Can't lose a thing

FlabFighter86

Hi all. I am obese. 5ft2" and weighed 224lbs. Was fed up so started to do something about it, and within a month I lose 3lbs. I joined MFP to track my cals. My BMR is 1870 or something, but have generally been eating between 12 - 1600. Sure I've had a few 'fat' days, still adjusting to the healthy lifestyle. What I did not expect was to remain EXACTLY the same weight for 3 weeks! Haven't lost or gained a single pound, and I'm stuck at 221!
Here's my exercise: C25K three times a week - currently on week 4.
Walking 2.5 miles 3 - 4 times a week.
Cycle 4 - 8 miles once a week.
If I keep it up, will it eventually come off? Even losing 1lb would make me very happy, as it will be in the right direction.

TavistockToad

do you weigh and measure all your food?

opening your diary might help.

yarwell

Hi all. I am obese. 5ft2" and weighed 224lbs. Was fed up so started to do something about it, and within a month I lose 3lbs. I joined MFP to track my cals. My BMR is 1870 or something, but have generally been eating between 12 - 1600.

Your BMR could be around 1400 (Katch McArdle) depending on your body fat. So sedentary you would burn around 1700 pl us a couple of hundred average for the exercise = 1900.

So you should be at a calorie deficit unless you have a thyroid issue or similar.

You are likely to be insulin resistant so I would suggest taking a chunk out of your carbohydrate intake and aiming for something like 35 % of calories from protein, 30-40 % from fats and the balance from carbs. Limit sugars to 50 grams per day.

Try that for a month to judge results. Open diary and accurate food logging would help.

ShengHuo

Have you taken waist/hip/bust/thigh measurements? It is also possible that you are building up a lot of muscle while losing fat, so your weight might stay the same for awhile. Based on the exercise you listed, I would think this is likely. You would be building quite a bit of leg muscle, especially if you were very sedentary before. If you keep it up you'll lose weight easier eventually because just doing every day activities muscle uses more energy than fat.

And weight aside, do you feel better physically? Moving around easier? More energetic? Sleeping better? Less stomach upset? Less heartburn? Breathing better? Better bowel movements? There's more benefits to a healthy lifestyle than just the number on the scale! When I first started the c25k my bum jiggled when I ran. By the end said bum was 1.5 inches smaller and no longer jiggly, which felt much better, but the scale was the same.

(also not saying those things were/are problems for you, but they often are for people who are obese)

jollyjoe321

Dedicated bodybuilders probably put on around 1 pound a week in muscle, if that, so any gains in muscle will probably be very small based on this set of exercises.

Try doing a small amount of strength training (fairly intense), speeds up your metabolism for between 1-2 days after doing it, known as afterburn if you want to research it.

emergencytennis

You can trust MFP. It will work, guaranteed. Log everything you eat -strictly, ridiculously, pedantically, carefully. Close enough is not good enough. Log your exercise scrupulously, honestly.

Cheat on your numbers and all guarantees are void.

This site works, no doubt, Follow the little green numbers and you will not fail. You will not fail.

FlabFighter86

Stupidly I didn't take other measurements of myself, but it does feel like my legs have gained muscle. Most definitely feel fitter. So perhaps you are right ShengHuo. I am logging everything onto MFP. Even switched from bran flakes to weetabix to cut down in sugar. Someone suggested I incorporate body weight circuit once a week into my regime for strength/resistance. Thanks everyone for your thoughts.