No physical difference dsipite changes

hydihobo

Hi

I could really do with some advice on my situation and support to actually help me get to my target.

Over a year ago I set out to get fitter and healthier and introduced yoga and cycling into my life and slowly cut things out and started eating healthier, more fruit and veg and less crap. I have learnt that you need to only make small changes as I kept trying to do too many things all at once and kept failing, so now I'm at a point where I drink a lot of green tea and fruit teas and at least 1lt of water a day plus I exercise a lot more (pilates on monday, swimming or running tues, hula hooping class weds, running or cycling thurs, yoga, running or swimming on fri plus I cycle everywhere) I have also just started kettlebells on a thurs and climbing on monday also veryday I try to do a little bit of yoga and ten mins of hooping.

So after all this, I am still 61kg and have been for just under a year now (I was 64kg) I seem to be upping and changing everything for the better but not actually gaining much which is extremely frustrating. I admit I have injured myself on and off trying to do too much so i haven't done the exercise I mentioned above solidly every week for a few weeks but I am exercising atleast 3 times a week, usually Pilates, cycling and hula hooping so I am active (when I was 64kg I did nothing and ate sooo badly i can't believe what I was doing to myself)

I seem to be maintaining my weight by doing what I'm doing which is great but I would like to be a bit smaller and less jiggly but without quitting my job and just exercising all day I'm running out of evenings and hours to fit doing things in. Can anyone shed some light on my situation or offer any advice to help me budge my jiggly belly, loose 8kgish and tone up a bit. Surely it can't be that hard but I must be missing something or doing something wrong.

My usual day to give you an idea - up and start work at 7 (I work from home on my computer) - breakfast around 8:30am(fruit/toast/eggs/bran flakes) - lunch at 1 (salad/jacket potato/beans/pasta) (10 mins of hooping + bit of yoga) - Finish work at 3:30pm - in the evening I'm out doing something

Any advice would be great!!

Greenkiwis

Maybe weight lifting would give you some of that definition you're looking for? You could also take a look at your macros and see what percentage of your food is what.... I found that when I made an effort to eat more protein I really started looking and feeling better, as well as actually started losing weight! Previously I was eating maybe 12% of my diet in protein... yikes. It's now usually somewhere between 25-30%.

liftingandlipstick

Losing weight is only 20% about the exercise you do. 80% is about diet. You may be eating what you view as healthy foods, but if you're eating at/over your maintainance goals, you still won't lose. Your diary isn't open, so we can't look, but do you log your food? Weigh all of your solids and measure your liquids? If you've been trying to lose weight for a year, and haven't lost ANYthing, either you're eating too much or there is a deeper metabolic issue at play that needs to be addressed with your doctor.

ETA: Ninja'd on the weight lifting thing. If you're happy at your actual weight, but just want to be small, start lifting heavy weight while eating at maintainance. It's called body recomposition- your weight will remain the same, but you'll lose fat and inches.

hydihobo

Thanks for the replies guys! I think your probably right, I have spoken with a friend recently who is a fitness and health instructor and he said the same bout percent of diet and exercise. So I've done a bit of research and looked into high protein foods to swap for all the carbs I'm eating and hopefully that will make a bit of a difference.

I've heard weights suggested before so I'm hoping by doing kettlebells regularly that it will start to make a difference.

Another thing I hadn't though about is that I drink pretty much every weekend which is obviously undoing all my efforts through the week so I have cut down quite a bit and upped my water intake.

I don't often fill in my food diary especially online, I just don't seem to be able to keep it up and find time to do it, having to weigh everything and prepare things to the extent you need to to get an accurate calorie count is not something I am that interested in doing to be perfectly honest, I take my hat off to all of you who do as it takes an awful lot of time and dedication. I just have different priorities right now. ( I have thought about roughly inputting my food but not sure its really that worth it as it wont give me an accurate reading)

Anywho thank you for your advice, it's nice to hear things confirmed from a few different sources, so I will take on board your suggestions and hope for the best.

In a nut shell: Eat more protein, less carbs, cut down the booze, weight training and don't eat too much!!