What if anything am I doing wrong?

M

meiradeco

0
I am trying to lose weight over 90lbs.

I am counting my calories every day as accurately as possible, weighing all food and writing it all down. Drinking Tea (yes, I am english) but mostly water at least 2 litres a day usually up to 2.5 aiming for 3litres.

I am exercising most days, different muscles groups for weights and also 40 - 60 mins Cardio 4 times a week. My heart rate is going beyond moderate. I am awaiting delivery of heart monitor purchased to check this and calories burned.

I am eating just below my BMR at between 1400 - 1600 cal per day.

Eating little or no Carbs at night but at each other meal to fuel work outs and to prevent exhaustion. Protein forms 20% - 35% of Calories, Carbs 30 - 50%, fats 10% - 15%. Not much salt.

The strange thing is only very small weight loss. My clothes that used to fit have had to be thrown out as they now fall off. I am getting into smaller sizes when out shopping and clothes that 2 months ago did not fit are getting baggy now.

People keep telling me I have lost weight and look smaller. Why is my weight not falling?
 
I am in a similar position to you, in that I have been at it a little over 3 weeks and maybe lost 2 pounds... but I get comments about it and my clothes do fit better.

The only thing I can think of is since I have changed my diet totally, my body may hold a lot more water weight and other things (I drink 2x as much water as I used to).

But hey, If I weighed 300 pounds and could wear size 32 waist pants I would take it.
 
I would not mind what ever my weight was if I was healthy and a reasonable size with a low body fat.

I am just concerned that nothing is really changing.
 
Muscle has a higher mass than body fat. Intense weight training will build up muscle, (fat doesn't turn to muscle), and that is why you don't weigh much different, but people see the difference.
 
Just a few critiques:

1) try to drink 4 liters a day
2) decrease the carbs and increase the fat (good fat--almonds / avocado) intake to maybe 20% carbs and 30-40% fat with 40 % protein.

3) While the scale may not be moving much, your body is tranforming. The scale does not lie BUT it does not tell you the whole truth as well. You body is losing the fat and gaining muscle, a stage that most of us would love to accomplish but only people who just started out training or returning back to working out can accomplish. Be happy that you are doing this; it's a blessing. In short, the fat is becoming muscle and your body is reshaping.

Instead of just focusing on the scale, how do you feel? The cardio excercise is good but if you can extend it to 60 minutes plus, it would be excellent. Keep up the good work.
 
Yeah man, what you're doing is changing the entire composition of your body from the lightweight fat stores to the denser muscle.

Here's what you do: Throw away your scale. Use your belt and your mirror as your feedback source for your exercise program.
 
meiradeco said:
I would not mind what ever my weight was if I was healthy and a reasonable size with a low body fat.

I am just concerned that nothing is really changing.
Click to expand...

If your old clothes are now falling off then things are indeed changing. As jrx says, use your waist size as a gauge rather than the scale. I also suggest taking a picture of yourself in the mirror every month or so, so you can see visibly if you are making progress or not. Progress is slow enough that otherwise you won't see it on a day to day basis.

One other tip if you're not already doing it: make sure you're eating quality grains by making the switch to whole grain breads, pastas, and brown rice. The white variety of each are simply empty carbs. You want to make sure in the calorie deficit position you're in that every calorie you take in is of nutritional value, otherwise you'll start to see your metabolism slow, your progress stop, and you'll become too tired to keep up with the exercise program.
 
The zone diet has worked wonders for me. Down 60-70 lbs in fat, from a 46 to a 38 in pants, and an actual 13" loss on my waist measurement. I do this in combination with CrossFit.

Started January 1 of 2008 at 312, now I weight 258. I have probably put on a good 10-20lbs of muscle during that time as well, with no fat burners, protein supplements, just eating the zone. It has helped my wife drop post pregnancy weight as well. With both love it and view it as a lifestyle and not a diet.
 
meiradeco - Looking in the mirror and seeing how your clothes fit are great ways to determine your weight loss. However, it is nice to have the scale second the changes we are making. I am likely to bet that your weight is going down if only slightly. Here is what you have to do if you want an accurate reading on your weight:

- Get a digital scale that weighs you to the tenth if a pound (or stone, whatever you use).

- Pick a day to weigh yourself (I like Wednesday since it's the middle of the week and I never have a big meal on Tuesdays. I won't be bloated the next morning giving me an inaccurate reading).

- Weigh yourself naked or pick out something to weigh yourself in.

- When you wake up on Wednesday (or whatever day you choose) don't drink or eat anything. Go pee and do whatever else you have to do. Then either undress or get into your weighing clothes. Step on the scale and weigh yourself. Write down your weight to the tenth in your journal.

- Repeat the same process every Wednesday morning. Believe me, you will see a decline in weight if you are sticking to a calorie deficit diet.
 
Here's a problem: you are eating under your BMR. BMR = Basal Metabolic Rate...which is how many calories you need when you are in a coma.

You need BMR + activity level. My BMR is about 1900, but with my daily lifestyle of sedentary seated work 9 hours a day... its pushing 3,000 calories (of course this is just an estimated calorie level based on harris/benedict BMR formula).

YOu might be starving yourself, which will hose fat loss.
 
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