Diet, strength training, BMI and what my doctor wants

[TheOpeningActofSpring]

I am at a loss of what to do so would really appreciate some help.

I am waiting for a certain treatment and can only get it on the NHS if my BMI is under 30. I’ve never had a BMI under 30. I’m 15.5 stone; 5.7’ and a size 16, so fully accept that this does not
look great on paper. I’ve always been heavier than I look (which I know is subjective). I’ve got a thyroid issue but that’s medicated and under control.

I’ve sorted my diet out and now eat what I consider to be much more wholesome. Low-ish carb but have porridge for breakfast and might have some
quinoa or potato (maybe twice a week if that); no white flour pasta or similar. No snacks. Other than that lots of vegetables and protein. I’ve also got back into strength training and regularly do dumbbell workouts for upper and lower body, core etc.

Ive started to see result - my waist is getting smaller for example (trouser feel loose; tummy flatter), my arms are shaping up etc. I feel stronger and really like it … but hardly any weight loss. I got told off by my doctor for not putting in the effort to lower my BMI.

If I ditch the strength training and eat lower calorie, will I lose more weight, even though it won’t make me feel as ‘good’ as my current plan? Or will it need more time until inches lost translate into weight loss?

Could you keep everything you are doing as it is but maybe add in cardio before breakfast 2 or 3x a week. Apparently fasted cardio is good for fatloss in some people, but not all so might be trial and error?

You could also think about adding something like intermittent fasting in so that you are not changing what works for you already but just adding a new element in to encourage weight loss. Apparently intermittent fasting can go along side lifting weights?

What would a typical day's food look like for you?

Could you go 'properly' low carb? i.e. ditch the porridge and potatoes?

I wouldn't give up the strength training, as that's good for you! And I certainly wouldn't get into calorie counting

A typical day of food is:

60 gram porridge (or overnight oats) with mixed berries and a tea spoon of peanut butter OR Greek yoghurt with the same toppings.

lunch (at work; school food); whatever protein/meat option (e.g roast chicken thigh or pulled pork) with mixed salad from the salad bar (lettuce, cucumber, beans etc)

typical dinner would be protein plus mixed green veg, chilli without rice but broccoli on the side and cheese, Bolognese with veg on side; roast chicken with veg, or a big salad with tuna mayo, boiled eggs and avo. Or kale and quinoa salad with eggs, or cooked meats.

I drink two coffees in the morning (with milk ) and then lots of water (about 6 pints) and herbal tea in evening.

Maybe it’s the diet after all. There is the occasional packet of crips (my downfall; probably once a week).

I am also going through IVF so the meds can make me feel bloated but current diet/exercise I feel helps with this.

I swim one a week but that’s all the proper cardio I do.

Yes it's very hard to improve your exercise and fitness and diet at the same time

In your circs I would focus on the diet - you need fewer calories , smaller portions would probably do it

So you need to lose 28lbs? It is what it is. Only way to do it is to lower cals and up the activity.

Your diet and exercise regime sound great. But the you are getting the results you are, doing what you are doing. If you want to get your BMI down to jump through a NHS loop, then think about going lower carb, and adding a longer fast, short term to help with the weight loss.
Best of luck to you! I have had a good ammount of weight loss doing low carb and intermittent fasting, but you will need to see what fits into your life.

Porridge is the breakfast of champions!

I think you could look at portion sizes and see how many calories things like peanut butter and berries add to your breakfast and are you having salad dressings or butter on your vegetables? It’s not going to be a couple of bags of crisps in a week that are preventing weight loss.

It is probably worth measuring and weighing EVERYTHING for a couple of weeks if you’re not already doing it.

If you think you're changing shape and making progress, and it's a change you can stick to, then I'd give it more time. Those goals are an achievement in themselves, even without managing BMI change.

If you get to six months or a year and weight is still the same, you might reconsider whether the GP has a point then?

I think it depends what the treatment is. If it's fertility treatment and time isn't on your side I would just concentrate on getting your BMI down with lower carbs and increased cardio. If it's something you're happy to wait longer for then I would give this regime another 6-12 months to see if your BMI comes down gradually over that time.

I joined a gym 3 months ago and have had the same experience of feeling a bit trimmer, looser belt but no shift in the scales. Prior to this I was loosing weight by doing 16;8 fast, counting calories, eating a diet low in upf and walking.
I think it is hard to build muscle and lose weight at the same time and find gym sessions make me hungry.
I think you need to decide which is your priority and maybe short term swap gym for walking/cycling/swimming. I like walking because I feel I can do that daily whereas I need rest days with weight training.

Thanks all. The ivf is privately alongside (same sex couple) but obviously being healthier/lower BMI will help there too. If lower BMI even really means healthier. I might give it another month to see whether the scales are going down.

If it doesn’t work, what is the best exercise alongside a low card diet? More cardio like swimming? I am not a runner and don’t really like aerobics type stuff but will have to bite the bullet probably. I currently over a week do 1x lower body, 1x upper body, 1x full body (30 minutes programs) and 1x swim (1k in about 22 minutes).

I'd try a brisk walk every day, even just 15 mins to half hour.

I did proper keto a few months ago, I did it for blood sugar reasons rather than weight loss as I wasn't overweight. I lost 30lbs in 3 months. Only exercise really was a half hour walk most days.

In the end keto wasn't for me and I lost too much and am now trying to put weight back on.

I think as a short term thing to lose fat it's pretty good and I know some people manage it long term but I ended up so put off by the foods I could have that I was barely eating and I also became obsessed about tiny amounts of carbs, but that was me...

My DH low carbs and weight trains but needs to increase his carbs before training as he struggles to train without doing that.

I'm wondering if your current diet is neither low carb/high fat nor just low calorie? Too much protein can also affect when low carbing and it can also turn to sugar for energy when the theory is that you should be getting your energy from fats.

Maybe keeping a food diary for a week or two might help to see what your proportions/calories are?

Good luck with it.

Slow progress is good progress.

I advise you to carry on as you are. You’re losing weight and slow weight loss is more likely to stay off as you’re eating a diet that can be maintained going forward and you’re more likely to stick to.

Try following Tactic Nutrition in IG for good tips on this. I would be wary of cutting calories too much and going into the awful habit of yo-yo dieting.

I wouldn't give up the weights. Strength training is so important for women, and so good for us. I would look at low carbing and less meat, more pulses. Good luck!

Have you thought of something like zumba for cardio? It is fairly low impact and with the right instructor and music is fun.

I have a similar build to you, and have done a lot of cardio for a long time - swimming, running, hiking 4 or 5 times a week. Been a solidly built 90kg throughout, even with marathon training.

A few months ago though I started doing spin classes. I don't like them very much (would always rather be outside) but my word I can see the difference. I work much harder than I ever would on my own, and interval training really gets the heart rate up. I probably only manage to keep up for half the class at the moment but its worth keeping at it for the difference it makes.

Unless you're a genetic freak for gaining muscle which I doubt! You wouldn't be gaining muscle at a rate that would make the scales balance out so I'd say you're just consuming too many calories.

i would agree with previous poster that hiit is a good option. if you don’t fancy a spin class you can try Googling hiit workouts on YouTube. You might only need to do it twice a week for 20 minutes - too much hiit isn’t beneficial.

walking is also an option, a poster on another thread lost 20lbs by doing an evening walk for an hour. I definitely find I lose weight better when I add in a decent walk.

Definitely weigh your food and log calories and carbs for a week on an app to work out whats happening.

I'm wondering if your current diet is neither low carb/high fat nor just low calorie? Too much protein can also affect when low carbing and it can also turn to sugar for energy when the theory is that you should be getting your energy from fats.

This is a really good point and I think true for me. I eat too many carbs probably and definitely not enough fat for low carb - I am not afraid of fat and use olive oil and butter but not a lot - and I don’t pay attention to calories at all.

How many calories are you having, @TheOpeningActofSpring ?

Do you need to lose about 2 stone for BMI 30?

Unless you're a genetic freak for gaining muscle which I doubt! You wouldn't be gaining muscle at a rate that would make the scales balance out so I'd say you're just consuming too many calories.

I always gain a few pounds at least when I have started weight training and cardio - it's water retention.

If you have time, it might be an idea not to weigh yourself for say, three months at least, or worry about recording calories and just try and make healthy choices and fuel your body for your new exercise regime and focus on fitness.

Also measure yourself and you may find clothes getting looser even if you don't lose weight.

I got into a routine of going to the gym for ten months before starting calorie and nutrient counting, and didn't weigh myself as I didn't want to be put off by any weight gain or lack of loss. Now I've started paying more careful attention to diet and am losing weight at a nice steady rate.

Have you considered HIIT? Growingannanas has a lot of excellent workouts on YouTube, many of them using dumbbells.

But I'd continue with the strength training alongside it.

I’d look again at portion sizes, your porridge is twice the serving as I have (someone v active, up early) so possibly your other portions are on the large side also?

sounds like you’re doing well in general though. I wouldn’t ditch the weights, just add some cardio in also.

I bloody hate HIIT but enjoy cardio on the machines with some music on. I do about 20 minutes cardio and 40 minutes weights, then ten minutes yoga/stretching at the end- twice a week. My cardio gets my heart rate up pretty high so it's like a HIIT class anyway.

Then once a week I just do cardio for 40 minutes then ten minutes yoga/press-ups/plank etc and stretching.

Once a week I also do a yoga class.