Exercising not working anymore?

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Replies

  • Thena81
    Thena81 Posts: 1,265 Member
    that happened to me when i first started. stick to it and you will see results! good luck sweetie!! :)
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
    24 hours is a long time!.. though I have eaten dinner early like before 4pm then not eaten again until following morning about 11am.. think thats longest I've managed! .. most likely day to manage this is after xmas day as I'm usually stuffed until afternoon boxing day anyway.. lol!
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
    oops sorry that went on twice!.. we need a delete post button on here!
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    Here are a couple things that helped when I hit a plateau:

    Try new exercises. Our bodies get used to what we're doing and the workouts aren't as effective anymore. Switch things up to keep your body guessing.

    Have you considered upping your calories? Often times, people will post on here that they're no longer losing and they up their calories and boom - weight loss starts again. You HAVE to fuel your body properly if you want it to lose weight. You can't starve it to death and expect it to be okay with burning fat and losing weight. Our bodies have a natural instinct that keeps us from starving when it feels food sources are low. If you aren't eating enough, it is will focus on protecting your body and NOT on burning fat and losing weight. When you give it enough food and it realizes there's no reason to store the food "just in case" - then you'll see a loss. I would seriously look at how many calories you're consuming, how many calories you're burning and see what you are netting in a day. I suspect you aren't eating enough. Also, you have to give your body 3-4 weeks to catch up and realize what you're doing. So, if you don't lose any weight at first (some people actually see a GAIN at first) - don't panic. It takes your body a bit of time to catch up.

    Are you drinking enough water? Getting enough water is key. They say 1/2 your body weight in ounces is perfect for most people (I weigh around 145lbs and I TRY and get around 75oz a day).

    Are you taking rest days? I found I lost more weight and felt better when I took at least 1 day off from the gym. Also, every 4-6 weeks, I would take an entire week off from the gym - and would focus more on the "diet" side of things. Our muscles need time to rest, recover and relax. Days off don't mean you're lazy, it means you care about your body. Make sure you take them.



    It is time to re-evaluate what is going on. When what you've been doing stops working - don't be afraid to switch things up.


    Good Luck!
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    It is time to re-evaluate what is going on. When what you've been doing stops working - don't be afraid to switch things up.

    This. And "switching things up" doesn't mean going from something extreme (hours of exercise) to something MORE extreme (fasting or cutting calories). Sometimes it means making things a little easier for yourself... acquiring habits that are more sustainable long term.
  • gashinshotan
    gashinshotan Posts: 749 Member
    Exercise is really just a tool to assist weightloss by raising your BMR and allowing you some extra calories to eat back... diet is most important by far! For example, I was at a plateau for two weeks despite me doing relatively high mileage (35) and I lost more weight since last Saturday despite doing only 1/3 the miles I ran last week...
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    It is time to re-evaluate what is going on. When what you've been doing stops working - don't be afraid to switch things up.

    This. And "switching things up" doesn't mean going from something extreme (hours of exercise) to something MORE extreme (fasting or cutting calories). Sometimes it means making things a little easier for yourself... acquiring habits that are more sustainable long term.

    I agree 100%. Exercising harder or severely restricting calories isn't sustainable in the long term. Sure, you can do it for a week or a month or maybe even 3 months, but can you do it for the rest of your life? No. Once I learned to adjust weight loss into my normal lifestyle - it was like a light bulb went on and boy did it get easier. If you want to keep the weight off, you MUST adapt it to your life. I don't know about you but I know I don't want to workout for 2+ hours a day or to only eat 1200 calories for the rest of my life.
  • RAFValentina
    RAFValentina Posts: 1,231 Member
    You won't lose if you stop doing the exercise... switching off the alarm isn't burning calories and you're still eating the same so why would you lose any more? and also how much are you seriously expecting to lose extra per week? Also, you might be burning slightly higher than your regular sedentary with the condition but it won't be THAT much more. That is also a variable that has actually remained constant as a proportion to your body weight (i,e your BMR) so that can't be counted as negligible. As a previous mathematician and engineer... the math add up to ... you;re not losing because cal in vs cal out are equal to or greater! Simples! You're also gonna have to work much harder either in calorie deficit from food or from exercise to bust the plateau... I've had 3 plateaus and not lost motivation. It;s just one of those things.
  • RAFValentina
    RAFValentina Posts: 1,231 Member
    It is time to re-evaluate what is going on. When what you've been doing stops working - don't be afraid to switch things up.

    This. And "switching things up" doesn't mean going from something extreme (hours of exercise) to something MORE extreme (fasting or cutting calories). Sometimes it means making things a little easier for yourself... acquiring habits that are more sustainable long term.

    I agree 100%. Exercising harder or severely restricting calories isn't sustainable in the long term. Sure, you can do it for a week or a month or maybe even 3 months, but can you do it for the rest of your life? No. Once I learned to adjust weight loss into my normal lifestyle - it was like a light bulb went on and boy did it get easier. If you want to keep the weight off, you MUST adapt it to your life. I don't know about you but I know I don't want to workout for 2+ hours a day or to only eat 1200 calories for the rest of my life.

    It's not sustainable yes... but you're also not meant to be permanently losing weight for the rest of your life. You lose it, then go to maintenance. Which is more sustainable. If you really want the weight loss, you'll bust a gut to do it. Calorie defcit from food or exercise or both.
  • bens_momma
    bens_momma Posts: 47
    If you are burning sometimes 1000 calories, are you really only eating 1200? If so you need to eat more. If your body is that tired, it is telling you to eat more.

    This.

    You need more, you're only netting about 200 calories. If you hit a plateau, generally the solution is to eat more. Cheers!
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    It's not sustainable yes... but you're also not meant to be permanently losing weight for the rest of your life. You lose it, then go to maintenance. Which is more sustainable. If you really want the weight loss, you'll bust a gut to do it. Calorie defcit from food or exercise or both.

    Unless you're creating TOO MUCH of a deficit for optimal weight loss. I've seen in myself, and I've seen it time and time and time again in my almost a year on here. A lot of people do better with a more moderate calorie deficit and a more moderate exercise schedule. The simple formula is always "eat less and exercise more," but "eating a lot less and exercising a lot more" doesn't mean losing more. For many, it means plateauing, burning out, frustration and quitting.
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
    Thanks... well I'll take advantage of this week..and make it a rest week from a structured exercise session and I'll be eating more anyway.. visiting family etc.

    I'll be getting some new Wii games for xmas so will be able to see what new routine I can come up with from Boxing Day. I'll have to spend a few days just going through the games to work out which exercises/games I can do from each one.

    Hopefully I can restarted in the new year but I'll have to get see my GP in January anyway, I'm still getting stomach cramps as my monthlies were supposed to have ended last week, though they never actually started properly. I wasn't sure if it was cos I had overdone the exercise the week before or it peri-menopause? .. they've been getting shorter all year but first time they haven't come at all yet had nearly 3 weeks of cravings and cramps! :sad: Maybe the hormones are affecting it and the big drop I was expecting will come next week? (hoping they won't last much longer!)

    Edit: typical.. just as I've finished post.. had really sharp cramps, went to bathroom and they've started.. a week late! .. oh well.. hopefully they be over by xmas day! :ohwell:
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
    If you are burning sometimes 1000 calories, are you really only eating 1200? If so you need to eat more. If your body is that tired, it is telling you to eat more.

    This.

    You need more, you're only netting about 200 calories. If you hit a plateau, generally the solution is to eat more. Cheers!

    The days I'm burning around a 1,000 was when my cravings were bad just before TOTM was meant to arrive and I get bad choc cravings, like a brandy & coke and usually end up eating more carbs than I do in general so I'd say I possibly hit 1600-1800 those days.. I had a few gluten free choc brownies and like bananas that week for some reason! .. usually end up having a 'pudding' after meal too when I don't usually.. yoghurt, fruit, chocolate, half a tin of rice pudding a couple of the days (not all on the same day!) ... so I'm definitely eating alot more those days.. hence the extra exercise to try and still get a 500 cal deficit in!

    on a regular non craving day (most days of the month) .. its usually either Rice Krispies or Oats for breakfast, soup or salad for lunch or small plate of something like carrot sticks, chopped apple, bit of cheese and hummus and dinner is white meat or fish with salad or vegetables, most meals potatoes, rice etc are substituted with something else ie carrot & swede mash instead of mashed potato, parsnip 'chips' instead of oven chips, steamed cauli..whizzed in processor and steamed instead of rice. I allow gluten free bread 1-2 times a week.

    drinks are usually cup of yorkshire tea first thing in morning and last thing at night and rest of day I try and drink water, on craving days usually at least one brandy & coke sneaks in sometimes have hot chocolate to help satisfy the chocolate cravings.

    Sunday is usually one my high cal days cos of sunday dinner and cooked brunch (sometimes scrambled egg on toast or BLT in a gluten free Pitta) and I won't be able to exercise tomorrow cos of the cramps for next two days now anyway.. so I'll see what happens with more calories and no extra exercise this week!

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