To loose weight by exercise alone

[Dollyboo]

Well, I've not been able to give up chocolate/ sweet foods. All my meals are pretty healthy but I've been on a plateau with my weight for several months. AIBU?

[EuroShopperEnergyDrink]

You clearly don't want to lose weight that much then. You won't create a decent calorie deficit from fannying around on the cross trainer for half an hour a day.

I gym 5 times a week, go properly hard and only burn around 500 calories each time. Not cutting cals and carbs alongside this will not give me the results I want.

Stop being so weak and stop making excuses.

[SomethingOnce]

I've come to the conclusion, for myself, that while ultimately you need to achieve greater calls out than in, the following is helpful:

Change what you eat for weight control
Work out for shaping and toning what's left over

HTH

[frenchfancy]

Dollyboo take a look at the 5:2 thread (current one here www.mumsnet.com/Talk/big_slim_whatever_weight_loss_club/1679463-5-2-Diet-Thread-12-Cheaper-by-the-dozen) Some people have found that knowing that 2 days a week they can't have ANY treats but the rest of the time they can has helped to curb their urges. It isn't for everyone but it is worth a try.

As for losing wieght by exercise alone see Why exercise won't make you thin

[SomethingOnce]

Cals, not calls.

[EuroShopperEnergyDrink]

2 hours a week on a treadmill? Is that all you're doing?

That's absolutely nothing. Unless you're running on speed 10 with a hard incline?

Sorry if I'm being rather abrasive, but if you're serious about losing weight- you'd do more and eat much much less. Weight loss is 80% what you put in your mouth.

[Speedos]

I did 20 mins on the cross trainer and 60 mins of body pump this morning and I only burned 500 cals, barely a Costa muffin!

[MrsMiniversCharlady]

There are a few different versions of intermittent fasting, but basically on 2 days of the week you are restricted to 500-600 calories and then eat 'normally' the other 5 days. Clearly if you eat hundreds of curly wurlies on the other days then it's not going to work but in practice most people find that they don't go crazy on the 'normal' days.

[MoodyDidIt]

very interesting article french fancy

[Dollyboo]

Euros hopper- "Stop being so weak and stop making excuses."
EXCUSE ME???
I came on hear for support and advice, not to be judged. I have been battling with bulimia and bingeeating for the past 17 years.
1- I'm currently on the referral list to be see by psychology
2- I'm on MY Fitness pal and log daily
3- I'm currently using a self help bingeeating book,

I know what is sensible and the correct method of weight loss is diet and exercise but I haven't been able to fully control my eating.

[ShotgunNotDoingThePans]

Some people on MN are using the Paul McKenna hypnotic gastric band. No idea if it works, haven't followed the threads, but it sounded quite feasible when he came on to the webchat.

It's true, though - exercise is essential for health and well-being, especially as you grow older (speaking as a prematurely creaky almost-50-y/old) - but I was reading today, even if you 'convert' 2lbs of fat into 2lbs of muscle, the amount of extra calories you'll burn is miniscule.

[kaumana]

It is all about what you eat. As said above the amount of exercise you have to do to wipe out that chocolate bar is considerable. As you have stated you do not have a healthy relationship with food so to advocate an exercise regime would be wrong.

Work on why you binge, your self esteem etc and go from there.

[ShotgunNotDoingThePans]

Actually, it looks as if it's a success! Here.

[Dollyboo]

The 5:2 makes a lot of sense to me. It'd also been scientifically proven for its health benefits. A lot of Muslims who practise the religion of islam also fast a couple days a week and eat normal the rest of the time.

[BsshBossh]

5:2 suits me too because I love eating. But you still can't binge on the other 5 days of "normal" eating. Anecdotally, quite a few people (myself included) doing 5:2 have found their appetites supressed after a few fasts so that over-eating on non-fast days is no longer a problem.

[MrsTerryPratchett]

I know a few Muslims and none of them fast two days a week...

[squeakytoy]

You can control your eating... by controlling your shopping.

And I dont mean that to sound harsh, but that is how I did it. Do not buy the chocolate, or the cheese, or the crisps, or the alcohol... or whatever it is that you pig out on.. because if it isnt in the house when you get the urge, you wont be able to do it..

And I went from being someone who happily ate half a dozen crackers, loaded with butter and cheese, at bedtime...

If there was no cheese in the house, then I couldnt do it.

[fathergoose]

A pound of fat has 3500kcal. So if you want to lose a pound a week then you need to burn 500kcal a day. That's 50min of running at a decent intensity for someone average sized. It's a lot of exercise, so it's much more sensible to also do it via healthy eating.

Plus, food is not just about calories: it's about nutrition. When you feed your body crap you're not helping it be as healthy as it could be. You can be skinny and incredibly unhealthy if you have a poor diet. Your body needs various nutrients to function properly and to ward off diseases (from colds to cancer): food as medicine if you will. So you need to look at what you're eating and what it contributes to your body rather than simply the calorie/fat content. That's not to say you can't have chocolate etc, but more that you need to make sure you're reaching your goals in relation to fruit and veg, whole grains etc daily, and THEN eating the 'treats' (although I hate that word) if you still fancy them.

Finally, you need a long-term attitude and excessive exercising or fasting are not good lifestyle options. How would you cope if injured yourself for example and were relying on exercise alone to burn off excess calories?

[Dollyboo]

Mrs terry- note I said PRACTISING Muslims !

[Dollyboo]

www.quranandscience.com/legislative/185-medical-aspects-of-islamic-fasting.html

[chrome100]

I'm the same. I have a huge sweet tooth, love cake, biscuits etc. I started running 5km 5 times a week and now I'm a size 8. Didn't change any of my eating habits at all.

[ShotgunNotDoingThePans]

If I was in your position, struggling to control over-eating impulses, I'd definitely try the hypnotic gastric band.
Sorry to bang on - just feel strongly that fasting at all for 2 days a week is not a realistic or healthy way to live.

[BartletForTeamGB]

"I'm not doing a huge amount maybe 2 hours a week on the treadmill at home. "

To lose weight, even with dietary modification, you need to be doing moderate exercise for about an hour every day, so 20 minutes a day just won't be enough.

[doobiedoobiedoobie]

Dollyboo, you're mistaken, fasting 2 times a week is not something all practising Muslims have to do. Most do not.

It is sunnah, that is the prophet used to do so and is therefore recommended but not at all necessary. The only fasting that is absolutely required for all eligible Muslims is the month long fast of ramadhan. Hth.

[dollyindub]

I'm with chrome. I hit the gym 4 mornings a week before work, lost 2 dress sizes and ate exactly what I wanted!