JockoT's Journal, 26 February 2016

Hi Jocko Maybe you can try and leave your weigh in day for a month or even 2 weeks its only been a week since you started the 16-8 Diet ( I think, been ill since you started) and maybe your body needs to kick into the new regime, it may have to adjust to the different eating times etc.....Its not nice when your expectations are knocked down, when others it seems to work for straight away!.....Thanks for supporting me through my Lady Flu I think I'm on the mend now, not fully recovered but getting there.....Still think positive about losing weight Jocko we will all support you as best we can, there are no quick fixes on the fight the flab battle but hang on in there!....And Roll On Summer..... BFN Maggy May 

JockoT - I feel for you! The same thing happened to me. What worked for me, and I know it sounds odd, was to INCREASE my RDI. That way I get plenty enough food and my metabolism speeded up. After any prolonged reduction in kcals we can find a way of being more efficient and not wasting energy/food. In times of plenty of the right foods we can afford to be more profligate in our metabolism. I think it's the same principal as the Minimum recommended intake, even as a couch potato. and why they 1000 kcal diet is now frowned upon as unsustainable in the long term. I know some people can starve on 500 kcals and lose weight. That's not my bag so I can't share experience there. Bottom line is eating more of the right foods does not necessarily make you gain weight and eating less doesn't necessarily make you lose. Our bodies are canny and self adjust all the time. Hang on in there buddy. Maybe try and shake things up a bit by eating some different foods?  

Read 'the diet delusion' 

Thanks, Candy. Downloaded it and started reading. A lot of good science in the small section I have read, and as an engineer I like good science. 

I think it's one of the best books I've read, gives a very measured view of the latest science. 'The end of illness' is good too. Though I don't agree with all it says 

Maybe track measurements for a while rather than the scales? I agree with Penlan, one day a week of higher calorie intake seems to help when I am being stricter with my diet. Don't despair, be proud of what you have achieved so far :) 

hey jocko,try this calculator on the link im posting.itl tell you your macros for the day and your calories.If your not loosing id say you need to be in a bigger deficit,or youve dieted for too long and need to come back up a bit to get things moving again.Anyway try the calculator,also theres some great info on the website,Mike matthews knows hsi stuff and its all science based...:) http://www.muscleforlife.com/macronutrient-calculator/ 

Interesting, though at 67 I am not looking to bulk up. Calculated the numbers and will check them against my values. Thanks. 

its for loosing fat as well,just select "cut" in the calculato..no worries 

I did that. I will have to reduce my calories by a fair amount. The Macros are around what I hope to achieve for the immediate future. 

It's normal to hit a plateau especially with so low calories for an extended period of time. Your body isn't a computer - it won't just indefinitely lose weight... You need to eat at maintenance calories for a couple of weeks and then lower your calories again.  

Mike matthews has some really cool stuff - if you look around his articles you will also find info about plateauing with weight loss. Decreasing your calorie count isn't the answer - it's unhealthy and frustrating and simply unsustainable. As mattews says in a number of articles - and as I just said, up your calories for a little bit. And to be honest the best thing you can do is to not obsess about it.  

Thanks Jake. What I am trying at the moment is changing the balance of my Macros away from Carbs yet still trying to keep to my RDI. If that fails I will increse my RDI for a week or two then knuckle back down. 

ah right. I did low carb for about a month - it does work because you are forcing yourself to eat lower calories but it's not good to keep it up too long. Carbs aren't the enemy good luck! 

From what I have been reading I am beginning to think carbs are the enemy. Irrespective of that, I am still keeping my calories the same. I am only reducing my carbs from about 50% down to 40%. Nothing too drastic. 

Read Mike Matthews - carbs are not the enemy, they help with sleep, they are also essential if you are exercising and more importantly a low carb diet is both boring and unsustainable. What's more it's not the balance of macros that determines weight loss or gain. You could eat 90% carbs as long as you were staying within your calorie range you could still lose weight. Eating a particular food does not cause weight gain, quantity does. Of course too much of anything isn't good - health wise. Be careful too much fat - even natural fats - isn't healthy - same goes for protein.  

The values I am aiming for are also the values the calculator, you linked me to, recommends. 

There is an informative discussion of carbs and the previously healthy poor in diet delusion. 

Jake Fraser - low carb doesn't automatically mean low kcals, in fact it is very easy to go very high on kcals within a low carb diet. No diet is intrinsically low kcals, other than a kcal restricted diet! Dietary calorific intake is merely about what you eat and in what quantity. We are all different and my diet is not at all boring or unsustainable, for me, though it is naturally low carb because of my intolerance of grains and seeds. We all have different experiences and expectations. So low carb was not for you, it just may be what JockoT needs, even if for a short time, even if it's just to say he tried it and didn't get on with it, as you did. He is frustrated at where he is and how he is not getting to be where he wants to be, there is nothing wrong with him shaking it up a bit. go for it JockoT, see what gives, I will support you whatever path you tread. 

Just got to that bit tonight. :)