4 weeks in - should I have seen some results by now?

[Idratherberiding]

Hi, I am sure this question has been done to death by now, but I thought I'd ask incase anyone can spot what I'm doing wrong..?

Today is day 29 of my "campaign"!

Starting weight was 15st 2lbs, weighed myself today, am 14st 11lbs. I am 5 foot 7, BTW.

First two weeks I was doing an hour of exercise a day (2 miles on treadmill, 5 on exercise bike)... gradually upping it to 2 hours exercise a day (5 miles on treadmill, 5 miles on exercise bike). I have been doing 1400kls a day, just what I thought was "sensible" eating ie no crap, but having had a good read of these threads I think I should be low carbing, so today is day 2 of Atkins.

I haven't cheated.

I can feel myself becoming physically fitter ie I can run up the stairs now without being out of breath. I just thought I might have seen a bit more weight loss... 5lbs doesn't seem much for busting my arse every day. I even worked out when I was ill (I actually have now come to enjoy the high I get!).

My mum says I am building muscle and muscle weighs more than fat, but if there's a muscle anywhere on my body I have yet to find it!

I am desperate to get down to 14st ASAP as that's when I'll be able to re-start horse riding. I haven't ridden since March and am pining for it! (My goal weight is 10st 4lbs: pre-baby weight!)

Am I being unrealistic? Can anyone see where I'm going wrong? How long did it take you to drop a stone?

When did you have the baby ?

20 months ago!!!!! But the 10st 4lb goal was my pre-baby weight for my first child 15 years ago. Pre-baby weight for DC3 was 14st 10lb. I have put roughly half a stone on each year for the past ten years, due to a serious chocolate habit which I'm having hypnotherapy for (and it's working).

Have you measured yourself? You can lose inches but stay around the same weight.

Well done on the fitness

My thighs look a tiny bit slimmer, but I do need to drop the pounds one way or another just to get back horse riding. They have (quite rightly) a strict maximum weight. Wouldn't it be lovely if my scales were wrong, haha! Might pop down to Boots and check!

I wonder if you have gained muscle, which is heavier than fat. That would explain why you look slimmer but don't weigh what you expected. If so, great, because that will help you keep your metabolism up and lose more weight in the long run.

eldritch muscle is not heavier than fat. A pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle . Muscle is more dense than fat which means that it takes up less space, so a pound of muscle will be smaller than a pound of fat. That is why two people who weigh the same, but have different body composition, will look different - the more " muscly" person will appear "thinner".

I DONT look slimmer, my thighs look a tiny bit slimmer but honestly, I am a very fat woman. My belly in particular, still looks six months pregnant. Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for a quick fix, I am in this for the long haul, but I feel a little bit disappointed by only losing 5lbs in a month. I was just wondering if I was doing something wrong.

You may not be able to see your muscles but if you are exercising like that, then they are there! You are fitter and therefore will have a higher metabolic weight than before - and it's healthier to be fat and fit than fat and unfit.

That said,I would expect more in the way of results - have you checked portion control?

you should be measuring yourself every week. It's a more accurate measure of fatloss than the scales, in light of the muscle/fat ratio. Measure bust, under bust, waist, hips, round top of both thighs, thighs, and round each knee.

And try varying your workouts - swimming, running, biking, to use different muscles.

*higher metabolic rate ! not weight.

Are you eating enough? Maybe you need to up the calories instead of cutting back - can you post what you eat?

70% of weight loss is down to diet. You are doing great with the exercise - exercise, especially cardio, is never wasted in terms of your general health, but you may need to really cut down your food intake to get a big weight loss.

High protein, low carb and no artifical sugars is the way to go and a couple of weeks on atkins won't kill you, but its not ideal and not sustainable long term.

As a rider myself, I know that you will be missing it and tbh 14 stone is still very heavy in equestrian terms - add your gear and tack to that and its really a lot, so keep at it. Remeber that riding isn't very effective exercise - its great for horse fitness, but not so much for riders , so don't imagine that when you start riding again that's going to help your weight loss - it isn't. Mucking out howver, is a whole different ball game .

Sorry, carabos, I was having a dim moment. Of course it doesn't. But the point I was ineptly trying to make stands-the OP may not have lost weight overall because she has gained muscle.

It was only when I started weightwatchers and essentially portion control that I started to really lose weight - so track everything you are eating, I was kidding myself that I ws eating well, and I was in terms of quality but the quantity was way too much and I was probably overestimating because i was exercising. My fitness pal is a good site and free.

However, I now weigh less than I ever have (adult wise) and I am very toned BECAUSE of the exericise, my appetite has decreased and I am now better educated about portion control and because I am exercising I actually dont want to ruin it by eating rubbish.

I eat all the fruit and veg I want and make sure I have 3 good meals - I have chocolate and cheese every day now which i never had before, in fact I eat a wider variety of food than when I tried to sustain my weight before, because I know that actaully I just need 30grams of brie not 100g!

just try tracking your calories for a few weeks a see where you are then - I compeltely agree about food being the major factor though, exercise doesn't actually help you lose all that much weight imho/

I am a bit perplexed you have lost 5Ibs in 4 weeks. Good controlled weight loss is 1Ib per week. Seeing that your body has gone from immobile to madness you have got to give it 6 weeks to see any benefit.

I see nothing wrong with this at all think your looking too much into this. I would be chuffed with a good 5Ib loss in 4 weeks. You crash weight loss then your body will go into shock and stop losing weight. I would say 1hr exercise per day with additional toning is enough to start with.

According to my concept 2 rowing machine programme I would have to give it 5 months to lose 2 stone working on 4 days per week half hour rowing.

Thanks everyone for your comments
I think I'm so used to seeing programmes like Biggest Loser where they lose half a stone a week, maybe it's skewed my level of expectation. Maybe I should just be pleased with my 5lbs and stop whinging! I'm just desperate to get back to riding and to not look preggers any more, I just feel a bit short-changed by the scales!
I'm doing that diet and fitness tracker website that has been recommended on other threads, I am coming in on target/just under target every day. I think I thought I had an idea of what healthy eating was, but I was told it was too carb-heavy and I would never lose weight eating carbs. What I was eating before was along the lines of bran flakes with soya milk or 2 slices wholemeal toast for breakfast; a sandwich and a yoghurt for dinner, and a jacket potato with beans and cheese for tea. I'd have about 4 cups of tea with sweetner, and sometimes an Options hot chocolate. For snacks, I'd have a banana or one of those Special K cereal bars.
I do like my carbs!
So I'm doing Atkins now. To be honest I'm not really that happy, but I don't know what else I should be eating if it's not carbs.
Carabos - the weight limit at the stables is 15 stone, but I figured with boots and hat etc I should get down to at least 14 stone before I start back up again. I just rode for fun, not as part of any exercise plan, it was my half hour away from kids. I miss it so much! Having said that, I really felt the effects of half an hour rising trot, my thighs used to be on fire with the effort!

my story - I signed up to My Fitness Pal at start of year and began weighing everything on digital scales so I couldn't cheat. Worked out that I should eat 1200 cals a day to lose 1 pound a week. And it worked but because I had 3 stone to lose it was demoralising to see little progress for what I thought was a big effort and so I kind of stopped trying.

Anyway 3 weeks ago I decided it was time for a new me. Alternating between Gillian Michael's 30 Day Shred one day and the Couch to 5k the next and have cut calories down to 800 a day. But haven't at the weekend - busy with kids etc.

In 3 weeks have now lost 9 pounds and there is a visible difference. I knew all about body not losing weight coz it was thinking I was in starvation mode but my thinking was that if I was actually burning the calories through exercise then my body had to use that energy and I would lose weight.

It's only 20-30 mins exercise a day butfor me it's intensive and I'm out of breath most of the time and sweating like a beast.

"What I was eating before was along the lines of bran flakes with soya milk or 2 slices wholemeal toast for breakfast; a sandwich and a yoghurt for dinner, and a jacket potato with beans and cheese for tea. I'd have about 4 cups of tea with sweetner, and sometimes an Options hot chocolate. For snacks, I'd have a banana or one of those Special K cereal bars."

You were not losing as you were having way too many carbs and not enough protein. You don't need to do atkins (ketosis doesn't agree with me as I get constipated).

But I don't eat grains, or processed food and this is a long term woe.

I do eat some (low fat) dairy, and I think ok to have a little fruit eg 1 apple or pear or portion berries a day. I guess I go for more moderate carbs and low fat rather than low carb high fat.

eg breakfast: 2 egg omelette, 100g fat free natural yoghurt and 15g oatbran
lunch: salad with fish and cottage cheese
afternoon: snack apple and natural yoghurt if needed
dinner: meat and veg.

I try to keep carbs under 100g a day and protein over 100g.

Why can't you lose weight eating carbs? Why are they so bad? I'm talking about wholemeal carbs. What is it about them that stops you losing weight? Is there some scientific reason or is it just opinion?

you have to gain some serious muscle for it to impact on the scales

are you sure you are eating within your calorie limit?

hector, 800 calories a day?!!!

Why can't you lose weight eating carbs? Why are they so bad? I'm talking about wholemeal carbs. What is it about them that stops you losing weight? Is there some scientific reason or is it just opinion?

I suggest you read John Briffa's book, escape the diet trap. Another book is Gary Taubes, why we get fat.

In a nutshell (and I am not doing the book justice) even wholemeal carbs have a relatively high GI causing insulin release and fat storage. Plus wholemeal carbs are relatively low in nutrition, whereas protein and vegetables are much more nutritious.

You can lose weight eating carbs, but you yourself have said that despite eating 1400 calories a day the weight loss is very slow.

re: muscle, very hard to gain even a couple of pounds of muscle without some serious weightlifting.

Agree carbs are a problem - hence mine being cut down not cut out as near impossible for us.

We all have become too dependant on carbs and meals in gerneral are too carb high. veg/salad should be top and carbs the smallest.

We eat brown rice/wholemeal pasta in week, I try to eat salads for lunch but sometimes with time I do have to have a sarnie. Tea time I tend to concentrate on the veg and have meat/fish. Wholemeal are slow carbs and I think are necessary in a diet but my portion is a lot smaller than it used to be.

Carbs have the hunger effect but I have found eating less is benefical.

Starvation mode is not good for the body. Your body will store fat because it panics and has to re-adjust itself thats why low calorie diets are ineffective.

Think your doing well.

I think I'm going to ditch the Atkins because after only 2 days I feel greasy and ill. I think I'll just stick to my bran flakes and sit this out patiently! It's got to come off eventually, right?!? Thanks for your imput everyone!

Idratherbe I firmly believe that slow and steady wins the race when it comes to weight loss. Atkins or similar does work, there's no denying it, but for me it's just not a sustainable lifestyle, as I refuse to go low carb forever!

I think focusing on eating clean, staying within a sensible calorie allowance and not starving yourself is the solution, and 5lb in 4 weeks is fab!

My 800 cals a day works out roughly. I'm very short as well so don't need as many cals as tall people.

breakfast - scoop of porridge (helps my cholesterol and keeps me feeling full)
lunch - fruit: banana, apple/kiwi/tangerines/grapes
dinner - some kind of meat - chicken breast, pork loin steak etc with a heap of salad or vegetables
plus i drink almost pint of milk a day in tea and coffee.

I know this is unsustainable as I like eating out but for now it's working and I'm seeing good results which are motivating to keep going.

My friend has lost 5 stone this year doing the Cambridge Diet and first few months of that was on 400 cals a day! So I wonder if it's a bit of a myth saying the body won't lose if it thinks its starving. If it's not getting energy from the food we eat it must take from the fat?