Why am I not losing anything?

[TomAllenWife]

I have a stone to lose.
I'm 45 and am noticing that even one cheat meal a week means zero loss

I exercise 4 times per week. 2 body combat, 2 weights sessions, each burning about 300-400 cals.

A typical day looks like:
Fast until 11am
Protein yoghurt
Lunch usually tuna or egg salad
Handful of almonds (no more than 8)
Dinner is something like chilli with cauliflower rice, or fajitas but I'll have lettuce cups

I drink alcohol thurs - Sunday typically which I know isn't great but surely that can't be the only factor that is preventing me from shaping up

I'm seeing all these different ads on FB like V Shred and how women in their 40s shouldn't be doing hours of exercise etc etc but don't know if it's all scams

Can anyone please shed any light on what's going on for me

I wanted to chip back in to say, stick with what you're doing (maybe ditch the booze) because when I did a similar diet it took 4 or so weeks to start kicking in and then whoosh the weight started talking off quite quickly. Things like where you are in your menstrual cycle will make a difference too.

@dustofneptune

If you're not losing weight, you're just consuming the amount of calories you need to maintain your current weight. You need to consume less calories, basically. Just don't go mad with it. Don't starve yourself.

It's tedious, but start tracking calories using an app. Guess if you have to. Over time, you'll learn roughly how many calories are in what things, so you won't have to keep tracking if you don't want to.

It's much better in the long run to do it this way, because you will learn how many calories are in various things, and this will allow you to maintain your weight once you're at a weight you're happy with.

To lose 1lb per week, you need to eat 3,500 calories less than you need (i.e. 500 calories less per day).

Google "TDEE calculator". Enter your weight, height, age, etc.
Mark yourself as "sedentary".
This will give you an estimate of how many calories you need per day to maintain your current weight.
Remove 500 calories from that. The result is the estimated number of calories you'd need to eat per day to lose roughly 1lb per week.
If this leaves you feeling constantly hungry or weak, increase your calories and lose weight more slowly.
Monitor and adjust as necessary.

Forget calories burned during exercise. Think of exercise as beneficial for strength, skin, heart health, mood, hormones, etc. Any calories burned in the process are just a bonus.

The problem with most people's understanding of calories in vs calories out is that the focus is on calories in only. The fact is that when we consume fewer calories than ideal, our bodies slow down certain functions. Our NEAT or non exercise activity thermogenesis is all the every required for just existing. This includes everything like skin regeneration, saliva production, digestion, respiration etc. If we cut calories thinking we need to drop below our 'requirements' all that happens is our NEAT decreases. So we end up consuming very few calories but doctors lose weight or lose it extremely slowly. Then people say 'oh, you need to decrease your calories if you want to lose weight....calorie deficit etc'. It misses the part of the equation relating to 'calories out'. What needs to happen is NEAT needs to be increased along with a SLIGHT decrease in calories in. This is fine through what you eat, when you eat and exercise that boosts metabolism ie, muscle increasing trading.

Hoping people can see where auto correct has made certain sentences gibberish

How much water are you drinking every day?

To lose weight you need to eat less calories than you use and you need to be hydrated. Your body uses water in the process of breaking down fat.

Do a TDEE calculation then deduct 500 from your TDEE amount and that's your calorie allowance for the day.

Aim for 2.5 - 3 lts of water a day, you'll be peeing constantly for the first week, then you'll get used to it and won't be visiting the toilet every 20 minutes.

How much alcohol are you drinking?

@TomAllenWife Hi OP, you haven't said how long you've been trying for? As another poster said, track everything for a good few weeks - what you're eating/drinking, your periods, the exercise you do and your weight/measurements - even the weather! This will let you see what has an impact.

I track daily (for now) and while it was disheartening sometimes, it's really helped and now I'm (fairly) philosophical when the scales aren't going the right way.

I'm nowhere near an expert but I find as I'm getting older, my body can tolerate alcohol less - both in terms of how drunk I get, and what it does to my appetite and energy levels the next day. I wouldn't be a but surprised if it was having an effect on your weight.

@54321nought

okie dokie. just trying to help. you sound like you might have issues with food yourself. good luck

Do people really believe that exercise, any exercise, has zero effect on weight loss? Quite odd how few obese marathon runners there are then, isn’t it?….

Thehistorygirls I think there is a big difference from being a super fit cyclist, marathon runnner or doing other sports which requires intensive training to a 45 minute hitt work out once a day or a 30 minute power walk.

The body can't do anything with alcohol calories except burn them. There's no nutrition in them, and what that means, is that until you've burned off all the alcohol, and other calories you eat will be going straight into storage (ie body fat) Your body will always prioritise burning alcohol. Even before carbohydrates.

Cut out the alcohol for a couple of weeks, and see if there's a change. If that's too hard, you have a different issue.

I find exercise pointless for weightloss. I once went nuts and did three exercise classes a day for a few weeks..I was physically fitter but didn't lose any weight

@Thehistorygirls

Do people really believe that exercise, any exercise, has zero effect on weight loss? Quite odd how few obese marathon runners there are then, isn’t it?….

This baffles me too. The number of people who start exercising and visibly lose weight is enough to disprove it, without looking at the science that tells us that body fat is stored fuel, and we need fuel to exercise.

Obviously there's no blanket rules and it affects everybody at different rates, and obviously you need to consider what's going in, but essentially, exercise is what body fat is for, so claiming that they're not (or are barely) linked seems very odd.

Ha yes, I was exaggerating slightly to make a point but having lost weight many times through a combination of exercise and diet, both clearly do make a difference.

As many others on this thread have said, it’s basic maths. If you burn 500 calories a day through running or at the gym, it will make a difference. This doesn’t mean that you can eat whatever you want and expect to lose weight, of course you can’t. 500 calories can be one very big bit of cake, which I can easily and quickly eat.

But if you’re counting properly, exercise matters. For example, if you eat 1700 calories and do an intensive session at the gym that burns 500 calories, the effect will be the same as if you eat 1200 calories and sit still.

Personally, because I enjoy exercise and prefer to eat more, I would rather eat more and do more exercise than eat less and stay still. Especially considering the other massive health benefits of exercise, both physical and mental.

Counting calories is a bit weird. There seems to be a belief that all we do with calories is gain or lose fat. A calorie deficit may easily lead to a loss of homeostasis in many ways, if your body really wants to keep its fat. So you can end up with 10% of your 500kcal deficit being fat loss, but the other 90% meaning that your hormones aren't so well balanced, resulting in poor sleep or mood swings or lower skin/hair condition.

There's no evidence anywhere that 3500kcal = 1lb of fat. 1lb of my fat will have a different caloric value to the next person's, so that's out the window.

It takes about 10% of consumed calories to convert and burn carbs, and about 40% of consumed calories to burn fat, so if you eat 100kcal of carbs, your available output is 90kcal, and if you eat 100kcal of fat, your available output is 60% So what you can store from what you eat is very different depending on what you ate.

But still, if you burn more than you eat, it's really unlikely that you won't lose some fat.

Personally, because I enjoy exercise and prefer to eat more, I would rather eat more and do more exercise than eat less and stay still

Yes. I exercise so that I can eat loads!

I think I'm more confused than when I posted

I drink 2-3ltrs of water per day
Don't drink anything fizzy or squash
No milk, black tea or black coffee

I've been doing the happy scale for about 2 years but now there's a clear indication my weight is just creeping up

@JustJustWhy

This is is no amount of exercise has ANY affect on weight loss

Absolutely not the case for me.

Absolutely is the case for everybody

I think we need to count the alcohol here...

The problem with most people's understanding of calories in vs calories out is that the focus is on calories in only. The fact is that when we consume fewer calories than ideal, our bodies slow down certain functions. Our NEAT or non exercise activity thermogenesis is all the every required for just existing. This includes everything like skin regeneration, saliva production, digestion, respiration etc. If we cut calories thinking we need to drop below our 'requirements' all that happens is our NEAT decreases. So we end up consuming very few calories but doctors lose weight or lose it extremely slowly. Then people say 'oh, you need to decrease your calories if you want to lose weight....calorie deficit etc'. It misses the part of the equation relating to 'calories out'. What needs to happen is NEAT needs to be increased along with a SLIGHT decrease in calories in. This is fine through what you eat, when you eat and exercise that boosts metabolism ie, muscle increasing trading.

This exactly

There is shocking ignorance on here, particularly from someone claiming to be a personal trainer.

Calories and exercise have very little impact on weight loss.

Mostly, weight gain is because of insulin, which is triggered by sugar AND SUGAR SUBSTITUTES, meaning low cal food with artificial sweeteners triggers weight gain just as much as sugar does.

This is why drinking tea and coffee black might be helpful, because milk triggers insulin, and if you have 3 cups of tea a day, that is 3 extra insulin spikes

Processed food , margarine, vegetable oil all contain far too much omega 6, which triggers insuin.

White bread causes a MASSIVE insulin spike

As many others on this thread have said, it’s basic maths. If you burn 500 calories a day through running or at the gym, it will make a difference

No it isn't, and no it won't.

This is a very old idea that has been totally disproven.

If you burn 500 extra calories in the gym, your metabolism adjusts to save 500 calories elsewhere, that is all that happens

Exercise is brilliant, amazing for your health and wellbeing. But it does not help reduce weight.

Obviously it is the alcohol, how much do you drink over those 3 nights?

@Comedycook

I find exercise pointless for weightloss. I once went nuts and did three exercise classes a day for a few weeks..I was physically fitter but didn't lose any weight

No, all controlled research has shown exercise does not increase weight loss.

It does improve health in many other ways though, I am not knocking it. But it is not a way of controlling weight.

If you run half a marathon at high speed every single day of your life, that will maybe have some effect, but outside of extreme ultra athlete, sorry , no

@Thehistorygirls

Do people really believe that exercise, any exercise, has zero effect on weight loss? Quite odd how few obese marathon runners there are then, isn’t it?….

Which end of the marathon are you looking at? There are thousands and thousands of obese marathon runners, they are slower than the ones carrying less weight.

I am a marathon runner.

I know many slim, and many obese marathon runners.

I probably know more obese runners than slim ones.

But if you are watching the leading end of a marathon, you won't see them, they are most likely in the second half towards the back

This baffles me too. The number of people who start exercising and visibly lose weight is enough to disprove it, without looking at the science that tells us that body fat is stored fuel, and we need fuel to exercise

and you have just proved that anecdotes are not evidence!

Because all scientific research and all science states the exact opposite of what you have just asserted

For those who are confused, and don't understand what I am trying to explain, there are many up to date books explaining modern understanding of weight control.

One you could try is

Why we eat (too much) by Dr Andrew Jenkinson

He explains these things in far more depth and detail for you