Health & Family Diets Don't Work

I would say 80% diet 20% exercise in importance. What you put in your mouth is far more important.

 

I tried this but it's not sustainable for me, lose weight quickly, but once again put it back on. My end goal is to lose 10 kg, slow and steady Lost 2.4 kg so far, but more important I am not starving myself, which has always been the norm, no more,

This is in part why I started this thread, don't diet

Thanks

MTR

 

True to an extent. I love what weight training does to my 45 year old body cause without it I would be a mess and not like what I see in the mirror, plus it keeps your bones and muscles strong rather than atrophy.

Average male loses 1% of muscle mass per year post 30 so a sedentary 60 year old will have 30% less muscle and which will be replaced by fat and some. No thanks, not for me

 

Great.
My partner has lost around 18 kg, has taken 2 years, slow and steady, he is into golf and bike riding, this has definitely helped. Amazing no more beer gut, and looks much younger, not to mentioned he feels great.

MTR

 

First sentence sums up exactly what is wrong with going on a diet. It conjours up the idea that you will lose weight, but then go off the diet and back to your former eating habits, which is exactly what caused the problem in the first place!

Second sentence is what to do. Make slow but permanent changes.

Give up sugar in coffee. Drink water instead of soft drink. Smaller portions - even if you are eating correctly, many people simply eat too much. And so on....

Increase your exercise. Walk or gym with a friend. If you do 3 sessions a week, increase it to 4, then to 5.

Aim for a slow but sure weight loss. And be aware there will be the social occasions when you may toss the whole idea out the window - after all, life happens. But jump back on the wagon as quickly as possible.

Marg
Soon to go off on a cruise, and thankful there aren't scales in staterooms!!

 

So true.

OK.... the Cruise, this is when you toss it out the window, because it is one Food Feast, enjoy and worry about it when you get back.

 

Whilst I am only 27 and have never felt the need to diet I have always been very active and healthy and I tend to agree with you somewhat that diets do not work.

As long as you eat healthily and exercise (really not that hard lets be honest) then you shouldnt really have that many issues. The main problem is HABIT. Once you have a habit of eating healthily and exercising daily then you come to realise you feel awful if you do eat junk food or dont exercise.

For me its simple, when I go to the supermarkets I dont go down the snack food aisles and wont buy anything like that, therefor I dont eat it. Instead I cut up carrots, capsicums, broccoli, beans etc and have them as snacks with tuna, eggs and muesli bars (not great). I drink bulk water and let myself have a juice each day (again not great).

When we go out to dinner I am social and drink and order what I want. I drink almost every night at home - my main problem stopping me becoming leaner.

Again I realise im only 27...

 

happy to have you back MTR

 

My thoughts exactly!

Luckily I have a very basic eating plan that I go to after events like this. Even if I put on a couple of kilos I know I can lose it relatively quickly.
Marg

 

I think your right, I have 2 daughters both in their twenties and they have never had weight issues because they follow/practice your line of thinking.

 

At 27 I could eat anything and everything I liked and never put on weight.

Sadly, as we get older our metabolism slows. And the older we get the slower it gets.

Enjoy your 20s and 30s!!
Marg

 

I guess it depends on your goals and what motivates you.
I always wanted to have a lean and muscular body.
Training purely for aesthetics by doing bodybuilding style workouts never worked for me after a dozen or so attempts.
Now I train for performance, I'm as lean as I've ever been in my adult life and that's after 40 too.
If your reasons and motivation is meaningful, everything else will fall into place naturally.

 

Absolutely.... am I am not aiming for this type of body, how does she get into a pair of jeans

 

Photo shop them on, just like the body.

 

that's a relief

 

I think diets do work, if you take them for what they really are. They are only a short-term eating plan to reach a goal weight. So what happens when you reach your goal? .... ....

I think the problem is that goals are often misguided. For most people, the desire is really to become leaner and feel better on a permanent basis. If you can find a way to do that, do you really care about how much you weigh or what you eat?

Last year I used intermittent fasting to lose weight and maintain about half of that loss. 2 months ago I decided I'd had enough of feeling blah all the time, so I made some changes.

1. Prioritise sleep over everything else. Apparently I'm not superman and 4-5hrs is not enough, I need at least 7.

2. Eat what ever I want, but keep an eye on calorie intake (I started using Easy Diet Diary app for iphone). I eat cake, icecream, burgers, pizza, dark chocolate, bacon & eggs for breakfast etc. I just have less of them.

3. I still fast once or twice a week, no more than that. I find it really easy, just have black coffee when the hunger pangs start, and drink lots of water.

4. 15min of bodyweight circuit training once or twice a week.

That's it.

I feel much better already, there's no guilt about eating, and if I don't feel like exercising or whatever, then I don't. That's my system and it works for me.

Find a system that works for you and keep doing it.. kinda like investing right??

 

Definitely an age thing... I never had any issues with weight gain till about 5 years ago and went on my first cruise... I was the same weight as I was since leaving high school for about 15 years?
Luckily I still don't have a huge weight issue.
Did a body scan test at the age of 36 and it said I had a body of a 21 year old.

I lead a fairly active lifestyle and I think having an asian heritage might help too...

 

wow 15 years younger nice

 

This is such a good challenge. Everyone is doing it their own way but doing it altogether. No way have I been an angel on this - have had plenty of chocolate, chips, biscuits and bread. But have been motivated to return to a way of eating that I enjoy - cooking my own food instead of buying hot chips every day, 3 meals a day instead of skipping meals and then polishing off a jar of bickies, eating tubs of icecream, etc.
Because I was slim and fit for so long, a part of me thinks that I can eat whatever I want and always be like that. Sometimes I rebel when I am confronted with the prospect of putting some effort into looking after my body. Then when I do it, I wonder how I ever got so off track.
I was caffeine, wheat and sugar free for 10 years and it wasn't that hard. Frees up a lot of other yummy options. I'm enjoying taking a more relaxed approach with this challenge.
I'm accountable but still in if I don't stick to my plan.