop eating you don't feel hungry, (or only a little bit hungry) but don't eat until you're full, and don't have anything until your next meal unless it's a glass of water or an apple.

I ride about 100kms a week (slowly increasing it as I have only just bought a bike) averaging around 30km/h

That's about 200 minutes of exercise a week - 30 minutes a day, 40 if that's from your commute to work. It's really not that much at all if you're trying to lose weight. Instead of watching TV or sitting on the computer or what ever you do when you get home from work, go for a ride, a run, a swim or something as well as your nice long Sunday ride and commuting. Cycling and running are great like that because you can do your hour's exercise from your house back to your house without needing another half an hour to travel somewhere to do your training.

If you want to get really fit throw some interval training in there like Tabata; 20 seconds flat strap sprint, 10 seconds very light for 4 minutes, that's 8 sets. Do each 20 seconds literally as if it were your only one. It's unavoidable you'll drop a bit in power but fight it as best you can; your first three at least should be consistent. Really make sure on your last two to make them just as good or better than your first two. You can afford to put everything into the last two because after that you're done. You should be pretty buggered by the end of it, and your muscles should be howling to stop in the last two but as long as it's only but slowly push it out by adding an extra set every two or three weeks until you're doing it for 7 or 8 minutes, or even 10.

I also dont drink soft drink or cordial or alcohol and dont smoke- only water, and no breads.

What's wrong with bread? Just get multigrain and brown/wholemeal loaves. Obviously the rest are no good, but I don't see what's wrong with a good loaf of bread unless you're allergic.

So what else can I do.

Suggestions of what has worked and what has not.

I have read previous posts also. Just looking for more info from experience, not salesmen.

Thanks in advance.

Really you just need to eat properly and exercise more. That's all there is to it, work out a training plan and stick to it. Set yourself difficult but realistic goals for your training and achieve them. Don't let your exercise sessions be low priority. Start recording your weight and resting heart rate every night before you go to bed. If you're doing enough exercise your resting heart rate should steadily decline and your weight with it. If it stays constant for over a week you're either getting sick, or not training hard enough (or maybe you're just pretty fit by then if it's at or below 50 ).

It's likely really worth the investment to go and see a qualified personal trainer and get them to draw you up a personalised program for you to stick to though, and perhaps go back for a sort of 'check up' a month or two down the line, where they'll re assess how you're going and probably give you a few new things to try out. If they're any good you'll probably learn quite a lot even if you don't get them to draw you up a fitness program. Or if you want an off the shelf training program try downloading (or buying if you've got a few hundred dollars to spare) beach body's P90X program, and sticking to that. It'll whip you into shape real fast if you can stick with it. Though it's probably better to start with their P90 program. I've been intending to have a go at P90X myself for quite some time but I have no where to do chin ups or have any weights for the weight routines. The exercise routines and plans do seem quite good though, and there's no reason you can't do the cardio, core and plyometrics etc. work outs in your lounge room, which are the ones which are really good for fat burning.

[Downhill]

It seems that some foods make me bloat but I can never seem to work out what it is.

The body processes some foods faster than others. My weight can go up or down as much as a half a kilo from one day to the next It all depends on what type of food I eat, how much I eat, and when I get rid of it. Normally the variation from day to day is only a couple of hundred grams. After two or three days it averages out.

My scales have 100 g graduations on it, so I certainly notice any weight changes. If I start going over, I just eat a little less the following day. It's not hard to reduce the intake by 100g over 24 hours. And given that it takes about 17 km of cycling to burn off one carrot cake, eating 100 g less is a LOT easier than trying to burn it off afterwards!

There's a lot of good advice in leaving the table just that little bit hungry. It takes about 15 minutes for the digestive system to signal to the brain that the body is "full". So if you know that you've eaten enough but think you're still hungry, wait 15 minutes to see if you really are.

The side benefit is that this also retrains the brain into accepting a lower sense of "fullness" as the signal for satiety. So too does spreading the intake over smaller, more frequent meals.

One thing that helped me was eating just a little more breakfast and including a small piece of fruit for morning tea. It meant that I didn't go into the cafeteria at lunch time absolutely starving, which would otherwise result in me eating far more than I needed (yes, my eyes were bigger than my stomach). It also seemed to make the morning fly by, probably because I wasn't subconsciously checking the clock every five minutes to see if it was lunch time!

So my rule is: "Never eat on an empty stomach!"

[The Womble]

Apparently clenbuterol works well...

So do tapeworms... but I don't recommend them either

I heard Dr Karl saying recrntly that they are toying with the idea in morbidly obease folk and trials are being conducted here in Oz. Maybe if the hid them in Maccas fries

[casual_cyclist]

Apparently clenbuterol works well...

So do tapeworms... but I don't recommend them either

I heard Dr Karl saying recrntly that they are toying with the idea in morbidly obease folk and trials are being conducted here in Oz. Maybe if the hid them in Maccas fries

haha! That would be a great way of selectively targeting "at risk" people... I don't see a lot of healthy people queuing up for fries...

[Myddraal]

haha! That would be a great way of selectively targeting "at risk" people... I don't see a lot of healthy people queuing up for fries...

You've never been in a car with athletes on the trip back from a competition before.

[Comedian]

One thing that helped me was eating just a little more breakfast and including a small piece of fruit for morning tea. It meant that I didn't go into the cafeteria at lunch time absolutely starving, which would otherwise result in me eating far more than I needed (yes, my eyes were bigger than my stomach). It also seemed to make the morning fly by, probably because I wasn't subconsciously checking the clock every five minutes to see if it was lunch time!

So my rule is: "Never eat on an empty stomach!"

I've noted this. If I get absolutely famished I end up eating more than I should. I think I've also worked out that I need to exercise before riding home so I don't run out while riding.

[casual_cyclist]

haha! That would be a great way of selectively targeting "at risk" people... I don't see a lot of healthy people queuing up for fries...

You've never been in a car with athletes on the trip back from a competition before.

That's true, I haven't. I do a fair bit of riding with endurance cyclists though. Fries is something they will eat if nothing else is open.

[Helmet Head]

I used Calorieking. It really brought home the reality of what I was eating.

[J-C90]

Burpees - they torch fat. Try the 100 burpee challenge.

Do burpees every second night. Do as many as you can in as little time as you can. Try to work up to 100, its bloody hard, but only takes about 20-30min and you can do it anywhere so lack of time and bad weather excuses aren't valid.

Once you get to 100 then try and bring the time it takes to do 100 down. I was doing this last year and managed to get down to around 13min for 100, this jumps your metabolism through the roof.

[BarryTas]

throw out your salt, only drink water, skim milk and 100% juice. dont use any sauces or flavourings bar chillie, garlic, lemon - and i dont mean pre packed used the real stuff. If you are hungry eat an apple of a bananna.

train 6 days per week, twice a day week days and long sessions at the weekends. Eat beofore the long rides at the weekend.

eat a good breakfast, grainy toast and cerial

oh eak kangaroo!!!!!!!!! steaks and use the mince for spang bowl. High protien/iron and very low fat

good luck!!!

was 89kgs now i am 71kgs but it has taken me 3 years

[cwc]

Small update for those that have given tips and advice.

Got better from said sickness. Was worried that I would just put the weight back on, but threw myself straight back into exercise and training and eating right and kept it off. Pants loose, belt down a buckle and feeling better by the day.

Someone wrote, amongst alot of other " Im better than you" kind of crap, that I should exercise more. Well, without an excuse I could do a little more, but I invite you to come and live a couple of days with my schedule and then pose the same statement. Sometimes what we are responsible for outweighs that extra 30-60 mins of daily time when someone elses life becomes more important than a few extra push-ups or a run ontop of what you are already able to do.

Not that I want to get into it, but I am amazed at how much "me" time people give themselves. I often wonder what gets missed in those peoples lives, and how happy they truly are with all their "me" time and "me" friends.

In anycase. Went for a ride early Saturday morning and found myself going that little bit longer than I usually do up a particular hill I am not friends with, so I was happy with that.

My portion sizes are right down and I have small snacks ( carrots, cucumber etc) during the day. Water consumption is right up and we have even switched sides of the bed so that I am closer to the bathroom in the middle of the night now .

I read somewhere on here not diet, but lifestyle change. I am trying for just that.

As for training partners to help.....Anyone in Cairns want to exercise with me?

[Comedian]

Someone wrote, amongst alot of other " Im better than you" kind of crap, that I should exercise more. Well, without an excuse I could do a little more, but I invite you to come and live a couple of days with my schedule and then pose the same statement. Sometimes what we are responsible for outweighs that extra 30-60 mins of daily time when someone elses life becomes more important than a few extra push-ups or a run ontop of what you are already able to do.

I take that very much on board. I think the thing that made a real difference to me was that I was able to substitute sitting on a bus for riding. It is quicker for me to ride the bike to work, it's cheaper (well maybe), and the only casualty is that I don't get much reading time anymore.

It's all about stealing exercise. I know that's not always possible, but I think a lot more people could do it than do now. (Note this statement made on national ride to work day )

[d3funct]

Thanks to the suggestions here, I've now signed up for CalorieKing.

As I'm in the same position as the OP, I hope I can make a difference in my lifestyle with this regime!

I went for a 20km cycle today, and I feel great, so thats a good start at least

[NewStew]

With all the greatest respect to everyone stuggling with weight as it is very very very hard to lose weight (I know I spent the majority of my life that way topping it at over 180 kg at some points) it really is very simple. Eat less. If you eat the right healthy foods then you get to eat more volume (i.e. feel fuller) for less or the same calorie intake. Exercise helps but in reality two hours on a bike going sustainably hard will only burn through 600-700 kCal which is so easy to eat in a very short amount of time.

Get your daily intake down to around 1200 kCal per day and keep exercising. Eat healthier, lower fat, less processed food so you feel fuller after eating and the weight will drop off.

I lost 30 kg about 5 years ago for the Sydney Hobart yacht race through lots of exercise and a better diet (but not much focus on portion size) and it took me 9 months. So far in the last 11 months I have lost 78 kg and still falling. All about eating less. To be fair I had to have stomach surgery to be able to achieve this but it was that or die - the principle is still the same. I do still understand how very hard it is to achieve in the long term though becasue I couldnt do it (I put on the weight I lost plus some following the yacht race once the motivation was gone).

Exercise is very good for fitness, stamina and general health, losing weight will help none of these things without exercise.

To the detractors about BMI - I used to think it was bollocks saying that I was big boned with a large frame, funnily enough as I droppped weight I realised that I am not a large frame at all. It may not be perfect but pretty much at above 30 BMI you are overweight enough to need to do something about it (bearing in mind 26 is the upper limits of healthy).

Good luck to everyone battling the modern sedentary lifestyle.

[tyred]

I'm no expert but I lost about 25kgs in the last 2 years by following a few simple rules.
1. Exercise for an hour in the morning before breakfast
2. Eat 5-6 small meals a day
3. No carbs after lunch
4. Drink heaps of water
5. Don't eat after 7pm

You can speed up weight loss by cutting bread and alcohol from your diet but I love toast for breakfast and beer too much