Question About Diet & Exercise

You're probably building muscle, which as you know, weighs more than fat. So you're losing fat and gaining muscle. Keep it up.

Please look at "The Perfect Ten Diet". It addresses the ten hormones imperative for weight loss and maintaining a fit, healthy body. For instance, did you cut out fat? Wrong move-when you eat fat, your body is then willing to burn fat and will not store it. Do you eat sugar, pasta, bread? do you get enough sleep? Also-with exercise-you are building muscle which is heavier than fat. Are you losing inches and not pounds? Then it's working. Don't quit, it will click and then you will be off and running! Eat yogurt with fat, organic veggies, chicken and seafood. Eat little beef, lamb and pork. try to space meals at least 5 hours apart-get the book- a $1.99 on Kindle!

Lane,
I am 5'4'' and 222 lbs and need to be at your goal weight too. Do not give up. I have had kids too and I know that when I started working out 4-5 times a week for 1 hours cardio with no rest, I was frustrated too but then after 2-3 months-it melted off like nothing. Like the weight just came off over night. Like 15 lbs-my clothes were fitting differently and everything. do not give up now :) It will come off, your body needs to get used to the new routine, you are probably drinking more H20 and building muscle too. aLL those things will make it seem like you are not losing weight but you are. Keep it up!

Check out "Cinch..." by Cynthia Sass. Perhaps it is available at your library if you don't want to buy it. I actually have a BS degree in Nutrition and Dietitics (even though I don't work in that field), I am a regular exerciser/ runner (training for a marathon) and am a vegetarian that avoids all fried foods etc....I still could not budge the last 15 lbs of my baby weight. Following this plan is the only thing that worked for me. It is simply balancing protein, carbs, produce and plant based fat. Sounds too simple to work..but it did. Good luck.

Have any of your measurements changed? I know it sounds odd, but it's possible that you're gaining enough muscle mass to counteract the loss of "fat" weight. Muscle weighs more than fat. Try just looking and the tone of your body as opposed to the number on the scale. Do you look more "fit"? Just a thought. I don't know if this will help you at all, but I've been exercising for 30 min 3 times a week for 3 weeks now and while I haven't seen a change in the numbers on the scale, I can see a change in my body tone.

Otherwise, try to make sure that the food you're eating is actually healthy, try a "heart-healthy" diet that is lower in sodium and increase your water intake. Make sure you get those "8 glasses" per day.

This is what worked for me I count my calories its an app that I use call lose it. You have to eat more and when I say that Im no talking about eat big amounts Im talking about eating about 6 to 7 small meals. Make sure you eat breakfast thats very important and drink water a gallon a day is what you need. I have lost 58.8lbs since the middle of March doing just this. I hope this helps you.

Hmmm....that must be discouraging for you. Are you more interested in fitness or weight loss? I only ask because in my experience, trying to tackle both diet and exercise at the same time is vexing!

I must say that when I am trying to get back into a fitness routine starting at ground zero (meaning no exercise in the last 18 months or so due to pregnancy and newborn baby sleep deprivation) all of the exercising kicks my appetite into overdrive. I don't lose any weight at least for the first month because I am so hungry that I take in more calories. Sometimes I gain weight. Eventually, the weight does come off, but it probably takes at least two or three months to see good results.

If you're looking to slim down a little more quickly, then you might want to start with just your diet first. Weight Watchers can make things easy for you. Or try going low carb.

Now that I am 40, I don't metabolize carbs the same way I did in my 20's. My husband went low carb about 6 months ago and lost about 40 pounds this way. By default, I also lowered my carb intake, and I lost weight too. More important than losing the weight was the fact that I had more energy without the blood sugar spikes that come with eating carbs.

So maybe start with the diet first. Plan your meals and snacks at least a week in advance. Get your grocery shopping done so that you have all of the ingredients you need and you're not tempted to order out or eat processed foods because there is nothing in the fridge. Once you can get used to eating healthier foods and meal portions, then you can take on a fitness program.

When you look for a fitness program, try to choose one that you will enjoy and stick with. Fitness DVDs can be a great workout, and they are definitely an affordable way to get exercise. But if you get bored with them or find them too challenging, you won't do them. Just walking around your block for 30 minutes after dinner could be a nice way to burn calories, and it could take your mind off of dessert too :-) Good luck!

If you're not losing anything, then there are a couple of possibilities. One is, your calorie count is way off. It's hard to figure that sometimes if you don't accurately measure or if you are missing some ingredients.

The other possibility that jumps to my mind, as a nutritional consultant, is that you are not eating enough or not frequently enough. You mention only one meal on one day, for example. What's happening is that you have cut back SO much that your body has gone into "starvation mode" - it "thinks" that there is a famine or a crisis, so it is conserving energy as much as possible for the fight or flight that's about to happen. It's slowing down the metabolism and saving it all for those bursts of exercise (e.g. zumba). That's why you feel like your stomach "shrunk" - your body is slowing down because it thinks it's starving. I think you are sabotaging yourself here.

And yes, if you exercise, the website will deduct the calories burned from the total calories allowed for the day for just existence, so you can eat more. And you should. You need a good mix of protein, complex carbs and healthy fats. Do not eliminate things because they qualify as "fat" - olive oil, canola oil, seeds, nuts, etc. are really important. You should be eating 5 times a day - if you want some help on that, PM me and let's work on your food choices and how they are spread out through the day.

There is a healthy supplement you can use as a meal replacement that still gives you all the protein and vitamins/minerals you need - you can replace one meal with it. It does not stimulate the central nervous system and it's all food, no drugs/stimulants. You can buy it on line but you also work with a consultant to help you.

Also, you are starting to build muscle which weighs more than fat, so the numbers on the scale aren't going to change right away. That doesn't mean you're not making progress.

Don't stop though - things will turn around if you make some adjustments.

Did you talk with your doctor before starting your exercise/diet regime? I'm half-joking because that's what all the diet commercials always say.

Track all of your food and all of your exercise every day for the next several weeks. If you haven't lost weight at that point, look at the charts to see if there's any obvious issues that may be hindering you. Do you drink alcohol? Due to the way your body metabolizes it, even 1-2 drinks per week can keep you from losing. If you drink, give up alcohol entirely for a few months and see what happens. Do you get 7-8 hours sleep per night on a consistent basis? This is also a big deal in helping you lose weight, as crazy as it may sound. If you haven't lost any weight in a few weeks, go to your doctor (with your food and exercise charts) and ask for her assistance and about a blood panel and thyroid test.

Stop weighing yourself. It isn't about losing weight so much as it is toning. If you measure yourself, you likely are getting into shape. The scale can be deceiving b/c fat and muscle weighs and distributes differently. Also, don't skimp on meals, like one pot-luck meal... that's bad for your body. B/c your body was hungry, it likely held onto the fat. Eat about 5 small, healthy meals and snacks a day for the best results. Drinks LOTS of water.

Also, I highly recommend using weights. You burn more calories, strengthen muscles and tones at the same time. Women's Health magazine has lots of great weight lifting excersizes you can do at home.

http://search.womenshealthmag.com/vignette/wh/search.jsp?...

Check your measurements - are they changing? It is possible you are building muscle and still losing fat.

What kinds of food are you eating. Focus on making sure the calories you are eating have a high nutritional value. Lots and lots of veggies, good proteins. Keep the starches, grains and sugar to a minimum.

Keep it up, you will see benefits.

If you go on www.sparkpeople.com they have a ton of information about not only fitness but why you might be losing weight. It's a free website. They also have a website where they have recipes that you can make, www.sparkrecipes.com. That is also a free website.

I'm glad you asked this question because I am in the same boat. I'm in my third week. I've been doing Jillian Michaels tapes about four times a week and running twice a week. I'm trying to eat only healthy food and to stop snacking at night. I detoxed for my first three days on just fruit and veggies (lost 5 pounds) and then slowly put it back on so that I'm back where I started. It is very hard but I'm going to keep going. I'm going to take some measurements because maybe I am toning. The Jillian DVDs literally kick your butt!

You have completely unrealistic expectations. One month is too soon for most people. Generally it takes a few months to see anything, and if you're older it will take longer. Once you get over that 40 year hump (I have no idea how old you are) it could take a good six months to see a whole lot of difference.
There are some people who lose weight easily. And you need to drop the obsession with weight and move it to body composition, fitness, and size. Worry first about your health and second about your appearance. Use resting heart rate to get an idea of your fitness level. As you do more cardio, this will drop. It's a concrete measurement that can help you keep going even if the weight is slower to come off. Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you aren't paying attention to how your clothes fit you can lose a size without losing much weight if you are changing fat to muscle. I have used and I like Body for Life, but if you can work with a dietician or a personal trainer you can get better and faster results that way.

what are you eating? You need to eat the right foods not just count calories.
No dairy, no sugar, no sugar replacements, no flour products.
Eat a diet filled with fresh veggies, whole grains, beans and simple fruits and the weight will come off.

You cannot eat one meal a day, your body will starve and hold on to everything. 3-5 small meals daily at the same time each day.