My overall physical condition is probably what you could summarize as “fit fatty,” meaning I’m a not-so-svelte 228lbs at 6’2", but can finish in the top 40% of the AG pack and podium in Clydesdale in most run/cycle events so there’s a decent engine under the blubber and I train hard. I do a lot of cycling in the summer in the mountains and get killed in the climbs since I’m towing an extra 40 lbs (damn gravity) and would like to get this corrected once and for all.
I’ve tried logging food, calorie reduction, etc. and am usually successful but yo-yo back and it’s getting harder to get down in my 40s. I’m thinking it may be time to get some professional (e.g paid) help. The other wrinkle is I travel like a fool so wondering if there are folks that do “remote nutritionist coaching” or something like that and understand the nuances of spending ~200 days on the road while training and eating outside the home. I’ve done some googling but searching for anything weight-loss related gets quite a bit of “keyword entropy” so looking for some guidance on whether this is a thing, or other advice.
I do a fair bit of travel for work, a lot of it to Ukraine where believe me there is no way to get nutrition info.
I find I just have to be diligent about the lifestyle of work travel. I don’t let myself drink a lot. I order simple menu items. When I order a steak I never get a sauce, for example. I only eat things where I can ball park the caloric content.
And I make sure I’m never above a 7 on the 1-10 how full am I feeling scale. This ensures I wake up hungry which is a good cue for me with weight.
I am 6 foot 3, I have seen 253lbs , when i started the journey 5 years ago i was 233. I’ve had a good nutrition coach and every other diet in the world… It really just takes the answer you don’t want. just do it! its not a 5 day diet, two day cheat… You just gotta man up and lose the weight, traveling is not an excuse. I am currently on a keto thing, and i like it. I will stay with it for maybe 5 to 8 more weeks, but then I am going back to healthy breakfast healthy lunch and then after lunch low carbs, low fat. like the chicken and broccoli stuff… i am currently 184. and It has been a long road but every year i seem to eek out 10 or so pounds…
Don’t waste your money paying anyone. It really isn’t that hard if you cut out totally all processed food. It would basically be impossible to eat enough vegetables to be fat. With protein get an understanding of how many calories are in each, steak for example is very high calories, chicken breast in comparison not so much.
Also cut out dairy, full cream milk has a stack of calories. And of course no sugar.
My overall physical condition is probably what you could summarize as “fit fatty,” meaning I’m a not-so-svelte 228lbs at 6’2", but can finish in the top 40% of the AG pack and podium in Clydesdale in most run/cycle events so there’s a decent engine under the blubber and I train hard. I do a lot of cycling in the summer in the mountains and get killed in the climbs since I’m towing an extra 40 lbs (damn gravity) and would like to get this corrected once and for all.
I’ve tried logging food, calorie reduction, etc. and am usually successful but yo-yo back and it’s getting harder to get down in my 40s. I’m thinking it may be time to get some professional (e.g paid) help. The other wrinkle is I travel like a fool so wondering if there are folks that do “remote nutritionist coaching” or something like that and understand the nuances of spending ~200 days on the road while training and eating outside the home. I’ve done some googling but searching for anything weight-loss related gets quite a bit of “keyword entropy” so looking for some guidance on whether this is a thing, or other advice.
You’ll get a lot of advice here in part because many people here have either been there or at least have had to work to keep the pounds off. One thing you will notice is that different things work for different people. I disagree strongly with the guy who said you have to embrace being hungry. That’s not sustainable for almost anyone. Instead you have to find the diet/lifestyle choice that works for you. You need to be able to eat the right amount of calories every day and have it mostly be effortless. Some people do low carb, some people do low fat, etc. Do whatever works for you comfortably. The most important thing is you like the diet and it becomes part of your every day life. I.e., it’s not a temporary diet - it’s for life. I think for almost everyone this means eating less processed foods, which tend to not really fill you up on a per calorie basis. This is obviously much harder when you travel a lot, but you can figure out something that works.
What I do: mostly track my calories, eat whole foods (e.g. whole grains instead of white), eat ~30g protein at every meal, not much fat, the rest carbs, eat a fairly large breakfast, stop eating after dinner (i.e. no food from dinner on for a few hours until sleep). Two more things that I think are pretty helpful: (1) get enough sleep - this could be almost the most important thing, (2) no alcohol. Using this routine, if I’m ever hungry I eat. I.e. I never ever starve myself. In fact, if I’m not careful, on hard workout days I will actually not eat enough. It’s effortless to hold my weight, and I eat ice cream fairly often, etc, and I’m 50yo, BUT I do ride my bike a lot so that helps make it easy too.
I saw a pro-sports nutritionist and it was good. It was a surprise. I held the program for a year, but since slipped a bit - fully aware tho.
Corporate life & travel creates a lot of stress. Also is an environment where it is easy to make incorrect choices. Mostly too much sugary things, at least in my case.
my 2 cents, as others have said what works for one may not for another. I played a ton of sports growing up and through college so never worried about nutrition in regards to weight. After other things in my life got more intensive competing took a back seat and weight went up. I found working with a nutritionist gave me the understanding of how what I was putting into my body affected my weight and how I felt etc…After 18months or so of working with one I had all the tools myself to maintain and adjust my diet as needed based off what was going on in my life.
6’4" sitting at 220 now. Been as high as 280 and as low as 200. Caloric deficit is the best answer. Odds are you could be eating better. I know I sneak sugars and beer when I’m not really trying, and it shows, even though I try to convince myself I’m eating healthy haha. End of the day, it’s all about burning more than you consume.
I disagree strongly with the guy who said you have to embrace being hungry. That’s not sustainable for almost anyone.
10000 years of human evolution would suggest otherwise.
Right now about 40% of U.S. adults are obese. Prior to 50 years ago, that rate was well under 10%. Similar trends hold in other countries, typically starting at a later date. The reason people were not obese prior to 50 years ago is NOT because they did not have access to more food, and it is NOT because they walked around hungry. They ate to satiation and did not get fat. So, basically you’re exactly wrong. 10000 years of human history and obesity was rare. Only in the last 50 years have people become obese, and in most countries it’s more like the last 20-30.
Interesting that I logged into Slowtwitch tonight because I rarely do! There are some good suggestions here but what ultimately has to happen is finding out what is going on with you. If you haven’t had some lab work done, then that would be a prudent place to start.Too many athletes are unaware of hidden clinical issues that are brewing and keeping them from performance goals. I am a Sports Dietitian and work remotely. Feel free to contact me If you want to briefly chat to see how this could work
You don’t need to pay anyone cent. It’s not rocket science-your body can’t create fat out of thin air. If you aren’t loosing weight the simple truth is you aren’t burning more calories as you are consuming, it really is that simple.
So if you reduce your calories and are still hungry you need to look at what you are eating.
I dare you to eat nothing but vegetables and lean protein (As much as you like) consistently and tell me you aren’t loosing weight. No cheats, no one off snacks or nights on the booze, just vegetables and lean protein-by the nuclear if you want.
I was at 232 from 2007-2011. Now I’m at 180-185 depending on the season. 6,3 btw, so there’s your context. The road for my was long, with 232 → 200ish, then back up to 215 and back down to 200 a few times before I found ways to get down to 190 and keep my upper limit at 200. Then eventually I learned how to “embrace the hunger”, which sounds awfully bad but really isn’t. It is not about starving yourself, but appreciating how it feels to be 500kcal ish under what would be maintenance. Anyways, first few stepped that helped for me:
Replace sugar sweeten soda with light soda. Skip candy and desserts. In the beginning I used to have a day every other week in which I was allowed to eat/drink candy/soda, but eventually life started to revolve around those days and I don’t think that’s the right way to do it.
Number 1 had a huge effect on me. Next step:
Coffee. When people eat, I drink coffee. I love the taste of it. Hated it in the beginning but now its my go to.
Skip unhealthy dinners. No more burgers, pizza, hot dogs, kebabs etc.
The process of enjoying healthy foods.
When you start craving fruits, vegetables, rye bread, berries etc instead of candy and chips you know something right is going on
I disagree strongly with the guy who said you have to embrace being hungry. That’s not sustainable for almost anyone.
10000 years of human evolution would suggest otherwise.
Right now about 40% of U.S. adults are obese. Prior to 50 years ago, that rate was well under 10%. Similar trends hold in other countries, typically starting at a later date. The reason people were not obese prior to 50 years ago is NOT because they did not have access to more food, and it is NOT because they walked around hungry. They ate to satiation and did not get fat. So, basically you’re exactly wrong. 10000 years of human history and obesity was rare. Only in the last 50 years have people become obese, and in most countries it’s more like the last 20-30.
You seem to be speaking from a very modern, very western-centric viewpoint.
Anyway, he needs to get hungry now because he’s overweight. You don’t have to starve yourself and be hungry all the time once you’re at a weight you like, but you’re not eating in excess.
Throughout human history, that excess was rare. Hence, obesity was rare, sure.
I disagree strongly with the guy who said you have to embrace being hungry. That’s not sustainable for almost anyone.
10000 years of human evolution would suggest otherwise.
Right now about 40% of U.S. adults are obese. Prior to 50 years ago, that rate was well under 10%. Similar trends hold in other countries, typically starting at a later date. The reason people were not obese prior to 50 years ago is NOT because they did not have access to more food, and it is NOT because they walked around hungry. They ate to satiation and did not get fat. So, basically you’re exactly wrong. 10000 years of human history and obesity was rare. Only in the last 50 years have people become obese, and in most countries it’s more like the last 20-30.
Nobody can call them fat. There is just more of them to love! This is America, where there will be a girl who could be beautiful, but instead packed on 50+ lbs and will be in a magazine cover shoot about how “real†woman look and are beautiful as a size 18. Ugh
Society tells us we have the problem and we need to embrace the fatties!
