Looking for answers

T

timechaser

New member
Hi All

Just joined up - been on the go since November last year, have dropped from 100.2 to 82 Kilos so happy with that achievement. However, recently have stagnated quite a bit. Hoping to find answers and solutions to kick start the weight loss into gear again. Need another 10 kilos (height is 173cm so the doc says my ideal weight is 72)!

This is the lightest I have been in the past 10-12 years so happy already!
 
Hi, and welcome :) Congratulations on the amazing weight loss you've already achieved!

What diet/ exercise technique or techniques do you use? I recommend at least having awareness of your calorie allowance (I calorie count, but I realise that's not attractive for a lot of people), and this website will help you calculate it With that you can have an awareness of the kinds of foods you eat and how they fit in your calorie "budget".

One of the things that's helping me is to have a food/ exercise diary (mine is linked in my signature), where I've received advice and support, and to browse through others for ideas and inspiration.

Hope this helps :)
 
Welcome! Congrats on the progress so far - that is really good!! Lots of the members here have really good advice. The stickies are a great source of information too. I agree with amy1985 about the diary - it is a very helpful tool!

Good luck on your continued success!!
 
Amy - thanks for the welcome and words of encouragement!

I calorie count as well and thanks to Mr Jobs, the task is trivial. I have a diary on my iphone of everything I have eaten to date over the past six months. I am brutally honest and add everything in there.

My BMR calculation from the calculator you linked to makes is approx 2,700. Given my current diet I find it hard to consume more than 1200-1400 a day so I usually have a 1500 calorie deficit. I also hit the gym at least 5 times a week doing various cardio workouts and free weights. Apart from this I play golf and tennis at least twice a week.

I am happy to report that something or the other kicked in - not sure what, but my weight dropped another kilo so 81 and counting! I did try HIIT today but I doubt it had anything to do with my movement.

The biggest question I have left now is on my diet. A typical day for me consists of the following (copying from my food diary)

Wake up abt 0600
Breakfast abt 0830 - 2x Apples, Cup of tea with skimmed milk (about 1/3 cup milk)
Gym 1030-1130
Lunch abt 1230 - Salad with spinach, yoghurt, seared tuna, celery, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, edamame, half an egg and cucumber. Accompanied by another cup of tea with 1/3 milk.
Snack (about 1530) - Another cup of tea (1/3 milk), banana and a 90 cal granola bar
Dinner about 1900 - Beef stew, half a cup brown rice
Tennis for an hour - 2000 - 2100
Snacks (about 2130) a slice of fat free cheese.
Bedtime at 2230.

This is yesterday but typical - and in all this, I consumed 1100 calories (according to my app - myfitnesspal). According to my polar heart rate/calorie monitor, I burnt 963 calories doing cardio in the morning and playing tennis in the evening.

Now - can someone suggest changes in my diet? OR even the timing of the food? I want to continue the fat loss but want muscle buildup as well. Would it help to increase my calorie consumption? I cannot really take it any lower (I could, but I know it is not healthy).

I know this is working but I am always paranoid (OCD) that I might be doing something wrong and/or there might be ways of doing it better.

Any thoughts, comments, suggestions are most welcome!

Cheers
TC
 
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Congrats on breaking the plateau :)

The first thing you need to keep in mind is that different calculators work in different ways- the one I linked to is supposed to incorporate the exercise you do, whereas others encourage you to take off the calories you've burned. (I find that too complicated so I stick with the first method)

I'm no expert by any stretch (and I've only been doing this since the beginning of the month), but I'd imagine given all that exercise that you're not eating enough and that at least some of your weight loss might be from muscle loss. Your diet (to my untrained eye) looks good, but your breakfast looks really unsubstantial. Have you thought about porridge (or oatmeal, depending where you're from)? A serve (40g) of porridge is 142 calories (from my calorie counter), and I find it to be very filling (I have it with 0.1% fat milk and a serve of frozen berries- add give or take 80-150 calories).

Are you trying to stick to nutritional requirements? I'm in the UK but from Australia, so I look to both sets of requirements to get an idea of what I should be eating. You don't look like you need telling but obviously it's important to get your nutrition as well as keep under a certain amount of calories.

Do you have guidance in the gym as to what to do? A trainer in my gym has set up a program for me and although I'm not seeing specific results yet (it's very early days) I feel it's a good plan for me and it's tailored to my specific requirements (commitment time, weaknesses, areas I particularly want to improve)

For more detailed advice, I seriously recommend setting up a diary in the appropriate section of the forum- I think it's the most viewed section by members.
 
Thanks for the reply. Oatmeal is a great idea but unfortunately digested too slowly. I find whenever I have oatmeal I cannot exercise effectively. That's why the fruits.

I will set up a diary - thanks for that tip too.

In the gym, a trainer assists me 3 days and I am on my own 2-3 time depending on how crazy I am feeling.

Thanks again!
 
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