What the heck am I doing wrong?

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Hello everybody,

I would like to tell you my short(?) story, before explain my problem. I dropped out of P.E. at school at the age of 12 and haven't done anything proper in sports since then. At the age of 20 I was at approx 85 - 90 kg at 185 cm and I was happy with it, I gained a bit until the age of 25, but nothing worth mentioning. However I stopped smoking at that age and in under 6 months I gained approx 25 kg.
Now, this year I was finally fed up with all the picking at me and started exercising. Luckily I work in an environment where quite a lot of fitness buffs work, so I asked around if they could give me some advise on how to start properly. I knew that after 20 years of no exercise, I had to start slowly and so I did. I started on 15 February and weight-in at 124.4 kg.
Now here is what I have done:
- until March 29th I walked at a good pace on the treadmill for 20 mins. and continued on the cross trainer for another 20 mins.
- until April 21st I did 2 x 20 mins on the cross trainer (cross ramp 10, resistance 11, strides/min 110)
On April 21st I received a fitness plan and a proper introduction from a colleague of mine. I said, that I couldn't see any results, my weight hadn't changed and I felt even bigger than before. Ever since that day I have been exercising like a mad man, well, at least I thought I did ;-)

Now, I currently exercise as follows (the following in three repetitions):
Even Days:
- Cross Trainer (cross ramp 4, resistance 12, strides/min 120) [pulse ~130]
- Lat Pull @ 50 kg - 12 reps
- Abs Trainer @ 70 kg - 12 reps
- Leg press @ 90 kg - 12 reps

Odd Days:
- Cross Trainer (cross ramp 4, resistance 12, strides/min 120) [pulse ~130]
- Sit Ups - 12 reps / 3 sets / 1 min break

Weekends are off.
Now, I am not very good in changing many things at once so I decided I gave MFP a try and let it help me keep track of my food. I should mention that I grew up on a farm and there was always(!) meat on the table and salad was ... well I guess you get my point.
Anyway, I tracked what MFP told me and I usually finish a day at 800 - 1000 kcal remaining. However, I come from a Coca Cola addiction and went down from at least 2.5 l per day to approx. 0.5 l per day.

I started this exercise at 124.4 kg with a waist of 122 cm (I don't care much for the rest). As of today I am at 125.3 kg and 117 cm and I only have one question: WTF? Sorry for my foul mouth, but I trained 3 months now and I don't really see corresponding results. I am shocked to say the least.

Feel free to ask as many (silly) questions as possible, I will answer them truthfully, I JUST WANT TO LOOSE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!!!! Volume more than weight, to be honest.

Please help?!

Replies

  • nephilim13
    nephilim13 Posts: 6 Member
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    Thanks dls for the quick reply. Now I read through these topics and here are some "counter" arguments:

    a) Eat your calories because MFP says so:
    I do! MFP tells me to eat 2300 kcal. I have an input of ~2100. However MFP also tells me I lost 1200 while excercising.


    b) Eat proper food:
    Well, yeah! I don't do breakfast, but I have a proper dinner and a somewhat decent lunch. I used to be the lunch=McDonald's type of guy, but I changed that to, well lunch=Subway. i know I could do a lot better.


    c) Weight vs Volume, or Scale vs measuring tape:
    5-8 cm in 3 months. That does not sound right. Or do I not exercise enough?

    Actually, c is my whole point. I have done this for 3 months now and I think the visible and measurable progress is way to low and I don't know why. I don't want a revolution, but I am doing so much more than before, it just has to be more visible.
    I don't drink alcohol, I cut down own Coke, I eat less and healthier, I exercise like as if my stronger and fitter evil-twin is plotting to kill me. And I only lost 5 cm. Having seen quite a few of the success stories here, I just feel ... ashamed(?)

    Cheers and THANK YOU
  • MooMooooo
    MooMooooo Posts: 306 Member
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    Can't see your diary and I'm no expert anyway... but my best guess is that you're having issues with over/ underestimating.

    Food is the super important area not to underestimate.

    Be as honest as you can be and OVERestimate your food intake if you're EVER unsure.

    Goodluck xxx
  • bekahvoight
    bekahvoight Posts: 5 Member
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    I've been reading online that 1-3 tsp of apple cider vinegar before every meal can help promote weight loss because it boosts metabolism and promotes a feeling of fullness. I personally heat up 1 cup of water, add 2 tsp of honey and 2 tsp of apple cider vinegar. It tastes like regular hot apple cider to me so I can drink it. I just started this the other day so I can't confirm everything I've read about it especially when it comes to weight loss, but I do think there are some definite health benefits. It's important to buy organic, unpasturized apple cider vinegar. Bragg's is the brand that I use. I suggest doing some research on it and then deciding for yourself if it's worth a try =) I wish you the best in your weight loss journey!
  • nephilim13
    nephilim13 Posts: 6 Member
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    Input
    I used to eat a e.g. whole chicken and two small french breads for lunch. I cut that in half and feel fine.
    I haven't been to McDonald's, Burger King, KFC or any other fast food parlor, besides Subway twice, in over a month.
    I used to drink 2.5 l of Coke and am down to 1 can.
    I don't do any alcohol.
    I don't eat any chocolate any more.
    if I eat chips, I eat one small pack instead of a big one.
    etc. etc. etc.

    Output
    I burn at least a thousand kcal more on a single day than I used to.

    Now shouldn't all that be enough to see more than the few cm I described?
  • nephilim13
    nephilim13 Posts: 6 Member
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    @jjelizalde: I agree, but is it so wrong to follow the simple routine of "eat less/proper and exercise more". I mean I don't want to loose 5 kg, I want to go down 30 kg. Not in 6 months of course, that would be stupid, but I have a lot to loose and I am not loosing it.
  • BrionyTallis
    BrionyTallis Posts: 90 Member
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    Have you seen a doctor? dietitian? Maybe one could shed some light on your situation.
  • jjelizalde
    jjelizalde Posts: 377 Member
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    @jjelizalde: I agree, but is it so wrong to follow the simple routine of "eat less/proper and exercise more". I mean I don't want to loose 5 kg, I want to go down 30 kg. Not in 6 months of course, that would be stupid, but I have a lot to loose and I am not loosing it.

    That's not wrong at all. Sometimes you have to make adjustments to find what works for your body and reading/researching different methods can be beneficial. That's the point of MVP - support and information. :wink:
  • nephilim13
    nephilim13 Posts: 6 Member
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    Okay, I will change to more "green" stuff then. I hope that is of some help. I spoke to some of our fitness buffs at work and they couldn't see anything wrong with what I am doing, besides some food issues.

    In MFP I explicitly drive a "conservative" approach. Let's say I cannot find "homemade fries", but "mcdonald's fries" I use these, because I think they will have more calories. If the cardio machine says I burned 500 kcal and MFP tells me it is 600 kcal, I use the lower value. However, it matches most of the time, so not too many worries there.

    Thank you for your support, that was exactly what I needed.