[Wykey]

1lb of fat is the equivalent of 3,500 calories.

So in base terms, if you wish to lose 1lb of fat, the difference between calorific expenditure and intake needs to be 3,500 calories - assuming all other things are equal. All other things being everything from hormone levels to humidity of your local environment.

When have you weighed yourself and precisely which foods have you been eating and when?

[bmstinton93]

I have been going to the gym fairly regularly for about 2 months now. Quite pleased with myself!

[Wykey]

I have been going to the gym fairly regularly for about 2 months now. Quite pleased with myself!

What do you do when you're in the gym? Do you have a personal trainer (or do you have a tailored regime)? Do you have someone you train with or do you train on your own? What are you trying to achieve by going to the gym and what results have you managed so far?

[bmstinton93]

Not a clue... I haven't weighed myself in years. No to a personal trainer, no to going with anyone. I just go and do whatever really.

[Wykey]

What are you trying to achieve by going to the gym and what results have you managed so far?

[bmstinton93]

Erm... I honestly don't know. I just realised I wasn't actually doing any exercise so decided I should do something...

[Wykey]

Well, I'd say doing *something* is 'ok' - but you're probably wasting more than half the time you spend in the gym if you don't either have a plan, or have a goal.

If it's general 'fitness' then cool, but you may as well do that by going for a walk a run or doing the kind of body-weight exercises you can do in the house - and saving yourself the cost of your gym membership.

[Yudster]

How about enjoying it for the sake of it? It is possible for people to just enjoy going to the gym, without an agenda beyond that. They're all barking mad of course, but it IS possible.

[Wykey]

Of course, but I was approaching the questions / observations from the perspective of the Weight Loss Group - that's all.

I've often trained without a specific goal, if for no other reason than to keep in the routine - but having a proper plan and having an actual goal makes a world of difference to what one gets out of what one puts in...

[Boboff]

I joined the Gym!

I don't want to be Obese.

Is that a plan?

20 minutes cardio, 20 weights, 45 swimming, managed it 3 times this week!

Made no difference, but I do feel better after! Going again in a minute and taking the kids to a Wet & Wild Session.... Oh I remember when that meant so much more!

To date I have lost 23 lbs since 4th Feb. Which is nice.

[Wykey]

I joined the Gym!

I don't want to be Obese.

Is that a plan?

20 minutes cardio, 20 weights, 45 swimming, managed it 3 times this week!

Made no difference, but I do feel better after! Going again in a minute and taking the kids to a Wet & Wild Session.... Oh I remember when that meant so much more!

To date I have lost 23 lbs since 4th Feb. Which is nice.

Is it a plan? Yes, and a very good one too.

The exercise has made a difference, it's just that you haven't necessarily seen it yet.

A recommendation - to be taken or left - keep a food diary.

A simple spreadsheet that details EVERYTHING you eat and the time you eat it, ie:

Food - Energy KJ - Energy Kcal - Protein - Carb - Fat - Sat Fat - Fibre - Sodium

The basic stuff you can get off the packaging it comes in (or a UK based nutrition website will also have standard Tesco/Asda/Sainsbury details on it).

Then, if you can manage it get yourself weighed every day, ideally at the same time (or within an hour of the same time) also make a note of that on the spreadsheet with the differences and total difference.

Most people would recommend not looking at your weight, and there's merit in that because you can easily be dissuaded by the natural fluctuations, but for me if you make a change to your diet or your exercise you need to know if it's working or having a detrimental effect - if you eat more asparagus for example, you could easily lose a pound of fluid a day (but obviously it's not sustainable for any length of time) and if you eat more salt and too little protein you can easily gain a pound of fluid a day.

Then it's a matter of religiously filling out the diaries and understanding the results and then making small adjustments to what you eat, when you eat it and when you exercise and over time you'll be able to see a picture of what foods you're more suited to eating and what foods you're not.

[Wykey]

That's bloody impressive boboff! I've got run number five today, the first of my new Friday runs in addition to Sundays and Wednesday. Hopefully getting an extra one in a week will help make a difference at last.

Assuming everything else you do is exactly the same from week to week, then it'll make a difference. If other things change too, then it might not.

[Wykey]

How do you know?

[Wykey]

Have you been using them at the same time of day each time?

Depending on the manufacturer of the scales, you could change by as much as 5% from measurement in the morning and then measuring again in the evening.

They'll give you a guide as long as you use them consistently

[Boboff]

I am on week 12 of logging everything I eat Wykey, I too have a spreadheet then which I can put in exercise cals as well, and it gives me a predicted weight loss/gain.

Last week I learnt the holly grail of water retention, drank min 2 litres of water a day, and cut out salt (well as much as I could) and I lost 5.6lbs!!! taking my total to to 26lbs to date.

I am fasting today actually, it does get easier. Gym too later for my little routine!

My BMI after that last loss was 30.9, so I am motivated to go on and get to the point <30 where I can say I am no longer Obese!!!!!

I think that would be nice.

[Yudster]

I tend to weigh myself once a fortnight at the most - mainly because I want to see a difference when I step on the scales, and that isn't going to happen if I do it every day. If I weigh myself every day I get depressed, which means ice cream.

[Wykey]

Always weigh myself when I get up, after my shower and before breakfast so it should be fairly consistent. It doesn't tend to change as much as 5% anyway. I'm not expecting them to be accurate, I'm just using them to monitor some improvement (hopefully!).

The only problem with them is, they actually measure the electrical conductivity of your body, which is basically you're hydration level - rather than the actual amount of fat in your body - so as you say, as long as you're consistent with when you use them and using them top monitor change, they're ok.

[Wykey]

I am on week 12 of logging everything I eat Wykey, I too have a spreadheet then which I can put in exercise cals as well, and it gives me a predicted weight loss/gain.

Last week I learnt the holly grail of water retention, drank min 2 litres of water a day, and cut out salt (well as much as I could) and I lost 5.6lbs!!! taking my total to to 26lbs to date.

I am fasting today actually, it does get easier. Gym too later for my little routine!

Splendid effort - yeah you've got the nail on the head there, salt is an amazing water retainer - and counter-intuitively drinking lots of water helps you lose it!

When you say you're fasting, are you using a low carb/high protein diet, or are you actually not eating at all?

[Wykey]

I tend to weigh myself once a fortnight at the most - mainly because I want to see a difference when I step on the scales, and that isn't going to happen if I do it every day. If I weigh myself every day I get depressed, which means ice cream.

If that works for you, then it's the right thing - I tend to find that if I'm weighing in on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, and I think I've done everything right but don't have a change or have a small change then I don't know why it's not more. Whereas if I weigh-in daily, it becomes more of a scientific experiment for me, and the fluctuations up or down are less 'emotional' if you get my drift.

[Yudster]

I do. I am a creature of obsession and ritual when I am dieting and actually I think either would work for me emotionally.

I just had a lovely nicoise-ish salad - salad leaves, sliced beetroot, tuna, anchovies, cherry tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, avocado, olives, cucumber, sweetcorn and probably some other stuff too. Could live without the sweetcorn (there was only a little bit) and the sun dried tomatoes personally. More egg too! I'll make my own next time rather than buying it off the sandwich lady.

Today officially marks the start for me of the Miss Yudster's Wedding Diet. I reckon I have a year or so!

[Wykey]

It does hydration level as well as body fat.

Does it have an 'athletic' setting?

[Wykey]

I do. I am a creature of obsession and ritual when I am dieting and actually I think either would work for me emotionally.

I just had a lovely nicoise-ish salad - salad leaves, sliced beetroot, tuna, anchovies, cherry tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, avocado, olives, cucumber, sweetcorn and probably some other stuff too. Could live without the sweetcorn (there was only a little bit) and the sun dried tomatoes personally. More egg too! I'll make my own next time rather than buying it off the sandwich lady.

Today officially marks the start for me of the Miss Yudster's Wedding Diet. I reckon I have a year or so!

You should try making your own spicy tuna pate too, it's a belting diet brekkie/light lunch with german rye bread...

[Yudster]

No bread!But I think most things can be improved by the addition of a bit of chilli.

[Boboff]

i have a Salter scale that gives 4 peoples BMI, Fat% and water %, I think the fat is derived from the water and the other stats, as lottie says it's pretty good at monitoring things like when I have been to the Gym recently the fat % does down more dramatically than the lb's, and it some how knows I have been drinking more water, and it knows that my misses is not as fat as me too!

Wykie, I have been doing the 5:2 diet thing, that was on Horizon last August, I fast for 3 days (not really you can have 600 cals) and then eat at you TDEE the rest of the time. Basically you get to be indulge every other day or so, so it doesn't feel like a massive diet, as you know tomorrow you can eat more of what you fancy. Although it is a simple in/out equation I know on Cals, this way you can mix it up a bit, plus, and I do not stand by this, but it improves your health, makes you better at managing your own insulin, and just generally makes you less dependent on food and meal times as you learn that actually 20 hours with no food is no big deal really.

Anyway, it's just a tool, and it got me going, and I am still doing it, but I am learning a bit more about eating more protein, less carbs, less salt, balancing my macro's better to get to where I want to be etc etc. * love http://www.myfitnesspal.com/
for help with tracking and advice.

My big weakness is still I enjoy a drink, but it's much better now, and I think following this WOE it should become less habitual.

Like Lootie, I too feel a bit healthier and more energetic, but would like to feel better still, still the fags don't help with that either!!

[Wykey]

No bread!But I think most things can be improved by the addition of a bit of chilli.

Some bread's ok - especially rye bread!

Chilli's great, and also an exceptional metabolism booster - it raises your core temperature (pepper does too) which means you burn more calories digesting it.

See also ice cold iced water - your body has to get it to body temperature before it can process it, meaning it uses more calories.