Not losing weight

bandraoi

Has anyone significantly upped the amount of exercise they're doing and not really lost any weight?

In last May, I moved house and started walking about two miles a day.
From August I've walked at least three miles every working day, and often that much at weekends too.

In mid September I joined the gym and I've gone at least twice a week since, but usually three or four. I'd do at least 20mins of cardio exercise while I'm there, usually more. To illustrate the change in my fitness I've gone from not being able to run at all to running 5K with relative ease.

Since May I've lost 4kg in weight, which given that I haven't increased the amount I'm eating, doesn't seem right to me.
I've only lost 1kg since mid November.

I'm not doing the exercise to lose weight really, and I have gone down a dress size, but it just doesn't seem quite right to me, especially when I read (here and elsewhere) about people starting walking more and dropping a stone or two in six months etc.

Feelgood

Well theres a few things to take into consideration...

a) How much overweight were you to begin with?. 4Kg is a lot depending on your starting weight!.

b) Due to your new exercise regime you could have gained muscle which ultimately weighs more than fat.

c) You may not have increased the amount that your eating, but what exactly are you eating?. Little and often is good, but you also have to make sure that the food your eating is right.

I'd say get your body mass index and I think you will find that 4kg is perfect. It sounds like your losing weight slowly and healthly which is better than dropping a stone through some fad diet...:)

Transform

Post up your current diet, weight, height etc

Doing lots of cardio is a rather slow way of losing FAT - weight is different.

Everything feelgood said is on the money.

bandraoi

Starting BMI was 27.5 and current would be 25.7.

I'm losing weight slowly which is good, but my feeling is that based upon the amount of exercise I'm doing I should be losing more.

If you take it since August 1st, it's 24 weeks, so less than half a pound a week.

I think I'll start keeping a food and exercise diary and do a few sums.

bandraoi

The three miles a day walking part isn't cardio though, and while I've gained muscle from the running and swimming, I didn't think it should cancel it out to that extent.

If it does, than grand, I'm far more interested in my volume than my weight, and my volume seems to be going down fairly nicely.

Feelgood

Ok but what exactly are you eating?.

Give us a regular days food intake....

bandraoi

For breakfast, usually a big bowl of muesli with skimmed milk.
I tend to go for the sugar free versions, Aldi or Tesco own brand or if I'm feeling fancy Kelkin.

Sometimes I'd have an egg on toast, the egg would be fried with the minimum of oil.

I'll have something at 11am if someone has brought something into the office, usually a biscuit/sweet or two, but that wouldn't be every day.

For lunch I have a wrap from Spar, usually with mayonnaise, spicy chicken, cheese and peppers. Sometimes I'd have an apple too.

For Dinner it's usually something like chicken curry with rice, chicken or lentil fajitas with cheese and avocado, a stir fry with vegetables/chicken and egg noodles, or pasta with tomato sauce and cheese. I've been trying to cut down on the pasta though so that's maybe once or twice a week.

I've been trying to cut down on the "fast" energy stuff like biscuits, chocolate and pasta, pasta probably averages a day a week still though.

I drink copious quantities of tea with milk, and about average amounts of alcohol.

ronbyrne2005

Slow and steady wins the race. These are and should be long term lifestyle changes, so by next may you may be down over a stone in a year.

Your diet doesnt seem that good. You mention cheese at nearly every meal. More complex carbs, less mayo, cheese,noodles etc. Basically if you wanna lose more you need to do resistance training and/or reduce calorie intake. You may not realise how many calories you are actually taking in, portion control etc.

celestial

bandraoi wrote: »

For breakfast, usually a big bowl of muesli with skimmed milk.
I tend to go for the sugar free versions, Aldi or Tesco own brand or if I'm feeling fancy Kelkin.

Sometimes I'd have an egg on toast, the egg would be fried with the minimum of oil.

I'll have something at 11am if someone has brought something into the office, usually a biscuit/sweet or two, but that wouldn't be every day.

For lunch I have a wrap from Spar, usually with mayonnaise, spicy chicken, cheese and peppers. Sometimes I'd have an apple too.

For Dinner it's usually something like chicken curry with rice, chicken or lentil fajitas with cheese and avocado, a stir fry with vegetables/chicken and egg noodles, or pasta with tomato sauce and cheese. I've been trying to cut down on the pasta though so that's maybe once or twice a week.

I've been trying to cut down on the "fast" energy stuff like biscuits, chocolate and pasta, pasta probably averages a day a week still though.

I drink copious quantities of tea with milk, and about average amounts of alcohol.

Don't get fixated with weight or what other people may or may not have dropped - it's easy to do but just chill - you sound like you are doing grand. Those who lost 1 or 2 stone in 6 months probably had it to lose - you are not a 17 stone man. Ask yourself how do I look in the mirror and how do my clothes fit?

You are likely at the stage where you don't really need to lose all that much more fat - and your body will be resistant to losing more so you need to tweak things most likely - cut back on carbs and Spar rolls and the odd biscuit here and there - it is all sugar and will impede fat-burning. You should also start resistance training - weights or bodyweight exercises.

bandraoi

I'm more concerned that it may indicate an underlying health problem than about the actual amount of weight loss. I'm more trying to find out if it's within normal parameters then anything else.

Everyone else I've heard talking about making similiar or less significant lifestyle changes then I have has lost considerably more weight, but as you say that may be due to a higher starting figure. I was 10kg overweight at the start.

I have cut back from what I was eating before. The wrap at lunchtime used to be a baguette or white bread sandwich. Breakfast used to be much more likely to include a fried egg, and pasta used to feature on the menu more like four times a week for dinner. I don't really want to cut back or out anymore. I'd prefer to enjoy life.

Transform

its not about cutting out or cutting back it about eating for the weight you want to be NOT for the weight you currently are.

Do weights also and get your body fat tested or simply take a tape measure to yourself - scales are a terrible way to see progression.

kersti

From The Hackers Diet...


Don’t kid yourself into thinking that exercise, by itself, will make you lose weight. Consider the following activities, and the number of calories an average person burns per hour in each.

Activity Calories/hour
Walking 300
Bicycling 300
Aerobics 400
Swimming 400
Tennis 500
Basketball 500
Jogging 700

Compare those numbers, remembering that they’re for a full hour spent nonstop in the exercise, with the calories in the following food items:

Tasty Treat Calories
Peanut butter sandwich 275
Pizza (3 slices) 500
Big Mac 560

Clearly, even an hour a day of exercise doesn’t account for much food. And what’s the likelihood you’ll find the time to spend a full hour, every day, month after month, year after year, doing those exercises?

So, don’t exercise to try to burn off calories and lose weight. Unless you’re a professional athlete or obsessed with sports, you’re not likely to spend enough time exercising strenuously enough to make much of a difference.

Exercise will help you lose weight in more subtle ways. Regular exercise increases your rate of metabolism: the number of calories you burn all the time. Plus, for many people, exercise actually reduces appetite.