Thread: Losing weight

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  1. #1
    Pandaren Monk Martyn 470's Avatar
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    Losing weight

    So basically, I used to be able to eat fast food every day and not put on a pound of weight, every day infact I did eat Takeaways.

    But since april-ish, i've noticed i've been putting on a lot of excess weight for no apparent reason.

    I'm 5 ft 8 and weight 12 stone 2 now, but I used to be barely 11 stone, I can't see the reason why i'm putting on this weight though, yes, I no longer exercise, but I can hardly see how losing 400 calories per week spending 1 hour in the gym will make a difference.


    I'm just looking for some friendly advice about how to lose the weight because to be honest, it's getting to me now, i'm starting to hate the way I look, and When I sit on a chair etc, I can feel this fat stomach there, and it disgusts me.

    I know it won't be easy, but I've got no motivation to go to a gym whatsoever, because i'm a third year university student, so I've got next to no time on my hands at all.

    I'm not looking for a quick fix here, just a managable way to lose weight effectively.

    Any tips will be very appreciated.


    Edit: apologies, I thought I had posted this in the Sports and Fitness forum, if a mod could move it I would appreciate it.
    Last edited by Martyn 470; 2012-10-10 at 10:29 PM.

  2. #2
    Void Lord Elegiac's Avatar
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    1) How old are you?

    2) Calorie in calorie out has been drawn into question. I suggest reading a book called Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It by Gary Taubes.
    Quote Originally Posted by Marjane Satrapi
    The world is not divided between East and West. You are American, I am Iranian, we don't know each other, but we talk and understand each other perfectly. The difference between you and your government is much bigger than the difference between you and me. And the difference between me and my government is much bigger than the difference between me and you. And our governments are very much the same.

  3. #3
    Pandaren Monk Martyn 470's Avatar
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    I just recently ordered that book as I heard it was pretty good and people swear by it.

    Also, i'm 20, nearly 21, been working in a bar ( but don't drink) since may-ish, if that helps at all.

  4. #4
    Void Lord Elegiac's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Martyn 470 View Post
    I just recently ordered that book as I heard it was pretty good and people swear by it.

    Also, i'm 20, nearly 21, been working in a bar ( but don't drink) since may-ish, if that helps at all.
    Hormonal changes can result in weight gain. There are a huge number of factors; try cutting down the amount of carbs and sugars you eat.
    Quote Originally Posted by Marjane Satrapi
    The world is not divided between East and West. You are American, I am Iranian, we don't know each other, but we talk and understand each other perfectly. The difference between you and your government is much bigger than the difference between you and me. And the difference between me and my government is much bigger than the difference between me and you. And our governments are very much the same.

  5. #5
    Get into healthy eating habits - have 3 meals a day, make your own food, reduce your portions, eat more veges.

    Go for daily walks/runs/whatever kind of exercise you like. Find a buddy to do it with (or your partner if you have one), keep each other accountable. Take 1 hour out of your day each day (even if you have to get up early) to do this. I personally go for a 1-2 hour walk as soon as I get home from work and go swimming if it is raining.

    It's very easy to do and you will lose weight, the only difficult part is getting in the habit.

  6. #6
    Eating healthy and with moderation is one half of the solution. You need to be active as well. Work out, go for a run/walk/bike ride, do some push ups and situps. What you dont want to do, which most girls do, is stop eating.

    Hope this helps! Good luck!

  7. #7
    Pandaren Monk Martyn 470's Avatar
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    I forgot to mention, my lunch every day i'm at university consists of twoflour tortilla wraps with a few slices of ham, filled with peppers, with a yoghurt and either an apple pie, or a fruit cup, I assume that's healthy?

    Also yeah, I like the idea of doing a daily walk, only problem is, my partner is 18 stone 7 and we're both university students up at 6:30am every day and don't get back till 7-8pm every day, and by that point, we're usually exhausted.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Martyn 470 View Post
    I forgot to mention, my lunch every day i'm at university consists of twoflour tortilla wraps with a few slices of ham, filled with peppers, with a yoghurt and either an apple pie, or a fruit cup, I assume that's healthy?

    Also yeah, I like the idea of doing a daily walk, only problem is, my partner is 18 stone 7 and we're both university students up at 6:30am every day and don't get back till 7-8pm every day, and by that point, we're usually exhausted.
    Can you fit in a walk together during a break at university? Get your partner involved in your dieting and walking as it would be good for their health too. Keeping your meals on a schedule is great, as is eating breakfast as it keeps your metabolism running.

    I'm no food expert, I do resort to looking at the calorie/contents of my food. You can look them up with calorie counting websites if there is no info available on packaging. You can roughly calculate your weight loss and plan it:

    www.calculateyourrmr.com
    This helps with letting you know how many calories you are burning in an average day.

    A single pound of fat has 3500 calories. Let's say you want to lose 10 pounds - you need a deficit of 35000 calories. If you want to lose this much over 10 weeks you would need a deficit of 3500 calories a week or 500 calories per day.

    Here is a calculator to work out how many calories you burn from your exercise: http://walking.about.com/library/cal/uccalc1.htm

    Remember that weight loss isn't a race, it's a long term commitment - as long as you are in a deficit of calories, you are slowly losing weight. Don't try to starve yourself or anything, just keep an eye on your activity vs intake.
    Last edited by nightshark; 2012-10-10 at 11:21 PM.

  9. #9
    Deleted
    I have an excellent advice for you! Probably the very thing you are looking for. You don't like to spend the time in a gym? Or waste time running? I have an excercise for you that will take you 10 minutes every two days and is much more effective in terms of fat burning than simple running. This is called HIIT - High intensity interval training. Stop reading here if you ever had any problems with your heart because as the name suggests, it is an exhaustive training.

    The could explain you how does this work for a long time but if you'll watch this video, you'll know everything you need to know.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuaKLtqL_D8

    I started with HIIT once I (same as you) started to feel my stomach when sitting. And I have to say it is super - effective, the amount of calories you burn during, but more importantly in the 48 hours after the training is simply insane. Definitely check this out, you won't be disappointed.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Didactic View Post
    1) How old are you?

    2) Calorie in calorie out has been drawn into question. I suggest reading a book called Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It by Gary Taubes.
    I don't understand how calorie in calorie out can be drawn into question.

    I've been losing weight based on the First Law of Thermodynamics. Take in fewer calories than I burn. I've lost 45 lbs so far doing it.

    Please summarize the book.

  11. #11
    Eat less calories than you burn, easy as that.

    Add some type of excercise on top of that and it will go even faster.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Wixwix View Post
    Eat less calories than you burn, easy as that.

    Add some type of excercise on top of that and it will go even faster.
    This. I got a scale that provides all sorts of information about your body. It tells me what my RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) is estimated to be. I stay under that and after 2 years I'm down 45 lbs. I'm still 25 away from my goal but I'm a HELL of a lot closer than I was.

    Oh and I did it eating Burger King. Almost exclusively Burger King.

  13. #13
    Eat less, exercise more.

    In real life much as in WoW, people worry a lot about the 5% that comprises things like supplements, macronutrient ratios,

    People will tell you otherwise, but you can't escape the laws of thermodynamics. Burn (through a combination of diet and exercise, ideally) fewer calories than your body requires everyday. But remember that dieting is really 80% diet, 20% exercise, and that's being generous towards the exercise side.

    Worry about tinkering at the margins (e.g., low-carb, using supplements, etc.) after you've got this down. Because no matter how simple people make it seem, eating below your maintenance level for calories (where you break even with energy in/energy out) is not easy. Everything your body has evolved over millennia is pushing against it. So, figure out how many calories you should consume with one of the various online calculators, eat below that, count your calories, be disciplined, record your weight week-to-week, and make adjustments every 6 weeks.

    Weight loss takes a long time. Make sure you're in it for the long haul.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by nietz View Post
    Eat less, exercise more.

    In real life much as in WoW, people worry a lot about the 5% that comprises things like supplements, macronutrient ratios,

    People will tell you otherwise, but you can't escape the laws of thermodynamics. Burn (through a combination of diet and exercise, ideally) fewer calories than your body requires everyday. But remember that dieting is really 80% diet, 20% exercise, and that's being generous towards the exercise side.

    Worry about tinkering at the margins (e.g., low-carb, using supplements, etc.) after you've got this down. Because no matter how simple people make it seem, eating below your maintenance level for calories (where you break even with energy in/energy out) is not easy. Everything your body has evolved over millennia is pushing against it. So, figure out how many calories you should consume with one of the various online calculators, eat below that, count your calories, be disciplined, record your weight week-to-week, and make adjustments every 6 weeks.

    Weight loss takes a long time. Make sure you're in it for the long haul.
    The bold part... just so much.

    Exercise sucks. You know how disheartened I was to learn that walking only burns about 125 calories per mile? 1 fucking cookie and you've gotta walk a mile to stay neutral.

    Your body burns WAY more calories just being alive than exercise does.

    Don't get me wrong, exercise is great for muscle tone and endurance. It's awful for weight loss, though.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Martyn 470 View Post
    , every day infact I did eat Takeaways.
    Sounds like your either lazy, or have no spare time to cook/buy groceries. If your on wow 12 hours a day that's probably why XD

    Anyway.. If you have the money try something like liteneasy.com.au (or an equivelant in your own country). They bag all your meals n everything every week so all you really have to do is microwave certain meals. If you've got the right foods to eat there and then, your not buying takeaway.

  16. #16
    I lost ~60 lbs just by not eating junk. You'd be surprised at how hard it is to stay above 2000/calories a day when only eating "good" meals.

    But if junkfood is in your house, you will eat it.

    Also, if you exercise you will burn more calories at rest than if you didn't exercise.
    Last edited by Lassira; 2012-10-11 at 01:51 AM.

  17. #17
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Laize View Post
    The bold part... just so much.

    Exercise sucks. You know how disheartened I was to learn that walking only burns about 125 calories per mile? 1 fucking cookie and you've gotta walk a mile to stay neutral.

    Your body burns WAY more calories just being alive than exercise does.

    Don't get me wrong, exercise is great for muscle tone and endurance. It's awful for weight loss, though.
    I've been bodybuilding for 7 years now and what you're saying is not true. If you want to lose weight in a short time consider doing HIT training. I'm the kind of person that has a really hard time gaining weight and it took me well over a year to create a diet that was right for me, a diet that allowed me to gain weight fast while maintaining the muscle building rate i was used to.

    Once i got to a good weight i had to tone it down. Losing weight is easy, losing the correct weight (Fat, and not muscle) is another story. HIT training allowed me to do this in a good pase. I had 5% body fat at one point but the ability to maintain is was rather difficult for me whilst trying to put on a good amount of muscle so i stopped losing weight and started gaining again (never above 17% bodyfat, however).

    On another note, your body adapts to what you eat. To keep a long story short, once you reach that point where you're eating bad food (read: more calories that you use / fat food) your body adapts to it and is able to slow your metabolism, therefor gaining weight quicker and it takes a long time (weeks to months) for your body to change this.

    Adapt your diet, eat less calories and eat healthy calories. The fact that you don't have time is bullshit, you're on the internet right now and i'm sure you have 30 minutes of spare time a day to work out. Use those 30 minutes for HIT training, yes you'll most likely throw up a few times and you'll wake up with muscle pain in the beginning but you get used to it. Losing weight without workout out.... that's like walking from England to China when you can take a plane, it takes that much longer.

  18. #18
    the thing is I found, whilst say.. 10 mins on a bike might burn only 200 calories for example. its doing much more then that, its making you sweat, i ts causing your heart to beat faster, your muscles are growing.. etc etc etc..

    its not ALL about calories down when it comes to exercise.

    but yes, the most simple way is calorie counting.

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Wookeh View Post
    I've been bodybuilding for 7 years now and what you're saying is not true. If you want to lose weight in a short time consider doing HIT training. I'm the kind of person that has a really hard time gaining weight and it took me well over a year to create a diet that was right for me, a diet that allowed me to gain weight fast while maintaining the muscle building rate i was used to.

    Once i got to a good weight i had to tone it down. Losing weight is easy, losing the correct weight (Fat, and not muscle) is another story. HIT training allowed me to do this in a good pase. I had 5% body fat at one point but the ability to maintain is was rather difficult for me whilst trying to put on a good amount of muscle so i stopped losing weight and started gaining again (never above 17% bodyfat, however).

    On another note, your body adapts to what you eat. To keep a long story short, once you reach that point where you're eating bad food (read: more calories that you use / fat food) your body adapts to it and is able to slow your metabolism, therefor gaining weight quicker and it takes a long time (weeks to months) for your body to change this.

    Adapt your diet, eat less calories and eat healthy calories. The fact that you don't have time is bullshit, you're on the internet right now and i'm sure you have 30 minutes of spare time a day to work out. Use those 30 minutes for HIT training, yes you'll most likely throw up a few times and you'll wake up with muscle pain in the beginning but you get used to it. Losing weight without workout out.... that's like walking from England to China when you can take a plane, it takes that much longer.
    You misunderstand. I'm just going for weight loss and want to look tone. To that end for muscle tone I do calisthenics which get me just the right amount of muscle IMO. And it's not like I'm doing it wrong. I used to weigh 275. I now weigh 227. Losing almost 50 lbs (and falling) over 2 years is pretty much the exact result I was going for. I'm aiming for 200 even (or 5% body fat, whichever. I don't know what I'd weigh at 5%.).

    I'm not looking for this to be my attitude towards weight loss/gain.


  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Laize View Post
    The bold part... just so much.

    Exercise sucks. You know how disheartened I was to learn that walking only burns about 125 calories per mile? 1 fucking cookie and you've gotta walk a mile to stay neutral.

    Your body burns WAY more calories just being alive than exercise does.

    Don't get me wrong, exercise is great for muscle tone and endurance. It's awful for weight loss, though.
    Yeah, and 125 per mile sounds like an overestimate to me, to be honest.

    Neither aerobic exercise nor anaerobic exercise burns many calories for the amount of effort you put in (this is subjective, obviously). But generally speaking, people vastly overestimate (or overassume) the number of calories they are burning through exercise, just as they underestimate how many calories they are eating. Extremely inaccurate online calculators that tell you you're burning 500 calories for walking three steps don't help, either.

    Exercise is about improving your musculature, your cardiovascular fitness, your confidence, your mental state, etc. For those, it is indispensable ... exercise keeps you focused. After waking up at 5:00 AM to do your daily jog, do you think you are more or less likely to spoil your diet? Everything is connected that way ...

    OP, read some articles at: Bodyrecomposition.com

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