Weight loss crash!

Dovakhin

I'm wondering if anyone could give me some advice on this:

I've been losing weight for the last 4 or so years. When I started out, I weighed 17 stone and as of last Monday, I weight 10st 7lb, which is great. I lost the weight basically by reforming my diet (it was awful beforehand) and exercising. I count calories and have been reducing my calorie intake as I go.

However, for the last year or so I've been stuck. The lowest weight I've made it to is 10st 2lb, and I've gone up to 11st, but overall I've just been yo-yoing around 10 and a half or so. I should probably mention, I'm female, 27 years old and 5ft 2in tall (bmi is around 27).

At the moment, a typical day's food would include:

Breakfast: Bowl of porridge (water+low fat milk), blueberries
Lunch: Brown bread sandwich or wrap with sliced chicken, tomato, cucumber etc or salad (lettuce, egg, tomato, olives etc, it varies)
plus
fruit or low fat yogurt
Dinner: Wraps with salad and feta or pasta+veg in (homemade) tomato sauce or couscous and aubergine/courgette or salmon noodles

I usually get hungry late in the day and would have either more fruit or maybe crackers (or another bowl of porridge if I'm starving). Usually my daily calories would be around 1500-1700. As a general rule, I cook everything for myself and don't eat ready-made meals or pasta sauces from jars etc so I don't think I'm getting extra calories from them...

As for exercise, I go for a fairly brisk half hour walk every weekday and an hour's walk on Saturday/Sunday. I also do 40 sit ups and 20 push ups a day.

So can anyone spot what I'm doing wrong? One thing I've noticed is that I don't eat much protein (not mad about meat, eggs or beans!) so could that be it? Or is it just the calorie level overall that matters? Another thing I wonder - can your body "get used" to one type of exercise?? So maybe the walking isn't doing any good any more?

I should also mention, I have a physical disability, so while I can walk/cycle etc, doing an hour in the gym every day is not an option.

Thanks!!

yuppies

Fair play on the weight loss, very impressive! One thing I think might help you cut calories a bit without feeling hungrier would be to have a tin of tuna or salmon for breakfast maybe twice a week instead of porridge; I find it really dulls my appetite compared to having porridge (which is what I'd normally have) so I'm not ravenously hungry when lunch comes around.

Another option that I do, is add a spoon of peanut-butter to my porridge when it's cooked (that probably revolts some people , but it's curbs that hunger that typically follows a few hours after eating porridge). It actually tastes lovely, I think. I don't take milk in it but I doubt leaving milk out would make much difference for you.. could be wrong though.

As for dinner, I'd eat spuds instead of past or wraps as they're far more satiating. And I know you said you don't really like meat but I'm sure most will agree that eating more protein tends to result in eating fewer calories!

meijin

Well done on the progress so far!

Dovakhin wrote: »

Breakfast: Bowl of porridge (water+low fat milk), blueberries
Lunch: Brown bread sandwich or wrap with sliced chicken, tomato, cucumber etc or salad (lettuce, egg, tomato, olives etc, it varies)
plus
fruit or low fat yogurt
Dinner: Wraps with salad and feta or pasta+veg in (homemade) tomato sauce or couscous and aubergine/courgette or salmon noodles

To me it looks like very little proteins and fats, and too much carbs in your diet
read the forum stickies to give you some ideas for fixing your diet and how much you should eat

Also track your food for few weeks, you can use www.myfitnesspal.com
ignore their recommendations, but just measure your calories and percentage of calories from protein/fat/carbs (I would suggest to aim for 35%/45%/20%, but gradually).

I usually get hungry late in the day and would have either more fruit or maybe crackers (or another bowl of porridge if I'm starving). Usually my daily calories would be around 1500-1700. As a general rule, I cook everything for myself and don't eat ready-made meals or pasta sauces from jars etc so I don't think I'm getting extra calories from them...

plan your meals in advance so you don't get hungry and then trying to find something random to eat

As for exercise, I go for a fairly brisk half hour walk every weekday and an hour's walk on Saturday/Sunday. I also do 40 sit ups and 20 push ups a day.

It's good for start, but you probably find that it gets easier over time? Then it's time to increase resistance. And to both exercises you should add opposite ones: sit-ups -> short bridges, push-ups -> pull-ups (vertical pull, horizontal pull)

I should also mention, I have a physical disability, so while I can walk/cycle etc, doing an hour in the gym every day is not an option.

you can do some other bodyweight exercises at home, no need to go to the gym

personally I like and recommend CC for training program: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=70755853 - it starts from very easy exercises, you can have a look and see what would work with your disability
and Paleo/primal for diet: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056501032

Mark in Lucan

I think you have mastered your diet..but some comments which may help......
Review your diet and see where the added/unnatural sugar is...and remove it...
Where do you get the bread/sliced chicken (suggests heavily processed deli rubbish)/noodles from...
Do you need to loose more weight....

Chancer3001

lot of carbs with the porridge, bread/pasta and wrap.

If you can change those to protein i think youd find good improvements

hellosunshine2

Chancer3001 wrote: »

lot of carbs with the porridge, bread/pasta and wrap.

If you can change those to protein i think youd find good improvements

^ I agree.

Or you can increase your routine exercise to lose more weight.

Mars Bar

change the pasta for quinoa. It's filling but is packed full of protein and it's super easy to make.

dines08

Chancer3001 wrote: »

lot of carbs with the porridge, bread/pasta and wrap.

If you can change those to protein i think youd find good improvements

Exactly that

Also, do some HIIT. High intensity interval training....
Something like a spinning class or circuits. They are available pretty much everywhere and are relatively cheap. It's the best fat burning exercise by a long way