Exercise, diet and BMI twaddle.

[terrierist]

I've had a scare lately, a very close pal has had a stroke ( albeit minor) aged just 39. We're both of the same ilk, love a beer or seven, adore red meat and game and eat for pleasure. His illness hasn't half scared me into realising that at 46, I need to get my backside moving and lose some weight, here is where the fun starts. I hate gyms, swimming and any form of exercise done in a public room or building if that makes sense. I'm overweight at 101Kg and 175cm in height, and have been like this for 8-9 years or more. My type 2 is controlled with Metfartin Slow release, Gliclazide and I take a statin, my bloods are generally well controlled.

20-25 years ago I was a mountain bike nut, I was 12 stone in old money, was riding 3 nights aweek for 2 hours plus each night, I loved it. I've decided to buy myself a very good quality bike, and plan to ride 3 mornings or evenings a week, but am unsure of just what I should be doing in the terms of mileage or time allocated to this.

I've changed my diet to include much more fruit and veg, I adore carbs but in the past have had pretty good results by going low carb.

My questions are please.

1) How much time should I be putting aside for exercise? How many miles per day ( 3 days per week) should I be cycling to see results?

2) I saw on the facebook page a great bowl/plate detailing how much meat/veg/starch, but I am loathe to buy one when it just takes a bit of advice from the helpful members on here, just what should I be eating and when?

3) What should I weigh realistically? I've seen the BMI indicators saying I should be 75 Kg? Apart from being just over this at 21, what is a happy weight considering my 46 years?


I really appreciate any advice or info you can pass on, and once again thanks for any replies in advance.

Kev

 

[Sid Bonkers]

Hi, ive never seen a BMI indicator that says you should be any particular weight they usually just indicate the ranges for "Underweight", "Normal", "overweight" and "Obese".

You should aim to be within the "NORMAL" range of weight for your height whatever that may be according to your height and sex.

Exercise is very good for getting you fit and improving general health but actually not much good for losing weight, I have lost over 5 stones (70lbs) and am not able to do any exercise of any value but have lost weight and maintained that weight loss.

To lose weight you need to eat fewer calories, in other words eat less food!

At the time I lost most weight I was eating around 60g of carbs a day and eating quite small portions of food, I never eat anything in a portion size that would not fit comfortably in one cupped hand. So a small chicken breast with a handful of peas or other vegetables and two or three new boiled potatoes etc that sort of thing would form a typical evening meal along with perhaps a small orange, I did not drink at all for the first six months and neither did I eat any snacks. after six or seven months I gradually introduced a few more carbs per day up to the amount my meter told me was OK which actually increased as I lost the weight.

After about a year I eased things off as my diabetes was well under control and I had lost around 4 stones in weight, the other stone has come off more slowly over the last 3+ years. I now eat what I call a fairly normal diet although I am still cautious with carbs and still eat much smaller portions than I used to before I was diabetic and lost the weight, I imagine that is why I have been able to maintain the weight loss.

 

[Finzi]

Sid, did you ever suffer from feeling hungry when you reduced portion sizes?


Type 2 on Metformin, diagnosed Jan 2013, ultra low carber, Hba1C at diagnosis 8% (11mmol), now between 4.5 and 5.5 mmol. 20kg lost so far

 

[mo1905]

Good advice from Sid there. The majority of any weight loss will only come from diet. That's not to say exercise won't help though. It does speed up your metabolim which will aid a little.
Ignore BMI tables, according to those, all of the England Rugby team are obese. They are a very rough approximation only.
So, exercise as much as you can comforatably fit in, 3 times a week is good. Don't go mad with it or you'll bin it within weeks. Stick to a healthy diet, fruit, veg etc. Reduce portion size, this is crucial. It's eating less that brings weight loss. Exercise helps with fitness.Good luck and keep us posted !


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