Had a very useful website- My Fitness Pal - recommended by someone else on this site. Great easy way to count calories. It suggested I was not eating enough calories and that my body was storing fat because it thought I was starving myself! Ok, I thought, could be right as all my totals for the food types were way lower than should be even for intake of recommended 1350 calories. So cut down on sugar as that was a bit higher than should be ( caused by eating dried fruit and drinking concentrated apple juice ) ate more of every thing else up to or just under the 1350 cals. 2 weeks later I'm 6lbs heavier. Not good!! (I am 2 and a half stone overweight ) Conclusion, . I think my diet is healthy and low in calories. Only way for me to lose any more weight is exercise, exercise, exercise! Oh boy!
Written by
LadyJazz
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
What else have you altered in your diet as 1350 is still not many calories? Exercise is great for boosting weight loss but diet is the main thing for loosing weight and keeping it off.
I have previously cut down on sweet treats and eaten less pasta and carbs and hardly any cheese (which I love). I don't eat meat but eat salmon, tuna and mackerel, loads of veg, salad, fruit, yoghurts, rice and potatoes.
HI LadyJazz,
Your body doesn't store fat because you're starving yourself.
There IS a thing called the human starvation response - but that only applies when you do actually starve - not when you cut down your food input a bit. And if you're taking in 1350 / 1400 kcal a day you're not starving yourself.
When a person is starving certain primary organs cannot use fat as a fuel source and so, in the absence of glycogen (stored carbohydrate), the body converts protein from muscle and tissue to fuel for these organs. Also, the body protectively shuts down or minimises various functions to preserve energy in a starvation situation.
However, the most common reason, by far, for not losing weight - sorry about this - is that you are still taking in more calories than you think you are. You need to be brutally honest about all and everything you are eating. There is nothing you eat or drink that doesn't count. All the toppings, gravies, custards, sauces that go with the food counts as well.
But just calorie counting isn't quite the whole story anyhow. You body controls functions such as feelings of hunger, satiation and processes such as fat storage and fat burning through its production of hormones. This changes as you become overweight and is one of the factors why overweight people tend to become more overweight.
I would suggest trying - as much as you are possible - to get into a good eating routine of, say, meal-snack-meal-snack-meal-snack, so that you don't go for more than about 4 hours with nothing to eat at all. The snack might be just a piece of fruit and might only be 50 kcals or so, but it'll 'tide you over' to your next meal and stop your blood sugar levels going too low.
Exercise does help to burn up some of the calories, but that isn't to say that it necessarily "burns fat". And it will usually, to some degree depending on the type of exercise, increase muscle. It's quite possible to have significant levels of body fat and also have lots of muscle - the two things are not mutally exclusive.
However, most of the hormone changes which occur as a result of you gaining weight can be reversed by becoming slimmer or by exercise, so exercise does have a role to play.
What is also important is the nutrition value of the food you eat, especially when you're eating that bit less. It matters that you get in the full range of nutrients from your food, including the vitamins and minerals and things like EFAs, etc,
I hear what you're saying about being honest about what I eat, that's why I tried the calorie counting. I thought I would find out where I was going wrong. I included All my snacks including crisps, chocolate and cake which are once a day treats. with occasional overindulgence. What I found was that the types of food I eat don't tend to contain a lot of fat etc except the treats. I was surprised at the amount of sugar in dried fruit and fruit juice as these were my healthy options instead of tea and sweet treats. I have eaten the same diet for the past 25 years and it is only in the past 10 years that I have gradually gone into the overweight /obese category. People use to tell me off for not eating meat and say "That's why your're so skinny"! Even now people say "If I ate what you eat I'd be like a stick". 95%of what I eat is home cooked from scratch. I don't use margarine and bake grill and steam with very occasional use of veg oil when cooking family meals. My average alcohol is 2 units a week but some weeks I don't drink anything.
Perhaps there is some muscle under the fat. I've been told muscle weighs more or the same I don't know. When I was weighed by the GP she was surprised and said that I weighed more than she did. Not to be impolite, but she herself acknowledged that she was visible fatter than me. She said that I must be carrying muscle. All my weight is around my stomach area, every where else is quite slim. Arms and legs normal size and no chubby cheeks or double chin.I'm a size 14/16 in womens clothes. My friends and family say they don't know what I'm worrying about as they think I am just normal size.
I have lost weight easily by not eating any fat in my diet but I did not feel healthy and became constipated. I have lost a small, steady amount of weight by not eating treats, crisps, choc, cakes and pastries etc.
I'll go back to cutting right down on these treats and continue with the exercise. I'll take on board the idea of meal , snack , meal as I find it difficult to eat a large portion of food in one sitting anyway. Despite what my family say I know I need to lose weight - I am clinically obese, weight 12st 6lbs, height 5' 2". bmi 30. I have arthritis in my hip and knees and being lighter would help this.
Muscle does in fact weigh more than fat does, but even if you were a world-class body builder, you would probably only be a BMI of about 26 or so, because you'd be heavier than "normal" but the extra weight would be all muscle and no fat.
However, it dawns on me that it might just be worth while asking your GP for a body fat analysis. There are a number of ways this can be done - it used to be usually done by taking a variety of measurements and a great long complex calculation.
My thoughts here are, whilst it's true that we all have different places where we first (or last) put on weight and these are pretty much determined by our DNA, it may just be worth exploring if your excess weight, in this one part of your body is, in fact, fat and a body fat analysis should give at least an indicative answer to that.
If it is, which is really the most likely answer, then proceeding and persevering with the weight (i.e. fat) loss regime should pay off for you, particularly if you can try to do as much as practicable to level out blood sugar levels (good eating regimes).
I'm curious that all your excess weight seems to be only around your stomach area, which might just suggest that the excess weight may not be fat, i.e. that there may be another medical reason for it.
It may also be worth asking yourself this simple question. How did I become overweight? Look hard for the answer to that, because the key to losing weight (body fat) is to cease and change the eating and activity/exercise habits that made you overweight in the first place.
Well there is certainly some fat around my middle, a couple of spare tyres but when I talk to others who weigh the same as me and they are much bigger it makes me wonder if something else is going on as well as me gaining extra fat.. Maybe I will make and appointment with the GP and ask for advice.
Just stick to your convictions, and you will see results in due course. I was feeling quite 'stuck' in terms of not having lost much weight at all over the past month (despite keeping up with my exercise and eating goals etc) and then today I lost some finally - which was very heartening. It would have been easy to 'give up' and comfort eat (which would have been a past tendency of mine), but thankfully the help and support of this website helped me to 'keep on track' and I am really glad I did.
I have been watching this thread closely as I have been suffering gain/plateau in the last 3 weeks, although I do restrict my calories more in the week and less at weekends. Today I was 12/8 this morning 12/7 fully clothed at my doctors annual review and finally 12/4 by this evening so that's what I am recording for Monday! Hopefully this is a restart for me. I just keep thinking I have not over eaten by 3200 so I can't have increased. I must agree it is disheartening STAY STRONG and good luckx
Hi, I eat rice about 3 times a week and potatoes about the same, usually a baked potato with salad. I'm am getting a bit dizzy and confused with the differing views on what's good to eat and what's not. Our bodies do need a variety of different foods to stay healthy I think. Although my weight is a problem my blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol has been tested and the GP says they were all at the optimal level and told me I was very healthy. I try to eat balanced meals and only started to count calories to see if I was a so called 'secret eater' eating too many unhealthy foods. I don't want to start looking as food as if it is an enemy and would like to make sure I am still getting enough nutrients to stay healthy.
I have visited some websites concerning gaining weight around the abdomen and some have suggested that women of menopausal age gain weight more easily around this area due to hormonal changes also genetics can come into the equation. As I am now in my 50's, I think hormones may be contributing to the weight gain.
Hi I'm in the same boat. I seemed to gain weight when I was 50. I am now at my heaviest nearly 13 stone. Although I eat a balanced meal in the evening I seem to crave sugar and end up sabotaging the efforts I made in the day. Does anyone have any tips how I can satisfy this craving it doesn't go away?
Do you mean you are eating sweet snacks after your evening meal? If you are it might be worth eating a low cal snack instead, something that will fill you up a bit like a small sandwich, slice of beans on toast, bowl of porridge. It might add a few calories to your diet but your sweet treats will add more. empty calories. If your not actually hungry try to satisfy your cravings with fresh fruit, rice cakes,or other low cal treats. I find it helpful to have grazing snacks like blueberrys , strawberries, dried fruits in the fridge and just grab a little when I am craving something sweet or habitually grazing. Drinks of water. also help. Mostly try not to eat so little in the day that you feel hungry at night. This is counter productive as you will only make up for eating less in the day by eating more in the evening. Better to have a bit more extra healthy food on your dinner plate than to snack later on sweet stuff.
Hi, yes it is hard to make changes but try one small change at a time. For example, I used to eat fruit and nut chocolate bars. Now when I get the craving I have a small amount of unsalted nuts and raisins with a couple of chocolate buttons. - that satisfies the craving without me having to eat a whole chocolate bar.
I do use basmati rice and being of Jamaican descent I eat, yam and sweet potato occasionally. I don't like the sound of grated cabbage but I have heard of quinoa and never tried it. I might give that a go. Love new potatoes. Thanks.
You sound a lot like me, as everyone says I'm not fat, but my weight/height says I am obese -I too, am 5'2", 12st 1lb (I've been trying to lose that pesky pound for two weeks) I just tell myself that if I wasn't doing this, I would be getting fatter. I keep a food diary and never cheat, I exercise (minimum 1 mile brisk walk, 150 pulls on rower and housework daily) and I've got a slendertone which I unearthed yesterday. I lost a stone in the first month but have 'stuck' now, but something has to give soon, and it won't be my determination. I'm 62, I'm aiming to be 11st by my birthday in september. I do feel fitter and have more energy, and my knee and hip have improved a bit. I'm going to stay with a friend next week for two days, so I must shift that pound before then!
Yes we do have a lot in common. I tell myself at least I'm not getting fatter and if I continue to do what I'm doing I can maintain my weight. I have found that doing the yoga and balance exercises on the wii fit has helped with my arthritis and I'm trying to exercise a minimum of half an hour a day. I've started to do one day wii fit combo and one day Just Dance. The Just Dance is great for working up a sweat and really feels like a workout. I go swimming once every 2 weeks as I haven't got time to do more than that at the moment. I've 3 children to look after so housework and activities with them keeps me busy as well. I wonder if its harder to lose weight when you are at the lower end of being obese? My goal is to get down to 11 stone but I seem to also be stuck at 12 and half.
Let's both just keep on trying and little by little we'll get there. At least we will be the fittest and healthiest that we can be. Hope you shift that pound soon.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
is building muscle the best way to keep the fat off?
Confused
Anyone here reached a 'plateau' ?
newbie!!
Fed up !!
