No weight loss, please help, new to the forum

Poggers,

Could you explain why protein shake is needed. Apologies if I have missed this as I haven't read all through it. The OP uses walking as her excercise so I can't see a reason why a shake would be necessary as well as eating protien rich foods?

In a nutshell, eat more food but less fruit!

Eating lots of fruit can be a negative thing, especially the high sugar ones like bananas and grapes. I am a weightwatchers patron and fruit is also zero points but it's not to replace meals, just to curb cravings and as a healthier alternative to chocolate. Choose low GI carbs (wholewheat rice/pasta/sweet potatoes etc.), lean proteins (skinless chicken breast, turkey breast, tuna, protein shakes) and healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, flaxseed oil etc.). Have lots of small meals a day, and as you are a busy person try to make, prepare or cook as much in advance as you can.

As for ratios (40/30/30) this is just a way to keep check on the content of the food you eat, not just calories. Of your daily calorific intake, 40% of your calories would be carbs, 30% would be protein and 30% would be fat.

I'm looking to lose 3 stone and i'm 5ft 3in, i use a ratio of 40/40/20 and a net intake of calories of 1200. I eat 6 times a day and sometimes i struggle to eat enough if i don't keep organised.

Protein shakes?

What is NET intake please?

Protein shakes are a good way of keeping intake of cals and protein high but will take a minute or two to make and drink and also if you don't feel hungry but you need to eat more they don't feel like such a burden to consume compared to a sandwich or an omlette.

Your body needs a certain amount of calories just to function, called your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), even if you stayed in bed all day. Your calorie deficit is the amount of calories you eat under this number. MFP calculates a safe deficit to safely lose weight but keep your metabolism high (metabolism is the rate at which your body uses energy). Creating more of a deficit (eatng less) will mean your body will stop functioning properly and it will begin to store fat as your body is preparing to cope with this amount of calories. When you exercise, you are creating a further deficit as your body needs more energy to perform those extra moves. Net intake is the amount of calories you eat in total after taking away exercise calories. For example -

MFP calculated daily calorie allowance +1200 (this is the absolute lowest amount of calories you should eat to maintain a fast metabolism and a steady healthy rate of weight loss)
Exercise calories burned -300 (you have burned these calories doing whatever exercise you like, even walking.)

So, 1200 minus 300 = 900 cals NET

900 cals isn't enough, you should be NETTING 1200 (or whatever MFP has stated is your healthy calorie intake)

So, if you eat those calories you burned during exercise then your NET calories will be at that safe level for weight loss. Try eating 300 cals more (if thats what you burn during your exercise)

1500 - 300 cals = 1200, the right amount for your body to function. In essence, the exercise you do cancels out the extra calories you eat, leaving the 1200 to be used by your body's important functions like breathing, thinking, pumping blood, creating insulin and any other organ that has a purpose in keeo you alive!

In case you think that there's no point in doing exercise, keeping active will tone muscle, burn more fat and get you healthy. It is also proven that weight loss is maintained in the long term by exercise and diet, not food alone.

Anorexics and bulemics have a common problem of their periods stopping, this is because their body has needed to shut down some parts so the more important parts can stay alive. Their bodies can't bear children with such malnutrition and their body doesn't allow it to happen. I hope this has cleared up this issue for you. I can assure you that you're not the only one in this situation. It seems like common sense to eat less and exercise more, but the human body is an amazing machine and needs fuel just like any performance car or aeroplane.