So a week in, 8 days of not drinking alcohol and eating fairly healthily (much better than past 3 weeks) and what do I have to show for it? Nothing, not even half a pound off.
Totally gutted. Any suggestions!
This is my breakfast today - 238 kCal all weighed and counted:
1 banana, 30g Bran Flakes, 1 kiwi fruit, 150ml unsweetened almond milk, black coffee and pint of water
Don't worry, I bet next week will be loads off. Sometimes the body goes into shock and hangs on. I lost 1lb one week and 6 in the next week. Keep going and you will see results!
We have to remember that Its not just about the weight! Its also about the body composition and muscle weighs more than fat, but is smaller. Scales are the enemy sometimes, they can sabotage good progress - I would rely more on how your clothes are fitting - eventually the weight comes off - I have low thyroid so it takes a very long time to lose one pound (and about 10 seconds to gain it back!) - so I have got used to measuring by clothes fit, not scales!!
Great breakfast although bananas can be a bit hefty on the old calorie front - don't give up - don't forget with your knee you're not getting about as well as you normally do so your usual level of exercise is unattainable - just keep on keeping on and hopefully next week it will all catch up - you can do this!
Thanks Annabelle_Bebbs . I rarely have bananas, only had it this morning as the bunch looked like it needed eating, and I weighed it out - was 94g unzipped which works out at 74kCal!
On to lunch now!
Well chin up - you will get there x
A few weeks ago I had a couple of maintaining weeks did everything right and so I just ate more for one day ( suggested by someone on the forum) and it sort of kick started my weight loss again albeit slowly but I think that's just me the toitoise not the hare.
I feel for you. When I started it was 5 weeks before I lost an ounce. I almost gave up but decided on one last try and took on board the advice from the forum to up my calories. I don't know if that would be any help but it worked for me. Good luck.
I have reduced my calories to take into account of my lack of activity - aiming for 1500 per day at the mo, was eating 1750 before my knee injury, which is what the app suggests. Just have to keep trying!
How tall are you? Just that shorties (like me) if not able to exercise, are likely to need much fewer calories....
Hi @Pineapple27
I'm 5' 8" so tall enough!
You're a GIANT! 
I'm only 4ft 9"!
Bless you, that is tiny. My inside legs are 32" on their own! Unfortunately I gain weight round my middle first which is both annoying and the most risky, so sitting about doesn't help me. Still I've done 20 mins on my exercise bike, all my Physio exercises and some core stuff today totalling 40 mins gentle exercise, but now my knee says no more please.
Hmmm, you may benefit from the principles of the Blood Sugar Diet then? That attacks the abdominal fat first.... cutting out pasta, potatoes, rice, exotic fruits, flour products and sugar as much as possible. I am on a FaceBook group and seeing some amazing pictures and results. It's aimed at those who are diabetic or pre-diabetic, but others like myself are using it for weight loss - and just avoiding those things (high GI food which affect insulin levels) has made me feel so much more energetic and reduced my aches and pains far more than any pain killer can!
Please, however keen you are to get back to your exercise, don't overdo it, as your recovery may be even further set back.
You may be impatient, but listen to your body and give yourself time to recover.
agree Pineapple, out with pasta rice potatoes bread all grains no crispbreads no low cal no fat (evil stuff that has sugar in it to make it taste nicer) and no vegetable oils except Olive or avocado oil- eat eggs, butter, cream cheese, cheese, meat and LOTS of green leafy grown above ground vegetables until you are full, if you can have just 2 meals a day good for you, if you can have just one meal a day (no snacking) you will see HUGE results in very short time, all the time spent not eating means you are giving your body a chance to heal itself without having to spend time digesting all the 'bad foods' and pretty much anything in a packet with a label with words you don't understand is bad.
Hang on in there, I feel your pain. Give it a few more days and then come back here if it doesn't work. I'm 5' 8.5" and eating 1400-1500.
Stick with it. You are being totally healthy. Sometimes weight just get 'stuck' temporarily in some people. Don't give up and I hope that another week you will be surprised at your successes.
Although the length of your recovery will be frustrating you, while also preventing activity from being undertaken at its usual rate/intensity, hang in there, as things will gradually improve (even if recovery is a little slower than you have the patience for).
I am desperately impatient. 8 weeks post injury and I just feel so restricted with my mobility. Not least because I'm not allowed to drive at the moment so can't visit the gym.
Having committed to being a 'meat reducer' since November and a follower of a dairy free diet (due to dietician confirmed dairy intolerance) it is very frustrating.
So I'm adding plenty of core and upper body toning in to my temporary mini-gym that I've set up in my conservatory with spinning bike, Swiss ball, kettle bells and various fitness DVDs that have been gathering dust!
You will be. There's little worse than not being to exercise fully, due to injury.
Still, at least the knee is recovering sufficiently to allow use of the spinning bike to be included, even if tension placed upon the fly-wheel and duration spent upon it have to be measured.
In addition to owning a kettlebell, do you also possess a set of dumbells?
If so, a circuit could be devised whereby concentration is placed upon tempo (raising heartrate), in addition to working muscles antagonistically with no rest between exercises, while initially working with a weight that allows 8-10 reps to be executed, reducing it and increasing reps as the muscles begin to fatigue (ensuring that correct form continues to be maintained).
For example, a full upper body routine could look like the following, using a 3010 tempo (3 seconds to lower weight, 0 seconds pause at the bottom, 1 second to lift the weight and 0 seconds rest at the top of the move).
Chest & Back: Lying Chest Press/Bent-Over Row (Rest 60s).
Shoulders: Overhead Press/Bent-Over Rear Fly (Rest 60s).
Arms: Bicep Curl/Triceps Extension (Rest 60s)
Stomach: Plank (hold for 20-30s)/Side bend (Rest 60s).
Repeat the circuit 3/4 times over, remembering to lower the weight and increase repetitions to 12 reps as the body begins to tire. Alternatively, you could perform each superset 3/4 times over before moving on to the next superset.
Again, feel free to incorporate your own exercises, just ensure that whatever exercises you choose, the muscles are worked antagonistically during each superset.
Yes I have dumbells too. I'm going to try this tomorrow 😁
As it's a full upper body routine, offering no rest at the top and bottom of each movement or between supersets, there's a fair chance muscle stiffness will be encountered, so don't be too disheartened if you're only able to perform the circuit every other day.
However, given your sporting background, I don't think any explanation is necessary, surrounding the importance of rest in between resistance workouts.
There's a surprising amount of sugar in Bran Flakes. Perhaps try a lower sugar cereal?
I will when I've finished the box! I can't justify throwing food away when I've only had one bowl!
hi Sportygirl, if you are as immobile as you say and can only do upper body exercises, have you factored in how insulin resistant you might be? the banana and kiwi fruit are full of sugar this will spike your insulin response to these foods (we will get onto the 'cereal' in a minute) so unless you cut back on the sugar you wont lose any weight - the grain in your bran flakes is converted by the liver into.... sugar (all grains are converted into sugar) so what you have on your plate is approximately 38grams of sugar - this is per 100grams of each individual item - the WHO guidelines for daily sugar intake are 25g PER DAY so you are eating approximately 150% more sugar just in your breakfast - as you need to run 35+/- miles to burn off a pound of fat ... you can see what i am saying - ditch that packet or donate it a food bank and do some research on what foods do not contain sugar (eggs, cheese, meat for instance) and you will lose the weight.
Thanks for your advice. I don't eat dairy and very rarely eat meat so my main protein sources are plant based - e.g. Almond milk (unsweetened), lentils, beans, quorn, eggs.
I follow the Public Health England 'Eatwell Guide' as I work for Public Health England and they recommend equal volume of fruit and vegetables to wholewheat/whole grain starchy carbohydrates, and 20% protein/dairy/dairy alternatives.
I am immobile in the sense of not being able to do huge amounts of walking and currently I'm not allowed to drive as per the orthopaedic consultant advice. I have just done 20 mins light spinning, my prescribed Physio therapy programme as well as upper body and core work using my Swiss ball.
Ok well good luck with that, have a think about the whole sugar (hidden and obvious) thing and do a little research on insulin effects on the body there is a lot of literature out there and see if maybe there are things you can tweak in your diet.
By next week the figures will be going the right way! How's your portion sizes? Drink plenty of water, that's definitely been my key. #dontgiveupkeepgoing
I'm weighing everything carefully and recording the calories, taking a note of the recommended portion size on the packet. E.g. 50g wholewheat Pasta
30g bran flakes
Today I've had 2 portions of fruit and 5 portions of veg, 3 portions of dairy free alternatives, 4 portions of protein and 3 portions of wholewheat carbohydrate in line with the Public Health England recommended Eatwell Guide
gov.uk/government/publicati...
the UK guidelines for nutrition for the last 30 years have led us to our current crisis of obesity and diabetes, people follow these guidelines to their peril - weight is a hormonal issue (as governed by insulin) move more eat less has been proven to fail in more than 99.8% of diets - have a look at Dr Jason's Fung and Diet Doctor, Mike Mosely's blood fast diet, for great work in IF, reversing T2D, weight loss and a whole host of ailments reversed or reduced.
Sounds like your doing everything right, Bet you have a positive result at the next weigh in
many thanks for all your lovely support these last few days since my dad died. Amazingly I've lost 9lbs, good luck with your journeys xxx
Have the water about 20 minutes before you eat (do same for each meal you eat throughout the day) , it will awaken your organs up from the nights sleep and alert your brain that food intake is on the way. You need to try to keep your metabolism working as fast as possible throughout the day in order for more body fat to be used up. I suggest you have either the banana or the kiwi fruit about an hour after your breakfast, or have something else that is healthy.
You need to try to eat often so about an hour or so after each main meal when your metabolism starts to slow down again you need to give it a boost. Eat something, fruit, nuts etc it doesn't need to be a lot just look into healthy foods that can spike your metabolism.
Good luck, I hope this advice is useful for you.
and by eating regularly you can spike your insulin regularly too
I feel you pain, I have vastly reduced my intake, no drink, no chocolate, cakes or biscuits. I ran 5k, swam 5k and cycled 7.5 k and all for one pound weight loss. Maybe ours will fall off next week, keep going, I'm with you x
If you've only just had knee surgery, consider whether you might be retaining fluid around the wound, and whether any painkillers you are taking could also be causing you to retain fluids/gain weight. I would say your recovery time is a time to diet, but not weigh yourself.
Your breakfast looks ok, although check the sugar content of your cereal, and check your milk is unsweetened. I'm reading a lot just now suggesting you should introduce protein and vegetables to your breakfast - I'm having a few nuts now with my cereal, finding it's more filling.
Not had surgery ...yet, it's something I'm trying to avoid, hence the Physio. But I am taking codeine and paracetamol - not as regularly as I was, down to 2 x 30mg codeine and 4 x 500mg paracetamol per day from 8 of each. I can't take NSAIDs so may be this is the knock on effect. My legs do feel 'full', I had put that down to doing the Physio, but it may be fluid too, although my ankles aren't particularly swollen.
Onwards! 8 weeks since my injury, 4 weeks til my next consultant appointment, so just keep going I guess
Sorry, don't know why I thought you'd had surgery!
I just googled it, and one of the listed side-effects of codeine can be fluid retention, because it makes you pee less. It's just a possibility, but it could explain this weeks weight. Water with a slice of lemon in it is diuretic (will help you pee more) - see if that makes any difference! Although maybe balance against the pain of having to walk to the loo more...
Hello,
I think the clue is in your "eating fairly healthily" comment in your post. Have you been guessing portions rather than weighing and measuring? If so, chances are you have just eaten more calories than you have burned off.
Have a week of counting your cals very strictly, and I am sure you will lose weight. Obviously you;ve made a good start with breakfast today!
I was 'guessing' last week but full on weighing and measuring now. Just weird that compared to the festive fortnight I'm eating much healthier.
Thanks for all your support last week MrNiceGuy Cooper27 aclenujune Hidden Ketogirl Sugarplum16 Siouxie tidirhin2548 Pineapple27 Itsbab wa2un7 Hidden Annabelle_Bebbs
Really pleased to say my hard work has rewarded me with 2.5lb loss this week, including an Indian meal out on Saturday.
15 days in to Dry January without a wobble, and 6/7 days doing 45 mins exercise.
Onwards and downwards!
That's fantastic SportyGirl75 ☺ So pleased for you ☺
Wow fantastic result👍 it's hard enough loosing weight but doing dry January hats off to you🎩🎩🎩
Well done you! Onwards and downwards!
Brilliant - well done!!!!!!!!!
Congrats, my second week better too. X
Losing Weight Steadily
Advent Treats Challenge - Wednesday, 2nd December
Programme on BBC1 tonight (23.05 till midnight) \"The Truth About Calories\"
The birthday binge reporting in!
