Where is my diet going wrong and keeping me obese?

[BoobsGalore]

I am mid 50s. Weigh 94 kg.
Always been curvy, have lipedema (heavy diet -resistant legs) on HRT.
Spent years on low fat artificial sweetener type diets, now for the last 5 years eat less UPF, no low fat anything. Try to be reasonably low carb.

I am doing intermittent fasting (16/8) since early Aug and have lost 4.5 kg but it's painfully slow.
Tried mounjaro back in Spring but had to come off it after it triggered terrible panic attacks.

I am photographing my meals for my intermittent fasting app. Here is yesterday's food - spinach omelette for brunch and a bean and courgette stew for dinner. I had 2 slices of home made bread, a handful of mixed nuts, and an apple as well as what is pictured. Will add a couple of other days as well. Is it the carbs?

I have noticed I don't drink enough - about 1.5 litres a day of tea, coffee, diet coke (1 can a day, I think it's an addiction) and squash or water. Would that make a huge difference?

OP don't listen to the posters who drink bottles of coke and are still slim or can empty patisseries and be hypoglycemic after 2 hours or smoke 5 packs a day and can run marathons. It works for them but it is obvious that it doesn't work for you.

I noticed that you eat biscuits and drink squash and various types of alcohol which also have many calories. Your portions look fine. If you could drink only water it would be really great.

The Tik Tok video referenced scientific papers and he's a reputable doctor.
I think the number of times diet coke has been mentioned here, I do think some people are making it out to be a much bigger issue.

The one below also references serious studies.

Does Diet Soda Really Cause Weight Gain? What Experts Say

"It works for them but it is obvious that it doesn't work for you."

Well, no, it's not obvious at all. There's no evidence her one can of diet coke a day made her obese!

I actually don't generally eat biscuits, or not since I started this in August. The last week they were creeping back in as I was getting discouraged. This thread has been helpful for getting back on track.

I don't drink much squash either. Just had a couple of glasses in the last week. I was previously using the cold brew teabags but I ran out. I do find plain water a bit depressing if I were to only drink that.

I have cut back a lot of alcohol. Especially wine. Was on 1.5 bottles a week pre intermittent fasting, but now have maybe a bottle a month?

Coke plus wine. The sugar or sweeteners make you feel hungry. Which makes you eat more crap and put on weight. I have known plenty of people who got fat because of their coke drinking. One lost lots of weight after ditching soft drinks on his doctor's advice and is not pre-diabetic anymore because "I didn't like plain water". He and his DW said that they also researched it and realised that sweeteners are as bad. The BBC also had an article a number of years ago where a teenager had become obese and diabetic due to her daily coke drinking and had then reversed it and now looked skinny like most teenagers. NHS advice for diabetics says that soft drinks have 6-7 spoons of sugar and should be avoided.

Well done OP. It needs courage and it is brilliant to hear you are doing well. Keep on!

Thanks for that tip. I have been treating myself to a few slimline tonics (usually without the gin) in the evening and my weight loss has slowed rightdown. I am now thinking it has the same effect as diet coke etc (which I knew was bad) just hadn't made the connection and yes just looked and has loads of sweeteners. Will stick to sparkling water and look into Fevertree.

And I don't think posters are exaggerating the effect of diet sodas. When you are trying to lose weight everything matters and these products seriously mess with your insulin response I think - see Jason Fung.

OP, congratulations! I think you are doing great at a slow and steady pace and probably do not want to change much at all. What you are doing seems sustainable, as you say you've been going since August. This is the most important thing, and of course the fact that your weight is decreasing.

If you want to put some metrics in place, for your height and weight, your Basal Metabolic Rate is 1,500 kcal per day. These are the calories you need to just breathe and for your body to function. No activity.

To get your "maintenance" number of calories per day i.e. your energy intake if you aimed to maintain your body weight and not lose any would be:

Sedentary lifestyle: 1,840 kcal per day
Light activity (1-3 exercise sessions per week): 2,110 kcal per day
Moderate activity (4-5 exercise sessions per week): 2,245 kcal per day
Active lifestyle (daily exercise sessions): 2,376 kcal per day

To get to a level of calories where you would be loosing weight at a slow and steady pace, approx 0.5kg per week, subtract no more than 25% of the maintenance number of calories that applies to you and your lifestyle. Any more than that - in an attempt to lose the weight faster) - may be counterproductive. You want the weight loss to be sustainable long term.

You can track your daily intake through an app. Myfitnesspal is good, there are many others. As others have said, aim for more protein. A minimum of 1 gram per kilogram of body weight, up to 1.6 grams of protein per kg of body weight is a good guideline. Aim for min 30g fibre per day. Avoid processed foods. You are doing great already!

Bad day today eating wise due to just having zero bloody time. But I am holding myself accountable so here we go.

The pizza is less bad than it looks. It's half a small pizza, weight 109 grammes which is just over 250 cal (crosta and mollica pizzetta).

The chicken phad Thai is a smaller serving, a lunchbox special. I ate 2/3 but I am not pretending I will have got much change from 600 calories.

As well I had a hard boiled egg, 10 cashew nuts, an apple, 4 grapes and a sugarless banana and raspberry "muffin" (made with 2 mashed bananas, raspberries, 2 eggs, baking powder and half a cup of oatmeal to make 10).

So a bit of a crappy day but hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Incidentally, half a kilo down on weigh in this morning :)

I don't think this is too bad at all! Fairly healthy and not overindulgent.

Try this if you want to make yourself feel better - it's only 12 minutes:

I'd see your doctor

If you're been eating like that for a long time then you should be around 60kg

Your portions look a lot bigger than what I would eat.
For lunch have one wrap not two. I'd never eat three potatoes. I'd eat one medium potato or say three of those baby potatoes.
I'd never have two boiled eggs in a salad just one.

I am going to try to be really patient because I really do value people's desire to help, but we have been around portions a lot.

The wraps are crosta and mollica wraps and they are half the size of normal wraps. They are 120 odd calories each.

The potatoes are new potatoes. I too wouldn't eat 3 big potatoes. They are like 1.5 inches long each.

There's only 1 egg in my salad! DH has 2, I only have one.

Congratulations on the half kg lose.

Tomorrow will be fine, back to normal.

Been eating like this since August.

The last few years I have eaten reasonably healthy food like this but I realise I was doing a lot of late night snacking which I now don't do at all. Also no breakfast now of course.

I have never ever been 60kg in my adult life, lol. I think that's the lipedema. Lowest I remember being is 10 stone 4 when I was 20, which is about 65 kg.

I think this is a situation where you need to show your workings

Oh yes, Ive just realised what 60kg is!

Utter nonsense, Ive never seen 60kg and nor should I.

@BoobsGalore it was me who mentioned Skyr upthread. To answer your question: the difference between that and all the fat free yogurts you’ve eaten as part of previous diets is that it is naturally fat free, unsweetened and incredibly high protein. So you end up feeling surprisingly full without taking on loads of calories, and it works really well combined with low fat mayo or other dressings (stretching them further), or on its own, inside wraps and things, as well as being great with fruit or cereal for breakfast or dessert. I dont eat much meat and was struggling to get enough protein into my diet, especially on fast days, and this is is the business! (I’m talking about the totally plain variety, but I have tried some of the flavoured versions and I guess they’re ok if that’s more your thing).

You mentioned that you’re trying IF but not which type. My experience is that while time restricted eating can help with guide rails (for example, it helps with avoiding snacking because you’re outside your eating window), the most effective way to get results with IF is to go with the original 5:2 format. Admittedly sticking to 500 calories in a day is bloody hard and takes a while to get the hang of (l really recommend the amazing support and community over on the 5:2 fast threads, which have also got loads of great recipes), but it’s only 2 days a week and it enables you to take the pressure off the other days. That might sound odd, but it really works, not least because you start adjusting your eating habits in a much more healthy and long term / sustainable way, rather than constantly trying to stick to a diet all the time. I appreciate it sounds counter intuitive, and it’s hard to break the habit of a lifetime, but it’s a great way to adjust your mindset around food for the long term.

But most of all, stick with it and don’t get discouraged. There’s no quick fix here, you’ve just got to keep on believing in yourself and stay focused. Sending hugs, support and 💐. You’ve got this!

@BoobsGalore How did today go?

Today's food. What a nightmare it's 10 past 10 and I just sat down after my final work meeting!! Of course DH is away as well.
So I ordered in tonight (and ate it during my Teams call!). Plenty of meat and Arabic salad and a small quantity of rice. My favourite meal actually. Portion is admittedly large! I got 3 kebabs (2 chicken, 1 lamb) between 4 people.

Was on a training day today so lunch was what was provided. I tried hard to lay off the sandwiches. Should have taken my own lunch if I had planned ahead properly.

In addition to the pictures I had a mini cupcake at lunch, a plum and 10 cashews.

If you like Arabic food, I'll think of some more snack ideas.

All your food looks delicious!!

If you can loose a pound a week you are winning.

At the end of the day it's finding a change of lifestyle that you are happy with.

• KOKO.
• Be active - walk walk walk and do stuff that gives you joy.
• Find a form of exercise that is at least tolerable: try, Lucy Wyndham Read, Growingannanas, Heather Robertson, Caroline Girvan
• Above all: do the Bowflex 3-minute plank every day. It may take a month to get there but it's so worth it!

Cheering you on!!! 10 years ago I was where you are now....... but look at me now: 70 and super fit.

Just looking at what is in the OP's plate rather than how much space is taken up - would I be right OP that you are using fairly small plates ?

I understand you are eating small wraps and half a mini pizza with salad taking up the rest of the plate - but looking at the size of the cucumber slices compared with the plate - they look more like salad/desert plates or the small size plates people ate off years ago.

And if that's the case OP does not need to reduce her portions.

They are like breakfast plates, not side plates and not dinner plates but in between size!

Yes that's the size I meant - wasn't sure how to describe them. I think a lot of posters are thinking you are using the large size plates - hence why they are saying cut portions.

I think you are doing really well - maybe just a case of hanging on in there and not backtracking to too many treats / snacks.