[Offers] NSC Fitness Thread

[Weststander]

When this thread started I was carrying 20lbs of excess weight, that's over and above having a normal BMI score.

Through upping exercise (cycling and home circuit training stuff), cutting back on 'overload' foods (chocolate, crisps and ice creams) and reducing carbs, I've shed 9lbs already.

My relaxed goal is simply to have a normal BMI score within two or three months.

Throughout, I've still had some treats such as a small daily chocolate bar, occasional G&T's and we had delivered a very creamy Chicken Kurma at the weekend.

It's definitely paying off, for example I can now cycle up Snaky Hill without too much difficulty.

Dipping into this thread occasionally and seeing some great achievements, I find is an added motivation.

 

[dazzer6666]

When this thread started I was carrying 20lbs of excess weight, that's over and above having a normal BMI score.

Through upping exercise (cycling and home circuit training stuff), cutting back on 'overload' foods (chocolate, crisps and ice creams) and reducing carbs, I've shed 9lbs already.

My relaxed goal is simply to have a normal BMI score within two or three months.

Throughout, I've still had some treats such as a small daily chocolate bar, occasional G&T's and we had delivered a very creamy Chicken Kurma at the weekend.

It's definitely paying off, for example I can now cycle up Snaky Hill without too much difficulty.

Dipping into this thread occasionally and seeing some great achievements, I find is an added motivation.

Great work.......I fear distancing is sending me in the opposite direction, too much tendency to snack all the time.......got to stop it !

 

[Weststander]

Great work.......I fear distancing is sending me in the opposite direction, too much tendency to snack all the time.......got to stop it !

I can be bad at that. Not helped by a larder and fridge half full of goodies bought for our slim children.

I use plain rice cakes, apples and bananas to stave off those hunger pangs between meals in the daytime.

 

[dazzer6666]

I can be bad at that. Not helped by a larder and fridge half full of goodies bought for our slim children.

I use plain rice cakes, apples and bananas to stave off those hunger pangs between meals in the daytime.

Similar - junior has a sweet tooth so the cupboard is always full of stuff I shouldn't be eating. To be fair though, when I'm in the office it's just as bad - barely a day goes by without someone bringing in cakes, biscuits, donuts, sweets from some foreign airport they've been through etc. Our filing cabinet tops often look like a help yourself cake shop.

 

[Weststander]

Similar - junior has a sweet tooth so the cupboard is always full of stuff I shouldn't be eating. To be fair though, when I'm in the office it's just as bad - barely a day goes by without someone bringing in cakes, biscuits, donuts, sweets from some foreign airport they've been through etc. Our filing cabinet tops often look like a help yourself cake shop.

I worked in a small office for a year a while back, where the MD and the only other employee insisted on having packs of lovely biscuits on offer. Lethal, I put on a stone, having started there at a good weight.

 

[Garry Nelson's teacher]

Hilly bike ride for me today. Worthing is usually a b*stard to get out of as all roads are shockingly busy. But today I got to Portslade up to the top of Mile Oak without too much bother form traffic. (If you want hills but don't want to go off road to find them, this is a good place and a real test for a non-specialist cyclist like me.)

It also seemed to help my dodgy knee...……...but I'll know more in the morning.

 

[Mellotron]

Just a check in to see how everyone is doing with this? Will post my update later - have still been losing weight, but slowly plateauing, find it tougher the lower on the scales you go.

Keeping motivation over longer periods of time can be tough too, along with unexpected effects from this lockdown.

 

[Grombleton]

I've been absent from this thread for a while, but in the past fortnight i've changed my habits quite dramatically.

As of Sunday it'll be 2 weeks without a drop of alcohol
As of Saturday it'll be 2 weeks without any carbonated drink

I've also decreased my carbs (it's so easy to have toast for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and a loaf of bread and butter as a snack) but i've limited that to perhaps on pitta bread stuffed with salad and some meat/fish. Having my nephew stay a lot recently means i've been going on bike rides nearly daily; sometimes only 5 or so miles around the hills and woods where I live but other times 10-12 miles around the villages.
Since actually looking at the scales (for the first time in a long time) i've only lost about 3 pounds in the past few days, but i think it's more since i've been cutting back.

I feel better, have more energy and am sleeping a lot better too.

I still have long way to go to get to my real target (losing 3-4st) but i'm taking each win where I can.

 

[Mellotron]

End April update:

Update from me;

Jan

Week 1 - 16st 9lbs
Week 2 - 16st 11lbs
Week 3 - 16st 7lbs
Week 4 - 16st 8lbs

Feb

Week 5 - 16st 8lbs - started to really focus on macros from here - adjusting diet to take on more protein and less carbs...
Week 6 - 16st 4lbs
Week 7 - 16st 2lbs
Week 8 - 16st

Mar - I was unwell during March (possible COVID) and lost weight too quickly. I was barely eating and slept 12+ hours a day for about a week or so in the middle.

Week 9 - 15st 12lbs
Week 10 - 15st 7lbs
Week 11 - 15st 3lbs
Week 12 - 15st
Week 13 - 14st 11lbs

Apr - hit a bit of a plateau across April - lost motivation a little, stopped using protein shakes.

Week 14 - 14st 9lbs
Week 15 - 14st 9lbs
Week 16 - 14st 8lbs
Week 17 - 14st 7lbs

May - picked it up again and refocused my efforts. Have discovered a great area to walk in woods near my work so going for long lunch walks every day.

Week 18 - 14st 6lbs
Week 19 - 14st 4lbs
Week 20 - 14st 2lbs
Week 21 - 14st 1lb

End goal - 12st 8lbs (and a “healthy” BMI) by end of 2020. However at current rate I'm hoping to hit it around August-September.

Still a way to go but have to remember not to be too hard on myself, marathon not a sprint and all that.

Hope to see some updates from others.

 

[Garry Nelson's teacher]

End April update:

Update from me;

Jan

Week 1 - 16st 9lbs
Week 2 - 16st 11lbs
Week 3 - 16st 7lbs
Week 4 - 16st 8lbs

Feb

Week 5 - 16st 8lbs - started to really focus on macros from here - adjusting diet to take on more protein and less carbs...
Week 6 - 16st 4lbs
Week 7 - 16st 2lbs
Week 8 - 16st

Mar - I was unwell during March (possible COVID) and lost weight too quickly. I was barely eating and slept 12+ hours a day for about a week or so in the middle.

Week 9 - 15st 12lbs
Week 10 - 15st 7lbs
Week 11 - 15st 3lbs
Week 12 - 15st
Week 13 - 14st 11lbs

Apr - hit a bit of a plateau across April - lost motivation a little, stopped using protein shakes.

Week 14 - 14st 9lbs
Week 15 - 14st 9lbs
Week 16 - 14st 8lbs
Week 17 - 14st 7lbs

May - picked it up again and refocused my efforts. Have discovered a great area to walk in woods near my work so going for long lunch walks every day.

Week 18 - 14st 6lbs
Week 19 - 14st 4lbs
Week 20 - 14st 2lbs
Week 21 - 14st 1lb

End goal - 12st 8lbs (and a “healthy” BMI) by end of 2020. However at current rate I'm hoping to hit it around August-September.

Still a way to go but have to remember not to be too hard on myself, marathon not a sprint and all that.

Hope to see some updates from others.

Great stuff. Well done.

I'm by no means struggling with my weight. I was the school fatty untiI I was about 15 and since then have been OK.

I tend to visit this thread when I'm crocked from running. Apparently there are some quick and dirty ways of assessing your fitness - this is from Michael Mosley who gets a lot of air time with this sort of thing. You need no equipment, other than a chair.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05w69pq

This is another one, based on press-ups. This is used specifically as a predictor of heart disease.

https://drlivingood.com/push-ups-heart-disease-predictor/

Please do not have a heart attack while completing either of these!

 

[Mellotron]

I tend to visit this thread when I'm crocked from running. Apparently there are some quick and dirty ways of assessing your fitness - this is from Michael Mosley who gets a lot of air time with this sort of thing. You need no equipment, other than a chair.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05w69pq

This is another one, based on press-ups. This is used specifically as a predictor of heart disease.

https://drlivingood.com/push-ups-heart-disease-predictor/

Please do not have a heart attack while completing either of these!

Great, thanks. Will give these a go.

 

[Bozza]

End April update:

Update from me;

Jan

Week 1 - 16st 9lbs
Week 2 - 16st 11lbs
Week 3 - 16st 7lbs
Week 4 - 16st 8lbs

Feb

Week 5 - 16st 8lbs - started to really focus on macros from here - adjusting diet to take on more protein and less carbs...
Week 6 - 16st 4lbs
Week 7 - 16st 2lbs
Week 8 - 16st

Mar - I was unwell during March (possible COVID) and lost weight too quickly. I was barely eating and slept 12+ hours a day for about a week or so in the middle.

Week 9 - 15st 12lbs
Week 10 - 15st 7lbs
Week 11 - 15st 3lbs
Week 12 - 15st
Week 13 - 14st 11lbs

Apr - hit a bit of a plateau across April - lost motivation a little, stopped using protein shakes.

Week 14 - 14st 9lbs
Week 15 - 14st 9lbs
Week 16 - 14st 8lbs
Week 17 - 14st 7lbs

May - picked it up again and refocused my efforts. Have discovered a great area to walk in woods near my work so going for long lunch walks every day.

Week 18 - 14st 6lbs
Week 19 - 14st 4lbs
Week 20 - 14st 2lbs
Week 21 - 14st 1lb

End goal - 12st 8lbs (and a “healthy” BMI) by end of 2020. However at current rate I'm hoping to hit it around August-September.

Still a way to go but have to remember not to be too hard on myself, marathon not a sprint and all that.

Hope to see some updates from others.

Great effort, and a story not dissimilar to my own last year, where I went from 15st 10lb on the 8th January, exactly hitting my goal of 12st 10lb on 23rd July. I was doing no specific exercise at all during that, just plenty of dog walking. I cut out booze and watched what I ate more closely but I've never had a meal replacement shake and I still very much indulged in "fun food" at weekends.

Since then, I've managed to return to running and, despite the fact that I run 40+ miles most week (and walk another 60+ each week) my weight has stayed in a pretty close range of 12st 4lb - 12st 12lb, largely because I've become a bit of a pig again and I've been drinking far, far too much.

I think of 12st 10lb as my "warning weight" and every time I nudge that, I take extra care. I only weigh myself on a Monday morning, and today I was 12st 6lb. I'm going to massively cut back on the booze and also eat a bit better again. I'm not bothered about trying to lose any more weight, but I think with a slightly better diet and my current levels of activity, it should gradually drift down a few pounds.

 

[Bozza]

Still a way to go but have to remember not to be too hard on myself, marathon not a sprint and all that.

That's very much the correct approach, IMO. I set myself a target of 1.5lbs a week, knowing that I was likely to exceed that at the beginning which would give me a buffer, of sorts, when plateaus were hit.

This is how my weight loss happened:

 

[Jimmy Grimble]

Great stuff. Well done.

I'm by no means struggling with my weight. I was the school fatty untiI I was about 15 and since then have been OK.

I tend to visit this thread when I'm crocked from running. Apparently there are some quick and dirty ways of assessing your fitness - this is from Michael Mosley who gets a lot of air time with this sort of thing. You need no equipment, other than a chair.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05w69pq

This is another one, based on press-ups. This is used specifically as a predictor of heart disease.

https://drlivingood.com/push-ups-heart-disease-predictor/

Please do not have a heart attack while completing either of these!

If you are doing them correctly, 40 press-ups in one hit is actually quite hard work.

I’d say you need to be someone who already does some kind of regular strength training to achieve it. Happy to be proven wrong though!

 

[Garry Nelson's teacher]

If you are doing them correctly, 40 press-ups in one hit is actually quite hard work.

I’d say you need to be someone who already does some kind of regular strength training to achieve it. Happy to be proven wrong though!

Agreed. It would have been 'nice' (if not necessarily scientifically valid) if there had been a kind of sliding scale - and age related!

 

[Jimmy Grimble]

Agreed. It would have been 'nice' (if not necessarily scientifically valid) if there had been a kind of sliding scale - and age related!

This breaks it down a bit. As you say, not sure how scientifically valid it might be but seems reasonable:

https://physicalliving.com/how-many-pushups-should-i-be-able-to-do/

 

[Mellotron]

That's very much the correct approach, IMO. I set myself a target of 1.5lbs a week, knowing that I was likely to exceed that at the beginning which would give me a buffer, of sorts, when plateaus were hit.

This is how my weight loss happened:

View attachment 124383

Thanks for this. Can I ask how you made this chart? I’ve produced a far more basic version in excel.

 

[Mellotron]

Great effort, and a story not dissimilar to my own last year, where I went from 15st 10lb on the 8th January, exactly hitting my goal of 12st 10lb on 23rd July. I was doing no specific exercise at all during that, just plenty of dog walking. I cut out booze and watched what I ate more closely but I've never had a meal replacement shake and I still very much indulged in "fun food" at weekends.

Since then, I've managed to return to running and, despite the fact that I run 40+ miles most week (and walk another 60+ each week) my weight has stayed in a pretty close range of 12st 4lb - 12st 12lb, largely because I've become a bit of a pig again and I've been drinking far, far too much.

I think of 12st 10lb as my "warning weight" and every time I nudge that, I take extra care. I only weigh myself on a Monday morning, and today I was 12st 6lb. I'm going to massively cut back on the booze and also eat a bit better again. I'm not bothered about trying to lose any more weight, but I think with a slightly better diet and my current levels of activity, it should gradually drift down a few pounds.

I think walking is underrated - it makes you less hungry than higher intensity exercise and is great for mental health.

I think my maintenance aim once I hit 12st 8lbs will be to not go above 12st 12lbs.

 

[Bozza]

Thanks for this. Can I ask how you made this chart? I’ve produced a far more basic version in excel.

I used a Google sheet (their version of Excel), with three columns and then used the in-built Insert > Chart to put a graph in...

 

[Mellotron]

I used a Google sheet (their version of Excel), with three columns and then used the in-built Insert > Chart to put a graph in...

View attachment 124388

Perfect, thanks. Even I should be able to manage that.