I lost 20 kilos 4 years ago as a 62 year old women. I aimed for a moderate loss of 400 grams a week which I thought was attainable. Some weeks I lost more and for 6 miserable months I stayed on the same weight, but it eventually shifted. I have kept it off bar maybe half a kilo here and there. It took me 2 years. I think people lose patience and don’t realise how long it takes. The longer it takes, the more chance you have of it staying off cause you’ve changed your mindset and lifestyle. I still have pizza occasionally and I have a gin squash when I feel like it, but I’m aware of it and don’t go overboard. I really broke it down to I need to lose less than 100 grams a day instead of 5 kilos a week. I also didn’t exercise but that’s my choice. However I have a dog now and I walk her for about 45 minutes a day and I am losing weight again.
Well done! It is a long journey and as you know usually takes far longer than expected. The biggest challenge is maintenance and you seem to have sorted that so well done again. Strong work.
I think it also helps that I’m a vegetarian, so I eat a lot of vegetables. But I basically followed your plan . To maintain I need 2000 calories and to lose weight I need 1750, so I used to count and plan my meals to 1750 a day.
Hello:) I am loving this article as I am in the process of losing weight with current results of -12kg and counting:) It confirms that I am doing most of my stuff right just need to add a bit more sleep and research more protein rich foods as I do a lot of strength workouts. One thing I won't do is daily weighing though as it creates too much emotional impact and affects motivation based on daily fluctuations so I do it twice a week instead and still freel great about it even if it won't be as accurate as the average:) Love your articles, read all of them, thank you! Nina
What Dr. Paddy writes here works. I can testify. I’ve been doing it for 2+ years. My weight has gone from about 210 pounds to the low 170s. Maintaining this weight is tougher for me than losing it, but I’m doing it by weighing myself each morning and logging what I eat, and exercising regularly.
Well done Tony. It's a much harder process than people imagine especially the maintenance phase. No doubt there are a lot of complex factors. Keep up the good work.
Hi Paddy - I've read that the body can only absorb 20-30g of protein in any 1-2 hour window, with any surplus being burned off. Given the calculator's guideline levels of protein are so high, what's the best way to spread out my daily protein consumption? I need to be eating 180g so that would require me to eat 6-9 small meals a day which is not really workable for me!
I think you have to experiment with what works best for you and while there is evidence that above 30g of protein it is not used for muscle synthesis etc that assumes you have absorbed everything you have consumed. Not saying it’s perfect but what I do is try to have 3 higher protein meals and get protein snacks in between. Works for me.
My BMI is 19, maybe 20. It’s my muscles that are disappearing! I am an intermittent faster for the last five years, and a healthy eater, meaning no sugar, no wheat, gluten free grains only, raw honey in my coffee. 70 years old or young.
I would work with a dietician and trainer to ensure you are getting adequate calories, protein and doing enough resistance training. After 70 muscle mass loss is significant and you have to work very hard to keep it
I should have weighed myself before writing. I’ve gained 8 pounds since last summer, so my BMI is normal for me. When I do resistance, I have to use osteoporosis friendly exercises, and I have purchased the materials. I will stick to walking this summer until those exercises are comfortable again.
This absolutely works. I did pretty much the exact steps that Doc listed out and dropped from a 23 BMI to a 21 BMI (I am South Asian and used to be skinny fat). It's much much harder to lose weight when you're at or close to a healthy weight already. Before this, I've tried intermittent fasting, intuitive eating, low carb.. nothing works unless you have a calorie target and track it.
After trying so many diets and constantly be in the loop of these rigid diets, I noticed that all of these diets share the same variable which is a caloric deficit. Now my way of eating is flexible diet. I track my calories, eat sufficient protein and enjoy what I'm not eating.I know tracking can be hard but later you get used to it. In the end you should do whatever you can sustain.
I lost 20 kilos 4 years ago as a 62 year old women. I aimed for a moderate loss of 400 grams a week which I thought was attainable. Some weeks I lost more and for 6 miserable months I stayed on the same weight, but it eventually shifted. I have kept it off bar maybe half a kilo here and there. It took me 2 years. I think people lose patience and don’t realise how long it takes. The longer it takes, the more chance you have of it staying off cause you’ve changed your mindset and lifestyle. I still have pizza occasionally and I have a gin squash when I feel like it, but I’m aware of it and don’t go overboard. I really broke it down to I need to lose less than 100 grams a day instead of 5 kilos a week. I also didn’t exercise but that’s my choice. However I have a dog now and I walk her for about 45 minutes a day and I am losing weight again.
Well done! It is a long journey and as you know usually takes far longer than expected. The biggest challenge is maintenance and you seem to have sorted that so well done again. Strong work.
I think it also helps that I’m a vegetarian, so I eat a lot of vegetables. But I basically followed your plan . To maintain I need 2000 calories and to lose weight I need 1750, so I used to count and plan my meals to 1750 a day.
Hello:) I am loving this article as I am in the process of losing weight with current results of -12kg and counting:) It confirms that I am doing most of my stuff right just need to add a bit more sleep and research more protein rich foods as I do a lot of strength workouts. One thing I won't do is daily weighing though as it creates too much emotional impact and affects motivation based on daily fluctuations so I do it twice a week instead and still freel great about it even if it won't be as accurate as the average:) Love your articles, read all of them, thank you! Nina
Well done. Keep it up. As always these approaches are templates and you should always modify them to your needs which you have. 👍
What Dr. Paddy writes here works. I can testify. I’ve been doing it for 2+ years. My weight has gone from about 210 pounds to the low 170s. Maintaining this weight is tougher for me than losing it, but I’m doing it by weighing myself each morning and logging what I eat, and exercising regularly.
Well done Tony. It's a much harder process than people imagine especially the maintenance phase. No doubt there are a lot of complex factors. Keep up the good work.
Hi Paddy - I've read that the body can only absorb 20-30g of protein in any 1-2 hour window, with any surplus being burned off. Given the calculator's guideline levels of protein are so high, what's the best way to spread out my daily protein consumption? I need to be eating 180g so that would require me to eat 6-9 small meals a day which is not really workable for me!
I think you have to experiment with what works best for you and while there is evidence that above 30g of protein it is not used for muscle synthesis etc that assumes you have absorbed everything you have consumed. Not saying it’s perfect but what I do is try to have 3 higher protein meals and get protein snacks in between. Works for me.
Fantastic. Thanks Paddy!
My BMI is 19, maybe 20. It’s my muscles that are disappearing! I am an intermittent faster for the last five years, and a healthy eater, meaning no sugar, no wheat, gluten free grains only, raw honey in my coffee. 70 years old or young.
I would work with a dietician and trainer to ensure you are getting adequate calories, protein and doing enough resistance training. After 70 muscle mass loss is significant and you have to work very hard to keep it
I should have weighed myself before writing. I’ve gained 8 pounds since last summer, so my BMI is normal for me. When I do resistance, I have to use osteoporosis friendly exercises, and I have purchased the materials. I will stick to walking this summer until those exercises are comfortable again.
It’s all a process and there are seasons. Keep it up.
This absolutely works. I did pretty much the exact steps that Doc listed out and dropped from a 23 BMI to a 21 BMI (I am South Asian and used to be skinny fat). It's much much harder to lose weight when you're at or close to a healthy weight already. Before this, I've tried intermittent fasting, intuitive eating, low carb.. nothing works unless you have a calorie target and track it.
Well done. I think the way to look at it is that everything works as long as you hit your calorie targets. Well done again.
Thank you!
After trying so many diets and constantly be in the loop of these rigid diets, I noticed that all of these diets share the same variable which is a caloric deficit. Now my way of eating is flexible diet. I track my calories, eat sufficient protein and enjoy what I'm not eating.I know tracking can be hard but later you get used to it. In the end you should do whatever you can sustain.