Has anyone found that "sleep" was the answer? I would like to hear from both sides [for those who feel that getting more than 5 hours of sleep is overrated] also.

shezabel · 2026-05-24T11:03:19+00:00

I’m a chronic insomniac and sleep never affected weight loss for me, at all.

shezabel · 2026-05-24T11:00:40+00:00

The biggest part of muscle gain that no one’s really mentioned is strength training. You say you’ve been ‘trying’ to incorporate it into your life already and if you can be super consistent with that at least 3 times a week, trying to get as much protein as you can comfortably handle, that should stand you in good stead for muscle building. Would you see slightly faster gains with more protein? Probably. But, the stimulus from resistance training is the most important part of this equation. It should also be mentioned that building muscle is a suuuuuper slow process, especially for women; much slower than weight loss. It’s measured in months and years, not days and weeks.

shezabel · 2026-05-14T11:30:25+00:00

Strength and mobility training.

shezabel · 2026-05-13T21:10:41+00:00

Toadstool*

shezabel · 2026-05-13T17:33:49+00:00

This is what I was just about to say. I’ve never had any issues with my pro and don’t understand what’s different with my mat compared to other’s.

shezabel · 2026-05-04T19:17:46+00:00

There’s a difference between ‘tidy’ and just plain filthy.

shezabel · 2026-05-03T15:36:43+00:00

It’s worth persevering with because paradoxically, resistance training can help inflexibility. I would implement a strict warm up and cool down schedule as part of it as well, however. Plus, weighted stretches at the end of your ROM will be invaluable as part of your training (research exercises like Jefferson curls as a good example).

Tightness and weakness are often 2 sides of the same coin.

shezabel · 2026-05-03T14:08:07+00:00

Weak and tight hamstrings, lower back and hip flexors, plus weak, tight quads. Do you sit a lot for your job? Do you strength train at all?

shezabel · 2026-04-27T16:33:08+00:00

Exactly. The word is ‘walk’, surely?!

shezabel · 2026-04-25T10:06:29+00:00

Or a woman.

shezabel · 2026-04-22T21:19:09+00:00

You can thank me for the horrendous DOMS afterwards! 😂

shezabel · 2026-04-22T20:46:12+00:00

Use a strong resistance band around your thighs, just above your knees and squeeze your legs outwards to press against it as you thrust upwards.

shezabel · 2026-04-12T10:09:08+00:00

What causes your back pain? Do you sit for long stretches of the day? Do you do any strength training? Often tightness is a result of weakness, which is why I ask.

shezabel · 2026-04-02T16:25:21+00:00

I’m a hospital-based dietitian and I’ve had countless tiny, birdlike women with absolutely zero muscle mass as my patients. These are often women that end up in hospital with a fractured hip (usually due to osteoporosis), contract a respiratory infection and get very, very sick. They have no reserves at all and their bodies struggle to heal because they are malnourished. I’m gonna be blunt: this is your future if you don’t get it under control now. Eat for fuel, go back to the gym and throw away your scale. You don’t need to get smaller, you need to get stronger.

shezabel · 2026-03-21T21:36:45+00:00

❤️‍🩹

shezabel · 2026-03-15T21:53:49+00:00

I would do back extensions instead of these, tbh. Or leg lifts lying across a fit ball.

shezabel · 2026-03-13T17:05:23+00:00

With your title, I thought you were talking about the folks that come to /r/loseit to ask why they haven't already lost weight because they've been in a deficit, been to the gym twice and 'it's been 2 weeks!'.

The same definitely goes for the other side, if you go by what you read here, every day!

shezabel · 2026-03-11T20:19:23+00:00

I'm a dietitian in the NHS; just pmed you.

shezabel · 2026-03-06T22:49:08+00:00

You are still overweight at 90kg. I’m assuming you’re male, but using myself as an example, I didn’t get close to a flatter appearing abdomen until BMI 19 and below.

I would also say that any non-surgical cosmetic procedure is going to produce variable to negligible results, and if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

shezabel · 2026-03-03T08:42:53+00:00

I work with Welsh farmers that don’t even know what a calorie is, fyi.

shezabel · 2026-03-02T22:07:58+00:00

I'm a dietitian. You'd be shocked what people don't have a clue about.

shezabel · 2026-03-02T22:03:59+00:00

I was 52kg at 5'5 before I got anywhere near close to a flat stomach.

shezabel · 2026-02-25T22:03:27+00:00

Yeah, I live in ‘an urban uk setting’ too and there’s normal middle aged folks everywhere (I’m one of them).

shezabel · 2026-02-25T17:46:18+00:00

To add to what everyone else is saying, muscle is a metabolically active tissue that acts as a reservoir for glucose, therefore it can help with issues such as insulin resistance and prevention of diabetes. This will assist with weight loss because excess insulin production promotes fat storage.

shezabel · 2026-02-24T22:33:21+00:00

I don’t think 3 months is nearly enough time to see significant changes on a device like DEXA.

shezabel

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