Got to say I'm at a bit of a loss.
I mentioned before that I piled too much on and it was going to come off again, etc. Well, that's been going OK - I lost 2lb in week 1, gained 3 in week 2 (not entirely unexpected), then have shed it at a consistent rate over the past few weeks.
However, I wanted to understand just how much exercise I needed as a bare minimum (for busy/'those' days), and how much benefit I'd get from stepping up the regular routine. For that, I wanted to know All About Calories, so I measured my intake in a normal week, eating the kind of stuff that actually saw me putting weight on. Turns out ~1800-2100 kcal was too high, since that's what my intake was though I was still putting weight on, which seemed odd to me because 1900-2200 is supposed to be good for weight loss, with 2100-2400 in the 'maintain' band.
I then calculated saturated and trans-fats, overall fat instake, and sugars. All well within the Recommended Daily Allowances. But I was still putting weight on/not losing it last year.
"It's a mystery", as Toyah once lisped.
So I then decide to calculate the calories that I should be taking in, given my lifestyle and basal metabolic rate. Turns out my BMR needs almost 2300 kcal even when I'm doing nothing! Which is BS! Because I've been taking in 200-500 kcal less than that on an average day and still been putting weight on
and I've been active in my normal day-to-day way!
I can only conclude that I'm not human. Either that or the experts' figures are cacked, which is why so many people are going around with problems they can't get a handle on (and which defy the medics' best efforts). It's infinitely more likely to be the latter. (Well...
)
So, anyway, I've now decided to cut the BMR figure by a third and aim to take in 1500-1800 kcal per day while sticking to my current exercise program (which I've based upon military-style exercises, like I used to do way back when, with a heavy-ish focus on (additional) aerobic work). I'll give it a few weeks and then recalculate depending on results.
But yes, I exercise, and it's a proper pain in the ar$e. I hate getting too hot and sweaty (well,
most of the time
). Treadmills, stationary bike, cross trainers...they all bore me to tears, and the local gyms tend to attract the poser mob. Can't run anymore thanks to a knackered knee and a hip problem I was born with (both of which have been getting worse because of the weight, so it's a bit Catch-22), but mostly because of the knee, and cyclical motions aren't overly great for it either. The cross trainer's been a good option in the past, but I'm too heavy for it right now.
Still, I had the enjoyment as I was putting it all on. More exercise than I'd normally need is the price I have to pay.
Some mornings I have to drive like a maniac just to get to work on time.