smoke

i've been at this for 5 weeks now. working out on the trainer daily, i've cut my food intake quite a bit, drastically reduced dinner, and nothing. lose a pound a week? i haven't dropped an ounce in over a month. i just can't figure this out. every bit of weight loss info out there is b.s. i'm through trying. why be hungry? i'll eat like i used to and stay the same weight

sorry, i'm in a grumpy mood. but i'm really getting frustrated with this as well.

-smoke

Blackberry

You could be losing fat and gaining muscle, which weighs more...Just sayin'

timmhaan

did you change the foods you're eating? more veggies, fruits, etc.?

bac

Something is off here. Simply put, if you burn more than you intake, you will lose weight. So, you're either NOT burning more than your intake, or you've gained muscle and lost fat. How do your clothes fit now compared to 5 weeks ago. That's a good indicator if you don't have access to good body fat measurement.

smoke

i am eating more veggies. and, from what i've read, it's not as simple as calories in/calories out. i've seen some stuff that says that, as your intake is reduced, your metabolism will slow down as well, trying to compensate. i used to believe in the calories in/calories out idea, but i just don't anymore. i'm eating less food overall, and it's not the junk food i've lived on my whole life (more veggies, chicken [which i've never eaten before]). same lifting routine i've done for a year. only one hour a day in the basement on the bike, clamped into a trainer. so i don't see any large muscle growth as the answer, either. beats me. i'm just tired of beating my head against it. i'd like to lose 10-15 pounds to help my climbing, but i guess it's just not gonna happen

-smoke

HDWound

What kind of workouts are you doing on the trainer? What kind of level of effort?

zowie

Try adding hypnosis to get rid of the negativity and frustration. I'm not kidding, attitude and body image are a neglected part of the picture.

Make sure your hour on the bike has the necessary intensity. I find that coaching cds or dvds can help me ratchet things up. Are you sitting there reading a magazine or doing resistence intervals, speed intervals, one-leg intervals, etc.?

Try alternating the indoor biking with another aerobic activity like running. For me, even during outdoor riding season, this makes a big difference.

daredevil

I feel your pain.

Az B

Actually, it still is that simple. If you're working more, you will eat more. As long as calories in is less than or equal calories out, you will lose some weight. You can't cut calories too much or it will affect your energy level and make it harder to work out. But it really is that simple.

Forget about the muscle replacing fat theory. Most people can only gain 2-3 lbs of muscle in a year, and that's if they're trying hard. (Some people can do more, but we're talking getting huge)

Something simply isn't adding up. Are you logging your intake? Are you following a training plan? Are you training 6 days a week? Are you following a training plan of some kind?

Az

SSP

What's your current height and weight?

And, what's your estimated body fat percentage? You can find an easy-to-use calculator here: https://www.he.net/~zone/prothd2.html

grebletie

At its core, it really is as simple as calories in and calories out. Your body can slow your metabolism down, but if you're riding, you're burning calories. Also, how many hours are you putting in at one time. Because, to be honest, if you really want to see the pounds come off, it's got to be 3-4 hour rides.

If you're having trouble, you need to start counting calories. Also, keep up with the veggies and whatnot. Also something to keep in mind, is a bit of fat in the diet might not be such a bad thing. It might be that you're not taking in enough fat, and are overloading in the carbs / protein.

On a typical day, what will you eat? This might give us a clue as to what the problem is.

sunmle

I would try to take a closer look at what you're eating. You've cut back, but have you cut back too much? I use a program by calorie king to track everything I eat, and it shows you total calories, plus total g of protein, fat, carbs, etc. There are other programs or other websites like fitday.com to help with this also. Maybe you're not eating enough, which will cause the metabolism to slow way down because your body thinks it's starving. Make sure all your carbs are fruits/veggies and whole grains, eat lean proteins, and are you drinking enough water too?

Just some suggestions from a novice who doesn't know much...but these tips are all working for me so far. Good luck...

C Law

how many calories are you burning in an hour on the trainer?

250?

I would expect slow weight loss if all you are doing is an hour on the trainer each day plus lifting weights

crtreedude 

Being a lifelong dieter, I can tell you all approaches are not created equal. And it sure isn't one approach works for everyone. You have to figure out what works for you.

I have to have protein and I have to avoid wheat. I am not talking the Atkins diet either. If I have fruit, vegetables, fat and protein and excercise - I lose weight. Add pastry and forget it, even if the calories are supposed to be the same.

I think what happens is that when I eat bread, I am starving again in about 2 to 3 hours.

Totally agree that you have to REALLY know what you are eating. You probably are eating more than you think.

bac

Actually, even with a moderate effort, you will burn more than that. Check this out:

https://www.nutristrategy.com/fitness/cycling.htm

So, even with a moderate effort, you'll easily burn at least 500 calories/hour. Given that, you'll burn 3,500/week. A pound of fat is around 3,500 calories. Do the math.

jsigone

sounds like your body is used to your workout there for it's not pushing itself when you are doing your training. Try and switch up what you are doing, new things like running swimming, row machine. Spend less time lifting and more time pedaling. Hide your scale for a week and see what happens, think positive, it will happen, sometimes it just requires alot more work.

HDWound

Yes, but that only tells part of the story. He's never really said what his caloric intake is. Given the rest of a days activity, 500 calories from an hour on the trainer may not be near enough, and probably isn't given the OP's results. https://www.healthstatus.com/cbc.html while probably not that accurate gives you some idea of total expenditures for a day. In my case for example, I need 2+ hours on the trainer each day to lose a pound a week and my caloric intake isn't that high. The OP could be spinning his wheels without realizing it.

SSP

Fortunately, there are 2 sides to the Weight Loss Equation - Calories In, and Calories Out. Both sides can be worked to trigger weight loss (and for most folks, it's the Calories In side that's more important).

Many folks have lost weight successfully without having to spend 2 hours per day on the trainer. If you're burning about 1000 calories in 2 hours on the trainer, you could achieve the same results by simply eating 500 less calories per day and only doing 1 hour per day on the trainer.

scot

I have a number of friends (and myself) who have had similar issues.

it is one of two things

1: You are underestimating your calories in and overestimating the calories out

2: havent given it enough time.

I (and many people) fall into number two. When I start trying to lose weight it takes over a month to start seeing a difference. Its a combination of the increased workouts building muscle, water weight gain, and those stupid snacks and "oh one more bite won't hurt" things. Once I get past that, I am good to go. Lost 35lbs once. Down 9 lbs from my latest attempt with another 8-9 to go.

Don't get discouraged, give it more time and keep exercising. That will keep your metabolism from dropping.

BTW: when your metabolism drops it means your habits change. If you burn 1800 calories a day doing nothing, there is no magic metabolism pill that will all of a sudden make you only burn 1000 calories a day, that isnt how it works. You might be able to drop it to 1700 or something but really what happens is you get tired easier or just dont work out as much as you should something like that. Ignore your body and keep working out/keeping busy.

Greg180

My Trigger is alcohol. For what ever reason If I put 200 calories of booze in my diet I will gain weight steadily or not lose any even if I am exercising. Look at what you are eating. I use fitday to monitor my foods and calorie/fat intake. It works.

Just don't give up. Look at everything and you will find what your trigger or triggers are. I don't know about you but I never had an issue in my 20s and 30s but late forties...It's tough to get the weight off. Just stick with it.

jsigone

yah I have bowling every thursday night, in the winter I was drinking a pitcher per week, now that race season is coming up I have to cut back on that type of stuff. I'd admit, if it was closer to the beginning of the week, I may still drink a lil. But since it's close to the weekend where I do my long rides, I dont need/want any of that in my system.

Smoke, what's your body stats right now? And CAN you ride outside or is your winter keeping you on the trainer? You body stats can also give us an idea of how many cals you burn per hr pending intensity. For me, I burn 800-1100 cals per hour on the bike. I'm 6'2 and 200bs. 250cals/hr is kinda low on the trainer.

SportyWoman

Smoke,

I feel for you...I struggled last year at the races carrying unnecessary weight. Now I dropped 15 lbs...I am at the lower range of my competitive healthy weight. My approach was nutrition, changing my workouts, avoiding eating after 8PM, counting my calories (basically cutting back) and resolving a lot of the issues in my life causing me anxiety and stress helped a lot.

I think a good exercise would be to journal everything that you eat in a week. www.fitday.com has a free online journal with calorie information.

I am now eating more whole foods including whole milk and cheeses...I need the nutritional value...

Cheers,

Mari

Machka 

You haven't provided us with any detail at all ...

You say you work out on the trainer daily ... how much/how long? Are you riding the trainer for 15 minutes? And hour? 2 hours?

What other exercise do you do?

You say you've cut down on what you eat? Have you actually sat down and honestly calculate out your calorie intake?

Wait, I see you mention that you do an hour a day on the trainer and some weights ... the same routine you've done for a year. Perhaps you need to shake it up a bit! Add a different exercise, change the routine, increase the weights you are lifting, do intervals on the trainer one day a week, and spend 2 hours on the trainer 1 day a week (in addition to the rest of what you're doing). Go for walks, be more active.

The body does adapt to the same old routine. And sometimes shaking things up can have some dramatic results.

Jarery

When i started, it was at least a month before anything started to show, after that, it was a steady, although slight decrease in weight every week. Have a bit more patience. If youve gone 5 weeks, try 3 more.

ericgu

I agree with others that you should give it a bit more time.

Also, exactly how have you changed what you eat? If you're still eating a lot of simple sugar or carbs, you will find it hard to lose weight.