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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    I have been on a 'weight loss plan' for 7 weeks and can't loose weight

    Related Topic
    Weight Management
    My mum and I have completely changed our lifestyle over the past 7 weeks. We exercise every day and have been eating very "clean" foods. Every night we do a minimum of 1 hour workout but this is mostly cardio, and I have been reading that strength training is very important for weight loss, however my mum is 54 and finds weights etc very difficult, I am 17 and I will endeavour to incorporate this into my workouts if that's what I should be doing. It's very disheartening for the both of us to not loose a huge amount of weight when we are both working so hard. Is there anything that we can change to help us loose weight? Note: my mums BMI is 26.5 (the majority of her weight is around the abdominal area which we believe is from menopause) and my BMI 28 so we both don't have a huge amount of weight to loose we would like 5-10 kgs each. Please help! :)
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    Arlene Normand

    Dietitian

    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

    You should be so proud that you and your mom have made such positive changes to both your diet and exercise. It appears that your exercise regime is very good. Including weights would definitely be beneficial. If your mom cannot do weights she can do pilates which is also strengthening. Post menopausal weight always sits abdominally but she will lose it in that area when her weight drops.

     

    I think you need to look at the portions of food you and your mom are consuming. Consider what is on your plate; not just the type of food, but also the quantity of it. You might be surprised to learn how much you are eating in a ‘normal’ meal – it could be a great deal more than you realise. Overweight people consistently underestimate how much they eat at a sitting, while underweight people overestimate the amount. The bottom line is portions. If you are not sure of the quantities you should be eating you should consult an Accredited practising Dietitian. In Australia portions tend to be large, and getting larger, which is why portion control is so crucial to reaching and maintaining a healthy weight. We have been brought up to ‘finish what is on our plate’ which unfortunately destroys the natural instinct of the body indicating how much we should eat and when we are comfortably full. Only eat when you are physically hungry and stop when you are comfortable – never full! Enjoy your food and eat slowly. It takes 20 minutes for the message to get from your stomach to your heat that you have had something to eat. Everything you eat goes on a plate and you are sitting down to eat it – this does away with picking and snacking!

     

    You have done so well – you just have to put in an extra effort to achieve your goal.

     

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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

    First of all congratulations about making positive lifestyle changes to improve your long term health. Although you have mentioned no significant weight loss how are your clothes feeling, how is your energy?

    As you suggested I would incorporate some resistance based exercise into you regime in order to improve body composition (fat vs muscle). You may find this article of interest http://www.precisionnutrition.com/rr-cardio-vs-weights.

    You may also wish to consider sleep patterns, stress, and medications as these can also impact your weight loss efforts.

    Given your mothers storage patterns, it is suggestive of some possible hormonal involvement (insulin and cortisol) where addressing the above factors as well as considering a reduced carbohydrate load may be beneficial. You may find this article of interest http://www.docsopinion.com/2014/08/24/lose-belly-fat-central-obesity-and-health/. 

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