Okay. For starters, I'm quite over weight. I'm having a mid life crisis and can't go walking around like this anymore, I constantly feel like people are staring at me, judging me, ect.

I started off by dieting. I count calories, eat healthy, ect. (Mainly steak, low calorie foods, fake sugar, vegetables, ect. No junk food or anything.)

I'm also exercising, usually by starting off by a quick run in the mornings (usually about 15 mins) then running half way through the day (also 15 mins) then a nice long run (usually ending with me walking back because it's very steep up hill. ) for about 30-45 mins. When I go to stores, I park at the back of the parking lot, run up the stairs instead of taking the elevator, just little stuff to add up.

I'm not going over my calories, in fact, I don't think I'm getting enough.

My scale isn't moving! in fact, by the end of the day, it raises a lb or two. I don't understand, i exercise so much, but nothing is paying off. I don't get it. I'm so desperate to lose weight and I'm trying so hard.

Could this be due to my not enough calorie intake? I'm afraid of eating more calories and gaining weight, or not losing weight. I'm really afraid of that. Someone tell me why I've been doing this routine for two weeks and haven't lost weight?! HELP!

Do an IXQuick search for Mark Sisson.

I've lost 50 pounds and I'm not counting calories or feeling hungry.

Remember; We've spent the last 30 years gaining weight. It's not going away in 30 days. It might take three months for the scale to move, but 5 pounds a month for a year is 60 pounds. Two years is 120 pounds.

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I'd rather meander for the prevention than race for the cure.

If you are overweight you have to ensure your body adapts to burning FAT.

Every time you put refined carbohydrates, sugars or fructose into the system your body has to deal with raised blood glucose by storing fat rather than burning it.

Health & Weight Loss from Diet Doctor

I think changing the nature of the food you eat by eating more FAT and less carbohydrate is probably the most important change to make. I don't think counting calories is helpful. That is not an excuse to over consume but you do have to prevent your body getting into starvation mode and reducing metabolic rate.

I think cutting out wheat/corn and all grains as well as reducing all sugars/fructose is more important that counting calories or increasing exercise. It worked for me. Having set meal times and not eating between meals gives your body more time to adapt to fat burning. You may also want to look at intermittent fasting.

You may also want to look at that fake sugar. Chemicals can cause weight retention. Only stevia is what I would recommend for sweetening... maybe xylitol on occassion as I am unsure of the overall effect of large amounts of xylitol on those trying to loose weight.

Aerobics is good but what you really need to be doing is building muscle which aerobics will not do for you. Enter into a hand weights training program or take on on yourself at home. Building muscle will assure that you will burn more calories and fat. It is more important than aerobics overall for weight loss. Aerobics has other benefits and should not be totally eliminated.

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I don't like using the scale, the weights shown do fluctuate throughout the day, and it can be depressing...not a good state of mind when trying to lose some weight.

Instead of thinking of it as 'dieting', better to embrace it as a lifestyle change. Drinking lots of filtered water daily, cutting out or back on breads, potatoes, fatty/fried foods, cheeses, etc. will help. Drink some Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar in water in the mornings, that seems to help. Just starting the day with some natural lemon juice in an 8 ounce glass of tepid water will help give the metabolism a jump-start.

Put the scale away for a month, and just go by the way your pants are fitting. My jeans begin to dig into my waist when I need to lose, and the feeling of them being more comfortable is so rewarding. The urge to jump into sweatpants when you get home just to feel good again goes away, and hours can pass without even realizing you still have your jeans on.

Are you doing any weights? Weight bearing exercises build muscle, which helps the body burn fat. Try doing longer times also during your exercise, weekends if need be. Switch up, walking briskly for 15 min., then a 15 min. run. then back to the walk, etc.

Also, portion control is so important, I can eat a lot of food, and I have to consciously limit my portions in order to lose weight. Eat smaller meals throughout the day, and snack on things like baby carrots, celery, almonds, etc. Get any junk foods out of the house.

Switching out any butters or margarine with extra virgin olive oil, light olive oil, or coconut oil will also make a difference. You can use L-Glutamine supplement for sweet cravings. I have the "Now" brand powder on hand for when I need it. Also, have a cut-off time in the evening for eating, like nothing after 7 o'clock but water.

The heck with the other people looking or judging, that may or may not be true...but just do it for yourself. We feel so much better mentally, emotinally and physically when our weight is under control. All these tiny little changes all add up to success, good luck, and keep posting about your journey...that helps too.

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"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~Immanual Kant~

Excellent way to induce the body to make HGH; Go into periods of anaerobic excercise and then drop back into the fat burning range of 50 to 75% of max heart rate.


Nutritionally, I really like Mark Sisson and Ted Hutchinson. Their philosophy works well for me.

I can relate to your situation as I have been dieting most of my life and still continue to do so. I am now in my 50's and realized my body has changed quite a bit as I have gotten older. I have tried one diet that has worked which is weight watchers. I lost about 20 lbs and am happy but also know that it seems anything I eat makes me gain weight too easily. I know that my age changed with my metabolism and I need to work out more at my gym to get the same result as I did when I was younger. Anyone have any answers to this? I think it is just a part of getting older!

There is no denying it, we have to work harder as we age to fight the fat. But, as long as we know this, we can work around it. Cut back on the offending foods and increase activity, doesn't have to be in a gym...just everyday life.

I think you've already gotten excellent advice, but maybe post everything you consume for a few days here. There's studies that fake sugar will actually make you more fat than real sugar. So not all calories are equal and even zero calories like diet soda has been shown to be worse for you than a regular soda.

I honeslty think 15 minutes of exericse isn't enough. I think you are better off running or exercising for 30 minutes to an hour if you can handle it. If you have a choice between strength training or doing cardio like running, new studies are showing lifting weights will burn more fat. The reason is after you are done working out your muscles are still burning fat as they are rebuilding.

I think most americans it's hard to cut out soda and many of us including myself a few years ago trick ourselves into thinking zero calorie sodas are not making me fat, which in fat they are.

Stay away from processed foods, shop around the outer part of your grocery store and make sure you are getting enough vegatbles, grains and different types of meats not just steak. Try drinking teas instead of soda and as it's already been mentioned if you have to sweeten with something use stevia

For Weight Loss, Less Exercise May Be More

Another bulls-eye from Ted the Sharpshooter.


My sister does those lengthy spin classes, while I do interval training outside the gym. Needless to say, we cannot cycle together because she cannot even begin to keep up with me. At first I thought that they were just lazy at the spin class, but no; They really work hard.

They could do a whole lot more for functional muscle development in a lot less time if they would change their method.

Some medications will also put weight on you and not let you loose weight.
avoid all types of sugar, especially artificial sweetners, just brisk walking can be just as benificial as running.
Also its hard to loose weight if you have a thyroid problem.

Actually, brisk walking is far better than running for burning fat.

Keep your pulse rate between 50% and 75% of max to burn fat.

Above 75% you're burning glycogen, which drives carb cravings, which drives insulin, which drives hunger, which makes us fail to lose fat.

A lot of good advice here, indeed, but I would just like to add that being so stressed about losing weight can really hinder your results, too! Not being able to let go of the thought in your mind is like not letting go of the weight. A lot of people are ignoring this, but I have had this experience - work out like crazy, eat right, etc. and the weight just stays there. The moment I get so busy with something else, start exercising less and enjoy life instead of ONLY thinking about my weight loss, results start showing. I would say - pay more attention to this crisis you have going on... It's not a matter of calories, but rather a depression you have going on that needs to be taken care of...

From someone who was very overweight, and now am at a point where I have to make sure I eat more than I'm hungry/desirous of or I end up TOO thin...

NO FAKE SUGARS - These are toxic chemicals which research has shown they are in-fact not zero calorie as advertised but instead your body treats them differently than other whole calorie foods. Also, they are acidic, and anything acidic will help your body maintain fat storage.

Acids - your body longs to be alkaline, normally maintaining a strict 7.4 pH level. Foods which are inherently acid (largely meats, carbohydrates meaning breads and sugars or anything that breaks down into a simple sugar during digestion, read CORN here as well, chemicals and food additives, etc.) your body will collect, surround in fat and store to prevent physical harm. The problem is as you eat more acids more acids accumulate and then when you try to detox or exercise them off your body gets large amounts of acids dumped into the system making you body sore and often physically sick (google Healing Crisis). Eating alkaline foods, alkalinizing your water, avoiding additives and "junk" foods will help with this process.

It helps if you get more specific by what you mean when you say "low calorie foods". Are these packaged and processed foods or are you talking about whole foods (fruits/veggies, etc)? There is a world of difference.

Calorie counting is helpful, but not an end all. During my journey (I've gone from a size 16/18 women's down to a 4, right now I'm maintaining 115lbs standing 5'6" and I'm fit, very toned) the biggest help for cutting weight was when I did an alkaline detox. I did green juicing for my meals and supplemented with a good vegan/gluten-free/filler-free multi-vitamin. Literally the fat (and particularly the hard areas to lose like the thighs, belly and love handles) melted away without me having to amp up or change my workout routines, which at the time were similar to what you are doing.

Remember it is a process... weight gain is never just weight gain. There are always issues underlying it - for myself I love emotional eating and eating when I'm bored. I would do it mindlessly and always the foods that were terrible (but tasted oh so good). That is often the worst too because you are mindlessly consuming food so you don't always realize you've eaten half a bag of potato chips until you are already on your way to eating the whole bag... Be mindfully prepared, always have healthy snacks available (and by healthy I mean whole foods like apples or other fruits like grapes which they say help push your metabolism, unsalted nuts, etc). AVOID all packaged foods when possible, including protein bars (which are just cardboard tasting candy bars), snack bars, breakfast bars, etc etc etc.

Oh, and DON'T DRINK YOUR CALORIES. Drink water, spice it up with lemon (I make a strong lemon juice using 3-4 fresh squeezed lemons per quart of water with stevia as a sweetener, and drink two quarts of that a day because it's hard for me to drink enough "plain" water), or mint, or cucumber, whatever floats your boat but does not adulterate the water (meaning stay away from things like Crystal Lite, etc). We tend to be chronically dehydrated as a society and eat when we are thirsty.

Remember it is a process - especially the more weight you have to lose the more you are going to go up and down on the scale. Once you start getting close to your target you're mind is going to want to tell you how good you've been and that you can do a cheat here and there, which adds up and creates its own problems. For working out - I really recommend having to commit to some kind of social workout plan where people encourage you. This helps on those days, which will come along, where you would rather go to lunch with a friend than go workout. Having *sshole friends who get on your case and push you hard to stick to your commitment really goes a long way!

If you want my alkaline cleanse or help putting together an ingredient-reading list to help when you go grocery shopping send me a message.