New exercise plan and portion reduction but no weight loss.

JuleWill · May 2015

I've just started getting back into exercise. I'm 42 and about 10kg overweight (5kg from what would be considered the top of my healthy weight range). My goal is to lose close to 5kg over the next 6 weeks if possible as we are going overseas and I'd like to be a little more comfortable.

I've started doing a Pump class at home (I have all the equipment) Mon, Wed and Fri. On Tue, Thurs and Sat I walk for around 35min with my dog. I have Sunday off as a rest day. I've been doing this for about 2 weeks now.

I'm not counting calories and frankly, I was hoping not to have to because in the past I have found I become obsessed with it and as soon as I mess up, I tend to fall off the wagon. I also find that I get stuck with eating the same kinds of food all the time because it's so much work to cook for a family and try and work out how much is in the meal I've just eaten (obviously this is a dinner thing). Anyone who spends most of their life driving kids to and from sport practice between 6pm and 8pm, 4 times a week knows what I'm talking about. We don't eat out during the week, I always cook a meal, but if I have to weigh every item I'm cooking with, the whole process is going to take that much longer when I'm already time poor.

I've been trying to reduce my portions, eat fruit and nuts for snacks and generally stay away from bread and sugary treats. Whenever I'm craving sugar I eat a nut bar which is about 120 calories (I would eat maybe 4 of these a week).

I need to add here that I'm not drinking very much water. I would typically drink 3 - 4 large glasses of water per day and this is because I make myself. I'm never thirsty for some reason.

Normally in the past I would find that I would lose weight pretty easily in the first couple of weeks and then it would lessen as the weeks went on.

This time I'm finding that the scales are not moving like they have in the past. I think I've lost half a kilo but it keeps fluctuating and sometimes I'm over, sometimes under. I know I shouldn't weigh every day but I'll be honest - I have been.

Part of me knows that I need to count calories, drink more water and wait it out but the other part is frustrated that 12 days of exercise don't seem to have made very much difference.

Whenever I read articles about weight loss often they are telling me to stop counting calories, eat healthy smaller portions (which I feel I am doing) and add strength training (which I have done).

Am I simply being too impatient or do I need to give in and count?

arditarose · May 2015

I didn't read very carefully. Only saw that you are not counting calories and that you cut out some foods. Count calories. If something isn't working, try the thing that works.

Liftng4Lis · May 2015

JuleWill wrote: »

I've just started getting back into exercise. I'm 42 and about 10kg overweight (5kg from what would be considered the top of my healthy weight range). My goal is to lose close to 5kg over the next 6 weeks if possible as we are going overseas and I'd like to be a little more comfortable.

I've started doing a Pump class at home (I have all the equipment) Mon, Wed and Fri. On Tue, Thurs and Sat I walk for around 35min with my dog. I have Sunday off as a rest day. I've been doing this for about 2 weeks now.

I'm not counting calories and frankly, I was hoping not to have to because in the past I have found I become obsessed with it and as soon as I mess up, I tend to fall off the wagon. I also find that I get stuck with eating the same kinds of food all the time because it's so much work to cook for a family and try and work out how much is in the meal I've just eaten (obviously this is a dinner thing). Anyone who spends most of their life driving kids to and from sport practice between 6pm and 8pm, 4 times a week knows what I'm talking about. We don't eat out during the week, I always cook a meal, but if I have to weigh every item I'm cooking with, the whole process is going to take that much longer when I'm already time poor.

I've been trying to reduce my portions, eat fruit and nuts for snacks and generally stay away from bread and sugary treats. Whenever I'm craving sugar I eat a nut bar which is about 120 calories (I would eat maybe 4 of these a week).

I need to add here that I'm not drinking very much water. I would typically drink 3 - 4 large glasses of water per day and this is because I make myself. I'm never thirsty for some reason.

Normally in the past I would find that I would lose weight pretty easily in the first couple of weeks and then it would lessen as the weeks went on.

This time I'm finding that the scales are not moving like they have in the past. I think I've lost half a kilo but it keeps fluctuating and sometimes I'm over, sometimes under. I know I shouldn't weigh every day but I'll be honest - I have been.

Part of me knows that I need to count calories, drink more water and wait it out but the other part is frustrated that 12 days of exercise don't seem to have made very much difference.

Whenever I read articles about weight loss often they are telling me to stop counting calories, eat healthy smaller portions (which I feel I am doing) and add strength training (which I have done).

Am I simply being too impatient or do I need to give in and count?

That right there is your answer. Also, 12 days isn't long enough to determine if you will lose weight or not.

nylo143 · May 2015

Yes don't weight every day, it's a recipe for disaster. By using the bathroom you could weigh more or less by 1 lb lol so just stick to weekly weigh ins in my opinion. I know it's a drag but if you really want to ensure weight loss you have to know how much you are eating. Once you get the hang of counting you can pretty much eyeball any meal and guess the calories, so in essence it's portion control.

astrampe · May 2015

And with only 5 to 10kg to lose, it is not realistic to expect a loss of 5kg in six weeks.......

JuleWill · May 2015

But realistically, is this something people do for the rest of their lives? I know I'm a nightmare when I'm counting. I can't enjoy eating food with friends when I'm counting and it's all about numbers. I know I'm fighting this right now .....

JuleWill · May 2015

nylo143 wrote: »

Once you get the hang of counting you can pretty much eyeball any meal and guess the calories, so in essence it's portion control.

I think this is pretty much what I'm doing because I have done so much counting in my life. I'm looking at my portions and I know what a 300 calorie meal looks like.

JuleWill · May 2015

astrampe wrote: »

And with only 5 to 10kg to lose, it is not realistic to expect a loss of 5kg in six weeks.......

I guess I'm going by what I've managed in the past. I always keep logs and it normally takes me about 8 weeks to lose around 6kg so I was hoping to lose up to 5kg over the next 6 weeks. That means I'd be happy with 3kg if that was all I could do.

segacs · May 2015

JuleWill wrote: »

I'm not counting calories and frankly, I was hoping not to have to because in the past I have found I become obsessed with it and as soon as I mess up, I tend to fall off the wagon.

Calorie counting is just a tool. It's a method that works for many people. MFP is a calorie-counting site so that's what people here are going to tell you. But if you have a history of getting obsessive about it, then it's probably not the best method for you.

There are other approaches to weight loss that you could try. Weight Watchers' points system is essentially simplified calorie counting with some social support, and some people find they have success with it. You could work with a registered dietitian to meal plan and come up with different things you can integrate into your diet to avoid the same-old syndrome. The choosemyplate.gov website has a simple approach to portion size based on size of plate.

It will ultimately come down to eating less. But you have to do this in combination with an approach that works for you.

Oh, and if the obsessiveness is a recurring thing that's become debilitating in your life, you may want to seek out some help or counselling for that.

For what it's worth, you may want to seek out communities other than MFP. You're certainly welcome here, of course, but it sounds like it might not be helpful to you to hear a constant refrain of "count calories!" which is surely what you'll get if you hang around these forums long enough.

debubbie · May 2015

After awhile, you become better at realizing the number of calories in your food choices without always having to weigh everything and can get a good idea of how close you are to your calorie goal each day. Plus, I create recipes of my go to meals on here and then tweak them for the amount of ingredients I use. Creating the recipe takes a few minutes, but after that it is a snap to have my calories calculated for my favorite homemade foods. Over the last year this has helped me tremendously and I have lost a little over 60 pounds.

JuleWill · May 2015

Thanks segacs, makes perfect sense. I think maybe I'll look elsewhere. I've had loads of success with Weight Watchers in the past and I know that system back to front. I think what I'm dealing with here is my body just not reacting as I know it normally does. Perhaps it's a symptom of getting older and hormones are coming into play. The obsessive thing is not debilitating for me, but I feel it takes the enjoyment out of eating. Thank you for taking the time to post - I really appreciate your comments.

JuleWill · May 2015

Thanks debubbie - very helpful

ValGogo · May 2015

Before I even read it I said to myself "hmmm, I bet it's only been two weeks." I always say give it five weeks before you see a small difference. But, that's me.

JuleWill · May 2015

Lol - yes my post does scream that, doesn't it

I'm just so used to having around 2kg loss by this time but then, I probably normally don't start my heavier exercise work load until after I start seeing some results so maybe it's a muscle/fat ratio thing. I'm sure my muscles are building right now so that would be part of it. Also I could be holding onto all that water that normally is the reason for the initial weight loss.

JuleWill · May 2015

Thanks everyone for such helpful responses. I think I'm just being whiney and I need to get on with it and keep going. At the end of the day, the scale number shouldn't dictate my success. I'm definitely feeling better doing the exercise and my eating has very much improved. I need to focus on being happy with that.

Appreciate all your help.

JuleWill · May 2015

Someone posted this and I found it extremely helpful. It might help someone else feeling like I am...

[url=http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1[/url]

New exercise plan and portion reduction but no weight loss.

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