Oh come on....

[littletinybubbles]

I need to lose a few stone as have put on in recent years. My husband left me a few months ago and the heartbreak diet kicked in. I lost 10 pounds quite quickly. Then it stopped.

Now I’m losing nothing, I yo yo up and down a few pounds. The thing is I’ve been eating so much better. No snacks. No sweet things. And no takeaways when before we were averaging around two a week. And I have about 4 stone to lose so it’s not like I’m slim anyway.

I don’t understand why I am not losing more! Any ideas of what’s going on?

What type of exercise do you do? Maybe that would help lm on week seven of c25k. Feel so much better for it.

I need to do the same, OP. There are loads of weight loss threads but they've been going for ages, & everyone knows each other.

I have no advice, other than the classic, ever helpful mantra that is "eat less, move more," but do you fancy joining me on a mutual support thread, and then seeing if anyone else is up for joining us?

I don't want to sign up to any official diet, just want to go free style.

Sorry for the derail.

Generally in the first few weeks of weight loss you will lose fluid weight, lures you into a false sense of security.

The rule is to burn more calories than you eat. You can get apps where you put in what you eat and exercise to see what the balance is.

When they say exercise they mean heart racing not just a gentle stroll around the shops (although you are moving so better than nothing)

Are you eating plenty of veg, fruit and drinking lots of water.

If you are starving yourself and then eating a big meal your body goes into shock and so will reserve all the fat etc as it wont know when the next meal is coming.

Good luck. If you want a good group and are on facebook then pinch of nom weightless is really good. Lots of people following programmes or going it alone with plenty of support

The only thing that shifted it for me was taking up running.

I too was eating good stuff, had lost a few pounds but was sticking at three stone overweight, and running two miles a day. I've had to up the running to 5-6 miles a day, but the weight has gone (as long as I don't eat much). I'm nearly 59 and I think age has a lot to answer for!

My fitness pal is great, makes sure you're neither under or over eating and the right amount of carbs and protein etc.

What are you eating? Lots of carbs? Bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, fruit, sauces? Cut those.

Portion control is a biggie as is counting calories. Weight loss comes more from diet than exercise, but moderate exercise has lots of benefits. Speak to your GP for sensible, sustainable ways to lose weight and also so you aren't doing anything that's not safe for you. The British Heart Foundation has downloads you may find useful too.

OP you say you are eating better which is great! It's good for physical and mental health to eat nutritious food.

Are you tracking what you eat though? It is possible to overeat healthy foods!

I would advise the following :

1. Use a free online calculator to work out your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). This will tell you how many calories you need to eat everyday in order to maintain your current weight.
2. Start with subtracting 300 cal from this, and track your food intake to fit within this (so if your TDEE is 2000, aim to eat 1700 cal /day). You can always go into a more aggressive cut if you hit a plateau again later, but a small deficit is more sustainable.
3. Do some exercise that you actually enjoy. If you take up something you hate just because an acquaintance swears it made them lose weight, you're more likely to not stick with it because it feels like you are punishing yourself.
4. Try and incorporate strength training of some description. It helps with fat loss by raising your metabolism, and it also sends the message to your body that your muscles are being used so you will be burning fat rather than muscle. It's also great for bone-density!
5. Don't believe anyone who tells you that there is a magic food or food group that will make you slim by either eating it or avoiding it as the case may be. Carbs don't make you fat (not even starchy carbs), fat doesn't make you fat, protein is not a silver bullet. It's all about quantities. When people tell you they lost x amount of weight by cutting carbs, it's nothing to do with the carbs themselves, it is just one of many ways to achieve a calorie deficit. So if it works for you, great, but don't feel like you HAVE to do it!

Good luck OP, weight loss is both very simple (conceptually) and very confusing because of all the (mis)information out there. Common sense and willpower will stand you in good stead though.

You've got this

If you are starving yourself and then eating a big meal your body goes into shock and so will reserve all the fat etc as it wont know when the next meal is coming
Not strictly true. Lots of people on the fasting group on Facebook do OMAD (one meal a day) and have lost a fair bit of weight. I'm not sure how healthy or sustainable it is though, but it does give results.

I think AntennaReborn advice is very sensible. Also, the NHS weight loss website will give you a guide of how many calories to eat and some tips

Antenna's advice is sound. It takes something like 12 months to embed a new habit so bear that in mind. Also, you didn't put weight on overnight so don't expect it to go that quickly!

12 weeks to embed a new habit! Sorry.

Google the Minnesota Starvation Experiment. It’s calories in vs calories used.

One pound of weight = 3500 calories. So if you eat 500 calories over your tdee every day you’ll gain 1 pound a week, 4 pounds a month.

Use my fitness pal app, weigh everything you eat, log food AND drink (including sugar used in coffee/tea), drink enough water and exercise.

Same here, I think i moved from the so stressed I'm not eating to the indulging in ice cream phase though

I think the Minnesota thing has limitations as how much you lose depends in part on how much you weigh to start with and changes as you lose weight, not just cutting calories by a certain amount.

thanks all for the feedback. To answer some questions

I'm 43
I don't do any exercise. I know I need to but finding it hard to find time in my new single mum landscape
I don't think I could fast - I get very dizzy and feel unwell if I don't eat!
I eat all foods, probably too many carbs - but they're easy and I don't have much mental bandwith at the moment!
@NameChangerAmI - yes sure!