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?

Have the rice or the bread not both? You do seem as if you’re protein/carb ratio could be improved..drop more carbs and add in more protein - so have more of the bhuna here?

lay off where poss bread, spuds, pasta, rice. Maybe limit to 2-3 times a week (for all, not each!)

and don’t forget, biscuits, madeleines, etc - all sugar (carbs). Just don’t have them. It’s dull but it is what is is!

I think you may need to weigh out your portions of carbs, it’s very easy to have more than you think you are.

good luck!

@DaemonMoon

I'm baffled by this obsession of no or low carbs. I don't anyone who does this. Is it a MN or social media thing?

Have you been living under a rock for the last 30 years?! Low carbing is definitely not just a MN or social media thing.

I like the sound of your eating day.

I also like the sound of it!! Am weirdly scared of eating prawns, we never had them growing up as parents were worried about food poisoning in regards to all shellfish. I know it's silly though especially if you're trying to lose weight as I am as they are probably a good source of protein. I need to put on my big girl pants and learn how to cook them!

Daily plates!
I missed yesterday as I ended up working really late. Fwiw I had a veg samosa from the garage for lunch, and half a tub of butternut squash soup for tea.

Lunch today was leftover salad from Monday with a slice of cheese. I had an apple and a slice of seeded sourdough with cheese at 4:30 and dinner was a curry. I had to stretch the chicken as we only had one chicken thigh for me and DH to share so I chopped up 4 new potatoes as well. So the curry is 1/2 a chicken thigh, 2 new potatoes, peas and 1/6 a jar of curry sauce per person. Plus cauli "rice" to compensate for the potatoes.

Btw this curry portion is about the same size as the reportedly gigantic portion of portion gate a week or 2 back. There is a lot more cauli rice than I had rice rice on that other plate. Hopefully the scaling egg helps people perceive portion size better.

How's the stunt egg going?
Do you keep it in the fridge after the staring role is over? Or force DH to eat it?

Keep on keeping on.
Do you have tins of beans in the larder to add protein to things like yesterday's curry when a glitch occurred? You have teenagers, glitches become commonplace.

Ooh, didn't think of beans!

In my mental list for next time.

Yesterday's plates. Dinner was a takeaway. I plated this up and ate it all, but despite my initial good intentions DH had a burger and chips and I did also eat some chips so I am fessing up to that. I don't know why I can't stick to low carb better. I wonder if it's because I am not eating enough fat? So get hungry? I have done keto in the past but I didn't really enjoy fattier cuts of meat (though I do prefer chicken thighs and love the skin!).

At some point this week I have put on a kilo from my lowest weight earlier in the week but it's probably just daily fluctuations, or easily enough to take back off, so I am not too downhearted. Overall I am over 5kg down in total (5-6 depending on weight in day!)

Research indicates that getting adequate sleep and reducing stress is crucial for successful weight loss.
Are you getting enough good quality sleep?
Are your stress levels high?

I sleep pretty well. No routine insomnia or anything. Moderately stressed.

Are you eating at least five portions of vegetables a day?
80g portions so the best part of half a kilo of veg or a whole broccoli head equivalent.Are you getting 30g of fibre a day. How often are you eating beans or lentils. Do you need more cabbage than lettuce, it fills your tum better.

I think that's a really good healthy weight loss. I actually wouldn't cut out the cards! You still need some cards and once you have lost your desired amount of weight, if you res tart eating cards you will put it back on again.

Everything on moderation. The only thing I would suggest is upping your exercise.

Well done OP! You are doing really well!

No meals this week @BoobsGalore

I like seeing what you eat

Oh! I sort of ran out of steam. It was a bad idea as I managed to put on a kilo over the week somehow. It definitely helps me stay focused.
Here are the meals I did photograph last week :)

The giant kebab was at my friend's birthday. We have bolognaise with courgetti and then leftover bolognaise with cauliflower florets the next day. A Greek salad and a chicken thigh with roasted veg and halloumi.

Today lunch was kale and lentil soup and a roll and dinner is likely to be a homemade pork kebab with salad.

Oh - looking back I see I already put on that kilo! I that case I am maintaining :)

Never thought of bol with veg instead of pasta

I'm not a huge lover of cauliflower but maybe chunks of sweet potato - roasted carrots or bns

Or would that taste weird

I have bol with kale or spinach or courgette , broccoli or cauliflower. I personally probably wouldn't do sweet potato or carrot as the aim is to reduce the carbs, but you can certainly use bol in a jacket potato as a filler in theory so I don't know why it wouldn't work.

Tonight's dinner attached. Deconstructed pork kebab! I over cooked the pork but actually it was rather nice crispy - if a little dry! Followed up with peppermint tea. Egg, of course, just for scale :)

Oh yes I've had bol on a jacket. Yummy

Yes you are doing low carbs. I'm not

Few more meals to log...lots of soups this week. Apologies to Biwi for the potato slices in my Brussels today! It was 2 leftover new potatoes.

The French onion soup was extremely rich and I could only manage about 1/3 of it. Everything else got eaten.

The dark brown bread is my home made low carb bread. The lighter one is a sourdough. The soup is a vegan kale and tomato one. The "rice" in my stir fry soup is konjac rice - I ran out of noodles! Very filling it was too...

I admire your determination!!!

Tbh I am starting to feel - well, better. More clear headed and energetic. Not much movement on the scales but my trousers feel looser. No food before lunch or after dinner does feel sustainable long term for me.

Always measure self as well