Man Diet

[Glass Half Empty]

My profile has been worrying me for a while now and as I crept up to 17 stone, I'm 5 foot 11 inches tall, I decided it was now or never for the weight loss thing. Being catagorized as clinically obese is not something that sits comfortably in my mindset - it must be that fat bloke they are talking about - shit that's me.

So... last week I started a diet, target 12 stone. I found material for blokes contemplating diets a bit thin on the ground; there's loads of women-centric stuff and plenty of quasi-official medical stuff about on NHS web sites and the like but nothing that I could find that actually inspires/helps me, a middle aged bloke.

I've just invented my own simple diet, 1200 calories a day, and so far all is well, I've lost 8lbs in the first week.

However, I'm bored with what I'm eating, I'm constantly hungry and I'm dying few a few beers. Has anyone got any diet helpful hints, anecdotes etc. on how to survive a diet? I don't even know if other blokes consciously go on diets. Have I been sucked in by the female dominated diet industry when really I should just forget about it and have a beer?

[gt3]

Man Diet

It's not just calories GHE. It's got to be low fat as well. Excercise. Lots of exercise. I've losts a shed load of weight over the last 18 months or so - and haven't for one moment adjusted my beer intake.

[Glass Half Empty]

Man Diet

Yeah exercise, for years it's been a bit of dirty word for me but I guess I need to do something about it. My current level of fitness indicates that I had better start with walking.

I'm heartened to hear that drink is possible, I've had a bit of a theory over the years that if you are going to drink it's better, weight wise, to drink a fair bit every now and again rather than little and often.

This is based on the state of my bladder, after a couple of beers I need a piss every few minutes so if I keep on drinking my body is effectively taking cold beer and pissing it out at body temperature, my knowledge of school physics suggests this process needs energy and therefore the true calorie intake of the beer should actually be reduced to a net figure to take this process into account. This may of course be bollocks.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Man Diet

Thing is, and I mentioned this on another thread, I'm unconvinced exercise shifts any significant weight at all (and there are studies to suggest this). Of course I'm willing to change my mind if I read a large study in a good-quality journal.

I think personally I would reduce fat and simple carbohydrates and shift my diet towards more protein and complex carbohydrates (which might solve your appetite issues). Beer's a tricky one – not sure what the answer to that one is.

[San Bernardhinault]

Man Diet

1200 cals sounds like a tiny amount.

Exercise is great - it may not reduce weight but it certainly turns some of the lard into muscle. If you do enough exercise (and not the government prescribed 20 minutes three times a week but more like a couple of hours three times a week) it begins to bring the weight down.

I found, as a starting point, that it worked quite well creating a personal "points program" a bit like weightwatchers. But ignoring the food side of it. For each "unit" of alcohol (broadly, half of beer or glass of wine of shot of spirits) I had to walk or run a mile or cycle four miles. Even if I went quite badly overdrawn it kept me in check, meant I didn't drink so much on nights I wasn't out for a big night, and if I had a couple of heavy nights it persuaded me to drive out for a 15 mile walk in the hills on a sunny Sunday - which is something I enjoy doing anyway but just found too easy to put off.

You need to control the food, too, but a trading system for booze felt like a good way of reducing the drinking and increasing the exercise.

[San Bernardhinault]

Man Diet

Oh. And eat sushi to keep calories down. And generally cook with lots of spices to keep make bland low-cal food more interesting.

[Felicity, I guess so]

Man Diet

My weight fluctuates with the seasons, thus providing at least anecdotal evidence that exercise (cycling anyway, in my case) can have a significant effect.

I can easily eat the equivalent of 4 meals (rather than 3, and not counting hi-calorie energy drinks consumed on board) on a day when I've done a longish bike ride without putting any weight back on. You can actually feel your metabolism speeding up- even the day after you're hungrier.

Not that I'm claiming some kind of bronzed adonis status, you understand! but I have never been on an official diet of any kind, but probably weigh about 1.5 stone less than 5 years ago, just by cycling regularly when I can (i.e. weather permitting)

[hobbes]

Man Diet

I've just invented my own simple diet, 1200 calories a day, and so far all is well, I've lost 8lbs in the first week

1200 calories isn't enough. You need to consume at least 1800 or your body will become malnourished and will fight to retain the fat. Go for about 1800 calories (600 per meal) don't eat after 7-8pm and do exercise. The more you exercise, the more muscle you will have. The more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn at rest. On 1200 calories you just won't be able to exercise without fatigue and you'll risk doing yourself more injuries.
Plus as you said, you're always hungry so you're far more likely to fail.

When I was 29 I lost 4 stones in 6 months by eating well and exercising 4 times a week. I've put it all back on now, but it was dead easy really.
My big secret was to think of it this way:-
For 10 years I have eaten shit, drank with impunity, never exercised and basically treated my body like a pile of shite.
It'll take me one year of diet and exercise to sort my self out. Now while that sounds a lot, it's one day of penance for every 10 days of debauchery.
Doesn't seem so bad that way.

[Glass Half Empty]

Man Diet

I think personally I would reduce fat and simple carbohydrates and shift my diet towards more protein and complex carbohydrates (which might solve your appetite issues). Beer's a tricky one – not sure what the answer to that one is.

What is a complex carbohydrate and in what food are they found? The labelling just says carbohydrate on the things I've looked at.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Man Diet

Complex carbohydrates are things like oats, brown rice and wholewheat pasta — of course they still get broken down to sugar (all carboyhdrates are chains of sugar), but they're harder to break down and stay in your stomach longer. They'll also lead to less fluctuation in blood sugar and insulin levels.

I wouldn't advocate the Atkins Diet, but it works because it's very high in protein, which isn't a good energy source and also suppresses the appetite. So there's evidence that increasing your protein intake can be helpful.

[hobbes]

Man Diet

Complex carbs are unprocessed and simpler. They break down slower and at different rates, so instead of one big hit of sugar, you get a sustained energy burn.

So, Steer clear of processed foods. White bread, sugars, white flour etc.
Eat more grains, pulses etc. (For example a bowl of porridge made with semi-skimmed and with honey instead of sugar for breakfast, with a handful of grapes or a banana and you'll be buzzing right through until lunchtime on 500 calories. Compare that to a can of coke and a chocky bar.)

[hobbes]

Man Diet

Oh it's also worth knowing as a general rule:-

Proteins convert to amino acids
Carbohydrates convert to sugars
Sugars either burn as energy or are stored as fats

[HORN]

Man Diet

I've just come out of a meeting with a guy (my new boss, actually) who eight months ago shed 4.5 stone in the space of 10 weeks.

http://www.lighterlife.com/

It's a shock tactic, as you might have guessed, where you consume 500 calories per day, consuming just lighterlife foodstuffs.

It also aims to teach you about food, so as you progress through the diet process you identify and address problematic eating patterns, and what your trigger foods are.

Sounds good, but 500 calories a day? Fuck that.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Man Diet

Hobbes--I see where you're coming from, but it's not really borne out by studies. From what I've read:

Does calorie restriction alone lead to weight loss? Yes
Does exercise alone lead to weight loss? No

Now exercise and calorie restriction will lead to weight loss too, but I've not read anything to suggest that the exercise will increase it. The reason is that most people will compensate for exercise by eating more.

That's not to say exercise isn't a good thing, but it's influence on weight loss is overstated. For instance, here's a study of 128 obese women randomised to diet, diet plus aerobic training, diet plus strength training, and diet plus aerobic and strength training. They all lost weight, but there were no significant differences between the four groups.

[hobbes]

Man Diet

The reason is that most people will compensate for exercise by eating more.

Well, exactly. You don't eat more. You eat less. With exercise as well, it becomes more effective. Not to mention that the positive mental effects of exercise, the improved metabolic efficiency etc all help. And you know, if you burn an extra 800 calories 4 times a week and don't eat any more, then that's a day and a half's calories gone.
So yes, exercise alone won't make you thin, but it will improve your body shape, self confidence and all round health.

[San Bernardhinault]

Man Diet

And, of course, being thin and flabby is about as unpleasant as being fat and flabby. Exercise removes the flabby.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Man Diet

You don't eat more. You eat less. With exercise as well, it becomes more effective.

But that's not borne out by the studies. If that's correct, all three groups on the study I quoted should have lost more weight. However, they all lost the same amount.

[Guest]

Man Diet

Execise has got to help but its a long process. for instance i lost 5 kilos over 8 months by doing 3 half kilometre swims and 2 5k runs most weeks.

I can just about sustain that level of exercise but not any more.

I'd suggest doing some kind of regular exercise that you enjoy a bit even if its say 2 6k walks a week. Also lunchtime walks are great for cutting out the temptation for a pint.

[linus]

Man Diet

Does calorie restriction alone lead to weight loss? Yes
Does exercise alone lead to weight loss? No

I'm not sure about the second statement here. One thing that must be accounted for is the fact that exercice builds muscle mass, which is pretty dense. So often times when people start to get in shape they quickly put on weight from muscle mass even as they start losing fat (at a slower pace). Your waistline will tell you more about your diet's success than your scale will, particularly at the beginning of a ne exercice/diet regimen.

GHE: a couple of beers won't hurt at all. Other than light beers (which are basically watered-down lagers), guinness actually has the lowest calorie count, about 170 cal IIRC. One a day won't hurt much.

You'll need to build into your daily routine regular exercice and stick with it. The key is to be fairly happy with your diet and exercice regimen, because you'lll have to stick with them for the long haul in order to take the weight off and keep it off. About an hour's walk a day will do. Also, try not to spend a lot of time idling when you're not working or sleeping (surfing the internet, watching TV).

[Guest]

Man Diet

excellent advice at the end there linus.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Man Diet

Well, y'know ... anecdotal evidence, common sense and that.

There's a quote from the American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine joint guidelines for physical activity and health.

"It is reasonable to assume that persons with relatively high daily energy expenditures would be less likely to gain weight over time compared with those who have low energy expenditures. So far, data to support this hypothesis is not particularly compelling."

[Uncle Ethan]

Man Diet

It is well known that people who do resistance training build up muscle which weighs more than fat.

I now go to the gym three times a week. I have muscled up enormously and my weight is the same - less fat, more muscle.

Indeed I am now the strongest obese person I know.

The impact on my problem area - a huge gut, has been minimal, but I feel much better both physically and mentally.

My problem is with a medical related appetite control issue. I even looked into stomach banding but a recent experience with infection after a minor surgical procedure have made me vary wary.

I'd certainly do the exercise though. There are far more benefits than negatives.

[Nico Rijnders]

Man Diet

Are you doing mainly weights and resistance works, ngng? It might be worth upping the cardio stuff, to help keep the weight down.

[Gerontophile]

Man Diet

and look at what your eating if it comes in a box (this is what I do for a living). NO saturated fats, otherwise, dont smoke, dont drink, and just get fit for a while... sounds stupid?

Yes. some of those nutters on TV are telling you the truth. And I will concur with the person upthread: 1200 calories are/is not enough. Hit 1800, and just eat sensibly.

Incidentally, who are you doing this for?

because if someone is saying 'you should lose weight' then, dare I say it, why would they want you in the first place?

Sorry, but, that is also true.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Man Diet

Muscle does consume more energy than fat, but it's not a big amount.

Those big figures about muscle burning calories for you when you're sitting doing nothing are bollocks mostly.