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    Lose 2st in 4 months

    Ok - so here goes. I'm 39, 5'8" and weigh bang on 14st. Been at that weight for a few years now. Normally pretty sedate on the exercise front and my diet is a disaster - all the usual junk and portion control non existent.

    Planning to lose 2st before the end of the year and will document progress here - win lose or draw. Plan is as follows:

    1. Diet. Started the Dukan Attack diet today and will do that for 6 days. Basically an all you can eat protein fest. Once the 6 days are up will move to next stage of the diet. According to the Dukan plan I can achieve my target by xmas but will then move to the final consolidation phase which will last a further 5 months. Each phase of the diet is less extreme etc. I have a week off work starting today which is a good time to get the attack phase out of the way.

    2. Exercise. Gyms don't really appeal to me. Bought a road bike last week and in the process of getting used to it. Plan is to build up to cycling for approx 1 hour every 2 days and alternating that with a 30 minute walk on the off-day. Won't be overdoing the exercise in the next week while starting the diet.

    That's it for now. Clear targets set and a simple plan to follow (in theory anyway). Apart from general risk of failure I'll be in Vegas for 4 days and San Francisco for 5 days in late Sep/early October and that will be challenging to say the least.

    Will check back later. Any words of encouragement (and general piss taking) welcome...

    #2
    2 stone in 4 months is doable, but its good going.
    17-21 lbs would be target i'd suggest, so be aware you'll have to be super strict to get the extra 8-10 lbs off.

    I've heard of the Dukan diet, but not sure what it entails really


    From a quick google, its simply a high protein diet, where non-starch veg is introduced in stage two, and fruit in stage 3. Sounds good. The whole eat as much protein as you want is based on the fact that you can only manage so much, if you eat nothing else, you are on a deficit. Do it right and you'll be ketogenic and lose glycogen store weight. This is scales weight not body fat, this will stop after the 6 days.

    If I was to make changes, I'd add in a multi-vitamin and some fish oil capsules. Just to cover the stuff you are cutting out. Won't afect weight loss.

    Best of luck, any questions on the above fire away

    Comment


      #3
      Good luck with this.

      Nice to see someone set a realisitic goal for once. That is not to say it will be easy but it is achievable.

      You have correctly identified diet is the key component. I don't know anything about the Dukan Diet as such but all you can eat protein is a good start for sure. Be aware the first week or two of this will be killer as you break your carb addicitions.

      Wouldn't be overly happy with your exercise plan. It's a good idea to not start the intense exercise next week when your dieting. But your overall plan is pretty unlikely to ever get you in the fat burning zone. 1 hours cycling isn't that much for a whole days exercise unless your climbing a lot of hard hills. Also, the danger with only cycling/walking outside is that by the end of September Ireland becomes a dark, wet, windy, cold horrible place espically at nights which is when i presume you intend to exercise seen as though you said you work. Its sooo easy to just skip it when faced with these impediments. The walks should be becoming runs quickly as well, walks won't tax your body hard enough in a few weeks to be worth doing.

      Also get some resistance exercise in to tone up. Even if you do lose the weight you will have a saggy feel unless you tone up. If you still don't want to join the gym you could easily do bodyweight exercises at home like press ups, squats, dips etc but obviously having the weights in the gym would help.

      But overall best of luck with it.

      Comment


        #4
        Surely eating only protein rich food for any extended period of time isn't good? What are you possibly going to get energy from?

        You need to be eating plenty of fats imo

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by jack90210 View Post
          Also get some resistance exercise in to tone up. Even if you do lose the weight you will have a saggy feel unless you tone up. If you still don't want to join the gym you could easily do bodyweight exercises at home like press ups, squats, dips etc but obviously having the weights in the gym would help.
          I agree that resistance training is a good idea, but the idea of "toning up" is a myth. You can't tone muscle, only make them bigger. Same with fat, you can lose it or gain it but you can't change it any other way.

          Extremely overweight people who lose a lot of fat have an issue with lose skin, but not the case here for somebody losing 2 stone.
          Originally posted by Emmet View Post
          Surely eating only protein rich food for any extended period of time isn't good? What are you possibly going to get energy from?

          You need to be eating plenty of fats imo
          I assumed, maybe in error, that the protein rich foods also contain fats (as most protein does). Meat, eggs, fish etc
          It probably doesn't encourage taking in a lot of fat only sources like peanut butter at the start purely down to calories.

          Comment


            #6
            Vegas is actually a pretty handy place to go if you are on an exclusion diet. If you base your meal times round the better buffets, the wicked spoon in the cosmo, the aria buffet and the ones in the wynn/bellagio, you can eat like a king for reasonable money. I was doing a paleo-style diet last time i was there; King crab legs, lobster, prime rib,was like Homer Simpson at the all-you-can-eat restaurant :P
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            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Mellor View Post
              I assumed, maybe in error, that the protein rich foods also contain fats (as most protein does). Meat, eggs, fish etc
              It probably doesn't encourage taking in a lot of fat only sources like peanut butter at the start purely down to calories.
              I'd just be careful if he was focussed on lean meats, turkey, chicken, pork etc.

              Needs to get the fats in too, in a big way. I also thought that having a protein dominant (60% of kcal intake +) was a surefire way to get yourself some kidney stones and some serious difficulties with... something... (can't remember, too much medication at moment) toxicity.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by jack90210 View Post
                Good luck with this.

                Nice to see someone set a realisitic goal for once. That is not to say it will be easy but it is achievable.

                You have correctly identified diet is the key component. I don't know anything about the Dukan Diet as such but all you can eat protein is a good start for sure. Be aware the first week or two of this will be killer as you break your carb addicitions.

                Wouldn't be overly happy with your exercise plan. It's a good idea to not start the intense exercise next week when your dieting. But your overall plan is pretty unlikely to ever get you in the fat burning zone. 1 hours cycling isn't that much for a whole days exercise unless your climbing a lot of hard hills. Also, the danger with only cycling/walking outside is that by the end of September Ireland becomes a dark, wet, windy, cold horrible place espically at nights which is when i presume you intend to exercise seen as though you said you work. Its sooo easy to just skip it when faced with these impediments. The walks should be becoming runs quickly as well, walks won't tax your body hard enough in a few weeks to be worth doing.

                Also get some resistance exercise in to tone up. Even if you do lose the weight you will have a saggy feel unless you tone up. If you still don't want to join the gym you could easily do bodyweight exercises at home like press ups, squats, dips etc but obviously having the weights in the gym would help.

                But overall best of luck with it.
                Good points re Exercise. As i said in my post plan is to take it very easy exercise wise for the first (most severe) part of the diet. Then step it up. Getting up to 1 hour on the bike is an initial goal, again plan to step it up after that. Will see how everything goes and try to put a couple of weights sessions in also but probably not until I have lost at least a stone. Don't want to over-reach..

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Emmet View Post
                  Surely eating only protein rich food for any extended period of time isn't good? What are you possibly going to get energy from?

                  You need to be eating plenty of fats imo
                  Good point. Plenty of fat around the middle that can be consumed tho. The no fat/low fat stage lasts until u reach target weight which for me should be xmas. After that u start re-introducing it slowly and I guess it's not a long period of time. Will keep an eye on it tho...

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by mocata View Post
                    Vegas is actually a pretty handy place to go if you are on an exclusion diet. If you base your meal times round the better buffets, the wicked spoon in the cosmo, the aria buffet and the ones in the wynn/bellagio, you can eat like a king for reasonable money. I was doing a paleo-style diet last time i was there; King crab legs, lobster, prime rib,was like Homer Simpson at the all-you-can-eat restaurant :P
                    Staying at the Aria but not sure about doing the buffets, serious will power would be required. Think I'll stick to the tables

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by markc View Post
                      Good point. Plenty of fat around the middle that can be consumed tho. The no fat/low fat stage lasts until u reach target weight which for me should be xmas. After that u start re-introducing it slowly and I guess it's not a long period of time. Will keep an eye on it tho...
                      your body will not use its own stores of fat unless you are eating a lot of fats.

                      No fat / low fat + high protein = illness

                      Fat is essential in a diet, absolutely essential. Read my post yesterday btw, should be a help.

                      Last edited by Emmet; 27-08-11, 11:12. Reason: linked to post

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Day 3. So far so good. Sticking 100% to lean meats, oat bran, low fat cottage cheese, coffee, skimmed milk, water and diet coke. Don't normally eat eggs but might try some scrambled egg today for a bit of variety. Ditto for zero fat yogurt - must pick up some of that also. Even tho u can have all u can eat within that it's hard to keep shovelling in the protein. Was half thinking of going with a protein shake for a bit of variety but will probably stick to the real food option. Looks like I have lost 3 or 4 pounds already, kinda hard to tell with my scales but definitely movement in the right direction anyway.

                        I'd say that I feel ok so far. No real cravings or major temptation to fall off the wagon but taking it day by day. While I don't have a lot of energy I'm doing ok and haven't felt light headed or had headaches or anything like that. Hoping I can stick this out until Thursday when I can move to stage 2...

                        Comment


                          #13
                          you are actually poisoning yourself slowly with not eating fats. are you at least taking vitamins and supplements?

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Emmet View Post
                            you are actually poisoning yourself slowly with not eating fats. are you at least taking vitamins and supplements?
                            Do you have any evidence that going 6 days without fats = 'poisoning' oneself? No doubt it's fairly radical for a few days but being 2 stone overweight is not good for you either so I guess it's a bit of a trade off. Will be picking up a multivitamin today, it is allowed under the diet so no harm...

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by markc View Post
                              Do you have any evidence that going 6 days without fats = 'poisoning' oneself? No doubt it's fairly radical for a few days but being 2 stone overweight is not good for you either so I guess it's a bit of a trade off. Will be picking up a multivitamin today, it is allowed under the diet so no harm...
                              No conclusive proof or evidence, I'm not qualified in anything to do with nutrition, simply educated myself about how to fix my diet a year ago to get fit and strong.

                              Protein Toxicity is very dangerous in the long term, so perhaps 6 days won't make too much difference, but I've given a simple and easy guideline to follow in the "Be your own boss" thread I posted yesterday that will safely take you through a simple and safe weightloss routine.



                              Here's a discussion on the problems of simply having lean meats - http://cavemanforum.com/diet-and-nut...tein-toxicity/

                              Here's a (ignore the website it's from, it's a google search, and is very good!) documentation on what we need fat for
                              In this article, we’ll investigate the potential benefits of including more fats in your eating disorder recovery diet.

                              And another - http://www.famouslyfit.com/diet/do-we-need-fat

                              Here's another link on having excessive protein in your diet - http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...4191028AAlKhhB

                              Diet is all about balance. I might have 140g of protein a day and others would think that that's way overdoing it, but I'd also have ~ 100g of fats a day, it's the ratios between what you eat that are important, as well as the overall amounts you eat.

                              You are putting stress on your kidneys and liver, and neglecting your body's essential functions by not eating essential fats.

                              An important thing to consider is that "food fat" does not equal "body fat". In fact, if we simply used the word Lipid to describe what we eat, and left fat to mean body fat, people would eat far far far far healthier imo. It's a failing of the language, and of education unfortunately.

                              Think of your body like an incredibly resiliant machine, all it ever tries to do is keep working. It doesn't care what you want or think, it will just do its best to stay alive. Now remove your body's main form of fuel (the average person runs on carbs), and your body panics, and starts to convert everything it can to energy stores (body fat) while it tries to figure out how to start creating energy from what it is getting, which, as you've removed fat, is protein. But the thing is, that lipids are a far far easier energy source than protein to convert. You place stress on the liver and kidneys by relying on either, but by proper hydration, you will flush the toxins from your system as much as possible.

                              Seriously, instead of spending 1/2 hours reading about specific diets, read about what your body needs, and what it needs it for. Then figure out how many kcals your body needs, figure out a realistic calorie target per day, and then figure out how you can fit your body's needs into the calorie target.

                              Good Luck!

                              Comment


                                #16
                                Essentially by being on a Protein rich diet for too long you are asking you body to do things it doesnt want to. When it needs energy its going to use amino acids, where will it get that from? Your muscles. And you can bet your arse its going to need to when you are on a calorie deficit.
                                This may or may not be an original thought of my own.
                                All efforts were made to make this thought original but with the abundance of thoughts in the world the originality of this thought cannot be guaranteed.
                                The author is not liable for any issue arising from the platitudinous nature of this post.

                                Comment


                                  #17



                                  "Remember the time he ate my goldfish? And you lied and said I never had goldfish. Then why did I have the bowl, Bart? Why did I have the bowl?"

                                  Comment


                                    #18
                                    Originally posted by Emmet View Post
                                    No conclusive proof or evidence, I'm not qualified in anything to do with nutrition, simply educated myself about how to fix my diet a year ago to get fit and strong.

                                    Protein Toxicity is very dangerous in the long term, so perhaps 6 days won't make too much difference, but I've given a simple and easy guideline to follow in the "Be your own boss" thread I posted yesterday that will safely take you through a simple and safe weightloss routine.



                                    Here's a discussion on the problems of simply having lean meats - http://cavemanforum.com/diet-and-nut...tein-toxicity/

                                    Here's a (ignore the website it's from, it's a google search, and is very good!) documentation on what we need fat for
                                    In this article, we’ll investigate the potential benefits of including more fats in your eating disorder recovery diet.

                                    And another - http://www.famouslyfit.com/diet/do-we-need-fat

                                    Here's another link on having excessive protein in your diet - http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...4191028AAlKhhB

                                    Diet is all about balance. I might have 140g of protein a day and others would think that that's way overdoing it, but I'd also have ~ 100g of fats a day, it's the ratios between what you eat that are important, as well as the overall amounts you eat.

                                    You are putting stress on your kidneys and liver, and neglecting your body's essential functions by not eating essential fats.

                                    An important thing to consider is that "food fat" does not equal "body fat". In fact, if we simply used the word Lipid to describe what we eat, and left fat to mean body fat, people would eat far far far far healthier imo. It's a failing of the language, and of education unfortunately.

                                    Think of your body like an incredibly resiliant machine, all it ever tries to do is keep working. It doesn't care what you want or think, it will just do its best to stay alive. Now remove your body's main form of fuel (the average person runs on carbs), and your body panics, and starts to convert everything it can to energy stores (body fat) while it tries to figure out how to start creating energy from what it is getting, which, as you've removed fat, is protein. But the thing is, that lipids are a far far easier energy source than protein to convert. You place stress on the liver and kidneys by relying on either, but by proper hydration, you will flush the toxins from your system as much as possible.

                                    Seriously, instead of spending 1/2 hours reading about specific diets, read about what your body needs, and what it needs it for. Then figure out how many kcals your body needs, figure out a realistic calorie target per day, and then figure out how you can fit your body's needs into the calorie target.

                                    Good Luck!
                                    Thx - a lot of really good info there. Drinking a lot of water so that should combat the risk of toxicity. Just to be on the safe side will get a blood test done on Thursday (at the end of the initial stage) and will check blood sugars, liver function, kidney function and cholesterol (I had tests done over the past year so we have a good baseline for those levels). Will post results when I have them...

                                    In terms of a balanced diet that, of course, is the long term play. I've just found in the past that I slip real easy when I just try to 'watch what I eat', control portion sizes etc. Hopefully by committing to this program and achieving a target weight will motiviate me to stay there with a better balanced diet and more frequent exercise regime. Time will tell.

                                    Really appreciate all the info though, thanks v much..

                                    Comment


                                      #19
                                      Day 5 of 6 update. Still working the program Lost 7lbs so the diet does what it says on the tin. Tough enough going tbh. I don't eat fish or eggs and it would deffo be a big help if I did as it would add more variety to the first phase. Gonna take a close look at the second phase and see if I will follow it 100% or modify it a little. Whatever about 6 days, 3.5 months of this alternating with days where I can have veg also would be a killer.

                                      Might just bank the kick start and move directly to a phase where I have some pure protein days and some days where I allow a little fat back into the diet and some carbs (mainly pasta as opposed to rice and potato). Given that my weight has been steady at 14st for the past few years even though my diet is poor and I get little enough exercise I'd still see results by adopting a modified weightwatchers plan. Had a brief fling with that before but fell off the wagon pretty quick. I kept to the points alright but did not really change my diet, I just ate less of everything which just left me hungry all the time.

                                      Toying with the idea of rotating pure protein days with days where I count calories and stay within WW recommendations. While on the WW days I will keep to the points but stay completely away from: Crisps/Non diet drinks/Alcohol/Fried Food/Sugar in all forms/White Bread - Tried the WW white bread but it is a slippery slope - bread is probably my main vice . Anyways, will make up my mind and update the thread later.

                                      Comment


                                        #20
                                        markc sorry if all my posts seem negative, but I really think that you're making this far more complex than it needs to be, are putting pressure on your body (and mind!) un necessarily so and would be far better served just following a few very simple steps.

                                        1 - find your Maintenance Calorie allowance - http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm
                                        2 - Set your daily "allowance" at this figure - 500kcals
                                        3 - Eat meals based on protein and fat only to bring your calorie count up to the figure discovered above. Use www.fitday.com to ensure that you are keeping to the count. Ensure to weigh everything for the first while at least to ensure your portion sizes are accurate (where a lot/most people fall down imo)

                                        Weight Watchers is almost nonsense (the old plan anyway), I've heard the new plan is a slightly more rounded way of looking at things but I still wouldn't hold much value to it.

                                        Those 7lbs are mainly water and glycogen, and would have been lost by simply training your body to expel more water instead of retaining it (by drinking 5/6 pints of water a day so that it knows it won't ever go without), and unfortunately wouldn't owe a lot to what you've been eating.

                                        I'm trying not to be negative, but am aware that that's how its coming across. So what I will say is that the dedication and mindset that you've already shown is exactly the hardest part of the diet, and I think that spending a short amount of time working on the eating part, and the thoughts behind it, would be extremely beneficial to you, far far far moreso than any fad diet or WW could ever be. Embrace the fats into your diet, much in the way I've described how your body stops retaining water when it realises that there is always water available to it, your body will repeat this process with body fat if you are eating fats. Add the benefits of satiety and taste, and you can see how important fat is to someone trying to lose fat!

                                        You don't need any fad diets, just eat properly (clean and processed carb free), and keep a close eye on your kcals and you'll be doing fine!

                                        Comment


                                          #21
                                          Originally posted by Emmet View Post
                                          markc sorry if all my posts seem negative, but I really think that you're making this far more complex than it needs to be, are putting pressure on your body (and mind!) un necessarily so and would be far better served just following a few very simple steps.

                                          1 - find your Maintenance Calorie allowance - http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm
                                          2 - Set your daily "allowance" at this figure - 500kcals
                                          3 - Eat meals based on protein and fat only to bring your calorie count up to the figure discovered above. Use www.fitday.com to ensure that you are keeping to the count. Ensure to weigh everything for the first while at least to ensure your portion sizes are accurate (where a lot/most people fall down imo)

                                          Weight Watchers is almost nonsense (the old plan anyway), I've heard the new plan is a slightly more rounded way of looking at things but I still wouldn't hold much value to it.

                                          Those 7lbs are mainly water and glycogen, and would have been lost by simply training your body to expel more water instead of retaining it (by drinking 5/6 pints of water a day so that it knows it won't ever go without), and unfortunately wouldn't owe a lot to what you've been eating.

                                          I'm trying not to be negative, but am aware that that's how its coming across. So what I will say is that the dedication and mindset that you've already shown is exactly the hardest part of the diet, and I think that spending a short amount of time working on the eating part, and the thoughts behind it, would be extremely beneficial to you, far far far moreso than any fad diet or WW could ever be. Embrace the fats into your diet, much in the way I've described how your body stops retaining water when it realises that there is always water available to it, your body will repeat this process with body fat if you are eating fats. Add the benefits of satiety and taste, and you can see how important fat is to someone trying to lose fat!

                                          You don't need any fad diets, just eat properly (clean and processed carb free), and keep a close eye on your kcals and you'll be doing fine!
                                          Cheers Emmet. i don't take any of that as being negative - really appreciate the feedback, this is obv something u know a lot more about than I do. Sticking to the plan for today and tomorrow anyway so I can finish this phase. Will look at ur suggestions later today when I have time and might come back to u with a few questions at that stage.

                                          I have a WW plan from last year and tbh it sounds similar to what u are saying (daily allowance, making sure u weigh everything) but there may be some differences in what u are saying. Like I said, I may elect to just treat the 'Attack' week as a way of shocking the body into the idea of a real diet.

                                          Ultimately all of this stuff is just energy in v energy out and finding the healthiest most sustainable way of achieving the weight loss. Good mate of mine lost a couple of stone last year and if u asked him how he did it he just says " I ate less and moved more". Agree with everything u say about fad diets btw and Dukan is nothing more than a modified Atkins. Will post back later, pls keep the feedback coming..

                                          Comment

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