My weightloss tools
Morgaen73
Posts: 2,817 Member
I'm now halfway towards my goal weight and I thought I'd write about the things that have helped me get here.
Little bit of a backstory first. I have tried epic weight loss twice befoe and both times I lost 24kg, which was good but fell very much short of what I should have lost. Why? because I only had a meal plan and I didnt exercise. The meal plan was 1600 calories per day and the food very restrictive. I gave up because eating became boring. I'm a foody, sue me.
This time round I've lost 31kg already and there is no end in sight. What is the diefference?
I'm exercising. Why is exercising important? Obviousely it helps burn fat, however, not as much as you think. Studies have shown that exercising only accounts for 20% of weight loss, so again why do it? Simple, it makes you feel good about yourself. Exercising releases endorphins which gives you a bit of a high. Also, it makes you stronger and fitter so carting your extra weight around becomes a bit easier. It makes you more healthy and finally when you do get to your goal weight you will already have a body that looks good naked and doesnt sag although you are "skinny".
On my journey so far I have found the following invaluable:
1. digital food scale - Weight loss is about taking in less food than you use. You need to measure properly what you are taking in.
2. heart rate monitor - again, if you are going to compare what you take in to what you are using, you need a relatively accurate way of measuring what you use. MFP prediction and the HRMs on the gym machines are far from accurate.
3. a digital scale - I use this to monitor day to day progress. It is a tool though, do not be rules by it. plus seeing a general downward trend on a graph makes me feel all fuzzy inside.
4. caliper and measuring tape - your scale will lie to you because it hates you. Caliper and measuring tape help you measure body fat % and what is growing and what is shrinking. This is far more important than the scale for motivation.
5. online support - I can honestly the say that of the 4 different sights I have been on MFP has the best online support network, if you use it right. Surround yourself with positive supporting people, not negative people.
6. real world support - I have my wife for this. She is taking this joureny with me and the support I get from her is phenominal. there is nothing more motivating to me than when she squeeses my arm and winks at me or compliments me on how my body is changing. I can do without all the rest, but not this one.
7. personal trainer - mucking about in the gym is fine as well but if you are going to use all that energy you might as well do it right. If, like me, you have no idea what you are doing then it is better to get the help of someone who does.
These are the things that have brought me here. There are probably more and there are probably people that are going to say this wont work for them, and they are right. I am only sharing what has worked for me so far.
Lastly, dont give up. you are worth the effort and seeing the look on the faces of the people who thought you would fail again is priceless.
P.S. I apologise for the spelling and grammer mistakes. I tried avoiding "loose" and "lose" lol English is not my first language though.
Little bit of a backstory first. I have tried epic weight loss twice befoe and both times I lost 24kg, which was good but fell very much short of what I should have lost. Why? because I only had a meal plan and I didnt exercise. The meal plan was 1600 calories per day and the food very restrictive. I gave up because eating became boring. I'm a foody, sue me.
This time round I've lost 31kg already and there is no end in sight. What is the diefference?
I'm exercising. Why is exercising important? Obviousely it helps burn fat, however, not as much as you think. Studies have shown that exercising only accounts for 20% of weight loss, so again why do it? Simple, it makes you feel good about yourself. Exercising releases endorphins which gives you a bit of a high. Also, it makes you stronger and fitter so carting your extra weight around becomes a bit easier. It makes you more healthy and finally when you do get to your goal weight you will already have a body that looks good naked and doesnt sag although you are "skinny".
On my journey so far I have found the following invaluable:
1. digital food scale - Weight loss is about taking in less food than you use. You need to measure properly what you are taking in.
2. heart rate monitor - again, if you are going to compare what you take in to what you are using, you need a relatively accurate way of measuring what you use. MFP prediction and the HRMs on the gym machines are far from accurate.
3. a digital scale - I use this to monitor day to day progress. It is a tool though, do not be rules by it. plus seeing a general downward trend on a graph makes me feel all fuzzy inside.
4. caliper and measuring tape - your scale will lie to you because it hates you. Caliper and measuring tape help you measure body fat % and what is growing and what is shrinking. This is far more important than the scale for motivation.
5. online support - I can honestly the say that of the 4 different sights I have been on MFP has the best online support network, if you use it right. Surround yourself with positive supporting people, not negative people.
6. real world support - I have my wife for this. She is taking this joureny with me and the support I get from her is phenominal. there is nothing more motivating to me than when she squeeses my arm and winks at me or compliments me on how my body is changing. I can do without all the rest, but not this one.
7. personal trainer - mucking about in the gym is fine as well but if you are going to use all that energy you might as well do it right. If, like me, you have no idea what you are doing then it is better to get the help of someone who does.
These are the things that have brought me here. There are probably more and there are probably people that are going to say this wont work for them, and they are right. I am only sharing what has worked for me so far.
Lastly, dont give up. you are worth the effort and seeing the look on the faces of the people who thought you would fail again is priceless.
P.S. I apologise for the spelling and grammer mistakes. I tried avoiding "loose" and "lose" lol English is not my first language though.
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Replies
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Perfection. Keep it going!0
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Thaks
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Impressive! Thanks for sharing.
PS You did way better with spelling and grammar than a lot of native English speakers I know!0 -
Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed your post.0
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Thank you 0
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This was helpful thanks. Congrats on doing so well too...it takes a lot to make that all happen and you seem to have found what works for you. Me? I've been doing well with the healthy eating and curbing cravings but it's the exercising that feels like this huge monster in my life. I have never liked it and have no idea what people are talking about when they talk about the 'high' you can get from it. I 'get it'- it's so important for overall health and longevity, both physical and emotional but I approach it with dread and I hate having that reaction. It's my biggest struggle in life. I so want to enjoy it...or at the very least, tolerate it.0
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This was helpful thanks. Congrats on doing so well too...it takes a lot to make that all happen and you seem to have found what works for you. Me? I've been doing well with the healthy eating and curbing cravings but it's the exercising that feels like this huge monster in my life. I have never liked it and have no idea what people are talking about when they talk about the 'high' you can get from it. I 'get it'- it's so important for overall health and longevity, both physical and emotional but I approach it with dread and I hate having that reaction. It's my biggest struggle in life. I so want to enjoy it...or at the very least, tolerate it.
I was the same in the beginning because everything was hard. My wife literally had to drag me to gym but as you loose weight and as your body gets stronger it actually becomes more enjoyable.
You really do get more energy. I think your body just becomes more effective at accessing the energy. Anyway you get to the point where you actually look forward to going to gym to see how far you can push your body. Setting goals and challenges for yourself definitely helps as well.
well done on your journey so far 0 -
Thank you. I really plan to focus on this - to get my head in the game and hopefully the rest will follow. With healthy eating and a clean lifestyle I see results and I can just imagine how much better it will be to add physical exercise. It doesn't help that I'm the clumbsiest person alive ha! I just healed from a back injury from literally 2 minutes of jumping on and falling off my rebounder 5 wks ago- amazing what I can do in 2 min!
I then come home from a back massage last week and fall down my tiled stairs...I'm a wee bit of a vertical mess! So ya...gotta work on that.
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According to what I've read, exercising should help improve that.0
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I am exactly the same ! They say you should find an exercise you like...the problem is that I don't like any. What I have found has helped, though, is to not push myself too hard. It makes it a lot more tolerable and the difference in calories burned is not that great. But more to the point it is something that I can do without having to force myself too much.This was helpful thanks. Congrats on doing so well too...it takes a lot to make that all happen and you seem to have found what works for you. Me? I've been doing well with the healthy eating and curbing cravings but it's the exercising that feels like this huge monster in my life. I have never liked it and have no idea what people are talking about when they talk about the 'high' you can get from it. I 'get it'- it's so important for overall health and longevity, both physical and emotional but I approach it with dread and I hate having that reaction. It's my biggest struggle in life. I so want to enjoy it...or at the very least, tolerate it.
I use the treadmill, but I guess it could work for other machines. I have an HRM and decide what heart rate to aim for. I put the treadmill on an incline and then let it adjust the speed automatically based on my heart rate. With the TV in front of me I can do this easily for half an hour, but even an hour is not too bad.
I used this site to calculate the heart rate to use.
https://www.walkingwithattitude.com/fitness-tools/heart-rate
PS - OP - great job ! - don't mean to hijack your thread
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Thanks for that link! Good resource. You both mention a heart rate monitor I'm going to look into getting that- I like gadgets that are helpful and that I can't hurt myself on! Ha. Thanks morgaen + total...0
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From my side, it's a pleasure Good luck on your journey and feel free to come knocking. 0
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Awesome!! Good luck on your journey too...will stay in touch! (PS I'm just about to jump on my rebounder...yay?!
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my pleasure, too. 0
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Well I've got all but digital scale (for me) and a personal trainer. I had a scale and after numerous tries I just couldn't get it working right so I sent it back. I am not able to afford a personal trainer, so enough said. My husband is supportive, although sometimes I feel like he is sneakily (is that a word?) trying to get me away from this new lifestyle. I guess he'll slowly accept it. After all it's only been about a month and a half or so.0
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Today I'm 1kg away from the lowest I've weighed in 10 years and 6 away from the lowest I've weighed since the first time I decided to lose weight.
I've gone from a 7XL t-shirt to somewhere between 3XL and 4XL. My pants size has gone down from 52 to 42.
I'm feeling quite chuffed with myself lol0 -
Fantastic!! That's a lot of hard work and dedication!! Well done!!!0
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Thank you 0
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Today I'm 1kg away from the lowest I've weighed in 10 years and 6 away from the lowest I've weighed since the first time I decided to lose weight.
I've gone from a 7XL t-shirt to somewhere between 3XL and 4XL. My pants size has gone down from 52 to 42.
I'm feeling quite chuffed with myself lol
This is really awesome and exciting i bet!!!
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Yeah it is 0
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