Cannot lose weight at all

Question
QUESTION: Hi,

I am a 5"9, 29 year old male.

I started "dieting" about 6 weeks ago. My major objectives were:

Cut out alcohol
Cut out white carbs (bread, pasta, rice etc)

Here's a typical daily intake:

Breakfast:

2 x scrambled eggs with light seasoning, usually cooked in a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

or alternatively...

1 x bannana
Natural low fat yoghurt

Lunch:

Turkey salad/rivitas

Dinner:

Chicken wraps with salad and some kind of sauce/Chicken with vegetables/Salmon with vegetables/Turkey with noodles

Snacks:

Rivitas with a small amount of cheese/low fat yoghurt/twiglets (low calories and full of fibre)/unsweetened popcorn

That's about it. One day a week I'll mix it up and have a "reward day" so I don't get bored, and my metabolism keeps on its' toes. But apart from that, this is basically it.

Also, I drink approx 2 litres of water per day (ice cold) and a daily supply of multi-vitamins.

RESULTS:

Went from 14st 2lbs to 13st 7lbs in 6 weeks.

That doesn't seem very drastic, considering I've cut out white carbs and alcohol, does it?

I'm aiming for 12 stone, but this doesn't seem possible. What am I doing wrong?

Many thanks,

Nick

ANSWER: Hi Nick,

Your goal sounds great! According to my calculations, you've lost 9 pounds in 6 weeks, and that's a great accomplishment. You shouldn't expect to lose weight drastically--people who do so are usually losing mostly water weight and it is virtually all regained (with sometimes more) as soon as the diet is stopped.

I would suggest you mix it up a bit so you don't get bored ... Your dinner options sound like a good variety! Try this with lunch as well. Add more fruits and vegetables throughout the day to keep feeling full and not deprived (try a snack of a smoothie made with skim milk and frozen fruit). My best advice is that you keep a food diary to track exactly what you're eating. You may find you are having a bit more in the reward category than you realized (I've done that myself!) and make sure your portions are reasonable (and I'm guessing they are, based on your success).

The recommended guidelines are to lose 10% of your body weight in six months, which would put you at your goal in about 7 more months.  It's most important to find a diet you can stay on for a long time. If you go on a "crash" diet and lose a stone, I can promise you it'll come right back on. Keep it up for the long haul and let me know how it's going!!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks Laurie, that's great advice. I have a couple of things to reply with...

1. If I continue this eating plan, will my body get used to it and I'll keep at the current weight (that's what I'm afraid of, as my weight hasn't moved for weeks now)?

2. Does it really take 7 months to get to my ideal weight? That's such a long time!

3. Is there anything I can do to speed it up (apart from exercising because I can't maintain daily exercise)?

Thanks for your help!

Answer
Dear Nick,

Yes, not necessarily, and no :)
Now let me elaborate:

When a person goes on a lower-calorie diet to lose weight, they are eating less than their body is burning. Say a person weighs 200 pounds: they are large and they burn lots of calories, say 2500. So they can lose weight on a 2000 calorie diet. When they get down to the weight they want, say 160 pounds, now they only need 2000 calories to maintain that weight. So, yes, their former "weight loss diet" becomes their present "weight maintenance diet". That is why experts suggest finding a diet you can live with for a long time... because you'll have to virtually live like this to keep from gaining the 40 pounds back.

It won't necessarily take 7 months to lose the weight, but 20 pounds at 1 pound a week means 20 weeks and that's about 5 months. What is your hurry? It probably took a while to get up to where you are now, right?

Well, it's human nature to want to DO something and FAST to get the weight off. But it works best when you do it slow and steady.

No, there is nothing you can do to speed up weight loss besides exercising--but it doesn't have to be daily, it doesn't have to be an hour a day, and it doesn't have to be in a gym. Whatever you can do to be more active--take the stairs instead of the elevator, park farther away, walk somewhere instead of driving--will increase your daily calorie burning. Just 100 extra calories per day (about 20 minutes of walking) will help you lose another pound each month. And if you can do some exercises that work your muscles, you will continue to burn more calories while the muscles burn more energy each day compared to fat.

I'm so sorry to be the bearer of news you didn't want ... but that's the way our bodies work!
Take a look at the DASH diet (http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/new_dash.pdf) for a low-calorie, filling meal plan that's recommended for good heart health.

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