Hi everyone.
I started my diet and fitness regime in mid October. By mid December I had lost 10kg, but since then no more. Since December I haven't changed my eating, but have upped the exercise I am doing.
I am 44, 5'5" and down to 63kg.
Any ideas???
Thanks
Wow! First of all, well done. I would kill to lose half of that. Maybe you're building muscle which is heavier.
Hi my name is mike, I am a personal trainer, if I can help let me know.
What diet are you following? Maybe your body needs a bit of a 'jolt' to get those scales moving downwards. I lost 20kg (three stone, 42 pounds) in six months on the 5:2 Diet which is based on this amazing BBC Horizon programme, "Eat, Fast and Live Longer" which aired in August 2012 and it changed my life (vimeo.com/54089463) it's a brilliant watch. Two non-consecutive days a week you eat only 500 calories (600 for men) which is easier than you think it's going to be if you drink plenty of fluids during the day. No expensive memberships or diet foods. There's a great little short video on YouTube which explains it briefly: youtu.be/W9Aj6hRYg4A
Well done for losing that weight and sorry to hear the frustration! There is an argument called the 'set point' theory which says that we all have a natural weight and it can be difficult to get below that. You might want to google that but it is by no means universally accepted. Maybe you could look at your diet again try a different approach. High protein low carb works best for me. As Concerned says you don't want to be eating foods that raise your insulin levels. Also you could look at your exercise regime and adapt that as your body quickly gets used to a particular regime. Perhaps you could try High Intensity Interval Training or weight lifting which would challenge different muscles and so increase your metabolism. Good luck and don't lose heart!
What foods would that be please!
Hi folkieboater,
Firstly, I wouldn't get too bothered about it but just watch and see what happens and perhaps fine tune your current regime a bit.
As for reasons:
Perhaps you need to reduce your calorie input a bit more as, having lost 10 kg, that's 10 kg less body mass that needs "maintaining". Smaller bodies need less calories than bigger ones.
Perhaps you're eating more calories than you think - it might even be just one thing that has a pile more calories than you think it has. (Cashew nuts amazed me when I read the pack - like "how many calories?!")
If you're doing a lot of exercise, it may be that you're developing muscle (which is heavier) faster than you're losing body fat (which is lighter). That one's not actually very likely but just have a good look at your body and ask yourself "am I significantly more muscular than it used to be?"
Perhaps any of many factors that impact upon the hormones that control the weight loss processes apply, e.g. (to just mention a few) stress, sleeplessness, infection, etc, etc.
Try and look back to mid December and see if you can notice anything that changed around about that period - it might give you a clue.
However, most people's weight loss journeys have spurts and blips and even plateaux - mine certainly did.
As I often say - it just isn't a perfectly mathematically exact process there's just too many variables.
Good luck with your weight loss journey
HI what does your work out routine look like ? looks like you need to shock your body into fat loss mode again" try doing more free weights machine work and a great fat burning try sprinting on a treadmill say 1 min on 1 min off as fast as you can go then rest try this 3 times a week with the free weights and machines. hope this helps.
Wow...well done losing the weight...how many calories are you eating per day...now...
Thanks everyone for you replies and help.
To answer some of the questions:
I'm not really following any set diet....eating approx 1000-1200 calories a day but not checking everyday and just eating when I'm hungry. I have, however, cut down drastically on the alcohol - was having at least a pint of cider or a couple of glasses of wine a night - now just a glass maybe once a week and/or when I'm out. Have cut out bread, cake, chocolate, crisps and the like almost completely. Have muesli for breakfast (yes, I know that's not good, but got to have some pleasure in life!!), fruit and a few nuts or maybe a yoghurt for lunch and a normal, usually vegetarian or grilled plain chicken or pork, with veg for dinner.
I exercise 5 days a week if I can (not weekends as it's an off peak gym membership). Treadmill, rowing, x trainer and some weights. Just upped the amount with advise from an instructor treadmill is 10 mins-1 min walk, 1 min run.
I'll persevere, I'd like to get back to 57 or 58kg and be careful not to let it creep up again. Problem is I work away a lot, and eating in restaurants and hotels is sometimes too tempting.
Frances
Perhaps try a protein breakfast?
Hi folkieboater,
I can't see there is necessarily any problem with muesli, but some can be rather high calorie. (As always, check the pack!). I must admit I have muesli for breakfast some days. When I last looked Alpen blue was the lowest calorie one I could find on the supermarket shelves. But do watch the portion control - I weigh my 45g out in the morning.
Brilliant that you've taken the 'bull by the horns' and cut back the alcohol and that you have majorly dumped the rubbish. Both of those will be significantly helpful.
I feel your calorie intake is a bit low to be honest and would recommend you up it to about 1400. The less calories you take in, the less food you take in overall, usually, and that can lead to people missing some nutrients.
But the eating on the move thing is hard to master, though there are a few tricks. Especially watch for the sauces, which may have more calories than the meals, and the accompanying drinks, e.g. lattes.
However, I'm wondering what sort of BMI that target weight would give you. I'm guessing you're already well within the healthy band of BMI and I'm not too clear why you want to lose more weight.
Hi all,
Have to say that I don't religiously count my calories or weigh anything out. I tend to eat when I'm hungry - I've just swapped what I eat - fruit, nuts, yoghurt etc rather than cake crisps and chocolate.
I'm no angel though, if I'm out somewhere nice I'll have whatever I fancy, and cut down again the next few days. When I eat out, I do avoid saucy things, but do usually succumb to chips!! I don't have milky drinks like lattes - tea in the daytime, or very occasionally hot chocolate in a coffee shop as I don't like coffee.
My starting BMI was 27.2 (overweight), current BMI is 22.8 (healthy) and if I get to 57kg it will be 20.9 (still healthy). I was always 57kg before I had a few changes in life and started to put on the weight.
Reasons for wanting to loose more weight are (a) bad family history of heart attacks and being overweight can't help (b) spent last summer with high blood pressure and bad acid reflux so wanted to eat healthier (c) have attended too many funerals in the last year of people far too young and mostly (d) I have about £1000 worth of custom made corsets I need to get some more use out of.
Thanks all for the advice
Your weightloss seems to have plateaued. Review your portion sizes as these can creep up very easily without you being aware of it. Also, as another poster has said, depending on your age, gender, and CURRENT size, your calorie intake may need to be reduced. The Runners World magazine/website has some useful information to calculate your reccomended calorie intake depending on all of these factors.
Interval training as mentioned by another poster is really good to shake up your exercise routine too. If you really want to try and push yourself, try pyramid training. you'll be exhausted by the end of it but your fitness will increase so much and it will speed up your metabolism
Muesli should be very healthy, but some of the proprietary brands have a lot of added sugar. It's possible to make your own muesli using oats as a base.
Alpen do a no added sugar muesli which is very nice.
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