Does becoming overweight set up permanent weight problems for life?

[Mudmagnetoftheworld]

Do people who’ve managed to lose a decent amount of weight, say more than a couple of stone, ever manage to maintain a healthy weight effortlessly?

Is it just a matter of changing lifestyle and attitudes to eating and exercise? Or once you’ve been overweight do you always struggle to keep it off?

After being skinny all through my childhood, teens 20’s & 30’s, I’m now pushing 50 and managed to get myself 2-3 stone overweight!

Is that it for me now? If I manage to lose it, do I need to accept I’ll have to exist on hardy any food?

@OliviaD68
Wow thanks for all that info! A lot to take in, but makes sense, just need to keep it all in mind!

I definitely prefer to eat LCHF, more filling and less addictive. I find it easier to fight the snacking urge when avoiding carbs too.
I will have play about with MFP using yesterday’s food and percentages and see if I can up the calories without upping the carbs or protein too much.

I always thought it wasn’t a good idea to eat back exercise calories? Bearing in mind they’re difficult to estimate anyway, so easy to over estimate (wishful thinking)
For instance I did a 10,000 step walk this morning and my Fitbit tells me it’s worth 1,800 cals! I would’ve guessed about 300...

@HorridHoris

There is a lot to absorb. But I find it useful to know what the main levers all do. So if I’m not in a hurry I can be more relaxed on carbs - say 80 g per day. If I want to be aggressive on weight loss I drop to 20g and see about a bigger calorie cap. Then add IF and train fasted.

Plenty of moving parts to burn belly fat.

I added back calories every time I trained and the weight still flew off. But I was v low carb.

I agree. Your Fitbit is nuts. I’d say 250 to 300 kcal for that walk. Agree with that.

Your basic two levers are carbs and calories with carbs probably being a bigger lever in your case as you’re a low carber. But experiment. And if you feel like a cheat day do it. Then get back on track.

Re calories they matter more if you want aggressive weight loss. But if you’re low carb you might get naturally satiated where you don’t need the cal cap at all. Some people do fine and lose a ton of weight without one. But they stick to lower carbs

Ok so yesterdays percentages looked like this with 1,150 calories over 2 meals.

.

Todays so far looks like this with one meal and a big snack of nuts in late afternoon slump (obviously big mistake) now 1,300 Cals before dinner!
So am I able to save today by eating a high fat dinner, although god knows what would be that high in fat, but in theory could it be saved?

83 g of carbs is about in the middle of the road. Probably too high for why you want to do.

You’re going to make mistakes. It’s ok. Nuts are v high in calories and some have carbs. But fibre too.

In your case and with your objectives in mind you should be sub 30g per day.

But play around with this number. Maybe start higher and go lower over time. What matters more is consistency. Pick a number for a few weeks and stick to it. Reassess if it’s not working.

@OliviaD68
Just to let you know, following your advice I’ve lost 2lb since the weekend! So appear to have broken my plateau.
I’m trying to up my calories a bit (cautiously) but getting a bit stumped looking for foods that are high in fat, but don’t push the carbs or proteins, or calories too high.

Yesterday I did a 13mile hill walk and really struggled for energy. I had skipped breakfast but taken with me 2 boiled eggs, 2 apples and a packet of pork scratchings. Ended up breaking into my emergency nuts and oatcakes as my legs were jelly!

@HorridHoris

That’s good news. I bet it feels good.

Not to dampen your enthusiasm but it’s likely water weight from inflammation - carbs do that and when you remove / reduce them inflammation drops and water is expelled. Make sure your mineral intake compensates esp sodium.

You were probably not in ketosis - ie burning fat - during your 13 miler. So you hit a wall as your body expected glucose to fuel the walk beyond a threshold of time. If you get into ketosis (if that’s what you want) you’ll find that like ultra marathoners the 13 miler can be done without external fuel and no dizziness etc.

Keep up the great work!

I lost 4 stones and have maintained that lost for years on 1700 calories per day (with a mininum of 10k steps walked per day). I don’t exclude any particular kind of food group, or deny myself anything. The weight loss was slow but steady.

Have you a FitBit, OP, and have your friends got one? I found getting one and friending people was a revelation into just how active my slimmer friends were on a daily basis.

Why would anyone want to get below 20% body fat though, Olivia? The OP is a) a woman and b) not a Premier League footballer. My body fat was 20% for a few years when I was 23 years old, and my BMI was 20.

I agree though not to rely on Fitbit calories, they are a bit generous.

25 to 30% body fat would be fine for the OP. Also where you carry the fat is important.

My BMI is still too high (working on it), but my waist measurement is below the diabetes higher risk measurement, body fat is in the healthy range, resting heart rate is around 50 bpm and BP 110/65. I do 5:2 - weight loss is slow but manageable and sustainable.

BMI currently 27.9, was 31.4 in December 2016.

@elfinpre

It depends on the individual. I stay away from critique of personal goals and objectives. People have their own reasons for choosing their goals.

I’m happy at 17/18% for example. Some want lower. Some want higher. Some like to be very toned. Others rounded.

So I think you should have an opinion about what works for you but need to be cautious in extrapolation of that opinion to others.

Fair comment, Olivia.

@Mudmagnetoftheworld

How are you progressing?

I came across this video which I hope can reassure you that eating more (of the right foods) will help you lose weight ...

He’s pretty blunt isn’t he?

Let me know what you think.

Hi Olivia,
I’m away this week (without scales!)
Trying to stick to plan though.
I’ll watch the clip when I get some WiFi.

I’ll let you know the results when I’m back at the end of the week.

@OliviaD68
Back after a week away and have lost another 2lb!
I’m finding it hard to balance eating enough fat with not eating too much protein.

Thanks for the video link, interesting viewing..and makes sense.
Avoiding the refined carbs takes a bit of adapting. They seem to be the base of a ‘normal’ diet.

@HorridHoris

Congrats! Glad it’s beginning to work. Hopefully you’re beginning to burn some fat now.

Remind me: are you on IF? And if so do you feel hungry when you wake or just before eating? A sign you’re burning fat for fuel is if you fast and have zero hunger pangs.

I completely agree. It’s not easy to avoid or limit carb intake given how much carby food there is around. It’s why one should consider any such changes to be lifestyle changes. It’s the organisation part that takes some work.

Whatever the case I find it’s important to regularly adjust to make sure you’re reaching whatever goals you set yourself. If you’re not losing fat quickly enough or getting fatter again then dial carbs down for a while. If you’re too lean or just sick of it dial carbs back up and have a break.

Important is to know what to dial and for how long etc.

Now wrt protein vs fats here are some ideas:

• lower carb nuts like macadamia and pecans
• avocados
• coconut nut oil. Put in coffee with single cream. You can get huge tubs at Costco. When I’m peckish I eat a spoonful and let it melt in my mouth- it’s supposed to help whiten teeth ... not researched this!
• Cook w coconut oil or goose fat
• use olive oil or avocado oil liberally
• cheese : load up! Cheddar, cream cheese, Brie etc
• any animal fat you can eat - eg bacon, marbled beef, pork chops, dark meat chicken, duck

Hope this helps. I find eating fat very pleasing but that’s just me.

Just out of curiosity where are you calorie wise now ...?

Number of meals per day incl snacks?

Thanks that’s helpful tips about types of nuts etc.
Never tried coconut oil..I’ll give that a try.

Difficult to tell re calories as I’ve been away so not tracking, just avoiding the carbs and going for more fat, as well as being conscious of portions etc.
I’m am doing IF yes, generally not eating breakfast and not hungry, today only remembered I hadn’t eaten anything at about 3ish. But wasn’t really hungry. I’ve just had a big wodge of cheese and will have dinner about 7ish. Homemade burger (no bun) with loads of toppings, egg, cheese, salsa etc with big salad and coleslaw.
Am going to push cals to about 1200 and see what happens. Before when I’ve tried this I’ve just maintened and not lost anymore.

I’d like to get at least another stone off by Xmas, ideally a stone and a half.

Sorry just realised I didn’t answer your last question.
I’m generally having 2 meals day and usually no snacks, unless I get the mid afternoon slump, so late breakfast/early lunch, then dinner.
But sometimes I have breakfast if I fancy it, then it’ll be 3 meals and definitely no snacks.

@HorridHoris

Seems you're doing everything you should be doing. And my guess is you're now burning body fat which is great.

3 meals a day not a big deal vs 2 - only thing you miss is the growth hormone and testosterone production. That is more important when / if you train hard.

My guess is going to 1200 will be just fine. 1400 even. Those are net calories right? You're adding back those from exercise too? You know the story on calories anyway. No need to be shy but it's your choice.

Most importantly: how do you feel energy-wise throughout the day? Steady energy? Any tired periods? More energy?

I’d say energy wise I’m fine for most of the day and slump a bit in the late afternoons or evenings until I’ve had dinner.
I shall cautiously increase calories as I don’t trust either my Fitbut or MFP with judging exercise calories!

Energy slump could be food calories yes or given your hesitation to up your food intake you can try

Increasing sodium. I drink broth and add some salt. Most often this does it

Take vitamin B5. This has helped me. I forget what it does or why. I can find out if you want.

Potassium seems to have a causal link. Eat an avocado a day for a while.

A spoonful of coconut oil either plain or in a coffee. Ok I know it’s more calories...

Best of luck going forward.

@HorridHoris

How is it going? Weight coming off?

On my side still learning how to deal w reintroducing carbs. I think I may have to relent and get a blood ketone meter to know when I’m burning fat vs glucose. I don’t like being in the dark and not knowing when to dial carbs up or down. At least they’re not so expensive.