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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To expect to be just a little bit thin ?!

75 replies

shouldntbeonhereagain · 14/05/2022 19:38

I have been doing the following each week since November:
5x 1hr yoga/Pilates sessions
2-3 runs of between 5-8k
Dog walk everyday plus 10k once a week
HIT sessions of 45mins x2

I am 41 and have 4 kids between 9 and 2.

so fed up !

OP posts:

EveSix · 15/05/2022 07:33

That is a lot of exercise, and such a nice mixture.
I imagine you are probably wonderfully fit and toned.
You mention your sisters. Please take care of yourself in this dynamic. I know two pairs of sisters who have suffered with eating disorders off and on since our teens (30+ years), and it seems that the sister-bond has made lasting recovery trickier for both pairs. If you have been immersed in problematic eating and body image for much of your life, even if your own eating has not been disordered, your own idea of how you look is possibly a bit skewed? Is this also why you are focussing on exercise rather than diet? I'm always wary of the words 'thin' and 'skinny' as they carry definite connotations, which 'slim' or 'toned' don't seem to. They're like a little ED dog-whistle; a red flag.

OniferousWasp · 15/05/2022 07:38

Fedupbuyer · 14/05/2022 19:57

I’m 42 the only way I have lost weight is intermittent fasting and one meal a day!..sucks to be honest

Do you do OMAD every day?

Libertybear80 · 15/05/2022 07:39

News flash- exercise alone doesn't make you lose weight! You also need to eat sensibly. ie work out how many daily calories you burn and eat fewer than that!

ImplementingTheDennisSystem · 15/05/2022 07:41

I do a tonne of exercise in a normal week, but the thinnest I've been in my life is when I achieve it through adjusting my diet.

OniferousWasp · 15/05/2022 07:41

OP, you have a healthy bmi? That’s all I look at for me tbh. I do like the way I look though; my bmi is around yours, not that far off into green.

i’m Looking to exercise more to get better toned before it’s noticeable.

AlliG · 15/05/2022 07:43

TeachesOfPeaches · 14/05/2022 19:41

Your weight is down to 80% food and 20% exercise. Diet for weight loss and exercise to maintain.

This

You can't out train a bad diet.

That's why I haven't lost any weight in over two years

anywhichwaytoo · 15/05/2022 07:44

WTF475878237NC · 14/05/2022 20:06

I wonder if you also have issues with body image OP?

What?

11st at 5"7 is a little bit chunky tbh, it most definitely isn't thin.

OP unless you're ripped with muscle from over exercising which is the reason the scales are so heavy, there's something going wrong with your diet/what you're putting in to your body.

anywhichwaytoo · 15/05/2022 07:45

What dress size are you OP? A 12-14 I guess? And what do you want to get down to?

AtticAttack3000 · 15/05/2022 07:47

I don't think that is a lot of exercise for weight loss. Yoga/pilates is great for you in many ways but won't burn many calories. Same with walking - unless you're doing well over 10000 a day, every day, it doesn't burn that many calories (I do at least 10000 a day and get about 200 extra calories on myfitnesspal for my trouble-which is less than one chocolate bar). And a 5k run is only about 30 minutes running, so again, won't burn that many calories. It's great for fitness and health and you should be proud of yourself, but diet is the big thing if you want to lose weight.

TheGlitterati · 15/05/2022 07:48

If you want to be thin you need a good diet.

Tamzo85 · 15/05/2022 07:48

Weight is all about food. If you want to get thin excersise is almost irrelevant- you can get thin doing minimal excersise if you eat little and diet.

Tamzo85 · 15/05/2022 07:51

Just to add - if your not feeling hungry some of the time, or are always eating “a good meal” - you can not seriously expect to lose weight doing Pilates.

Diet more and eat all natural and far less processed food would be my advice. So much food has a lot of pointless sugar and salt in it.

strrawberriesandcream · 15/05/2022 07:52

Have you tracked what you eat and drink, and worked out how many calories you consume in a day? You need to be in a calorie deficit. Eat and drink fewer calories than you burn.

If you take in more than calories than you burn, then you don’t have a calorie deficit and you won’t lose weight.
I replaced all sugary drinks with water, it's a really small change that makes a big difference.

Libertybear80 · 15/05/2022 07:56

I put your height and ?weight ( but you don't seem sure about your weight) plus I imagined you are 30 and white as BMI calculator asks that. You came out as a healthy weight. Why are you aiming for thin? Eating disorder? Overly exercising? Your sisters have eating disorders you say. I would just leave this thread now op!

DyingForACuppa · 15/05/2022 07:57

As many other posters have said, it doesn't matter how much you exercise, if you are eating too many calories you won't lose weight.

I don't agree that exercise is irrelevant though. To maintain being slim on no exercise I'd have to eat a truly joyless amount of food. So doing lots of exercise means I can also eat in a satisfying way, and it makes me feel good!

Keep up the exercise, lessen off the calorie intake and watch the weight sloooowly drop away.

lljkk · 15/05/2022 08:10

Please don't be like your sisters. :(
They aren't to be admired (not for body size, anyway).
You are a wildly healthier person to not have an ED like them.

How many minutes/day is dog walking & what does "plus 10k once a week" mean? Is the 10k canoeing, a cycle ride, walk or run?

imho, OP didn't truly report a lot of exercise, but maybe depends what OP says in answer to my Qs. It is almost always possible to out-eat exercise.

Dashel · 15/05/2022 08:23

A lot of great points on here, but a couple more things to consider, calories in drinks count as much as calories in food. Alcohol alters how you burn calories and can also be really high in calories and make you snack and lethargic and prone to snacking the following day.

Weekend calories count as well as midweek calories so if you are sticking to plan mid week and then relax a bit on the weekend, you might be relaxing more than you think and eating/drinking back the calories lost in the week.

If you want to loose weight I would use My Fitness Pal and a step tracker and not eat back exercise calories, maybe an extra 200 snack after a 10k run.

WonderingWanda · 15/05/2022 08:42

I'm 5'8" and I think it's impossible for abyone to tell you whether you are slim or not at your weight because body shape has something to do with it too. I have an hour glass figure so I will never be super skinny. At 10.5 stone I was very slim but it's not sustainable even in my 20's I would need to resteict calories to maintain it. Until I was id 30's my weight sat comfortably at 11 stone with my lifestyle and exercise but somehow crept up as I approached 40. Probably less active, not pushing buggies and carrying toddlers any more, less time for exercise for me and more grabbing unhealthy snacks and having a drink and a snack in the evening.

I have tried all sorts of fads but really my issue is snacking, portion size, white carbs and water because I do eat quite a healthy diet otherwise. I won't ever be 9.5 stone even though at my height that could be within the healthy bmi limits but I know that wouldn't be right for me. Try to think about what all habits you can change and be realistic about your goal weight and size. Were you lots slimmer when you were younger?

Calmdown14 · 15/05/2022 09:28

I think you need to consider how desperately you actually need to lose weight.
Personally I think people have something of a natural weight (i.e where it can be maintained easily).
You can diet your way under in but sometimes end up putting it all back on and more besides. And the cost of getting there can be high.
I'm not suggesting that people should just accept they are fat, more that you should consider the average weight you've been across life and be realistic.
I feel better on a difference of a few pounds. And while I'd like to be 7.5 stone again, I can maintain top end of 8 quite well without trying too hard. Anything below that is always very temporary

Calmdown14 · 15/05/2022 09:29

I am tiny BTW. 8 stone something is a 12 for me so similar to you

sunshinealwayscomesback · 15/05/2022 10:38

I bet you look fantastic with all that exercise. Fit and strong and great. No way can you do all that and not look in good shape. Be proud that you are so fit!

soberfabulous · 15/05/2022 16:30

That's a lot of exercise, I take my hat off to you!

I run 3 times a week, do Pilates once and play tennis once. I'm thin (5 foot 9 and 9-9.5 stone).

What's your diet like? As others have said it's 80% food 20% exercise.

OlympicProcrastinator · 15/05/2022 16:36

Dr Michael Mosley did a programme on this fairly recently. While exercise has a multitude of health benefits, studies show it has surprisingly little effect it has on weight.
‘You can’t outrun a bad diet’ as a PP said is exactly what studies show. And as we get older, particularly over 40, you need to significantly reduce your calorie intake for any serious weight loss. And cut out processed food, and ‘white’ food (unrefined carbs). IF is also highly effective alongside a reduced calorie diet.

Tallerthanmost · 15/05/2022 16:44

Switch the HIT and pilates out for weights and resistance training. Much more efficient at losing weight and changing the shape of your body.

Try playing around with your diet - eg cut your carbs in half but increase protein

Goldijobsandthe3bears · 15/05/2022 17:23