Not Working…any ideas?

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Colindp

11:51 pm
12 Oct 15
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After a particularly slow start I have so far managed to lose 7kg (15lbs) but now my age old problem, I’m stuck.

My goal was to get to under 100kg by Christmas (currently 107.5kg)a target I still hope to achieve if I can.

I am 56 yr old male and exercise wise I commute to work by bike everyday covering around 35km (22 miles), I then also get a ride in at the weekends where distances average 50km+ although recently I have also completed 160km and 200km rides. I cover the distance to work in about 40 mins and average 30kmh (19mph) going home is more uphill and slightly shorter route and therefore around 35 mins to complete and about 27kmh (17mph).

OK I have tried fasting three days a week, I have tried fiddling TDEE figures so that on non fasting days I am consuming less than 2000 calories nothing and using an app to ensure I get the correct figures, I have been weighing everything, I have been through countless tests with my Doctor but nothing shows…and a little scary when your Doctor appears to have run out of options and suggests surgery!

So fellow 5:2ers any idea on how to break through this annoying and demoralising barrier.

Thanks

Colin.

simcoeluv

12:31 am
13 Oct 15
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Hi Colin and welcome:

First, your exercise is not helping your weight loss (obviously). There are many reasons, but one standard one is it makes you more hungry so you eat more. The second is that it usually causes a person to overestimate their TDEE, thus causing over eating when a person ‘eats to their TDEE’ only to find they don’t lose weight. Another common problem is that the ‘app’ being used is inaccurate. Tests show that these ‘apps’ are between 10 and 20% inaccurate, with some more than that. That could mean you may be eating 10 to 20% or more percent calories than you should be to lose weight. The apps look so good and seem so accurate, but when the best one is 10% off, you really can’t trust them. The inaccuracies go both to calories burned and the amount of calories they attribute to the various foods. I am assuming you are not ‘eating back’ your exercise calories, in which case you are automatically overeating regardless of the accuracy of the app.

5:2 has to work if a person eats 600 cal. or less two days a week and to their TDEE or less for the remaining five. If ‘it is not working’, that means that for the week, you are eating to your TDEE, on average, for all seven days. As you are weighing and measuring, you now know how may calories you are eating, and you know that whatever the amount, it equals your TDEE (assuming you are not gaining, but only maintaining, your weight).

The answer is simple but usually not accepted – you have to eat less. To lose a pound a week, you have to eat 3500 less than you currently are eating over the course of a week. You know how much you are currently eating, so just subtract 700 cal. a day for your five non diet days and you should be in the ballpark for losing a pound a week.

Good Luck!

Amazon

2:34 pm
15 Oct 15
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Hi Colin,

I go to the gym three times a week and use a treadmill, rowing machine and cross trainer. I used to cycle a lot and have a holday coming up which involves a couple of days of cycling so decided to start using the exercise bike just to get back into the swing of cycling. The machines tell you how many calories you are burning and I was very surprised to discover that using the bike burns less calories than walking!
I suggest you calculate your TDEE using the how it works link at the top of the page and select sedentary for your exercise level. Aim to eat a bit less than it suggests on non fast days and see if it helps. Sad to say that the answer to zero weight loss is almost always eating more than we need.

Good luck