[Bubba]

I'm currently on a regime to reverse my burgeoning fat bastard tendencies.

I'm counting calories religiously and eating about 600 less than my recommended BMR (Basic Metabolic Rate) per day.  This has worked to an extent and I'm now 9 lbs down on when I got back from holiday.

I'm also cutting down on carbs big-style, not to the extent of the Atkin's diet as that's a bit extreme and hardly healthy, but substituting veg for bread/rice, loads more fruit, lots of grilled chicken and prawns.

What else do people recommend? What's worked for you?

Do low carb diets make sense?

[Adam Lincoln]

I'm currently on a regime to reverse my burgeoning fat bastard tendencies.

I'm counting calories religiously and eating about 600 less than my recommended BMR (Basic Metabolic Rate) per day.  This has worked to an extent and I'm now 9 lbs down on when I got back from holiday.

I'm also cutting down on carbs big-style, not to the extent of the Atkin's diet as that's a bit extreme and hardly healthy, but substituting veg for bread/rice, loads more fruit, lots of grilled chicken and prawns.

What else do people recommend? What's worked for you?

Do low carb diets make sense?

A diet of pasta and pesto with cheese every night, sandwiches for dinner and cycling into work, (16 miles a week) has seem my weight tumble! Climbing better for it too!

[Avoiding the Traitor]

Brekkie - Cereal (Cheerio/Crunchy Nuts)
Lunch - Soup with Go Ahead bar
Dinner - Anything you like.

Climb 3 times a week - It worked for me as I was doing those routine last year when I was 15 stone punter and now I am proudly 11 and half stone but still am punter  :roll:

[dave]

i can't see no/low carb diets being very good in the long term personally. surely if you went on a low carb diet long term you wouldn't be able to build any muscle (i.e. get stronger) cos the body would constantly be burning off muscle for food? I'm no biologist though, so some fact would be helpfull.

You maybe should get one of those george formby grilling things, evenyone i know raves about em. you'd have to ashew all temptation to take the run-off fat and make fried bread though.

Just eat loads of brocolli -'80s style!

[Bubba]

I think no-carb is a bad idea, but I'm trying to cut out bread/rice/pasta of an evening but still have a sandwich for lunch to eat less carbs than usual, as I reckon they're one of my downfalls - I can eat bread 'til I burst.

Broccoli is really nice, especially with a bit of lemon and yesterday I rediscovered Spinach - yum! I made spinach, prawns and chilli which sounds boke but was really nice.

[dobbin]

On about brocolli - get a steamer, best £3.50 I ever spent. It actually makes vegetables taste nice!

The missus follows a diet similar to that you describe Bubs, she rates it too, although she's only about 8st anyway she still managed to loose some.

[dave]

Ahhh steamers - they are the bizzomb. last christmas soemone bought me a steamer very similar to this (but i dare say not as expensive!) which is flava cos you can take it to another level and steam so much shit at once. I wouldn't eat non-steamed brocolli really cos all the good stuff comes out of it during boiling. also another good tip is leave a fiar bit of stalk on the broc cos apparently most of the good shit is in the stalky bits.

[Bubba]

Think our rice cooker thingy doubles as a steamer so will look into it.  Hell, I might even steam me some goddam spinach tonight.

[dave]

i wish our kitchen was finished so i could cook summert, cos its either the chippy or the chinky for me tonite.

[Jim]

My diet consists of mostly spicy food and beer. At thirteen stone and increasing its easy to see that this diet doesn't work
The misses is on and off atkins at the minute. It's great atkins cos you can loose a stone in two weeks but I really enjoy bread and fried potato goodies (who doesn't) and my will power is weakened after giving up smoking 3 years ago (although I do smoke occasionaly now - maybe 10 a week tops - but not a scratch on thirty a day before that)

[Bubba]

12lbs shifted since the holiday  :D

Pleased but am worried it's a bit too quick. Feel ok though, and am not starving myself. Getting through a lot of prawns and chicken mind.

Top foods so far: Grilled chicken with artichoke hearts, and Spinach, prawns and chilli - sweet.

[(woz)]

what do you guys reckon to vitamin suppliments? i dont reckon me going on a diet is a good idea yet cos of my age. i am thinking about starting on some cod liver oil aswell...is it worth it?

[Avoiding the Traitor]

One thing I have learned about diet is if you shift weight quickly and you will gain more weight quickly too.

Take it easy, be patient.

[Bubba]

Well, don't bother dieting unless you're overweight. Check your Body Mass Index: http://nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmicalc.htm

But bear in mind that if you have a big frame, very small frame, or are very muscular, then your BMI can read higher than on those calculations and still be ok.

Vitamin supplements? I don't think they're a substitute for a well balanced healthy diet, but I've taken them for years. Can't hurt (except for your wallet).

[lleyton]

as far as no-carb making you burn off loadsa muscle, i dont rekon that's the case - protein has lots of energy so it will be used by the body instead of carbs. no so for fruit and veg tho - except things like pulses and nutz. obviously if you count potatos as veg then thats carbs innit? confusing!  :?

this summer i went to india and bouldered at hampi. really good, and i had the shitz for 6 weex. i was lookin 4wud 2 the weight loss, which did happen but then when i got home i put it all on again and was much more flabby than b4. so crash weight gain prob not a good thing if you dont feel you can sustain the new lifestyle.

[lleyton]

errr, crash weight loss.....not gain. bluddy eegit.

[Bubba]

so crash weight loss prob not a good thing if you dont feel you can sustain the new lifestyle.

Very true but really to stay light, you need to adjust your lifestyle I guess. When I reach my target weight I'm not suddenly going to start eating pies and cooked brekkys all the time, but slowly increase my calories to find a maintanence weight where I neither gain nor lose any more weight.

[Jim]

as far as no-carb making you burn off loadsa muscle, i dont rekon that's the case - protein has lots of energy so it will be used by the body instead of carbs. no so for fruit and veg tho - except things like pulses and nutz. obviously if you count potatos as veg then thats carbs innit? confusing!  :?

Fruit, pulses, nuts and potatoes are all carbs
Atkins is basically meat , fish, cheese, cream, eggs, poultry and some veg and salad

Very true but really to stay light, you need to adjust your lifestyle I guess. When I reach my target weight I'm not suddenly going to start eating pies and cooked brekkys all the time, but slowly increase my calories to find a maintanence weight where I neither gain nor lose any more weight

All sounds like too much work to me, I'm just glad I do a manual job where I can eat and drink as much as I like and don't have too worry about getting too fat (although I would like to be thinner). If I get to 14 stone, I'll start worrying then.

[Bubba]

1.5 stone gone this morning  :D

Another stone and a bit to go I reckon....

[dontfollowme]

Nice one Bubba. What problems have got lined up now you are lighter?

[Bubba]

The thing I'd really like to be able to do again is the Green Traverse at the Plantation. Back in the day before I had 8 years off, I used to do it as part of the standard circuit and it was always a good gauge to how strong I was feeling, but I've not been able to do it for years.

[Jim]

1.5 stone gone this morning  :D

:shock:
Blimmey thats some good going

[Bubba]

Just seems to be dropping off - hope it continues at this rate. I was worried that it was too fast but I feel just fine with plenty of energy, etc.

I'll probably keel over or turn diabetic or something hideous  :D

[vivahate]

you gotta strike the right balance between losing fat but still staying strong. I've been vegan for ages so i'm taking a protein suppliment in small doses to help my muscle growth but i generally survive of pasta with tomatoe stuff, marmite sandwiches and speacial K red berry cereal. in 5 months i've lost 2.5 stone.

[Bubba]

Yeah, definitely a problem if you just diet and don't train - I've been trying to to short but heavy workouts at the gym to keep my strength up and eating plenty of protein....

[vivahate]

PM JT512 ?? from rockclimbing.com forum, he's a nutritionalist type of geezer.. he knows a thing or two about it.

[dontfollowme]

xvivahatex,

Is your avatar from the film office space?

[vivahate]

was from a weird website with loads of silly stuff on it... can't remember which

i think its the cop from the beastie boys sabotage video, or at least i hope it is.

[Bubba]

I thought my diet was harsh (nearly 2 stone now....), but check this dude out:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3236118.stm

[dave]

how can he live in the land of curry but not wanna eat? thats messed up!

[Bubba]

Whoop de wooo!!! 2 stone off on the scales this morning  :D

Aiming for anonther 1/2 stone now. Think it's the very knackering indeed Muay Thai sessions that are doing it....

[dave]

ah, the old "getting weighed first thing in the morning" trick! if you wanna put 1/2 a stone on again very quickly then get weighed again at 8pm.

[Bubba]

Yeah, but I *always* weigh myself first thing so it's consistent.

I figure it's better doing first thing coz I always get up at roughly the same time and it gives your body a chance to sort itself overnight. Not sure what the official line is mind.

Having said that, weight fluctuates all the time anyway, so you've got to look at the average rather than the peaks and troughs.

[Bubba]

The other thing is that our scales are pants and weigh about 4 to 5 lbs heavier than the expensive ones at the gym, so I reckon they read a bit over anyway.

[dave]

when me mum and dad were doing weight-watchers etc they were told to get weighed in the evening at about 8pm cos that when you're at your heaviest, so gives a better indication of your weight - i find there can litterally be 1/2 a stone difference with the morining, probably due to all the moisture your body was sweated and breathed out during the night.

[Bubba]

Bastard!

Look, if I want to sleep wrapped in cling-film , turn the heating up on max, strain every last bit of poo out of my body as soon as I get up I will, ok!!

I'll see how it compares to my evening weight too.

I'm actually more worried about how much weight I've lost rather than how much I weigh. To tell you the truth it's only a yardstick anyway - it's pretty obvious when you look in the mirror whether you've got flab to lose or not, irrespective of the actual figures. For me, the scales just act as an incentive.

[hongkongstuey]

way to go Bubba - may have to pick your brains when i gets back off the honeymoon (to krabi of course) - was at the wall last night and when i was getting changed one of the local lasses - see pic below - said 'whats happened Stuart, you've got fat'

not what i wanted to hear

[Bubba]

'whats happened Stuart, you've got fat'

not what i wanted to hear

Aaaagh!  :D

Count calories, eat low fat, high protein, lowish carbs. Do lots of martial arts! That's been it so far. I think the next 1/2 stone will be much harder work now though, since nearly all of the belly has now dissapeared.

[dobbin]

I am 10.5 stone in the morning and 10.75 stone in the evening. Unless its been a big day in the chippy of course. Some days with beer and chips i can get to a sumo like 11 stone.

[Bubba]

I weighedmyself before bed last night and was about 3 to 4 pounds heavier and back to the same again this morning.

Sumo like 11 stone  :D  I've not been that weight since I was about 16!

[dave]

i think i was about just over 11 stone when i was 17, but the the following 3 years (at uni) i put onlike a stone and a quarter, purely in muscle i think from climbing - i was a skinny runt before then, shoulders got bigger i think.

[dobbin]

Are you calling me a skinny runt baldy?  :wink:

[dave]

no, skinny runt was a typo.

 :wink:  

[dobbin]

[vivahate]

reet, im 12st 6 and i would consider myself as being really heavy.. how heavy are you all??? i have always wanted to know how heavy other climbers were..??

[Jim]

I'm a svelt 13 stone, but I don't consider myself 'fat' although I'm getting a little podgy. I can get a good pinch on my stomach

[dave]

I'm 12 stone 2-7 (depends on time of day) and am about 6' 1/2", 22 years old. Brown eyes, my turn-ons include silk sheets and fine wine. One day i would like to work with children and animals. My ideal date would be a hockey match then some real ales in front of a log fire.

[vivahate]

I'm 12 stone 2-7 (depends on time of day) and am about 6' 1/2", 22 years old. Brown eyes, my turn-ons include silk sheets and fine wine. One day i would like to work with children and animals. My ideal date would be a hockey match then some real ales in front of a log fire.

you'll have the women dropping like flies

[webbo]

i thought this one needed revisting   how often do you start a diet once a year  once a week  or every morning  my average diet lasts from monday morning to tuesday evening when the missus says are you drin king tonight

[Carnage]

My diet is boring as fuck but it seems to work. I'm 6' 1" and 12.5 stone (I was 13.5 in September last year) which seems to be my fighting weight.

Weekdays:

Breakfast- 2 weetabix, 1 sliced banana & skimmed milk
Lunch - 1 cuppa soup, 4 slices brown bread & 1 apple
Dinner - Steamed Chicken/fish & shed load of steamed veg (carrots, broccoli, green beans, spinach, mushies, leeks, etc)

plus 3grms CLA afterwards.

On the weekends I eat/drink what i like (within reason).

[webbo]

mines  simi lar  cereal for breakfast  salad for lunch pasta type dishes for my evening meal then like yourself eat what i like on a weekend the trouble is that my weekend  sort of got started last night :drink:

[dobbin]

Fuck me that sounds like a healthy diet. I eat shite! (not literally)

[webbo]

my diet just got fucked again how do you say no to a free lunch of indian food