Why can't I burn off the fat?

Question

I've been walking for about 2 hours a day for the last 2 months and have totally cut chocolate crisps and most fatty foods out of my diet but for some reason I can't seem to lose the weight, sometimes I actually feel like I've put on more, anyone know why or what I'm doing wrong? x

When you say Thyroid, does that have something to do with sweating beacuse I have a slight sweating problem where I just cant stop...

Answer 1

Fats AND carbs are the culprits!! What you might be doing is putting on muscle which might make it seem like your putting on weights, you are strengthening the actual muscles but the "flab" is staying in place.

A high fruit and raw veggie diet will take off fat nicely! Supplement with a little protein, but basically dont eat until full either! Just eat enough.......remember fats and carbs are your enemy when trying to lose weight. These are readily absorbed from what are called "processed" foods. Eat raw, live food more and you'll see the fat go bye bye!!

Answer 2

All this about calories burned vs. calories consumed is fine if the body's working as expected. It doesn't always happen like that.

That amount of exercise and the diet changes should have had some effect, so I would start looking for other possible reasons.

Because you mention feeling like you've put on more sometimes, I'm wondering if your actual difficulty is more with retaining water (oedema or edema). The best way to tell is to go out dancing to your favourite lively music and spend the entire evening on the floor, if you come home thoroughly drenched and a size or two smaller, oedema is a factor. Lots of info on the net.

What are you eating instead of the fatty foods? Are you getting enough good fats? Are you eating less processed food? Organic? All of these can have an influence. I've heard that aspartame, that staple of diet products, can prevent weight loss. There's research that shows that too many synthetic chemicals (pesticides, food additives, pollution, fragrances, etc.) can encourage weight gain. If you want to read up on this, take a look at http://www.slimmingsystems.com/. Not much info on the site, but you can probably get one of her books from the library.

There could also be nutritional issues at play. My body just will not lose weight unless I'm supplementing with chromium. Doesn't matter what I'm eating and it seems to be some sort of chronic problem. That's another topic too big for one answer, so take a wander around the net if you're inclined.

Last but not least, are you on medication of any sort? Weight gain is a very common side effect.

Answer 3

Start writing down what you eat and the amount you have eaten. Be sure to record the exact number of calories per serving. That way you can be sure that you are taking responsibility for ALL of the calories you consume. Sometimes we can delude ourselves into thinking that we eat less than we actually do. If you are consuming the right number of calories and working out that much and still not losing any weight then you may need to see a Dr. for thyroid screening or something. It takes time to lose weight about 1-2 lbs per week. Keep it up and good luck.

Answer 4

What most people are saying is true - the equation is simple

energy in = energy out + fat

You body is very good at converting all sorts of foods into energy. If that energy is not used up then it is deposited as fat. Which means that to get rid of fat you need to use up more energy that you take in.

One way of doing this is to reduce the amount of energy you are putting in, your typical calorie controlled diet. The other option is to use up more energy, typically by doing more exercise.

The best is to combine both, not only does exercise burn up more energy directly, it also builds muscles. The building process uses up more energy and the muscle themselves require more energy to work - a good bonus. Which is one of the reasons men often lose weight quicker than woman, because of there high muscular mass.

The second thing is to look at your diet. The basics are proteins, fats and carbohydrates + minerals and vitamins. Most of the fat people have is due to carbohydrates. This is the easiest energy source for the body (ie sugar) and is present in nearly all processed food as well as snacks (eg Crisps).

Due to poor press Fat is greatly misunderstood. The body craves carbs, whereas fat acts as an appetite suppressant. Fat also contains many essential fat soluble vitamins. The french have a relatively high fat diet, as did ourselves in the 50's, but both these groups of people are less overweight that the US or British population in the present day. The main problem is high sugar foods and snacks. Eat too much sugar and othe refined carbohydrates and the excess is converted into fat.

The downside of eating too little means that you body goes into starvation mode and eventually it will start to digest muscle rather than fat because it is thermodynamically easier to get energy from muscle than fat. Thus, starvation diets actually work against there intented result - you lose weight because of muscle loss not fat loss!

So the answer is get out and do more strenuous exercise, for example speed up your walking, make yourself breathless. AND look at your diet, eat a good balance of protein, fat and carbs.

As a side issue but still relavent, at certain times woman will retain more water in their bodies, so don't be worried if you gain a little because within a week you should go back to your expected weight loss.

Answer 5

You're not doing anything wrong, necessarily. I'm on a diet, but it takes a lot of exercise to work off a pound, which is the equivalent of 3,500 calories. Even strenuous exercise is only about 700 calories an hour. I've been on a strict 1200 calorie a day diet for weeks and have finally lost a few pounds. You have to radically change the way you eat. Eat plenty of salads, whole grain foods, fruit and drink plenty of water. Good luck.

Answer 6

You can exercise all you want -- if your diet isn't right, you'll never lose the weight. So let's talk about getting your diet in order.

These are your biggest enemies if you want to lose weight:

-- High fructose corn syrup, found mostly in juices/soft drinks
-- Partially or fully hydrogenated oils, found in chips/baked goods
-- Refined flour and sugar
-- Saturated fat, found mostly in processed meats
-- Grain alcohol like beer and hard liquor


These foods and drinks are weight-loss friendly:

-- Water
-- Unsweetened tea, especially green tea
-- Wine, especially red wine, but only one glass per day max
-- Nuts of any kind (almonds are best)
-- Beans/Legumes
-- Green vegetables (raw spinach tops the list)
-- Lowfat dairy products
-- Eggs
-- Lean meats, especially fish and poultry
-- Olive oil (one of the best things on the planet for you)
-- Whole grain breads/cereals/pasta
-- Fresh fruit (any type of berry is first-rate)

The rest is common sense: Eat only when you're hungry, don't stuff when you do eat, no between-meal snacks, etc. Olive oil is a natural appetite suppressant, so try taking a tablespoonful before meals. You may also want to try increasing your fiber intake. Fiber fills you up and also helps your body get a lot of that "bad" fat out of your system.

P.S.: Chocolate is actually good for you, but the whole milk and sugar in it isn't so good -- go ahead and eat it, but in moderation.

Good luck!

Answer 7

Without knowing about your history and habits it's difficult to say. One thing to check is your thyroid. It's also possible that although you've cut out a lot of fatty foods, your diet consists of too many calories considering what you burn every day. Your diet may also be lacking proper balance. I would need more information. Please visit my website (partially under construction, sorry) at www.bodybybarbra.com.

Answer 8

i would suggest cutting out sodas, excess sugars/salts and excess starch if you haven't done so already.

the age old staple-eat more fruits, more veggies, lean meats, and complex carbs. for your breads you can use whole grains or wheat bread.

you didn't mention if you drink a lot of water or not. you don't have to drink the recommended 8 glasses a day, sometimes that's just too much. your body will tell you what you need. just make sure water is your main source. tea is good as well as long as it's natural.

snack! that's right..eat between meals. eat 4-6 meals a day if you want. but snack healthy. a lot of people say not to snack but if you don't, it will most likely cause you to overeat when you finally get to the meal. the whole concept of 3 meals is to fit into a work schedule but unfortunately you can't defy evolution. again, your body will tell you when to eat, even if it's something like a handful of grapes. this will keep your metabolism steady throughout the day as well, instead of having ups and downs(along with your glucose levels) when you eat 3 meals. eating too little will cause your body to go into starvation mode and keep the few calories you give..so eat =D

don't eat after 7pm. i generally like to eat a light dinner and then go to bed a little hungry. this avoids that awful bloated feeling you can sometimes get when you lay down after eating too much/too late. it'll also allow your body to focus on rebuilding itself instead of digesting food.

you can change up your type of cardio as well. maybe walk for less time, but walk faster. there's also a great technique called interval training. for example: you get warmed up, then walk very fast for 1 minute, then walk slow for 1 minute, then walk moderately fast for 5 minutes. if you can stand to jog then you can start doing that, even in interval training.

i would also tell you to definitely add some weight training in there. nothing heavy, but it will help tone and define, and it continues to burn calories long after you are finished. i myself lost 20lbs in one month by consistently doing weights everyday. (that's not really common to lose that much, but it can happen)

if all else fails you may want to talk to your doctor. there is a possibility you have a thyroid problem. it's probably not likely but it happens in some cases. this makes losing weight more difficult. a thyroid problem has to do with hormones and it affects your metabolism. a sweating problem would not likely be the case of a thyroid problem, but i would still have that checked out. there are people who sweat more than others, and there's nothing wrong.

above all else-be patient. you might have hit a plateau, but changing your routine/adding weights will get you off the plateau. do yourself a favor and pay attention to how you look and feel, not how you weigh. at one point in my life i weighed 180, and i'm 5'7, but i'm built athletically and it looked good and everyone thought i weighed less. muscle weighs more than fat but takes up less space. don't abuse the scale =)

in the link below you can fill out a short survey and get a free pedometer to help keep track of your steps. positive motivation helps.

Answer 9

You should do exercise that breaks you into a sweat for at least 30 mins each day, eat one (healthy) main meal a day and don't snack in between, then you should see some results after a few weeks.

Answer 10

Homeopathic Treatment for Excessive Fat and Weight :-
PHYTOLACCA BERRY's Mother Tincture is perhaps the safest and sure fire way of loosing excessive fat around abdomen. With Phytolacca Berry once you loose the excessive fat and weight you don't get it back because you body takes care of itself after that and keeps you from gathering up excessive fat. It is prescribed after having a baby too, to get the tummy to loose its flab and to make it flatter and tighter. And after loosing weight with this you don't get flabby it tightens up the flab and skin along with helping your body to shed the excessive accumulation of fat around the girth
The dosage is 15 to 20 drops of the tincture in half a cup of hot water thrice a day half hour before or after meals.
Avoid Chocolates, Coffee, Mints, Red Meat and Carbonated and Alcoholic drinks while taking Homeopathic Medicines. You have to take it for at least 30 to 45 days after that you start to feel the results.
To the best of my knowledge its the safest and the most sure fire way of loosing fat and weight and keeping it of for keeps. Excellent remedy for Obese people who cant seem to shed weight despite trying.
Homeopathic Remedies can be found at all Major Herbal Stores or could be bought on line, In most of the world Homeopathic remedies are quite cheap and easy to find and they do not need a prescription.
Take care and God Bless !

P.S
Regular active exercise is advised with all weight loosing medicines and remedies :-) Take care