Road Fan

Well?

Seriously, I wonder if it is healthy and worth trying? Ideally I should lose about 35#.

PeteHski

I did a quick search and stopped reading at calorie restriction and supplements. Another fad diet which is unlikely to work long term.

MoAlpha

All weight loss is a result of an energy deficit, i.e. more calories out than in. The tricky part is finding a behavioral structure which makes it doable for you. Macronutrient restrictions (e.g. carbs), partial fasting, social groups, logging intake, expensive programs that make you feel worse about failing, are all things that work for people. This looks like it combines a few of those factors and I'm sure it works for people.

RH Clark

Personally, I wouldn't trust the supplement part of it. I lost 160 lbs. over 2 years and have kept it off for 6 years. I only eat whole foods as minimally processed as possible on a time restricted eating schedule. That's what works for me. Stop eating all processed sugars and highly processed foods and you will lose the weight without whatever supplement they are selling. I'm not saying all supplements are bad, just that you want to be very cautious using them accounting for their long-term effects and even the manufacturing process used to make them.

PeteHski

I've been using the ZOE nutritional program for a few months now. Not specifically to lose weight, but I have lost about 5 kg as a bonus. There are no supplements involved and no calorie restriction. It is really just about increasing awareness of how different foods affect your mind and body. The idea is to create healthy lifelong habits and routines.

https://zoe.com

MoAlpha

I agree. The supplements tend to be expensive and a substitute for potentially healthier alternatives. However, their greater value for some people may behavioral, and if they help someone adhere to a weight loss program, that's worth their very minor risk.

Also, if scientific claims, anecdotes, and harangues helped people lose weight, no one would be fat.

Ric Stern

as MoAlpha has said it's about creating an energy deficit and fitting that within your chosen food belief structure. In that regard it's pretty easy. I work with a few people for weight management and cycling performance, and the process that i use is estimating basal metabolic rate, and regular energy expenditure, along with ascertaining your energy expenditure from exercise (hopefully if you're on this forum it's cycling!). If you have an accurate power meter then you're winning. Then you just need to subtract an amount to create an energy deficit. 1lb of fat is ~3500 Kcal. So, the easiest way, is to reduce your energy intake by 500 Kcal/day, or increase your energy expenditure by 500 Kcal/day or some combo thereof.

Personally, i suggest that people eat more plants. There's growing evidence that a diverse gut biome helps with weight management, and additionally most (not all) plants are both nutrient dense, and low in energy while often containing lots of bulk (fibre) so are filling. Paired with a decent intake of protein that can help with satiety and muscle mass maintenance this is the way forward. Some evidence points to vegetarian/plant based as being highly effective, while other evidence suggests a Med diet or Okinawa diet.

I have a 100% record in helping riders lose weight (providing they follow my advice) and i work with younger and older, male and female. FWIW, using the same methods with myself, i lost 6kg (~13 lb), while gaining muscle mass and bone mineral density (as i start to reverse my osteoporosis), in the middle of race season and adding power and racing weekly.

Road Fan

like to thank you all for the reasoned responses! I don’t think I’ll be going that way.

RH Clark

Here are a few things that work for me.
Weigh every day. Don't freak about a couple pounds fluctuation but it's good to see a weeklong trend and be able to adjust quicker than if you only weight once a week or once every 2 weeks.

Find a strategy that works for you. For me it's IM fasting. I don't get hungry in the morning anyway so limiting all calories to a specific time frame helps me keep track and lower overall calories.

Cut out all alcohol and junk food, all useless calories in fact. Think about your nutrition on purpose and only consume the best nutrition possible. If you consume empty calories your body will still need nutrition and you will consume more calories to get it.

Start pre planning all meals according to what your body should need at that particular time. For instance, if weight training is involved you may need more protein or you may need more antioxidants during a recovery period, or more complex carbs before a cardio workout. The main thing is to avoid a situation where you are very hungry and thinking about what sounds good to eat. You should already know exactly what you are going to eat before you ever get hungry.

Good luck.

PeteHski

That’s a very high bar to set. I think most people would crack sooner or later on that kind of strict plan. But if it works for you and doesn’t rely on willpower then it’s bound to be highly effective.

RB1-luvr

I've intermittent fasted twice in my life and it worked very well. I fell off the wagon after a couple years both times. I should get back to it to get rid of my belly. When I did it, I stopped eating at 8PM, started again at 12pm the following day (decaf coffee only, 1 tsp of sugar and creamer until noon), Monday through Friday. Weekends were no restrictions. I looked great, and I ate whatever I wanted (my usual crap) from 1-8. I was in my late 40s to mid 50s when I did this.

RH Clark

I didn't get that strict at first. My diet developed as I studied more about nutrition. I got myself to change by studying new nutrition information constantly. Everyone is only a conglomeration of all they have learned and experienced in life. We all think we know what we should do to get our diet or training right but lack motivation. The truth is that we don't really know or maybe we just aren't forced to think about it all the time. Whatever the case, when I turned off all social media and TV and started only consuming all the information I could about diet and exercise, I found the motivation part. I honestly think we are like a computer in that we won't change any behavior until we download new software.

I went pretty radical because I was in a place where I needed that approach. I was 50 years old and 360 lbs. In 2 years, I lost 190 lbs. down to 170 lbs. with no surgery and no diet pills or shots, just proper diet and cycling. Someone who only needs to drop 30 lbs won't have to be that radical but some of those tips or strategies may help them as well.

zacster

What has worked for me is to track cycling calories and at the same time to eliminate certain foods that we just know contain too many calories, and then other simliar related foods too. For a cycling goal, 3000 kcal/wk is my goal, and as was stated above, almost an entire pound of fat. The foods I eliminated entirely, right off the top, were bagels, pizza and beer. The related foods were all other types of carbs. I'll have a sandwich at lunch, but then no bread at dinner, or just eat the sandwich fillings without the bread at lunch, and maybe have a little rice with dinner. High fat foods like cheese and eggs were not a problem to eat. I eat meat too, within reason. Lots of fish, lots of chicken, lots of salads for dinner. I lost 30 pounds in about 3 months with this diet. I did NOT stop drinking alcohol either, I just stopped drinking beer. I'd rather drink good wine anyway. I also completely eliminated sweets. Part of the reason for this diet was that my blood sugar went over the line into diabetes, but I took care of that and it is back to normal without drugs. As I found out, diabetes drugs are awful on the system and cause all kinds of intestinal and digestive issues. I tried for one day and decided I'd rather spend an hour a day on the bike trainer than on the toilet. Metformin gives Montezuma's revenge a run for its money, pun intended.

So, which part of this regime did the most work? I'd still say the cycling, but to counter that argument would be that my wife also lost 10-15 pounds by following my diet without the cycling, so really probably both. I'll add that the trainer has the added benefit of getting me into kick-ass shape.