Loosing weight problem

TerrorFirmer

Hi.

I am about 2 and a half stone over my normal weight. This has come out of eating alot of junk over the summer and not exercising at all. Now I'm not eating anymore junk bar maybe some popcorn at the cinema once a week, which hardly matters much.

I used to eat alot of crap like crisps, chocolate and biscuits etc on a daily basis. I now have a revised meal list:

8pm - Bowl of cornflakes

1pm Chicken Roll with mayo.

6pm Dinner, normally consisting of veg, meat and potatoe with glass of milk

10pm. Maybe one or two buscuits, or a handful of dry cereal. A glass of water.

I also walk 2 miles a day.

Now, the above is far, far healthier then what I was eating. yet still, after over 2 weeks of eating the above, my weight has gone up by a few pounds? I mean, how is that possible? Its not the scales, as I have used different ones. I'm eating literally zero junk in comparison to what I was eating, and do not eat much at all after 7pm. How is my weight still increasing?

g'em

First off, nice one on modifying your diet, never easy to do initially

Most of us have had the idea that three solid meals a day is the right way to eat, but more and more now we're learning that 5-6 small (and stress that's SMALL not normal sized!!) meals is actually what we need. Our metabolic systems are very finely tuned and the food we eat helps to regulate it. In order to keep it running smoothly it has to be provided with nutritious, high quality food on a regular basis, ideally every 2.5-3 hours. The food itself is really important too. IF you constantly supply your body with high sugar, high fat, low protein foodstuffs, it gets broken down really fast and used even faster. What you want is to eat food that gets broken down slower and so you feel fuller longer, so you don't get tempted to snack on sugary foods.

Have you ever heard of, or tried, the GI diet? It's the 'fashionable' diet of the moment, but the difference is that its very scientifically sound. As opposed to being a 'diet' its more like a plan for a whole overhaul of your eating habits. Without boring you to death (if not already!!) it encourages you to eat more wholemeal, eat more vegetables and fruit and cut out all or most processed foods. Its a principle that more athletes use to increase their energy levels and regulate their weight.

Make sure you drink loads, and I mean, LOADS of water. It will help relieve bloating, aids digestion and flushes out toxins. Swap whole milk for skimmed, nstead of a roll for lunch try a salad, snack on nuts and grains instead of biscuits, all-bran or porridge for brekkie, and keep alcohol to a minimum. All teh tiny changes make a huge difference!!!

Excercise is eaqually as important. Get your heart moving, the health benefits of getting off your bum every day are too numerous to even begin listing. Try 15 minutes walking in the morning and 15 in the evening, walk with a friend to keep you company, get off the bus or train a stop early and walk the rest, cycle to work or to friend's houses. If you sit down on the job, move your legs aorund every few minutes. Play football, fly a kite, anything so long as you're moving!!

The weight increase you're experiencing may just be your body's response to the change in diet, but stick at it. There's no argument in favour of stuffing your face with sweets and crisps every day.

In short, eat less, move more.

Good luck!!

rubadub

I have lost about 2 stone this year at a steady rate. I cycle everywhere. You can still eat the chicken roll but stick to wholemeal bread, and light mayo or coleslaw/salad cream, I now much prefer brown bread. Whole milk has lots of calories and a standard helping of cornflakes and milk is usually at least double what the little info on the box says. Some biscuits have lots of calories too. I still eat like a horse sometimes but just healthier stuff. I love ham and chicken fillets and would never have considered them real diet food (like carrots, celery etc). Instead of eating a bar I look at what I could eat instead, a full spicy chicken fillet can be the same calories as a single biscuit, and I love the taste of both equally, but I could eat 1/2 a pack of buscuits in one sitting, thats like a flock of chickens!

My trick is to only eat when hungry and stop eating when full, keep the fridge/press empty. I used to eat/cook for something to do, nothing on TV, check the fridge. Cook a load of sausages thinking, I'll keep half for later, but end up scoffing the lot.

I still drink like a fish, but since there is less food in my system and I am now lighter it takes far less to get me pissed, so I am drinking far less. Instead of hitting the chinese or chipper after a night out I go home and fill up on semi ok food.

Weigh yourself on the same day/time and hydration level, same clothes or none and same scales. If you are dehydrated from booze in the morning, you can put on a fair amount of weight over the day drinking water and eating.

Boru.

Hi MobileInfantry,

Your diet modifications are a great start. I wouldn't be overly concerned about your weight gain. What happens to many people who make changes to their dit and take up exercise is that they do gain weight. What many don't realise is that this more often than not is new muscle mass. As muscle weighs more than fat and the number on the scales increases! This is a good thing! The more lean muscle tissue you have the higher calories you burn, the faster your metabolism etc.

What you should watch isn't your weight, but your measurements. Have your measurements recorded and make sure they reduce. If you want and are based up in Dublin drop in to me in the Arnotts Sports Department and I'll take your measurements and do a body fat analysis. If the body fat goes down and your muscle mass increases you are on your way to success!


Boru.

TerrorFirmer

Thanks for the replies guys.

New diet isn't easy, but I have motivation and I am not tempted by junk food. I'm walking alot more, and I actually feel a hell of alot better, even if the weight isn't visibily dropping - its the opposite - so I'm still happier with myself knowing I've cut out the crap.

Now. Breakfast? Is a bowl of cornflakes a bad idea? Should I replace it with maybe some brown bread? I don't mind which I eat really. i already drink skimmed milk, I actually prefer it to full fat in any case.

The rolls I've been eating at lunch are brown ones, with a small bit of mayo and some fresh chicken. I try salad for variation, sometimes fruit. Lots of water too.

I still like to eat maybe two digestive biscuits in the evening, but thats it. Will change even that for fruit soon once I get used to the idea.

Thanks again for the replies, much appreciated. Thanks for that boru, but am based in galway

copacetic

cornflakes are a decent breakfast, I eat a similar diet to you (except a fair bit more) and have been trying to eat more and more for breakfast (i.e muesli + toast w/ jam and OJ), been cutting out the mayo at lunch and getting salsa instead, and trying turkey rather than chicken, or at least making sure not to get a breaded chicken fillet dripping in grease) and cutting back on the 10pm eats they are just sitting in your stomach all night (haven't found this easy though). Been training reasonably hard too and it is really shifting the weight.
If you keep that diet up the weight will come off there is no doubt, keep up the good work..

Duck Soup

First off MI, give yourself a mighty slap on the back for getting on the straight and narrow(er) in the first place. I managed to lose 50bs last year using a few simple techniques, the cornerstone of which was (hold your nose and go ‘bleaagghh!) oatmeal, a.k.a. porridge. Don’t worry about having it with semi-skimmed milk or water, it tastes enough like wallpaper paste as it is.

Oatmeal is a slow-release carbohydrate, unlike cereals, which can be high in salt or sugar on one extreme or, on the other, high roughage that has little nutritional value. Oatmeal raises your metabolic rate for a sustained time and slowly releases energy into the body. I found it easier to stick to an oatmeal brekky 5-6 times a week if it was sweetened with raisins. Bran flakes don’t have the effect of raising your metabolic rate, as they don’t ‘engage’ your body, simply passing through and producing stools like breeze blocks.

Chicken for lunch is good, but maybe lose the mayo and roll! The mayo (and most sauces) are little calorie-bombs and most breads break down into simple carbs (a.k.a. sugar) in the body reeeallly quickly. If you eat bread, then stoneground is the best option. Or try chicken salad or chicken with brown rice.

Personally, I found that eating a larger lunch than dinner worked well for me. If you feel like you need to eat after 6-7pm, fruits are – as you suggested yourself – the way to go. And g’em is right – plenty and plenty of water. It actually facilitates losing weight.

I know these suggestions might sound a little grim, but I found a simple truth: if you get results, you’ll stick to it; if you don’t you won’t. And try a few of the different suggestions. Experiment and find what works best for you.

Imposter

Can somebody give an example of what a diet with 5-6 smaller meals actually contains (portion sizes, type of foods etc.)?

Maynooth

So Cornflakes aren't a good snack to have when hungry? Ooops. I practically live on them.

rubadub

Cornflakes are ok. I mentioned above that the servings size on the pack is usually 1/2 what a normal size bowl is. And I know I always end up topping it up. All I am saying is that if you are calorie counting you should weigh the flakes and measure the milk as you will really be having 2-3 times what it says on the box.
I find a big breakfast reduces hunger. I have taken protein shakes for breakfast, I heard protein is an appetite suppresant, it has that effect on me.

Low fat does not have to be bland, instead of mayo I use hot salsa dip sauces which have next to no calories, so you can really lash it on. I also make "sandwiches" without bread, just iceberg, ham/chicken and salsa or mustards.

I had started eating more again while back but am still loosing, I have had to make 4 new holes in my belt this year, and now need another! the weight has been pretty stable but as mentioned it must be muscle going on since I need a belt for jeans I couldnt wear last year. I think "falling off the wagon" does no harm as you wont have such a rebound or permanently slowed metabolism

Corksham

I read somewhere (therefore it has to be true!!) that there is more salt in cornflakes than in sea water, I know Kellogs are the biggest carbohydrate manufacturers on the planet but I would google corn flakes to find out exactly how good / bad they are.

Nice one for motivating yourself, as you know fat loss is a slow and gradual process, keep excercising, we all fall down on out diets now and again (life would be too boring otherwise, and the 7 pints of Murphys I had last night doesnt exactly bode well for marahton training). keep tipping away all the time, maybe set a goal to motivate yourself when the weather is crap and the lure of the pub / box of pringles seems overwhelming. Dont be dis-heartened if the gains arent immediate, the trick is consistency