Bloody stupid bloody diet :-(

[Doodledumdums]

Grrrrr. I have been dieting for three weeks, and have been SO good, no cakes, no chocolate, very limited fat, i've been eating more salad than a pet shop full of rabbits, loads of fruit and fish...yet STILL I appear to have put on a pound and lost nothing? I don't understand? I know that I should be exercising too, but with a 4 month old, that is proving to be difficult to fit in. I genuinely have been so good with what I eat, so what is going wrong?

I am angry so I ate a bag of chocolate buttons this evening, so now I am angry and upset with myself as I have probably set myself back. I was having a 'Fuck it' moment.

I have a good 3 stone to lose- possibly more to get to where I really want to be. Why is it so hard?

[LittleFeileFooFoo]

I also have a 4 month old! I am guessing that you'll lose weight this week! It al;ways happens when you think it won't. You're doing great if you can actually stick to a diet with your youngin! I'm not dieting now as I am ebfing and I am always hungry. I have not lost much weight either...

[D0oinMeCleanin]

What's on your salad?

Some of the added extras can add an alarming amount of calories eg. feta cheese, too many sources of protein (adding a boiled egg as well as ham etc) olives, dressing, coleslaw, mayo, croutons... Add a few of those and you may as well have had a burger and chips.

Are you eating too many carbs? Try and have a low carb lunch and swap potatos out for sweet potatos, parnsips, turnips, butternut squash etc. on your main meal.

Walk. Walk lots. When you're done walking, walk some more.

Drink water as though it is going out of fashion, try green tea too if you like it.

[Doodledumdums]

Four month olds are the best, they are so adorable! I am ebfing too, so am having to be careful that my diet contains exactly what my baby needs, but I think I have been doing really well in cutting out all of the rubbish that I was eating.

I have been putting low calorie salad cream on my salads, so maybe I should stop that. I have also swapped ordinary potatoes for sweet potatoes, and am measuring my carbs and cereals with a portion control pot, but still don't seem to be getting anywhere :-( Hopefully you are right Little, and I will lose weight this week. Fingers crossed! I'm losing my willpower!

I should definitely drink more water, my water intake is terrible. I just never feel thirsty! I have been drinking peppermint tea, but not sure I can stomach green tea!

Eugh I just wish it was easier, I have lost weight so much easier in the past...I don't understand what I am doing so wrong now?!

[LittleFeileFooFoo]

DOoin is right, water will help a lot! I find that I'm always thirsty as soon as Yunior latches on!

Four month olds are adorable! Mine's Mr. Smiley, and he has huge smiles!And cute as pie giggles too.

[RandallPinkFloyd]

Make a food diary.

Use my fitness pal or something similar and log everything you eat. That's how you'll show up the culprits! Could well be the fruit if you're eating a lot of it. It may be full of vitamins but it's basically sugar.

Go easy on yourself though, your baby's only tiny, you've got enough to think about. The weight will come off, give it time.

[Doodledumdums]

Ah little, I have a boy too! Smiles amd giggles are so lovely! Giggles are definitely the best milestone so far I think. Just too cute for words!

Yes it could be fruit, I do eat a lot of it. It's so easy to eat it thinking that you are being healthy, when actually it is full of sugar! A food diary is definitely a good idea. It may also be my portion sizes, I keep eating big meals because I sort of figure that it doesn't matter how much lettuce or veg you have on your plate, but maybe i'm wrong.

Going to start a food diary tomorrow I think, hopefully that will make a difference. I am also going for a run tomorrow, so maybe that will help a bit.

Very much regretting the chocolate buttons now! Back on the wagon tomorrow, armed with lots of water amd less fruit!

[LittleFeileFooFoo]

Don't postpone joy! you need treats sometimes, but the tracker is a great idea, I'm going to look into that as well.

[D0oinMeCleanin]

I find when I am dieting lately that for some odd reason the scales show no loss one week and then a huge loss the next, even when my eating has the been the same both weeks.

Something to do water retention because of alcohol and sugar apparently

[BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack]

Are you eating enough?? How many calories are you having.?? Are you picking without realising?

There could be loads of reasons.

I went onto MFP and when I logged everything in I realised I was having probably about 500 cals per day more than I thought I was.

Dont deny yourself of everything, it will just lead to binging.

[eslteacher]

I second the MFP suggestion. I've just started using it and I couldn't believe how high my calorie consumption was compared to what I thought it would be. You have to be really honest about portion size, all the little extras like margarine, ketchup, olive oil etc...was that glass of wine 125ml or 200ml, did you use 1tbsp of oil in your stir fry or 2...I was really shocked at all the hidden calories I was consuming from all the stuff like that.

I do sympathise though, I never lose weight quickly no matter how strict my regime. You have to convince yourself of the health benefits of what you're doing, and how satisfied you feel knowing you're treating yourself well as opposed to how you'd feel if you were always stuffing yourself. Don't make it all about the weight else you'll give up too soon. Play the long game.

[BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack]

oooh and another good thing for me was replacing normal milk with almond milk....cuts right down on your calories :)

[D0oinMeCleanin]

Almond milk is yummy in coffee too.

[RandallPinkFloyd]

Be careful running so soon.

If you're anything like me starting a food diary is not pleasant! I'm pretty clued up about food and eating well but it's amazing how little things creep in without you noticing.

Exactly like riverboat said about measuring how much oil you use and weighing portion sizes. It was a massive wake-up call!

[eslteacher]

I know Randall, olive oil was the biggest shocker for me. I can't believe there are practicalky 100 calories in a tbsp of the stuff! I've been liberally splashing it into salads, stir fries, roasted veg etc without a second thoughtfor years and aassuming I've been eating really lean meals!

[teaandthorazine]

Why don't you come to the low-carb threads? Then you can eat as much olive oil in your salad as you like!

Honestly, low-calorie salad cream? Really? Surely life's too short?! Mayo, olive oil and proper butter are where it's at, for health as well as weight loss. Ditch the low-fat fake food, start enjoying what you eat. The Bootcamp threads are fab, loads of lovely food and no tedious calorie counting and You Will Lose Weight.

[RandallPinkFloyd]

I think it's all about finding what works for you as an individual.

I don't find calorie counting tedious at all. I've actually quite enjoyed the education. I also see it as a short term thing as I'm already much more attuned to what is the right portion size and combinations of foods.

I don't really eat processed foods and I have plenty of "days off", I just make up for it another day. I take it as a weekly calorie goal rather than a daily one iyswim.

I personally wouldn't want to cut a whole food group out of my diet, I firmly believe in everything in moderation, I am also hugely opposed to all the fad diets but I wouldn't dream of judging someone else for using them.

Horses for courses isn't it. If you find something that works for you, you are happy doing it, it works long term, and it's healthy, then crack on!

[teaandthorazine]

Yes, but low-fat and calorie counting isn't working for the OP, hence my post... I'm just suggesting there is another way than the conventional wisdom of low-fat, reduced calorie.

And re cutting out a food group - fat is essential to a healthy, well-functioning body and brain. But somehow we've been led to believe that's the food group we can do without. We can't.

Anyway, goodluck OP!

[BsshBossh]

I tried cutting out/reducing carbs a few years ago. It worked for me in the short-term but just wasn't sustainable for me in the longterm. I second MyFitnessPal - I've lost over 4 stones using it. It really helped educate me on proper portion sizes and I don't have to count calories anymore - I've developed an instinctive knowledge of normal portions now and I can still eat pizza, chocolate and cake (if I want to) .

[BsshBossh]

Forgot to add, OP that I lost all that weight still eating full-fat everything. I'm not keen on the taste of diet products and prefer butter, olive oil, full fat cheeses etc. You just need to account for it all. Also, if you do go down MFP route realise that you don't need to eat their recommended 1200 cals. That was too low for me. I worked out my TDEE using an online calculator (Google it, I like Scooby and FitnessFrog) then simply ate at 10-15% below that (came to around 1800 cals for me, no exercise). I ate (and still eat) very well whilst losing.

[FoundAChopinLizt]

I didn't lose weight whilst breastfeeding, when I stopped it fell off.

It's hormones innit ?

[BsshBossh]

Doodle can you take your baby out in his buggy (or a sling) for long walks? I did that with mine - sometimes as long as 4 hour walks if she fell asleep!) and lost loads of pregnancy weight on my year's mat leave.

[Coffeeformeplease]

Changing eating habits without exercise did nothing for me. I'd start with something gentle, but regularly.

Try complex carbs for breakfast and lunch (plus protein, fat, etc) and cut carbs out at nighttime.
Fruit are carbs too so no fruit after lunch.

During my weight loss time I would eat for example
breakfast: porridge with soya milk, 1 banana and cinnamon
lunch : salad (greens, tomatoes, cucumber, feta, tuna), one piece of bread (rye, etc) and an apple
tea: salad or veg, 2 eggs (or fish, or piece of chicken)

no snacks at all! but plenty of coffee with soya milk and also about 4 glasses of wine per week.
make sure you eat protein at all mealtimes, it's what makes you feel full.

(also, I always had a piece of cooked chicken in the fridge for emergencies. Better that than hitting the buiscuit cupboard)

Good luck!

[RandallPinkFloyd]

My personal belief is that all food groups are essential for a healthy body but as I said, I would dream of judging someone else's choices, it's just my belief.

I certainly wouldn't evangelise about any specific type of diet just because it works for me.

Every person is different and everyone has to find their own way. As long as its healthy and sustainable nothing else matters.

[BennettsBiscuit]

I have struggled to lose weight while breastfeeding. I did Slimming World religiously after my first and it took me six months to lose a stone, but as soon as I stopped feeding I lost 10lb in a week.

Try not to get hung up on the scales. I swore to myself I would ignore them after DC2 but I didn't and have found myself unhappy with a lot of weight to lose, which I don't think would have occurred if I'd not put pressure on myself.