Please help me. I've only shed 3 lbs in a year!

3shirts · January 2012

I need some advice.

I have been trying to get fitter and, I think, been doing all the right things but I just don't seem to be losing weight.
I currently do about 75 minutes in the gym 2-3 times a week with 3 different workout routines (arms, chest, legs) which all include 30 minutes of cardio. I also play 2 hours of badminton once a week. My calorie target is set by a body stat analysis I had done about 9 months ago.

I have had my share of bad days but I try to log as much as I can, even on bad days, so I can keep track of everything.

I have opened my diary up so would love some feedback on what I am doing right/wrong. Should I be eating more on the day I workout? Drop my calories? Focus on eating less fat or something?

I have recently bought a HRM (Polar F4 with chest strap) so am basing my gym calories on that now as it seems more accurate

Thanks in advance everyone. I know there are some very bright people here who are bound to be helpful and supportive!

julzmm · January 2012

If you are not too hung up on BMI etc then I wouldnt worry. Have you found that you actually look better? Do your clothes look better on you? If thats the case then you are doing ok. All the strength work you are doing is maybe making you keep your weight because of the muscle you are building?
If you really want to see if its what you are eating that is keeping the weight from coming off then cut your calories back a day by about 500 for a week or so and see what happens. You can eat your exercise calories back if you want but you dont have to. There are plenty threads here about exercise calories, some say do some say dont. Try it and see!
If your calorie target is set for how you were 9 months ago and its not working then maybe its time to change it. Write these numbers down somewhere and change them to the targets that MFP set you for losing those last pounds. 1 pound a week is what you should set yourself to.
There may be people who have different ideas but Good luck though in whatever you end up doing!

BerryH · January 2012

Although calories in/calories out is what loses the weight, a balanced diet gives your body better fuel. Look at cutting down the crisps and biscuits and adding more veg and simply cooked meat and fish. Try changing your MFP target ratios to 40/30/30 carbs/protein/fat.

What deficit is your body stat analysis set at? Make sure its around 500 for a steady sustainable loss of 1lb a week. Check what MFP's recommendation is and perhaps think about using the lower of the two.

A word of warning, HRMs do not give an accurate calorie burn for weight lifting due to your heart rate spiking as you lift, so only use it for cardio.

pippppip · January 2012

Hi

First of all however, well done on the exercise front! That is a very impressive gym schedule, which you should keep up. Consequently I think the lack of weight loss is due to your eating habits.

From having a look at your last week in your diary there are a few things I believe you are doing wrong.

1. This is worth checking, but isn't necessarily wrong. Check MFP has the right calorie goals for you - be honest - do you have an active day (are you on your feet all day?) or do you spend most of it sat in the office? If so you may need to change your activity levels.

2. You don't need to eat ALL your calories, even the ones you've gained from exercise. Have you thought about setting yourself a goal of eating less calories? My friend never eats more than 1200 a day, which may be a bit extreme but works for him.
This might be useful to read as it suggests dropping your current calorie intake by 15%-20%
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/calorie-intake-to-lose-weight.php

3. Sugar!! Eeek! Have you seen how over your sugar you've gone on some of the days? I'm not saying I'm a saint but you need to look at a way to cut that. Things like golden syrup on your healthy porridge just cancel one another out. Have you tried porridge with a banana in? Or more adventurous - dried fruit? Apricots work a treat! Or just experiment until you find something you like, that'll make healthy eating constantly interesting - even if it's a bit hit and miss at times!

Also, snacking seems to be what is pushing you over your sugar goals daily. Try to challenge yourself to not snack.. if you feel the need - have a cup of tea? (Without sugar!) Or a banana as there are natural sugars that will stop any cravings you might have?

4. To help with the calorie reduction, try having what you'd have in a sandwich, without the bread, turn it into a salad! That's 300 calories from the bread gone instantly! Bulk it out with more lettuce and a variety of veg.

5. Dinner. Try putting more vegetables into your dinner. The healthiest dinner seemed to be pasta and tuna. Try adding courgette and mushrooms into the sauce. Can do the same with a sharwoods curry sauce - add broccoli? Think it would be worth looking at whether you can cook a less processed dinner... it'll be worth the bother! Buy a cook book and test out some new recipes. If it is a time issue etc you can make dinners in advance and freeze them? Have a look at what is best for you.

Hope those are some good tips, even just cutting out the sugar would lower your calorie intake, thus causing you to lose weight quicker. Good luck!!

x

melaniecheeks · January 2012

I thought I'd posted a reply already, but it seems to have been eaten by the ether.

Anyway, it basically echoed the thoughts on sugar. Try switching the fruit juice to a no-added sugar cranberry variety, and swap the raisins for some almonds.

3shirts · January 2012

Thanks guys.
This is all really good stuff, I knew I could rely on this place

In answer to some of the questions, I am in IT so my day job is very sedate, sat at a desk all day. Setting MFP as such gave me slightly more daily calories than the Stat analysis.

I will try experimenting with cutting the calories down, especially on days when I don't work out. I am also very weak about biscuits and cakes that constantly come into the office, need to get on top of that.

I hadn't really paid much attention to sugar so I'll definitely make some changes there. What are your thoughts on artificial sweetener (Splenda) as an alternative on my porridge? I really need something to sweeten it.

I was eating Warburton's bread which is seedy so higher in calories but 'good' calories. I used to have salads so will try switching back to that and cutting the bread out almost completely in the week.

I kinda thought the fruit juice was ok as it's fruit sugar which I thought was better?

For dinner, my girlfriend actually does that so I'll have a word with her about maybe doing some more healthy options or offer to do more dinners myself (she can do the washing up that I normally do)!

The almonds tip is good too. I love them!

kyle4jem · January 2012

It sounds like you might have hit maintenance mode.

Have you had your Body Fat % analysed? I know it's difficult to tell from a profile pic, but you don't look fat or overweight and your ticker is set to lose 14lbs so that's not a HUGE amount of weight (... not when you've another 5 stone to lose like me :ohwell:)

As you've got an FT4, I'd pop it on and then spend an hour sitting reading (perhaps if you commute you can do it while on the train).

This should give you an idea what your true BMR is.

I know that my BMR is currently around 1.81kc per minute, but according to the various BMR calculators I should be running at around 1.25kc per min. That's great for me, because even when I overeat I tend to be in deficit. :bigsmile:

I'd probably say that you'd be better focussing on body shape rather than the number on the scales. I'm not an expert in building muscle and changing body shape, so it might be worthwhile asking around here or at your gym as you may need to alter your macro % in your diet.

Good luck!

3shirts · January 2012

Thanks. You are right, I'm currently 15St 13lbs and I want to get down to under 15St (that's 210lbs) so not a lot of weight but I also want to lose a lot of fat so that much more of that weight is lean.

I think I'll take some of these tips on board and try a couple of weeks on a reduced calorie count and see if that kicks my metabolism in the nuts and starts the weight loss.

Thanks guys, I feel much more motivated than I did this morning. Having a bad weigh in can derail you pretty quickly.

maryjay51 · January 2012

the less weight you have to lose the harder it is to lose it. sounds to me you gained muscle weight which is good. that happened to me where i went through months of not losing weight.. at the end of 6 months i realized i had gone down a size in my clothes and everyone was telling me i looked like i lost a lot of weight but i didnt .. i was training in weight lifting and i gained muscle , burned fat .. my bmi went down 8%

3shirts · January 2012

Yeah, a few people have said I look thinner in the face and my girlfriend is always telling me I look leaner but she's biased

I have dropped my calorie target and changed the goals for protein/carbs/fat so I'll give that a couple of weeks and see if it makes a difference. I'll also make sure I only count the HRM readings for cardio, I hadn't thought about the problems with spikes when lifting.

Please help me. I've only shed 3 lbs in a year!

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