Eating less but not losing weight

Factual Questions
1

I don’t normally have much for breakfast except for the free coffee at work and a few biscuits. Sometimes I’ll have a bowl of cereal with semi-skimmed milk, sometimes I won’t have anything for breakfast at all except for the coffee.

Ever since I started sticking to a tight budget, lunches have all been pretty ho-hum as I make sandwhiches at home. These normally consist of a slice of cheese on white bread with something else for variety - cheese and mayo, cheese and hummus, cheese and bologna, cheese and pesto…

Dinner is the only “proper” meal of the day and usually consists of some filling carbs like rice or pasta or potatoes, coupled with a sauce-based topping like lamb stew, red beans in tomato sauce or chicken curry. Sometimes dinner will be a rushed affair and we’ll have fishsticks with oven-fries or a store-bought frozen pizza. because of the budget I don’t get to spend a lot on snacks so that means I don’t usually nibble on junk during the day. When I do bring something to go with my sandwhiches as work it usually a can of pineapple or peach slices or an apple.

The long and short of it is that I’m not eating all that much, and what I do eat isn’t all that fattening. So why aren’t I thinner than I am? Granted I’m not getting any exercise at all except for the 5-minute walk to the train station each morning and back, but I used to eat FAR more than I do now yet had a flatter stomach. Has my body just gotten used to the reduced amount of food and lowered my metabolism accordingly?

2

Your body doesn’t know that you want to lose weight; it thinks your food supply is running short with the coming winter, and you’re starving to death, so it’s extracting every possible gram of fat & protein it can out of what you eat and it’s storing it all for winter.

You will probably start to see some weight loss if you exercise a bit more, say, make that a 15-minute walk rather than a 5-minute walk.

3

Check your calories. The stuff you’re eating sounds very high calorically (and fruit soaked in sugar syrup IS fattening even though it contains no fat – it has tons of calories).

Store bought pizza is a particular offender. Check serving size calories vs. the amount you generally eat. I would not be surprised if the calories actually consumed are jaw-dropping.

You can track your caloric intake, if you care to, with free services such as www.fitday.com.

4

[QUOTE=Book Monster]
The long and short of it is that I’m not eating all that much, and what I do eat isn’t all that fattening. So why aren’t I thinner than I am? Granted I’m not getting any exercise at all except for the 5-minute walk to the train station each morning and back, but I used to eat FAR more than I do now yet had a flatter stomach. Has my body just gotten used to the reduced amount of food and lowered my metabolism accordingly?
[/QUOTE]

You may be underestimating your calorie and fat intake. A member of this board once sent me an excellent resource for calculating your Base Metabolic Rate (calories/day) (scroll down) and to that I compared my meals with the USDA’s nutrient database.

I was shocked that a very simple, and very healthy meal that I made, shot up quite significantly in calorie content by the fact that I had added a single piece of pita bread. (The slice of pita bread had more calories than the rest of my meal’s components combined).

Determine your daily caloric needs and then compare them to the foods you are eating. If your calorie intake is very low but you are gaining weight (or are remaining heavier than a healthy norm), visit your doctor to rule out any health issues.

5

I’ve also noticed that I’m not as physically strong as I used to be. Heavy loads that used to be a breeze for me are now way more tiring.

Hello Again - The canned fruit is actually canned in juice rather than syrup, but your point about calories versus fat is taken.

Is it the amount of carbs I’m eating then? Please tell me Atkins isn’t the only answer otherwise I may as well just shoot myself rather than forgo a plate of Penne Arrabiata

6

Assuming even that this diet lowers your caloric intake- you might just be “exercising” less to make up for it, and don’t even realize it.

7

To be honest I don’t think I’d be happy eating any less than what I am already. When I get hungry I get serious headaches and get grouchy, impatient and (depending on the severity of the hunger) sometimes even a bit depressed or panicky. It sounds totally juvenile but my body just seems to be wired that way. Food is a big deal for me.

The fact that I’ve been on a tight budget and have been eating cheaper food (and less of it) has sometimes gotten to me as well, but I just accept that that’s the reality of life sometimes and until I get rich I won’t be enjoying steak dinners or platters of sushi anytime soon.

So if I need to cut my caloric intake, how do I do that on a budget short of eating even less?

8

Another thing is, as we age, our metabolisms slow down. At 18 I weighed 105lb, had the metabolism of a spastic hummingbird and ate literally whatever I wanted with no negative effects. Now that I am 31, I am struggling to maintain at 130, paying lots of attention to what I eat.

Consider that what was not “too much” in the past may simply be “too much” now. IF you can afford you might want to focus your diet more on high-fiber, high-nutrition vegetables (which incidentally are astoundingly low in calories) and less on low-fiber starches.

9

Do you ever eat any vegetables? I see no mention of veggies except for the tomatos that are in pizza sauce.

Beyond that, skipping breakfast tends to put your body into a “it might be a while before I get food again mode” and the processing of lunch is aimed at storing it (as fat) rather than burning it as energy.

Also, your dinners are looking like carb overload. You don’t need to drop carbs entirely, but cut back some on those “filling” high glycemic index carbs and replace them with vegetables, or at least lower-GI carbs such as brown rice (and less of it) instead of white rice.

Have a look at the South Beach diet. I’m not saying you need to go on it and avoid carbs forever, and that’s not what that plan is about, anyway. Just read through the book and you can probably pick up the idea of which carbs are better for you.

10

You think you’re not eating much, but what you’re eating isn’t great from a weight loss point of view.

[QUOTE=Book Monster]
I don’t normally have much for breakfast except for the free coffee at work and a few biscuits. Sometimes I’ll have a bowl of cereal with semi-skimmed milk, sometimes I won’t have anything for breakfast at all except for the coffee.
[/QUOTE]

It’s better to eat a decent breakfast than no breakfast at all - it will fill you up, give you energy, and make you less inclined to eat fatty foods during the day. I’ve also heard (but I’m not a dietician) that it kick starts your metabolism, so you start buring calories early rather than storing them up.

[QUOTE=Book Monster]
Ever since I started sticking to a tight budget, lunches have all been pretty ho-hum as I make sandwhiches at home. These normally consist of a slice of cheese on white bread with something else for variety - cheese and mayo, cheese and hummus, cheese and bologna, cheese and pesto…
[/QUOTE]

Okay. Cheese = bad. Cheese is pure lard, one of the most fattening things you can eat. White bread if fattening, you need to switch to some kind of granary bread or wraps which, while still fattening, are considerably better. Pesto is nuts (full of oil), olive oil (fat) and parmesan cheese (evil). The only non fattening thing in it is basil. Mayo is very fattening. Hummus has a lot of fat in it. So you see, you’re eating highly calorific things without even thinking about it. Read every jar/packet you buy to see for yourself. Start eating low fat - grilled chicken and salad with no oily dressing, for instance.

[QUOTE=Book Monster]
Dinner is the only “proper” meal of the day and usually consists of some filling carbs like rice or pasta or potatoes, coupled with a sauce-based topping like lamb stew, red beans in tomato sauce or chicken curry. Sometimes dinner will be a rushed affair and we’ll have fishsticks with oven-fries or a store-bought frozen pizza.
[/QUOTE]

Your eveing meal should really be the lightest meal of the day, as you’re about to go to bed and all that stuff will just sit heavily in your stomach while you sleep. Carbs are high energy, and you aren’t doing anything in the evening to burn them off. Lamb is a very fatty meat (eat chicken/turkey or fish instead). I can’t even begin to describe the evil of processed foods like fishsticks, oven fries and pizza.

All these things are better if you can make them from scratch - you can even make low fat pizza and low fat oven chips yourself that taste way better than the bought stuff and are much healthier.

Throw out your frying pan. Use a low fat cooking spray instead of oil or butter. Substitute red meats for white. Grill or bake rather than fry. Eat more fish. Fill up on other vegetables rather than potatoes.

I know this is all really boring, but it really works. I’ve been following a low fat diet for a while now and manage to eat lovely food and stuff my face an still lose weight - all because I pay attention to the individual ingredients.

because of the budget I don’t get to spend a lot on snacks so that means I don’t usually nibble on junk during the day. When I do bring something to go with my sandwhiches as work it usually a can of pineapple or peach slices or an apple.

[QUOTE=Book Monster]
The long and short of it is that I’m not eating all that much, and what I do eat isn’t all that fattening. So why aren’t I thinner than I am?
[/QUOTE]

Aah, but you’re eating IS fattening.

And of course, age doesn’t help. We all get a bit lumpier as we get older, and more exercise really can make a difference.

11

[QUOTE=Book Monster]
So if I need to cut my caloric intake, how do I do that on a budget short of eating even less?
[/QUOTE]
It is not a matter of eating less it is a matter of selecting foods you enjoy that leave you filling fulfilled, but that have a lower calorie content.

I live a fairly active lifestyle which makes me very hungry and I become a hopeless grouch if I’m even mildly hungry. I eat enormous amounts of food, but mostly fresh vegetables with lean protein, such as giant salads with grilled chicken on top.

It is quite possible to eat healthier foods on a budget. We have a very modest income, but manage by buying fresh and preparing all our own meals.

12

I try to eat beans as they’re a cheap source of protein and we occasionally have mushrooms with our baked potatoes or in omelettes, but I certainly could stand to eat a lot more vegetables. I’ve cut right back on red meat due to the cost - I used to have it almost every day - but now have it a couple of times a week. We’ll have chicken (usually oven-cooked, never fried) a couple of times a week as well.

Skipping breakfast probably isn’t such a good idea. What’s a healthy, FAST, easy-to-prepare breakfast for someone who usually barely has time to pull on his pants before dashing for the train? I sometimes take cereal with me to work and eat it at my desk, but that doesn’t happen often.

13

Well, you could reduce your caloric intake by changing the types of food that you eat, if not the amount. You will probably get faster results by increasing your metabolic rate. Yes, that dirty word <whisper>exercising</whisper>. :eek:

14

[QUOTE=Book Monster]
The long and short of it is that I’m not eating all that much, and what I do eat isn’t all that fattening.
[/QUOTE]

Examine the link to the USDA’s nutrient database in the post above. One ounce of cheese between two slices of bread has almost the same calorie and fat content as a 2 ounce Snickers bar.

It seems that you are underestimating your fat and calorie intake. You may be eating the right portion sizes, however, you must modify your food types. Aim for leaner proteins (cheese is a good source of protein but it is also half fat) and lower your overall carbohydrate intake, unless you have exercise demands that require the energy.

15

[QUOTE=Book Monster]
To be honest I don’t think I’d be happy eating any less than what I am already. When I get hungry I get serious headaches and get grouchy, impatient and (depending on the severity of the hunger) sometimes even a bit depressed or panicky. It sounds totally juvenile but my body just seems to be wired that way. Food is a big deal for me
[/QUOTE]

Sugar crashes.

You definitely need to swap out those nutritionally “cheap” carbs for longer-acting foods. Instead of a biscuit for breakfast, try half a whole-grain bagel with cream cheese, or a stick of string cheese and celery.

16

For the record, I’m 185 pounds and 5 foot 9, male age 31. Not really overweight, but I miss my abs! I used to be FAR more active (job with lots of lifting and carrying and where I was on my feet all day), but now I’m at a desk job and have become almost sedentary. I guess I’m just trying to halt the middle-age spread before it really gets going…

17

[QUOTE=Book Monster]
Skipping breakfast probably isn’t such a good idea. What’s a healthy, FAST, easy-to-prepare breakfast for someone who usually barely has time to pull on his pants before dashing for the train? I sometimes take cereal with me to work and eat it at my desk, but that doesn’t happen often.
[/QUOTE]
I am not a “breakfast person”. I use a protein supplement (soy powder) in orange juice (it is fairly cheap) and I often have a hard boiled egg, which is prepared the night before, and a banana when I arrive at the office.

Be advised that my cholesterol level is excellent and an egg a day is causing me no harm.

18

Your diet is extremely high in carbs, and all the wrong kinds (bread, pasta, sugar), and none of the best kind (some veggies and some fruits).

And at your age, you’re beginning to pay the price for your sedentary lifestyle. Get moving!

19

[QUOTE=Book Monster]
For the record, I’m 185 pounds and 5 foot 9, male age 31. Not really overweight, but I miss my abs!
[/QUOTE]

Mmm, you may want to check out the BMI caculator. It would beg to differ.

20

[QUOTE=gotpasswords]
Sugar crashes.

You definitely need to swap out those nutritionally “cheap” carbs for longer-acting foods. Instead of a biscuit for breakfast, try half a whole-grain bagel with cream cheese, or a stick of string cheese and celery.
[/QUOTE]

I was going to suggest something similar: an apple and a 3/4 or 1oz cheese stick (eating together, just the apple alone will tend to make you hungry later). 161 calories. You can stick it your pocket and eat on the train (which is what I do each morning while I’m running for the train!). The celery really IS better objectively, but for me, its not maintainable over the long run, I get sick of it and yield to the temptation of something MUCH less healthy. Whereas I [heart] apples and could eat them daily for the rest of my life.

Another option is “light” or reduced sugar yogurt. Portable (you just have to remember a spoon) and about 90-100 calories.