WHY AM I NOT LOSING WEIGHT???

[Pandoraphile]

I've been trying in earnest now for around 3 months. I have a gym routine (every other day, weights and a bit of cardio. I used to be solely cardio but in the interests of losing weight I also took up weight lifting.) So I spend around 20/30mins really, really pushing myself with the weights before doing ten mins of intensive cardio. I come out feeling like I've had a good workout and my muscles are tired the next day).

My diet has had a complete overhaul. Very low carb, no crap (processed foods, chocolate, crisps, etc.). I snack on things like wafer thin ham, boiled eggs and Babybel cheeses - one at a time I mean!

I've cut my alcohol intake drastically so very small amount of calories, occasionally, from that and I drink loads of water - easily 5 pints a day, if not more. I don't drink anything other than water or tea. I sleep 8 hours a night.

I can see my body changing, my clothes are looser but this is NEVER reflected in actual weight loss! The scales are staying stubbornly just a couple of pounds lower than when I started.

I'm so disillusioned that I feel like saying - fuck it and living off chocolate and wine for a week. I'm so desperate for my hard work to be rewarded by weight loss :(

Can anyone tell me what my stupid body is doing??

[OurMiracle1106]

If you doing weight lifting you are likely building muscle which is heavier than fat, maybe that's why your dropping clothing sizes but not actually losing weight?

Also for me the intense cardio has worked at losing a significant amount of weight without doing any weights (waiting on surgery on my collar bone so cant)

If your feeling better that's the main thing.

[NumbersLetters]

Have you tried logging your intake and output on my fitness pal? It can help you identify what's going on.

[FlightyMare]

If your body is changing for the better and your clothes are looser, why do you care what the number on the scales is?

[NotThereEileen]

You might be close to goal weight? If you have a little bit to lose then it takes more time.
Or LCHF doesn't work well for some. If I low carb I get the whole ketosis, loss of appetite but I don't lose much unless I keep an eye on calories

[Magpie24]

How much weight do you have to lose? If you're already in a healthy BMI it can be hard to get off the last few pounds!

[delilahbucket]

Try calorie counting everything you eat/drink for a few days. It is likely you are eating more than you think if you are not logging it. If I'm trying to lose weight I cannot have three normal meals plus snacks as it is too much food.
The other thing to do us measure yourself every month. If you are losing inches then ditch the scales.

[Pandoraphile]

Oh - forgot to say - I've been using MyFitnessPal for a few weeks now and it definitely helped me.

Nope, I am right at the very start of losing weight!! The only thing that makes sense is building muscle, which I've definitely been doing. But I don't think enough to not show any weight loss!

[NotThereEileen]

OP what is your starting weight and BMI?

[Pandoraphile]

12 stone and BMI 30. God, I'm so horrified by that

I have never been overweight before. I've been on medication which results in weight gain - not in and off itself - it kind of switches your "full" signal off.
It's taken around 4 years to gain 4 stone so I'm under no illusions that it's going to drop off in a fortnight. I'd just like to see progress.....

I'm eating 1500 cals/day or under. And on the days I don't go to the gym I walk the dogs for 30-45 mins.

[Pandoraphile]

*in and OF itself

[BIWI]

What is a typical day's food like for you?

[ChesterFuckingDraws]

1500 calories for me pretty much keeps my weight steady, for me to lose weight I need to eat closer to 1100, exercise a fair bit and drink loads of water.
Maybe have a play about with your calorie intake and see if that makes any difference.

[fishonabicycle]

If you're shrinking don't worry about the scales. If they still said 12 stone but you were rocking a size 8 would it matter?

[Pandoraphile]

Morning - bowl of porridge with a handful of blueberries/banana

Snack - piece of wholemeal toast (feel like I need it after the gym)

Lunch - 3 egg cheese and ham omelette

Snack- cracker/ babybel light cheese

Dinner - bowl of homemade casserole (no potatoes, just carrots, parsnips and lean beef) OR

chicken breast and vegetables

Bolognese w/out spaghetti plus loads of green vegetables

[Pandoraphile]

Yes fish it would. Because my ideal weight is around 8 1/2 stone so I'm a loooong way off

[wowfudge]

Cut your calorie intake - simple things can shave off calories, so a two egg omelette and only a small amount of cheese or switch to a lower fat cheese like Edam. Make your porridge with water instead of milk. Weigh the oats, don't guess. Try full fat Greek yoghurt with blueberries instead of porridge. Protein and calcium rich and helps you feel fuller longer. Switch starchy parsnips for another veg. Check your portion sizes. Have a handful of raw almonds instead of the cracker and babybel. Drink plenty of water. Do you drink tea and coffee and are you accounting for any milk in those?

[PostNotInHaste]

How are you measuring your food?

[Wanderingbluebell]

Have a look at the low carb boot camp section on here. Porridge, toast and starchy veg are pretty Carby if you are aiming for a very low carb diet - you need to be under 50g, ideally less than 25g a day to reach fat burning ketosis. May not be for everyone but worth a try, it has been working for me (but only if I keep an eye on calories as well). I didn't do boot camp as such but took some good tips from those that have. I think there's another one starting shortly. Would say that if clothes are looking looser and you think things are improving then don't worry too much about what the scales say, there can be lags (no idea why). Good luck

[NotThereEileen]

OP that is in no way low carb. As someone who hasn't seen 12 stone since the age of about 12 (I'm way fatter than you) I roll my eyes at the horror frankly. Do proper low carb (bootcamp starts soon) track carbs and calories and stop catastrophising about being barely obese

[flumpybear]

Does your gym have a body trax (think that's what's it's called) - ignore weight, muscle is loads heavier than fat, your body could be changing inside so hop on and check it out on a monthly basis - keep it up you must be doing something

[annaharvey]

I suggest you don't put weight loss in your mind too much. Focus upon staying healthy and just exercise regularly. You must enjoy the process and even when you give up on your favorite weight gaining food, you should do it happily. That plays an important role in weight loss. Do not worry. If its not happening now, it will happen sometime. Keep working out and keep maintaining a healthy diet.

Go for 30 mins cardio and 10 mins weights. And dont workout once a week - I mean workout 6 days and rest one day. On that one day, you could play something like tennis. Also, never keep yourselves hungry. Eat once in every two hours.

[BIWI]

@Pandoraphile

Your diet is really high in carbs, which really will not be helping you.

Morning - bowl of porridge with a handful of blueberries/banana

Very high carbs. The blueberries aren't so bad, but the banana and the porridge are very high.

Snack - piece of wholemeal toast (feel like I need it after the gym)

Also high carb. You really shouldn't need this after the amount of carbohydrate in your breakfast.

Lunch - 3 egg cheese and ham omelette

This is great - no carbs in this.

Snack- cracker/ babybel light cheese

More carbs. Why did you need to snack after what you've already eaten? (Answer: because it was so carby - too many carbs don't just result in laying down of fat, they also make you more hungry)

Dinner - bowl of homemade casserole (no potatoes, just carrots, parsnips and lean beef) OR

chicken breast and vegetables

Carrots and parsnips are also high carb. And no reason to eat lean beef. You need fat.

Bolognese w/out spaghetti plus loads of green vegetables

This is great.

Cut right down on your carbs and I can guarantee that you'll lose weight. You'll also be less hungry, so you will snack less, which will also help you to lose weight.

There's a new low carb Bootcamp starting on Monday 9 October, so why don't you come and join us?

[OwlinaTree]

Carrots are high carb?! Ffs

[Pandoraphile]

Thank you so much for all the advice! Carbs in carrots?! Why did I not know this before?? I HATE carrots and I would have been thrilled to have a bona fide reason not to eat them!

I will definitely look into the carb boot camp - sounds like a really good idea.

We do have a body trax thing in the gym but my dp is a GP and says most of the things it claims to analyse are rubbish so I'm a bit wary....

[OliviaD68]

@OwlinaTree

Carrots are about 8g of net carbs per 100 g. That’s a fair amount out of a daily budget of 20 to 30g. It all adds up towards spiking insulin and fat storage ... and making people hungry again quickly as BIWI pointed out.