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Avoiding weight gain when not cycling

(43 posts)
  • Started 6 years ago by Darkerside
  • Latest reply from crowriver
  • This topic is not resolved

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  1. Darkerside
    Member

    Wotcha folks

    I stopped commuting by bike last April (I switched to a compressed week, and I couldn't manage the longer days with a 40km round commute with 400m of climbing, whilst still being awake enough to wrangle small children when getting home).

    The ideal answer to that is an electric bike, but see: multiple small children, supra.

    As such, my weight has gone up in line with my mileage going down. Whilst I appreciate the graphical symmetry, this kg/month gain is showing no signs of slowing (because I'm doing nothing about it, obviously...)

    I'm trying to squeeze in some running, but I'm not going to get much chance to do exercise until nano-Darkerside is a few months older.

    So. How do I avoid weight gain through diet alone. Is it just a case of less calories? Is it inevitable that I will then always feel hungry (I tried eating a massive fruit salad for lunch yesterday, and was starving immediately afterwards)? Is it possible?

    As someone who's always just eaten whatever was nearby and relied on cycle commuting to make it all work out, this is a bold new world...

    Ta much

    TL;DR: what makes us fat, based on what we eat?

    Posted 6 years ago #

  2. ARobComp
    Member

    Find 2 days where you can:
    1) only take small meals for 2 days (sip water, small meals all day rather than a big meal)
    2) No big mugs of tea/coffee
    3) definitely no beer

    What you are aiming for here is to take in less volume of food, not less calories particularly.
    This should shrink your stomach a bit without causing you to be starving.

    After that you should be able to eat less and be less hungry. At the moment your stomach is used to big portions of food and drinks, get it smaller and it's easier to eat smaller meals and not be starving after.

    ALTERNATELY use the "University Match Racing Team" method of losing up to 10% body weight in <48 hours
    1) eat nothing but small snacks for 36 hours, sip water, and then go out and get smashed on vodka the night before you get weighed.
    2) DO NOT DRINK WATER
    3) Get weighed and be terrified at how much weight you lost - but hey at least you came in under the limit for the boat
    4) Drink as much water as possible to try and get rid of the raging headache

    Posted 6 years ago #

  3. rider73
    Member

    do some body weight training, simple stuff if you dont like equipment - like press ups (there are many varieties too) sit ups, star jumps, squats, - any and every thing that takes your fancy from google - and they can be done in the home.

    break it into manageable chunks for your day, and differing muscle groups

    do 3 reps of anything you choose for that chunk

    do the chunks as often as you can in a day without straining anything
    try and do them before meals - eg 25mins before breakfast, 25mins before lunch and 25mins before Dinner

    next day to the next set of muscle groups

    eat a more high lean protien less carb rich diet and have frequent meals rather than big ones

    you'll be amazed how much weight you keep off.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  4. Darkerside
    Member

    Option 2 sounds wildly unpleasant, but also doesn't have the "definitely no beer" restriction...

    Posted 6 years ago #

  5. dougal
    Member

    Actually you'd be surprised what cutting out alcohol can do - the caloric content of booze is not to be overlooked.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  6. chdot
    Admin

    So, it’s not about low/no alcohol drinks.

    It’s about low calorie alcohol.

    Difficult!

    Posted 6 years ago #

  7. wingpig
    Member

    Start fidgeting when seated/static. Brush your teeth straight after tea to discourage evening snacking. Re-read a post you wrote a few years ago about eating fresh fruit chunks in yoghurt.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  8. Nelly
    Member

    When I took redundancy deal, I was aerobically very fit due to my cycling, but carrying too much heft - 6 foot 1 and 15 stone end of July 2017.

    I decided to do two things, join a gym and lose weight.

    These are, IMO entirely separate - the gym is for keeping fit / toning, but you will not lose weight by simply going to a gym and carrying on with the energy intake.

    I use My Fitness Pal, decided on a target weight, and stuck to the suggested calorific intake.

    I only do it weekdays, as I am not going to stint if we are out for a meal etc.

    I am now 13.5 stone, and still dropping steadily. The only downside is the requirement for new jeans/t shirts.

    Agree about beer, its a killer for the calories, but again, you are not a monk (I assume) !

    Posted 6 years ago #

  9. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    A mate of mine (word reaches me by osmosis that @wingpig also knows him) was gargantuan. He joined Scottish Slimmers and that led him to some pretty strange places but also the following insights for huge weight loss;

    1) Throw your plates away and buy smaller ones
    2) Eat everything - everything - sitting down at at table with a knife and fork off the small plates

    It worked wonders but he stopped and now he's in danger of developing an event horizon.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  10. rider73
    Member

    2) - soup? no wonder you get thinner

    Posted 6 years ago #

  11. unhurt
    Member

    Statistics suggest c. 95% of people who lose weight by dieting will regain it in 1-5 years. This very strongly suggests the issue isn't one of individual will-power. Other possible factors are not yet well understood.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  12. unhurt
    Member

    @Darkerside - I'd maybe get the GP to check your thyroid hormone levels too, just in case there's another factor at play. Hypothyroidism plays merry hell with your metabolism. Fairly common, and apparently underdiagnosed*.

    *(un)helpfully it likes to mimic common symptoms of depression. So if you already HAVE depression, it can take a rather long time before any GP thinks to suggest a blood test...

    Posted 6 years ago #

  13. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @rider73

    Should have done completeness test and error trapping. Failed.

    @unhurt

    The origin of the particular problem (and it is a problem) seems likely to me not to be especially related to food beyond the obvious mechanical connection. But I'm at risk of thread drift here.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  14. gembo
    Member

    @darkerside, go vegan it is so on trend now it is painful. Painful for me as I was vegan for years when hard. Very low fat diet, also lot of sweets not vegan or even veggie.

    @iwrats How the feck do you eat crisps off a plate with a fork and knife?

    Posted 6 years ago #

  15. SRD
    Moderator

    @darkerside can you run with mini/micro/nano darkerside in a buggy? I have never done this, but I see it sometimes.

    i find running is the only thing that works for me. but like you can't find time.

    i've managed to mostly cut out sweets when at home (at desk at work much harder) but booze is my bane.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  16. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @iwrats How the feck do you eat crisps off a plate with a fork and knife?

    How did you ever make it through finishing school?

    Posted 6 years ago #

  17. cb
    Member

    You could try the Far Cry from Kensington method although it is wasteful.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  18. ARobComp
    Member

    I now drink stronger beer which you drink less of for the same effect.

    Amazing how I only want one 330ml can of 8% quadruple hopped Barrel aged honey-stout*

    Also I should point out in my options above - in option 1 you only need to not drink beer during the time you're trying to shrink the stomach. Although I recommend not downing beer and stretching your stomach back out.

    *not a thing

    Posted 6 years ago #

  19. gembo
    Member

    @cb, nothing about crisps in Muriel Spark, however it is the 100th anniversary of her birth. R4 going with Th Vital Spark, probably without knowing about Para Handy?

    @IWRATS, hmm, at my finishing school The Johnstone High, we learned how to make a piece on crisps. Lovely.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  20. minus six
    Member

    intermittent fasting or the 5-2 diet for four months, followed by a spartan ongoing diet to stay in trim

    the key here is to acknowledge hunger as a normal state and treat it as a natural ally

    holidays can be excluded, as the body tends to graciously accommodate brief interludes of outright excess

    i forsake bread rather than beer

    Posted 6 years ago #

  21. unhurt
    Member

    Hmm, no one's suggested speed yet? Speed, cigarettes, instant noodles, coffee and beer: a suprisingly good diet for being skinny (when you're 22).

    Posted 6 years ago #

  22. minus six
    Member

    aye true that, you can't beat the lou reed for intensive weight control but bruxism wreaks such a high price over time

    Posted 6 years ago #

  23. sallyhinch
    Member

    Keeping a food diary, weighing yourself regularly (but not obsessively) and keeping up some form of exercise will all help. Can you walk/run during your lunch break? Even if you're working accelerated hours, 20-30 minutes outside moving will be helpful.

    Depending on your workplace, doing more of it standing up might help. Also don't discount the impact of drinking lots of water and all the subsequent trips to the loo that that entails.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  24. sallyhinch
    Member

    Also I imagine that the impossibility of eating crisps with a knife and fork (and beer, unless it's at the really craft end of the spectrum) is part of how IWRATS's diet works

    Posted 6 years ago #

  25. gembo
    Member

    @unhurt, not much vit C in your Billy Wizz diet?

    Posted 6 years ago #

  26. crowriver
    Member

    5:2 intermittent fasting does work, I can testify to that. However you need to keep at it. I can also testify to the weight going back on when you "take a break" from 5:2.

    Psychologically I find 5:2 easier to deal with than restricting calories every single day, which is just too puritanical for me.

    Drink more water, cut out fruit juice, milk, fizzy drinks (even diet ones). Water fills you up and you snack less.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  27. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    part of how IWRATS's diet works

    That's it, my lady. Imagine a massive ginger biker sat down chasing a crisp round a tiny plate with a fork, right on the cusp of tears and you've got it.

    There's an entire novel in the episode.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  28. unhurt
    Member

    See how @Iwrats feels about measuring bike rides etc.? That's how I feel about food diaries.

    @gembo Vitamin C was probably provided by the odd can of Irn Bru? Also I was 22ish and so immune to scurvy.

    Posted 6 years ago #

  29. minus six
    Member

    I can also testify to the weight going back on when you "take a break" from 5:2

    three or four diligent months on the 5:2 does change your overall attitude to diet significantly enough that you can slip back to 6:1 or even 13:1 if you remain sensible

    beer does mean putting the miles in though, no escaping that

    Posted 6 years ago #

  30. ARobComp
    Member

    **catches up on thread while supping second beer of evening**

    Posted 6 years ago #

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