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groder
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Hi all
I have just got back into running and am up to 45 minutes at the moment at a steady pace.
I am about 2 stone overweight, which I would like to shift. My normal day consists of the following:
Breakfast: 1 Alpen cereal bar and a banana
Mid morning: Apple
Lunch: Tuna with rice, low fat yogurt, and an orange.
Tea: Eat the same as my family, just smaller portions, and obviously if I cook them chips I have a jacket spud.
1 glass of wine
However, I am having trouble shifting weight, I have lost a bit, but not as much as I would like.
If anyone can offer me some advice I would be most grateful!!!
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Comments
How long have you been trying to lose weight? Odds are you're still taking in more than you need, and you're not using sensible portion sizes, regardless of whether they're smaller.
Depends how badly you want to lose weight and how much you enjoy the wine I guess.
Might be an idea to make a FULL & FRANK food diary for a couple of weeks, sometimes its quite shocking just how much we eat that we don't realise / remember.
"However, I am having trouble shifting weight, I have lost a bit, but not as much as I would like."
Also, make sure your expectations are in line with whats achieveable.
hello Grodor
When you say you're having trouble shifting weight, do you mean the scales aren't shifting or your shape isn't changing?
If it's the former, ignore them. I have the same issue - been training for the GNR and have managed to lose...300g, less than a pound! I tend to eat around 1400-1600 calories a day. I have tho lost lots of fat, my clothes feel so much better and I'm almost into the next dress size.
Muscle is much heavier than fat, so if you're building muscle and losing fat, the scales could stay the same while your body composition changes dramatically. Ignore your weight and measure your progress is other ways - such how big your stomach and hips are. If that isn't enough, buy some body composition scales, which will measure your fat percentage. These scales can be quite inaccurate so you have to get the more expensive and reliable ones.
Also, use your running progress to measure how much you've achieved, do you keep a log? I love looking back over runs from the beginning of my training programme and seeing how much further I've gone or faster. As you increase you distance, you'll find you change shape quicker.
if it's that you're losing neither weight or shape, I don't know, perhaps a trip to the doctors' to get your thyroid checked?
Also, these things can take time and you can plateau. I tend to lose a chunk, stop losing, moan, run a lot, moan some more, starve myself, eat chocolate, decide it's all rubbish and then notice my jeans are falling down all the time.
Good luck
You are probably still eating more than you think. I agree with Danowat - you should do a food diary and write everything you eat and drink. Including measures of things.
For example the rice with your tuna how much do you have? I am losing weight on a 1600 kcal/day diet and running 3 x week and I only have 100g of brown rice once its cooked - this is a tiny portion when you look at it on a plate. Have far more veg cos it fills you up without too many calories.
Eat a better breakfast - those bars are laden with sugar and not much else of nutritional value so try porridge or cereal or toast.
Wine has quite a few calories so you need to watch. A large glass probably has around 250 kcal so if you have this everyday then you add quite a lot.
Hope this helps
If you are into the web there are plenty of great weightloss sites where you can enter your weight, height, general actiivity level and they will inform you how many calories you actually require. The 1500 for women, 2000 for men rule does not really apply for those of us with desk jobs.
The site also enable you to keep daily food log and log your daily exercise and it then calculates your deficit or whether you have gone over. As someone who has gone down 18 dress sizes I found that I had no real notion about what I was eating until I actually started to weigh things out and write things down.
But also as AllNewTB states body shape is also majorly important. Im almost 2 stone heavier now than I was at my lightest but Im only one size bigger and much fitter due to muscle.
Measure yourself, set reasonable targets, get some support from an online or face-to-face community and ditch that alpen bar, its doing you no good at all!
Looking at your diet, it looks very carb heavy. Try to replace some carbs with protein, Dump the rice from the salad at lunch and add a chicken breast.
People require different amount of carbs and protein, and it may suit you to try a lower carb diet (not eliminating them) just reducing them to see if it helps.
My partner and I both needed to loose some weight, so not did we only try andhave smaller portions we actually bought smaller plates. I ended up in the charity shops buying old plates. Plate sizes have got a lot larger over the past couple of decades.
Oh - and I have put on a ton of weight, I knew I would once I started cycling again - I have thighs like treetrunks and now I'm swimming far more and far better than I used to I'm starting to look a bit like a swimmer (I always think they look like sperm - ho-hum), my arms are looking very well attached to the rest of me.
rice - white - long grain - cooked
rice - white - long grain - raw
Don't know about how much water it takes on - it's own weight seems reasonable.
This site is better but harder to search.
http://nutritiondata.self.com/
rice - white - long grain - cooked
rice - white - long grain - raw
On the wine side. Alcohol is very high in calories, a glass of wine is 100 kcal there or there abouts. Don't dump the wine but it's not good to be dribking a glass every night. I only drink at weekends. Fri or Sat. and sometimes mid week. Though not if I'm alone which is usually the case.
I don't actually lose much weight from long & steady running no matter how long I run for. If anything, I gain it because I start eating more carbs.
In January of this year I was 2.5 stone above my desired weight. Since then I changed my carb to protein ratio (more lean protein - less carbs) and I'm doing a lot more varied and interval-based training... anything from rowing, circuits classes, boxing, kettlebells, and also added weight training.
1.5 stone down, 1 to go.
I like tracking my input and output online (there are various websites that you can do that on such as the Livestrong "Daily Plate" software etc) because it helps you to make sure that you are actually achieving a calorie deficit most days.
I also weigh my portions in particular hi-cal carbs as it's easy to go way over.
Hi all
Thanks for all the advice!
I have just got off of the scales and I have lost almost 1/2 stone in about 2 weeks and I managed a 5k run at the gym today, took me 45 minutes but what is important to me is that I didnt stop.
I must be doing something right!!!
Hello groder
Breakfast cereal bars are often full of sugar. Any fresh fruits are fine for breakfast (but do keep away from dried fruit, especially in cereals. Eat non sugary cereals only, along with skimmed milk. Low fat yogurts are fine too. You can try adding a handfull of fresh blueberries etc.
Lunch well tuna is great as long as it is not covered in mayonise etc. Brown rice is better or a jacket potatoe.
For tea try to eat lean meats (no fat on), poultry (no skin on), fish with scales on (not in batter or breadcrumbs), eggs, low fat dairy products, skimmed milk, sugar free beverages, plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, beans & pulses, and non sugary cereals.
Try to include as many whole foods as you can into your diet. Such as brown rice, brown pasta, brown bread, beans & pulses. These are highi in fiber and will keep you feeling fuller for longer.
Have three regular meals a day, at regular times. Always starting with breakfast. Sit down to eat your meals, take time over them. Paying particular attention to what you are eating. Try to limit the wine until you have reached your realistic goal.
Learn how to choose, prepare and enjoy a balanced diet. Low fat cooking skills, understanding food labels and having the ability to judge portion sizes all help with this. Also you could also do a food journal. It is very easy to overeat. As this is a very common mistake among runners as they can overcompensate for calories burned by exercise with extra calories from more food and beverages. But by doing a daily food journal this will remind you what you have actually eaten.
Many slim people who stay that way by 'watching their weight' show flexible restraint. Rather than following rigid all-or-nothing rules. They make healthy choices most of the time, but no foods are forbidden.
This means enjoying small amounts of their favourite foods without feeling guilty. And if they do over-indulge or have a big night out. Then they just cut back a bit or do more exercise the next day to balance things out.
Getting an regular amount of exercise is one of the strongest indicators of long term success. And there is no better way to burn calories than running.
I was successful in losing 52lbs. I have been able to keep the weight off now for over 5 years.
But remember you have a life to live and enjoy. So hang on to the satisfaction of being a comfortable healthy weight which you can easily sustain.
Hi Groder. I'm a registered nutritionist, specialising in weight loss. I agree with many of the comments posted so far. Keep a diet diary every day. Count the food groups that you are eating. For weight loss this is roughly:5-7 servings of carbs a day (read labels regarding servings), 2 servings of dairy, 3 of protein and at least 5 servings of fruit and veg. Eat every 3 hours but try to cut out carbs after lunch. Basically read labels and watch portions. Good luck. www.thenutritionista.co.uk