To be blooming annoyed

[Tootief]

I'm 3+ stone overweight. I eat junk and WFH has meant I do very little exercise.

In the last month I've walked every day and on average 5 miles a day often up steep hill and sometimes carrying 2 stone backpacks. My diet has been much better (still not great but I've eaten less, added vegetables and no chocolate bars). I KNOW I've eaten less and better for a couple of reasons.

Weighed myself this morning. I have lost 2lb. I didn't take measurements but I feel like I look the same and my clothes are still snug.

Even if you doubt the food difference (which I know is more important than exercise), surely the huge provable increase in exercise should have done something?

Feeling annoyed and not sure what to do.

Could it be that you have gained muscle weight? Not sure. But we'll done to you for putting in so much effort and determination. Keep going, every pound counts.

Walking isn't bad for you and no doubt your tone and circulation are better, but I coukd walk around the moon and all it would do would build me up an appetite!

Maybe keep a food diary and track calories to see if you're catching yourself out? It you were continually putting weight on, cutting down on your eating and exercising more may have left you more at a status quo rather than in a state of losing significant amounts

You also need to reduce calorie intake as well as cutting out junk. Keep going
Small steps etc etc

@Haybo26 I thought that but as I say, I look and feel the same. I know from experience that my calves are the first thing to bulk up but they still woble like anything.

For various reasons I'll have to stop this regime in a fortnight but frankly I feel like stopping now.

It's not getting easier (I guess lugging 3+ extra stone isn't exactly good for your knees) and I am seeing zero impact. I'm not feeling or looking any better.

Thank you for the encouragement though. Just having a pity party and wishing I hadn't weighed myself.

My diet has been much better (still not great but I've eaten less, added vegetables and no chocolate bars).

Not sure how old you are, but sadly once I got mid-thirties I couldn’t get away with an okay diet any more. It has to be ‘great’ in order to lose any weight at all, and keep it off.

Keep at it too, it’s a slow process sometimes, the weight doesn’t always come off in a linear fashion

I have previously lost a lot of weight. (put some back again, but nowhere near as big as I was)

I found that when I made a change that started to burn off the fat, I would find that my weight loss stalled, and the fatty bits got even wobblier. Eventually, the wobbly bits shrunk and my weight would drop down.

Apparently when your body is used to holding excess fat, and you start burning it off, those fat cells don't just dissapear straight away, they fill with water as a placeholder. When you stick with it, the body realises it's not getting the fat back, so doesn't need the storage, and finally empties the water-filled fat cells, and you lose the weight and bulk.

It does go eventually, but I used to find it really disheartening, working so hard and for seemingly nothing. It gets easier when you recognise the pattern. In the mean time, start tracking other things. How far can you walk before you're out of breathe? How many miles can you do in a day? How quickly can you do your 5 miles? How many stairs can you climb in one go? How is your sleep affected? And your mood?

Track some of that and you'll probably notice more of a difference before the weight finally shifts noticably.

It's depressing. I am just under 12st, 5'8" and about a stone over the weight I always used to sit at. I have to exist on 1350 calories a day I order to lose weight and I just can't sustain it, makes me exhausted and ill. It's like my middle aged body has just decided it needs to be heavier. I can eat what I like and not go over 12 st though. It's very frustrating.

Well, that's a fab sustainable weight loss. 1lb a week is what you should be aiming for

Keep going, it will be easier