Progress so far

[chris1959]

I've been a bit quiet since my initial post but so far wait loss is going to plan. 102kg at end of November and am now 88kg so on course to reach target weight of 83kg by the end of April. I'm doing a lot of sport and am running much faster now (I did a 10km race yesterday) which is really good for my motivation. I'm 1.85m so will no longer have 'overweight' BMI when I weigh 85.3kg, so that's my next target! Should get there by the end of March. I'm running around a 1000 calorie deficit every day and so feel a little bit hungry sometimes. And I drink hardly any alcohol. I'm confident that once the weight is off, I will not put it on again, but words are cheap. Time will tell

[IndigoBlue61]

That's a lot of weight to lose chris1959

I'm glad you are enjoying the sport and improving fitness.

However, just a word of caution, although I'm sure you know what you are doing, a calorie deficit of 1000 seems quite a lot? You have been losing more than the NHS recommended amount of 1-2 lbs a week and are feeling hungry. 😕

Have you checked your bmi and target calories? I hope you are eating enough to prevent any health issues.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone]

I have to agree with IndigoBlue61 , Chris. I'm afraid you're falling into the same trap that a lot of us veteran "dieters" fell into, which is the quick fix, starvation diet. I'd like to warn you against following in our dodgy footsteps!

As you're new to "dieting", this will work, initially, but unless you're willing to live the rest of your life at a 1,000 calorie deficit and hungry, the weight will go back on! Our bodies are amazing things and soon regulate themselves to require less and less, to keep functioning. Weight loss will come from the places that it deems least important, eg muscle, which leaves you less efficient at burning calories in the future!

Take it from an old yoyo dieter, slow and steady is the way to go

This may interest you

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

[chris1959 Maintainer in reply to moreless]

I don't think this is correct. I run a 1000 calorie deficit to lose weight at 1kg per week. When I'm 83kg the deficit will end. Thank goodness!

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to chris1959]

All the best to you Chris, I'm sure everything will be hunky dory, then

[chris1959 Maintainer]

Thanks for the feedback! I think I'm OK actually. 1kg a week is 2lb and 1-2lb a week (but no more than that) seems to be OK according to many sites. And definitely not a starvation diet: I'm only occasionally hungry. And a major point is that I am doing a lot of sport. I run 5 days a week, play tennis on one day and 'rest' one day. In October last year (so pre-diet, weighing 102kg) I ran 5km in 28m20s and was exhausted. Yesterday I ran 10km in 48m25s and felt very comfortable, so I know it's working. I am leaner, faster and have much more energy than before, and certainly compared to other 57 year-olds. I do not intend to have a yo-yo diet. This is my first and last diet. My problem is that I got into bad habits and put on 3kg a year over a period of 7 years or so. These bad habits have now ended. Permanently. When the diet is over at the end of April I will be able to enjoy larger portions of what I eat now, with an occasional drink, and run 10km in 45 minutes. I think I'm in a very good place

[IndigoBlue61 in reply to chris1959]

That's reassuring chris1959 ☺ You know how you feel ☺

[chris1959 Maintainer]

I suppose I'll only know, in a year's time, if I am successful, because everyone will see if the weight stayed off or not But I think racing is a good idea because a person may kid themselves that they feel healthy, when they are not, but the time taken to do a race does not lie. If I was not improving sufficiently, then that would suggest that I was not in the best of health for some reason and the diet would need to be reviewed. Anyway, I've only got 5kg to go. After 14kg that does not seem very much

[DRS54]

Wow, that's a really great achievement and very motivating. Keep going and enjoy your running!

[chris1959 Maintainer]

Thanks! regarding motivation, I also have a bet with my grown up daughter for a 10km race in October. She can do 50 min and thought this bet would mean easy money when we made the bet last year. She's a bit shocked now and knows her only chance is a major relapse on my part. But it's not going to happen