What diet are you doing? Need to loose weight but hate no carbs...

[newstart2010]

Thats it really, just wanted to get an idea of what is working for everyone else, only need to loose around 8lbs but want to do it quickly....

I'm counting calories and trying to eat the calories in healthy stuff (rather than choc etc)
I can't do no carbs either but I'm happy to limit my carbs and have more protein. That usually works really well for me.

Do you have a try from Dr. Siegal?s COOKIE DIET? www.anrdoezrs.net/click-4034017-10481800

I have just bought The Flat Belly Diet that doesn't seem to limit carbs too much.

no processed sugar or anything white
lots of water, herbal tea

low saturated fat (no/limit red meat, no/limit dairy)
lean protein, lots of veg and salad.

works for me when i stick to it.

If you are calorie counting how many cals per day?

I'm eating around 1,400.

The amount of calories you should have depends on your current weight, age and how active you are on a daily basis. Plus if you are lifting weights, running, going to a fitness class or something then you would also need to eat more on these days. The whole idea of 'eat less and move more' can actually mean you end up not giving you body enough calories to work efficiently so it starts storing fat and burning muscle and slows your metabolism, not what you want. There are websites which work out roughly what your daily calorie intake should be, if you are trying to lose weight then deduct 300 calories a day from that total, give it a month and then reassess how things are. It is also generally a better idea to use a tape measure or the fit of your clothes and how you are feeling in yourself as a judge as to whether it is working as the numbers on scales can be very deceiving and not give a true reflection.

To work out your basal metabolic rate go here, this gives you the amount of calories your body needs just to function properly, so even if I was lying in bed all day then I would still need 1400 calories. You then multiply this number depending on how active you are:

To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

Thank you for replying and all the info lostgirl, thats very helpful.

my basic metabolic rate is: 1,394.05 cals

And I try to work out 2-3 times per week so 1,394.05 x 1.375 = 1,916.818 so if i take away 300 cals then i will need 1,616 cals per day.

I really want to be around 9stone as my jeans always fit better when I am around 9stone. So am not just going by the scales, I just want to be comfortable in my size 10 clothes as I'm refusing to buy size 12 jeans

As you only have a little bit to lose then it will come off more slowly. You could crash diet and lost 7lbs in a couple of weeks but it would be mainly water weight, your metabolism would slow and you'd be more likely to put more weight back on as soon as you increase your calories, so whatever you do, whether small changes in the way you eat or upping the intensity of whatever exercise you do, needs to be sustainable in the long term. Remember also on the days you exercise to eat another couple of hundred calories, preferably as a post workout high protein/good carb snack. Lots of people tend not to eat at this point thinking it will 'undo all the hard work', when actually it is the perfect time to refuel your body and help it get the most from the workout you've just done.

So what type of snack do you have after the gym?

I normally have hommus and cracker (low fat ones) or fruit. Or if its lunch time, tuna and pasta or a sandwich...

If I can I try and time it so dh makes dinner whilst I workout , otherwise I'll just have a promax protein shake and a banana, but am trying not to have too many shakes as they are full of sweeteners etc.

What sort of routine do you have at the gym? Have you been following the same routine for a while?

Hi May I join in this conversation.
I have looked at the website to work out calories I need. It is 2,034. I am a minimum of 2 stone overweight.
I'm thinking I am exercising but clearly not enough.

I'm not really sure what my question is because I feel so lost and helpless tbh.

I'm stuck in a rut because I'm thinking Oh I've done a long hill walk or I have been on a 25 mile mountain bike ride and done an exercise class this week and had no alcohol or sweets and nothing is changing and I'm looking bigger and I have hit the 12 stone mark. Unhappiness used to be 10 stone now I would cry tears of joy if I was there again!

Hi upahill, it can be really disheartening to feel like you're putting in so much effort and not seeing any rewards. Try measuring yourself, or taking a picture in your underwear and comparing once a month maybe instead of the scales. Our weight fluctuates so much depending on water retention etc that it is not really an accurate measure of how our bodies are changing.

It's a good idea to cut out/cut back on the sweets and alcohol as they are empty calories and don't actually give your body anything it really needs. Weightloss is about 80% diet (unfortunately) and 20% exercise, so unless you are eating well then they exercise is only going to do so much. If you seriously want to take a look at how you eat, try working out how many calories you are eating for 2 or 3 days, just using meals that you are normally eating at the moment. This is tedious and involves weighing every thing so that you can be accurate, but you may find out that you just need to slightly adjust the amount of pasta you have as a serving, or eat slightly less fruit and more veg. On the days when you are doing long hill walks and bike rides then you are obviously going to need more carbs, but maybe on other days you could try and increase your protein intake and reduce your carbs. You could try to incorporate some form of resistance training into your week as well, do you have access to any weights? Remember that your body quickly adapts to an exercise routine so if you can already do a 25 mile bike ride then to force your body to make changes and improving the next time you need to make the ride more challenging, add some speed intervals, find some more hills etc. I expect you are doing enough exercise, maybe it is the intensity you need to up? Or just try something completely new to challenge yourself.

Sorry, have rambled on an awful lot, hope you find a way out of your rut

Thanksfor your reply. It wasn't a ramble at all.

I am looking pretty frumpy at the moment and went to the local leisure centre to do one of those health checks. Of course it is a strapping 6ft 5 20 year old male who was obviously thinking here is a middle aged frump who can't touch her toes.
He was, he told me, astonished at how fit I was.

So I agree with you the exercise is not the issue although it has slackened of in the last 3 years due to a major shift in my work (I used to kick box 4 nights a week)
I do a lot of up hill riding (because I love the thrill of downhills!)and have got a Garmin edge 7 to monitor my routes, times, distance and calories.

I have on impulse just booked a week away in the middle of nowhere from tomorrow (I'm taking my boys) just to get my head around stuff. I'm writing out a rough menu for the week and going to stick to that.

You had a lot of useful ideas. Thanks once again.