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The weights room

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Original poster

I can't seem to lose any weight

25 replies

Noseyaf · 14/09/2021 07:14

I'm at my breaking point when it comes to my weight loss. I have been actively trying to lose weight since March 2020. I have been watching what I eat and eventually started using Saxenda and most recently been put on Ozempic by the gp which I'm very grateful for as I'm not diabetic. I have been going to the gym at least 6 days a week and when I can, I do regular gym in the mornings and then do body pump or body combat in the evenings. I do a minimum of 10k steps a day.

My stats for reference:
SW - 118kg (March 2020)
CW - 114kg. ( September 2021)
I'm 5'5 and 34 years old

When I got worried about my struggle to lose weight I went to the gp who took bloods as I was worried I had thyroid issues but everything came back normal with slightly high cholesterol which gp wasn't too bothered by but prescribed semaglutide (ozempic) for my diet.

I thought maybe I wasn't being honest with myself about how much I was eating but I have been tracking it all and the most I will eat in a day on a bad day is 1800 calories and I have been doing 16:8 intermittent fasts but I look the same and don't see any end in sight.

Does anyone know what could be wrong with me and why I may not be shedding much. So discouraged and I'm a part of so many Facebook groups and follow quite a few other people trying to lose weight and they seem to lose at minimum a stone a month and I can't seem to lose a stone in 1 1/2 years how

OP posts:

Coogee · 14/09/2021 09:14

How about measurements? Have you been measuring your waist, thighs, bust, upper arms etc? Have the measurements changed?

Original poster

Noseyaf · 14/09/2021 09:27

@Coogee

How about measurements? Have you been measuring your waist, thighs, bust, upper arms etc? Have the measurements changed?

I was taking measurements in the beginning and gave up as they kept fluctuating and haven't noticed any of my clothes becoming looser. I'm honestly at a loss for words as I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong

OP posts:

midgemagneto · 14/09/2021 09:34

1800 calories at 5 foot 4 is probably more than you need

1800 for average woman with average activity levels is about stable

Unless you are hugely active outside of the gym the exercise isn't much

Surewhynot · 14/09/2021 09:41

@midgemagneto

1800 calories at 5 foot 4 is probably more than you need

1800 for average woman with average activity levels is about stable

Unless you are hugely active outside of the gym the exercise isn't much

I have been going to the gym at least 6 days a week and when I can, I do regular gym in the mornings and then do body pump or body combat in the evenings. I do a minimum of 10k steps a day.

Gym twice a day six days a week plus 10k steps a day is ‘not much exercise’?? That sounds like quite a lot to me!

oneglassandpuzzled · 14/09/2021 09:45

Perhaps you're doing too much exercise? Have you tried having a week off, or with just the walking or yoga to relax everything? If you've got fluid retention this might help release it too.

midgemagneto · 14/09/2021 09:54

1800 is for average amount of daily movement , just going to the gym every day may get you to what is considered over the day an average level of movement

oneglassandpuzzled · 14/09/2021 09:59

She's not just going to the gym. She's adding Pump or Combat in the evenings and walking 10k steps daily. That's far more than average exercise levels.

Bluntness100 · 14/09/2021 10:20

Op, the only logical explanation is you’re underestimating your calories.

To maintain at that weight and doing the exercise you are doing you are eating approx 3100 calories a day averaged over thr week

I’d look at portion sizes, cheats etc. Because it’s your calories yoire getting wrong.

midgemagneto · 14/09/2021 10:26

It is incredibly common to overestimate the calorie benefit of exercise

Coogee · 14/09/2021 13:07

It is incredibly common to overestimate the calorie benefit of exercise

People often forget to subtract the calories that they would have burnt anyway not exercising.

Original poster

Noseyaf · 14/09/2021 13:13

@oneglassandpuzzled

Perhaps you're doing too much exercise? Have you tried having a week off, or with just the walking or yoga to relax everything? If you've got fluid retention this might help release it too.

I have tried taking a few days off but that doesn't help as I dont even try to do 10k steps as that's my normal

OP posts:

Roundearth · 14/09/2021 13:25

are you having a treat day / meal a week? e.g a domino's pizza undoing all your previous calorie loss..

Spodge · 14/09/2021 18:19

Do any of your meds cause water retention?

Your BMR is about 1800 so if you are only eating that then you should be losing weight. If you are "moderately active" according to the Harris Benedict formula then you should be burning some 2700 a day at your current weight.

What about calories in drinks? Have you counted them? Do you count condiments - things like the odd dollop of mayo here and there can really add up.

fellrunner85 · 14/09/2021 18:30

You sound exactly like me before I started eating less, and took up running.
I used to kid myself that I should be losing weight because I was going to the gym and limiting calories. Turns out I was massively overestimating the amount of calories I was burning.

10k steps a day isn't really exercise, that's basic moving around. And "going to the gym" means nothing on its own - you might be going through the motions in a class, or you might be running a fast half marathon. Both are "going to the gym" yet are totally different in terms of calorie expenditure.

I think if you took an honest look at calories in vs calories out then the answer may become clearer.

Auntycorruption · 14/09/2021 18:33

What are you doing in the gym ?

What does a weeks normal food look like?

MissConductUS · 14/09/2021 18:34

@Bluntness100

Op, the only logical explanation is you’re underestimating your calories.

To maintain at that weight and doing the exercise you are doing you are eating approx 3100 calories a day averaged over thr week

I’d look at portion sizes, cheats etc. Because it’s your calories yoire getting wrong.

This.

You have to be like a bloody auditor with the calories, right down to the milk in your coffee. Use an app like Loseit or myfitnesspal. They make it much easier to track your calories. Weigh or measure everything.

Exercise is helpful, but you can't outrun your fork.

Orangejuicemarathoner · 15/09/2021 15:45

@Noseyaf

My stats for reference:
SW - 118kg (March 2020)
CW - 114kg. ( September 2021)
I'm 5'5 and 34 years old

I can't see what you are doing that you think would lead to weight loss?

None of this exercise will reduce your weight. If you use more calories in exercise, your body simply compensates by saving calories elsewhere. Great that you are doing all this exercise- huge health benefits, but weight loss isn't one of them

You don't seem to be cutting calories at all. You have not mentioned that you are cutting out any of the foods that lead to weight gain. Are you cutting out sugar, bread, processed food, margarine, vegetable oil, artificial sweeteners etc?

If you want to lose weight, cut the calorie intake and avoid these food which cause insulin spikes, or insulin resistance

Spodge · 15/09/2021 18:46

@Orangejuicemarathoner - "If you use more calories in exercise, your body simply compensates by saving calories elsewhere."

Are you suggesting that exercise burns no net calories? How, then, do athletes and bodybuilders eat many more calories than regular people and yet not get fat? Yes, I've seen reports of the recent study that suggests obese people (in particular) burn fewer exercise calories than they think due to supposed compensatory activity by the body, but that study does not suggest exercise burns no net calories.

I completely agree that the way to weight loss lies mainly with diet, but exercise most certainly can help.

Fellrunner85 · 15/09/2021 19:00

If you use more calories in exercise, your body simply compensates by saving calories elsewhere

Ha ha, right. As a formerly fat person who now stays a size 8 through lots of running, I'm living proof that that's bollocks.

Orangejuicemarathoner · 15/09/2021 19:43

@Fellrunner85

If you use more calories in exercise, your body simply compensates by saving calories elsewhere

Ha ha, right. As a formerly fat person who now stays a size 8 through lots of running, I'm living proof that that's bollocks.

not bollocks at all,

the old idea that you can simply lose weight by burning more calories is completely obsolete and was been repeatedly disproved over many years.

You won't. Some populations of humans exercise all day every day, eat less than we do in the West and remain a completely stable weight.

One runner on mumsnet who thinks they lost weight through running (becasue they were mistakenly told thats how it works many years ago- so they believe it) against the whole of modern science and human history...hmmmm

Congratulations on your weight loss. But it wasn't through running

Bluntness100 · 15/09/2021 20:36

@Orangejuicemarathoner…

😂😂😂

fellrunner85 · 15/09/2021 20:36

Some populations of humans exercise all day every day, eat less than we do in the West and remain a completely stable weight

A stable low weight, yes. It's very hard to run 100 mile weeks and stay fat.

fellrunner85 · 15/09/2021 20:38

Congratulations on your weight loss. But it wasn't through running

It really was.

MissConductUS · 15/09/2021 20:43

Congratulations on your weight loss. But it wasn't through running

Regular exercise helps create a caloric deficit which is helpful in both reducing weight and maintaining weight at a lower level.

Physical Activity for a Healthy Weight - Why is physical activity important?

Regular physical activity is important for good health, and it’s especially important if you’re trying to lose weight or to maintain a healthy weight.

When losing weight, more physical activity increases the number of calories your body uses for energy or “burns off.” The burning of calories through physical activity, combined with reducing the number of calories you eat, creates a “calorie deficit” that results in weight loss.
Most weight loss occurs because of decreased caloric intake. However, evidence shows the only way to maintain weight loss is to be engaged in regular physical activity.

- Most importantly, physical activity reduces risks of cardiovascular disease and diabetes beyond that produced by weight reduction alone.

Welshiefluff · 17/10/2021 20:45

I appreciate I am late to this thread but you really need to post up an average days nutrition plan. Without that there is not much we can suggest.

If you are stuck at 114kg when training 6 days a week then your nutrition plan is likely to be the issue.

Oh and cut the intermittent fasting out it is not doing your body any good when you are at the gym so frequently.

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