walking and weight loss

lalalovesthebeach

i do Orange Theory 60 minutes class twice a week . And Orange Theory strength training twice a week. need to add 60 minutes 4 days a week. Can't get motivated. need to lose 15 pounds before Sept. Im post menopausal. Apple shaped. Endomorph. Mewattabolism is slow. I just started Gluten free . Will watch my carb intake. Any help is much appreciated.

tomcustombuilder

All that matters is you take in fewer weekly calories than you burn. Non of those things you mentioned matter when it comes to Fatloss

AnnPT77

Nossmf is right.

The direct effect on weight loss is our calorie intake. Eat fewer calories than we burn, and we lose weight. We burn calories just being alive (basal metabolic rate, BMR), daily life movement (job, chores, non-exercise hobbies), and intentional exercise (like your Orange Theory sessions).

Metabolism varies surprisingly little between two demographically similar people, and research suggests metabolic rate is largely stable from our 20s until about 60, when it starts to decline slowly.

"Can't get motivated" is relevant. To lose weight, we fundamentally need to eat fewer calories, and that means creating changes in our habits. Calorie counting isn't the only way, but reducing calories some way pretty much is. (IME, it needn't be a sufferfest.)

Somatotypes (endomorph, ectomorph, mesomorph) have been debunked. I used to be a mesomorph (in look and behavior), but lost 50 pounds at age 59-60, and suddenly was a mesomorph (in look and behavior). It's not genetic predestination in the way somatotype theory suggests.

Gluten free is relevant if someone is celiac or gluten sensitive, but otherwise technically irrelevant to weight loss. (Sometimes eliminating gluten helps a person eat fewer calories, since cutting down things like bread or pasta, not replacing them, may reduce calories.) Low carb helps some people manage appetite, but lots of people lose weight fine eating plenty of carbs.

I did, for example: All through losing about 50 pounds at age 59-60, I ate about 150g+ of carbs most days. Now, still maintaining a healthy weight at age 68, I eat more like 225g+ carbs daily. I do make it a point to get enough protein (extra important as we age!) and healthy fats, but don't really care how many carbs I eat, within calorie goal. Of course I've been post-menopausal the whole time (since around 45, put there early by chemotherapy), and am also severely hypothyroid (properly medicated). None of that was weight loss doom. YMMV.

Menopause does have side effects that can indirectly influence weight loss (through fatigue, water retention, sleep disruption, appetite and that sort of thing). Some women choose to use hormone replacement therapy to alleviate side effects. I can't do that, because of my history of estrogen-fed cancer.

You're already getting lots of nice exercise, which is great for a body. I don't do OT, but some of my friends have: It's good. Reducing calories until sensibly moderate weight loss happens is the key thing. That may possibly come from limiting the range of foods you eat (low carb or whatever), from calorie counting (which worked great for me), or any other method that results in eating fewer calories.

Losing around 5 pounds a month should be fairly achievable . . . might be a little aggressive if 15 pounds is all you have to lose in total, but it's probably possible with high commitment. Personally, I'd go for finding a moderate and sustainable routine that gradually triggers weight loss. I don't think the calendar is a great weight management tool, if only because focusing on finding relatively easy, practical new habits is going to be important for staying at a healthy weight even after reaching goal.

Wishing you success: The results are worth the effort!

csplatt

If you are already going to OTF 4x a week, why pressure yourself to add four more hours of exercise weekly? Provided you are eating within your calorie goals.

AnnPT77

csplatt wrote: »

If you are already going to OTF 4x a week, why pressure yourself to add four more hours of exercise weekly? Provided you are eating within your calorie goals.

Super good point. Modifying eating tends to be an easier route to weight management than adding exercise, unless the person loves the exercise for its own sake.

I can easily wipe out a solidly intense hour of good exercise in 5 minutes of eating, calorically speaking.

On top of that, exercise overload (as defined in terms of current fitness level) tends to cause unnecessarily much fatigue, which can make us rest more, do less in daily life, maybe even sleep more . . . thus burning fewer calories in daily life, effectively wiping out a chunk of the exercise calorie burn. That's counter-productive.