mecompco

Interesting, I start exercising and my weight loss slows? I don't really buy into the whole "you're increasing muscle weight" thing, but I suppose it's possible. I'm only doing a 15 minute "brisk" walk daily (w/three up and three down sets of stairs), but that ought to burn around 130 cals according to FitDay (at my weight of 335).

I've not been perfect in my eating (and I often drink beer on Saturdays) but the weekly average shows a massive calorie deficeit as it always has.

Lost 1.5 lbs a week for the last two weeks and the silly scale actually showed an increast this morning, though I WAS off my weigh-in schedule.

Just venting a bit--I know platueaus will happen and I know about the various tactics we can use to help break them.

Thanks for listening!

Michael

PS I HAVE now gotten into my size 48 Levis and retired the 50s that I've worn for a while now. I should post a pic--I was wearing 60s when I started this back in May.

midwestj

Michael I'm curious how many calories you are eating?

I have been through a couple of periods of slowed weight loss. Everytime the solution was to reduce the calories.

Since July I started at 2400 then 2300 then 2200 to 2000 and now I'm at 1800.

I have lost 27 pounds over that time and my average loss is between 1.5-2 lbs per week. Now that may not sound like a lot but it was roughly 10% of my body fat and well over 10% of my bodyweight.

Sorry to say but I don't believe you are building any muscle walking, preserving it maybe but building no. I believe you would benefit a lot if you started lifting weights.

If you make a link to your fitday log in this thread or in your signature I would be happy to help you out.

Actually just last week I had been stuck at 200 for nearly 2 weeks, I was getting pretty frustrated, and then this week when I reduced my calories my weight jumped down to 197 lbs and my average loss was right on schedule. Its easy to get wrapped up in the moment.

mecompco

Hey, thanks!

Yes, I realize very light cardio is likely not producing any muscle and that I should do some lifting. I have lower back and shoulder issues that I try not to wake up so I'll approach that carefully.

I do have a very nice bench (with inclide/decline, leg lift and lat pulldown) and a couple hundred pounds of cast iron plates w/a straight and curl bar and a set of dumbells up to 25 lbs.

Here's my food log: http://fitday.com/fitness/PublicJour...Owner=mecompco

I try to get a good mix of protein, carbs and fat. I try to limit sat fat and simple carbs. I only drink water and coffee (and beer of Saturdays). I have one "treat" item a day--usually an icecream sandwich or the like. I eat fruit and veggies every day. I avoid most "diet" products and artificial sweetners (my salad dressing and yogurt are exceptions). Oh, and I log EVERYTHING--the good as well as the bad.

My calorie goal is 1500. If I'm between 1500 and 1600 I'm happy. On Saturdays I may hit 2000, perhaps even 3000 on the odd occasion we go out to eat (still trying to make reasonably intelligent choices). As you will see, I eat a fairly high protein breakfast at 6:00 am, have a 100 cal snack (usually a piece of fruit) at 9:00, a 300 cal lunch at Noon followed by my walk and usually supper around 6:00 pm for the rest of my cals.

Again, thanks for taking time to read all this!

Michael

tandoorichicken

Michael,

Good job on your weight loss so far! Going from 60s to 48s is no small feat.

I'm a big believer in doing small things that add up to a big result. One thing I noticed was you have a cheat every day right? You might try spacing those out slowly, i.e., every other day or so. That in itself will cut your cheat calories in half over the course of the week. Considering each ice cream sandwich is around 150-200 kcal you'd be saving between 500-800 extra calories a week just eating one every other day.

It's probably a good place to start on reducing your calories further.

Wrt lifting, if you've got shoulder issues I'd hold off on pressing movements for a while and concentrating on pulling (lat pulldowns, rowing, upright rows) and strengthening the upper back and middle shoulders. This will give your shoulder girdle more support from the opposing muscles when you eventually get to the pressing. 2-3 weeks no pressing should be long enough.

Good luck with your future progress

mecompco

Nik, that might be a good call on my daily desert, though I don't use the term "cheat" because there is no "cheating" in my new lifestyle as I am not on a diet. I am simply reducing and monitoring my calorie intake and trying to eat "normal" foods within certain guidelines.

I'm really not doing anything different than I've done to average a 3lb a week loss--I know the loss slows as one gets lighter, but I'm still well over 300 so its got to take some significant energy to keep the lights and furnace on.

I have decided to forgo the drinking of any beer this week--that will save 1K cals or more right there. Perhaps it will make a difference.

Thanks for the encouragement and we'll see how things look at next week's weigh-in.

Michael

siegemachine

Sat fat is not bad fat, all of your cells need it as their outer layer is made up of sat fat. Over intake of sat fat is where bad news comes in as sat fat also stays in solid form in your body. But it looks like you have a good balance of your fat intake anyway.

Another benefit of laying off the beer will be removing stress from your liver which breaks down fat for energy!

-Andrew

mecompco

Andrew, thanks for the input. Yes, I know I should give up the beer entirely. It's pretty much all carbs and not good for the liver (and I've abused my liver pretty hard in the past) not to mention the calories. Perhaps I'll cut back to one day a month and see how that goes.

Regards,
Michael

tandoorichicken

Just because saturated fat is solid at room temperature outside the body doesn't mean that it's the case inside the body. Once the body absorbs it and puts it into transport molecules it doesn't just spontaneously solidify. Although too much of anything is bound to be bad, this sort of simplification doesn't really paint the right picture.

Just a friendly correction

siegemachine

Sat. fat is solid at biological temp. Your cells use sat fat as a barrier to keep what it does and doesn't want in/out of the cell. The outer layer of all animal cells have a hydrophobic end which are made up of sat fat, this layer also insulates your cells. If sat fat was liquid at body temp then it would serve as a horrible insulator and wouldn't be able to regulate what enters and exits the cell. Your body does break down sat fat into fatty acids which are then transported through your body where some is used for energy and some is rebuilt back to sat fat to be used by your cells.

You can also think of it like this... The fat that is stored in your body is also made up of saturated fat. So your gut doesn't slosh around like you are carrying extra liquid... it's solidified fat.

rpmcduff

I suggest you change up your exercise. If you have been doing the same thing since May then your body will have adapted and it will consume less energy for the same routine. Weight lifting, as mentioned could be a great benefit (be careful with the shoulder). I would also recommend that you try to keep your protein up at 30% of your calories. Perhaps replacing the daily ice cream with a protein shake.

The beer is really sabotaging your efforts. I suggest you moderate your consumption. Instead of 6 or 8 have 2 or 3. Its not just the calories, it is also about the timing of the calories. When your consumption is limited to a short amount of time your body has no chance to burn off the calories and so they get stored. You do good all week and then replace half your deficit in one day. You would be better off drinking 1 beer daily then 7 in one day. Not trying to preach, just pointing out where you can improve to get past your plateau.

Congratulations on your success so far!