Why am I putting on weight - Help
Discussion
What's not so simple is that I exercise far, far more now than I did in my 30's, and eat more healthily.
Look, I'm not trying to be obtuse. I understand that there are a range of factors at play. Age is one, amounts of food is another, types\frequency of exercise is another, and then there is general lifestyle and so forth. Just trying to pinpoint the reason for going from 13st 12lbs (my weight at the end of September) to 15st 6lbs (weight by end of December) with the only real change in my life being the introduction of a weights session into my routine. And at my age, that is certainly not concerted muscle growth.
It's odd. There have been times in the past when my weight has ballooned but there have been very identifiable factors at play. I wrote a book a few years ago - did zero exercise for months and sat at a desk all day. The other time was when I just lifted weights for a few years in my 20s but on a s
t student diet of bread and pasta and with no cardio routines at all. That saw my weight rocket upward and not in a good way. But in each case the weight has gone onto my face quite noticeably. You can easily tell in photo's when I've been going through a fat stage. This time however the weight has stayed off my face and just gathered around my trunk. I don't feel noticeably fatter but the scales do not lie.
Look, I'm not trying to be obtuse. I understand that there are a range of factors at play. Age is one, amounts of food is another, types\frequency of exercise is another, and then there is general lifestyle and so forth. Just trying to pinpoint the reason for going from 13st 12lbs (my weight at the end of September) to 15st 6lbs (weight by end of December) with the only real change in my life being the introduction of a weights session into my routine. And at my age, that is certainly not concerted muscle growth.
It's odd. There have been times in the past when my weight has ballooned but there have been very identifiable factors at play. I wrote a book a few years ago - did zero exercise for months and sat at a desk all day. The other time was when I just lifted weights for a few years in my 20s but on a s
t student diet of bread and pasta and with no cardio routines at all. That saw my weight rocket upward and not in a good way. But in each case the weight has gone onto my face quite noticeably. You can easily tell in photo's when I've been going through a fat stage. This time however the weight has stayed off my face and just gathered around my trunk. I don't feel noticeably fatter but the scales do not lie.Hoofy said:
This is probably more important than we think.
As we get older we tend to generally sit down far more. Think about your younger days. You probably went clubbing 3 times a week for 6 hours at a time, stood up all evening in bars, went for kick abouts in the park with your mates during day on the weekend.
20 years later, you spend the evening in watching Emmerdale (or whatever st is on TV; I don't have a TV) or reading a book, while the kids are playing in the other room.
Saturday afternoon is spent sitting in a pub or restaurant eating off a plank of wood, then you have head over to Costa and sit for another hour after paying £5 hot adult high calorie coffee-flavoured milkshake. Then you go home and watch X Factor. The only time you get up is to get another packet of biscuits from the kitchen.
As a senior manager, you probably spend all day sitting in a meeting or at your desk, probably drinking that adult milkshake I mentioned just now.
The massive drop in movement and an increase in calorie intake takes its toll even if the metabolism only dips very slightly as we age.
While we can't control what we do at work ie if we're at a desk, you can't really go for a jog up and down some stairs every 45 minutes. Nobody really takes a break from their desk. But what you do after hours is up to you.
Not all offices are like that. Many of our staff commute to work on bike (over 100 daily) and we are lucky to have a gym in the office and people go to classes / gym workout at lunchtimes or a run outside.As we get older we tend to generally sit down far more. Think about your younger days. You probably went clubbing 3 times a week for 6 hours at a time, stood up all evening in bars, went for kick abouts in the park with your mates during day on the weekend.
20 years later, you spend the evening in watching Emmerdale (or whatever s
t is on TV; I don't have a TV) or reading a book, while the kids are playing in the other room.Saturday afternoon is spent sitting in a pub or restaurant eating off a plank of wood, then you have head over to Costa and sit for another hour after paying £5 hot adult high calorie coffee-flavoured milkshake. Then you go home and watch X Factor. The only time you get up is to get another packet of biscuits from the kitchen.
As a senior manager, you probably spend all day sitting in a meeting or at your desk, probably drinking that adult milkshake I mentioned just now.
The massive drop in movement and an increase in calorie intake takes its toll even if the metabolism only dips very slightly as we age.
While we can't control what we do at work ie if we're at a desk, you can't really go for a jog up and down some stairs every 45 minutes. Nobody really takes a break from their desk. But what you do after hours is up to you.
There is a lot of stairs in the building so very easy to burn a lot more calories by avoiding lift.
johnwilliams77 said:
Not all offices are like that. Many of our staff commute to work on bike (over 100 daily) and we are lucky to have a gym in the office and people go to classes / gym workout at lunchtimes or a run outside.
There is a lot of stairs in the building so very easy to burn a lot more calories by avoiding lift.
I didn't say all were. I'm sure all your colleagues strut around in their shorts flexing their abs and hi5ing each other. But most offices are exactly how I describe.There is a lot of stairs in the building so very easy to burn a lot more calories by avoiding lift.
Hoofy said:
I didn't say all were. I'm sure all your colleagues strut around in their shorts flexing their abs and hi5ing each other. But most offices are exactly how I describe.
Quite!In the office where my wife works, she tells me that most of the others have an 'all day breakfast' bun in the morning, from the local sandwich van, and then have either a McDonalds or KFC for lunch!
I am gobsmacked that for some, they don't see this as a problem, eating that crap day in, day out.
johnwilliams77 said:
Hoofy said:
I didn't say all were. I'm sure all your colleagues strut around in their shorts flexing their abs and hi5ing each other. But most offices are exactly how I describe.
You said that no body takes breaks from their desks. Not true. Many people don't take breaks. Most people use the lift. I use the lift.
What I don't understand is that if OP's BMR is 1800kcal and OP's taking in less calories than this, according to the simple maths, he's in a calorie deficit and should therefore be losing weight by simply lying in bed.
Add to that the fact that he's now exercising and therefore presumably burning more calories, why is he putting on weight?
I'm genuinely interested as my BMR is 1870 (40yo, 6", 15st), I eat a very similar high protein (170g) diet totalling c1,600kcal per day. Again, I should be losing weight in my sleep as well. And that's before 4 intensive MMA training sessions and one session of 8x5min sparring rounds per week.
If it was simple as everyone is saying, why aren't we losing weight?
Add to that the fact that he's now exercising and therefore presumably burning more calories, why is he putting on weight?
I'm genuinely interested as my BMR is 1870 (40yo, 6", 15st), I eat a very similar high protein (170g) diet totalling c1,600kcal per day. Again, I should be losing weight in my sleep as well. And that's before 4 intensive MMA training sessions and one session of 8x5min sparring rounds per week.
If it was simple as everyone is saying, why aren't we losing weight?
To the advocates of MFP and other such calorie counting twaddle, it's not quite so simple.
For a layman's guide, the BBC's TMIaD covered this recently: click. The idea that (k)calorie in = (k)calorie out is unreliable at best.
Exercise helps with respect to body composition, though it is (directly) more effective for cardiovascular health. Excess fat is down to excess consumption, but determining what your body determines to be excess is the trick.
There is no one-size-fits-all 'answer', but eating processed foods, junk and alcohol are clearly less than optimal. From the OP cereals, bread, crackers, (diet) coke, etc are all poor choices and removal will improve outcome.
For a layman's guide, the BBC's TMIaD covered this recently: click. The idea that (k)calorie in = (k)calorie out is unreliable at best.
Exercise helps with respect to body composition, though it is (directly) more effective for cardiovascular health. Excess fat is down to excess consumption, but determining what your body determines to be excess is the trick.
There is no one-size-fits-all 'answer', but eating processed foods, junk and alcohol are clearly less than optimal. From the OP cereals, bread, crackers, (diet) coke, etc are all poor choices and removal will improve outcome.
LordGrover said:
To the advocates of MFP and other such calorie counting twaddle, it's not quite so simple.
For a layman's guide, the BBC's TMIaD covered this recently: click. The idea that (k)calorie in = (k)calorie out is unreliable at best.
Exercise helps with respect to body composition, though it is (directly) more effective for cardiovascular health. Excess fat is down to excess consumption, but determining what your body determines to be excess is the trick.
There is no one-size-fits-all 'answer', but eating processed foods, junk and alcohol are clearly less than optimal. From the OP cereals, bread, crackers, (diet) coke, etc are all poor choices and removal will improve outcome.
True, perhaps. However, after using MFP to successfully drop my weight, it did help put me into a mind-set that now looks at what what's added in each and every bit of food I eat.For a layman's guide, the BBC's TMIaD covered this recently: click. The idea that (k)calorie in = (k)calorie out is unreliable at best.
Exercise helps with respect to body composition, though it is (directly) more effective for cardiovascular health. Excess fat is down to excess consumption, but determining what your body determines to be excess is the trick.
There is no one-size-fits-all 'answer', but eating processed foods, junk and alcohol are clearly less than optimal. From the OP cereals, bread, crackers, (diet) coke, etc are all poor choices and removal will improve outcome.
You're right about cereals, the amount of sugar in the top brands is quite staggering - and most then and go and put a couple more heaped tablespoons on top of that!
This is a bit obvious an obvious statement but muscle is heavier that fat and if you're benching 130kg you've probably got enough muscle for now, so why not lift something lighter for longer? Kettle bells or body weight exercises? Play a sport, run or swim or something. Every one's different, if what you're doing isn't working for you try something else.
johnwilliams77 said:
Silver993tt said:
eally? I thought 1kg of fat is the same as 1kg of muscle.
CorrectAlso, muscle is more despise than fat. So, by volume, it seems to weigh more.(a lb of muscle occupies less space than a lb of fat)
LordGrover said:
To the advocates of MFP and other such calorie counting twaddle, it's not quite so simple.
For a layman's guide, the BBC's TMIaD covered this recently: click. The idea that (k)calorie in = (k)calorie out is unreliable at best.
Exercise helps with respect to body composition, though it is (directly) more effective for cardiovascular health. Excess fat is down to excess consumption, but determining what your body determines to be excess is the trick.
There is no one-size-fits-all 'answer', but eating processed foods, junk and alcohol are clearly less than optimal. From the OP cereals, bread, crackers, (diet) coke, etc are all poor choices and removal will improve outcome.
What is in diet drinks that puts on weight?For a layman's guide, the BBC's TMIaD covered this recently: click. The idea that (k)calorie in = (k)calorie out is unreliable at best.
Exercise helps with respect to body composition, though it is (directly) more effective for cardiovascular health. Excess fat is down to excess consumption, but determining what your body determines to be excess is the trick.
There is no one-size-fits-all 'answer', but eating processed foods, junk and alcohol are clearly less than optimal. From the OP cereals, bread, crackers, (diet) coke, etc are all poor choices and removal will improve outcome.
LordGrover said:
To the advocates of MFP and other such calorie counting twaddle, it's not quite so simple.
For a layman's guide, the BBC's TMIaD covered this recently: click. The idea that (k)calorie in = (k)calorie out is unreliable at best.
Exercise helps with respect to body composition, though it is (directly) more effective for cardiovascular health. Excess fat is down to excess consumption, but determining what your body determines to be excess is the trick.
There is no one-size-fits-all 'answer', but eating processed foods, junk and alcohol are clearly less than optimal. From the OP cereals, bread, crackers, (diet) coke, etc are all poor choices and removal will improve outcome.
There's some interesting research going on there - see also the woman who became obese after a faecal transplant to treat C. difficile - would be an interesting if somewhat unethical experiment to give some fat person bacteria to some of the thin and sanctimonious. Having said all that, the broad brush first approximation value of calories in and out still applies - even if the absolute numbers may vary between individuals according to the efficiency of their digestive system, and even if the choice of foods which best manages their hunger may also be particular to them. There are no humans who can break the laws of thermodynamics. For a layman's guide, the BBC's TMIaD covered this recently: click. The idea that (k)calorie in = (k)calorie out is unreliable at best.
Exercise helps with respect to body composition, though it is (directly) more effective for cardiovascular health. Excess fat is down to excess consumption, but determining what your body determines to be excess is the trick.
There is no one-size-fits-all 'answer', but eating processed foods, junk and alcohol are clearly less than optimal. From the OP cereals, bread, crackers, (diet) coke, etc are all poor choices and removal will improve outcome.
Silver993tt said:
FredClogs said:
This is a bit obvious an obvious statement but muscle is heavier that fat
Really? I thought 1kg of fat is the same as 1kg of muscle.Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff