Losing weight

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,

I'm about 76 kg and 5' 10". That makes me a little heavy (BMI 24) but not overweight and a lot of my weight I assume is leg muscle. I'm basically OK for my age/height etc. I've a 32" waist that I've had since I knew what size I was.

Two years ago I was 76kg and 5'11 and a bit at 55years.
At 23 I was eating about 5,000 kcals + a day and lighter still.

But your life can change in a moment and even if it doesn't, when you hit 40 then 50 it will get harder, you simply have different responsibility's.
Consequently I put on over two stone in 30 years and it took two years to lose it again.

Reference antibiotics, I wonder what you will do when you have a infection that threatens your life, will you abstain..................

[horizon]

Reference antibiotics, I wonder what you will do when you have a infection that threatens your life, will you abstain..................

Well I don't think I will have (that's my working belief) because I don't believe infections work in the way medical science believes them to do. I last took antibiotics AFAICR in 1972 and I still haven't died. But given that antibiotics are given to animals to fatten them up, I don't think they are a good idea if you are trying to lose weight.

[Mark1978]

I don't think it's 100% CICO. After all lets say you're daily requirement is 2,000kcal and you eat 2,001kcal, is that 1 going to be laid down as fat? I think there's some leeway where it basically makes no difference and where you can find a healthy balance.

[Annoying Twit]

I'm about 76 kg and 5' 10". That makes me a little heavy (BMI 24) but not overweight and a lot of my weight I assume is leg muscle. I'm basically OK for my age/height etc. I've a 32" waist that I've had since I knew what size I was.

BMI is useless unless someone has a fairly normal body composition. As soon as someone has a lot of muscle, there's no point in calculating BMI. However, it is said that if you're of a body type where BMI does not apply, you're likely to know it and it should be visible. Hence, there shouldn't really be confusion.

We are quite similar in terms of size and shape, BTW. Though, I've been up to a 38" waist.

[Mark1978]

I'm about 76 kg and 5' 10". That makes me a little heavy (BMI 24) but not overweight and a lot of my weight I assume is leg muscle. I'm basically OK for my age/height etc. I've a 32" waist that I've had since I knew what size I was.

BMI is useless unless someone has a fairly normal body composition. As soon as someone has a lot of muscle, there's no point in calculating BMI. However, it is said that if you're of a body type where BMI does not apply, you're likely to know it and it should be visible. Hence, there shouldn't really be confusion.

We are quite similar in terms of size and shape, BTW. Though, I've been up to a 38" waist.

I wouldn't say it's useless. For the majority of people it's a good guide. For me BMI says I should be between 8st 2lb and 11st, that's nearly three stone of range! And at 11st 6lb I definitely have more fat to lose, just looking at my belly alone.

[Annoying Twit]

I'm about 76 kg and 5' 10". That makes me a little heavy (BMI 24) but not overweight and a lot of my weight I assume is leg muscle. I'm basically OK for my age/height etc. I've a 32" waist that I've had since I knew what size I was.

BMI is useless unless someone has a fairly normal body composition. As soon as someone has a lot of muscle, there's no point in calculating BMI. However, it is said that if you're of a body type where BMI does not apply, you're likely to know it and it should be visible. Hence, there shouldn't really be confusion.

We are quite similar in terms of size and shape, BTW. Though, I've been up to a 38" waist.

I wouldn't say it's useless. For the majority of people it's a good guide. For me BMI says I should be between 8st 2lb and 11st, that's nearly three stone of range! And at 11st 6lb I definitely have more fat to lose, just looking at my belly alone.

Your statement agrees with mine, but your first sentence seems to imply that you're disagreeing with me. I'm not sure what you mean here. Most people are of a fairly normal body composition, and hence BMI will be useful.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,

Reference antibiotics, I wonder what you will do when you have a infection that threatens your life, will you abstain..................

Well I don't think I will have (that's my working belief) because I don't believe infections work in the way medical science believes them to do. I last took antibiotics AFAICR in 1972 and I still haven't died. But given that antibiotics are given to animals to fatten them up, I don't think they are a good idea if you are trying to lose weight.

What I was trying to say was IF you were dying from an acute infection, would you still then not take the antibiotic

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,

I'm about 76 kg and 5' 10". That makes me a little heavy (BMI 24) but not overweight and a lot of my weight I assume is leg muscle. I'm basically OK for my age/height etc. I've a 32" waist that I've had since I knew what size I was.

BMI is useless unless someone has a fairly normal body composition. As soon as someone has a lot of muscle, there's no point in calculating BMI. However, it is said that if you're of a body type where BMI does not apply, you're likely to know it and it should be visible. Hence, there shouldn't really be confusion.

We are quite similar in terms of size and shape, BTW. Though, I've been up to a 38" waist.

I wouldn't say it's useless. For the majority of people it's a good guide. For me BMI says I should be between 8st 2lb and 11st, that's nearly three stone of range! And at 11st 6lb I definitely have more fat to lose, just looking at my belly alone.

Pince an inch........I am about 1.5"

[horizon]

Hi,

Reference antibiotics, I wonder what you will do when you have a infection that threatens your life, will you abstain..................

Well I don't think I will have (that's my working belief) because I don't believe infections work in the way medical science believes them to do. I last took antibiotics AFAICR in 1972 and I still haven't died. But given that antibiotics are given to animals to fatten them up, I don't think they are a good idea if you are trying to lose weight.

What I was trying to say was IF you were dying from an acute infection, would you still then not take the antibiotic

I'm going to sidestep that question because although my belief is that serious infections are better avoided than treated, we can still agree that antibiotics might be used in serious cases - I don't have a problem with that.

What I'm suggsting is that the routine use of antibiotics might have an effect on weight and obesity. That might be the direct effect of fattening or the long term effect of changes in the body's gut flora.

The second area of concern is the use of antibiotics as fattening agents in animal husbandry. This may have low intensity but continual effect or may have acute effects when antibiotics are found in the meat itself. I would simply say that anyone who wants to lose weight and still eats at KFC or MacDonalds or even buys supermarket meat on a regular basis has some serious thinking to do.

[Rob87]

At the risk of the 'new guy' getting ideas above his station I have a suggestion.

Body builders suffer a platteu effect and can't gain amy extra muscle mass no matter how much they train.
One of the main reasons for this is the muscles get bored (for want of a better word).
To combat this they change their excercise regeim every 8 weeks to tone the muscles in different ways (angles, weight, rep/set lengh etc) to make the muscle behave differently and thus "rip" appart to heal and regrow larger.

SO! My suggestion is that maybe your body is, and the muscles involved bored of cycling.
It may prove useful to ditch cycling 2 days a week and instead weight train (top half one day and legs/lower half the next). Giving your body a new challenge.
This also has the bennefit of larger muscles needing more.calories carbs protein etc to repair and function so calorie counting can be a bit more relaxed.

Just a thought mind, good luck with it n you can acheive your tàrget if you want it bad eneugh.

[samsbike]

Just to update this. Been trying harder, and I think I need a lot less calories than I expect, around 2000 for steady state. Trying to manage around 1600 calories a day and have dropped about 2kg in about 6 weeks.

Trying to get to 76kg but its very hard work.

Have mixed up things a bit - walking more and am also trying the 16hr fast, 8 hour eat routine.

[whoof]

Just to update this. Been trying harder, and I think I need a lot less calories than I expect, around 2000 for steady state. Trying to manage around 1600 calories a day and have dropped about 2kg in about 6 weeks.

Trying to get to 76kg but its very hard work.

Have mixed up things a bit - walking more and am also trying the 16hr fast, 8 hour eat routine.

I hope this is helpful.

In the last six weeks I've tried to lose a bit of weight. Nothing complicated I just have the same meals as I did before but I make them a little bit smaller (10-15%). I put the pasta, rice, cereal etc in a bowl or cup before cooking it and so I now know what a 'portion size' looks like. I also don't have cakes, chocolate etc during the week.

I've also been doing a little bit more. Started swimming one lunch time, I do 100 sit-ups and 10 press-ups when I get in from work and once a week I add a 10 mile or so loop onto my commute on the way home. I know not everyone has a pool handy but it doesn't take too much imagination to think of an alternative; go for a walk or jog, do some gardening when you get home or whatever.

The result is I've lost 3kg (72.5 to 69.5 kg) in six weeks. As I haven't had to make any major changes to either what I eat or do it hasn't felt too difficult.

[Phileas]

Can I ask why you do 100 sit ups? Is it to develop your core muscles or lose fat?

[whoof]

Can I ask why you do 100 sit ups? Is it to develop your core muscles or lose fat?

I do some sit-ups as they are good for core strength. Cycling is great exercise but can by very one dimensional in terms of overall fitness.
As a by-process whilst doing them I am also doing something rather than siting watching the news on the telly which will expend some energy, slightly raise my metabolic rate and therefore in some small way may contribute to weight loss.

[nathb]

I highly recommend myfitnesspal linked to strava/endomondo + fitbit (optional)

Myfitnesspal is a bit of a faff at first, but once you've used your staple things it becomes much faster at entering in your food. It really does highlight how many calories some food has, particularly drinks.
Strava/Endo feeding into myfitnesspal is useful to top up calories after exercise without going excessive.
The fitbit is also great feeding into it as it adjusts the daily calorie limit based on how active you are throughout the day.

I'm 6ft and started out at 95kg and would barely do 5,000 steps a day, driving were ever I could. Using the above, along with building up exercise (5 mile cycle a week to 50+ plus building up jogging 1k to 5k after a few months) I lost 28kg over 18 months. I've got a couple of before and afters here: https://www.instagram.com/nath_gb/ if anyone is interested.