Exercise Isn't Working... I Gained 15 Pounds!

work hard...

You're not doing enough exercise to counteract 15 hours at the computer.

No strength training? How is your water and vegetable intake? Is your heart rate in the cardio zone when doing your walks?

At your age, metabolism slows as you gain fat and lose muscle mass. You NEED to strength train, working full body at least 2x a week.

If you drank a ton of soda and are now drinking a ton of OJ, that is still a lot of calories and sugars. Yes a glass of OJ is "better" than one of soda/pop but I would go to mostly just water. Have your OJ with meals and then just water in between during the day as you sit at your desk.

It is odd at first but you'll get use to it.. I have a similar desk job and switched to only drinking water at work except at meals. I may have the odd green tea some mornings.

Like Zorbs, I'd say some weight training in addition to your walks would be beneficial. Just pick 2-3 days (one day break between at least) and instead of a walk do some weight training. Start light, and keep up the walking.. I started with swimming then added in weight training. I was 260 lbs but I'm now down around 200ish.

You gained weight because you ate more calories than your body needs. Exercise isn't magic. It's just one more way to burn calories. Eat less than your body needs and you'll lose weight. Thermodynamics is neat!

"I just eat a lot. I exchanged sodas for OJ and I love fruit. I just plain like to eat."

There you go. It has nothing to do with exercise. It has to do with controlling your food. I suspect you've done what most people do - you've used the exercise you get as an excuse to eat more. You tell yourself that because you walked today, you can have another serving of potatoes or an afternoon snack, or whatever.

OJ is no different from sodas in the long run - it's pure sugar and calories.

The ONLY way you will lose weight is to eat fewer calories than you burn. Until you get control of your eating, nothing will change.

Walking burns, AT MOST, 400-500 calories per hour if done briskly. If you walk 2 miles at a slow pace, you're probably burning less than that. At 30 mins of walking, you're burning off one large potato or 2/3 of a candy bar, or 2 beers.

Register for a site like fitday.com or thedailyplate.com and start tracking your food. Figure out how many calories you take in each day and see where you can cut back.

I would add something, but everyone has pretty much said it all. If you switch to water and stop eating more calories then you are burning, then you will start to lose weight. And if you are working that many hours out of a day, your life is probably completely out of balance.

Exercise isn't magic; it only burns so many calories...your 2-2.5 mile walk is probably only burning off MAYBE 150 calories. If you eat more calories than you burn, you'll gain weight even it you DO exercise.

You said you eat a lot, drink OJ instead of soda, and love fruit. Juices aren't really that much better than sodas...they're full of sugar. You're better off eating a whole orange and drinking water.

I agree with the others - count your calories.

I have the same problems you do - I walk about an hour a day, plus on alternate evenings do about 15-20mins on an exercise bike or pilates & strength training. It helps. I lost 30kgs doing only that, but watched my diet carefully - typically I had oat porridge (with 1 tsp sugar) and coffee for brekkie, water and fruit for morning tea, salad for lunch usually with a protein portion of either eggs fish cheese or lean meat and sometimes a wholemeal roll(and salad can by yummy it doesn't have to be boring), and for dinner a protein portion and loads of veggies (broccoli, zucchini, carrots, pumpkin etc) - and you can have a potato (just not heaps of potato). Some fruit and a few nuts for snacking, and a yoghurt a day if I craved something sweet. That might sound limiting at the first glance, but really with all those elements you can put together most types of foods - I even make a bolognaise with lean meat and just fresh veg and serve it on lettuce when I am being really good (and a bit of pasta when I am not so good lol).

Drop the OJ. Drink water instead - it will make a huge difference.

Oats are great at reducing cholesterol - just don't smother them with too much sugar!!! Don't be scared of eggs - they don't have any negative effect on your bloods cholesterol levels (in fact some studies show they might even help reduce them) and are great little packs of protein - and can be really snackable.

Eat low GI and lower your carbs. Keep your protein intake steady - lean protein mind - and eat lots of fresh veggies. FInd a veggie you like - carrots, lettuce, cucumbers etc - and use that as a snack food if you have to snack.

Lastly - when you do have days off take some time to go for a hike or a swim or ride a bike. That one day a week of more intense exercise will also help and make a difference.

:)

The others got it completely right.

For losing (or gaining) weight, OJ might as well be regular soda. If water isn't going to do it for you, go with diet soda. (You may hear diet soda has magic weight gain properties. It doesn't. If it's related to weight gain, it's because of extra eating.)

For weight loss, potatoes might as well be candy. That's why you like them so much. Everyone does. But people know better than to just eat candy all the time.

Personally, I don't believe in the idea of "I generally eat fairly healthy". If you eat too much and you have blood sugar issues, that's not even close to healthy. I lost 100 pounds eating fast food and cookies. It worked because I never ate enough and I was hungry all the time. You don't have this option. You doctor told you that. The point is that if your diet makes you healthier, it's healthy. Yours is making you less healthy.

One thing I can suggest is a treadmill with a laptop stand. You can read and do other low-intensity work like writing emails while you walk. And treadmills have calorie readouts so you can tell how much your exercise is helping you lose weight.

If water is not your thing - it's not mine - try diluting OJ with club soda. The fizz helps with making you feel full. Start with 50:50 and then back off with the OJ, as your tastes change.

Fish, fish oil etc do not do much for cholesterol they lower triglycerides more, if you are just looking at lipid profiles. However, they have a role in lowering inflammation. Many diseases of aging (eg heart disease and diabetes) have an inflammatory component so stick with the fish, fish oil or flax meal.

Working at the computer set a timer to go off - say every hour. When the timer goes get up and do something energetic. Whatever works. I will dance to upbeat music that I really like. Whatever works, nobody is watching.

hi,
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Exercise alone takes us no where.... calorie control too matters.