weight loss 2013

[Flo]

I'll start it off again this year but not sure if it's had it's sell by date now.

On the 1st I was 296 pounds or 212st 2 or 134.6 kg

he does mean 21 stone 12lbs there I hope

Suppose I had better get back to being serious as there's another 2 stone required to turn me back into a sensible size. At least I have returned to almost the size I was in summer 1993 - well 2 pounds over.

The first thing to do this year is to get over the visits to Pizza Hut once a week.

[citizentwiglet]

Indeed.

The idea is that your body mops up all the glucose it has available (in the blood, in the digestive tract and stored as glycogen) in about 12-16 hours and then switches more or less entirely to fat burning. The only parts that can run only on glucose (red blood cells and - in the first instance - the brain) consume glucose liberated from breaking down the fat reserves, and from the little bit of food in the evening, but you snap out of the fast before your body moves into making ketones to feed the brain and breaking down protein (ie muscle) to make glucose for the blood cells, so avoiding the undesirable side affects of long term fasts.

The first couple of times are a little uncomfortable, but then your insulin response starts to perk up and it's easy. The fear of being hungry is far worse than hunger, and once you are convinced that this is only a short term thing your body seems to adapt to this mode of eating. It is, after all, what we are designed for: three meals per day, every day, is a modern invention. There's loads of stuff on the interwebthingy about it.

Hmmm. Interesting. So it's obviously more than just saving some calories over your typical week, then? What days do you fast, Jon? And do you feel satisfied after the one 500 or so calorie meal, or do you have the urge to dash of to the nearest shop for your bodyweight in chocolate?

[demi]

Indeed.

The idea is that your body mops up all the glucose it has available (in the blood, in the digestive tract and stored as glycogen) in about 12-16 hours and then switches more or less entirely to fat burning. The only parts that can run only on glucose (red blood cells and - in the first instance - the brain) consume glucose liberated from breaking down the fat reserves, and from the little bit of food in the evening, but you snap out of the fast before your body moves into making ketones to feed the brain and breaking down protein (ie muscle) to make glucose for the blood cells, so avoiding the undesirable side affects of long term fasts.

The first couple of times are a little uncomfortable, but then your insulin response starts to perk up and it's easy. The fear of being hungry is far worse than hunger, and once you are convinced that this is only a short term thing your body seems to adapt to this mode of eating. It is, after all, what we are designed for: three meals per day, every day, is a modern invention. There's loads of stuff on the interwebthingy about it.

Hmmm. Interesting. So it's obviously more than just saving some calories over your typical week, then? What days do you fast, Jon? And do you feel satisfied after the one 500 or so calorie meal, or do you have the urge to dash of to the nearest shop for your bodyweight in chocolate?

I'v got experience with fasting although i try not to do it any more as it can become a bit obsessive. The hardest thing is to start it, i feel queasy from hunger at first and need to fight it but it passes and the hunger goes away and it's much easier from then on. Your body is used to getting fed regularly and when you start to skip meals it suffers until it adjusts itself.

Today I skipped breakfast and was really feeling hungry by 11am, i ate some fruit and felt better for an hour or so then was feeling hungry again. I'v eaten a big bowl of chilli with homemade naan bread for dinner and i ate waaaay to much bread, finished off the last piece with honey But i think I'll be ok. Tomorrow i'm going to try to not eat so much. I had a bar of chocolate today too

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Monday & Thursday, usually, but it is pretty flexible, so if I've got something special on I just change the days. Because I burn around 2800 - 3000 kcal per day (I've a pretty physical working life) this makes me deficient by about 5000 kcal per week, so about a pound and a half loss, which is what you'd expect on a normal restricted calorie diet. I've cut out booze during the week too, and I think this is helping too. I'm certainly sleeping better as a result.

I find the 500 kcal meal fine - I just choose stuff that is bulky, so lots of vegetable stews, curries, chilli, that sort of thing. I don't feel the urge to go and gorge afterward. Oddly, the hungriest moment is late morning the following day but that's fine because I can have whatever I feel like for lunch.

I don't feel at all weak or hazy on fast days - quite the opposite, I feel very wide awake and lively. I even went running this afternoon once I'd finished work. I think this is because sustained fat burning is regulated by adrenaline release.

I've never dieted before, but I don't think I could face all that calorie counting malarkey and never eating cheese, so this way suits me.

[oldjerry]

When I cut the booze,which is probably the only way I'll ever lose weight,I just can't bloody sleep.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

When I cut the booze,which is probably the only way I'll ever lose weight,I just can't bloody sleep.

Funny how it takes different people different ways. My brother always slept better for a drink; I find myself wide awake at 2am if I have more than a couple of glasses of wine.

[Susie]

When I cut the booze,which is probably the only way I'll ever lose weight,I just can't bloody sleep.

I'm the other way - it's why I hardly drink, I just can't face the insomnia. That doesn't help you, sorry, but I know a friend of mine had your problem, I think he used to take valerian - I know that sounds a bit wimpy and new-agey but he really, really isn't, so I suppose it must have worked.

I accomplished a fitness goal yesterday - dragged myself to yoga even though I was feeling a bit crappy and managed this - it's not that difficult but I have very tight shoulders so never managed it before. Unfortunately then, flushed with my success, I decided to attempt crane pose at midnight while watching Miranda on on demand, and I fell right on my nose. Luckily nothing broken as that might have set back the quest for the body beautiful quite a bit.

In terms of diet I'm going to try to cut down on coffee and sugar. As soon as I've finished the last of the Christmas chocolates.

[citizentwiglet]

Jon, I am going to give your method a shot. I don't do nearly as much exercise as you do, but I do walk everywhere and I'm going to start my 5K training shortly (using the Couch to 5K plan), and I probably don't eat as many calories as you do in a normal day either (I usually eat around 1800, sometimes a bit less, but I used to shove a 700 calorie bottle of wine on the top of that, too).

I found the first couple of days of giving up drinking alcohol the worst in terms of sleep. I always thought that drinking helped me sleep. It didn't - it allowed me to fall into a pretty shallow sleep. After a couple of nights of seeming to take ages to drop off to sleep sober, I am now sleeping really deeply for eight hours and waking before the alarm. I didn't realise until now how unrefreshed I was in the mornings. I can honestly say I feel like a different person for it.

I don't intend to become an ardent non-drinker, but I'm certainly going to knock the weeknight vino on the head, and save myself for the weekend.

Susie - I used to drink a lot of Valerian tea, it really is excellent for helping you get to sleep. And well done on the yoga (perhaps less so with regards the smashed nose....)

[boboff]

I agree with Jerry and Wiglet on the sleep thing, it's hard for a couple of nights but then you sleep so so so much better. You then wake up with no hangover, which is nice.

I like the fasting idea too, I may try that latter in the year.

[demi]

Well me and my hubby are sticking to our new years resolution to cut back/have a break from smoking and i must say i am feeling much better today. I don't have any cravings at all to smoke and im feeling pretty good. My friend came over yesterday and brought some weed with her and we smoked 1 wee joint but my husband didn't have any ( he was pissed at me for smoking ) and after i smoked it i just felt shit until it started wearing off. I really have gotten sick of it and i realized that yesterday.

I'v also lost weight these past days. It's much easier to not eat when i haven't smoked. Now to get back to dieting. Although maybe it's not good to replace one addiction with another.
Anyhoo, i'm going to do the fasting thing too. I'm motivated now with a clear head and i'm feeling good and i even feel a song coming on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmwRQqJsegw

[Mrs Moustoir]

Count me in too!

I've been to the doctor's this morning and got the results of some blood tests I had before Christmas. You know, the register-at-a-new-surgery MOT type things. Not good news...

When we were living full time in France, my GP there tut-tutted and suggested I should lose 10kg and I was doing well, getting down from 82kg to 75kg. However, since being back in the land of the local Indian takeaway and fish n chips, I've put 3kg back on. Despite this, I do feel fitter as I walk at least 4km each day (about 2km each way to school and back) - God knows what I'd weigh if I didn't!

Anyway. I've ordered the 5:2 book as my doc says this is good for reducing my high cholesterol as well as weigh loss. He is very overweight, I'd say 20st plus - and the old adage "physician, heal thyself" did come to mind - very different from Dr D in France who is very slim and keen on wearing skin tight lycra and competing in local bike races. I took my son to a Sat morning appt once, and Dr D was ready in his lycra for the off - his bike was in the salle d'attente!

Anyway, here's me stats: Weighed at surgery this morning BMI 29.4 - 78kg / 12st 3lbs...the shame

Edit: I've ordered Michael Mosley's book this morning but first fast will be tomorrow.

[demi]

I was reading about this 5:2 diet: http://www.getthegloss.com/article/fast ... e-5-2-diet

The research seems positive but it has only been done in mice and not in humans, although i think it mentioned positive results in monkeys too. The effects it has on mice can be completely different to how it effects humans. More research needs to be done in humans before they can know if it is really beneficial or not. But it certainly will help you loose weight and i doubt there are any negative side effects so i don't see a problem with it.

I have been doing this for years. Not all the time but i go through phases. It does work.

[Mrs Moustoir]

Positive for mice - that's good. I like cheese Probably part of the problem...

The Horizon programme mentioned by Jon featured the mouse research. Here's a linky for anyone who is interested.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19112549

I really don't have the will power to restrict my calorie intake all the time but hopefully I'll be ok with the intermittent fasting. I really don't want to take a statin which UK GP's seem to push.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

There has been some work done in human subjects, not enough for it to be unequivocal in terms of benefits other than weight loss, but the indications from limited studies done at places like the University of Illinois are very positive. I was reading up on some stuff being done here in France that was done on a larger group (about 100) who were pre-diabetic and showed huge improvement in insulin response, which I'll try & find again. Anyway, I don't mind being part of a mini trial on myself if I continue to feel this irritatingly bouncy.

[demi]

I'd be interested to read any study's done on humans.

Im debating wither or not to make some cookies. I don't think i'v got enough sugar though. Probably best to give it a miss.



Edit: Was looking and found this:

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/81/1/ ... f_ipsecsha
Conclusions: Alternate-day fasting was feasible in nonobese subjects, and fat oxidation increased. However, hunger on fasting days did not decrease, perhaps indicating the unlikelihood of continuing this diet for extended periods of time. Adding one small meal on a fasting day may make this approach to dietary restriction more acceptable.

And this:

http://jap.physiology.org/content/99/6/2128.full#ref-22
In conclusion, the findings that intermittent fasting increases insulin sensitivity on the whole body level as well as in adipose tissue support the view that cycles of feast and famine are important as an initiator of thrifty genes leading to improvements in metabolic function (6). We suggest that a fasting-induced increase in circulating adiponectin is at least partly responsible for this finding. The change in adiponectin, together with changes in plasma leptin with fasting, underlines the important role of the adipose tissue in recognizing the oscillation in energy stores. Finally, the data indicate that intermittent fasting and physical training may increase insulin action via different mechanisms because muscle energy stores did not change with the present fasting intervention.

The last one has lost of references which is where i found the first one. You can look through the other studies if you like, i wont post them all.