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?

And not everyone who is slim never drinks any alcohol or eats a single biscuit

You're fundamentally missing the point. People who are already slim are maintaining their weight, not trying to lose it.
To lose, you need to be in a calorie deficit. Which you are, as you are losing weight and doing really well in losing in a slow and sustainable way -but you asked why you weren't losing more. It's really clear why, from the outside, but your defensiveness speaks volumes!

@amoreoamicizia 1) no they're not massive 2) half of it is lettuce and tomatoes, do you not understand that different foods contain different amounts of calories? "Volume" is a meaningless way to measure energy intake.

God this thread is bringing out the absolute nutballs. You're doing well OP.

@BoobsGalore you are failing to utilise a secret weapon for those days you work crazy late hours.
You have two teenagers. Teach them to cook a fake kebab spiced chicken dish. Even if they only do once a fortnight, it will help.

@FeelinTwentySixPointTwo she's not "lucky," she's actually putting a lot of work in. You're being silly.

Agree.

Never eat another biscuit -> eternal sadness or binging follows
Never have another alcoholic drink-> ditto

Put the work in to identify your personal tweaks needed -> success

Fat people like me do get defensive.
People have some idea that we spend our lives guzzling burgers and eating fries and fast food, gorging on chocolate and quaffing calorific drinks. I don't and I never have.

Now I am being told that it's not surprising I am massive as I am eating massive portions, eating only beige foods, drinking diet coke, eating a biscuit, drinking alcohol, not exercising enough, eating too many carbs or too many calories, not enough protein or not enough colours.

I know I asked why l am obese and losing weight slowly and the thread has been helpful for that. I found your answer supercilious and demeaning. I don't need holding up to the great and good as an example of why fat people stay fat for people to shake their heads at sadly or poke fun at.

Things have taken an unfortunate turn here but I just want too point out that this:

Never eat another biscuit -> eternal sadness or binging follows
Never have another alcoholic drink-> ditto

is a steaming pile of horse shit.

When I had anorexia and significantly underweight I practically lived off of Coke Zero so not sure how true this theory is.

To original OP, your weight loss sounds great so far, just keep going. Increased exercise like walking would helps

I found your answer supercilious and demeaning. I don't need holding up to the great and good as an example of why fat people stay fat for people to shake their heads at sadly or poke fun at

Well I'm genuinely sorry my words made you feel that way. That was not the intention. I was very overweight for a very long time and I do know how it feels; trust me.
What made me finally lose the weight was being really honest with myself about why I wasn't seeing the results I wanted.
I was going to the gym; I had cut my calories; I'd ricocheted from one diet to another but nothing seemed to be getting me where I wanted - where I thought I deserved - to be.
In the end what made the difference was realising that yes I was going to the gym but I wasn't really working out with any effort; I was going through the motions. I was still drinking 2/3 nights a week. I was snacking in the office. And it was adding up, outside of the healthy meals I was eating.
You're doing really well to have lost the weight you have and that shouldn't at all be looked down upon, or demeaned. At all. But you asked why you weren't losing more and - if you want to - there is more you can do to speed it up. I really do wish you well.

But you talked about me and not to me. You weren't talking to me or telling me what worked for you. You held me up to others as an example of where fatties go wrong.

I am glad you lost your weight.

Some bonkers replies here. I think you are doing well and if you keep going you will get where you want to be. It often takes longer to lose weight as we age and you have a health condition that will affect weight as well. If you enjoy your food then you are more likely to stay on track. And I don’t think 3 measly gins are going to be your downfall 😂

@FeelinTwentySixPointTwo is not in her high horse but tbh I agree with a lot of what she said!

@BoobsGalore You are very snippy and defensive when people have given a lot of time, expertise and shared their experience to help you

Oh bog off.

It's nice of people to be helpful, but I am not forcing anyone to respond on the thread.

As I have said, I know where I am going wrong and am continuing the thread to keep myself accountable, and I am trying to be honest here. I could have claimed I only drink water and never eat anything outside of the two meals a day. People coming on here saying "this thread is an interesting study in how fat people delude themselves, look she has biscuits and diet coke, no wonder she is so chunky" isn't that helpful to me, and this thread is by me and for me as I try to work through sorting my food life out.

If you feel I am being insufficiently grateful to people then hide the thread.

I maintain a weight of 8 stone 10 at 5' 4" and age 55. I eat biscuits, crisps or some treat everyday. Admittedly I don't drink. I do drink diet soft drinks though. I maintain by keeping to the daily calorie requirements for a woman my age, size and lifestyle. If I gain from going over calories, I can lose again by cutting back. Most of my meals are veg. I'm vegan so that removes the possibility of a lot of highly caloric foods, which helps. However I'm confident that the same principle would apply if I ate three mars bars back to back at 1am, provided I stayed below 1700 calories a day.
Your steps probably burn 200/250 calories depending on how fast you move, so you could probably lose slowly and steadily on 1800 a day, reducing as you got nearer your goal. It might not be in line with current trends for cream and meat and no bread, a gallon of water sipped slowly at 3pm, or whatever whatever (people are actually promoting eating dairy cream while thinking bread prevents weight loss?!) but it works for me.

Yes some people annoying @BoobsGalore . Looks to me like you're doing very well, as people have said 1lb a week or even less is great if you're losing long term and looking at the big picture. It's the way they say it I agree. Well done, it's not easy especially with health condition.

food looks good and a 4.5kg weight loss is a great start!

id defo try moving more and try picking up the pace a bit on your walks so you are a little out of breath (good for the heart) Is there a sport / exercise / activity you’ve always wanted to give a go?

They are not massive, don't be so ridiculous. OP is losing weight eating them too.

When you feel hungry drink a big glass of water.

We've moved on from Portiongate now, that was ten pages ago.

Today's plates. Lunch was cross and Blackwell chicken soup with a (home made) bread roll and cheese.
Dinner was a curry brought round by my lovely Sikh neighbour. I didn't eat it all (3rd picture).

Outside of this I had a hard boiled egg, nothing else. I am going to have a G and slimline T later. Just one as I have to leave the house early tomorrow for an appointment.

Wow.

Cutting sugar and carbs (within reason) usually leads to quite fast weight loss.

I have an exercise bike , I did dust it off earlier in the week (it's mentioned earlier in the thread).
I enjoy swimming and at times have done a lot (60 laps 3 times a week) but I got terrible chronic ear infections (despite earplugs) and had to stop.
I also used to run a bit (did couch to 5k 10 years ago) but I stopped.

Tbh I was quite unwell a few years ago and had to start SSRIs, this led to me feeling very sluggish and sleepy all the time (and blissfully carefree) and I put on 2 stone, which is the main reason I came off them. Until I overhauled my diet about a year ago I was also on the borders of prediabetes and definitely had insulin resistance - was so lacking in energy after eating. That's one reason why I think low carb is probably better for me as a WOE than low cal. I do feel better overall and am about 6kg less than my peak weight. But that long winded story is why I stopped exercising effectively. I was constantly exhausted and having to nap. This seems to have become a bit of a mindset now. I do need to get my heart rate up more often and my exercise bike is the most accessible first step. It's working it in to the schedule effectively. I will have a think this weekend (and a go on it each day).

Agreed. I’ve noticed this too.