Weight loss

Hi

I wonder if anyone can give me some advice please.

I run 10k usually twice a week and do 2 spin classes twice a week as well.

I have been following the  the Slimming World plan since the end of April last year, and have lost 1 stone 5 pund since then.

My problem is that I am really truggling to lose anymore weight and have been bouncing aroud the same weight mark since after christmas.  I need to lose one more stone.

Any suggestions on how I can shift more weight??!

I eat very healthily, dont see how I can eat less!

I am in the gym 4 evenings out of 7, dont have time for any more.

"I eat very healthily, dont see how I can eat less!"

You can eat 20kg of salad and still put on weight.

So lets drop the 'healthy' bit and lets talk volume here ....... (although every fatty always says their diet is healthy ...... suddenly those fries become 'potatoes' LOL)

groder wrote (see)

I am in the gym 4 evenings out of 7, dont have time for any more.

work harder while you are there.

If you are following slimming world - is it still unlimited pasta/potatoes/rice?

This might be the problem.

Personally I am more inclined to recommend calorie counting using something like Myfitnesspal    You can put your exericise in and make sure your macronutrient ratios are sensible. You might need more protein or more fat etc etc than something like slimming world will give you.  Of course the closer you get to a healthy weight - the harder it gets and the more you have to faff around with protein/carb/fat combo's to find the one that suits you the best. Keeps you full while still supporting your training AND allowing a small fat loss.

( I did slimming world after my second baby - managed to struggle to get 10 lbs off - switched to weight watchers and lost the last 2 stone much more easily - different things suit different people)

When you say you need to lose another stone, says who? Is that to reach a healthy BMI or something like that?

Do you keep a food diary on slimming world? Feel free to message me with it if you like and I'll compare it to my intake while I've been losing weight. I'm no expert but after years of trying I've cracked my weight problem big time the last 6 months.

You could try logging your food on the free app - myfitnesspal. That should tell you if you are eating too many calories.  I suspect you are.

With the running, or any other form of exercise, you will plateau unless you mix it up and change it around regularly.  Weight loss stops.  I found this and in fact gradually started putting on weight over a fairly long period of time, despite eating healthily and running 4 times a week. I joined Weight Watchers at Xmas and I follow the plan. I've lost nearly a stone with a few more pounds to lose until I will feel at a good running weight. It does work but it's boring counting points / tracking.  For me, that bit really helped though because I was not being conscious of my (healthy) snacking in the evenings and at weekends, which was obviously causing me to gradually gain weight.  Tracking all my food on WW has really helped me get some self-discipline back.

Agree with Rob though- what is your weight now? Are you trying to lose too much?? Personally my aim is to be around the middle of my healthy BMI, and I was a bit over...

HTH

What are you doing in the gym ? Building up muscle or using the running machine ? Personally I'd get out of the gym and take to the roads. Worked for me as I've taken off two stone.

Groder if you are following slimming world then there will be a lot of 'free foods'  Although they are free they are not necessarily healthy.  Are you sure you're not being fooled into thinking they dont count as they are on the free list ?  

Some of my family have done really well on SW but they had a lot to lose.  I joined (about 12lb over weight ) and put on weight every week for 3 weeks.  If you dont have much to lose you may need to cut down your portions considerably or consider monitoring your intake in a different way.

Would help to know what weight your and your height.  Maybe you're actually at your ideal weight now and you just don't know it.

I've been told by many people that they eat healthily then i've gradually understood their diet and it's anything but healthy.

What's a very typical, very normal day for you, food wise?  Be honest with yourself.  Don't just include meals, include drinks and snakcs as well.  If you steal a few crisps from a mate at work, don't dismiss that because you didn't have a bag.  It all adds.

Do you do any weight training when in the gym? If not you should add that rather than just do cardio work. Also try HIIT

Ploddersoftheworldunite wrote (see)

What are you doing in the gym ? Building up muscle or using the running machine ? Personally I'd get out of the gym and take to the roads. Worked for me as I've taken off two stone.

She says she runs 10K twice a week and does 2 spin classes... so I guess that is her 4 visits.  Whilst I personally agree that the roads are better than the gym, you have to think that her exercise regime cant be really criticised. 

The problem is, as others have said, more likely to  be on the intake side.  It's so easy to have an extra Riveta or slice of wholemeal toast...    It it pretty frightening how many calories there are in any bread... including wholemeal.  Often 100 calories a slice - before you put any spread on it.  I admit to often snacking on 3 slices of toast....  and roughly speaking, for every slice of toast I have, it's another mile run needed.  Or for one extra Rivita... it's one extra km that needs to be run.

I heard somewhere that losing weight was about 70% food and 30% exercise. You can lose weight without exercising but you might not lose weight if you think exercise gives you the right to eat normally/what ever you want. Doing exercise 4 times a week for about an hour isn't actually that much. Yes, agreed, more than some/most people do. What about the rest of the time? Is your work sedentary like office work where you sit at a desk all day and hardly move and what do you do in the evenings?

Good luck with dropping that last bit of weight, I'm sure you'll do it when you find out why you're stuck.

I also don't find running or exercise nearly as effective for weight loss as I once thought. Being extremely careful with your eating must be the main part of it, which must be where I fail. Having said that I'm all for regular exercise for general health; and it's also true that if you build up some muscle by using dumb bells, doing press ups and other work in the gym the muscle you've gained will help to burn off calories.
Just returned from a 4.4 miles run, but then ate a few crisps that happened to be on a plate because of a visitor. So the calories burnt on my run have probably been cancelled out already!  

Two things from my perspective.

1. Weight loss is broadly a simple calculation. Calories in minus calories burned needs to be a negative number, ideally 1000-3000 per week for someone wishing to lose 'a bit'

2. Refined carbs (pasta, rice, bread, potatoes, noodles, sugar etc) are bad for you so limit them.

Read 'The Paleo Diet for Athletes' by Cordain - it's amazing. Having lost 5 stone through running over 8-10 years, I lost another stone on this in 3 months after about 3 years of plateauing. Never felt hungry or tire, and it completely blows the theory of carb oading out of the window.