Want to get fit, shead stones and eat healthy for the new year

A question about : Want to get fit, shead stones and eat healthy for the new year

hello all,

I want to get fit, shed stones (yes stones, not pounds) and eat healthy for the new year.

I would be grateful for anything for suggestions which has worked for you, and what not to do?

Gym? exercise? small food portions? no more take aways?

what have you tried????

Best answers:

• Last year my wife lost 9 stone with the 5:2 diet and doing the Couch to 5k jogging programme.
  The running has become part of her lifestyle now and she is in training for her first Marathon.
  Hope you find what works for you, good luck.
• My god my eyes. So much wrong with the above post.
• Post deleted because the post it was in response to has gone.
• My OH and I are both looking to lose a couple of stone. In the last 6 months we've started new jobs and put on at least 7-12 lbs each!
  My mum has recently lost 50 lbs (size 20, down to a 14) by using Weight Watchers and going running/to the gym. She is running a half marathon in March I tried WW on her recommendation, but it didn't work for me and I found it a waste of money. I guess it depends what you think will work for you and what you're going to be able to stick to.
  My OH and I have had some success with My Fitness Pal app (download free from the app store), however it does get tedious having to constantly count calories :-s
  I think the best way to start is by cutting out the junk and eating more healthily. Eating more fruit and veg and less processed foods. Also, trying not to snack inbetween meals. I've just picked up some running gear too and plan to start the Couch 2 5k programme again. All you need is a pair of trainers!
• Dieting is for idiots, they diet, loose weight then revert back to pre diet and get fat again which is very dangerous. It's about changing your lifestyle, you don't need to live off of cabbage soup or go to the gym 3 times a week either. Step out of your comfort zone a little at a time and make small but permanent changes, take your time don't rush but have easily achievable goals. I don't know your lifestyle but simple things can make a huge difference, I always had two sugars in tea and coffee and decided six months ago to cut out the white poison, it made drinks taste pretty rank at first ( that's a step out of my comfort zone) but given time and a little perseverance I adjusted and it became part of my lifestyle now, I lost a stone in a few months and know that if I revert back to sugar it'll go back on again, I'm sure you know yourself what you need to cut out and change , alcohol, take aways, crisps and biscuits etc. so there is no point in lecturing you. One small step at a time , learn to cook properly and you will never want fat, salt and sugar laden junk ever again
• Paleo, HIIT, lifting weights has worked for me. Also, you can lose inches and not weight. After a particularly tough bootcamp where I didnt drink for 8 weeks and followed the diet I lost no weight but 14 inches all over and Ive kept that off (I have lost weight as well, 4 stones in 18 months), sometimes when the scales dont move you'll still lose inches.
  Lifestyle change, not diets, thats what works.
• Combination of a fitbit and myfitnesspal.com - results so far are 3 stone down mainly by moving more and watching the amount of food I eat.
  Whatever you choose - make it permanent.. I looked at other fad diets (atkins etc) but for me they weren't going to be sustainable.. and the thought of living on broccoli or tofu for the rest of my life was horrid.
  Currently I eat pretty much what I want.. just less of it
• Yes - agree that it has to be a lifestyle change. Whatever you choose try and avoid 'I am on a diet/exercise kick' and think 'this is the way I live now'.
  That in mind why not try a few new things - exercise classes, trial at a gym and see what you enjoy. You are for more likely to stick at something you enjoy.
  Also the more specific your goals are the easier it will be for fitness professionals OR yourself to work towards them.
  ie rather than 'I want to lose weight' - perhaps 'I want to lose 1-2lbs per week or I'd like to reduce my body fat % by x' then we can start looking at programming....
• i did the 5:2 diet last year and lost over a stone. going to start back on it on monday and i cook our meals from hairy bikers diet books. great meals and all cooked from scratch
• starting small to set up good habits has worked well for myself and some friends, ie first just doing a small walk, but doing it ever day, then after a few weeks increasing it etc etc. After a while its part of your routine and you don't even think about it, just do it. best of luck!
• I am losing weight and eating better with Slimming World (there is a thread here).
  For me it's a gradual process - I need to change my old eating habits and build new healthier ones.
  I tried the 5:2 which is a really good way to lose, but because of the medication I take I could not keep it up.
  I am gradually building more activity into my life. I walk, am starting pilates and would like to be able to take a Zumba class when I am fitter.
  I think the couch to 5K is a good idea.
  Anyway - my advice is to take it steady rather than go into it with all guns blazing; build habits and routines and you will make a permanent change.
• I agree that it is a gradual process, however, you need to make strict choices on certain things.
  You MUST start to exercise, no excuses, this is fundamental in ensuring weight loss, and overall health. Pick something you enjoy doing, it does not have to be hammering a tread mill for hours.
  Walk, Run, Swim, Yoha, Pilates, Zumba, Martial arts - anything that gets the hear rate up
  Diet
  I read so much on these forums, about allowing unlimited amounts of certain foods, such as potatoes?!!!
  This is wrong, limit your portion size, and try to have a protein heavy diet, with carbs coming from veg, and other low GI intakes, such as sweet potatoes etc
  Avoid fads, anything that promises to detox you etc is nonsense. That is why we have livers and kidneys.
  Above all embrace the change, don't get so drastic you dread you meals, or exercise. When you lose a few pounds you will feel great, and want to spur on.
  Measure yourself, don't weigh. Weight is such a bad indicator of progress.
  As you build muscle mass and lose fat, you may even gain weight. Keep an eye on the inches, waist, bust, arms, thighs etc. This will truly show you the fruits of your labour.
• Gym? exercise? small food portions? no more take aways?
  All of the above.
  Make it your aim to do something active every day. Yes, it helps to find something you like doing - but you can spend a lot of time looking for that elusive exercise that you just love doing. After all, if you loved exercise, you would be out there doing it. So - try lots of different things, find some that are bearable, and then just do it. It's a bit like maths homework - you don't really need to enjoy it, you just have to do it. But if you do enjoy it, it helps.
  As to diet - cut all the carp out, then have sensible portions of the good stuff. And listen to your body - stop eating when you're full. Just stop. Don't feel guilty, don't worry about waste or how much it's cost, or if you're offending the cook. Just stop.
  Well done for making a start.
• Pretty much all been said. Key message appears to be just start doing something and stick at it. I've seen so many people start and make fantastic progress and then they just stop and all their hard work is undone. If there's no medical reason why you cannot exercise safely then you need to start and use your motivation to continue. Why not try running for 20-30 mins easy 2-3 times a week (walk/run if necessary) and put in a longer walk/run say 45 mins easy on a weekend. I know it's hard esp if you're lacking in confidence, but you want to do it so start. Post your progress on here...good luck. Exercise didn't become a habit for me immediately but now it is. Enter a 5k in 2-3 months time, or a 10k and work up to it. Then enter another so you need to keep up the training. Amaze your family and friends with what you can achieve.
• The odd takeaway now and then is fine. I haven't had many takeaways over the last 18 months when Ive been losing weight, I think 3 over the festive period, same the previous christmas and new year and none in between. However I have been out for a few meals, sometimes Ive stayed on plan more or less and sometimes I haven't. If I have wanted a bit of junk food I've had it and I've not worried about it.
  I try not to waste or chuck food away, I make a lot of soup, I try and avoid a lot of processed foods. I do eat carbs but I don't eat white bread, white pasta, white rice anymore, I also don't eat a lot of wholemeal products either. If I do have the occasional slice of bread it will be rye.
  I like my food and I put weight on very easily, I have battled with extra weight on and off for a long time. I've never been on any ridiculous diets, no VLCD diets, tried slimming world briefly and it wasn't for me, but my diet has been a lot worse than it is right now even when I've been very fit.
  Lots of people eat junk and do exercise thinking they'll burn off what they consume, they probably won't. They might burn off a quarter of what they consume.
  I would try and avoid anything stamped with low fat like the plague. When manufacturers take fat out it has to be replaced with something, that something tends to be sugar. If you can't read something on a label, don't buy it, it won't be good for you.
  There's also the school of thought that says when you go on a diet you should cut out fat. Fat isn't actually bad for most people, trans fats are, but saturated, polyunsaturated and mono saturated in the right quantities is fine. Butter rather than margarine, if you put a pack of marg on a worktop and leave it there, it won't go off, that's not a good sign.
  Diet drinks are full of nasties if you want one, very very occasionally. Your alcohol intake matters as well, wine, beer, cider, all carb heavy. If you do drink and a lot of healthy eating programmes advise people to cut down on booze, something like vodka or gin and soda would be better.
  Ive personally gone through a lot of phases when its come to exercise, I used to do a lot of les mills stuff, mostly attack and step. I now do more HIIT including boxercise type classes, I also lift weights, walk and occasionally swim and do spin classes.
  Its also important to try and tailor your eating to your training and if you can get a gym instructor/PT to draw you up a gym programme that's reviewed every 6-8 weeks or so it would keep you focused because after a while your body will get used to what you are doing and you need to shock it into getting results by mixing up your programme.
  Also, a lot of people get into the habit of hammering the cardio and not doing any lifting, lifting weights is good for bone density, there are many benefits to a weights/cardio mix, but anything is better than sitting on the couch.
  Also, if you hit a plateau don't stress about it. I had times where I was working hard, eating well and nothing moved on the scales but I got over it. I also don't worry if I put weight on, my weight goes up and down a lot anyway, it doesn't take much overeating to show a gain on the scales for me and remember between morning and night people can put on 3-4 pounds in food and water weight.
  I dont weigh myself daily, when I do an 8 week bootcamp its once at the beginning and once at the end.
  Also, some of the exercise I do, when Im in it, I don't love it, I absolutely hate it but when I'm done I feel great. HIIT isn't easy nor is it meant to be comfortable, but it gets you results.