I've gone backwards - Advice please.

[carmonk]

theshrew said:

Well out of interest i jumped on the scales last night just to see what they would say 14st5 so a days diff i lost 7 ! Seems the weight goes up and dow a hell of a lot then.

Thanks for the advice

Exactly. When you factor in daily variations, scale inaccuracy, difference between scales, etc. a weekly weigh doesn't tell you anything. If you need to weigh yourself I advise do it at two or three month intervals, on the same set of accurate scales.

[Liquid Tuna]

Weighing yourself daily is a bad idea I think. Do it once a week at the most, using the same scales, at the same time of day - eg every Saturday morning when you get up. You should be looking at progressive changes over weeks and months, not days IMHO.

I think the thing about this "starvation mode" is a bit overhyped. If you drop cals too low it will inhibit slightly but won't STOP weight loss - your body still needs a certain amount of energy to complete the tasks you give it, so if you're very low, you might find cardio more difficult, simply because your energy levels are lower. In addition, you'll have difficulty putting any muscle on as this is an energy intensive task for the body. By upping the calories slightly you'll make things easier on yourself and over the course of say a year, the difference it makes to your weight loss (ie how much longer it takes) will be hardly anything.

Most people who set a target of a six pack in 5 weeks are setting themselves up for demotivation. It takes time, trial and error and adjustment along the way. Just my opinion of course.

[Autopilot]

What foods do your 1400 cals a day consist of and when do you eat? 1400 cals from carbs in one meal a day won't do you any favours! This is obviously said tongue in cheek and I don't suppose for a moment this is what your diet looks like, but hopefully it highlights that diet, number of meals, macronutrient profiles etc etc etc all play their part. Without going in to too much detail, to get the results you are after is simple. Calories In Vs Calories burned - Burn more than you eat, you'll drop weight, consume more than you burn, you'll put weight on.

I personally think that your best bet is to try and take advice from one person who knows what they're on about rather than a group of strangers on a car forum. Don't get me wrong, there is always great advice to be found on here from all walks of life and professions, but for you to do as much exercise as you have done on such a small amount of calories I'm quite staggered that you haven't dropped weight so you 'may' need more tailored advice as you might not fit in to the usual weight loss programs.

When people don't shift weight after commencing a diet and exercise program people are always quick to say that muscle weights more than fat etc, but this in my opinion is cobblers. Despite people being quick to make this statement, it's actually quite difficult to build muscle and impossible to replace the same amount of weight loss by burning fat by replacing it with muscle, it just doesn't happen. It's not impossible to put some muscle on, but on a diet of 1400 cals a day I can't see how any growth would be possible.

Your exercise regime seems fine to me, so I'd have to question the diet end of business. Post what you eat and drink, when you eat it etc on here and I'm sure some of the people more in the know could point you in the right direction. We're all different and all respond to diet and exercise in different ways, but I'm surprised you're not losing. Please don't be disheartened by your lack of weight loss, there may be a number of reasons for it and your current lifestyle may just need a few tweaks here and there.

Don't forget, this is a marathon not a sprint. Keep it up and you WILL get results.

[theshrew]

Liquid Tuna said:

Weighing yourself daily is a bad idea I think. Do it once a week at the most, using the same scales, at the same time of day - eg every Saturday morning when you get up. You should be looking at progressive changes over weeks and months, not days IMHO.

I think the thing about this "starvation mode" is a bit overhyped. If you drop cals too low it will inhibit slightly but won't STOP weight loss - your body still needs a certain amount of energy to complete the tasks you give it, so if you're very low, you might find cardio more difficult, simply because your energy levels are lower. In addition, you'll have difficulty putting any muscle on as this is an energy intensive task for the body. By upping the calories slightly you'll make things easier on yourself and over the course of say a year, the difference it makes to your weight loss (ie how much longer it takes) will be hardly anything.

Most people who set a target of a six pack in 5 weeks are setting themselves up for demotivation. It takes time, trial and error and adjustment along the way. Just my opinion of course.

Im going to have to say i do think ive lost weight it might not show on the scales but i think i have ( just not a lot )

So this is what ive been eating or something like this and feel this is where i can improve. I want to learn more about carbs, protien etc as at the moment i dont no a great deal.

So this is a typical day ( apart from a Sat when i get a take away or go out for a meal )

Breakfast 9.30

Bowl of Wheatabix x2 bricks or Special K one of the small individual packs.
Cup of Coffee either black or with Semi Skimmed milk and 1 sugar

Dinner 1-2pm ish

Can of tuna and maybe a small bit of salad
Cup of Coffee

Tea 5-6pm

1 meat Chicken, Pork or Turkey with fresh broccoli x2 fresh Coliflour x2, either frozen peas or mixed veg and some gravy.
Or the meat with a salad.

7pm

Cup of Coffie

If i want it maybe i will have another small drink of orange juice later on.

[Lost_BMW]

Start boxing training - preferably in a proper gym (you don't have to spar if you don't want either) or from guides on the net - and you will lose weight/gain 'tone'.

Or have the JM Marquez breakfast - 25 quail eggs mixed in orange juice. The weight should just run out drop off then.

Edited by Lost_BMW on Thursday 27th October 20:29