Am I delusional???

PK2008

About 4 months ago I was really out of shape and clinically obese (though being tall I wouldnt look so)

Anyway I decided to do something about it- I always enjoyed hiking and live near mountains so I started doing a 2 hour hike each day- which involved alot of uphill walking and I would be out of breath, pumping sweat, high heart rate etc.

When i got home i would do some free weights, nothing spectacular just about half an hour to try to tone up my upper body (I would generally be out of breath)

Anyway Im sure my physical appearance has changed- I look slimmer, toned, my abs are starting to show and I even have those hip line things, loads of people have told me i look great..

BUT

I had a medical the other day and the doctor told me I was out of shape and unfit, plus Ive lost hardly any weight and my bmi is still too high (as in barely changed???)

I cant understand this after all the work I put in???

(I would have also changed my diet to more fibre rich/low fat foods, always have a healthy breakfast and wouldnt go overboard on snacks or anything)

Anyone any ideas where I went wrong?

ntlbell

your diet?

PK2008

ntlbell wrote: »

your diet?

Im thinking it has to be, though I did change my diet and have been alot more careful what I eat.

Im wondering if hiking (which is essentially just walking albeit uphill) is not the fat burner i thought it was- what do you think?

Im thinking of switching to jogging but the only problem I have with it is I have a bit of a dodgy knee and it aggravates it

Zamboni

PK2008 wrote: »

BUT

I had a medical the other day and the doctor told me I was out of shape and unfit, plus Ive lost hardly any weight and my bmi is still too high (as in barely changed???)

Your BMI hasn't changed because your weight hasn't changed.
But don't worry because BMI is as useful as a chocolate fireguard.

I'd hazard a guess and say you have both lost some fat and gained some muscle, hence the 0 weight change.

Get your bodyfat measured in a gym.
It is a better health indicator than the BMI.

ntlbell

PK2008 wrote: »

Im thinking it has to be, though I did change my diet and have been alot more careful what I eat.

Im wondering if hiking (which is essentially just walking albeit uphill) is not the fat burner i thought it was- what do you think?

Im thinking of switching to jogging but the only problem I have with it is I have a bit of a digy knee and it aggravates it

a good hike will burn off a fair amount of cal's I'd imagine.

but if your taken in more than your burning your not going to make much progress.

maybe post your daily intake of food (honestly) for the last few days and let people point out where you might be going wrong

i have yet to ever meet someone who said "i eat healthy" and when you ask them what they eat it's more times than not muck.

PK2008

ntlbell wrote: »

a good hike will burn off a fair amount of cal's I'd imagine.

but if your taken in more than your burning your not going to make much progress.

maybe post your daily intake of food (honestly) for the last few days and let people point out where you might be going wrong

i have yet to ever meet someone who said "i eat healthy" and when you ask them what they eat it's more times than not muck.

Each morning i have 2 weetabix and 2 slices of Brown bread (toast) and a cup of tea (with "supermilk") no sugar and an actimel.

For lunch i would have a sandwich- probably ham/BLT

Dinner is usually some variant of meat/2 veg, or a pasta dish. I usually have a low cal soft drink like Coke Zero or 7up zero

then as a snack later I would have a cup of tea and either toast or a chocolate bar (nothing exessive)

PK2008

Zamboni wrote: »

Your BMI hasn't changed because your weight hasn't changed.
But don't worry because BMI is as useful as a chocolate fireguard.

I'd hazard a guess and say you have both lost some fat and gained some muscle, hence the 0 weight change.

Get your bodyfat measured in a gym.
It is a better health indicator than the BMI.

Yeh didnt think of that- i might get that checked out

Colm_OReilly

To be blunt, your diet isn't good. Looking at the morning, you're getting no protein or good fats in.

Sandwiches for lunch aren't helping either. Neither is the pasta. It's these carbs which aren't helping you.

What I'd guess about the hike, and this is just a guess, is that once your body got used to it, it was no longer demanding, so there was no need to burn off excess fat to fuel this activity.

What's your weights routine like?

If your knee is less than optimal, squatting should develop strength around it, provided your problem isn't orthopedic.

PK2008

Colm_OReilly wrote: »

To be blunt, your diet isn't good. Looking at the morning, you're getting no protein or good fats in.

Sandwiches for lunch aren't helping either. Neither is the pasta. It's these carbs which aren't helping you.

What I'd guess about the hike, and this is just a guess, is that once your body got used to it, it was no longer demanding, so there was no need to burn off excess fat to fuel this activity.

What's your weights routine like?

If your knee is less than optimal, squatting should develop strength around it, provided your problem isn't orthopedic.

To be honest i havent really got a clue what foods are good or bad- bar the obvious stuff like junk/fast food etc. So I defintely should look into that more.

So I need to lower high carb foods like pasta yeh?

The hike is defintely getting less demanding but Im still usually out of breath/sweaty with it, Ive tried to mix it up so its more demanding- do you think leg weights might help?

Weights routine would be mainly standing dumbell curls, overhead dubmbell presses, one arm dubell rolls- etc. Not really looking to build muscle, happy enough to be toned, though could maybe do some more chest work.

Yeh , I could look at some knee straps- one of my other downfalls with jogging is I find it hugely boring- not sure why but i just enjoy the hike more for some reason- i know jogging is physically better but psychologically its a demotivator for me

ntlbell

PK2008 wrote: »

To be honest i havent really got a clue what foods are good or bad- bar the obvious stuff like junk/fast food etc. So I defintely should look into that more.

to be frank your diet is shockingly bad

have a good read of this

arybvtcw0eolkf

PK2008 wrote: »

I had a medical the other day and the doctor told me I was out of shape and unfit, plus Ive lost hardly any weight and my bmi is still too high (as in barely changed???)

How did the doctor measure your BMI & fitness?.

I'm in the army so I get an annual medical, every year the doctor tells me my BMI (the wall chart is his god!) indicates that I'm obese and I should get out and train (despite the fact I train with the Defence Forces Judo team, and train Judo four times per week).

Then I go for my annual fitness test, first test is the dreaded chart again ("yup, your BMI is way too high") then I'm passed on for the calipers - I stripe off 'Ah, you lift weights' and fly through with the calipers!.

All I'm saying is most doctors haven't a clue when it comes to things like accurately measuring BMI and fitness, has yours?.

.

PK2008

Alia Long Guava wrote: »

How did the doctor measure your BMI & fitness?.

I'm in the army so I get an annual medical, every year the doctor tells me my BMI (the wall chart is his god!) indicates that I'm obese and I should get out and train (despite the fact I train with the Defence Forces Judo team, and train Judo four times per week).

Then I go for my annual fitness test, first test is the dreaded chart again ("yup, your BMI is way too high") then I'm passed on for the calipers - I stripe off 'Ah, you lift weights' and fly through with the calipers!.

All I'm saying is most doctors haven't a clue when it comes to things like accurately measuring BMI and fitness, has yours?.

.

Exactly what you said there, she used the wall chart

No fitness test

I mean my body is pretty "tight" if thats the right word- in that I dont really have an doughy parts anymore, im not muscular but if i tensed up I would be solid enough

chavezychavez

PK2008 wrote: »

Each morning i have 2 weetabix and 2 slices of Brown bread (toast) and a cup of tea (with "supermilk") no sugar and an actimel.

For lunch i would have a sandwich- probably ham/BLT

Dinner is usually some variant of meat/2 veg, or a pasta dish. I usually have a low cal soft drink like Coke Zero or 7up zero

then as a snack later I would have a cup of tea and either toast or a chocolate bar (nothing exessive)

OK then, going by your Diet, I see bread, bread and more bread.

Years ago, I was waaaaaay over weight, hit the gym hard over the space of 3 months, cut out all sweets etc, but still couldn't lose weight. All the time I was keeping my diet to just "healthy" sandwiches and a bit of meat.

Then I went to a food allergist who explained to me that I was highly intolerant to gluten, and this was the reason for feeling so bad and lack of weight loss.

I went off all gluten products and after 3 weeks, I was down 10 lbs (thats not starving myself, was able to eat full breakfast, lunch and dinner - just not foods with gluten). That was over 6 years ago. The most I dropped in the time since afterwards was 4 stone (I was fairly overweight for my height at the time) and was able to run the Dublin city marathon in less than 4 hours 2 years later.

Long and short of the story, get yourself checked out diet wise, it could be the one thing thats holding you back, and you'll only get more disheartened if it continues the way you are going.

PK2008

chavezychavez wrote: »

OK then, going by your Diet, I see bread, bread and more bread.

Years ago, I was waaaaaay over weight, hit the gym hard over the space of 3 months, cut out all sweets etc, but still couldn't lose weight. All the time I was keeping my diet to just "healthy" sandwiches and a bit of meat.

Then I went to a food allergist who explained to me that I was highly intolerant to gluten, and this was the reason for feeling so bad and lack of weight loss.

I went off all gluten products and after 3 weeks, I was down 10 lbs (thats not starving myself, was able to eat full breakfast, lunch and dinner - just not foods with gluten). That was over 6 years ago. The most I dropped in the time since afterwards was 4 stone (I was fairly overweight for my height at the time) and was able to run the Dublin city marathon in less than 4 hours 2 years later.

Long and short of the story, get yourself checked out diet wise, it could be the one thing thats holding you back, and you'll only get more disheartened if it continues the way you are going.

Yeh I would be a fan of bread alright, but only brown bread not white- which kind of gives me indegestion

(Im guessing now theres probably feck all difference..glutenwise)

Blazer

PK2008 wrote: »

Anyway Im sure my physical appearance has changed- I look slimmer, toned, my abs are starting to show and I even have those hip line things, loads of people have told me i look great..



Anyone any ideas where I went wrong?

If you're feeling good and people are complimenting you on losing weight or looking then you're not really doing anything wrong.
Forget BMI..as one Op said it's about as useful as a chocolate fireguard
Get your body fat done and post what it comes back as.
As for some Op saying your diet is shockingly bad...I'm sorry but that's bull****.
Some people here would have you eating a pea a day and still give out to you for your diet.

chavezychavez

PK2008 wrote: »

Yeh I would be a fan of bread alright, but only brown bread not white- which kind of gives me indegestion

(Im guessing now theres probably feck all difference..glutenwise)

No difference whatsoever.

Here's a quick check for you. Now don't take it as Gospel, but when the food allergist did this test on me (a woman as well), it nearly freaked me out.

1. Have nothing in either of your hands and put both down my your side
2. Raise one of them (go for your strongest hand) so that its straight out in front of you with the palm down - you should have more power to resist what going to happen this way.
3. Get a friend to push hard down the back of your hand, while you do your best to resist them and keep your hand in the same position.
4. Put a slice of bread into your hand that is down by your side i.e. that you are not using (Don't squeeze it or anything, so that you won't extert energy on holding it.
5. Repeat point 3.

Post the results please

Burkatron

PK2008 wrote: »

Anyway Im sure my physical appearance has changed- I look slimmer, toned, my abs are starting to show and I even have those hip line things, loads of people have told me i look great..

Right, I totally agree with the lads that your diet isnt great BUT you're worried that you have'nt put in enough work despite the above statement? I take it you were clinically obese according to the BMI scale? As said before I wouldnt worry about it too much! You've obviously being doing well if your physical appearance has changed to your eye & every1 else's! You're doing well & you'll do even better if you change your diet & vary your excercise! Keep positive & start reading the stickies & listening to the advice youre being given!

ragg

Walking isn't a great fat burner.
humans evolved only a short time ago, we managed to fan out across the globe from africa (probably) there was no cars, we hadn't domesticated animals such as horses, we did it all on foot. Food was scarce so the body learned to adapt to travel great distances on foot, using minimal energy.

I guess what i'm trying to say is, you cant out walkoff a bad diet or years of excess, its undoubtedly good exercise, but not a fat burner.

metamorphosis

Alia Long Guava wrote: »

How did the doctor measure your BMI & fitness?.

I'm in the army so I get an annual medical, every year the doctor tells me my BMI (the wall chart is his god!) indicates that I'm obese and I should get out and train (despite the fact I train with the Defence Forces Judo team, and train Judo four times per week).

Then I go for my annual fitness test, first test is the dreaded chart again ("yup, your BMI is way too high") then I'm passed on for the calipers - I stripe off 'Ah, you lift weights' and fly through with the calipers!.

All I'm saying is most doctors haven't a clue when it comes to things like accurately measuring BMI and fitness, has yours?.






and from my experience most docters don't have a****in clue about proper nutrition/diet.

kevpants

Alia Long Guava wrote: »

How did the doctor measure your BMI & fitness?.

I'm in the army so I get an annual medical, every year the doctor tells me my BMI (the wall chart is his god!) indicates that I'm obese and I should get out and train (despite the fact I train with the Defence Forces Judo team, and train Judo four times per week).

Then I go for my annual fitness test, first test is the dreaded chart again ("yup, your BMI is way too high") then I'm passed on for the calipers - I stripe off 'Ah, you lift weights' and fly through with the calipers!.

All I'm saying is most doctors haven't a clue when it comes to things like accurately measuring BMI and fitness, has yours?.

.

Spot on

PK2008 wrote: »

Exactly what you said there, she used the wall chart

No fitness test

I mean my body is pretty "tight" if thats the right word- in that I dont really have an doughy parts anymore, im not muscular but if i tensed up I would be solid enough

She's an idiot. I know she's a doctor so in some peoples mind's she is automatically infallible but if you sat on a chair while she looked at a chart how in the name of god did she tell if you were fit or not?

Did she send you to get bloods done or anything more specific than what's held up with blu-tak on her wall?

You sound like you've made great improvements to me.

You'll get ragged on for your diet but if everyone ate like you there'd be less obesity. It's not perfect but perfect diets suck.

kevpants

chavezychavez wrote: »

No difference whatsoever.

Here's a quick check for you. Now don't take it as Gospel, but when the food allergist did this test on me (a woman as well), it nearly freaked me out.

1. Have nothing in either of your hands and put both down my your side
2. Raise one of them (go for your strongest hand) so that its straight out in front of you with the palm down - you should have more power to resist what going to happen this way.
3. Get a friend to push hard down the back of your hand, while you do your best to resist them and keep your hand in the same position.
4. Put a slice of bread into your hand that is down by your side i.e. that you are not using (Don't squeeze it or anything, so that you won't extert energy on holding it.
5. Repeat point 3.

Post the results please

Let me guess. It makes you weak. I'm gonna train with a sandwich on my head just to disprove her!

Just kidding..... like I'd be able to resist eating the sandwich.

Spiritoftheseventies

PK2008 wrote: »

About 4 months ago I was really out of shape and clinically obese (though being tall I wouldnt look so)

Anyway I decided to do something about it- I always enjoyed hiking and live near mountains so I started doing a 2 hour hike each day- which involved alot of uphill walking and I would be out of breath, pumping sweat, high heart rate etc.

When i got home i would do some free weights, nothing spectacular just about half an hour to try to tone up my upper body (I would generally be out of breath)

Anyway Im sure my physical appearance has changed- I look slimmer, toned, my abs are starting to show and I even have those hip line things, loads of people have told me i look great..

BUT

I had a medical the other day and the doctor told me I was out of shape and unfit, plus Ive lost hardly any weight and my bmi is still too high (as in barely changed???)

I cant understand this after all the work I put in???

(I would have also changed my diet to more fibre rich/low fat foods, always have a healthy breakfast and wouldnt go overboard on snacks or anything)

Anyone any ideas where I went wrong?

your BMI is the key. it measures your weight in accordance to your height. step on one of those electrical weighing scales and it will tell you what your weight range should be. ie 14 8 to 14 14 or whatever. also food you may be consuming may be driving your blood pressure up. trust me i thought i was fit and went to a gym. but would always get a rating of four after my assessment. and it was only after i took a spinning class that i realized how relatively unfit i was.

corkcomp

in SOME cases BMI is a useless calc (i.e. if a person has a low BF and very high muscle mass) but for most of the general population it is a good indicator of excess weight ... I know of at least two people who were disgusted after being told they were overweight following a medical exam, they were putting it down to having a high muscle mass but an idiot could see that it wasnt all muscle!! so, i guess it depends on the person but I wouldnt disregard the docs advice without getting a BF test done (preferably multi-site caliper method)

ragg

exactly a lot of people discount BMI saying I must have more muscle then.
Even if they are very fat. Its almost like discussions like these have given people a way out.
In some cases they need to be combined with a bodyfat test, but for joe bloggs, they are a pretty good indicator that there is a problem

bladespin

According to BMI Lance Armstrong is a fattie

Source

Spiritoftheseventies

end of the day its okay to be a few pounds over or under your weight. If you stay within your range you have not much to worry about. And better for your doctor to say you are not fact then to lie to you.

ragg

bladespin wrote: »

According to BMI Lance Armstrong is a fattie

Source

Lance armstrong is a professional athlete who has had to build himself.

Its ok for him to discount the BMI.

Spiritoftheseventies

ragg wrote: »

Lance armstrong is a professional athlete who has had to build himself.

Its ok for him to discount the BMI.

not entirely sure if Lance Armstrong is the best example here. end of the day BMI is a good guide regardless of muscle mass. other being pot bellies and so forth.

PK2008

Thanks for the replies guys

I reckon I'll get to the gym and have that BF test aswell just to confirm.

I'll defintely have a look at the diet, if Im honest I thought it was healthy but I can see now that its alot less healthy than I thought so reckon that might make a big difference.

Thanks again

Roper

That bread test is pure quackery. Let me guess, did the food allergist do "vega testing" on you as well? Maybe use some crystals?

The BMI is a good ready reckoner, and in most cases, it's correct. Attempting to prove that it's worthless is a great pastime for fat lifters who don't want to do the hard work of getting lean.

corkcomp

Roper wrote: »

That bread test is pure quackery. Let me guess, did the food allergist do "vega testing" on you as well? Maybe use some crystals?

The BMI is a good ready reckoner, and in most cases, it's correct. Attempting to prove that it's worthless is a great pastime for fat lifters who don't want to do the hard work of getting lean.

well said ...

Spiritoftheseventies

corkcomp wrote: »

well said ...

yes a few people in denial here. BMI very important.

floggg

**** bmi, body fat percentages and Xray analysis.

OP, lift off your shirt and stand in front of a mirror. Do you look fat? Do you have a flat stomach, or close to?

while not obese, i am overweight and have the belly to prove it. I know this because i can see it, not because a doctor told me. When i get skinny i will also know it because i will also be able to see it.

by the sounds of things, you have described yourself as skinny, but if you are still unsure, try the mirror test. If still confused strip off in front of a stranger and ask.

try Roper, i get the feeling he is brutally honest

arybvtcw0eolkf

chavezychavez wrote: »

No difference whatsoever.

Here's a quick check for you. Now don't take it as Gospel, but when the food allergist did this test on me (a woman as well), it nearly freaked me out.

1. Have nothing in either of your hands and put both down my your side
2. Raise one of them (go for your strongest hand) so that its straight out in front of you with the palm down - you should have more power to resist what going to happen this way.
3. Get a friend to push hard down the back of your hand, while you do your best to resist them and keep your hand in the same position.
4. Put a slice of bread into your hand that is down by your side i.e. that you are not using (Don't squeeze it or anything, so that you won't extert energy on holding it.
5. Repeat point 3.

Post the results please

Works with a digital watch too!.. (no joking).

celestial

floggg wrote: »

**** bmi, body fat percentages and Xray analysis.

OP, lift off your shirt and stand in front of a mirror. Do you look fat? Do you have a flat stomach, or close to?

while not obese, i am overweight and have the belly to prove it. I know this because i can see it, not because a doctor told me. When i get skinny i will also know it because i will also be able to see it.

by the sounds of things, you have described yourself as skinny, but if you are still unsure, try the mirror test. If still confused strip off in front of a stranger and ask.

try Roper, i get the feeling he is brutally honest

Post of the thread. Sticky this somewhere under 'how to tell if you're fat'.

mack32

chavezychavez wrote: »

No difference whatsoever.

Here's a quick check for you. Now don't take it as Gospel, but when the food allergist did this test on me (a woman as well), it nearly freaked me out.

1. Have nothing in either of your hands and put both down my your side
2. Raise one of them (go for your strongest hand) so that its straight out in front of you with the palm down - you should have more power to resist what going to happen this way.
3. Get a friend to push hard down the back of your hand, while you do your best to resist them and keep your hand in the same position.
4. Put a slice of bread into your hand that is down by your side i.e. that you are not using (Don't squeeze it or anything, so that you won't extert energy on holding it.
5. Repeat point 3.

Post the results please

I've seen this before, its a homeopathic thing, they do it to figure out which medicine is best for you. its amazing the difference in strength, they had me hold a bottle of medicine in one hand and do the arm push down test and then tried a few different bottles. could not believe it!

Spiritoftheseventies

mack32 wrote: »

I've seen this before, its a homeopathic thing, they do it to figure out which medicine is best for you. its amazing the difference in strength, they had me hold a bottle of medicine in one hand and do the arm push down test and then tried a few different bottles. could not believe it!

is this situtation resolved. does he trust his doctor or not

PK2008

I trust my doctor- i mean I believe my BMI is above what it should be. I actually didnt doubt my doctor at all, my problem was that after alot of exercise I hadnt reduced my BMI by as much as i thought i would (actually didnt reduce it at all), despit the fact that I could see a visible difference in my physique and could feel a physical difference in my fitness

Spiritoftheseventies

well stick with it. rome wasn't built in a day. try eating rice and stuff like that.

Roper

Alia Long Guava wrote: »

Works with a digital watch too!.. (no joking).

It actually works with anything. It's the power of suggestion at work and has absolutely nothing to do with any allergy to bread or otherwise. Mind you, I suppose some people could be allergic to digital watches?

Who in their right mind would believe that the correct medicine could be chosen by their own hands? It's quackery like this that drives the cost of my health insurance up. Alternative therapies my hole. Why should I subsidise your hocus pocus?

Rant over!