toning & losing without sweating

shakybabe

When I first started my diet before I joined here (and learned about doing things the healthy way) I had got some Capsiplex off ebay as I have mobility probs and struggled to have the energy to keep exercising for 30 mins or more.

It gave me energy to keep going for longer as i got fitter i was doing 2 hour sessions also wearing sauna belt, zaggora hot pants and bin liner and I'd be sweating buckets.. I lose loads of weight and inches.

Now i've come on 'healthy way' and I'd ditched them once I realised I could now do an hours exercise myself without them, but I'm not getting the same burn.. I'm worried I'm not burning enough calories to lose now as I'm quite restricted to what I can do exercise wise and seem to have to work hard just to lose a pound dropping all carbs (processed.. not the ones found in veg naturally) and wheat.

Only time i seem to lose more is straight after monthlies when extra water has come off.. I'm not sure if its just water I'm losing all time or actually losing fat.

I'm trying pilates for 30 mins and some cardio. I have passive trainer bike and can burn like 300 cals for half an hour on there. I can playing boxing games, tennis etc but I don't seem to get a sweat on without the capsiplex and the bin liner and getting up at 5am to push myself for 2 hours... so I'm wondering if I'm still actually losing fat and if I can tone tummy without making myself sweat buckets?

I can't restrict calories much more, already living on salad, veg and fish or white meat for most of the month. I've allowed treat meals I've tried zig zagging but only seem to gain and spend the next week getting back to where I was before and going back to stricter diet.

I considered trying vegetarian and living off quorn (as can't do soy cos of thyroid problems), though I do love my meat, eggs and cheese I am being careful with them calorie wise and never going over 1200, some days only just make it over 1000.. I allow more treats week before monthlies to satisfy my cravings but have to exercise more to still have a deficit if I ate some chocolate or allowed toast (gluten free).

I've only got 14lbs to go - although I've gone up a few pounds today as my TOTM is due next week so will be a week before I can lose anything on scales.

I have lost total of 32lbs, 13" off tummy (from 48 " to 35"), 7 " off waist - (38" to 31 ") , but seem to be stalling when I've still got another stone to go and a few more inches. I wanted to be under 10st mark by the end of this month (was 10st 3 new years eve). Goal is 9st 3 and at the most a 30" waist.

I'm 42 and going through peri-menopause so my monthlies are irregular last month cravings started 2 weeks before they actually came as they were a week late and I was retaining all the extra water for all that time too. I'm also wondering if my goal is realistic if my body is preparing to enter the menopause? .. and whether I'm not gonna be able to reach my goal without a little extra 'help' cos of the hormones playing up?

shakybabe

bump

CommandaPanda

Reading through now.. prepare for opinion shortly.

SmallerBecky

Can I just say, I am so proud of you?! I'm so proud of you! You have and are overcoming so many obstacles that many people do not have and you are doing FANTASTICALLY!

I'm thinking, and it might scare you, that maybe you need a higher daily caloric intake. You're working hard and only getting 1200, sometimes less. I would try upping your calories maybe 200 for a couple weeks and see what happens and then possibly go up from there. It doesn't seem to make sense but your body may be holding onto fat now because you're not fueling it enough for the work you do.

Also, I don't know what your exact limitations are, but if you could consider lifting some weights, that would really kick things into gear!

Good luck, and keep it up!

CommandaPanda

So while looking up Capsiplex, this banner was the first thing my eye was drawn to on their official facebook page:

This image depicts a very fit looking girl smiling, arms crossed and all. In the background you'll notice this same girl who looks like she just got out of the shower eating a very large piece of pizza... If anything, that would dissuade me from buying the product entirely. I'm sure other people on these forums are aware of how heavy of a lobbyist I am when it comes to fat burners (thermogenics) and how I use them as a supplement for my weight loss goals. However, I was not able to find any nutritional information about Capsiplex, which kind of worries me in the sense that you could be putting mystery ingredients, some maybe even dangerous, into your body.

I'd recommend something like USPlabs OxyElite Pro or GNC's GenetixHD Meta-Ignite (if you prefer all-natural herbs). I won't go into explicit detail into USPlabs here, you can refer to this (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/427114-starting-oxyelite-pro) post if you want to read up more on it.

If you drink the same amount of water everyday then you shouldn't be concerned about water weight. Yes, you'll lose water weight, but other things will come off with it. I was concerned about water weight at first, but no big deal. Even if you don't feel like you're sweating, you still are (just not as much). So no need to concern yourself!
How often are you weighing yourself?

You should be consuming more calories. I'd recommend trying to get close to all of your macros (Carbs, Protein, Fat). When you start to feel hungry, you should eat something (healthy, of course). Don't worry about treating yourself every now and then either, your body will adjust accordingly and sometimes might welcome the random boost of the caloric intake.

As for the menopause, I can't really speak heavily to that as I don't really have a lot of information on it. But from what I've read, you won't put on any significant amount of weight unless you stop exercising completely. Most women put on weight while going through menopause (and after) because the majority of women, and people in general, just don't exercise enough. Keep doing what you're doing, you are doing great! I'm very impressed by your drive!
I hope I've helped out a little bit. Maybe since I couldn't tackle the "big" question, hopefully I was able to shed some light on fat burners.

shakybabe

Thanks guys.

I kind of stumbled upon capsiplex on ebay as I get alot of stuff off ebay.. I did look up the original site and found it had the stuff from chilli's in it, now I misunderstood cos I couldn't read the tiny print on back (the old eyes are going.. need reading glasses... lol!).. i had just spotted the bigger print on front saying to take 30-60mins before exercise so thought it was just something that gave you energy and helped you burn off more calories than you would be able to naturally.

I couldn't manage much at the time as was 2 stone overweight when I started and have been in wheelchair full time the last 6 years... so my logic was.. if i managed to burn 200 off on wii fit then the capsiplex would double it so I'd be closer to the 500 cal deficit for losing 1lb a week! (you can tell I was complete novice to the world of fat burners and fitness!) and if it only contained the stuff in peppers and chilli's and no drugs then it would be safe (the NHS use them according to a newspaper article!).

they did work and burn (prickly heat sensation around neck and top of shoulders at first) and within 10 mins I'd be really hot, first bottle went fine, seocnd one i had problems dunno if the formula was same but I got an awful burning in tummy which never got first time and wondered if they were stronger or not coated properly.. I just might as well of tried to eat chilli's! .. i did stop taking them as I felt my tummy was gonna explode or something.. so i decided to not take them the next day and see if I could manage the workout on my own and I did.. i tried with food as last resort and still got the intense burning so decided they must be a 'bad batch' and threw them away.

Then I found MFP and a link between Hypothyroidism and wheat... cut wheat and dropped half a stone first week.. so decided then I didn't need the capsiplex as it was possible I just had a wheat intolerance and had never known, the belly shrunk fairly quickly after going wheat free/low carb and gone from size UK 20 to fitting in 14-16's (depending on how 'generous' they are, i need some room to move, makes getting dressed/undressed on bed or in chair easier!).

I'd be worried about trying other fat burners, many contain T3 and I'm on T4 thyroxine for an under active thyroid so get my bloods tests regularly, I'd be worried if T3 results came out too high they'd reduce my medication or I'd have to admit I was taking extra T3 (or something with it in) to lose the weight and to explain why the levels were so high... this was not a route I wanted to pursue which is why I chose the Capsiplex cos it only contains capsicum from peppers/chilli's no T3 in it.

I tried drinking green tea which many have mentioned boosts metabolism but I couldn't stand the taste of it to get it down. I'm looking into capsule form and also heard chromium is good for helping cravings from increased estrogen and cortisol... so wondering whether to go down that route?

I may try increasing calories for this week as I'm gonna get the cravings anyway and pile additional water on so no point weighing for at least a week.. I don't want to put too much back on though.. I'm worried if left it too long and got on and was seeing like 11st again it would panic me back to the fat burners and 2hr early morning routines again or whatever else i thought would get me back down to 10st 3 quick again! (took me 6 months to get there!)