Less debate about religion than nutrition!?

I really enjoy the discussions on these boards and how total strangers can take an interest in helping other. It's really great, but sometimes the advice can be hard to navigate!

(As you may have read before) I’ve been overweight all of my life with varying degrees of obesity. In May of 2007, I reached my all time high of 114 kilos (38% body fat). Then we moved to the UK and I tried to dramatically change my lifestyle. I started walking to work each day (3 miles total) and worked out Monday through Friday at the university gym. On the weekends I try to keep active with the kids. 

When I first started working out and watching my calories, I did pretty well. I tried to eat about 2000 calories a day most days of the week. Combining that with the exercise I went from 114 to 94 (27% body fat) from June to December, 2007. Then the holidays hit and I was overeating and having more cheat days that not. I tried to recover but since January, I ‘ve yo-yo'd up and down from 92-98 kilos, very rapidly. Having some days where I have eaten better, some days where I have eaten poorly. But through it all, I have kept with my exercise. Exercise does not seem to be my downfall; nutrition is my Achilles heal.

I’ve gotten some very conflicting advice, both in reading and talking to people. My first and foremost goal is to get rid of bodyfat. Second is to build muscle, not body builder but just looking fit and toned

1) Simple math

I read that I should try to eat a daily 1000 calorie deficit if I'd like to loose about a kilo a week. But I found time and time again that I was having more off days than “on” days. It was hard to sustain that kind of deficit for me. But is that what it takes? Is it really just an issue of self control? Stick with the deficit and I will loose the weight?

2) The Zig Zag

I was told my 2000 calorie diet (1000 calorie deficit) was not helpful in the long-term and I needed to zig zag my calories. Although frankly with my increasingly frequent binges my calorie intake was already zig zagged! I have tried eating 1800, 2300, and 2800 calories back and forth. But it’s really hard for me to have any consistency and when I have a bad day, the whole thing is shot.

3) Pump it up

Guys at the gym told me to forget about calories and push myself harder when working out. I already spend about 60 minutes at the gym so I tried to push up the intensity of what I’m lifting and the levels on the cardio machines. On MWF I do about 30 minutes of upper body weightlifting and then 30 minutes of cardio. On T/Th I do 20 minutes of leg workout and then 40 minutes of cardio. I try to keep my heat rate about 120-150 bpm. I also walk to work every day (3 miles) and (thanks to the new dog) add another slow walk of 30 minutes each day. But it seems like that isn’t enough because although my body is much stronger, I still have a lot of fat (27% body fat). I think it’s my nutrition that’s screwing it all up; I have a hard time imagining that I just need to exercise more!

4) Maintain for muscle

I was advised that the calorie deficit is not a good idea because you can’t build muscle. The advice is that if my body needs 2800 calorie to maintain weight, I should eat 2800 so that my body can build muscle, then the extra muscle with burn the fat “by itself?” Much like the pump it up advice, eat the right foods protein, complex carbs etc… and stop focusing on calories. Calorie deficit = no muscle build up. The warning is that a calorie deficit will not only will I loose fat but I also any muscle built. Some folks have suggested 'maintaining' for a while and see what happens. I could find that at a higher level of food intake I can more effectively reduce fat and build muscle. They say long-term calorie reduction can depress the metabolic rate. I need to get a good balance of different foods, plenty of wholefoods rather than too many things with salt and sugar. This advice says that calories aren't always the full story and how the body uses different foods can determine the net effect. But I still wonder if a deficit is needed to loose fat?

5) Re-start

I was also told that the issue is not calories but one of self control. It gets harder over time as my original fervour tends to evaporate. At 26% fat I can still lose at a decent rate. I'd should go back to the drawing board mentally. Look at where I am right now, where I want to go and stick to the diet. The trouble with small deficits is that it's easy to undo a whole month's progress in short order. The trouble with bigger deficits is that they tend to be more painful and hard to follow. Personally I tend to go for the bigger deficit over a shorter period as I know what I'm like. If a 1000 calorie deficit still allows you eat like 1800 cals or whatever then I don’t think I’m at starvation levels so I shouldn’t worry about theoretical metabolic effects of dieting. But is that true?

So lots of different advice. Not sure what to try now. Any sense on how to navigate all this advice would be great. Thanks to all who chime in and offer advice. although it can become confusing, it is helpful to get different ideas!

lol...read all of that, and all of them are right.  First, grats on the loss so far.  But, I'm going to guess that you still want to lose more while getting a healthier, fitter body.  What tends to be the problem for a lot of people is that they aren't concerned about the muscle underneath the fat that's on them.  The end result is they get to the ideal weight and still don't feel and look like they want to.  The reason for weight training while losing weight is to maintain the muscle we have underneath.  I weigh quite a bit more than you (even when you started).  So in order to walk my big bum around, I have to have more muscle in my legs just to do that compared to some of my small friends who only weight 120.  I'm trying to keep the muscle that I have with the weight training.  So, you need to keep up the weight training to keep the muscle, since that's what you're aiming for, a sculpted (not bodybuilder) body.  The math is right.  You can do a 1000 cal deficit.  But if that seems a bit of a stretch, drop it down to 500 cal deficit.  That's 1 lb a week, which is both doable and will have results over time.  Also, the more working out and weight lifting you do, the more calories you burn anyway, so even with a smaller deficit and higher activity, you should hypothetically lose a bit faster than that.

But in all honesty, it sounds like the biggest problem is self control, but isn't that all of us?  I don't know what will work best for you.  I know for me, I need accountability.  And I need a group like one of the places on here where I can vent and still get motivated to forget my mistakes earlier and move on to make today even better.  It's hard.  But remember, you did it before (even with the yo-yo, you still maintained a 16 kilo loss!!).  You can do it again. 

And what motivates you?  I know people will do different incentives to lose.  Maybe that's something you can work into your loss.  For every so many pounds/kilos or inches lost, give yourself a non-food reward.  Maybe it's buying something you want.  Maybe it's going somewhere, enjoying some activity.  My biggest incentive to get to my next goal weight is that my parents will see me for the first time since I started (which I haven't told them I am doing this).  That isn't the reward, but knowing I have a deadline works for me.  You have to figure out what works in your life to get you to do the things you need to and expand it to weight loss.  Deadlines is one of my things.  But clothing sizes are too.  What makes you get your work done at work?  Or cleaning around the house?  What makes you brush your teeth every day?  (Answer for most people is that it's just a routine they don't even think about it...so make this a routine). 

Longer than I meant when I started, but hopefully something in there helps!  Best of luck!

Very true, thanks for your thoughts!

Losing weight and getting fit is more than formulas and text book advice.  You will be most successful, I suspect, if you take a zen approach and focus on process rather than goals.  You're not looking at a band-aid solution but a way of life.  The changes that you make in your diet and activity routines are permanent and you pretty much have to find something that you can live with the rest of your life or you probably will not be able to maintain it. 

You will see a lot of posts on this website about staying on that knife edge above starvation mode.  I say, forget it - just eat the amount you would need at the weight that you want to be and make sure it's a good balance of protein, carbs and fat. It works.  And it's a very forgiving lifestyle.  If you're always counting calories and staying at that minimum, binges are always a hazard.  Is that living?  Not in my book.

I'm sure zig-zagging works for some, but are you once again going for some short term weight loss stratagem or a realistic lifestyle change?  Seems to me that the better approach would be to forge a "diet" that allows you to deal with holidays and other factors, that in fact is just a major improvement on your former habits. You never go off this "diet" and there is no cheating.