calling all former FAT people

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

hello.

now i know that this being a brighton message board the likelyhood is most of you will still be fat bastards.

but for anyone who has lost the beer belly, or a significant amount please help.

im not fat, but uni has had its effects and my former ROCK HARD MUSCLE has somewhat faltered in the stomach region.

now im doing about 2 hours swimming a week and not snbacking as much, but what can i do to lose the stomach without anything to grueling?

im hoping chocolate may help lose weight, somehow i feel this is unlikely though.

are sit ups really good, cos they just hurt my poor back.

thanks thin people in advance. ps how fattening is harveys?

 

[Trufflehound]

I travelled round the world for a year. Lost a 20 kg/3 stone beer belly without any effort. It probably helped that I was no longer living next door to a pub however.

That was 17 years ago, and it hasn't come back, so there must be something to it...

 

[view]

if your serious about losing weight then cutting out all alcohol is a must for maximum results, if you still have a crafty pint or two every now and then, then try and avoid food during or after the drink as this food wont get metabolised.

in terms of exercise, sit ups etc are good for building muscle but u can have the most perfect physique but if you have a layer of fat over it you cant show it off. The best way of burning fat is longer duration but lower intensity exercise which suits the no too gruelling comment.

you dont necessarily have to go to a gym but try and do an hour or so of exercise everyday, that can include things like mowing the lawn, walking round town etc or if you really feel like going for it a run/cycle swim

 

[Curious Orange]

The swimming is good, cycling and walking most days helps too, plus not eating pizza every other night, and cutting out fry-ups all together.

I lost 2 and a half stone, and without sacrificing my weekend sojourns to the pub either.

 

[Lammy]

I lost over a stone on the Atkins Diet + Beer.

I was at my trimmest when I lived in Nottingham. I went to the gym about 3-4 times a week for a good 1.5hrs. Watched what I ate and still drink plenty of beer.

Beer doesn't make you fat by itself, it contains a lot of calories though so drinking beer without doing anything to burn it off will make you fat.

I'm currently in a fat stage as my 1 year old prevents me from having the time or money to goto a gym. I'm hoping to get hold of a cheap yet decent treadmill for the garage so I can do the odd 30/60mons here and there when she is asleep.

 

[Half Time Pies]

I had the same Post University Beer belly and it has taken a while to shift it. I found that for me the only really good way to lose weight was with combination of dieting and exercise.

The key is to basically get yourelf into a routine and try hard not to deviate from it. Set yourself realistic targets and formulate a routine that will you will easily be able to stick do/ fits in with your work and social commitments.

For me I set myself a target of doing some form of exercise most days. I took up Kung Fu and when I wasnt going to a class I would go for a jog. I also would calorie count my meals to make sure that I didnt exceed 1500 calories a day (a man needs 2000 - 2500 calories a day so if you eat less than that you will lose weight). This may sound like a pain in the arse but after a couple of weeks you get used to how many calories things contain and it become alot easier. The easiest way to do it is to eat pre prepared things with the calories on the back.

The weight dropped off me in no time and I am now 2 stone lighter although I still dont posses a six pack as you would need to do sit ups for that and I also dont like them much.

 

[Napper]

cut out little things like butter on bread , sugar in tea , mid morning / pm crisps + snacks in the eve.

do 3 x 40min aerobic a week (walking , swimming , cycling)...if you cant manage this build up to it
1 x weights session , if only doing the minimum include bench press + squats

sit ups tone the muscles under fat and although you wont see them i believe it helps with posture and can help make holding things in a hell of a lot easier.

I been doing all this but prob more weights than aerobic for a year whilst going out every weekend and getting hammered and I've only got a tiny belly now . . .if that.

main thing is ....if you fall off the wagon , get back on and keep going. Dont beat yourself up about it

hope it helps

 

[e77]

I have lost 10kg recently (although I need to do it again) and apart from all of the above I have found eating breakfast each day helps.

 

[Curious Orange]

Did I also mention that I discovered a new food group called "fruit and vegetables" - suprisingly tasty.

 

[Napper]

I have lost 10kg recently (although I need to do it again) and apart from all of the above I have found eating breakfast each day helps.

yeah big time , stops your body going into starvation mode. Eat little and often

 

[Half Time Pies]

Beer doesn't make you fat by itself, it contains a lot of calories though so drinking beer without doing anything to burn it off will make you fat.
[/B]

I disagree - Beer and Beer alone made Me fat! A pint of strong lager contains around 250 calories so a session of 8 pints provides you with more calories than a man burns in a whole day. Apparently the calories from alcohol are also more likely to end up stored in the stomach area - hence the beer gut.

 

[Lammy]

I disagree - Beer and Beer alone made Me fat! A pint of strong lager contains around 250 calories so a session of 8 pints provides you with more calories than a man burns in a whole day. Apparently the calories from alcohol are also more likely to end up stored in the stomach area - hence the beer gut.

The first part of what you say is correct. Beer is very calorific. Hence you will need to do some exercise to burn it off. The 2500 calries is based on an average man doing average things during the day. If you have a manual job for example you will burn far more than 2500. If you walk to and from the pub you will probably burn off about a pints worth. Add to that a game of 5 a side and a bit of running in the week and you'll easily shift the beer calories.

Your second point is rubbish. calories are calories. They are a unit of enerfy content. There is no evidence that the calories in the alcohol itself is even absorbed by the body. It's the starch and/or sugars in what you are drinking that adds the calories. Your body does burn certain foods faster than others but it doesn't store them in different places. Sugars are easier to burn off than starch but sugar will not fill you up and you will flag very quickly. Stachy foods take longer to burn and will see you through the day. So if you injest a load of sugar and starch the sugar will be used first so if you don't burn that off before you get to the stachy stuff it will be stored as fat for later.

 

[Curious Orange]

I disagree - Beer and Beer alone made Me fat! A pint of strong lager contains around 250 calories so a session of 8 pints provides you with more calories than a man burns in a whole day. Apparently the calories from alcohol are also more likely to end up stored in the stomach area - hence the beer gut.

... although it may just be a myth

Beer and obesity article from the BBC

 

[Napper]

try vodka + diet coke , not many calories in that at all

 

[Trufflehound]

... although it may just be a myth

Beer and obesity article from the BBC

That may well be true. I probably drink as much beer as I did 20 years ago, but these days I eat properly and exercise a bit (not a lot, just walking and cycling).

Result 1986: Fat bastard.
Result 2006: 32" jeans.

 

[e77]

Is the amount of alcohol present in a drink relative to the amount of calories?

Mine (and a lot of peoples) problem with going on the beer is it does make you hungry and kebab and take away pizza shops open late.

 

[Billy the Fish]

yeah big time , stops your body going into starvation mode. Eat little and often

This is actually very important when trying to lose weight. In the morning you need to kick start you metabloism because, as dougal says, your body goes into starvation mode over night. I find bannanas the best for this because it's easy to eat on the way to work and it releases the energy slowley so should easily see you up to mid morning if not lunch. Eat friut in between sensible meals + excercise and you won't gho far wrong

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

As my bro has always said. If you want to lose weight ............................... eat less, exercise more.

And there is no need for any of the legion of diet books.

 

[southstandandy]

I have lost 4 stone in four months from 15st 8lbs to 11st 8lbs, by just cutting out all the sweets and crisps that I was all too fond of, and by doing 1 hour of excercise a day - either cycling, badminton (a couple of times a week), circuit training, and even Yoga ! From being a bit of a couch potato before I feel a lot better - the only problem is all my clothes are huge (36in waist to 30in), and it's cost me a fortune in new clothes !

 

[e77]

As my bro has always said. If you want to lose weight ............................... eat less, exercise more.

And there is no need for any of the legion of diet books.

Basically you are right but eating better rather than eating less can sometimes work.