Dieting/weight loss

charlottelucy93 said:

I've been counting calories for nearly 3 weeks now. I started noticing change which has now stumped, I'm not losing weight not inches and it's starting to make me feel so low. I go to the gym every other day mainly for cardio but it's doing nothing. Has anyone got any tips to lose weight? I'm type 1 and I've been told it's so hard to lose weight being diabetic


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For me to maintain or lose weight I need to eat less than 20 carbs a a day, MODERATE my protein and eat a reasonable amount of healthy fats like avocado, olive oil, pumpkin seeds. I need to keep saturated fats low and eat NO grains, dairy or fruit. That's what works for me but YMMV

I also do best with walking for exercise as opposed to resistance or cardio. Again, just me

Hi! I also startied a diet and exercise for 2 weeks now and I see no development. I am a bit frustrated but I need to lose weight and I keep working on.

I know I have thyroid issues which is why I find it difficult to lose any weight ...but

do you do a mix of exercises? Cardio, aerobic and the one where you say cycle fast for 1 min then cool down for 3 - then repeat (its supposed to be really good)

Weight had crept up on me over many years after Type 1 diagnosis at age 29. I was a skinny child and teenager.
Eventually I decided to regain my teenage weight. I lost 20 kilos gradually over 18 months by doing the same as @Kristin251, following a low-carb diet, and getting info and support from www.dietdoctor.com.

Plenty of people (including myself) have had success with counting calories so I wouldn't discount that approach. However, it has it's fair share of drawbacks just as any other approach can have.

Ultimately, if you're counting calories and not losing weight you're either forgetting some throughout the day or it's time to reduce your total intake further. For someone like me, a very active 28 year old male weighing around 200 pounds, that's easy. However, that can be particularly difficult for many women as they often find their total calorie intake required to lose weight needs to be very low (or the weight loss, if any, is very slow). To put that into perspective, if I eat <3000 calories a day, I start to lose weight. 3000 calories is a lot of food and it's easy to maintain that level without feeling hungry all the time. In contrast, you may find that you need to eat as little as 1200-1500 calories a day to lose weight. Not only is that not a lot of food, but even slight miscalculations could throw off your calorie counting. Ex: forgetting a handful of almonds throws your number of by ~15% (1oz=about 180 calories).

Bottom line, calorie counting is easy to adjust because it's a simple matter of reducing your total caloric intake until you begin to lose weight, but while it's easy to adjust it's not always easy follow which is why many prefer other approaches (some already mentioned) that address the issue of feeling hungry all the time.


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Calorie counting may work for some but it does not work for me. Actually, I have never really done it so I shouldn't say that. What I can say with certainty is the TYPE of calories make the most difference to me. If I ate 300 calories of grains and dairy I would pack on the pounds vs 300 cal in avocado or olive oil. I will always gain if I eat over 20 carbs a day. I will also gain if I over eat protein. I eat just enough fat to satisfy mostly in avocado ( very satisfying) olive oil and mayo. I need to limit nuts and seeds or up I go.

Part of the reason for eating VLC, moderate protein and higher fat is it does not spike my bs or insulin so I stay steady. If my bs is fluctuating and my hunger hormones are turned on I get hungry and over eat.

Of course calories matter but it is more where those calories come from that makes the most difference for me.

Tork is right as far as many women needing less calories. I would estimate I'm around 1200. Some days less some days a little more. But then I see it on the scale.

3 weeks isn't that long to be honest. Most sustainable diets aim for a small callorie deficit that take a long time to start losing noticeable numbers. Stagnation is also very common, sooner or later your body tends to adjust to the given calories and can even release a hormone(?) that stores fat even with a calorie deficit. Also as mentioned women tend to need a very low callorie intake, for my wife it's 1200 calls while i'm at slightly less than double. Another thing to keep in mind is to always weigh yourself in the exact same place if you're not already and personally i prefer a measuring tape especially in the beginning of a cut.

If you go to the gym solely for losing weight long moderate exercise is not the best way to go about it. Intense workouts often work better (in less time) and you can still lift some weights in the same time period. On a personal note i find it an easier way of going about things to think about having a callorie deficit by the end of the week (the sum of 7 days eating < burned). Furthermore perseverance is one of the hardest and best things when trying to achieve bodygoals. You're already well on your way, you make note of what you eat and upped your activity level, now you just need to keep at it and results will follow. If they don't revise and continue and your will achieve your goals.

Hi Charlotte,

Well done on making the choice to lose weight in the first place. Since you already use the gym perhaps you might like to try some of the resistance based machines, not only will they ramp up your total calories burnt, but building muscle will also help you to burn more calories even when at rest. Working on the legs can be particularly useful as they have the largest muscles and are therefore able to push the most weight and burn most calories. You don't need to be a gym master to use simple machines like the leg press or even do a few sets of squats, and if you are worried about putting on muscle\turning into a bodybuilder etcetera please don't be, unless you are on a very specific diet managing protein, carbohydrate and fat intakes, taking the best supplements and eating as many calories as you can then you simply wont. The truth of weight loss is all in energy balance. Calories in vs calories out. The problem with counting calories are many but the main one is that people often under report their calorie intake, their portion sizes are too large. Cereal is a major one, who actually eats 30g of cereal, thats a couple of mouthfuls. I would try something simple like adding the following into your training routine:

Bodyweight squats - 30 reps - 6 sets - 1 minute rest between sets
Leg press - 8 reps - 3 sets - 2 minute rest between sets
Leg extension - 20 reps - 1 set
Calf raise - 20 reps - 1 set

Remember to select a weight that challenges you.

And then cardio after 20/30 minutes, evidence suggests that cardio afterwards helps to reduce the soreness associated with weight training.

Hope it helps

All the best

Nat

As a woman, I find a moderate walk and some yoga to be most effective for weight loss and muscle tone. Yoga is a full body work out and you can make it as hard or easy as you want on any given day. Cardio never helped me lose weight but walking always does.

Now you have a lot to think about haha.

And here i am again with this link.



https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/biggest-loser-diet-explained/