OK, so I've been trying to lose weight foreeeeeever and have gotten nowhere. I recently started my own company as a dog walker, at least in part to be able to get a lot of exercise. I have been doing this for about a month now.

I have calculated an average day's food on Livestrong to be about 1500 calories, with nothing particularly out of balance except perhaps a little too much protein. All my meals are homemade, we never buy so much as a jar of ready made sauce these days.

I cycle for at least 1 hour a day, in 15 minute bursts, and walk for between 2 and 3 hours in total. I burn at least 1000 calories a day. I very rarely get hungry aside from mealtimes, so don't feel that extra snacks or anything could help.

How can it be possible that I do not lose weight doing this? I am 14.5 stone so it should be dropping off, shouldn't it? I'm getting sooo frustrated. I have 2 weddings to go to this summer and really thought that I would lose something when I started working but I'm absolutely sick of this. Can anyone see anything I can change?

I see you have lost 22 pounds , that is a significant loss.

It's been many years of fluctuating weight to lose that. I would say it's been at least 5 years now. My weight has now been steady for the past 1 year, no matter what I do.

Are you 100% sure of your calories, no guesses?
I would try and kick start it by dropping cals or doing aerobic exercise.
Whilst walking is good for you I don't believe it would help you lose too much in itself.
x

I see all calorie counting as guessing, but I have guessed as well as I can, weighing out my cereal, measuring my milk etc. But even if I am under by 1000, I would still be eating 2500 a day and burning 1000 - this should still surely result in a little weight loss. Or so I thought.
A lot of my walking is pretty strenuous, I am basically in a pool of sweat (sorry, gross, I know!) for about 4 or 5 hours every day. Some of the dogs I take out are huge energetic animals and we are up and down hills and running around in the park in 25 degree heat. I drink tonnes of water every day.

I honestly don't know if I could drop any calories, I probably wouldn't have any energy to get out of bed, never mind all that cycling and walking.

Hi hun, sorry to hear you've a bit of a wall. Silly question perhaps, do you eat back the calories that you've worked off? I personally dont and im a total of a stone and a half down since end of march (my stats here are from when I joined, not when I started)

I started at 1500 calories a day and struggled to eat it all, which I know sounds crazy, but my weight is from years of binging and eating at the wrong times and little to no exercise, I've reduced my daily cal to 1300 and 150grams of carbs per day, as my body looooves carbs. Anyway, I've never eaten back the cals I work off, because for me, I don't feel the need to. All I can say really is take another look at what your cal intake is, forget about your work out cals, but keep working out obvs

Don't panic and please don't give up, I know its tough and stressful but once you find the sweet spot, grab it and don't let go

Then up your calories and have a few days off, then get back to the diet. You might find you then have an easier run of weight loss. Your body is resisting onederland!! x

I don't eat extra on the days when I'm working, it's pretty much 1500 cals every day. I thought I would be hungrier when I am doing so much exercise but it hasn't really worked out that way! From what I've calculated, it's about 200g carbs a day. It sounds like a little much for me, but I know I also need an energy boost to enable me to do so much exercise.

Congrats on your loss Lozz, I guess I should make some adjustments and re-check the scales in a couple of weeks. The biggest problem right now is that I have to go to the first wedding in a month and desperately need to fit into one of the dresses that haven't fit in quite a while! I live in Sweden now and it's seriously expensive to buy something new, especially on a dog walker's salary!

How is your fibre intake? I burn off the same calories as you and I'm pretty rigid with my calorie counting.
For breakfast, I have a low cal (35) yoghurt and the listed portion of a granola cereal with seeds and dried berries in it, and I also add a half portion of bran. I mix all that together (can't drink milk) and add some berries and chia seeds (flax works) to it as well...works out to around 400 cals + or -, depending on a few things and I chase it down with a bottle of water.
Not only is it filling, but it 'moves' things along and makes me regular. I was really struggling in that department.
I was feeling uncomfortable and bloated, but now I'm feeling clear and lighter. I also eat a lot more quinoa since it has a high protien content as well.
Try changing the kinds of carbs you eat.

its not about how many kcals you eat, its all about what the kcals coming from. you can eat 2000kcals but if those are quality kcals wont do the harm. sugar can ruin all efforts, people are very concious about fat but dont pay attention to the sugar intakes.

Think my fibre intake is pretty reasonable, I could probably do better since I don't particularly like fruit, but I do love my veggies.

I don't usually eat much sugary foods, but have been having breakfast cereal and a small glass of fresh orange juice in the mornings. I figured I would get away with it since I need so much energy for work, but do you think perhaps it could be the sugar from those that is interfering with the weight loss?

Feeling a bit nervous for tomorrow, I took a whole lot of bookings and am looking at a schedule where I am constantly exercising from 10am till 3pm - no breaks. It may either kill me or cure me.

Well I switched out the sugary cereal for scrambled eggs and toast. Could barely get my legs to move me. I worked non-stop for 5 hours yesterday, covered something like 16 miles, and almost had to crawl home. It was much the same today although I was only working for 4 hours. I don't think I've ever had such bad muscle fatigue. I guess I need to rethink that one and maybe go back to the cereal, even if it stops me losing weight.

Have you thought that you might be burning off so much, that your body has gone into self preservation and is reserving your fat? This usually happens when someone's calorie intake is too low for their daily energy requirements. I see that your daily intake is 1500, but if you are continuously exercising strenuously for five hours a day it may not be enough. I would suggest working out your base metabolic rate (google it to find a calculator online) and see if it doesn't recommend a higher calorie intake for your level of activity.

Regarding the carbs vs. protein, I had the same problem when I cut carbs.. I had an energy slump and got fatigued very quickly. It's generally not a good idea to cut carbs as they're the body's preferred energy source. You need carbs in your body no matter how much fat you have to lose. I would recommend to you that you switch to unrefined carbs. That means binning the white bread, the sugary cereals, the white rice, white pasta and white potatoes. Instead, substitute wholemeal bread, wholemeal pasta, brown rice, sweet potato, and a great meal for breakfast is porridge oats made half and half with milk and water, with a handful of crushed almonds thrown in. You get your good carbs from theoats, healthy fats and protein from the almonds and milk, while capping the meal at around 230 calories. That's what I've discovered through trial and error, and I lost a whopping 4lbs this week!

Whatever you do, I wish you all the best, as I know from experience how frustrating a plateau can be. Stay strong!

Oh yeah - regarding the fruit juice. I love fruit juice so much, but it's a fast sugar hit that will spike and slump your blood sugar. It's much better for you to actually eat the fruit, so the sugars come out of the fruit fibre as they're digested. Try eating an orange alongside your breakfast, and drink water or tea (green tea's supposedly beneficial to weightloss). If nothing else, it's extra food and will help fill you up better than juice!

I would say try calorie counting strictly for 1 day (rather than just guessing) to see how much you are actually eating. Don't change anything you eat, just record what, when & exactly how much, and tot up the calories. And report back