How to lose 20kg

[cartwright]

I'm 5'10 and 100 kg.

Sorry, I'm fasting for lent. No dairy or meats. Vegan basically.

how did the fasting go?

 

[mcgarnacle]

dust and water work well i've heard

 

[tombomb]

Thought I may as well post my story here and give a few thoughts as well.

I've always been overweight. Fluctuated between slightly overweight and very overweight for as long as I can remember.

I have tried dieting so many times, some would last a few months, some a few hours. Most were based around some kind of fasting.

Usually, if I did see some results or stick with it past a few weeks, something would happen that would trigger me to give up. Could be a comment from someone or something else like seeing myself in a photo that would make me think I wasn't making any progress and then give up. I always think of that scene from The Simpsons where Homer loses weight and is all proud and Mr Burns says he is the fattest thing he has ever scene and Homer runs off to the fridge.

Anyway, I'm around 5'8. 10 years ago, I was in the low 80kgs. A couple of years ago, I got a payout from work and was around 102kgs.

After spending a lovely time not working (until April 2021), I stood on the scales on 24 June 2021 and weighed 112.7kg. I thought, okay I need to try again and started another diet.

On Sunday, I weighed 97kgs.

I still have a long way to go but these are the key things that are working for me.

1) Getting a calorie/kj counting app
2) Weighing myself everyday to stay motivated.
3) Portion size
4) Planning ahead, knowing when I typically overeat or eat junk. This doesn't mean I don't do those things, but if I plan ahead and avoid eating junk at other times, I can look forward and enjoy them more.

 

[cartwright]

Thought I may as well post my story here and give a few thoughts as well.

I've always been overweight. Fluctuated between slightly overweight and very overweight for as long as I can remember.

I have tried dieting so many times, some would last a few months, some a few hours. Most were based around some kind of fasting.

Usually if I did see some results or stick with it past a few weeks, something would happen that would trigger me to give up. Could be a comment from someone or something else like seeing myself in a photo, that would make me think I wasn't making any progress and then give up. I always think of that scene from The Simpsons where Homer loses weight and is all proud and Mr Burns says he is the fattest thing he has ever scene and Homer runs off to the fridge.

Anyway, I'm around 5'8. 10 years ago, I was in the low 80kgs. A couple of years ago, I got a payout from work and was around 102kgs.

After spending a lovely time not working (until April 2021), I stood on the scales on 24 June 2021 and weighed 112.7kg. I thought, okay I need to try again and started another diet.

On Sunday, I weighed 97kgs.

I still have a long way to go but these are the key things that are working for me.

1) Getting a calorie/kj counting app
2) Weighing myself everyday
3) Portion size
4) Planning ahead, knowing when I typically overeat or eat junk.

sounds like a much more sustainable approach.
while fasting can get you started - changing habits is what will actually be a long term solution..

 

[tombomb]

sounds like a much more sustainable approach.
while fasting can get you started - changing habits is what will actually be a long term solution..

Fasting also makes dieting a completely unbearable experience. All day, all you think about is how hungry you are.

The most promising for me over the past few months is I haven't had to cut the things I enjoy.

 

[Xanthippus]

how did the fasting go?

I've been stuck at 95kg for a month. Cant seem to crack that hurdle.

 

[rockeyyyadav]

20kgs in 6-8 weeks? big call

Better to do it over a year.

That way you can change your lifestyle and gradually only need to lose 0.4kgs a week average.

are it is possible to loose weight 20kg ?

 

[cartwright]

I've been stuck at 95kg for a month. Cant seem to crack that hurdle.

whats a standard day like, food wise?
is that the last 5kg you want to lose?

 

[showdownhero]

fasting, was crucial in helping me lose 20kg this year

 

[Xanthippus]

whats a standard day like, food wise?
is that the last 5kg you want to lose?

no mate. want to get back to where I used to be. 78kg.

 

[Caesar]

Just wondering if anyone has any good general tips about breaking a weight-loss plateau.

I've been on a bit of a steady downwards trend for the last couple of years, just by making sensible tweaks to my diet and ratcheting up the physical activity. Progress has slowed as I've got closer to my goal, and unfortunately the last few months it has stopped entirely. I am maintaining quite well, but I am not ready to stop - I basically need to lose another 5kg to put me into a really healthy weight range.

In terms of current habits I am eating pretty clean (minimal white carbs, avoiding processed food, not overdoing the fatty/red meats), and I walk the dogs fairly vigorously for about an hour a day. I would like to up the physical activity, but I can't drop the dog walk and finding the time for the gym is proving difficult. I have tried reducing portion sizes but generally run into appetite problems. I could do both in the short term to drop the weight, but I wouldn't be confident that they are maintainable.

Does anyone have any advice? I don't really care how long the weight loss takes, I just want to make sure that any changes are something that is going to stick long-term.

 

[La Dispute]

Just wondering if anyone has any good general tips about breaking a weight-loss plateau.

I've been on a bit of a steady downwards trend for the last couple of years, just by making sensible tweaks to my diet and ratcheting up the physical activity. Progress has slowed as I've got closer to my goal, and unfortunately the last few months it has stopped entirely. I am maintaining quite well, but I am not ready to stop - I basically need to lose another 5kg to put me into a really healthy weight range.

In terms of current habits I am eating pretty clean (minimal white carbs, avoiding processed food, not overdoing the fatty/red meats), and I walk the dogs fairly vigorously for about an hour a day. I would like to up the physical activity, but I can't drop the dog walk and finding the time for the gym is proving difficult. I have tried reducing portion sizes but generally run into appetite problems. I could do both in the short term to drop the weight, but I wouldn't be confident that they are maintainable.

Does anyone have any advice? I don't really care how long the weight loss takes, I just want to make sure that any changes are something that is going to stick long-term.

Have you tried IF? Otherwise you can drop a surprising amount of weight doing slow fasted cardio in the morning.

Maybe switch the dog walk to first thing?

 

[Caesar]

Have you tried IF? Otherwise you can drop a surprising amount of weight doing slow fasted cardio in the morning.

Maybe switch the dog walk to first thing?

Thanks. I already walk the dogs before breakfast.

At the moment I fast 14-10. I have tried switching to 16-8 but struggle to make it work with my lifestyle.

 

[beez]

Seems like you're doing most things well.

Because you're pressed for time, try introducing some body weight exercises into your daily routine. Squats, lunges, planks, push ups, burpees. They are all actually pretty easy exercises to do to gradually up your progress. Done consistently over the course of a few weeks you can go from only being able to do 10 burpees to doing 30-50. Or going from being able to do a one-minute plank to a five-minute plank.

If you can find a 10 minute window to develop a routine that would be great. Or even if you just did ~10 burpees, ~5 times per day at random times (when you get up, when you're waiting for the kettle to boil, at the start/end of your dog walk), you'll get results. And you don't need to go to the gym or even put on gym attire.

The only issue is, if these exercises are done correctly and you are getting your heart rate sufficiently high, you will find yourself more hungry and will have a propensity to overeat. Even with an extra five minutes of exercise a day you will find your body craving more food.

 

[kickazz]

Getting used to feeling hungry is a big step. It comes and goes in waves, but most people are never truly 'hungry'.

If you can accommodate that feeling as part of your life that's a big step I recon. You then enjoy eating more anyway. I lost the most weight when I was:

- Fasting from 8pm to 12noon
- Occasionally, (e.g. on Saturdays) instead of eating at 12noon, I'd go for a longish slow run. At first you feel a bit 'wobbly' exercising with no glucose in the bloodstream but take it easy and you get used to it. I'm no expert but I assume I must have being drawing a lot on fat stores during those runs.
- Keep up some basic weight / resistance exercise too.

 

[Andre]

Just wondering if anyone has any good general tips about breaking a weight-loss plateau.

I've been on a bit of a steady downwards trend for the last couple of years, just by making sensible tweaks to my diet and ratcheting up the physical activity. Progress has slowed as I've got closer to my goal, and unfortunately the last few months it has stopped entirely. I am maintaining quite well, but I am not ready to stop - I basically need to lose another 5kg to put me into a really healthy weight range.

In terms of current habits I am eating pretty clean (minimal white carbs, avoiding processed food, not overdoing the fatty/red meats), and I walk the dogs fairly vigorously for about an hour a day. I would like to up the physical activity, but I can't drop the dog walk and finding the time for the gym is proving difficult. I have tried reducing portion sizes but generally run into appetite problems. I could do both in the short term to drop the weight, but I wouldn't be confident that they are maintainable.

Does anyone have any advice? I don't really care how long the weight loss takes, I just want to make sure that any changes are something that is going to stick long-term.

If you're out walking the dog, tack on a handful of 100 metre sprints at the end (dog trying to beat you optional, but likely). Run, walk back, run. Only adds a few minutes on and if you're doing it first thing it'll help ramp up your metabolism for the day.

 

[estibador]

Getting used to feeling hungry is a big step. It comes and goes in waves, but most people are never truly 'hungry'.

If you can accommodate that feeling as part of your life that's a big step I recon. You then enjoy eating more anyway.

Yeah this. About 6 weeks ago I started doing one 36 hour fast per week again. It's what I was doing back when I was in the best shape of my life and I'm aiming to get back there again.

It just gets easier and easier to handle hunger the more you do it, and it really improves my whole relationship with food. It makes me appreciate how delicious healthy food actually is.

 

[bennytheroach]

I changed what and how I eat about four weeks ago. Three big junk meals + snacks, dinner usually started cooking after 10pm and still scarfed down a pre-bedtime snack. I went cold turkey to a healthier breakfast, big salad for lunch, and healthier dinner with no snacks, and 1 cup of tea with breakfast instead of 6-8 cups.

Just wasn't hungry in the middle of the day so lunch kept getting pushed back to 4-5pm, and a couple of times 6-7pm with no dinner afterwards. That kind of became replaced by a snack around 5pm and still not really hungry when I cooked dinner about 9-10pm. So a few times I didn't bother with dinner and it didn't hurt.

A couple of days ago I started reading up on LCHF and IF and realised I'd already got most of the way there under my own steam. All I really had to do was ditch the toast under my breakfast, buy some fat and officially make it the main meal on a one-meal-a-day approach.

Previous healthy breakfast was 1 slice multigrain toast with feta, covered with a fryup of mushies and spinach, topped with an egg.

Now its mushies, spinach, capsicum, tomato, 3-4 rashers of Aussie bacon, topped with two eggs and with a chunk of feta and a whole avocado on the side.

Too much, I'm overfull so will cut that down. Yesterday was good, did the usual 1hr+ stiff walk, didn't want anything to eat until around 9-10pm and put that down to habit. Just drank some more water. Slight headache around midnight. Woke up early and energetic, quite refreshed (unusual). Felt empty but not hungry, surprisingly. Still wasn't hungry when I ventured upstairs around 10 to get another big breakfast.

Definitely need to cut the quantity down. I've got a steak sitting there for tomorrow. Looking forward to it. If I feel the same tomorrow as I did this morning, I might even push it out to see how a 30-36 hour fast affects me.

Given that I used to be dying from hunger if I didn't stuff my gob every 3-4 hours, and have never gone without food in my life, I'm amazing myself.

 

[Milpool]

You're doing a great job so far. I used IF to drop some kilos too, at the end of the day it's not magic, just another calorie restriction method but it taught me a lot about my relationship with food and the difference between hunger and cravings.

You should read 'The Resistance Training Revolution' by Sal Di Stefano. It's a good read, perfect for your goals.