Struggling

[Archie43]

Hi,first time on here. I’m 67 years old and started healthy eating about a month ago eating 40% protein 30%carbs and 30%fat. I’ve cut out all processed food. Walk 3 miles a day and weight training 3 times a week. Can’t work out why I’m not losing weight. Any ideas anyone. Thanks.

[Zest]

Hi Archie43

If you use the NHS BMI calculator, then you can check if you need to lose weight for your height, weight and activity level, and it will also give you a 'calorie range' to eat within. I don't know if you count calories, but you may have an idea of how many you eat - and sometimes if people don't eat sufficient, then they don't lose weight. So that's why it's helpful to check what your body needs, and the calculator is a good resource to have a look:

nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Healthyw...

The NHS weight loss forum is also very helpful and supportive, so would be worth a look - if you'd like more support - and they do weigh-in sessions too, which are free and supportive.

Zest

[Archie43 in reply to Zest]

Thanks Zest I just had a look and I need to lose two stone. I’m sticking to around 1800 calories a day so maybe I’m not eating enough, regards Archie

[grace111]

hi Archie if your lifting weights than your going to be building muscle and that may make you look as if your not loosing weight but your building muscle and loosing fat so that good. muslce is heavier that fat. so its all good. your doing great staying away from processed food as they are full of sugar and fat and chemicals. keep up the good work. and welcome to the forum. all these posts are important as a new person will read the and feel inspired,.grace xoxo

[Archie43 in reply to grace111]

Thanks Grace 111 that makes me feel a lot better,I was beginning to think I was wasting my time,regards Archie

[Misslovely Volunteer]

Hi Archie

My personal trainer advised me to stop weighing myself or stop relying on weight. Instead - measure !

As grace111 mentioned you will slowly be building muscle and that does weigh heavier than fat. Also she advised that water is a key feature in any diet - are you drinking enough!

When you say 30% carbs - what kind of carbs are you eating as this also has a major factor in your diet. There are different kinds of carbs & the best are the green leafys ! xxx

[Archie43 in reply to Misslovely]

Hi Misslovely,I’m getting most of my carbs from blueberries,bananas,strawberries,green leaves and weetabix and quite enjoying it. No more cake,biscuits and crisps which I thought I would really miss. Never done this before,hope I’m doing the right thing. Regards Archie.

[TheAwfulToad in reply to Archie43]

Have to agree with this; definitely lose the weetabix, and replace some or all of the fruit with leafy greens. You'll have to increase your fat to compensate (easily done by cooking your veg in butter, coconut oil, etc and adding more fatty meat). If you're attempting to lose weight, you have to give your body no other alternative except to burn body fat, because it's very low in the list of metabolic priorities; that is, the survival tradeoff of keeping vs. burning fat is biased towards keeping it. If there are sufficient dietary carbs, your body will burn those for fuel and spare your bodyfat as much as it can.

It really is funny how you don't miss the sweet stuff after a while though! The fear of stopping is far worse than reality.

Apart from that, you probably ARE losing fat and gaining muscle, as others have said. Can you see improved muscle definition in the mirror? After all, that's what matters.

Being realistic though, as we get older it becomes harder and harder to keep in shape. It's not impossible, it just requires a lot more effort and dedication that it would have done when we were 25. Such is life.

[Archie43 in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Hi Awful Toad,I’m beginning to see some improvements in the way I look but it’s slow going. Your so right things take a bit longer when your older. Now I’m into it I’m determined to keep going. Thanks for the advice,regards Archie.

[PhilFreeToAsk in reply to Archie43]

I agree with TheAwfulToad. Drop the weetabix - it is highly processed cereal. The GI index (75) is rated as high. Go for non-processed cereals such as muesli with nuts and seeds. Just be careful not to have too much fruit but I would not cut it out completely especially if you enjoy it.

I think your post title of struggling is not correct. You are not struggling - you are changing and improving. Keep going and you will find out more about yourself and diet.

[Archie43 in reply to PhilFreeToAsk]

Hi there, I think I probably need to have a bit more patience and not think that things are going to happen straight away. Thanks for the info. Regards Archie.

[Archie43]

Hi Happycook ,thanks makes me feel really positive. A bit of encouragement goes a long way,regards Archie.

[Hidden]

I don't really understand percentages of carbs, proteins and fats, but I do understand calories and I've found that sticking to the BMI calorie range certainly works for me. Good luck - you sound very fit.

[Archie43 in reply to Hidden]

Thankyou Sabina,it takes some willpower but really getting into it now. The positive advice I’m getting helps a lot,Regards Archie.

[Hidden]

Hi Archie43, great decision. Lifestyle changes aren't easy and processed junk is literally addictive! Something you might want to consider is looking into the low carb high fat diet (LCHF) which is very effective at weight loss. Loads of people are going that route; you can see lots of personal stories, recipes, meal plans, etc at dietdoctor.com. The basic premise is that calories don't matter, carbs do because carbs/sugar require insulin output, and it's insulin that moves fat into fat cells. So you eliminate the stuff that triggers an insulin release- grain based carbs and sugar for the most part. Though you need to watch what kind of fruits you eat as well because of the fructose content. (Bananas aren't great!) There's LCHF, Keto, Paleo, South Beach, Atkins, all are low carb plans. But like everyone else has said, there's probably a lot of swapping muscle weight for fat going on. Everyone changes their lifestyle at their own rate. Just go with what you can handle, and see how things progress. Good luck!!

[Archie43 in reply to Hidden]

Hi Iv2sew,thanks for the info. I’m finding it hard to get my head round it that if you eat more fat you can lose weight. Maybe I’m just a bit of a dinosaur lol. It all seems so technical now. Regards Archie.

[Hidden]

Yeah, after a lifetime of believing fat makes you fat, and calories matter, it's a real mind bender to see it another way. Don't know if you're a reader or not; the book that got my attention was Gary Taubes' book Why We Get Fat. He's certainly had his detractors but you can't argue with success! And now there are loads of other books out there that explode the calories in/calories out theory- Fat Chance, Big Fat Surprise, Belly Fat Cure, lots of them. amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-A... These authors all have websites, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, YouTube videos, etc, etc, etc. The times, they are a-changin'!

[Archie43 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Iv2sew, will have a look

[Archie43]

Thanks Fatbuddy,