Exercising+diet = not losing enough

HauteP1nk

Eat a bit more. Your body needs fuel. Make sure you are making the right food choices...less sodium and sugar, more vegetables, lean protein and complex carbs.

Slow and steady wins the race btw....miracles don't happen over night. Even if you don't see huge changes in your body there are still huge changes taking place inside. Eating right and exercise is more than just about losing some pounds, it is beneficial to all your organs and skin too. Keep it up and you'll see a difference.

P.S. I was watching a trainer on tv recently. He said that the faster you drop it the faster it is to pick it back up. He showed it visually by dropping a book and then picking it up. It is very true... If we go slow and steady then it is more likely that we will keep it off in the long run.

meerkat70

4 lbs a week is okay, but having to lose 160 lbs is so far away. I thought if i can lose 6-7 lbs a week can speed up the process. anyways, like u said, i think its better to correct bad behavior first which can lead to a long term healthy lifestyle than to lose alot and no maintenance. any ideas about loose skin? im 25 male btw.

I know it feels like a long way when you start out, but it's not that bad. It takes a little time and a lot of patience. But why suffer and / or hurt yourself in the process?

When I was at my heaviest, light exercise and a healthy diet with a good intake was all I needed to drop quite significant weight really quite fast. I lose slower now, but back then I just had to not eat junk really, and the weight dropped off.

deadpoet87

Starting with your end weight goal in mind is great, but it can make it really frustrating when you don't see big weight loses every week. I found it easier to break my total down into smaller, easier to achieve sizes. Pick a date a few months in the future (your birthday, a big night out you are attending, a holiday) and give yourself a realistic weight lose goal to achieve.

Once you have got to that date set yourself another goal a few months in the future, I find this helps for a few reasons, the goals are easier to achieve, you work hard over that period of time as you want to look better for a specific reason.

You should reward yourself in someway at that point in time, I find buying something new to wear for the event that I'm going to is a great reward, you get to go out and buy something that is a smaller size than you've been for years, I'd really recommend doing something as it helps you see how well you are doing, which in turn keeps you motivated.

Another small point, I'd suggest getting someone to take measurements for you, there will be weeks were you could struggle to lose weight (don't worry this is normal), but you could be losing inches\cm, seeing something move in the right direction can help.

I've been trying to lose weight since the beginning of this year the points above are some of the things that has made it easier for me to keep focused, I hope that they help you.

Mandy

Ah yes, buying smaller sizes clothes! I will definitely try that. Thanks Mandy

SPNLuver83

yeah, you're def not eating enough. As an ex athlete you should have been aware of the harm you were doing to your body! Up your calories if you must work out that much. My guess is you are gonna have to at least double what you were eating if you were eating below 1200 and working out for 2 hours. Have patience because you are gonna have to fix your metabolism first before you start loosing.

VoodooLuLu

Brilliant!!!

Dude, you may not like my post on this, and normally I wouldn't respond to something along these lines. I'm a big believer in live and let live, allow people to do what they want, it's their life. However, the rapid weight loss you want to achieve is only possible for a short time. Your body will rebel. I don't think anybody needs to be a doctor or nutritionist to know that. I've lost 90lbs over a 5 year period. I may even lose another 10 this year, I haven't decided yet if that's what I want to do or not.

This weight loss thing and getting healthier are wonderful goals for people, but its not a race. It's more of a tortoise thing. You said in one of your reply posts that you're 25. Well, it took 25 years to get to where you are in terms of body composition, do you think your body will let you change it more rapidly in the other direction? I'd stick the joke in here about the old bull, young bull, but it's a little blue for a message board. E-mail me if you want to hear it.....

When you're 75 to 100 lbs overweight, like I and many others were, the first 25lbs comes of pretty rapidly anyway. Loose skin is an issue, but it will tighten up all on its own over time as it is very elastic. Make simple substitutions in your diet, change your food choices, exercise a little more, like walking or doing some push ups. Let your body adapt, let yourself adapt. Make this a new life, not a "diet". Educate yourself on nutrition and exercise, find something you personally like to do for movement and strength. Everybody finds something, eventually, that turns their crank.

Personally, it took me from the ages of 25 to 38 to get really out of shape, so 13 years. It took me 5 to get back to where (actually a little beyond!) where I was at 25, approximately a 1/3 of the time. They way I looked at it was simply, "I have the rest of my life to live in a healthier way".

A person a lot wiser than me once said, "Remember, the operative word in "Crash Diet" is CRASH."

Best of luck young bull.

this!!!

wahmx3

Great advice given to you, everyone here has your best interest at heart and we want to see you lose the weight and most importantly, keep it off. Up your calories and you will feel so much better. Reward yourself every 10 pounds or so to help you with motivation and something to look forward to.

lacroyx

I've lost alot and still got another 100 or so I want to do. I approach things differently. To me it's not the number on the scale that matters. It's my overall health and well being. I focus on the other things. Fitness level, how clothes feel, things like that.

Dudagarcia

Dude, you may not like my post on this, and normally I wouldn't respond to something along these lines. I'm a big believer in live and let live, allow people to do what they want, it's their life. However, the rapid weight loss you want to achieve is only possible for a short time. Your body will rebel. I don't think anybody needs to be a doctor or nutritionist to know that. I've lost 90lbs over a 5 year period. I may even lose another 10 this year, I haven't decided yet if that's what I want to do or not.

This weight loss thing and getting healthier are wonderful goals for people, but its not a race. It's more of a tortoise thing. You said in one of your reply posts that you're 25. Well, it took 25 years to get to where you are in terms of body composition, do you think your body will let you change it more rapidly in the other direction? I'd stick the joke in here about the old bull, young bull, but it's a little blue for a message board. E-mail me if you want to hear it.....

When you're 75 to 100 lbs overweight, like I and many others were, the first 25lbs comes of pretty rapidly anyway. Loose skin is an issue, but it will tighten up all on its own over time as it is very elastic. Make simple substitutions in your diet, change your food choices, exercise a little more, like walking or doing some push ups. Let your body adapt, let yourself adapt. Make this a new life, not a "diet". Educate yourself on nutrition and exercise, find something you personally like to do for movement and strength. Everybody finds something, eventually, that turns their crank.

Personally, it took me from the ages of 25 to 38 to get really out of shape, so 13 years. It took me 5 to get back to where (actually a little beyond!) where I was at 25, approximately a 1/3 of the time. They way I looked at it was simply, "I have the rest of my life to live in a healthier way".

A person a lot wiser than me once said, "Remember, the operative word in "Crash Diet" is CRASH."

Best of luck young bull.

Great post, I agree. It took me a long time to lose 42lbs but I've managed to keep them off thru diet/exercise. I'm in better shape at 57 than I've been in years.

As someone wise said "I have the rest of my life to live in a healthier way".

deadpoet87

yeah, you're def not eating enough. As an ex athlete you should have been aware of the harm you were doing to your body! Up your calories if you must work out that much. My guess is you are gonna have to at least double what you were eating if you were eating below 1200 and working out for 2 hours. Have patience because you are gonna have to fix your metabolism first before you start loosing.

I was a cross-country runner back in my teens. I have never been overweight throughout my teenage years, always within the range of 130-140 and i understood that since i was running 4 times a week, 7 miles min, I was taking around 2500 calories of wholemeal grains and plenty of white meat back then. But when things got out of hand through the years due to history of heatstroke and injury (calcium buildup in knee), my weight began to pile up. So when I decided to start swimming and change my lifestyle again for weightloss, the only thing that made sense to me was to go on super low calories intake with solid cardio.

What do you mean by fixing my metabolism rate?

Thanks

deadpoet87

Great advice given to you, everyone here has your best interest at heart and we want to see you lose the weight and most importantly, keep it off. Up your calories and you will feel so much better. Reward yourself every 10 pounds or so to help you with motivation and something to look forward to.

I totally agree with you. It seems super calorie diet is just bull. thanks

Beth720

Dude, you may not like my post on this, and normally I wouldn't respond to something along these lines. I'm a big believer in live and let live, allow people to do what they want, it's their life. However, the rapid weight loss you want to achieve is only possible for a short time. Your body will rebel. I don't think anybody needs to be a doctor or nutritionist to know that. I've lost 90lbs over a 5 year period. I may even lose another 10 this year, I haven't decided yet if that's what I want to do or not.

This weight loss thing and getting healthier are wonderful goals for people, but its not a race. It's more of a tortoise thing. You said in one of your reply posts that you're 25. Well, it took 25 years to get to where you are in terms of body composition, do you think your body will let you change it more rapidly in the other direction? I'd stick the joke in here about the old bull, young bull, but it's a little blue for a message board. E-mail me if you want to hear it.....

When you're 75 to 100 lbs overweight, like I and many others were, the first 25lbs comes of pretty rapidly anyway. Loose skin is an issue, but it will tighten up all on its own over time as it is very elastic. Make simple substitutions in your diet, change your food choices, exercise a little more, like walking or doing some push ups. Let your body adapt, let yourself adapt. Make this a new life, not a "diet". Educate yourself on nutrition and exercise, find something you personally like to do for movement and strength. Everybody finds something, eventually, that turns their crank.

Personally, it took me from the ages of 25 to 38 to get really out of shape, so 13 years. It took me 5 to get back to where (actually a little beyond!) where I was at 25, approximately a 1/3 of the time. They way I looked at it was simply, "I have the rest of my life to live in a healthier way".

A person a lot wiser than me once said, "Remember, the operative word in "Crash Diet" is CRASH."

Best of luck young bull.

Thanks Grant, its good to hear what you said. I guess, as much as the wait to weightloss can be quite tiring, it is the approach to a healthy and balance that is essential. Like you said, it's not a challenge for time but a journey through time for change. Perhaps one of the hardest thing I am facing is, the current group of friends I have who are currently with me in this weightloss journey. (several are over 100 lbs), but somehow the pounds just seem to drop off easy for them with minimal exercise but just through meal replacement. That got me thinking, here i am eating much lesser than them, with meal replacement & vigorous cardio (swimming 1 hour min), but I am not shedding as much as them. They are losing 8 lbs per week.

But again, weightloss result varies on individuals. If my body is taking a longer time, but at better returns in the long run then it will be worth it.

Thanks again grant!

When you say "meal replacement" I'm assuming you mean they're using something like SlimFast shakes (or whatever the equivalent is). The problem will come when they start eating real food again. Trust me...I've been there and done that. And the weight came back on and then some. Meal replacement diets like that simply are not sustainable over the long-term.

amcglothlin

If you're using a meal replacement shake, use one that is more nutritious like shakeology or similar. Slim Fast shakes are full of sugar

queenpushycat

I had that kinda problem before, thinking if I eat only 800 calories and exercise, then I'll lose more. But that's just bull...

i up my intake to 1350 and make sure I am eating more than at least 1200 calories... I am currently do a lot of weight lift and cardio. and I down from 75 kg to 73 now. within 2 weeks. But losing weight varies between individuals. don't set yourself too high of a lost.. I always tell myself, I am aiming for 72 kg not 52 kg. once I reached 72kg, i wanna aim for 71kg. so.... give yourself one step at a time. because if you don't give yourself one step at a time, you'll end up being frustrated and give up.

And weight loss doesn't happen overnight. get that out of your head. I took 4 years to get to where i am. Slow I know, but it's trial and error and i Learned along the way.

Thanks Carolinz, just wondering how did you derive that 1350 calories as a gauge? What kind of cardio are you doing as well?

I always plan my meals the day before, google for recipes. And with my vegetarian diet, i need to plan my meals twice as hard. Ever since I signed up in a local gym, I get really active in doing their cardio classes and also using their gym. It's great and keep me going.

deadpoet87

If you're using a meal replacement shake, use one that is more nutritious like shakeology or similar. Slim Fast shakes are full of sugar

I am using the herbalife Nutritional shake mix for breakfast and another for either dinner or lunch. Any thoughts on this shake?

Beth720

If you're using a meal replacement shake, use one that is more nutritious like shakeology or similar. Slim Fast shakes are full of sugar

I am using the herbalife Nutritional shake mix for breakfast and another for either dinner or lunch. Any thoughts on this shake?

See my post above with the problem with shakes. Unless you're planning on drinking shakes for the rest of your life, they're not going to work for lifelong weight loss.

graciemom828

I am not an expert but I recently saw a dietician and had a metabolism test and she determined the calories I was following at 1270 plus any extra gotten with cardio was not enough. She stated I s/b having at least 1400 per day. So, it seems possible you are on too few.

shakybabe

welcome to starvation mode... learn... low calories don't work well.

Eat more food, minimum bodyweight * 10

how does that work then? do I take the number of weight in pounds (132) or Kg (60)?

A

Weight in pounds x 10. So 140 pounds x 10 = 1400 calories.
some multiply their goal weight x 10 to get calorie amount probably best to multiply the weight you are.

Thanks I'm only 3lbs off my goal weight anyway so shouldn't be that big of a difference... so 129 x 10 = 1,290 is that just my basic BMR or what I should be eating including exercise?

jg627

You're complaining that 4.4 lbs per week is too slow? Did I read that correctly?

Jess5825

4 lbs a week is okay, but having to lose 160 lbs is so far away. I thought if i can lose 6-7 lbs a week can speed up the process. anyways, like u said, i think its better to correct bad behavior first which can lead to a long term healthy lifestyle than to lose alot and no maintenance. any ideas about loose skin? im 25 male btw.

You cannot healthily lose 6-7 lbs per week. 1200 is the very bare minimum for a woman. A man should not eat less than 1500 calories. Plus if you really are working out 2 hours a day, that is basically you starving yourself.

Sarauk2sf

Dude, you may not like my post on this, and normally I wouldn't respond to something along these lines. I'm a big believer in live and let live, allow people to do what they want, it's their life. However, the rapid weight loss you want to achieve is only possible for a short time. Your body will rebel. I don't think anybody needs to be a doctor or nutritionist to know that. I've lost 90lbs over a 5 year period. I may even lose another 10 this year, I haven't decided yet if that's what I want to do or not.

This weight loss thing and getting healthier are wonderful goals for people, but its not a race. It's more of a tortoise thing. You said in one of your reply posts that you're 25. Well, it took 25 years to get to where you are in terms of body composition, do you think your body will let you change it more rapidly in the other direction? I'd stick the joke in here about the old bull, young bull, but it's a little blue for a message board. E-mail me if you want to hear it.....

When you're 75 to 100 lbs overweight, like I and many others were, the first 25lbs comes of pretty rapidly anyway. Loose skin is an issue, but it will tighten up all on its own over time as it is very elastic. Make simple substitutions in your diet, change your food choices, exercise a little more, like walking or doing some push ups. Let your body adapt, let yourself adapt. Make this a new life, not a "diet". Educate yourself on nutrition and exercise, find something you personally like to do for movement and strength. Everybody finds something, eventually, that turns their crank.

Personally, it took me from the ages of 25 to 38 to get really out of shape, so 13 years. It took me 5 to get back to where (actually a little beyond!) where I was at 25, approximately a 1/3 of the time. They way I looked at it was simply, "I have the rest of my life to live in a healthier way".

A person a lot wiser than me once said, "Remember, the operative word in "Crash Diet" is CRASH."

Best of luck young bull.

Thanks Grant, its good to hear what you said. I guess, as much as the wait to weightloss can be quite tiring, it is the approach to a healthy and balance that is essential. Like you said, it's not a challenge for time but a journey through time for change. Perhaps one of the hardest thing I am facing is, the current group of friends I have who are currently with me in this weightloss journey. (several are over 100 lbs), but somehow the pounds just seem to drop off easy for them with minimal exercise but just through meal replacement. That got me thinking, here i am eating much lesser than them, with meal replacement & vigorous cardio (swimming 1 hour min), but I am not shedding as much as them. They are losing 8 lbs per week.

But again, weightloss result varies on individuals. If my body is taking a longer time, but at better returns in the long run then it will be worth it.

Thanks again grant!

One of the hardest things to do is to watch others lose quicker than you are. However, it is far more important to do this in a healthy and sustainable way. If you go at a slower pace by eating more you will be getting more micronutrients, have more energy, the weight loss will be more sustainable and you will less likely have as many issues with loose skin.

You are getting loads of great advice here - eat more, eat more nutritiously (real food, not shakes) and you will be the one who will have lost the most weight a year down the line.

purpleipod

This isn't a race. Stop being so concerned about losing it "fast enough". You are very unlikely to maintain weight loss that you practically starved yourself to achieve. If you have 160 pounds to lose there is no reason you should be eating 1200 calories or less, especially if you are a man.

mfpcopine

If he's eating less than 1200 calories, his body will go into starvation mode and start to cannibalize the muscle he's working so hard to build.

That's not true and there have been numerous posts explaining why. Now, 1,200 may not be sustainable longterm for someone with a lot of weight to lose who's also working out vigorously. But that's a different issue entirely from claims about "starvation mode" and "cannibalization."

suziecue66

If he's eating less than 1200 calories, his body will go into starvation mode and start to cannibalize the muscle he's working so hard to build.

That's not true and there have been numerous posts explaining why. Now, 1,200 may not be sustainable longterm for someone with a lot of weight to lose who's also working out vigorously. But that's a different issue entirely from claims about "starvation mode" and "cannibalization."

And he is a big guy still has fat to be cannabilzed.
If he is on a medically supervised fast they go quite low in calories.
OP is on meal replacement shakes which can be good initially but he can then try to incorporate real foods into his diet. At the moment he has 2 meal replacement shakes for breakfast and lunch or dinner. He can then go to 1 replacement shake etc.