So today was a slightly different day for me. Just curious if anyone here has experience with it. Not going to lie I probably over reacted a tad but here goes. I was working from home, door goes, yet another delivery. Cool, its Xmas, the missus gets everyone's stuff online. 2 mins later she calls me asking if something was delivered, asks me to open it and place it in the fridge. Ok. Very odd but sure, started reading it. She signed up to boots online and got a drug called mounjaro. Honestly I'm lost over it, initially I was angry that the never mentioned it, then worried when I looked it up, I'm not goanna lie weight loss isn't a think i think about too often, even as a heavy guy, nor look into all that much, but not once have I ever thought to take some form of drug, never mind an injectable to loose weight, I didn't know this sort of thing even existed. Im still kinda shocked she didnt tell me anything about it. Looking at it i see all the "benefits" it gives with rapid weight loss, but that list of side effects has me kinda on edge, this surely isnt healthy ?, is this the new norm and im missing something ?
Ah the miracle drug, I know about 5 people on it and they haven’t really had any bad side effects, rapid weight loss, my dad weighed 18 stone now weighs less than me and I’m 98kgs. I was going to jump on it but in the end decided not to because it definitely doesn’t discriminate between muscle and fat, it rips everything off (even if you train while using it, despite what the ads say), if you’re very large you might have some loose skin. The thing to remember is it really curbs your appetite big time, so while you’re on it food just isn’t an issue anymore, however, when you do come off and your appetite comes back… back to step 1, so just watch out for that, this is indeed the new norm, everyone seems to be on it. [NSFW] Update still fighting with that bottom belly layer of fat, need to get lean!! Spoiler Cheat meals generally are like this... 3 times a week and then these 4x a day.
Good Progress there mate, I just dont have the will power to concentrate on stuff just now. Thanks for the input on the injectables, still not something im willing to try, me and the missus are rather large, around 20-22st, defo not our best state nor healthiest, shes been told that working out and drinking and eating alot of protein should lessen the muscle loss. States doctor and multiple articles, but i guess time will tell. Keep up your good work
Effing brilliant progress folks! I've started what feels like the 163rd attempt to lose some weight. I'm about 4kg down so far with a target of losing 30kg this year.
Tiny update. Well depends on your definition of tiny I've officially lost 31.5% of myself over the last three years
Some amazing progress in this thread folks - keep it up! I've managed to maintain a pretty healthy 88kg body weight for several weeks now, with a tad bit of gain over the festive period (to be expected). I went on an aggressive almost-zero-carbs cut a while back and the weight just fell off me, but honestly I didn't like it much because I lacked energy, was weak (lost a lot of my strength at the gym) and was constantly tired. I'm back to a more "moderate" diet which allows me to enjoy a little carbs with some meals, and as a bonus I'm smashing all my strength goals too. I went bouldering for the first time ever and thoroughly enjoyed it, and dayum is it a change from dumbbells and barbells. I'm much too heavy to be good at it, but I'll probably go once every few weeks just because it's a lot of fun.
Diets gone to crap, gyms gone to crap, but here we are today. See that bone sticking out under my chest? Really really really annoys me!
Finally 1 stone down , took a few months, switched to sugar free monster, same with fizzy stuff, moved more towards squash, kicked weekday drinking, so occasional weekend only. down to 18st 10, which is the lowest ive been in about 5 years, so im calling that a win
So how's everyone's weight loss / fat loss journey going? It's been a couple of months and I've found this thread super helpful at times, especially when it comes to motivation, so I'd rather it didn't die! My weight has been OK-ish for several months now, although I didn't like to admit that I was carrying a lot of unnecessary chub around my waist, and my diet was poor. I was hovering at a little under 90kg and my waist had settled at around 38 inches, which is still close to "danger" territory for a guy in his early forties, so a couple of months ago I decided I'd do something about it. Why? Well, to be honest it was this youtube video that really made me get off my arse and make some serious changes to my routine and my diet. I'm already an active guy, but not an athlete by any means. So, I gave myself one simple goal: get my waist down to 34 inches within two months, which would put me in the ballpark of around 15% body fat. How would I do this? Aggressive dieting by counting calories, starting with a manageable deficit and working towards something a lot more strict. It looked like this: Week 1: 2,000 cals per day Week 2: 1,900 cals per day Week 3: 1,800 cals per day Week 4: 1,700 cals per day Week 5: 1,600 cals per day (I planned to remain at this deficit for however long it took) The fifth week was TOUGH. I was hungry all the time, and I was a bit cranky and irritable... but by then I had already established a good routine of set meal times, and I was able to stick to it. Much to my own surprise, I smashed my target after just five weeks of consistent dieting and exercise: four inches down on the waist, and body weight down from 88kg to 81.5kg. Some notes: 1) I ate A LOT of protein, which accounted for roughly half of my macro intake (at least 150g of protein per day). Latterly I chose to cut out eggs because of the high fat content. 2) I didn't change my training to align with my goal of "leaning out" - in fact, I trained even harder with low volume, high intensity sets, and I managed to set a couple of PRs. 3) I didn't incorporate excessive cardio like some people suggest you "ought" to do in order to lose weight. I walked every day, maybe 3 miles, and occasionally went for a short run (never more than 20 mins, slow pace). It's been months since I used the rowing machine, and I don't miss it. 4) I found cutting back on fats a lot easier than cutting back on carbs, so this was definitely not a keto diet! Sadly this meant things like cheese, full-fat milk, and chocolate had to be sacrificed in the latter stages of the diet. 5) I weighed / measured ALL my food - even the milk in my coffee. I've seen people "guess" their calorie intake, which just does not work. I was astonished at how many calories are in a single pizza (around 1,100, almost my entire daily allowance). 6) I lost a fair bit of bulk across my entire body, which hit my self esteem pretty hard - my upper arms went down by about an inch, and at first I really struggled with that! 7) General wellbeing and fitness is off the charts compared to before, so I honestly cannot complain. And I'm on a clean bulk now, so... I know counting calories isn't everyone's cup of tea, but damn if you manage to consistently stay on track with your macros, you will see the results for sure and it really will improve your quality of life across the board.
Food poisoning and severe dehydration from Friday 8pm until now, 9.8lbs down. I can highly recommend!! On a more serious note, sensibly keeping the bulk of that off and working at it to drop the additional 6kg to my goal would be daft to miss out on after the suffering this weekend so I shall behave and persist.
Been taking inspiration from Eddie Abbew but not following strictly. Start of January I was 22 stone, this weekend I am 18.5 ish. Essentially I cycle to work (so long as no rain), absolutely no sugar, no breakfast. I switched to sourdough bread (only 2-3 slices a day), eat 3 boiled eggs a day, a tin of el cheapo Sainsburys soup for lunch. And then keep the evening meal as healthy as possible, not easy when you are the only one in the family battling for weight loss.
Congratulations mate! It’s an endless grind and even harder when it’s just you battling alone in the household with temptations littered everywhere! Consistency is all that matters and if you make a mistake, forget about it and jump back on the train! You’re doing amazing!
Honestly the biggest and most impressive change for me is the skipping breakfast. I feel so good in the mornings and I can comfortably hold out now until lunch time. If the hunger hits hard for some reason just eat an egg or some nuts (no fruit). I also only use Butter now and if I am frying/roasting I use Coconut oil or beef fat. Ditched all seed oils too, feta cheese is also a big hit and spinach. Theres no way I could go go without some carbs so hence the sourdough (wholemeal/Brown). I toast some up with butter to go with my Soup. I have also found I just cannot manage big portions anymore, and I do not miss desserts. I have had a few slips and if the sugar gets in I go like a wild animal hunting down anything chocolatey or cake like. Seriously sugar is as lethal as Alcohol or Tobacco, nasty stuff! Ultimately the hardest part is finding a food routine that works for you, if you can fight the hunger and win then the war is won.
^ Yeah, amen to all of the above! Sugar is horrendously moreish, and even if you're in a strict routine it's very easy to fall into the rabbit hole once you've had a little something nice. My solution for the past couple of weeks has been to weigh out a portion of whatever it is (typically peanut M&Ms) and allow myself a moderate "treat" that I can enjoy guilt-free. I find that 20g of something like this really hits the spot, goes down well with a small cup of coffee, and helps me not to go overboard with sugar cravings. But even with a strict routine, it is still a matter of self-control, which is always going to be tough. As @Weekly_Estimate says, consistency is king. If you can stick to the same pattern for weeks and months, you will indeed win the war!
I tried that for a while, but it absolutely f’s with my ADHD medication! I need to have some kind of breakfast before I take it, or the crash comes on very hard when it wears off. I did hit upon a decent recipe for protein-rich breakfast burritos, which makes for a very easy breakfast: just pop it in the air fryer for 10-15 minutes and job done. Edit: for clarity, a protein rich breakfast has been shown to “help” the effectiveness of stimulant medications for ADHD: prolongs its effectiveness, smooths out the “afternoon crash”, creates a more gradual uptake, stimulates neurotransmitter production, etc. But it’s the advance preparation that’s always the problem. Last 6 months or so, it’s just felt like my evenings and weekends have evaporated; working all day, going to my mother’s to help her with something, going to my mother in law’s to help her with something, all the normal domestic crap that piles up, jobs I need to do around the house, dinner to cook, tech stuff I need/want to sort out… The last thing I want to do is spend three hours in the kitchen doing meal prep for next week.
It's a very personal thing at the end of the day. I have tried so many times with different diets over the years but so far I feel for the first time I am on the right track. In fact it isn't really a diet so much as a reworking of my lifestyle. Another big challenge many face is finding a physical activity they enjoy. I have had treadmills, cross trainers and numerous Gym memberships but in the end I just plain got bored of it all and lost motivation. The key for me that got the ball rolling was getting the E-Bike at Christmas. I just love getting out and discovering new routes and places on the bike, and now with some weight lost I actually went swimming with the family on the weekend which 6 months ago would have been a big no no. I love swimming and being in the water so much too.
