Weight Watchers

[Allsinging]

Merry Christmas everyone! So how are we all doing???

I’ve been quite healthy just a Frankie & Bennies after the cinema on Boxing Day so really happy with myself.

Looking forward to the next instalments TheyCallMeMrGlass

[Diane65]

I'm ashamed to say I've been dreadful and instead of having 8lbs to go I've now got 12lbs I did too much socializing in December and loved it but I too am ready for Mr Motivators next instalment
I am ready to get back in order, I did do a 3 mile walk yesterday as I was becoming a bit of a slob over the past week eating, watching films constantly. Just of now to have my hair highlighted, part of the new non slob me
I'm impressed with Allsinging you are inspirational
Hope everyones had a good Christmas, back to work tomorrow

[valda]

I think I've got faulty scales! Sadly I saw the result of a month of eating uncontrollably. I put on a pair of trousers, which finally showed how much I'd piled on -I could do them up but wouldn't be able to wear them with comfort and decency So this morning I weighed myself and I've put on 11 pounds. So what did I do? I ate a pork pie

It was the shake up call I needed. DEspite my combat classes being off for another week, I'm going to try and drag myself down there for some sort of exercise, if the weather ever clears up.

PS the rest of the pork pies are in the bin. The sweets are being kept as I can take a few to the cinema in a little bag

[Ms Thrifty]

Reading these posts makes me jolly glad I don't have scales. For years I would weigh myself every day and stress about it, so in the end I threw my scales away - it was the only way for me to stop focusing on my actual weight and think about other things, like whether I was eating well and staying active. But I am not knocking weigh-ins for those who find them helpful - it just didn't work for me.

[valda]

I try not to obsess over the scales, but after not weighing myself for a month, and scoffing really high fat foods and nothing that could be called healthy, I had to give myself a wake up call. NOw lets see if I can limit it to once a week, and get back in the exercise, eat healthily mode

[Allsinging]

Reading these posts makes me jolly glad I don't have scales. For years I would weigh myself every day and stress about it, so in the end I threw my scales away - it was the only way for me to stop focusing on my actual weight and think about other things, like whether I was eating well and staying active. But I am not knocking weigh-ins for those who find them helpful - it just didn't work for me.

I did the same and threw the scales out a couple of years ago now, its not how much i weigh just that i'm healther, fitter and aim to drop a clothes size this year...opps correction I will drop a clothes size this year ...and I will get through the New Year without binge eating

Don't worry Diane65 and valda we'll all get there together

[TheyCallMeMrGlass]

Hey guys, hope you all head a great Christmas! I did but had to spend so much time with relatives I havent had much time to chill in this forum. Whats all this talk of throwing away your scales! Dont run away from the truth, embrace it and do something about it :) OK, its true, you dont need them but it helps if you want to monitor your progress to reach your goal. Ideally, get a body fat scales or a tape measure to measure your waist, hips, etc - there's a product called Myotape which snaps to your body for more accurate measurements. I just ordered it from Amazon myself so not sure of its effectiveness yet. I did receive the Skinfold caliper but its bloody hard to grab my skin and get proper measurements. Apparantly, it works better with a lower body fat percentage than what I have...hmmm dissapointed. I know you might be thinking I am b*ying too many gadgets but this whole body fat loss project has become a hobby now so I want to check out these methods. Oh and it is also true that you can get a little too obsessive with weighing yourself. Do it every 4 days or weekly. Dont do it everyday, because the daily fluctuations wont make sense but a weekly reading will give a better picture.

Only one person has asked me for my weight loss spreadsheet so far. I've it tweaked it for both Male and Female species and made it as user friendly as possible so if any wants me email it to them, let me know! It allows you to record your daily food consumption, calculate your target calories, monitor your fat loss progress using the well established formulas. Its simple to use but gives you all the information you need for now.

OK, reading the recent posts suggests everyone had a nice Christmas but couldnt quite resist the odd pies or so! Me neither but I did keep it to a minimum and played some Playstation Eyetoy and Wii games to get some cardio in. Allsinging, way to go, great discipline! Diane65, your body might be getting too used to those walks, perhaps you can convert them into jogs or fast walks? Just a thought.

Valda, wow, you threw the evil pork pies in the bin? What guts. Brill. Since you go Combat class, I assume you are a member of the gym? How about getting a program to complement your classes?

Dont worry about the odd few pounds put on. Lets just work on getting them off again and getting back on track :) And dont forget about reciting your goals

Also, within the next couple of weeks, most gyms would be offering their best prices of the year as they know that many people's New Year resolution is to lose weight and competition to gain customers will be at its highest. If you not already a member of a gym, you might want to check out their offers.

So to continue the fat loss book review, I want to cover the initial stage of determining your daily calorie budget as recommended by the book.

You first need to determine what calories you need to consume to maintain your weight. Knowing this, you can then calculate a suitable daily calorie deficit to lose body fat within your target date and at a realistic and healthy rate. Do not target your weight loss of more than 2lbs a week otherwise you will likely be losing muscle instead of body fat.

The formula to use is as follows:

Katch-McArdle formula (considered the most accurate and is for both Male and Female)

370+(21.6*(weight_in_lb/2.2*(1-BodyFat%*0.01))) X Activitiy Level Multiplier

where Activity Level Multiplier is one of the following:

1.2 -sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job)
1.375 -Light exercise (light exercise/sports 1-3 days / week)
1.55 -Moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week)
1.725 -Very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/week)

There is another formula called the Harris-Benedict which has a separate formula for Male and Female,

There are different ways of measuring body fat but the book recommends using skin caliper. Well that didnt work for me as I mentioned above, so I continue to use an Omron Bodyfat scales but I also compare the scales results with body measurement formulas. The important thing is what ever you choose, stick to it for the sake of consistency in monitoring your progress and and reviewing your new maintenance level every month. My spreadsheet can come in useful here.

Once you have your maintenance level, go ahead and start counting your calories with my spreadsheet or your own. record everything, dont even miss the oil put into your pan, they all count. Every glass of juice.

Summary tips from book. Drink lots of water. Helps digestion and cravings.
Eat 6 meals a day or as close to it as possible.
With each meal, balance your protein, carbs and fat in a ratio of 50% carb, 30% Protein, $20 fat. Every one has a different a unique body type in how it responds to foods and some people want to gain weight, not lose. The above ratio is a good start and further down the track, this ratio can be adjusted according to our progress.

There is so much more to elaborate on regards to the food but we can get started with the above.

Next post will be on the cardio and weights program! Did you know, doing weights is absolutely essential for burning fat?

[TheyCallMeMrGlass]

A little optimism...

[Allsinging]

A little optimism...

Love it ...i've always said i'd like to have been taller

I'll pm for the spreadsheet

[jmd1983]

Hi everyone!

I am delighted with my progress. Have not been great over Christmas, eaten quite a lot and some unhealthy things as well. But tried to go for some walks and keep up some pilates exercises and lo and behold....I have lost 1lb! So I haven't gained anything!

My OH gave me a Wii fit for Christmas so today we both put our height, weight and goals into it. I am a healthy weight, but only just so we'll be doing our Wii exercises from now on!