Why can't I lose weight?
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muddlingmywaythrough
Forumite 13 posts
I am 5'7" female and I am trying to shift a bit of the padding which has been piling on recently. I've lost a bit and I know it can take a while to lose weight but wondered if anyone could offer any advice as to how to shift a bit more a bit quicker or where I might be going wrong. I currently weigh 10st exactly and a healthy weight for someone of my height is between 8.5-11 stone and I have lost 4lb in the last 4-5 weeks. I know that overall is a healthy amount to lose and I'm still strictly speaking a healthy weight and it can take time however I feel I can do better. I still feel 'heavy' and considering (albeit a few years ago) I used to weight about 9.5 stones, which is when I felt healthiest I am keen to try and get back to that kind of weight. With all this in mind I wondered if anyone could point out where I might be going wrong.
My diet is:
Breakfast (about 10am, eating earlier makes me feel sick) : porridge with a teaspoon of honey or scrambled egg with chopped ham mixed in. Glass of water
Lunch (1pm): small baked potato with tuna mayo (1-2 tsp mayo, half tin tuna) and salad (toms, cucumber, lettuce). Glass of water
Dinner (6pm): have on a teaplate, no carbs, usually have something like a piece of chicken (either a breast or a piece of breaded chicken) with a side of veg and salad. Glass of water
I make up a tub of carrot and cucumber sticks to nibble on during on the day if I get hungry and only drink water.
I have a treat of a 70g bag of white choc buttons over the week (so a few a day) and I usually have 1 or 2 (no more) slimline G&T's at the weekend.
Exercise wise I admit my level of walking has decreased a bit as I've not been doing school runs but I've been jogging about 20,000 steps a day (not sure how far this is?) I'm not very fit so this is across a day, not in one go. I've been doing this on the spot as I have bad knee joints and find it less painful than jogging around the streets. I also use a stomach roller thing to tone my stomach a bit and dumbells when I remember!!
Any pointers would be appreciated or any suggestions as to why I am not losing a bit more? I'm not expecting miracles but feel a bit deflated with the lack of progress.
My diet is:
Breakfast (about 10am, eating earlier makes me feel sick) : porridge with a teaspoon of honey or scrambled egg with chopped ham mixed in. Glass of water
Lunch (1pm): small baked potato with tuna mayo (1-2 tsp mayo, half tin tuna) and salad (toms, cucumber, lettuce). Glass of water
Dinner (6pm): have on a teaplate, no carbs, usually have something like a piece of chicken (either a breast or a piece of breaded chicken) with a side of veg and salad. Glass of water
I make up a tub of carrot and cucumber sticks to nibble on during on the day if I get hungry and only drink water.
I have a treat of a 70g bag of white choc buttons over the week (so a few a day) and I usually have 1 or 2 (no more) slimline G&T's at the weekend.
Exercise wise I admit my level of walking has decreased a bit as I've not been doing school runs but I've been jogging about 20,000 steps a day (not sure how far this is?) I'm not very fit so this is across a day, not in one go. I've been doing this on the spot as I have bad knee joints and find it less painful than jogging around the streets. I also use a stomach roller thing to tone my stomach a bit and dumbells when I remember!!
Any pointers would be appreciated or any suggestions as to why I am not losing a bit more? I'm not expecting miracles but feel a bit deflated with the lack of progress.
1
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Replies
You’re not over weight and have a healthier diet than most other people.
That aside it's possible your calorie intake is either too high or even too low...continually taking in low calories can result in the metabolism slowing down too hence the weight stops coming off. Though your diet looks reasonably healthy. Only other recommendation I would suggest is adding resistance training (if not already doing) even if light bodyweight exercises.
"I have lost 4lb in the last 4-5 weeks."
You have lost weight so don't get disheartened. Looking at your diet I think the last thing you'd want to do is eat less. You probably don't want to do more cardio either. Your body will get used to eating less and moving more so don't do that. You'll just end up tired and underfed.
My recommendation would be to do regular resistance exercise with your dumbells dumbells at home and bodyweight exercises (sit-ups, push-ups) to start. Dot this three times per week. If you do resistance training though, I would eat a little bit more. Not a lot more, just say, a larger potato at lunch or a whole tin of tuna at lunch.
On the days you do resistance training, don't do the jogging. Keep them seperate.
Resistance training will help your body maintain muscle which helps to burn calories and lower fat. You won't suddenly become muscle-bound so don't worry about that.
These are things that I've found have helped me lose fat. I'm a male who has lost 35lbs over the last 16 months. I'd been eating too little recently and this week ate a little more than usual and still lost weight and bodyfat this week.
Good luck.
Tip 2. Count calories. You say you eat x, y and z. All of that is irrelevant if you dont weigh it out and calculate how many calories is in each meal.
For example porridge is fine for breakfast. However 50g isnt for you. Along with the rest of the ingredients you add. What seems healthy could end up over 500 calories in 1 meal.
Based on your height and weight ( I don't know your age) and based on it you do 3 regular exercise sessions/activities a week in order to lose weight you need to be eating no more than 1500 calories. That will have you burning around 1lb a week which is realistic and sustainable.
No offence but marching on the spot isnt going to cut it. Theres nothing to stop you going out for a walk outside. You can take it whatever pace you feel comfortable with. It's also good for your muscles to have uphill and downhill even if they are only slight inclines.
Resistance training is another great form of burning calories but a few dumbbell presses wont cut it. You need to go to a gym and focus on some big movements. They dont have to be heavy weights but deadlifts, squats, shoulder presses, leg presses etc will help greatly as they have you burning calories after the event for up to 24 hours. Also the more muscle you have the more calories you burn resting. You will not become a body builder dont let that myth throw you off. People say. Oh if I do that I will look manly. Trust me you wont.
Biggest take away point is calories tracking. You could eat the healthiest food in the world but if your eating 2000 calories of chicken broccoli and rice and burning 1700 calories you are going to gain weight. Simple as.
Gyms will be open in the next few months so the OP should be scouting out which gym is closest to her and what has facilities she would benefit from. Some may also have a swimming pool that would help also with the joint pain issue.
I have just ordered a couple of Davina Mccall exercise dvds so I can really tackle those (I can't say I'm a big DM fan but I've used her dvds before and they are very sensible and effective).
Hopefully this will give my rate of weight loss a bit of a kick and even if it doesn't it should help me tone up.
The food you eat is healthy. But do you count calories? It's the single most important thing you need to be doing. Monotonous yes. Beneficial yes. It's the first thing a professional will tell you to do.
As I said you could eat broccoli for breakfast lunch and dinner and snacks in between but if your eating more than your burning thats the problem. (It would be difficult to eat that much broccoli but you get my drift.) Get a diary and track everything for a week or two then stick to making the same meals and you know how much things are.
If you have any green areas like football fields close to where you live it may be best running on them than on the road. Easier for the joints.