Blonde will make thin ....Here we go again !

[Ant040689]

Where are all the other 20 Stone + guys? I know there are at least 10 on blonde.

 

[Ant040689]

Weighed myself this morning at 18st 1lbs

I would like get down to 15 stone eventually but taking each stone as it comes and keeping it off is the main aim.

Weighed in this morning at 17st 10lbs for a 5lbs loss in the first week.

Today I weighed in at 17st 6lbs for a 9lbs loss in nearly three weeks.

I weighed myself at the beginning of December and I was 18st 5lbs so nearing a stone loss total from where I was back then.

very well done

Good stuff, keep it up.

[Ant040689]

Some excellent conversation in above posts and definitely taking to drinking more water and avoiding everything that is artificial if i can.

[vegaslover]

Weighed myself this morning at 18st 1lbs

I would like get down to 15 stone eventually but taking each stone as it comes and keeping it off is the main aim.

Weighed in this morning at 17st 10lbs for a 5lbs loss in the first week.

Today I weighed in at 17st 6lbs for a 9lbs loss in nearly three weeks.

I weighed myself at the beginning of December and I was 18st 5lbs so nearing a stone loss total from where I was back then.

very well done

Good stuff, keep it up.

[RED-DOG]

The simplest answer I can give for what's wrong with sweetener, is that it isn't natural or even from a natural source. Sugar is found naturally in many foods - Glucose in pasta and rice; Fructose in fruit and honey; Sucrose in sugarcane (and your cup of tea after reading this post). While too much of it is a bad thing (I can address this in more detail at another time, think insulin, think calories) the body is capable of breaking it down and has been able to do so since we were cavemen. The liver and kidneys were not designed to break down chemical sweeteners such as - Sucralose, not to be confused with Sucrose; and Aspartame. For the calories that you save in one or two spoonfuls of sugar per day in your tea or coffee, it is not worth the damage you can do to your body by feeding it all sorts of artificial shit.

With respect, I don't want the simplest answer. I want know why eating something that my liver and kidneys can't break down is so bad.

I once swallowed a ball-bearing and, perhaps unsurprisingly, my liver and kidneys were unable to break it down.

In due course, it emerged unbroken. I suffered no ill effects other than those caused by a good clout round the ear.

[Jon MW]

The simplest answer I can give for what's wrong with sweetener, is that it isn't natural or even from a natural source. ... it is not worth the damage you can do to your body by feeding it all sorts of artificial shit.

this wording doesn't exactly smack of objectivity

[leethefish]

WHY ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS ARE BAD FOR YOU AND THE PLANET
By Elizabeth Seward
Comments

John Sigler/iStock
DCL

MORE ON EATING HEALTHY AND GREEN:
Guide to Understanding Food Labels: Organic? Conventional? Sustainable? What's it all Mean?
Thinking of Going Vegetarian? Add 5 Veg Staples to Your Grocery List
Should I Worry About the Carbon Footprint of My Orange Juice?
Keep Your Heart Healthy
Trying to keep your weight down and trying to be healthy can be totally different things. There was a time in my life when I believed that sugar-free foods and drinks were actually good for me. I was drinking sugar-free Red Bulls and dumping Splenda into my morning coffee like my life depended on it. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I considered myself healthy then.

I always heard negative things about artificial sweeteners in passing, but dodged conversations about it and pretended like I didn't hear or read anything knocking the merit of the products. What can I say? I was addicted to caffeine and totally uninterested in ditching my habit. (And who doesn't love a low-calorie caffeine fix?)

But after learning a thing or two about artificial sweeteners, I've left my sugar-free energy drink toting days behind me.

Some facts about artificial sweeteners that made me change my mind:

1. They are chemicals or natural compounds that replace the sweetness of sugar, without all of the calories. But sometimes the label 'sugar-free' masks calories present in the food or drink. Of course you can always read the product's label, but believe it or not, there are a whole lot of people out there who think that sugar-free or fat-free means low-calorie. On top of that, there are some recent studies that have shown that artificial sweeteners can actually increase your appetite. And then there are sugar-free products with ingredients that can raise your blood sugar dramatically—like the white flour in sugar-free cookies. All in all, 'sugar-free' doesn't always mean 'diet-friendly'.

2. Aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal, NatraSweet, Canderel, Spoonfuls, DiabetiSweet) is a common chemical sweetener with possible side effects that sound like they're out of a horror movie. From hallucinations to seizures to brain tumors, it is hardly worth consuming for the sake of saved calories.

3. Sucralose (Otherwise known as Splenda, my past-sweetener of choice), is scary. Recent research suggests that Splenda can enlarge both the liver and kidneys and shrink the thymus glands. Sucralose breaks down into small amounts of dichlorofructose, which has not been tested adequately tested in humans. Splenda reportedly can cause skin rashes, panic, diarrhea, headaches, bladder issues, stomach pain, and those side effects don't even sum it up.

Think this sounds bad? Do some further research. Most artificial sweeteners on store shelves are accompanied by numerous side-effect stories. (Some recent studies suggest they cause cancer. Should something as serious as cancer really be overlooked?) Research also suggests that they actually cause overeating among consumers.

In addition to all of this, consider the waste involved in the industry of artificially sweetening. Ever stepped into a coffee shop and noticed a mound of sugar substitute packets building on the counter or in the trash? We've been wasting one of our most precious resources for the sake of a sweetener that can harm our bodies and prevent weight loss. It sounds unfathomable, but true nonetheless.

What you can do instead to get your sugar fix:
Turn to natural sweeteners for your drinks and food alike. Honey, organic maple syrup, molasses, date sugar, brown rice syrup, and stevia are just a few natural sweeteners you can turn to. Not only will they wreak less havoc on your body, but your support of these sweeteners instead will, eventually, help to slow the production of toxic artificial sweeteners--which are significantly less delicious in my opinion anyway.

[RED-DOG]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2371529/Sweeteners-bad-Take-scare-stories-diet-drinks-sweets-pinch-salt-say-experts.html

[leethefish]

[redsimon]

I asked my consultant at the renal transplant unit about artificial sweeteners. He reckoned they're dangerous to you if you ingest around 2 kg per day of them. I think having them in my tea might be safe then

[sovietsong]

I weighed myself at home today & was 17st7lb which is a loss of 7lb since the start of jan.  I'm not going to get too carried away, a big loss is always expected at the start so the hard work starts now!

Starting Weight - 18st
Current Weight - 16st 8lbs
Total Lost - 1st 6lbs

So whilst I haven't been posting much I have been eating ok but hitting the exercise really hard.  A competition at work to run 5k started & i decided to get involved... whilst i'm currently dead last out of the 12 or so entries I'm enjoying the competition. 

I havent ran 5k for probably 15 years so last week was a real challenge.  My first time was 36.44 & i honestly thought i was going to pass out, this week was much better & i managed 34.06. 

My exercise routine looks like this

Tuesday - 10 min run followed by Back & Biceps (6 different machines/free weights 3sets of
Friday - 10 min run followed by Chest & Triceps (6 different machines/free weights 3sets of
Sunday - 5k run, 5k cycle & a slash in the pool.  I call it a triathlon but thats probably a bit of an overstatement!

I have been trying to cycle to work but the weather is shit & i hate going out in the wind/rain.  I go down a big hill & get scared.

I need to focus on eating as I havent really been doing that well on that front & am probably making things harder than they should be, especially as I'm working so hard on the physical side of things!

GL to everybody else who are still going strong, i recommend the 5k challenge if you can force yourself into it.  I'm by far the worst runner in my work comp but so motivated to improve.

[Ant040689]

I weighed myself at home today & was 17st7lb which is a loss of 7lb since the start of jan.  I'm not going to get too carried away, a big loss is always expected at the start so the hard work starts now!

Starting Weight - 18st
Current Weight - 16st 8lbs
Total Lost - 1st 6lbs

So whilst I haven't been posting much I have been eating ok but hitting the exercise really hard.  A competition at work to run 5k started & i decided to get involved... whilst i'm currently dead last out of the 12 or so entries I'm enjoying the competition. 

I havent ran 5k for probably 15 years so last week was a real challenge.  My first time was 36.44 & i honestly thought i was going to pass out, this week was much better & i managed 34.06. 

My exercise routine looks like this

Tuesday - 10 min run followed by Back & Biceps (6 different machines/free weights 3sets of
Friday - 10 min run followed by Chest & Triceps (6 different machines/free weights 3sets of
Sunday - 5k run, 5k cycle & a slash in the pool.  I call it a triathlon but thats probably a bit of an overstatement!

I have been trying to cycle to work but the weather is shit & i hate going out in the wind/rain.  I go down a big hill & get scared.

I need to focus on eating as I havent really been doing that well on that front & am probably making things harder than they should be, especially as I'm working so hard on the physical side of things!

GL to everybody else who are still going strong, i recommend the 5k challenge if you can force yourself into it.  I'm by far the worst runner in my work comp but so motivated to improve.

So it sounds like Monday is the stay in bed all day day because you are dead?

I have gone militant with my diet, I am vegan during it, and to your point of poor nutrition making things harder I can at first hand say it makes it unbelievably tougher. Obv do not go as extreme as me with it, but before i started the diet around 2 and a half weeks ago, I tried a run and i nearly was passing out from not much running at all, thinking my heart was going to explode.

Have been running after 2 weeks vegan and despite being unfit I can feel at least a 50% difference on endurance and i always never feel the same strain as i did before on the cardiovascular system. So I would say yeh diet is huge, and one bit of crap you eat that doesn't go down well will punish you if you have to run a day or less after it.

Great weight loss too, keep it up.

[Ant040689]

I am absolutely flying.

Starting weight - January 9th: 21st 5lbs
                          January 22nd: 20st 8lbs
                          January 27th: 20st 3lbs (might not be in the 20st club for much longer Milidonk!)

2 1/2 weeks - 1 stone 2lbs loss

I am going vegan at the moment which I have said before. Chose it because it was the only diet I could see that had no limitations on how much you eat or what you can eat within its confines. Naturally, what started to happen with me is I was probably eating too much pasta than was necessary to start, I would realise that by being bloated, and the next day I calmed it down and listened to my body. Careful too of getting a balance in and I am achieving that.

I feel no restriction whatsoever, and am enjoying the lentils, veggies, pasta/potatoes and fruit immensely. For a refreshing sweet drink, I get a pint glass, add a quarter of an fruit juice from concentrate i have, and then the other 3/4 with water and find that a lovely drink. Even though advice on here is to avoid fruit juices I only ever have 250 mls max a day and that covers my sugar tooth.

Only within the last week have I started hard with exercise. I am going to be doing an hour a day of jogging with intermittent walking recovery and stretching involved in it.

Having the first two weeks to just change the diet without exercise was calming and enjoyable. I knew I was probably refreshing my body's utilities for the next bit of exercise I was going to do and I wasn't wrong, I felt great and felt much fitter when i did run.

For the past 5 days I am eating considerably less than i was at the start of the diet, naturally, I feel no urge to eat more nor is there any discomfort, and i am adding much more exercise to the boil. Sounds like a remedy for success.

I know I am a natural athlete below this fat as well, so I am good at pushing myself to be comfortably uncomfortable on the physical side, never over doing it and thriving from the added endorphins.

It will be interesting to see at what rate the weight continues to get off of me. If it is 3.5 lbs a week or more, then great, I am concentrating only on keeping myself feeling good with the whole diet and letting the weight loss sort itself out. I am also aware the weight will become harder to budge the more i go on, which isn't a problem for me either.

The goal is to be Goalkeeper fit by the summer and get some trails going for semi pro clubs. A goal I have let slip thinking it will never happen as i was struggling so much to shift the weight for the last 10 years really (24 now, always been intermittently chubs). If I am fit, I think I am good enough to be playing at a decent level and if i try my best and i don't get in anywhere, at least it is settled in my mind that i went for it and i have the benefit of being slim anyway

No pressure here, feeling great, the diet doesn't feel imposing, and the lure of meat just isn't there for some reason even though I had been a lifelong meat eater since about a month ago.

Going well.

[leethefish]

Fantastic ...soviet & ant   Really well done

Working hard and it's paying off

[tikay]

I must return to a diet-regime, with immediate effect.

I was down to 12st 5lbs in early December, but I've managed to binge-eat my way back to 13st 6lbs now, it's making me feel unwell again, Rennie & Nurofen intake is back to max, & I'm lethargic. 

Initial target? 13 stones by February 17th, which is 3 weeks away.

I'll probably continue beyond that & try & get down to 12 stones, but for now, 13 stones 0 lbs by 17th Feb is the target.

Off we go.