Why am I not losing any weight?
01-11-07, 04:43 PM
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Originally Posted by jpconrad
Bed Bath and Beyond and Linens & Things have pretty decent digital scales for cheap, it's easier to tare it with a bowl, too.
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01-11-07, 05:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Happytime
Ronjon,
Are you planning on dieting to get your weight down this one time, or are you planning a lifelong dietary change to healthier eating?
If you are doing the latter, I recommend not making immediate, drastic steps and going more for a gradual reduction of unhealthy food. If your body is conditioned to a high fat/high calorie diet, you will start feeling deprived and resentful when faced with sudden food restrictions. You'll binge andthen start feeling guilty about it...
The good news is, your body has learned to accept junk foods... and your body can unlearn them as well. Start by removing a couple of things from your diet. Cheese and butter, for instance. When ordering or making food, just skip it. After a while, food will start to taste "normal" without these added fats. Then start skipping the bread that is served before meals. It'll suck at first when you see other people chowing down, but soon you won't even notice it.
Then start removing the dessert... don't worry, pecan pie will go extinct you don't partake
then the cookies... then replace the ranch dressing on your salads with a vinegarette... the list goes on. When you starts changing your diet gradually, in baby steps, you are less likely to feel the effects of fat/sugar withdrawal.
It will be amazing that after a couple of months, your body will slowly cease having these cravings it has been accustomed to. Of course, it helps tremendously to have the people around you support you, but even if they don't need to lose weight, everyone can stand to eat a little healthier.
Good luck!
Are you planning on dieting to get your weight down this one time, or are you planning a lifelong dietary change to healthier eating?
If you are doing the latter, I recommend not making immediate, drastic steps and going more for a gradual reduction of unhealthy food. If your body is conditioned to a high fat/high calorie diet, you will start feeling deprived and resentful when faced with sudden food restrictions. You'll binge andthen start feeling guilty about it...
The good news is, your body has learned to accept junk foods... and your body can unlearn them as well. Start by removing a couple of things from your diet. Cheese and butter, for instance. When ordering or making food, just skip it. After a while, food will start to taste "normal" without these added fats. Then start skipping the bread that is served before meals. It'll suck at first when you see other people chowing down, but soon you won't even notice it.
Then start removing the dessert... don't worry, pecan pie will go extinct you don't partake
then the cookies... then replace the ranch dressing on your salads with a vinegarette... the list goes on. When you starts changing your diet gradually, in baby steps, you are less likely to feel the effects of fat/sugar withdrawal.
It will be amazing that after a couple of months, your body will slowly cease having these cravings it has been accustomed to. Of course, it helps tremendously to have the people around you support you, but even if they don't need to lose weight, everyone can stand to eat a little healthier.
Good luck!
Thanks for the advice and input!
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01-11-07, 08:12 PM
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Originally Posted by Vancemac
You nailed that one. It is amazing to me how food-centric we have become. . . . . . . .everything is either gigantic portions, or loaded with motor oil, and often both.
Exhibit A.
01-11-07, 08:16 PM
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Originally Posted by thomson
Wow, good for you Conrad. That is quite impressive!!!
01-11-07, 08:34 PM
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Originally Posted by merider1
Jim, you should see him in person. You'd never know he ever had to lose at all, that's how good he looks (don't worry, I'm not getting fresh with a married man...just stating the obvious). John, I'm going to try your eating plan - I need something to kick start my weight loss!
01-11-07, 08:53 PM
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Originally Posted by spindrifter
I don't get it. I ride all weekend like 80 miles, eat semi-healthy, but i just don't feel any lighter? What gives?
I noticed a slight drop before Xmas, but I feel it's all back... ugh.
I noticed a slight drop before Xmas, but I feel it's all back... ugh.
01-11-07, 08:55 PM
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Originally Posted by merider1
John, I'm going to try your eating plan - I need something to kick start my weight loss!
I've slipped a bit and am not as anal about my diet as I used to be, partly because I'm still slowly losing weight due to the cycling, but I still stick to it most of the time.
However, after the Stagecoach when I'm not as worried about cutting my calories down I'm going to shoot work on a few more pounds and try to figure out what level I should be eating at due to the amount of exercise I'm getting.
01-11-07, 09:01 PM
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Originally Posted by thomson
I am impressed with anyone that loses weight, but over 100 pounds is a fantastic accomplishment!!
I did, however have some medical reasons that forced me into the lifestyle change. Now, thankfully, those issues have all but vanished.
01-11-07, 09:08 PM
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Originally Posted by jpconrad
It feels good to have done it. For quite a while there I didn't think it would be possible for me to lose it since I can't stand diet drinks, skim milk, low fat whatever... Now, though, this food tastes right to me, it's the high carb/high fat that tastes wrong. I still can't stand diet drinks, but I just don't drink any soda (or juice, or really anything sweet except for a sports drink during a long ride). Iced Tea or coffee with no sweetener is perfect for me.
I did, however have some medical reasons that forced me into the lifestyle change. Now, thankfully, those issues have all but vanished.
I did, however have some medical reasons that forced me into the lifestyle change. Now, thankfully, those issues have all but vanished.
01-12-07, 05:45 PM
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Today, for the first time of my life, I've actually logged everything I've eaten and diligently recorded the associated calories.
I also made a Mo-style spreadsheet, which automagically churns out the good (bad) news.
Frankly, it's pretty shocking. The calories going in definitely pile up fast; much faster than I would have thought. I've eaten quite light today, and I'm up to 1350 calories. Consuming 2500 calories per day will work for me (creating a daily calorie deficit of nearly 500 calories) as long as I burn 1000 calories through exercise. But I'm not working out today, beyond a 36 minute round trip walk to work and back, burning a whopping 250 calories. Of course, I'll eat much more on riding days.
Even if one doesn't stick with the whole calorie counting thing, and does it just as an experiment, it's really instructive and interesting. I'm really surprised I'm not morbidly obese. Seriously.
I also made a Mo-style spreadsheet, which automagically churns out the good (bad) news.
Frankly, it's pretty shocking. The calories going in definitely pile up fast; much faster than I would have thought. I've eaten quite light today, and I'm up to 1350 calories. Consuming 2500 calories per day will work for me (creating a daily calorie deficit of nearly 500 calories) as long as I burn 1000 calories through exercise. But I'm not working out today, beyond a 36 minute round trip walk to work and back, burning a whopping 250 calories. Of course, I'll eat much more on riding days.
Even if one doesn't stick with the whole calorie counting thing, and does it just as an experiment, it's really instructive and interesting. I'm really surprised I'm not morbidly obese. Seriously.
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01-12-07, 06:03 PM
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Originally Posted by mateo44
Today, for the first time of my life, I've actually logged everything I've eaten and diligently recorded the associated calories.
I also made a Mo-style spreadsheet, which automagically churns out the good (bad) news.
Frankly, it's pretty shocking. The calories going in definitely pile up fast; much faster than I would have thought. I've eaten quite light today, and I'm up to 1350 calories. Consuming 2500 calories per day will work for me (creating a daily calorie deficit of nearly 500 calories) as long as I burn 1000 calories through exercise. But I'm not working out today, beyond a 36 minute round trip walk to work and back, burning a whopping 250 calories. Of course, I'll eat much more on riding days.
Even if one doesn't stick with the whole calorie counting thing, and does it just as an experiment, it's really instructive and interesting. I'm really surprised I'm not morbidly obese. Seriously.
I also made a Mo-style spreadsheet, which automagically churns out the good (bad) news.
Frankly, it's pretty shocking. The calories going in definitely pile up fast; much faster than I would have thought. I've eaten quite light today, and I'm up to 1350 calories. Consuming 2500 calories per day will work for me (creating a daily calorie deficit of nearly 500 calories) as long as I burn 1000 calories through exercise. But I'm not working out today, beyond a 36 minute round trip walk to work and back, burning a whopping 250 calories. Of course, I'll eat much more on riding days.
Even if one doesn't stick with the whole calorie counting thing, and does it just as an experiment, it's really instructive and interesting. I'm really surprised I'm not morbidly obese. Seriously.
+1 I did the same thing yesterday with a modified spreadsheet (i made it database upload friendly since I'm a database dork like that.)
The good news: I came in with a guesstimated 100 calorie deficit.
The bad news, it was a low calorie day for me. I had a salad for lunch (400 cals w/ dressing), a small amount of vegetarian chili for dinner (500 cals), two PB&J's (~800) for breakfast, butter toffee peanuts (270) and several pieces of fruit throughout the day. Normally the lunch is 2x the calorie intake and dinner varies, but yesterday was on the low side. I didn't have a scale, so I guesstimated on the amounts and could be guessing low.
No wonder losing weight isn't easy. I'm certain I'll be going over today.
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01-12-07, 06:10 PM
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Yep, it's tough. But simplifying the math is really nice, though. It's just debits and credits, which we know intuitively, but seeing two columns and a few sums right before your eyes is somehow empowering.
Right now I'm sitting on a nice 900 calorie deficit, but there's still dinner to come!
The good news is I'm not as hungry as I thought I'd be. And I've eaten more fruit than usual. It's also obvious that I need to work out more days per week, even if some of those days are relatively light workouts. More than 1 or 2 no workout days per week definitely won't get the job done.
Right now I'm sitting on a nice 900 calorie deficit, but there's still dinner to come!
The good news is I'm not as hungry as I thought I'd be. And I've eaten more fruit than usual. It's also obvious that I need to work out more days per week, even if some of those days are relatively light workouts. More than 1 or 2 no workout days per week definitely won't get the job done.
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01-12-07, 06:54 PM
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Your body tries to adapt to alot of things. If you dehydrate it, it will store water, if you starve it, it will store fat. Keep at it. You'll probably notice a change in fitness and clothes before you notice a big drop in weight.
01-12-07, 07:54 PM
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Ah veggies, LOTS of volume, high nutrient values, minimal calories. I wonder if Spinach, Mushroom, and brocolli pizza would be ok
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01-13-07, 12:03 PM
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[B]I RODE 7,000 MILES last year...at least 5 days a week...lifted once a week and ate normally.I even cut out butter and bleue cheese dressing. Stopped ice cream in September. I lost a grand total of (drum roll please....3 lbs !!!. Proof positive that exercise alone wont make you lose weight...on the positive side though I can now get into my size 36 Dockers. The 34's are in the closet mocking me...
01-13-07, 06:30 PM
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Originally Posted by Chuck5.2_in_CA
[B]I RODE 7,000 MILES last year...at least 5 days a week...lifted once a week and ate normally.I even cut out butter and bleue cheese dressing. Stopped ice cream in September. I lost a grand total of (drum roll please....3 lbs !!!. Proof positive that exercise alone wont make you lose weight...on the positive side though I can now get into my size 36 Dockers. The 34's are in the closet mocking me...
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01-13-07, 06:42 PM
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I guess it is the semi....this year I cut down my soda intake by a can or two a day and lost 10-15lbs without changing anything else about my routine and now I'm 150-155 at 5ft8. It wasn't as a weight loss thing, just cutting down as I used to drink 3-4 cans of coke a day at the office(buck a can adds up). Not too long ago I saw a health reporter on the news saying a single can a day reduction will result in 10-145 lbs off within a year.
01-13-07, 08:05 PM
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If a can of soda is 150 calories, then a year's worth is 150*365 = 54,750 calories. At 3,500 calories per pound, that 54k calories translates into about 15.6 pounds. Of course, if you're still taking in more calories than you're burning, you won't lose 15 pounds a year by avoiding soda. But if you were exactly at the break-even point (where you're consuming exactly as many calories as you're burning), and skipping the soda meant a 150 calorie deficit per day, then you'd be on track to lose (150*365)/3,500 = 15.6 pounds.
It's pretty misleading to say it WILL result in a 10-14 pound reduction.
It's pretty misleading to say it WILL result in a 10-14 pound reduction.
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01-13-07, 08:08 PM
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ooohh, I get all tingly when there's math tossed around!
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01-13-07, 09:43 PM
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While I do believe it is true weight loss is a simple calories in vs. calories out, it's not that simple. Genetics DO play into body mass and fat storage. No, I am not a geneticist, but I also know that as with all body-related issues, (to use the developmental psychology paradigm) it is not all nature, it is not all nurture. Some people do have a significanlty harder time with maintaining an ideal weight than others. Case in point: a colleague of mine cannot gain weight. He'd like to gain 20 - 30 pounds (he's 5'11" and 150 pounds), but no matter what he can't gain the weight. He told me once he ate everything in sight for 2 months, but stopped because: 1) he didn't gain even a pound 2) it was expensive buying all the extra food, and 3) he had to use the bathroom "all the time" he told me. He's tried lifting heavily but that didn't work. Bottom line: for some it's just as hard to lose as it is for my colleague to gain.
Personally, I was able to lose 35 pounds. But to do that and keep it off I exercise hard every day (rarely do I take a day off) and have to be very careful about what I eat. A typical month of exercise for me includes: 15 hours of riding, 10-12 weight workouts, and 10-15 hours of Karate (Isshinryu). With that, I'm 5'9" and 195 pounds.
Personally, I was able to lose 35 pounds. But to do that and keep it off I exercise hard every day (rarely do I take a day off) and have to be very careful about what I eat. A typical month of exercise for me includes: 15 hours of riding, 10-12 weight workouts, and 10-15 hours of Karate (Isshinryu). With that, I'm 5'9" and 195 pounds.
Last edited by hopperja; 01-13-07 at 09:48 PM.
01-14-07, 07:34 AM
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Originally Posted by mateo44
It's pretty misleading to say it WILL result in a 10-14 pound reduction.
I don't think just the number of calories is sole calcution value to consider, these things are just filled with empty, sugar calories that just sit there.Plus as I said I wasn;t even trying to lose at the time...I was 170 and now hover around 150-155.
All kind of moot point because I'm hoping that anyone seriously trying to lose weight has already dropped soda from their diet.
Last edited by TRaffic Jammer; 01-14-07 at 07:39 AM.
01-14-07, 12:11 PM
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Originally Posted by TRaffic Jammer
Not really... ....if one normally takes it in, then not taking it in will result in weight loss, no? Something like 16tbls of sugar in a coke. I still love my ice cold cokes though. Hey, just passing along what happened, but I don't see how cutting something like that wouldn't result in weight loss. I don't think just the number of calories is sole calcution value to consider, these things are just filled with empty, sugar calories that just sit there.
Plus as I said I wasn;t even trying to lose at the time...I was 170 and now hover around 150-155.
All kind of moot point because I'm hoping that anyone seriously trying to lose weight has already dropped soda from their diet.
I don't think just the number of calories is sole calcution value to consider, these things are just filled with empty, sugar calories that just sit there.Plus as I said I wasn;t even trying to lose at the time...I was 170 and now hover around 150-155.
All kind of moot point because I'm hoping that anyone seriously trying to lose weight has already dropped soda from their diet.
Say a person consumes 800 more calories more per day than is burned. Also assume that 150 of those 800 calories comes from a soda. If that person stops drinking the soda, he/she is still consuming more calories than are being burned. So, just dropping the soda won't result in weight loss (although it may slow the rate of weight gain). What I thought was misleading is saying just the skipping of the soda by itself would result in weight loss. I was just trying to point out that it takes much more than just dropping a soda (in most peoples' cases). You need a calorie deficit to lose weight. Dropping a soda (or anything else) may or may not give you a deficit. It just depends.
I love soda too, but drink diet now. I'm trying to cut that out too, since it can't possibly be good for you. I'm trying to drink more water, green tea, etc.
Congrats on getting down to 155! Nice work. I'm shooting for 200 in the next 3 months (I'm 6-1, 215 now).
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01-14-07, 12:47 PM
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Just be careful when trying to loose weight.
I know some of you may not be there at your target weight yet, but when I first started cycling with a 3 hrs 23 miles ride on Sat and a 1 hr 16 miles ride on Sunday + a diet change, my weight dropped really fast. 10 lbs in two months + 2" waist drop. I'm not really trying to brag, but just that it can drop scarily fast. I had to cancel my diet change (diet coke back to coke, put the chips back in) in order to stablize my weight.
Just remember to watch the rate of your weight drop when you're trying to loose weight.
Good luck!
I know some of you may not be there at your target weight yet, but when I first started cycling with a 3 hrs 23 miles ride on Sat and a 1 hr 16 miles ride on Sunday + a diet change, my weight dropped really fast. 10 lbs in two months + 2" waist drop. I'm not really trying to brag, but just that it can drop scarily fast. I had to cancel my diet change (diet coke back to coke, put the chips back in) in order to stablize my weight.
Just remember to watch the rate of your weight drop when you're trying to loose weight.
Good luck!
01-14-07, 01:03 PM
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Thanks Dave. Yesterday it turned out I still had a BIG calorie deficit at 7:00pm. So I ate more. I'm shooting for about a pound off per week.
Although 10 pounds in 2 months doesn't seem that scary fast (1.25lbs/week).
Good heads up about the rapid weight loss (although it sounds tempting!). Slow is the best way to go, I've heard.
Although 10 pounds in 2 months doesn't seem that scary fast (1.25lbs/week).
Good heads up about the rapid weight loss (although it sounds tempting!). Slow is the best way to go, I've heard.
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