Forum : Exercise Works

I know I can't control my eating, but I can count my calories.

I exercise down to my weight loss calorie intake each night. Depending on my motivation I burn anywhere between 1,000-3,000 calories a session.

When I am disciplined I have been losing around 1.5kg a week. A few years ago I tried not eating/meal replacement and I found that although when I stuck to the plan I lost weight, most of the time I spent trying to get onto the 'fast' side I failed, felt guilty, overate and was not motivated/did not have the energy to exercise and put on weight in off weeks.

It's great – I don't feel guilty when I eat, I can see the purpose of the exercise, and the pain of the exercise makes me think twice before I overeat.

Good point – although that is yet to happen

Just a note to clarify following from your podcast – I agree sleep loss and overeating is loss of control is counterproductive.

It took me a few years to build up to it, but on my  exercise bike – I can comfortably do the highest level and burn more than 300 calories in 10 minutes – so I can do around 1000 calories (10 bananas!) in just 30 minutes.

I usually sleep sounder, longer and wake up satisfied when I exercise late at night. I try to avoid sleep loss. There is a lot of pressure in life and when I don't meet my expectations for work, study and my personal life I build up stress and anxiety that disturbs me at night. The exercise renews the spirt. MY body is energised, I can make up for mistakes during the day, sleep well and start each new day with a clean slate, which is great.

I have been trying to lose weight on and off for 6 years. I've tried meal replacements and all the fad diets, I have also exercised myself to exhaustion. I am 195cm tall. When I was 16 I weighed 135kg. I am now 22 and I weigh 22kg. I have periodically gone up and down with weight. Nothing has worked. Since I made this change over 2 years ago I have steadily lost weight.

I gave it a real crack for new years – resolving to cut back on the fast food, extra lattes and alcohol at work functions. As a result I have lost 10kg from January 2010.

For me this is a sustainable weight loss plan that is healthy and I am building muscle and aerobic fitness. I have lost 10kg from January 2010.

Logical Weight Loss Podcast is awesome… very impressed. Keep up the good work.

** EDIT**

Sorry that should be 92kg, not 22.

G'day Dave,

I love your show and I am still listening a year on. You are my favourite podcast by far – please keep it coming.

It has been a year since I made this post and I thought it is a good time to revisit it.

1. I can't believe how fast time goes by.

2. I regret being impatient and not following good advice.

If you remember, I had established a routine where I would allow myself to have unlimited calories during the day provided I burned more than I consumed at the end of the day.

For a while, my routine was working really well – it was time consuming but I felt in control, I was losing weight, and my fitness was improving. However – every time I became stressed or disorganised, I ate more, my calories increased, I exercised less and lost the gains I had made with my routine.

I wish I had taken your advice this time last year. The flaw in my program is now apparent to me:- 5 weeks ago I moved down from Sydney to Melbourne for a new job. It is very stressful moving homes and leaving my community behind – as you would know.

When I was a kid, like a lot of others with weight problems, I felt ostracised and had a lot of social problems – again, common to kids with weight problems – so I thought I would deal with my fears head on – and take a job talking to large gatherings of people.

My existing habits have played out poorly – I have been too disorganised to exercise or eat well, I have ate to deal with my stress, and I have been drinking to excess. Although I have now regained my self control – I have put on 25kg in 5 weeks (yep – 5kg a week) – and destroyed several years of hard work.

I'm disappointed with myself, but it is a good chance to reflect. Lesson 1 is the need to go slow, be conservative: diet well and exercise regularly – and don't use food as a substitute.

If I had taken the advice above a year ago, I might not have lost the weight – but I doubt my psychology would have placed me in a position where I would baloon out as I have.

This time last year I was 92kg. In a few months I have gone to 120kg. This is Not cool Dave. I'm also now worried about making a bad impression with my new boss.

Lesson 2: stress is a killer of self control.

Lesson 3: When self control goes, we rely on habit, if I had established healthy habits I would have a better time of it.

As a final point – even being bigger than average this time last year, and having low self esteem about it, it is nowhere near as bad as I feel now: an exercising fat Dave was a lot better than a lazy fat Dave.

I would love if you did a show on how to manage stress and keep on target.

Dave