My Question: I have drastically changed my diet and exercise routine – since I have, I have lost zero pounds. ZERO! What do I need to do to change this? I am a 43 year old woman, 5′ 8″, 208 lbs., no children, working from approximately 9am to 8pm each day in an emotionally stressful environment, and in the hottest part of the country. (It was 111 degrees today!)
Hi. I used to be a very active person (meaning: long runs of about 2 hours 2-3 times a week plus short runs, hiking, weight training and swimming), until about three years ago when I began teaching high school. My job took over my life. I decided to not worry about my weight anymore because I had larger things to be concerned with. BAD IDEA. Now, I have gained 50 pounds and have had several injuries (ankle and back) that have held me back from getting back to the active life that I want. This summer, I and a few of my co-workers made a commitment to lose weight – a wager, in fact! This involved weighing in, determining our goals, and sharing our plans for losing weight. We all have copies of these for each person and they are actually posted in the office at work. It’s public!
I eat mostly fruits and vegetables, plus smaller portions of protein (usually eggs) and carbs (two slices of bread at the wrong time of day will give me heartburn, so I’m careful with carbs). I like my vegetables to taste like vegetables, so I don’t put much of anything on them. I admit, I have a penchant for turkey jerky and popcorn that I make on the stove with olive oil and on which I put salt and nutritional yeast. I don’t drink soda and the only juice I drink is a small amount that I cook oat bran in for breakfast. (Prior to this, I worked until 8pm and would come home and eat a whole wedge of gouda and then maybe make a frozen pizza, so the food is a change for my body – but what I eat now is what I used to eat when I weighed 140-150.) I exercise for at least and hour and a half 4-6 days a week. I walk, run, do sprints, hike, strength train with dumbells, and have some Jillian Michaels workout videos that I like to use. It feels good. But I haven’t lost an ounce in over a month. I’d exercise more, but it’s very hot, so I cannot be outside past 7:30 or 8am, plus I still have work, even though I’m “on vacation”. What do I need to change? Robin. [via Ask Questions]
First of all, read the how to lose 50 pounds post. Second, we all tend to overestimate how much we exercise and underestimate how much we eat. It is just human nature. There is nothing wrong with that, except the fact that those numbers are very important for someone who needs to lose weight. Whether you want to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks or 50 pounds, you have to know how many calories you consume every day.
Generally speaking, I do not see anything wrong with your diet and workout, but the fact that you have not lost any weight seems to suggest that your daily calorie consumption is too high. The solution? For one or two weeks, write down everything you eat, and I mean everything. Calculate your total calorie consumption for each day. Deduct 500 calories from your daily calorie count. Follow your diet and workout. Check your weight at the end of the week. That is all there is to it. It is a numbers game. To lose weight, you have to consume fewer calories than you burn.