Critique my diet

[Chubbychubkins]

I'm putting on weight at an alarming rate. I now have a BMI of 29, 2 years ago it was 23 (6 months post 2nd child) and prior to my first pregnancy (6 years ago) it was 21 and had been for 10+ years.

My diet is very samey, I know this. But I find batch cooking easier and we only do a weekly online food shop, we don't live near a shop and we both work full time, so picking up bits is difficult.

I've spent the last week logging everything that has passed my lips, but this is pretty typical. I have cut out our weekly cake (Saturdays) and cut out the alcohol (2 drinks twice a week), both in the last 6 weeks.

Breakfast (when I eat it) is 40g porridge, 1 dollop -heaped tablespoon of greek yogurt and 60g of summer berries.

Monday:

Breakfast as above
lunch - 1 bread roll with chicken tikka sandwich filling, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and onion.
Dinner - saag panner - 100g paneer, half tin of tomatoes, 100g frozen spinach, red onion and spices (dried, not a paste). No oil. 2 microwave poppadum's.
Drinks - 120ml of semi- skimmed milk.

Tuesday -
No breakfast
lunch - chili with nachos - 100g 5% beef mince, half tin of tomatoes, onion, garlic, chili, herbs and spices, no oil, 20g cheese, dollop of greek yogurt, 1 corn tortilla cut up and baked in to tortilla chips.
Dinner - chicken jalfrazi - 100g chicken breast, 40g almond butter, tomatoes, peppers, onions, herbs and spices, garlic, ginger. handful of mange tout.
Drinks - 350ml of milk.

Wednesday:
no breakfast
L - chili beef as above with a handful of green veg
D - chicken jalrazi as above

Drinks - 120ml of semi- skimmed milk.

Thursday
B - as above
L - shakshuka - 60g chorizo, 2 poached eggs, 1 pepper, onion, tomatoes, paprika.
D - Saag paneer as above

Drinks - 150ml of semi- skimmed milk.

Friday
B - as above
L - chili beef nachos as above with broccoli
D - Chicken Jalfrezi as above

Drinks - 120ml of semi- skimmed milk.

Saturday
B - no breakfast

L - smoothie bowl - 60g red berries, 30g oats, 25g peanut butter, 60g yogurt,
D - Steak tacos - 100g steak, 1 tortilla wrap, salad greens, 30g feta, tomatoes, 15g pomegranate seeds, tablespoon of geek yogurt, cucumber. Herbs and spices.

snacks - 1 mini twister, 1 mint club.

drinks - 150ml milk.

Today (Sunday)
breakfast as above
lunch - chili beef as above.
Dinner - to be decided. no snacks yet and 150ml milk.

I also drink 2-3 liters of water a day.

I'm not as active as I should be. I do a 30minute home work out 3 times a week (Les Mils) and 2 half hour yoga sessions per week but I'm generally fairly sedentary otherwise mainly as we have drive everywhere as we live semi-rurally.

So let me have it. This week I've put 0.5lbs on. I can't live like this.

Op I do hardly any steps & only do a bit of yoga. I can’t really exercise due to multiple health issues & like you I also have hypothyroidism (controlled, yearly blood tests)

I just think something must be going wrong with your weighing or logging somewhere. I lost 3 stone using MFP doing no exercise as I was waiting for an op.
I’m mid 40’s & my maintenance calories are 1690.

I aim for 3 equal meals rather than a big evening meal, I feel better in myself. But appreciate it might be hindering the weight loss

I don't think this is the problem, this type of food is probably better for you than 'typical' lunch foods like sandwiches. I despair when I read about people saying things like 'i just had a sandwich or some picky bits' because in many cases this will be more calorific than a modest sized 'proper' meal of meat, veg etc.

Can you swap the red meat for turkey? Be careful with nut butters? Are you sure your thyroid isn't the issue? I'm 5 7 and a decade older than you and my TDEE is around 2200.

I'd speak to your GP about losing weight then. With weights you need progession. Your OP mentioned Les Mills but not weights or HIIT.

Can you swap the red meat for turkey? Be careful with nut butters? Are you sure your thyroid isn't the issue?

I can, but the mince I buy is 150kcal per 100g, where as the turkey mince I can get is 141kcal, would 9kcal make a difference? (I only have 100g of it). Re my thyroid, I've not had my dose changed since having DC2 but have very regular tests for it and they're always fine or so my GP says! Yes, I'll ease up on the nut butter.

@WeAreTheHeroes

I'd speak to your GP about losing weight then. With weights you need progession. Your OP mentioned Les Mills but not weights or HIIT.

Sorry I thought by saying Les Mills people would have an idea- its HIIT and uses a barbell and dumbbells. I am progressing, I started at 2kg!

Have you any thyroid issues OP? I have. I’ve gained a Stone and cannot shift a single ounce of it at the moment despite eating low fat etc etc etc.

Op the other thing I started doing, along with logging on MFP, is drinking Kefir everyday.

I seriously found that, after a few months of drinking a small amount at breakfast, the last stubborn bit of weight fell off. It’s proven to increase good gut bacteria & I swear it made a huge difference. Some are more palatable than others. I have 150g of this one, which is slightly sour, every day. I find biotiful to be sweeter & smoother, I don’t buy the flavoured ones.
groceries.asda.com/product/chilled-dairy/bakoma-kefir-yogurt-drink/910001936127

Heyyeahyouwiththesadface

I'll take a look. My guts are definitely an issue.

@areyouadogperson

Have you any thyroid issues OP? I have. I’ve gained a Stone and cannot shift a single ounce of it at the moment despite eating low fat etc etc etc.

Yes I do. Correctly medicated supposedly!

And how many calories in nails? This game has a lot to answer for!

@LittleOverWhelmed

Other than the 3 short workouts and yoga, how active are you? Do you have a fitness tracker watch? How many steps do you do and calories do you burn a day?

Someone made a point in another thread about things people generally being active, twitchy, fidgety. Those who are sedentary have more weight problems.

I think this is really quite true: I have been on sabbatical since end of October and have dropped half a stone: I am just always doing things…

I'm generally fairly sedentary, but I'm a fidgeter and when I'm home from work I don't sit down until 9pm at the earliest. I don't do much other exercise though.

I used to (pre kids) be really active but I've much less opportunity now.

I used to have a fitness tracker but it did nothing for me. I found it annoying. When I was slim and didn't have to make an effort with my weight I didn't have one and since having one I just got bigger and bigger (not saying it's related). I ditched it about 6 months ago.

Agree to another thyroid check. It may still be in what GP considers normal range, but what you need to know is if it's changing within that range.

Everyone has a different range, and you might need a little more medicine. Ask your doctor if you can at least try increasing the dose a fraction for 2 months. You'll quickly know if it's helpful.

How is the weight sitting, is it particularly noticeable around your chin/ neck?

What do you cook with? Butter? Oil? Nothing. Good none stick pans.

I'm 38.

Yes I'll speak to the doctor.

I'm pear shaped. I don't carry it well at all. My upper arms are getting really big now as well.

I need to do something. I'm starting to turn down social occasions because of it.

Your diet is quite high in carbs.

I'd disagree with pretty much everything everyone else has said and suggest low carb, healthy fats and moderate protein.

Can be really helpful in regulating hormones too - thyroid problems are hormonal.

@FridayNightByCandlelight - I'm genuinely baffled. OP is eating 1 bread roll, or 1 tortilla a day. How on earth is that high carbs

Taken literally, you're advocating keto. Which is fine, but call it what it is.

BarbaraofSeville yep I didn't mean "a sandwich and some picky bits" instead of the curries etc. I meant that I personally can only eat two meals per day now. I eat either porridge or a salad of leaves, tomatoes and tinned tuna or grilled or steamed fish (so either a breakfast or a lunch type small bread free meal) at 1pm and a family meal in the evening. If I add in a third meal I gain. However I am 8 years older than the OP and I don't count calories so my evening meal is probably bigger than the OP's.

Another one here who has to eat only 2 meals a day or gains weight. I have given up eating breakfast, so I fast for 16 hrs, have main meal at lunchtime then something small and light in the evening.

Just wondering, are you measuring inches as well as weight? You say you're weight lifting and doing more and more of it, so you could be putting on some muscle weight too.

As others have said you'll put on and lose some water weight over the course of a month too.

I wear a Fitbit and log every calorie in, every exercise session: for me it's worked really well and I've lost and then maintained exactly. It could be worth a try again?

Could you post your most recent TSH, fT4 and fT3 values? You say your GP was happy with them but some GPs don't have a clue about thyroid issues.

Are you on the pill?

@Vanishun

Just wondering, are you measuring inches as well as weight? You say you're weight lifting and doing more and more of it, so you could be putting on some muscle weight too.

As others have said you'll put on and lose some water weight over the course of a month too.

I wear a Fitbit and log every calorie in, every exercise session: for me it's worked really well and I've lost and then maintained exactly. It could be worth a try again?

I'm not measuring inches but I'm getting bigger, my 'fat' jeans are now uncomfortable, I can only wear them for short periods.

I'm not doing keto. I've done it previously and I find a) I don't lose weight and b) I end up binging on carbs after a few weeks.

LucretiaBorgia I can't because I don't have them. I'm always just told their fine or haven't changed. I'm due a test soon so I'll ask after that.

I came off the minipill 4 weeks ago due to intermittent bleeding.

I'll try skipping breakfast everyday and keeping it to 2 meals a day.

I’m 43, and according to the TDEE I need 1750 calories. Like you, I’ve meticulously logged everything. It turns out that I need much less. At 1200 calories a day I maintain, 1300 I gain. To lose weight I can’t go much above 1000 calories.
Over the last 18months I’ve gone from 12st 6lb to 9st 11lb by watching calories (actually, I got to 9st 6lb, but struggled to maintain). Things that help me when weight loss stalls are changing what I do. So, I might do 16:8 for a week/ cut carbs for a few days/ up my calories to 1200 for a couple of days then drop to 900.
I did wonder if there was a medical reason I couldn’t lose weight so I had all my bloods done but there was nothing wrong and no quick fix. Everyone’s metabolism slows with age, just mine slowed more dramatically than some. You might be the same.

Howmanysleepsnow

How do manage on so few calories? I'm hungry as it is. Though find it relatively easy to skip breakfast.