Just can't lose weight....

[Firefly2000]

Hi All,

I am a quite overweight male (170cm tall, 135kg,38yo) and have been training consistently for some weeks now with minimal progress. I have an ankle injury (torn tendons) which means I can only exercise by swimming or cycling as treadmill or crosstrainer are too painful.

For the last 8 weeks I have been exercising 2 hours every morning - 40mins swimming + 30mins cycling + weights training. I eat about 1800-2000 calories a day with no nice, potatoes or pasta lots of salad and veg and chicken and fish. In that time I have managed to only lose 2.5kg..>!!!

This is really demoralising and I'm hoping somebody here can give me some insight as to why my weightloss has been so slow. Any suggestions?

Many thanks,
Firefly2000

[I'm Simon]

Hi Firefly,

Mate I am no expert but it sounds like your body could retaining weight because you are building muscle with the amount of exercise that you are going...especially with the swimming and weight training, sometimes the scales will not be an accurate reflection of what is going on with your body. Did you take measurements before you started the diet and exercise routine...chest waist etc, i bet there will be a difference there. Another great tool is keeping a food diary each day so that you know exactly how many calories that you are consuming each day.

Now I will leave it to the experts....calling Blitz!

Stick with it mate...don't give up.

Simon

[Blitz]

Losing weight is only a two horse game. It's either not enough exercise or too much food.

Now having said that, by the amount of exercise you are doing you are most probably busy building lots of muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat so you aren't seeing big weight losses because of that. The good news is that muscle burns calories faster so eventually you will see good results soon.

The downside of building huge muscle first in weight loss is that you'll feel the craving for food (fuel) more. This may mean that you will have to look carefully at how much you are eating. You may discover that you are consuming more than you think. Snacks particularly could be the culprit. It may also be a case of portion size. The sizes of our portions tend to grow without due care! Alcohol is something to watch as well. Packed with calories that you don't count because you drank it rather than eat. 5 to 10 cans of beer can add 750-1500 calories!

My first rule of weight loss is "do no harm". Don't over train yourself. Slow exercise days and rest
days can help you be more effective in weight loss. Your body wants to maintain itself at a constant but you don't want that. Think of it like a car. You drive smoothly at the same rate and you burn the petrol in a cost effective way. Unfortunately we want to burn the fuel like a rev head. That means slowing down and then speeding up. Riding the brake and then gunning it. Always listen to your body...if you are going too hard at it, it will tell you. Push but don't break it.

For weight loss you may want to revisit your calories intake. 2000 calories is too high for weight loss. Alan Bourushek's Diet Manual suggests that for weight loss the average man requires 1000-1500 cals (sedentary) or 1200-1800 (active). May I also suggest that you include some carbs in your diet. They will give you a "fuller" feeling and help fuel your exercise. Also drink lots of water.

Disclaimer: Talk about the blind leading the naked! I'm no expert. When losing weight my mantras were "Do no harm", "Listen to your body", "Take responsiblity" and "Listen to common sense". It was only after I lost the 87 kilos that I started reading up on the subject. It was interesting how many things I found that I had done right just by following my guiding principles. There are many useful books out there (and a lot of harmful ones as well). I've picked most of mine up from op and second hand book shops. In the magic community they say that if you want to keep it a secret stick it in a magic book. I think that is also true concerning weight loss.

Hope this helps you
Kim

[Firefly2000]

Thanks Simon and Kim for your replies. I've been taking measurements and these havent really budged much at all in the last 8 weeks. I rarely drink alcohol and have been tracking calories using myfitnesspal.com. I'm averaging 1800-2000 calories a day but by the sounds of things maybe thats too many.

My food is generally;
Bfast: Homemade berry smoothie, 1 slice multigrain toast with low fat chicken
Lunch: Chicken salad using 1.5 chicken breasts
Dinner: 250gms fish or chicken with veges or salad or Bowl soup
No pasta, no rice, no potatoes

Workout is mostly;
40mins swimming
20-30mins cycling
15-20mins weights (Day 1: Biceps, triceps, shoulders; Day 2: Chest, Back)

I have torn tendons in the left ankle so cant use treadmills or eliptical trainer or exercises like leg press

Appreciate any thoughts or suggestions anyone may have...

Many thanks,
Daniel

[Blitz]

Daniel

Without actually seeing what you put on your plate it must be portion size. Your lunch may be on the big side. Is that one and a half pieces or one and a half kilos of chicken? The size should be what would fit in your hand comfortably. I myself prefer a good breakfast, a reasonable dinner and a lightish lunch.

Routine in exercise can deaden the results. Mix it up, worker harder one day and less another or try some other form of exercise. For example I would swim every other day or do two days in a row and take two days off.

Exercise level that you work at should be pushing to the uncomfortable without hurting. Sweat should be the sign that you are working yourself hard enough. If you can't talk at the end of your workout, you are going too hard.

When you swim, how hard do you go? I see many people at the pool belt down the lane freestyle for one or two laps and then rest while I've ended up doing six laps of breastroke. A stroke that I've found useful is breastroke just using the arms and keep the feet still. This really gives your arms and shoulders a good workout. At first you'll only be able to do a couple of them but soon you'll be able to build it up.

Tracking calories is good. So long as you are doing it right. It's only as good as the numbers that you are putting in it. I never tracked my calories. Portion size is more important to me. I have a general idea what foods are high or low in calories but I couldn't tell you a number to save my life.

When I started the only thing I did different was make sure I had a good breakfast, half the portion of my meals,stopped snacking and drinking fizzy drinks. The first week I lost 2.5kg and that was without exercise. I had a lot to lose so I don't expect that from you but it does illustrate that portion size does matter.

Keep at it...you'll get there. Sooner or later your body will have to surrender.
Kim