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Weight loss

So I want to loose weight and get into the best shape I can, I'm dedicating my summer to do so. Any tips? :smile:

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Start off by cutting down your portions. Make half of your plate salad/vegetables and have a portion of protein the size of your palm and a portion of carb the size of you fist.

Cut out sugar, fizzy drinks, and junk food. Make sure you have one day as a cheat day where you can eat what you want.

Salads can be nice. Crumble some low fat feta cheese over your salad. Throw in some pomegranate seeds and chickpeas. Add in chicken or salmon. Avoid salad dressings though.

Most importantly, exercise.
Original post by Seren.
So I want to loose weight and get into the best shape I can, I'm dedicating my summer to do so. Any tips? :smile:


Lots of small changes add up over time to one big change. Don't try to do everything all at once, but make the easy changes to your diet first and use it as a springboard.
Original post by Seren.
So I want to loose weight and get into the best shape I can, I'm dedicating my summer to do so. Any tips? :smile:


Wish I could help. I need to gain weight :frown: because I'm already 5kg underweight for my height.

I never tried to lose weight, I just don't have much of an appetite.

My only advice - eat less, it works, trust me.

I've heard people eat two meals a day and lose weight like that, so you could try it... :dontknow:
Eat chicken
Original post by ClearSky
Wish I could help. I need to gain weight :frown: because I'm already 5kg underweight for my height.

I never tried to lose weight, I just don't have much of an appetite.

My only advice - eat less, it works, trust me.

I've heard people eat two meals a day and lose weight like that, so you could try it... :dontknow:


Eating "less" (unless you're talking about portion sizes) and reducing meals isnt the correct way to lose weight. I have 6 small meals a day and have lost a lot of weight so far. :smile:
Original post by Seren.
So I want to loose weight and get into the best shape I can, I'm dedicating my summer to do so. Any tips? :smile:


Calories in vs Calories out.
To be able to lose weight, you need to ensure that the amount of calories you consume is less than the amount you burn. So this can translate as consuming less calories + exercising. If you're a guy I think the lowest recommendation is 1,400 and for women it's 1,200. Check the NHS BMI calculator to see what your recommended intake would be for weight loss.

I wouldn't advise going below 1,000kcal or eating junk. You could do a slimfast/ 5:2 diet if you want, but honestly I'd recommend eating healthily 2-3 times a day. Drink plenty of water. To help with portions etc use smaller plates and try to aim for a fair amount of veg on your plate to help bulk it up. Eat lean meats/ fish and carbs (stuff like sweet potatoes, brown rice etc).

If you can afford a gym membership then definitely go for that, If not, then you can go running in your local park or try the NHS couch to 5k.
Pace yourself. The recommended loss p/w is 0.5-1kg and whilst you can lose more than that in a week (I have) it's not something I'd recommended. If you pace yourself then you should be able to keep it off long term.
Hope that helps.
Original post by Fermion.
Eating "less" (unless you're talking about portion sizes) and reducing meals isnt the correct way to lose weight. I have 6 small meals a day and have lost a lot of weight so far. :smile:


Yeah, food doesn't necessarily need to be involved with losing weight. :smile:
Just a tip that works for me but of course, there are far better and easier ways to do it. Like excersise for example.
Reply 8
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Thomazo
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Original post by Fermion.
Eating "less" (unless you're talking about portion sizes) and reducing meals isnt the correct way to lose weight. I have 6 small meals a day and have lost a lot of weight so far. :smile:

Reducing meals is the exact way you should be preferring. Having less meals and doing intermittent fasting, that is having longer windows without eating will make your body used to beaing in the fasted state so you won't get hungry as easily, making weight loss easier.

Of course, 6 smaller meals works as well. After all, the only thing that matters in the grand scheme of things is eating less than you consume. But reducing meals as opposed to eating more meals, but smaller portions, will make that easier as you can still eat a decent amount on your meals.

The "you need to eat 6 meals a day to stay healthy, especially you cannot skip breakfast" is a myth based on outdated information. I mean it's not bad for you to eat more meals, but it's certainly not especially beneficial.
Reply 9
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Thomazo
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The only tip there is is that you need to eat less than you consume. That's it. Find whatever way that makes it easy for you to achieve that, then stick to it.

Please avoid processed foods and foods that are high on sugar as they are extremely calorie dense and offer little in terms of nutrition per the energy you get from them. Also, beyond losing weight, eating sugar in excess is the worst thing you can do for your health.
Original post by Thomazo
Reducing meals is the exact way you should be preferring. Having less meals and doing intermittent fasting, that is having longer windows without eating will make your body used to beaing in the fasted state so you won't get hungry as easily, making weight loss easier.

Of course, 6 smaller meals works as well. After all, the only thing that matters in the grand scheme of things is eating less than you consume. But reducing meals as opposed to eating more meals, but smaller portions, will make that easier as you can still eat a decent amount on your meals.

The "you need to eat 6 meals a day to stay healthy, especially you cannot skip breakfast" is a myth based on outdated information. I mean it's not bad for you to eat more meals, but it's certainly not especially beneficial.


Eating one meal a day isnt a correct method of losing weight, nobody should be starving themselves.
Original post by ClearSky
Yeah, food doesn't necessarily need to be involved with losing weight. :smile:
Just a tip that works for me but of course, there are far better and easier ways to do it. Like excersise for example.

You're clueless, food is the absolute number one factor to consider with weight loss.

It's about calories in calories out(ok maybe technically it's not that simple, but by and large we can treat your body as a calorie machine). The following is a simplification.

Calories in:

-Eating food

Calories out:

-Your basal metabolic rate(the amoumt of energy required to keep your body running)
-exercise


Let's say your basal metabolic rate is 2000kcal/day. If you eat less than 2000 calories a day, you will lose weight and that's a physiological fact, even if you sit on your ass all day.

Now, obviously in practice it's a lot more practical to add exercise in which will allow you to either eat slightly more and be more comfortable and/or lose weight quicker. But the calories burned from exercise are negligible compared to the calories gained from food and burned by your BMR. You might burn 200-300 calories during a jog, then eat a mars bar and gain those same200-300 calories backEven though, yes, techincally you could eat bullwank all day and then run a marathon every day and still lose weight, but in practice that's not feasible.

Bottom line is you need to eat right, then add in some exercise to make the process essier and quicker.

Disclaimer: I'm only talking about exercise as regards losing weight. The benefits of exercise OTHER THAN the ones related to weight loss are monumental, which is why exercise is the single best thing you can do for your body. However, that was not the focus of this post.
Original post by Fermion.
Eating one meal a day isnt a correct method of losing weight, nobody should be starving themselves.

Smh.

1. No one mentioned one meal a day. However, eating once a day is completely fine, for reasons stated in my post.

2. You clearly did not read my post. My point was that eating less meals will make you less hungry and thus LESS likely to be starving.

3. In the subject of eating once a day specifically, although my post had no mention it: https://youtu.be/PKfR6bAXr-c
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by Fermion.
Eating one meal a day isnt a correct method of losing weight, nobody should be starving themselves.


Eating one meal a day is completely fine if it suits somebody's schedule, motivation and goals. The problem is that many people would struggle to eat enough calories with enough nutrients in one meal for that to be viable medium to long term so they end up bingeing. People shouldn't be starving themselves - and I agree that most people eating one meal a day are probably not doing it because they enjoy it - but the meal frequency itself is not going to be a strongly limiting factor for weight loss.

There is no 'correct' method of weight loss, or indeed fat loss which is generally what people (hopefully) mean. Some methods are more correct than others certainly, but just because the established orthodoxy creates identikit paths to success does not mean that they are the best, or even necessarily very good. You only need to look at the history of dietary advice from established bodies to understand the folly of accepting wholesale what essentially amounts to dogma.

It's great you have found what works for you, genuinely. By all means tell others your methods and perhaps they can be successful too. However, be mindful that there are many ways to skin this particular cat. :smile:
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by Fermion.
Eating "less" (unless you're talking about portion sizes) and reducing meals isnt the correct way to lose weight. I have 6 small meals a day and have lost a lot of weight so far. :smile:


Not everyone can fit 6 small meals into their schedule.
OP its just calories in vs calories out. Eat healthier and exercise
Find your TDEE (google) and eat 500 less than that per day to lose about 1lb a week.

You don't necessarily have to change the food you eat, you just literally need to eat less and that is all - you don't even technically need to do exercise (unless 500 less than your TDEE would take you below 1,100 calories in which case you'll need to eat at least 1,100 calories and then get down to 500 total less by exercising and burning enough calories off).

source; lost over 2 stone before just by eating less and counting calories.
Original post by Fermion.
Start off by cutting down your portions. Make half of your plate salad/vegetables and have a portion of protein the size of your palm and a portion of carb the size of you fist.

Cut out sugar, fizzy drinks, and junk food. Make sure you have one day as a cheat day where you can eat what you want.

Salads can be nice. Crumble some low fat feta cheese over your salad. Throw in some pomegranate seeds and chickpeas. Add in chicken or salmon. Avoid salad dressings though.

Most importantly, exercise.

No
Original post by ByronicHero
Eating one meal a day is completely fine if it suits somebody's schedule, motivation and goals. The problem is that many people would struggle to eat enough calories with enough nutrients in one meal for that to be viable medium to long term so they end up bingeing. People shouldn't be starving themselves - and I agree that most people eating one meal a day are probably not doing it because they enjoy it - but the meal frequency itself is not going to be a strongly limiting factor for weight loss.

There is no 'correct' method of weight loss, or indeed fat loss which is generally what people (hopefully) mean. Some methods are more correct than others certainly, but just because the established orthodoxy creates identikit paths to success does not mean that they are the best, or even necessarily very good. You only need to look at the history of dietary advice from established bodies to understand the folly of accepting wholesale what essentially amounts to dogma.

It's great you have found what works for you, genuinely. By all means tell others your methods and perhaps they can be successful too. However, be mindful that there are many ways to skin this particular cat. :smile:


One meal a day surely doesn't have all the nutrients and calories you need? You would be losing weight at a crazy fast rate which isn't healthy. When said person starts to eat back to 3 meals a day they will start gaining the weight they lost. I'm not forcing anyone to use my way, people can starve themselves if they want but eating one meal in my books isn't healthy when you compare it to the amount of calories you should be eating each day.

Original post by loveleest
Not everyone can fit 6 small meals into their schedule.


Lol, alright, you can have three then as you normally would. I wake up at 7am everyday so it works for me. I count snacks as a meal.
Original post by Fermion.
One meal a day surely doesn't have all the nutrients and calories you need? You would be losing weight at a crazy fast rate which isn't healthy. When said person starts to eat back to 3 meals a day they will start gaining the weight they lost. I'm not forcing anyone to use my way, people can starve themselves if they want but eating one meal in my books isn't healthy when you compare it to the amount of calories you should be eating each day.


It depends on the size of the meal. A person with a large appetite could, and would thus not necessarily lose 'weight at a crazy fast rate'; there are a number of protocols involving eating only one meal a day (some flavours of IF, Warrior etc.) that many thousands of people follow with great success.

The mistake you are making is necessarily conflating meal frequency with total caloric intake. There is a correlation there somewhere of course, but your example does not hold in general.

What is healthy 'in your books' is great if it is helping you make progress towards your goals but it is just one way - one way that will not work for many people for all sorts of reasons. All sorts of things which no doubt sound crazy to you work extremely well for fat loss, but it doesn't make them universally applicable. Take a look at Gironda's steak and eggs diet, for example.

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