Hit a brick wall, any advice

Jaymac1

Hi all,

I started a diet 11 weeks ago. I am 27 years old and was 22 st 10 lbs.

Currently i am 19 st 3 lbs, which is great.

Over the past 7 days i have not changed my diet but i dont seem to be loosing any weight in fact the odd day i have put on a pound or 2 and spend the next 2 days getting rid of them.

I walk 6 miles 7 days a week and i walk pretty fast and wear lots of layers to try sweat.

I am not snacking or eating anything bad. at this stage its a kick to my confidence to see the amount of work i am putting in and getting no results. The weekend just gone i walked 9.5 miles on Saturday and the same on Sunday.

Any advice?

Devia

How often are you weighing yourself?

Serafijn

Sounds like you've hit a plateau - basically your body gets used to what you're doing and becomes more efficient at doing it.

Try mixing things up a bit - why not up 2 of your weekly walks to jogs (maybe try this? ), or try a class/other type of exercise.

Also, are you eating a lot of the same foods every day? It might be worth trying some new recipes and experimenting with new types of foods - or even (strange as it sounds) eat a bit more!

Google 'weight loss plateau' and you'll get loads of tips on breaking through it.

Loughgirl

I agree,you need to mix things up,if you are still at a heavy weight and running it too difficult try swimming,I know it can seem daunting but you will find it won't hurt your joints while keeping you heart rate up.basically you need to up your intensity,try tennis,hiking, or even a team sport.diet wise the best advice is to keep any carbs whole meal,have them early in the day and none in the evening as they turn to sugar,then fat.homemade soups are great,and so easy to make,get a few recepies and try them.and lastly after your dinner,and your dinner should be around 6-7 no eating after that a all!!!i found it the hardest but most effective way to loose weight consistently.you will be hungry at first but stick it out and you won't miss it.just water or tea,and you'll do great.loosing weight is hard and can seem so futile at the start but you have made a great start,keep it going,and weigh just once a week on the same day and at the same time o you get an accurate reading,good luck!

meijin

Jaymac1 wrote: »

Over the past 7 days i have not changed my diet but i dont seem to be loosing any weight in fact the odd day i have put on a pound or 2 and spend the next 2 days getting rid of them.

what's your diet exactly?

7 days means nothing; the weight can move up and down daily; if you look at monthly average it will give you more meaningful data - if you don't see progress there, it's time to change something

and how do you get rid of 2 pounds (of fat) in 2 days?

I walk 6 miles 7 days a week and i walk pretty fast and wear lots of layers to try sweat.

walking is fine, but high mileage 7 days a week might be too much - your muscles need to rest and recover sometimes; 3-4 days a week, every second day may work better actually

about sweating :eek: it will make you lose water, not fat; don't do that; and you may overheat

I am not snacking or eating anything bad. at this stage its a kick to my confidence to see the amount of work i am putting in and getting no results. The weekend just gone i walked 9.5 miles on Saturday and the same on Sunday.

Any advice?

If you're sure your diet is good, just believe and continue what you're doing. Don't get stressed about weight changes every day.

Or better post your diet details.

SteelyDanJalapeno

Wearing extra layers increasing sweat only increases dehydration

meijin

TiltedBrain wrote: »

Wearing extra layers increasing sweat only increases dehydration

and actually, if you sweat a lot you should weight yourself before and after the walk and drink enough water after your walk to rehydrate properly!

see also http://running.about.com/od/nutritionandhydration/a/hydration101.htm (it's about running, but still applies)

Jaymac1

Devia wrote: »

How often are you weighing yourself?

I weigh myself each morning, which im sure is the wrong thing to do

meijin wrote: »

what's your diet exactly?

Breakfast
bowl of porridge made with water and some strawberries.

Snack during the day is tin of tuna(small)

Lunch
Brownbread sambo with tuna,cheese and plenty of salad.

Snack
melon or some nuts.

Dinner
1 chicken breast,egg noodles,sugar snap peas,mushrooms,onion and beansprouts stir fried.

Snack
half of a large tub of Muller Vanilla fat free yougart.
7 days means nothing; the weight can move up and down daily; if you look at monthly average it will give you more meaningful data - if you don't see progress there, it's time to change something

and how do you get rid of 2 pounds (of fat) in 2 days? Lol i dont know i have often dropped 4-5 pounds after a walk.


walking is fine, but high mileage 7 days a week might be too much - your muscles need to rest and recover sometimes; 3-4 days a week, every second day may work better actually. I do find if i take a break for a day, the next day my legs feel great with no pain. For a fat guy i do have a large amount of muscle, my legs have a crazy amount and they do get quite sore.

about sweating :eek: it will make you lose water, not fat; don't do that; and you may overheat



If you're sure your diet is good, just believe and continue what you're doing. Don't get stressed about weight changes every day.

Or better post your diet details.

meijin

Jaymac1 wrote: »

I weigh myself each morning, which im sure is the wrong thing to do

It's fine as long as you can accept that the weight can go up and down each day. The overall trend matters more. If you get too stressed about that, weight yourself weekly maybe?

Snack
half of a large tub of Muller Vanilla fat free yougart.

your diet looks quite sensible, except this evening snack maybe? fat free and flavoured usually means a lot of sugar - check the label

Lol i dont know i have often dropped 4-5 pounds after a walk.

ok, that's just water which you should aim to restore, but not all at once - read the link about hydration.

What do you drink during the day / between meals? Anything with sugar/milk added?

I do find if i take a break for a day, the next day my legs feel great with no pain. For a fat guy i do have a large amount of muscle, my legs have a crazy amount and they do get quite sore.

They shouldn't be sore! Try walking every second day - also your legs will get stronger quicker.

boomtown84

Jaymac1 wrote: »

Hi all,

I started a diet 11 weeks ago. I am 27 years old and was 22 st 10 lbs.

Currently i am 19 st 3 lbs, which is great.

Over the past 7 days i have not changed my diet but i dont seem to be loosing any weight in fact the odd day i have put on a pound or 2 and spend the next 2 days getting rid of them.

I walk 6 miles 7 days a week and i walk pretty fast and wear lots of layers to try sweat.

I am not snacking or eating anything bad. at this stage its a kick to my confidence to see the amount of work i am putting in and getting no results. The weekend just gone i walked 9.5 miles on Saturday and the same on Sunday.

Any advice?

Maybe up the calories back to maintenance levels which is about 3,000 i'd say.
Do this for a couple of weeks. Keep walking, you'll have bags of energy so you'll be setting walking PR's all over the shop.
After the two weeks cut the calories back down again. (by 6/700 as you still have quite a bit to lose)
In the grand scheme of things 2 weeks is nothing and will help your body adjust.

Also maybe start introducing some resistance training. You can use bodyweight exercises/ rubber bands/ free weights or machines. Whichever is handiest for you.
Introducing them in the next two weeks would tie in well with the extra calories being consumed.

Well done on the weight loss so far btw.