Why isn't this diet working

I'm a 5'7 57 year old male. I weighted 191 six weeks ago and have been
dieting strictly for six weeks. Usually a sandwich consisting of 2 ounces
grilled chicken, 1/3 tomato, one slice 2% cheese, 2 sl. whole wheat bread -
for both lunch and supper. About 1/3 time a breakfast of 2 eggs & 2 sl.
whole wheat toast, other times corn flakes, skim milk, & a banana - the rest
of the time just fruit. Snacks during the day of 2-4 pieces of fruit ,
usually apples, peaches, or nectarines. I have kept track of everything.
My average day = 1,272 calories, 87 gr protein, 19% fat. I also bicycle on
the average 60 miles per week.

Guess what - today I weigh 191.5!

I know you shouldn't get discouraged by daily weigh-ins but this is
ridiculous. Any idea?

Bob

"Bob Newman" wrote in message
newsQIOg.45492$ok5.31048@dukeread01...
I'm a 5'7 57 year old male. I weighted 191 six weeks ago and have been
dieting strictly for six weeks. Usually a sandwich consisting of 2 ounces
grilled chicken, 1/3 tomato, one slice 2% cheese, 2 sl. whole wheat
bread - for both lunch and supper. About 1/3 time a breakfast of 2 eggs &
2 sl. whole wheat toast, other times corn flakes, skim milk, & a banana -
the rest of the time just fruit. Snacks during the day of 2-4 pieces of
fruit , usually apples, peaches, or nectarines. I have kept track of
everything. My average day = 1,272 calories, 87 gr protein, 19% fat. I
also bicycle on the average 60 miles per week.

Guess what - today I weigh 191.5!

I know you shouldn't get discouraged by daily weigh-ins but this is
ridiculous. Any idea?

Yes - several. How long have you been doing this exercise? If you just
started recently exercising, or recently upped the amount of exercise you
do, your muscles are taking on additional water to deal with the extra
energy needs. I don't have a total grasp of this, but muscles store
glycogen for energy. They also store water with the glycogen. The more
glycogen stores, the more water retention along with it. Many people who
first start out have a sudden weight gain of a few lbs, get very discouraged
and give up.

You are probably not eating enough calories. At your weight, you can safely
eat 1500-1900 calories and still lose weight. A general rule of thumb is
8-10 calories x current bodyweight in lbs.

Have you had a blood panel done recently? If not, check your
thyroid/cholesterol/etc. It's a good thing to have regardless. My husband
(he's 40) recently found out he was hypothyroid, started taking a little
pill to correct that, and magically weight has started to melt from him - no
joke. With absolutely no change in his diet and very little additional
exercise, he has lost about 7 lbs in 2 weeks.

If you eat less than you burn, you will lose weight. But sometimes there
are other factors that come into play, so it's a good idea to rule anything
out.

Bob Newman wrote:
I'm a 5'7 57 year old male. I weighted 191 six weeks ago and have been
dieting strictly for six weeks. Usually a sandwich consisting of 2 ounces
grilled chicken, 1/3 tomato, one slice 2% cheese, 2 sl. whole wheat bread -
for both lunch and supper. About 1/3 time a breakfast of 2 eggs & 2 sl.
whole wheat toast, other times corn flakes, skim milk, & a banana - the rest
of the time just fruit. Snacks during the day of 2-4 pieces of fruit ,
usually apples, peaches, or nectarines. I have kept track of everything.
My average day = 1,272 calories, 87 gr protein, 19% fat. I also bicycle on
the average 60 miles per week.

Guess what - today I weigh 191.5!

I know you shouldn't get discouraged by daily weigh-ins but this is
ridiculous. Any idea?

Bob

Yes Bob, you need to know how many calories you eat on av. each
day....no guesswork but exact calories. Then you will know how many
calories you need to lose weight. In other words, the 1272 is not
accurate. You would be losing weight on that. Probably you are burning
about 2400 cal per day with your present weight. dkw

"Bob Newman" wrote in message
newsQIOg.45492$ok5.31048@dukeread01...
I'm a 5'7 57 year old male. I weighted 191 six weeks ago and have been
dieting strictly for six weeks. Usually a sandwich consisting of 2 ounces
grilled chicken, 1/3 tomato, one slice 2% cheese, 2 sl. whole wheat
bread - for both lunch and supper. About 1/3 time a breakfast of 2 eggs &
2 sl. whole wheat toast, other times corn flakes, skim milk, & a banana -
the rest of the time just fruit. Snacks during the day of 2-4 pieces of
fruit , usually apples, peaches, or nectarines. I have kept track of
everything. My average day = 1,272 calories, 87 gr protein, 19% fat. I
also bicycle on the average 60 miles per week.

Guess what - today I weigh 191.5!


It comes down to you are still eating the same number of calories per day
that you are burning with your exercise regime. Therefore you lose no
weight. You either have to eat LESS or exercise even MORE. I'm fighting
discouragement myself as I haven't lost any weight in the past 10 days. I
go from 153 to 154 to 153..... I have to again drop calories and am on only
1100 to 1200 a day now. That's not a lot of food but I just can't get more
exercise in right now.

LW
Re-Start - 7/5/06 - 170lbs
Today - 153 lbs
Goal - 130 lbs
Height: 5'6" Female. Age: 61
Don't worry about what people think,
they don't do it very often.
===================================

So what it comes down to is that other than oregonchock's suggestion, you
guys don't have an idea either. Trust me, I know how to count calories AND
many nutrients as well, I have even taught a class in diabetic nutrition. I
have had periodic blood test which have been fine. My last one was
approximately four months ago, I'll have another one but it's hard to
imagine it going downhill that fast. I think I will try the Nutrition
Center at the University of Florida here in Gainesville.

Thanks... Bob


"Lá~ká~ Wáná" wrote in message
. com...

"Bob Newman" wrote in message
newsQIOg.45492$ok5.31048@dukeread01...
I'm a 5'7 57 year old male. I weighted 191 six weeks ago and have been
dieting strictly for six weeks. Usually a sandwich consisting of 2
ounces grilled chicken, 1/3 tomato, one slice 2% cheese, 2 sl. whole
wheat bread - for both lunch and supper. About 1/3 time a breakfast of 2
eggs & 2 sl. whole wheat toast, other times corn flakes, skim milk, & a
banana - the rest of the time just fruit. Snacks during the day of 2-4
pieces of fruit , usually apples, peaches, or nectarines. I have kept
track of everything. My average day = 1,272 calories, 87 gr protein, 19%
fat. I also bicycle on the average 60 miles per week.

Guess what - today I weigh 191.5!


It comes down to you are still eating the same number of calories per day
that you are burning with your exercise regime. Therefore you lose no
weight. You either have to eat LESS or exercise even MORE. I'm fighting
discouragement myself as I haven't lost any weight in the past 10 days. I
go from 153 to 154 to 153..... I have to again drop calories and am on
only 1100 to 1200 a day now. That's not a lot of food but I just can't
get more exercise in right now.

LW
Re-Start - 7/5/06 - 170lbs
Today - 153 lbs
Goal - 130 lbs
Height: 5'6" Female. Age: 61
Don't worry about what people think,
they don't do it very often.
===================================

On Sat, 16 Sep 2006 06:58:20 -0400, "Bob Newman"
wrote:

So what it comes down to is that other than oregonchock's suggestion, you
guys don't have an idea either. Trust me, I know how to count calories AND
many nutrients as well, I have even taught a class in diabetic nutrition. I
have had periodic blood test which have been fine. My last one was
approximately four months ago, I'll have another one but it's hard to
imagine it going downhill that fast. I think I will try the Nutrition
Center at the University of Florida here in Gainesville.

Thanks... Bob

Bob, one thing I was wondering about is how much you were eating and
exercising before you began this program. In other words, what did
you change? And before you began, were you pretty much maintaining
your weight with that lifestyle, or had you been slowly and steadily
gaining? Answers to these questions will maybe provide some insight
into how your metabolism works.

I also think your calorie level seems quite low, but I agree that it's
surprising that you have not lost weight eating that little.

One thing you may want to consider is having metabolism tests done to
get an accurate determination of your RMR and to help understand how
many calories you are burning with exercise.

Chris
262/130s/130s
started dieting July 2002, maintaining since June 2004

On Fri, 15 Sep 2006 21:54:33 -0400, "Bob Newman"
wrote:

I'm a 5'7 57 year old male. I weighted 191 six weeks ago and have been
dieting strictly for six weeks. Usually a sandwich consisting of 2 ounces
grilled chicken, 1/3 tomato, one slice 2% cheese, 2 sl. whole wheat bread -
for both lunch and supper. About 1/3 time a breakfast of 2 eggs & 2 sl.
whole wheat toast, other times corn flakes, skim milk, & a banana - the rest
of the time just fruit. Snacks during the day of 2-4 pieces of fruit ,
usually apples, peaches, or nectarines. I have kept track of everything.
My average day = 1,272 calories, 87 gr protein, 19% fat. I also bicycle on
the average 60 miles per week.

Guess what - today I weigh 191.5!

I know you shouldn't get discouraged by daily weigh-ins but this is
ridiculous. Any idea?

Bob
I have changed my life 10 weeks ago. In theese 10 weeks I have lost
11,7 kg and 20 cm around my stomache.
http://hem.bredband.net/10006/

I have come to the conclusion that it is the sugar that gives me
problem with overweight and other illnesses.

I have not been hungry once during theese 10 weeks.

If I would give you a piece of advice I think you would eat less of
bread, cornflakes and milk.

My intake is typically 2000 calories a day, 99 g protein, 32 g carbs,
160 g fat.
Ratio: e% p: 21% c: 6% f: 72%.

I have breakfast with bacon and egg or boiled egg with shrimps or ham
and coffee with cream (fatty).

That will keep me satisfied for 6 to 8 hours. Then I have dinner of
meet or fish without potatoes or pasta or rice.

I have had no problems with this diet. I´m not saying it works with
everbody, but if it doesn´t work with the normal thing IMHO you could
give it a try cutting the carbs down and repalce them with fat.
It could help you starting burning fat.

Bob Newman wrote:

I'm a 5'7 57 year old male. I weighted 191 six weeks ago and have been
dieting strictly for six weeks. Usually a sandwich consisting of 2 ounces
grilled chicken, 1/3 tomato, one slice 2% cheese, 2 sl. whole wheat bread -
for both lunch and supper. About 1/3 time a breakfast of 2 eggs & 2 sl.
whole wheat toast, other times corn flakes, skim milk, & a banana - the rest
of the time just fruit. Snacks during the day of 2-4 pieces of fruit ,
usually apples, peaches, or nectarines. I have kept track of everything.
My average day = 1,272 calories, 87 gr protein, 19% fat. I also bicycle on
the average 60 miles per week.

Guess what - today I weigh 191.5!

I know you shouldn't get discouraged by daily weigh-ins but this is
ridiculous. Any idea?

Bob

191 pounds of what? Are you taking measurements? Are your pants
getting looser? What about body fat readings? Many gyms have someone
who will measure your body fat with calipers. It's an interesting thing
to track.

I'm curious about your 60 miles of bicyling each week. I'm a cyclist,
too, and that's a lovely amount of cycling. Where do you live that you
get that sort of weather? Are these intense rides with hills and
keeping a fast cadence, or leisurely rides where no sweat forms? How
long have you been doing this - the entire 6 weeks (60 miles each week?)
or did you start BEFORE the diet?

When people start an exercise program the scale is not their friend.
Usually you gain some glycogen stores in your newly-being-used muscles
which translates to gaining a few pounds of water weight. It can take 8
weeks before the scale catches up with what your pants have been telling
you for weeks: you're losing fat, gaining lean, and it's all good.

As for your diet, I'm a big believer in keeping your macronutrient ratio
somewhat balanced while cutting out crappy simple carbs like corn
flakes. I'd take a look at the two slices of bread on your sandwich:
too: can you do whole wheat pita instead, or maybe just chunk the
chicken up on some salad greens?

I learned a great trick from The Zone diet (it's also the same trick in
about a million other locations, but that's where I first got it) about
making sure each snack has a little bit of all three macronutrients:
some healthy fats and some protein along with a fiber-rich carb. So add
some cheese to apple slices or put cottage cheese with a peach or put
peanut butter on a banana. You may find that you're less hungry and
more energetic on lower calories.

As for the lower calories, the reasonable rule of thumb I've heard is
that a man ought not to eat at less than 10x his weight in calories. I
think you can base that on your goal weight, so if your goal weight is
160 then you really ought to be eating 1600 calories a day. Anything
less than that is setting yourself up for a willpower battle that you're
going to lose.

Your REAL goal should be to lose fat, not weight, and the last piece of
advice I'd give you is to add resistance training to your regimen. It
does wonders for injury prevention and partitioning weight loss more
towards fat.

Dally
244/166/155

Bob Newman wrote:
So what it comes down to is that other than oregonchock's suggestion, you
guys don't have an idea either. Trust me, I know how to count calories AND
many nutrients as well, I have even taught a class in diabetic nutrition. I
have had periodic blood test which have been fine. My last one was
approximately four months ago, I'll have another one but it's hard to
imagine it going downhill that fast. I think I will try the Nutrition
Center at the University of Florida here in Gainesville.

Thanks... Bob


"Lá~ká~ Wáná" wrote in message
. com...

"Bob Newman" wrote in message
newsQIOg.45492$ok5.31048@dukeread01...
I'm a 5'7 57 year old male. I weighted 191 six weeks ago and have been
dieting strictly for six weeks. Usually a sandwich consisting of 2
ounces grilled chicken, 1/3 tomato, one slice 2% cheese, 2 sl. whole
wheat bread - for both lunch and supper. About 1/3 time a breakfast of 2
eggs & 2 sl. whole wheat toast, other times corn flakes, skim milk, & a
banana - the rest of the time just fruit. Snacks during the day of 2-4
pieces of fruit , usually apples, peaches, or nectarines. I have kept
track of everything. My average day = 1,272 calories, 87 gr protein, 19%
fat. I also bicycle on the average 60 miles per week.

Guess what - today I weigh 191.5!


It comes down to you are still eating the same number of calories per day
that you are burning with your exercise regime. Therefore you lose no
weight. You either have to eat LESS or exercise even MORE. I'm fighting
discouragement myself as I haven't lost any weight in the past 10 days. I
go from 153 to 154 to 153..... I have to again drop calories and am on
only 1100 to 1200 a day now. That's not a lot of food but I just can't
get more exercise in right now.

LW
Re-Start - 7/5/06 - 170lbs
Today - 153 lbs
Goal - 130 lbs
Height: 5'6" Female. Age: 61
Don't worry about what people think,
they don't do it very often.
===================================

My point is that the calories you say you are taking vs. your weight do not compute. The maintenance calories for a 191 pound male should be 2300 with very little exercise. If you are certain of your caloric intake, I would suggest getting to a medical doctor quickly because you must have some hormonal problem. I still say the most likely answer is that you are NOT counting your calories accurately. dkw

1272 calories and 60 miles of bicycling equals starvation mode to
me...try doubling the amount of food you eat...also try different
scales in case the one you use is broken
Bob Newman wrote:
I'm a 5'7 57 year old male. I weighted 191 six weeks ago and have been
dieting strictly for six weeks. Usually a sandwich consisting of 2 ounces
grilled chicken, 1/3 tomato, one slice 2% cheese, 2 sl. whole wheat bread -
for both lunch and supper. About 1/3 time a breakfast of 2 eggs & 2 sl.
whole wheat toast, other times corn flakes, skim milk, & a banana - the rest
of the time just fruit. Snacks during the day of 2-4 pieces of fruit ,
usually apples, peaches, or nectarines. I have kept track of everything.
My average day = 1,272 calories, 87 gr protein, 19% fat. I also bicycle on
the average 60 miles per week.

Guess what - today I weigh 191.5!

I know you shouldn't get discouraged by daily weigh-ins but this is
ridiculous. Any idea?

Bob