I agree. I also think that if you're a "big lad" and you start a training regime like the one you did and keep it up, you'd have to seriously increase your current calorie consumption in order to not lose any weight. There's no substitute for physical exercise. People that are genuinely very physically active don't have to worry about consuming too many calories- that's not to say they don't care what they eat of course.
Its a question that comes up alot, and the realistic answer is, you can't hold back.
When I first started I did ALOT of calorie counting, I logged EVERYTHING I eat and drank for at least 8 weeks, and came up with a picture of what I was eating, what it was composed of, and where my nutrition was coming from.
With that sorted, I got an idea of what, when and how much I "should" be eating, from that I gave myself a calorie deficeit or between 500-1000 cals a week, any more than that and the body kicks into survival mode and tries to slow down motabolism to take into account your deficiet, also, it has a negative affect on your physical levels, which is counter productive to training.
The thing is, I just had to retrain my mind about food, change the things I liked from bad things, to better things, I think that the mind is an extremely powerfull thing when it comes to weight loss, and excersice, and sometimes we struggle to control it, it is VERY good at lieing to us, and getting us to do what it wants, and is used to, rather than what we should be doing.
Its probably a bit more indepth than you were looking for, but I really believe that doing it is quite a complex task, and that it isn't as easy as people think, I truely believe the crap that companies cram into our foods is, if not extremely addictive, extremely habit forming.
Actually I was very much expecting that sort of answer and give it full thumbs up.
From talking with people I always concluded that unhealthy weight is very often caused by people having a subconciously negative stance towards physical activities ("Exercising is a duty.") and a habitual attraction towards highly energetic food ("That's what I always eat.").
However I've never dared to voice that opinion because I never had to struggle with those issues myself.
I'm firmly convinced that the biggest obstacle any person can overcome is he himself.
Also, something to remember is that underweight is as unhealthy as overweight.
Being overweight is easy, it requires no effort, to change, you have to want to change, its not easy, no one is saying it is easy, its bloody hard, but ultimately you've got to WANT to do it.
I sometimes get worried by how powerful the mind is, I remember lieing to myself for all those years, thinking, "yeah, you're fine, you don't eat too much, we can always do something about it tomorrow", well, tomorrow never came, I was lieing to myself.
Even now, my mind lies to me, I have a very warped sense of self image, in my mind when I look in the mirror, I see the EXACT image of myself I used to see 10 stone ago, even though everyone else sees something completely different, I can't, and I really think I never will, its almost like anorexia.
As humans, we always tend to come up with excuses, some good ones are, I have been so busy today, I can't excercise tonight, bullshit I say, I have just done an 11 hour day, and STILL managed a 5 mile run.
Or, I am too tired to cook something healthy, bullshit, it takes a minimal amount of time to knock up something quick, tasty and healthy.
Like I say, you've got to WANT to do it, or your mind will trick you into not doing it everytime.
Personally, I think that a lot of obesity is a mental disorder, trouble is, there is such a HUGE negative stigma that is directed towards obesity, its those people who think its easy to change, or who say, "shut up fattie, just stop eating pies", who create and maintain this stigma.
Its almost akin to alcoholism or drug addiction in my opinion, and we as a population need to understand this, stop all the negativity about obesity, and really understand how and why people are like it, because if we don't, we are going to have a massive percentage of the population with SERIOUS health problems.
I so much agree I could kiss you for this post Dano!
I have gone from 100kg to 70kg, but for me I don't see the difference, and I am serious about this. I can see a little difference, but I just don't feel thin on any part of my body. While other tells I have DRASTICALLY losed weight I still canot see any difference..it's so frustrating, I NEVER get satisfied.
I have allways dreamed to look like everyone else, that are thin and somewhat attractive, and still I don't feel it. Even if I I weight less than a small buddy of me.. it's freakinly unfair I think.
Also, I have started to develop a rather scary though on food. Each time I eat shit food I really.. I just gets depressed. If I eat a lot of food I feel shit too. The only way for me to feel happy nowdays is to train and just eat YES food, or food in small sizes.
Problem is that I love food, I love eating shit food. I can drink a big coke, eat chips and eat some chocolate on a evening without hessitating, but then I start thinking that all my work would be wasted, and stops me from doing it.
Ultimately I have come to the agreement that 5-6 days in the week I try to live good, by eating often but little food. And those 1-2 days of week I eat shit. It's strange, but also motivating, that I can do that and still keep my weight now since I live healthy the other days.
My mind is letting me down, turning the whole weight thingy to a obsession, allways thinking on it... each time I eat til I feel "stuffed" I feel shit.. goddamnit I hate turning your topic into emo cry Dano, forgive me.. I just need to air my thoughts out to someone before I explode.
It is emo, when it boils down to it, there are a lot of people in the same boat, but no one listens.
I remember going to the doctors at my peak weight, and you know what they said?, he you go, have some orlistat.
Now, let me tell you, that drug is AWFUL, I wouldn't wish the side effects on anyone, taking that drug is pointless, because the side effects are so bad, you stop taking it, and are back at square one.
I believe the medical professionals need to indentify that obesity isn't a physical "disease", its a mental disorder, and as such, needs to be treated like one.
Also, food manufacturers need to be taken to task on their products, they pack them full of crap like high fructose corn syrup, which is VERY bad for you, and I read somewhere that this ingredient alone is responsable for a lot of the obesity in the USA.
I really feel like I am on a soap box here, but I really do feel passionate about it, because I know there are a lot of people like I was, a lot of lonely people, who feel lonely because of their weight issues, they get depressed, and fall back on food, which is a great comforter, but ultimately, a very short term thing, and is extremely counter productive.
I really wish I could do more to help others, but I am just one person, all I can do is try and give support and encouragment to anyone who is suffering.
If anyone is reading this, and can identify with it, you CAN do it, you do have whats required inside you, you just need to be extremely honest with yourself.
Damn, I feel like I should be on stage at some seminar, just call me Brad Goodman!!!!.
There is no fast way to lose weight, there is no shortcuts. In the end YOU have to do all the work yourselfe, either if you like it or not. You must think about what your eating, but also at least manage to squize in 2-3 training days each week. Just not for the weight's sake, but for your health.
It's bloody unfair that some people can eat 3x MCdonalds menu's each day and still be on mach weight, but that doesn't help their health anyway, most likely they'll have the same chance to get heart attack as the "chobby" one.
I am tired of people that tells me they canot go down in weight because their body is against them. It's not true, you might have harder time going down in weight than others, but it's possible. Saying something else is a sign of weakness, and if you belive that you will never successfully go down in weight. I used to think that my body was against me, but then I proved myself wrong, and in the end I feel ashamed that I ever could think such a thing. All I needed was to eat less, and train more, and 1/3 of my body is almost gone compared to 1.5 years ago.
As you say Dano, it's not about the physically, but the mentally. Your doctor should be raped to death with a dildo (not really).. Joke aside, he should have more knowlege about this subject. If you can get the mentall part right, you'll with ease get the physicall part right aswell. Problem is that the mentall part is the hardest..
Trouble is, most/many doctors are like a large percentage of the population, they think Johnny fatgut can just stop eating the pies, which in reality, isn't that simple.
Very true, but you can see why people can often come to that conclusion first of all as it does sound kinda logical, eat less food, be less big.
Plus there are some people who really have brought it on themselves with regard to their diet and lifestyle and really have nobody else to blame for it, and i find those that decide to play the 'its not my fault' card really annoying, as it simply is TBH.
But that is not always the case. There can be many many other reasons for being heavier than you want to be that has no reflection on diet at all. I know a man who is about 26 stone and he has eaten and lived healthy all his life, but it turns out he has some kind of medical problem that causes it, so in these cases it really isnt the persons fault.
A good healthy diet and lifestyle is obviously a good thing regardless of body weight, as its just a good thing to do, but i happen to be one of those people that everyone hates, who can eat pretty much whatever the hell i like in stupid quantities and i just cannot put hardly any weight on at all.
When i was 15 i weighted 9 stone 7 pounds, and now im 25 i still only weigh 9 stone and 10 pounds.
both bores me unless i run with someone or listening music, so i can forget i am running.
i have running for the several months already, and i can do 10k under 1 hour too 2 or 3 times a week, problem is by now, my feet are destroyed and i can't feel notorious diferences on my body...it seems that running no longer burns extra fat, and i still have a few pounds to waste.
Sorry for hijacking this thread, but I didn't want to start a new one. Can any of the running-addicted lfs'ers recommend a good, solid and lightweight drinking-belt?
I'm considering to buy this one from The North Face, since the thirst is killing me after 10-15 km in the summer.
Can any of you give me some tips for a good condition. I'm running every sunday 6km here in amsterdam. Doing fitness in a gym. But I'm getting very easily exhausted. Especially when im doing MMA/UFC. I'm getting tired and my opponent is just fit as he started to fight me.
I don't smoke that often (1 pack a week) Can't stop with it though.
Hoshimodo have you considered buying a backpack that is designed to hold a bladder? They are comfortable and you can use them for other things when you are not running.
Takumi how does your training week go? Fighters in our Muay Thai club run 10k at least once a week and train 12+ hours a week at the club. I recently came back from training 6 hours a day for a month in Muay Thai. It was 3 hours in the morning and 3 in the afternoon with nothing being overly difficult. It was very repetitive light sparring for the most of it but our stamina shot up very quickly. Really your MMA trainer should know what to do. You should run more than once a week as well. Instead of running for distance set yourself a time goal and take it easy. So maybe try and run for an hour a couple of times a week at a really comfortable/relaxed pace. Pushing yourself every chance you get will only make things worse!
Still pluggin away, getting faster (if only by a fraction) and fitter, still having shoe issues, my Asics GT2140, whilst comfy, are a pain in the arch, literally.
They are still giving me nasty blisters on my arches, so I have ordered a pair of the new carlos fandango, NASA technology, dynamic support etc etc Nike Lunarglide +, which I am hearing VERY good things about, and I hope these will solve my shoe woes.
I am trying to decide what Half Marathon to do, I have the choice of a large (20'000 people+), far away (100 miles+), expensive (£27.50), high profile (Nottingham Experian festival of running) half marathon, or a small (600 people), close (less than 50miles), cheap (£11), low profile (Grunty fen Ely) half marathon.
You'd probably get a much better sense of accomplishment finishing the smaller one than you would being lost in a sea of 20k people, but then I expect you'd have less to drive you on with smaller crowds. I'd be tempted to go local and cheap until I had shoes I was happy with.
[Edit: I just read that back and it sounds like I have a clue. I don't run these days, that's why I learned to drive ]
It can be a pain in the arse to find the right shoes! I tried around five pairs over the last year just to find the right ones (Asics Gel Fortitude 3 2E). The times are hard for heavy runners (90 kg/1,92 m) with normal pronation/slight supination.
If I were you I would definetly choose the large Half Marathon. I did a rather big Half Marathon this year and the atmosphere was absolutely great, not to mention the gallons of free beer at the finish
My new Nike Lunarglide + turned up on Monday, and I had my first run in them on Tuesday.
Very impressive, light, fast, lots of cushioning, very comfy, seem to control my over-pronation well, the only thing I don't like is the looks, also, not sure how long they will last, because they look a bit flimsy, other than that, impressive shoe.
All scientific research so far points to trainers being bad for your feet and increasing injury rates. Since the invention of the sports shoe, feet related sports injuries have markettedly increased.
Most athletes train bare foot where possible, or in thin plimsoles, or extremely cheep rubbish trainers with no fancy features.
All the fancy features will increase your likelihood of injury. Here's an article one of the coaches where I work highlighted to me a few weeks back, sadly it's by the Daily Mail, but the point stands.
I work with a lot of elite and international sports coaches and they all pretty much hold the same view: Trainers are a fashion accessory, not sports equipment.
and i can't feel notorious diferences on my body...it seems that running no longer burns extra fat, and i still have a few pounds to waste.
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turned up on Monday, and I had my first run in them on Tuesday.