[Offers] NSC Fitness Thread

I'd been slowly gaining weight over the last 5 years (about half a stone a year) until I checked myself back in Sept 2019 and realised I was 17 stone 9 pounds. My eating habits were ****ing atrocious - fast food all the time, probably doing at least 2,500-3,000 calories a day, with very little protein - all carbs and fat.

That slightly shocking revelation - and the realisation that I want to set a good example for my young son and to be active with him as much as possible, as well as wanting to extend my life expectancy to see him grow up - meant going on a health kick, which started in late 2019 but really kicked on from 1st Jan 2020 onwards.

So far I have lost just over 2 stone (nearly halfway through an overall goal of losing 5), doing the following;

1. Drink shitloads of water - has tonnes of associated benefits, helps keep you feeling full, sorts things like skin, hair, nails right out etc.

2. Walk 10,000 steps a day - there are genuine arguments to be made for walking being better than jogging for pure weight loss. This is because jogging/intense exercise can spike your Cortisol hormone which means you feel more hungry after jogging than walking.

3. Jog/Football/Badminton 2-3 times a week - fortunately I really enjoy exercise, otherwise I'd be much larger already.

4. Have more protein in your diet - You might already be good at this. Means you will feel fuller on less calories, and evens out your hormones so you aren't reliant on sugar for energy, which can also cause mood and energy swings. Too much can bung you up though, so be careful not to go too hard too early on this!

5. Intermittent Fasting - Sounds like you might have to do this anyway, given that you're looking at 800 calories a day. I now don't eat anything past around 8pm and tend not to break fast until around 11am. You will get a few days of feeling a bit hungry but your body does get used to the new routine after a while.

6. Calorie Deficit - Bit of an obvious one, but making sure less calories in than out.

7. Minimal Snacking - This was a really hard one for me, but it's totally possible to retrain your brain. We don't need to snack. We're bored and just want to. Have water instead, or at least something relatively healthy like fruit or nuts. I now crave fast/crap food far less than I did even a couple of months back.

8. Weight training - even if you're not looking to put on a load of muscle, just a bit will help swing weight loss in a positive direction, as resting muscle burns more fat than resting fat does, and you'll feel more energised generally.

9. Be patient and consistent - You won't always see the results straight away - or you may see an early weight loss (this is water weight being lost quite often) and then a plateau where it feels like you can't get past a certain point. I've had weeks where I've been certain that I've done really well, and then the scales tell another story. It's also not just about weight loss - it's body fat %, and also body composition which you can sometimes just see from looking in the mirror. It's the extra energy and better mood you'll hopefully/probably have too!

10. Good sleep! - Pointed out by a couple others. Absolutely vital for your body's processes.

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Mellotron said:

Further to [MENTION=28232]jonnyrovers[/MENTION] thread, I thought I'd set this thread up as a place for people to share tips on healthy living/eating/exercise, and to encourage and motivate each other by sharing success stories etc.

These were the things that have really helped me.



My own personal update is that I fell off the wagon badly last night, yet had still lost weight on my weigh in this morning, which is a reminder not to react too strongly (either positively or negatively) to each weigh in, a move towards a healthier body is a marathon not a sprint.

I'm not massively into "YouTubers" but there are a few channels which I find interesting/motivating, and tonnes of weight loss stories on there. In terms of healthy living channels, I enjoy Will Tennyson and Autumn Elle. Will's is quite entertaining as he tries various different challenges for a week or a month etc, and explains the results and how different diets/regimes affect mood etc.

Please feel free to share your stories, reasons why you're looking to lose the weight, etc.

YES it's a bit Mumsnet but I don't give a shit, if it helps people be healthier and happier and live longer, then it's absolutely worth it.

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Springal said:

If you are part of a gym; look at gym classes. Sounds stupid but I spent years just wandering round a gym, doing some exercises and waiting for the 45mins I set myself to run out. I decided to try a couple of gym classes and got so much more out of my fitness.

For some reason, especially younger men don't seem to do classes; even the more hardcore HIIT / Circuits / small class strength or cardio type classes. I find I get a much more intense workout knowing you can't leave the class and you are usually pushed. The obviously bonus is being outnumbered by fit women. Recently got back into spinning too as my gym has a proper spin studio, with big screen and animated 'journey' - generally burn over 500 calories in a 45 min class. Sets you up for the day well

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ForestRowSeagull said:

This is true for me. I do a class called 'GRIT Strength' three times a week (not sure what that stands for tbh) and im always absolutely shattered after the 30 mins. Always in awe of the instructors who take multiple classes a day.

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Weststander said:

As a starter, simply take brisk walks of 20 minutes or more most days, it will make a huge difference to your aerobic fitness, weight loss and shedding visceral fat. Also great for the mind.

No need to count steps, measure HR or distance.

A bike ride is a great alternative.

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Weststander said:

As a starter, simply take brisk walks of 20 minutes or more most days, it will make a huge difference to your aerobic fitness, weight loss and shedding visceral fat. Also great for the mind.

No need to count steps, measure HR or distance.

A bike ride is a great alternative.

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Tom Hark said:

My tip would be not to beat yourself up unduly over (lack of) weight loss if you're doing exercise. Fat does NOT weigh more than muscle. It weighs exactly the same, it just occupies more volume than muscle. So if the scales refuse to budge downwards, and you can feel muscle that wasn't there before, then you're swapping fat for muscle and you're doing ok

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DarrenFreemansPerm said:

I’m currently in fairly bad shape, I know what I need to do about it, but I’m just really struggling to get going. I used to play football 2-3 times a week, squash or badminton once a week, I’d lift weights and could run 10k with no hesitations, I’d also maintain a healthy diet at the same time, I was never slim but I certainly didn’t wobble as much as I do now. All of this came to a very sudden halt when my little boy was born, and since then I simply struggle to find the find the time to do any exercise, I think I’ve been jogging twice in 2 years, and as such my diet goes out of the window, almost like I punish myself. I’ve got a couple of personal reasons why I’d like to get myself sorted but I just need to light a fire under my ass and force some time.

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stewart12 said:

I've fluctuated for a long time but since becoming a Dad and all the stresses involved in that, I've been at a consistent 17 stone for a while which is pretty overweight. My wife is a vegan so we eat pretty healthily at home but I'm an absolute bell end on the snack department and binge quite a bit

been doing 'couch to 5k' for a while which is helping and I'm doing my first park run this saturday. I actually enjoy exercise so think this is the best route for me- plus finding away of avoiding the snacky whacky's

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Mellotron said:

Would be up for doing parkrun together when you move over my way? Assuming this is TS...

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dazzer6666 said:

If anyone is interested in getting started with jogging/running but doesn't know where to start, the 'Couch to 5k' programme is fantastic - it's aimed at total non-runners and gets you started in a very manageable and controlled way. Link below which explains how it works, and there are apps available that support the programme which essentially act like a personal trainer, along with various discussion forums etc. Highly recommended.

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/get-running-with-couch-to-5k/

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