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Thread: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

  1. #1
    bohemian Cherry.Chops's Avatar
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    Default why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    Hi there,

    So ive been vegan for a few months now and about 1 of those months ive been about 75-80%RAW.

    Last month i joined the gym, of which ive been going 4-5 times a week. Ive been doing different activities and training inc cardio, fat burn and weights.

    I kept a food diary for about 2 weeks and also logged my calorie intake, which is around 1000-2000 cals a day from healthy foods.

    The only problem is i havnt lost ANY weight!
    I joined the gym to get fitter and tone up and i do feel 'tighter' but i would have thought that i would have lost some fat too? I just cant believe i havnt lost anything!

    I do tend to eat alot of fruit. Could that be why? Should i swap the fruit for salad and veg instead?

    Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated
    'he who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man'

  2. #2
    Knolishing Pob's Avatar
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    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    I would worry if there are days when you are only eating 1000 calories!

    If you're active you need 2000+ calories.

    You need protein to build muscle. Muscle helps to burn calories.

    You need energy to exercise, to build muscle. This means plenty of complex carbs.

    Are you particularly overweight?
    "Danger" could be my middle name … but it's "John"

  3. #3
    bohemian Cherry.Chops's Avatar
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    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    no, im not overweight. I eat properly (inc carbs and protien). It is only occasionally i will eat as little as 1000 cals, like when im rushed at work and i dont have time to get alot of food down me. I usually have a big breakfast and lunch.
    i have plenty of muscles which are toning up nicely. I have fat hanging over the stomach and hips which i just cant seem to move. the rest of me is slim! I want to ware trousers without having love handles hanging over, if you know what i mean.
    'he who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man'

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    Knolishing Pob's Avatar
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    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    It is quite normal for women to have fat around the hips and belly!

    If you're not overweight then you shouldn't be looking to see a reduction in weight. If anything you'll put on weight as you tone up as muscle weighs more than fat.
    "Danger" could be my middle name … but it's "John"

  5. #5
    Laura-Louise's Avatar
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    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    Pob's right - I go to the gym and eat really healthily too and my problem areas are still my tummy and hips - it's a woman thing!

    Also, maybe you could try eating little and often, rather than going without food for a long time and then eating big meals - this works to increase your metabolism so that, combined with the exercise, you'll burn fat more efficiently. And with regards to your gym routine, try a bit more cardio and maybe a little less weights?

    These are the things that work for me, but course we are all different, you've just gotta find what works for you! Good luck.

  6. #6
    bohemian Cherry.Chops's Avatar
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    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    I suppose im not looking to shed weight, but inches/dress sizes. As i know my weight may go up as muscle weighs more than fat.

    I am trying to build up my cardio, as i can only run 10 mins at a time on the treadmill, but i no longer need my inhalor unless im spinnin. Hopefully my resistance wil build up quickly.

    Thank you for your advise.
    'he who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man'

  7. #7
    told me to Mr Flibble's Avatar
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    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    Calculate your bmr (not bmi), and eat consistantly slightly less. Eat too little & you go into starvation mode.
    "Mr Flibble - forum corruptor of innocents!!" - Hemlock

  8. #8
    VeganLiz
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    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    Cherry chops can i be so bold as too ask your height and weight? maybe you are a good or too low bmi for your height and don't need to lose weight. 1000 calories is far too little for an adult female you should be eating around 2000 calories. If I ate that little I would be ready to kill anyone in my path and feel exhausted. Eat slightly less than 2000 calories to loose weight. I do weight watchers and count points. I do lots of walking 1-2 hours a day and find that helps also.

    Liz x

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    bohemian Cherry.Chops's Avatar
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    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    Ive just done my bmr calculation and it said i should eat about 1507.8 calories.
    My bmi is about 25
    Weight, APPROX 10.10ish stones
    height 5'6

    i want to get back to 9 stones (my pre b/c and medication weight!)
    'he who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man'

  10. #10
    pat sommer's Avatar
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    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    I know it's not popular anymore but when I did low-fat, I lost my belly. No calorie counting but a max (for me) of 40g fat daily. I had energy to burn.
    Now, I am drowning in olive oil and coconut milk and not worrying about it until bikini season.
    the only animal ingredient in my food is cat hair

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    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    Quote Cherry.Chops View Post
    Hi there,

    So ive been vegan for a few months now and about 1 of those months ive been about 75-80%RAW.

    Last month i joined the gym, of which ive been going 4-5 times a week. Ive been doing different activities and training inc cardio, fat burn and weights.

    I kept a food diary for about 2 weeks and also logged my calorie intake, which is around 1000-2000 cals a day from healthy foods.

    The only problem is i havnt lost ANY weight!
    I joined the gym to get fitter and tone up and i do feel 'tighter' but i would have thought that i would have lost some fat too? I just cant believe i havnt lost anything!

    I do tend to eat alot of fruit. Could that be why? Should i swap the fruit for salad and veg instead?

    Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated
    My thoughts:
    As you are diabetic and fairly young I doubt it would be healthy to be eating so few calories.
    Gym work will usually build up muscle which is heavier than fat, so the number on the scale will probably not get any smaller.
    I don't know where you got the number of calories 1507.8 but it sounds ridiculous to me for an active young woman who is working out regularly.
    It is healthy for women to have some fat on their hips, stomach and bottom because it helps the female hormones work properly.
    Which is why underweight women usually don't get periods or pregnant.
    Maybe you could have a talk with one of the instructors at the gym.
    Or even your GP. If you are diabetic you have to be careful not to go hypo.
    See my local diary ... http://herbwormwood.blogspot.com/

  12. #12

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    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    Also if you joined the gym last month it may be a bit early to expect a big difference.
    See my local diary ... http://herbwormwood.blogspot.com/

  13. #13

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    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    Also female athletes often don't get periods or pregnant, at least not while training, due to the effect of their body fat/muscle ratio on their hormones.
    See my local diary ... http://herbwormwood.blogspot.com/

  14. #14
    my army bradders's Avatar
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    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    the BMR is based on staying in bed all day, literally not doing anything, you have to add any exercise on top of this rate. e.g. bmr of 1500 + 1 hour of spinning (650cal) + one hour of walking (200cal) = 2250 calories per day
    If I sink to the bottom I can run to the shore.

  15. #15
    Fervent vegan DiaShel's Avatar
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    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    Quote herbwormwood View Post
    Also female athletes often don't get periods or pregnant, at least not while training, due to the effect of their body fat/muscle ratio on their hormones.
    Yeah, watch out with that. I wasn't "training" but working out a lot of not eating enough and I effed myself up bad, hormonally. I actually have an appointment this week with an endocrinologist because of it. Even after eating normally, not working out nearly as much, and gaining 10 pounds I still don't haven't had a natural period in about 2 years. I have no idea what that means reproductively but I guess I'll find out soon. Not too worried about that though, I has zero interest in having children.
    "To reduce suffering means to reduce the amount of ignorance, the basic affliction with us." -Thich Nhat Hanh

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    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    Quote herbwormwood View Post
    Also female athletes often don't get periods or pregnant, at least not while training, due to the effect of their body fat/muscle ratio on their hormones.
    This may have seemed off topic and irrelevant but I posted it to point out that it is natural and healthy for women to have some fat in those areas.
    If you switch on the TV or look in a magazine you could be led to believe it was normal for adult women to have pre-pubescent body shapes.
    See my local diary ... http://herbwormwood.blogspot.com/

  17. #17
    V for Veganica Sarabi's Avatar
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    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    Why are you trying to lose that fat? Humans were made to have at least a little bit of fat. Why do you think we evolved it - to weed out the people with no self-discipline? I'm not going to tell you don't lose the weight if that's what you really want, but it's good to question our intentions and not good to stress too much about it.
    "To become vegetarian is to step into the stream which leads to nirvana." - Buddha

  18. #18

    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    I have a problem that I want to work out more and lose weight, but I'm afraid that because I already think I'm much bigger than other people say I am after years of being overweight, that I might take the exercising thing too far and get too skinny, not realizing that it's too much. But I also want to lose a little more weight to tone up (I could stand to get more fit, build a little more muscle. So I feel like I'm in a dilemma.

  19. #19
    squigaletta's Avatar
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    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    Quote Quantum Mechanic View Post
    I have a problem that I want to work out more and lose weight, but I'm afraid that because I already think I'm much bigger than other people say I am after years of being overweight, that I might take the exercising thing too far and get too skinny, not realizing that it's too much. But I also want to lose a little more weight to tone up (I could stand to get more fit, build a little more muscle. So I feel like I'm in a dilemma.
    I found that a healthy diet and lots of exercise actually helped my body dysmorphia a huge amount. The times when I am exercising most but eating healthily too are the times I think I see my body most acurately so don't feel the need to go further and further. It is very important to get enough calories but as long as I am then my head stays in line! Do you have a close friend you could mention it too as well. Ask them to be your independent eyes and tell you if you are getting too thin?

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    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    No, I don't know anybody here. There are some acquaintances, but I can't recognize their names or faces (just their voices if they approach me or I hear them at dinner).

  21. #21
    [LMNOP] ellaminnowpea's Avatar
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    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    QM, unless you've had an ED (or BDD) before, I don't think you need to worry too much. Most people have mechanisms to keep them within normal weight range. The human body desperately maintains homeostasis... by regulating hormones and such.

    If you're concerned, maybe you could consider setting a cut-off point of weight loss? Again, only if it's within healthy range and not underweight. And you could check out BMI charts... I used to do that a lot. As long as you're not below 18.5, you're probably ok.

    Plus, I agree with Squig... the more I work out and take care of myself, the less distorted my body image becomes.
    “I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” ~ Alcott

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    bohemian Cherry.Chops's Avatar
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    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    Thank you all for your replies.
    While in America i have weighed myself with proper scales and i found out i weigh less than i thought! Also i have been stuffing my face with ice cream and pasta, and i have actually lost a pound despite me doing absolutly no exercise.
    So i think that my body was in starvation mode and holding on to the calories.
    I guess i need to make time to eat more carbs...the weird theory here being the more you eat, the more weight you will loose (in moderation of course!)

    Its weird how the body works
    'he who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man'

  23. #23

    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    Quote ellaminnowpea View Post
    QM, unless you've had an ED (or BDD) before, I don't think you need to worry too much. Most people have mechanisms to keep them within normal weight range. The human body desperately maintains homeostasis... by regulating hormones and such.

    If you're concerned, maybe you could consider setting a cut-off point of weight loss? Again, only if it's within healthy range and not underweight. And you could check out BMI charts... I used to do that a lot. As long as you're not below 18.5, you're probably ok.

    Plus, I agree with Squig... the more I work out and take care of myself, the less distorted my body image becomes.
    Well, I haven't had an actual ED I don't think, but when I was younger I would skip meals because of being fat and the hunger feeling making me feel more alive and when I was 15 my lunch would be either 30 calories of baby carrots or nothing at all, and I restricted myself down to 900 calories for about a year (and would've done even less if I didn't rely on my parents to fix me a dinner and breakfast, and if I refused entirely or asked for only a piece of fruit or something, I knew they wouldn't let me). And I have pretty much always been overweight, which was and is to me and the peer-kids "fat", so even though my current BMI is 22.9 when it used to be about 27 and people say that I look like I'm at a healthy weight and such, I still feel extremely fat and if I look in the mirror for a reality check it just makes me feel worse. My visual body perception is no different than how it's always been. So yesterday I had a thin slice of rasperrry bundt cake with my dinner and today ended up missing both breakfast and lunch. I just feel like a really fat freak and what is BDD BTW?

  24. #24

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    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    BDD body dysmorphic disorder, the dysmorphic means an unrealistic idea of what your size and shape is, commmonly seeing your body shape as unacceptable, fat, disgusting, etc.
    ED is Eating Disorder, issues with disordered eating patterns, restricting or controlling what you eat even when hungry, obsessing about food, overeating and then sometimes vomiting, etc.
    Not necessarily diagnosed by a professional, its very common among women and girls.
    See my local diary ... http://herbwormwood.blogspot.com/

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    Default Re: why am i loosing no weight despite my best efforts?

    QM, it sounds like you do have disordered eating patterns. 900 kCal for fear of being fat definitely qualifies as an indicator. I'd recommend just being conscious of your BMI and make sure it does not go down too low. I've had several friends start out with a 22-25 BMI, lose some weight, get "addicted" to the feeling, and subsequently drop even to 16-17 range.

    However, if you are mindful of your body (which it sounds like you are!) I would not worry as much. =) Good luck!

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