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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    Why am I seeing no weight loss results?

    I am a healthy eater 60-70% of the time, I am a vegetarian so I eat vegetables and fruit quite regularly, I go on 20 minute runs twice a week and 40 minute runs twice a week also, I also do yoga once a week, even though I eat healthier and exercise more than other people my age.

    I am seeing no weight loss or even a fitter/ toner looking body, is there any thing I am missing or do you have any great health tips that could see me reach my ideal body weight and look, thank you!
  • Find a professional to answer your question

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    Arlene is a registered practising dietitian, with a private practice in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, and has built a strong business over the last … View Profile

    What does it mean being healthy 60-70% of the time? What are you eating for the remainder of the time? You can never compare yourself to others. Everyone has different metabolic rates and genetic makeups. In addition you are not with anyone all the time to monitor their eating and exercise. Some people are endomorphs so tend to be heavier builds, others are meso morphs of medium build and yet others are ectomorphs with lighter builds. Your exercise is admirable, but you might need to increase it to an hour per day by doing a variety of other forms of exercise – weights, pilates, swimming. You also have to analyse your intake. As a vegetarian are you eating too much fruit, too much rice or pasta, or too many nuts? A vegetarian diet is not always low in calories and your intake may be too large for what your body needs. I suggest you start writing down everything you eat through the day and analyse how many calories you are eating. To lose weight you should probably aiming at about 12oo calories per day. It is advisable for you to consult a dietitian to ensure that your diet is well balanced and that you are satisfying all your nutrient requirements.

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    Kirsty Woods

    Exercise Physiologist

    Hi I’m Kirsty Woods,I would like to use my experience, expertise and passion to help you reach your weight, energy and health goalsI have been … View Profile

    It is important to recognize that our metabolisms are as unique as our personalities, for this reason we all have different nutritional and activity requirements.
     
    Try adding in 2-3 sessions of resistance training each week. Resistance exercise improves body composition and health outcomes by reducing body fat and increasing muscle mass. Muscle is an active tissue and therefore requires energy (calories) to maintain itself, thus increasing your metabolism and increasing fat burning by the body.


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    Vangel Rizos

    HealthShare Member

    Hi the world health weight loss guidelines, for overweight, states " calorie reduced balanced diet and 60 -90 minutes every day of exercise,  or more till weight loss is achieved.  so you will have to eat a bit less food and drink ( drink only water ) and and do more exercise ! 

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    Dr Carolyn Ee

    Acupuncturist, GP (General Practitioner)

    I'm a Sydney GP with a special interest in women's health especially menopause and TTC ( trying to conceive). I specialise in acupuncture, and am … View Profile

    It's frustrating when you are putting in the effort and your weight stays the same. Unfortunately our bodies are excellent at remaining at a status quo. Many people find that a change in lifestyle causes initial weight loss and then a plateau is reached as our bodies reach a new set point.

    To move past the set point, a new lifestyle change must be effected, the most sustainable way to do this is to increase the intensity of your exercise (not necessarily the duration).

    however, having said that, you are doing 120 mins a week of aerobic exercise, which is still below the recommended levels for maintaining a healthy heart (note: the 150 mins/week recommendation is probably not sufficient for weight loss).

    You could increase the exercise by half an hour a week, and start doing some interval training (short sprints) or add some hill sprints into your workout. Alternatively you could replace some of the runs with high intensity bodyweight interval training, which are an excellent way to boost your metabolism. (And keep your exercise regime interesting!)

    aim for at least three hours a week and ensure you are working harder than you are now, at intervals, and you should be fine. HIiT generally involves working at 80% of maximum intensity for short periods (as short as 20 seconds).

    diet wise, there is no particular diet that works better than others, but you need to focus on calorie reduction overall. 70% “healthy” diet is a good start but if you blow out on the other 30% that is a concern. Journalling your diet and exercise is an excellent way to keep track of energy intake and expenditure. I would recommend using an app like Myfitnesspal for this. Noone can keep track of your diet except for you - so you must take responsibility for this and identify where it is in your diet you are tripping yourself up (typically large portion sizes and too much dessert).

    mediterranean style diets and high protein low carb diets are popular because they increase satiety and are easier to stick to. Just avoid atkins style diets where high fat foods are encouraged.

    Structured weight loss programs like 12wbt and weight watchers do have their benefits for some people.

    it sounds like you just need to up the intensity and sort out your diet (the 30%). Don't hesitate to contact me for more information.

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    Pieter van der Gaag

    Exercise Physiologist

    Pieter van der Gaag is a Perth-based exercise physiologist and the owner of Perth Mobile Exercise Physiology, a practice that provides tailored exercise and physical … View Profile

    Two issues, already picked up by the previous responses. The first concerns diet, generally more of a contributor to overweight than inactivity. When you say you are a “healthy eater 60-70% of the time” and "eat vegetables and fruit quite regularly", it suggests that there is substantial room for improvement. For example: are you consuming too much sugar? Sugary drinks are often a big contributor to added, empty calories in the diet. Secondly, try to make vegetables a much more prominent part of your diet.Thirdly, ensure that portion sizes are not contributing to the problem.

    The second issue concerns activity levels. It seems to me that you are already doing enough exercise. The question is, are you compensating for all this running by being a couch potato the rest of the time? You might want to look at increasing the amount of incidental activity you do and reducing the frequency/duration of your running sessions (unless you really enjoy these.)

    As an aside, are you also eating more (especially energy-dense foods) than you should due to increased appetite following exercise?

    Dr Ee mentioned High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). This exercise protocol may or may not be your cup of tea, but many people (not all) do show a fat-loss response to a 2-3 times per week regime of HIIT. It is usually performed on a stationary bike, but another version (High Intensity Circuit Training) involves whole-body exercises. If it's for you, then obviously cut back a little on your running. As I said, sensible eating is going to contribute more to weight loss than undertaking a heap of exercise.

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