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Why can't I lose weight???
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 2009-06-25 9:20 AM |
Member 11 PHOENIX |  Subject: Why can't I lose weight???Here is the scoop on me. I am 6'3" and weigh 235lbs on an empty stomach. I have been training for a handful of races including a half ironman and a marathon. I began training in January with an equal balance of running, biking, swimming, and weightlifting. I go to the gym at least 5-6 times per week. What has changed is that I can run faster, swim faster, I can lift more weight with more reps, my bike speed has incresed as well as the distance, and I can do 5x60 sit ups. The only thing that hasn't changed is my weight. It stays the same week in and week out. It varies between five pounds every week. My clothes don't necessarily fit better, and my wife says I look exactly the same. I feel like I can see a little difference in certain muscles, but I need to drop about 20 lbs in a month for my up coming half ironman. I also keep a journal of the amount of calories I eat in a day. I notice that on days when I eat less, I have less energy and feel like I had a bad work out. On days when I eat more, I have better work outs, but then my weight loss efforts feel bad. All of my weight is becoming a hinder on my legs when I run long distances. Anyone have any suggestions on a diet that will help me lose weight, but give me enough energy to make it through my long workouts? |
| 2009-06-25 10:16 AM in reply to: #2242103 |
Master 1790    Tyler, TX | Subject: RE: Why can't I lose weight??? Welcome to BT! It seems to me that a lot of people overestimate the number of calories they burn during exercise. Without knowing your workouts, this would be my guess. Start logging your workouts (and diet) here and you'll get some better feedback. Brian Edited by famelec 2009-06-25 10:17 AM |
| 2009-06-25 10:18 AM in reply to: #2242103 |
Veteran 331 Roxborough Park | Subject: RE: Why can't I lose weight??? I can't give you a hearty diet recommendation but what I can give you are some guidelines I follow and some personal experience. Please do note though that I am scheduled for my first sprint in September so I guess take my advice with a grain of salt. Usually when I change my diet at all- workouts or not, I suffer for about 2 or 3 days with lower energy and bad workouts until my body adjusts and figures out how to do well on the fuel I'm giving it. Have you tried sticking to fewer calories for a week or so and then evaluating how you feel? Also, the quality of food makes a huge difference for me. I was eating well but cutting my calories a lot and I felt great. When I had a few days of slip ups that didn't put me over my calorie limit but did replace some of the good stuff with junk, I could barely even get out of bed. So you may want to evaluate exactly what you're eating- good proteins, veggies, fruits, carbs, minimal processed stuff, etc. Good luck! |
| 2009-06-25 10:51 AM in reply to: #2242103 |
Master 1420 Victoria, BC | Subject: RE: Why can't I lose weight??? Are you eating enough? To lose weight - you have to eat more. If your body is not getting enough calories, it will go into starvation mode and hang onto what fat it has for all it's worth and not let go. Ensure you're getting enough calories for your training intensity and frequency, and a proper balance of carbs/protein/fat (and at the right times) ... and the pounds should start dropping off. |
| 2009-06-25 11:29 AM in reply to: #2242465 |
| New user 476 | Subject: RE: Why can't I lose weight??? SpiritFire - 2009-06-25 11:51 AM Are you eating enough? To lose weight - you have to eat more. You were almost right, but ended up being wrong. You MUST have a deficit of calories spent to calories eaten to lose weight, period. No if's and's or but's about it. Where you can go wrong is by not eating enough. Eating too little, aka creating too much of a deficit then yes, your body will go into a "starvation" mode. In other words your metabolism will slow down. It's also not all about calories. It's about carbs, proteins, fats, etc... You need to make sure you're eating good foods and a variety of foods, especially carbs. Whole grains, fruits, veggies, etc... You've gotten stronger and faster which means you've gained muscle. If you've gained muscle and haven't gained weight, then you've lost some fat too. Don't worry about the scales too much. |
| 2009-06-25 11:51 AM in reply to: #2242103 |
| 244 | Subject: RE: Why can't I lose weight??? Well, first congrats on running, biking, and doing everything faster. There is a huge accomplishment right now! Second, you don't mention how much you eat...so I couldn't specualte as to whether you eat too much or too little. Perhaps join sparkpeople (free), figure out how many cals you need, then start from there. If you eat that amount in a week, and haven't lost anything....the next week cut you calories a bit. See if you lose. Weightloss is trial and error, but everyone is so different you must be highly aware of what you consume and how much. If you are serious, a food scale can help a ton. Most ppl underestimate their serving size. Also, tailor your diet to your training goals. Recovery days, eat less. Hard interval or long run day, eat more. Just make sure weekly you are meeting your overall caloric goal of cutting calories (if indeed you are eating too much). Finally, what you eat is important. Weight loss is calories in/calories out....it IS that simple. But overall health and energy is NOT that simple. Eat 2000 cals of bagels, cookies, chips and fried chicken and you will feel like crap and your energy will be crap. Eat 2000 calories of grilled chicken breast, strawberry and spinach salads, yams, tuna, brown rice and cottage cheese and you will feel better and have more energy. Good luck to you! |
| 2009-06-25 1:04 PM in reply to: #2242103 |
| Member 11 PHOENIX | Subject: RE: Why can't I lose weight??? Thank you all for your replys. |
| 2009-06-25 1:25 PM in reply to: #2242103 |
Regular 187 Barrie, Ontario, Canada | Subject: RE: Why can't I lose weight??? According to your typical day that is just under 2000 cals. I am 5'5", 153-157lbs and I eat about that much. (and alot more on the weekends) I would imagine at 6'3" 235lbs, your calorie deficit might be a higher than it should be and is playing havoc on your metabolism. I'm not a big fan of Power Bars as snacks either. It depends on the type but 'energy' bars tend to be high on carbs and the energy provided tends not to last long. Although convenient, I also find bars expensive on a per serving basis. Like others have said, don't worry about what the scale says, it will come. Relish in how you feel and improved performance. |
 2009-06-25 2:06 PM in reply to: #2242103 |
| Subject: ... This user's post has been ignored. |
| 2009-06-25 2:25 PM in reply to: #2243118 |
| Master 1790 Tyler, TX | Subject: RE: Why can't I lose weight??? bachorb - 2009-06-25 2:06 PM - Replace the Power Bars with something else - try nuts, or an apple with some almond or cashew butter. Power Bars have a lot of refined sugar, which tells your body to store rather than burn fat. I eliminated all sugar from my diet unless it comes from fruit. +1 I keep a bowl with apples, bananas, and trailmix in my office so anytime I'm feeling hungry in between meals I have something healthy and filling within an arm's reach. It also keeps me from being all that hungry when it's time for the next meal so I tend to eat less than I would otherwise. Brian Brian |
| 2009-06-25 2:34 PM in reply to: #2242103 |
| Master 1963 | Subject: RE: Why can't I lose weight??? What kind of hourly volume are you putting in? How much of it is high intensity? How long is your avearage workout? |
| 2009-06-25 3:48 PM in reply to: #2243213 |
| Member 11 PHOENIX | Subject: RE: Why can't I lose weight??? My average work out is pretty long. I usually don't run less than five miles when I hit the treadmill and eight or nine miles outside. My weights routine is very simple 3 sets of 20 bench (150 lbs), lat pull down (100 lbs), rows(100 lbs), and 5 sets of 60 sit ups. I alternate routines with a bicept, tricept, butterfly, and revese crunch with the same number of reps. Weights are done about 3 times a week. I try not to swim less than a mile when I get into the pool. I usually bike 24+ miles on the bike, but never less than 12. I go to the gym once a day, unless I get in my weights workout on my break. Like I mentioned earlier, my strength and fitness have improved dramatically, but the weight is always the same. It is only a concern for the fact that it is starting to make my knees hurt. Plus I am scheduled to fit into the under 225lbs class in my half ironman which is coming up in less than a month. |
| 2009-06-26 7:20 AM in reply to: #2242103 |
| 602 | Subject: RE: Why can't I lose weight??? Sounds like you are putting in the effort for sure. A couple things could be happening. Your body may be still resisting letting go of the weight as its still adjusting to the rigorous work out schedule. Or you may simply be over eating. I mean your just not creating a deficit. You can only lose weight with a deficit. Some may have too big a deficit and that will effect your performance and can slow weight loss as your body can go into starvation mode. But eventually that too will break. Personally I wouldnt stress too much about it yet. It may take some time. Do you feel better? I mean mentally and physically? Do you wake up refreshed and ready to go? |
| 2009-06-26 7:22 AM in reply to: #2242103 |
| 602 | Subject: RE: Why can't I lose weight??? Are you always using the same scale? I should add this. Last year I started working out pretty hard cardio wise. I was very heavy and needed to drop a good 50lbs at least. Well I was getting frustrated with the results. I kept seeing the same thing on the scale. I went to the Dr office and weighed in at 12lbs less than my home scale. Plus I had my clothes and shoes on......now what a suprise that was! |
| 2009-06-26 12:51 PM in reply to: #2242906 |
| 244 | Subject: RE: Why can't I lose weight??? Arock659 - 2009-06-26 12:04 PM Thank you all for your replys. If this is really how little you eat...I don't know what to say. First, I'll second everyone and say ditch the protein bar. Eat nuts, seeds, nut butters, dried fruits, greek yougurt or something instead of a Powerbar (I would keep bars on hand in case of emergency, though).Second, I'd add about 5 egg whites to your breakfast, seriously. And you lunch is ALL carbs. Bad, bad. Pick a lean protein and build your meals around it. I'd cut the brown rice in half and add a can/pouch of tuna, or some grilled chicken. I might also add in a protein shake right before bed. More cals, for sure....but I'll go with SF and say you are eating too little. Up your protein and cals a bit and see if that doesn't work better for you. |
| 2009-06-26 1:29 PM in reply to: #2245707 |
| Veteran 351 Bucks County | Subject: RE: Why can't I lose weight??? Dude! What are you eating 5 grams of fat a day?????/ Bad. Bad. Bad. Anytime you consume all of the carbs you listed you had better add some fat somehow. Either fish, nuts, oil and lean red meat. Nothing you listed other than the egg and the cheese contains minimal fat. Just crazy. Your ratio of nutrients is like 50/48/2 (just kidding). Remember - 1 gram of fat is NINE *NINE* calories. YOU NEED THAT ENERGY for your metabolism!!!! I would adjust your diet to get some healthy fats into it at a bare minimum. Fact is - most people would be starving without any fat in their diets. Here is an example to consider when thinking about how fat satiates our appetite: Take one (1) bag of potatoe chips. Entire amount of calories: 1000; entire amount of fat: 25 One (1) bag of pretzels. Entire amount of calories: 1000, entire amount of fat:0 Now try to eat the pretzels. There are many people that can eat a low fat/no fat snack like pretzels in their entirety and still be hungry. Now try to each the chips with a higher fat content - most people stop before eating the entire bag. Although the chips contain a higher fat content - you eat less. Both bags contained 1000 calories but because the fat satiates our appetite you ate half the amount of calories that you would have eaten with the pretzels. IN THEORY - everyone is different. Many people have looked at the diets of people across the world. No other country in the WORLD worries about their fat content and food then Americans - yet people like the French are skinny and eat WHATEVER they want. Why? The FAT! Eating more fat allows you to feel full, stop eating and consume less calories. Edited by michael2_19030 2009-06-26 1:37 PM |
| 2009-06-26 1:34 PM in reply to: #2242103 |
| Subject: RE: Why can't I lose weight??? Ditch the cheese and the powerbar. Ditch any processed foods you may be eating. The human body has been eating unprocessed foods for thousands of years... we only started eating processed food in the last 100 years - a blink of the eye. This translates to your body not knowing how to properly break down the crap and instead of digesting it efficiently it just turns it to fat. Make sure your protein shake is powdered whey that you are only adding water too. This should keep the shake around 200 calories. DRINK LOTS OF WATRER. 3 liters a day. Water melts away the pounds. Eat natural foods: meats, fishes (save the red meat and keep the sauces simple and unprocessed). Eat lots of veggies and fruits... In my best uneducated guesstimate = you are eating very little and thus have lowered your metabolism. To use a car analogy = your metabolism is an engine and right now you are just running it on fumes so it's RPM's are staying very low. You need to up your food intake. Ditch the english muffin and just eat the eggs every other day. You can eat 2 or 3 more eggs the days you don't have the muffin. Increase your protein: eat low sodium plain cold cuts, unsalted almonds, natural peanut butter, plain spinach leaves ... Increasing your protein will curb your appetite, increase muscle repair after workouts and speed up your metabolism. Eat Strategically - if you know you're going to workout at four... at 3:00 to 3:30 eat a bowl of oatmeal, or a banana, or a clif bar (I know clif bars are processed but they are mostly organic and less-processed then the PowerBar) or if you love PowerBar's just eat them 45 mins prior to working out. Simple added/processed sugars are the devil. Remember this I did all of these things and it worked for me. Perhaps it may work for you. |
| 2009-06-26 1:36 PM in reply to: #2242103 |
| Subject: RE: Why can't I lose weight??? Oh, and don't forget to count liquid calories. Without even realizing it (drinking natural juices) I was taking in an extra 400-500 calories daily in juice. Limit yourself to one glass a day. The rest of the time you should be drinking water. And if you drink coffee, drink it black - it's not that bad you'll get used to it. Alcohol is empty calories, too. |
| 2009-06-26 1:43 PM in reply to: #2242103 |
| Master 1420 Victoria, BC | Subject: RE: Why can't I lose weight??? At the risk of again being told I'm wrong - I still maintain that you have to eat MORE. I crunched some numbers for you (hey - I'm bored and generally a nice person): At 235 lbs, with a moderate to high training intensity, your daily allowances should look something like this: Calories: 3500 - 4200 Carbs: 705 - 1050 g Protein: 105 - 160 g Fats: +/- 120 g Mix lean proteins with carbs at every meal ... and eat every 2-4 hours so you are getting 5-6 small meals a day. Ensure you're getting a good source of protein shortly after a training session. And get rid of those sports bars/drinks (good to have on hand for emergencies, but that's about it). If you have any specific questions you want seriously answered - PM me ... I'm a Sports Nutritionist - I do this stuff for a living.  |
| 2009-06-26 1:53 PM in reply to: #2242103 |
| 19 | Subject: RE: Why can't I lose weight??? If you are looking for an overall diet change to help with weight loss you might want to look to the Paleo diet. There is a thread on here somewhere with several people who swear by it. From what I gather the first two weeks are pretty tough while your body gets accustomed to it but after that people claim that weight falls off pretty quick and energy levels go up. I just started it a couple days ago so I cant claim any results just yet. Also with your weight routine I saw that you don't have any leg lifts. Engaging those large muscle groups burn more calories than the smaller upper body groups. There is a lot of research that says that if you lift immediately before an aerobic workout that you burn more calories so you could also give that a try. It will probably negatively effect your distances but it might help with the weight loss Good luck! |
| 2009-06-26 2:42 PM in reply to: #2245909 |
| Subject: ... This user's post has been ignored. |
| 2009-06-26 3:05 PM in reply to: #2242103 |
| Member 11 PHOENIX | Subject: RE: Why can't I lose weight??? Thanks again for all the responses. I will look into cutting out cheese from my diet. Although I hardly have any there. With the brown rice, I probably should cut down on it. I have 2 servings of it almost every day. (what can I say, I dig rice). Plus it is easy to stir fry with my veggies. After everyone said to ditch the power bars, I will cut those out too. My protein powder is ISOPURE no carb protein whey. It has a lot of 50 grams per glass and I usually have 1 or 2 a day. I will look into this new diet (Paleo), but for right now I have to stick with something close to what I am on. My half ironman is coming up in about a month and I want to finish in the top ten in clydesdales division, so I am hesitant to try a completely new diet just yet. I need to drop about 15 pounds first though, which is the cause for my whole thread. I have been eating more protein recently because my mother-in-law got my a big selection of steak and chicken from Omaha Steaks. But I try not to eat them two days in a row because they are full of fat (except the chicken). SpiritFire: Thanks for the nutritional advice, I will make sure to let you know if I have any questions. As far as the leg lifts in my workout. I have chicken legs. My calves are very lean and thighs are meaty, which puts a lot of strain on my knees. I used to do Squats and Leg Presses 3x30 (200lbs) and alternate them into the routine but I cut them out. Plus, I run and bike a lot which does plenty on my legs. P.S. I got a new wetsuit yesterday and I couldn't get the back zipped up. So instead of letting you guys know about how much weight is coming off, I will let you know when it zips up. |
| 2009-06-26 3:06 PM in reply to: #2245909 |
| Extreme Veteran 418 Pittsburgh | Subject: RE: Why can't I lose weight??? I totally agree with you re: OP needing to eat more food. He might be eating too much in his (presumably much smaller) wife's opinion, but it's clearly not enough. I don't have your expertise, but I am a scientist with a healthy interest in sports nutrition, so I do a fair amount of reading One thing that helps me in addition to your suggestions is to add a small amount of healthy fat at each meal, too (raw nuts, avocados, or some olive oil). |
| 2009-06-26 3:18 PM in reply to: #2246138 |
| Subject: ... This user's post has been ignored. |
| 2009-06-26 5:53 PM in reply to: #2246141 |
| Master 1420 Victoria, BC | Subject: RE: Why can't I lose weight??? kat_astrophe - 2009-06-26 1:06 PM I totally agree with you re: OP needing to eat more food. He might be eating too much in his (presumably much smaller) wife's opinion, but it's clearly not enough. I don't have your expertise, but I am a scientist with a healthy interest in sports nutrition, so I do a fair amount of reading One thing that helps me in addition to your suggestions is to add a small amount of healthy fat at each meal, too (raw nuts, avocados, or some olive oil). Yes - I often recommend my clients use flax seed oil on top of salads instead of dressing - and for stir-fry's and what-not use a bit of flavour-infused (like garlic or rosemary or chili pepper) olive oil for the cooking, then drizzle a bit more on top instead of a pasta or stir-fry "sauce" ... add a few nuts, and you've got a great way to get some healthy fats in with your carbs/protein! |
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