Weight loss - nutrition advice?

[Matt]

On that note, is there any easy way to check your body fat percentage? The best I've been able to do is to go siwmming and see how easily I can sit on the bottom of the pool (I used to float instantly to the top no matter how hard I pushed myself down, because of all the fat). But that's an imprecise measure.

[Bram]

It's always a tradeoff between cost and precision. The only foolproof method actually does involve weighing your and submerging you in water to determine your density etc. This is obviously unworkable.

Two relatively cheap methods are:

1. 'lifting' your skin on various location in your body (upper arm, thigh etc.). You know taking it between thumb and finger, and measuring how think the layer is. There's specialised, relatively cheap equipment for that. You can also have it done at most gyms. You enter the results in some sort of formula. You can find into on this all over the 'net.

2. measuring your body's electrical resistance by shooting a current through it (you don't feel this, obviously). I have a handheld apparatus for that, which looks like an oldschool handheld game console (anyone rememebr atari lynx?). You enter your height, age, sex and weight into it, hold out your arms, and it gives you the fat percentage. These things are also available on some scales (you have to get on it barefoot obviously, in this case).

[kl0wn]

On that note, is there any easy way to check your body fat percentage?

Yes. Look at yourself in a mirror. If you don't think "damn I look good!", then your bodyfat is either too high or too low.

[Bram]

If you don't think "damn I look good!", then your bodyfat is either too high or too low.

Yeah, either that, or your self esteem is.

Anyway, the reason for me necro'ing this thread older than Jesus is that I feel the need to tell you guys that I've lost 56 lbs. over the past 4 months, and that I'm now 'officially' at a healthy weight for my height again (175 lbs, 6'0")! Hooray! Add that to you stats, Dr. Sylvan (if you still read these boards, that is...)!

I'm not done yet, though; I wanna lose 15 more pounds, which I estimate will take me a further month-and-a-half.

I've been re-reading the nutrition advise in this thread, and it seems I've been using a helluva lot of it. I never really realised all my in-depth knowledge about nutrition orginated here, so thanks guys!

[Matt]

I recently broke an important barrier; I was stuck in a certain 10 lb range for a very long time (6 months), but now I'm below it. Or the scale at the gym needs calibrating.

[Dr. Sylvan]

Congrats, guys!

I myself am at 185 (and 5'11"/6'0" depending on posture), which is almost to my Ultimate Goal of 175-180. And this has been stable for some weeks now, so I'm pretty sure I'm winning the game. I even bought a Medium t-shirt (you euros probably have some alternative sizing scheme, but just know that this was a first-time size downgrade for me, which I didn't think would ever happen).

[Bram]

Yeah, American Medium is Euro Large and so forth.

So I know how you feel - I fit into regular "L" shirts nowadays (same as you with the "M" one). We're about the same posture now.

Congrats to you as well! We can beat this, and keep beating it. Good to see you're still here, by the way

[dandan]

I'm about 183cm and 87kg. Please call me fat until I finally lose some weight.

Thats about 6'00" and 191 lbs (13 stone 9 lbs). My main problem is snacking, eating pizza, juice and less and less sport as the kids eat up more and more of my time (this will only get worse when I finally get them playing Magic). Luckily I have the superhuman ability to have an upset stomach from seeing the scales go up to 88-89kg and this seems to return me to 'normal' (this is damned useful for Christmas, birthdays and general pigging out).

I'll try that water stuff but my Scottish blood (all 25% of it) prevents me from paying half a dollar for a bottle of water when I can have a beer for that price (hell, I can buy 2 Tesco's beers for that price).

Hopefully we can all lose some weight!!

[Bram]

My main problem is snacking, eating pizza, juice and less and less sport as the kids eat up more and more of my time (this will only get worse when I finally get them playing Magic).

You just need to have more sex.

God knows I do.

[dandan]

You live in Dutchieland, home of wild hotties. Failure to get laid there can only be explained by playing card games with other males instead of sharking.

I will never argue with 'more sex' as a suggestion. It might lead to weight loss, it might not but worth trying.