Inspire me!

Jen_ht
Jen_ht Posts: 99 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone,

Just looking for some new ideas - I think I'm in kind of some in-between stage where my weight loss is slowing down a bit and it's frustrating. I weighed myself this morning and it was pretty much the same as last week; usually I'm a steady 1lb or more down.

Currently I do 30DS mon-fri everyday at 6am before work (still on level one, day 9 after coming back from holiday, I restarted). I rarely snack at all between meals, and if I do need something then I have a banana or apple, or just a cup of fruit tea. For breakfast I either have porridge with skinny milk, or fruit and fibre cereal, for lunch I generally have soup - around 200 cals (I cut out having a bread roll with it a while ago) and then for dinner I usually have a large meal - around 500/600 cals.

I don't have a great routine on weekends as my OH is a chef and likes to do all the cooking - with full fat everything! but I do try and burn it off by getting outdoors and walking or doing some vigorous housework.

Should I up the level of 30DS? Should I add in another form of exercise, or alternate 30DS with another workout? I should mention here I can't afford a gym membership so everything I do is from home, either outside or in. Oh also, I've had two operations on my left knee that's removed the cartilage so I find running, at least on tarmac, really hard (I tried C25K but it ruined my knee for about a week).

Should I be snacking more? I know there's different schools of thought for 'little and often' vs cutting back on snacking between meals.

Any advice is appreciated!

Replies

  • Arkhos
    Arkhos Posts: 290 Member
    Hello! Sorry to hear about the weight stall, I've been there back and forth too. What is your daily calorie goals? Do you know what your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is? Are you logging your food everyday? If so can you open your diary? You may need to really watch the weekend eating with the big fatty foods and see how it changes your weight. Sounds more like you are going too high on calories/bad fats but it's hard to tell without seeing what you log.

    Change in exercise is always a good thing - as long as you don't stop. It's fine to alternate between working different muscle groups, even daily. I would take 1 day of the week and change it up, more if you like it.
  • Arkhos
    Arkhos Posts: 290 Member
    OK I see your diary. Mostly it looks pretty good, except for the 900 calorie days - is there a reason for those? If it's accurate you need to make sure you eat more on those days. Your at like 1400-1500 calories which sounds good, but since you've stalled, I would say increase your calories a little, maybe 1600-1800 for a couple of weeks and see how it changes. Give it a couple of weeks, sometimes you may gain 1-2 lbs the first week, then drop in week 3. I certainly wouldn't lower your calories. Also with all your workouts you could increase your protein intake. If you're adding calories like I said, make it from nice lean proteins like eggs, chicken, fish, turkey, lean beef/steaks, beans, lentils, etc.

    Also try and log daily, I see you skips days at a time. Keep logging so you can go back and see what you've been doing to see what you can change months from now. Sometimes, I think "what was I eating 6 months ago when I lost a bunch of weight?". :happy:

    hope that helps, don't get too discouraged, I know it's frustrating but it will get better, you just gotta find that sweet spot again!
  • Jen_ht
    Jen_ht Posts: 99 Member
    Thank you so much - that's really helpful, and motivating. :happy:

    I've had a few weeks breaks from being either ill or on holiday so not as dedicated as I should have been but working on that now. 900cal days are probably from going out with work and being too guilty to log, or just plain forgetting. I don't know what my TDEE is - how do I work that out?
  • Arkhos
    Arkhos Posts: 290 Member
    You can get your base numbers by using this spreadsheet made by my friend heybales: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Amt7QBR9-c6MdGVTbGswLUUzUHNVVUlNSW9wZWloeUE

    People have different views on whether to eat back calories from exercise or not. But if you get your base numbers:
    Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
    Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)
    Total Daily Eating Goal (TDEG)

    You can at least get an idea on what your body does on a daily basis. Here's some info http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/512956-tdee-what-is-it-and-why-you-should-not-eat-below-your-bmr

    or you can read the In Place of a Roadmap post here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937712-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0

    My numbers put me at 2392 calories. I was eating that and was stalling for a while. dropped my calories to 1800-1900 and my sodium to <1500 and I've lost 5 lbs this week. Sometimes you may have to play with the numbers, but you will prob never need to go over these base numbers.

    BTW, looking over your post again, have you only been stalled for a couple of weeks? If so, you may not need to change anything, except your patience :laugh:

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