Healthy New You: Your Change For Life #3

It's healthy to do about 1/2lb a week or something, right? Depends how much time she's lost it over I guess...

Like Mark, I did 3st in just under 4 months

I'd love to be able to report a loss this week, but the junk has played havoc with water retention, so it's not likely to happen for a couple of days.

It's healthy to do about 1/2lb a week or something, right? Depends how much time she's lost it over I guess...

Like Mark, I did 3st in just under 4 months

Yeah thats what i thought as well thats really good 3st under 4 months well done

Having a VLC day today. I don't normally do this, but I just feel as though I've done nothing but eat rubbish for the past few days, so I'm using today as a kind of detox thing and then going back to my normal healthy eating habits from tomorrow until I reach my goal.

I'd love to be able to report a loss this week, but the junk has played havoc with water retention, so it's not likely to happen for a couple of days.

Mind you, never say never!

I want to lose about 3 stone and if i could do it in just under 4 months i would be very happy, thats really good going could i ask how you did it?

I am only mentioning this because you seem to worry about weight and water levels a lot:

Why not try measuring your weight over three days and averaging? That way, you get a better idea of weight rather than worrying that your carb and electrolyte intake is varied which causes weight variation.

Just an idea that might help you reduce focus on water levels. I mean, unless you are significantly bloated or dehydrated - it really isn't something worth even thinking about.

I think the next few days will be vlc for me too, after the meal on tuesday and today landlady was trying to make me eat all sorts - then she brought out these really sugary biscuits, it was too much!! Delicious lunch though. A moment on the lips, though...

I was always against VLC but now that I'm in the position of having a bit of ground to make up, it seems like the obvious solution. It's not like STUPIDLY low, I've had 950 cals so far and plan to have another 50 later, but those few hundred will make up for the past few days.

I want to lose about 3 stone and if i could do it in just under 4 months i would be very happy, thats really good going could i ask how you did it?

I didn't even realise until a few days ago that 2000kcal is what a normal woman should eat in a day?!?! I thought it was far lower.

Really pissed off. Was meant to be working at uni for 3 solid hours, I had a couple of almonds in my lecture before and I'd also eaten lunch so I could've held out IF I was busy, but they dont seem to need me. I finish at 6:45 and I've been sent on a half hour break already, now I'm on an hour. I'm getting paid £9ph but as I'm hungry and tired wit nothing to do, I've ended up in the uni cafe with a "chip butty" aka a white baguette and some chips, plus a diet coke. When I had a lovely healthy dinner planned. Oh well. Going to the gym tonight and I've got an abundance of classes booked so I'm sure it's fine, just annoying because I hadn't planned a treat so it doesn't really feel like one. More that I was hungry and ate because I was bored. They don't sell anything healthy at this time of night either so I know it was sort of out of my hands (I can NEVER avoid eating if I'm hungry AND bored) just really annoyed at myself/uni right now

It will be lower for many. It depends on size and activity level. The oft quoted figures of 2,000 and 2,500 cals for men and women is just an estimate based on an average height and weight woman and man with a moderately active lifestyle.

In reality, many will need less calories than these figures due to a sedentary lifestyle (or having less lean weight than the idealised average). For instance, even though I am moderately active - I am smaller (hence lighter) than the average man and my job is pretty sedentary so my maintenance cals are about 2,200-300 at the moment (although this may well change in the next couple of months as I eat more and quite possibly increase the volume of training which is currently minimalistic).

On the other hand, many need a lot more calories due to stresses, hard physical work, lots of activity etc. The other category that fits this criteria is growing teens - especially males who require a lot of energy to grow. This is why most guys are skinny bitches from the age of about 13-14 until their early twenties - the energy they need to grow outstrips their natural appetite for food.

Thank goodness for that .


I teach brass instruments, and I advertise "supplementary teaching" and there are a number of children, particularly when nearing grade examinations, who are happy to pay me to provide extra tutoring outside of their weekly school lessons.
I tried to approach schools, but they all have existing teachers. I've got quite a bit of business from advertising as supplementary, so maybe that's something you could consider!

Thank you but again it's probably because I was so fat. But oh well!



I think the next few days will be vlc for me too, after the meal on tuesday and today landlady was trying to make me eat all sorts - then she brought out these really sugary biscuits, it was too much!! Delicious lunch though. A moment on the lips, though...

Look at it this way:

Most people eat about 20 meals per week. If one meal doesn't go according to plan that is like a 5% diversion from your goal. As long as you are consistent generally, situations like this aren't even worth considering.

The force of homeostasis is a fairly powerful thing. This is why so many people who don't actively monitor what they eat or their activity levels maintain their weight to +/-1lb or so for years on end. It isn't because their net energy intake is precisely constant, it is because it is roughly the same and the body takes care of the minor adjustments for the rest.

The worse thing you can do is focus too much on having eaten too much and then go crash dieting or changing your plans to make up for it. This type of situation is a tiny deviation from plan that will have no tangible effect on your fat loss goals. On the other hand eating off plan and then crash dieting just leads to screwed up energy levels and more binging later on in the following week.

So be pissed off at your employer for ****ing you around but really don't waste precious mental energy on inconsequential details like the meal you just ate. It is detrimental to your aims.

Look at it this way:

Most people eat about 20 meals per week. If one meal doesn't go according to plan that is like a 5% diversion from your goal. As long as you are consistent generally, situations like this aren't even worth considering.

The force of homeostasis is a fairly powerful thing. This is why so many people who don't actively monitor what they eat or their activity levels maintain their weight to +/-1lb or so for years on end. It isn't because their net energy intake is precisely constant, it is because it is roughly the same and the body takes care of the minor adjustments for the rest.

The worse thing you can do is focus too much on having eaten too much and then go crash dieting or changing your plans to make up for it. This type of situation is a tiny deviation from plan that will have no tangible effect on your fat loss goals. On the other hand eating off plan and then crash dieting just leads to screwed up energy levels and more binging later on in the following week.

So be pissed off at your employer for ****ing you around but really don't waste precious mental energy on inconsequential details like the meal you just ate. It is detrimental to your aims.

Ty yes they have a little bit, had to really push the school to loan me money though. It was then difficult to get 150euros out of them and then after a call to the ministry, the school will lend me the rest of the 700 on monday. Phew. So I'm gonna buy my flights home tomorrow

Tbh if I hadnt threatened leaving, they wouldnt have given me anything. Not that they're obligated to pay me, but yknow, nor am I obligated to work when I'm not being paid - what can they do, dock my pay? tch.

This is probably a stupid question Mark but does thinking burn calories in the same way as exercise (but to a lower extent)? Like say you took 2 twins, made one watch tv all day, and the other solve equations and crosswords etc all day (keeping everything else controlled) would the one using his brain burn more calories than the other. I was just thinking as the brain is like a muscle, and the more work it does the more energy it requires..

Yeah I did mine based on my fitness pal and you really have to take activity into account I know. It's the BMR thing although we've already disproved the BMR stuff. Well I think there's still truth there but more as 'guidelines'

Can I ask where you read up to become this fountain of knowledge before our very eyes? I'd be interested to do the same.

Thanks Mark my main concern was that usually if I have a healthy day, then eat something a bit unhealthy (or what I class as "bad") then I ruin the rest of the day with binging. I thought that's what would happen this time. But I went to the gym and I did intervals rather than a long jog like I usually would, I did intervals on the cross trainer as well (higher level/much higher speeds than I would usually bother to attempt) and also intervals on the treadmill.

This is probably a stupid question Mark but does thinking burn calories in the same way as exercise (but to a lower extent)? Like say you took 2 twins, made one watch tv all day, and the other solve equations and crosswords etc all day (keeping everything else controlled) would the one using his brain burn more calories than the other. I was just thinking as the brain is like a muscle, and the more work it does the more energy it requires..