To feel gutted

[InstagramPork]

Been healthy eating for the last 3 weeks, restricting calories to around 1200 a day and also going to the gym 3 times a week.

I thought may have lost a bit of weight but I’ve weighed myself and I’ve gained a fucking lb! I’m so upset!

I know you’re all going to say maybe I’ve gained some muscle but I honestly have inspected my body in the mirror and I can see no difference at all either.

I’m going to stick with it but it’s so disheartening to not see any results at all.

Any suggestions on how I can speed it up?

Typical day food wise-

Breakfast:
Bowl of melon, strawberries and raspberries
Green tea

Lunch:
Home made soup (or occasionally Covent Garden soup - 200 cals)

Dinner:
Lean chicken with potatoes (minimal) and mostly veg like broccoli, fine green beans etc) all logged on calorie counter.

Snacks:
Highlights hot chocolate in the evening (38 cals) to satisfy my sweet tooth.
Banana

At the gym I tend to do a 45-60 min class 3 x a week and also 20-30 mins cardio on either the treadmill or step machine.

Any ideas how I can speed this up?

I was worried daily weighing would make me obsessive about it but it hasn't. I don't let it bother me if it's up a wee bit and know it is the weekly average that counts.

Also I have digital scales that tell me parts of a lb too, so even I haven't lost a full lb I can see it's going in right direction.

Hope you are some results soon!

Are you due on your period? I can gain around 6lb at my totm. Also have you just started going to the gym or have you been going for a while? Same again, when you start it can make you hold water and you'll have a period of muscle building before any weight starts to drop.

OP, there's not enough protein. With the level of exercise you are doing you need to feed your body. You can eat 1200 calories but that doesn't mean you're eating the 'right' 1200 calories. You need some healthy fats and lots of protein. Cut the sugary fruit.

Definitely cut out all that sugary fruit. Have eggs for breakfast.

“All that sugary fruit”... I literally have some fruit for breakfast.
Occasionally I’ll hsve a banana as a snack. Do I need to cut fruit out completely?

Genuinely I have a slice of melon and a few berries. I’m confused, I thought you need a bit of fruit for the vitamins etc?

Yes, pretty much.
Just try cutting it out and see if that helps with the weight loss.
It may not help at all.
Just try for a week.
Stick with protein, eggs, meat, fish, and have with salads, vegetables.
Have good carbs on your exercise days (potatoes, rice)
If cutting out the sugary fruit doesn't help then you can re-introduce it after a week or so.
Worth a try?

Total rubbish about starvation mode, you'd only go into it if you had 5% or less body fat. If you have any fat at all you'll never go into it.

You don't eat more calories in order to lose weight. You're not very overweight so it'll be harder therefore you have to eat smarter.

I'd cut down on carbs and eat more protein and veg etc. Drink plenty water not so much fruit.

Thanks so much for everyone’s advice!

Ok so this week I will have zero fruit...

Omelette for breakfast? I could add
mushrooms and onion to make it tastier?

Lunch... shall I try a prawn/ tuna salad or something instead of soup?

And dinner I’ll stick with chicken veg and maybe a few potatoes / rice.

😁👍🏻

A slice of melon and a few berries is def not enough for a breakfast OP. Omelette way better plus some mushrooms 👍 delicious

Fruit is fine but just not enough on its own for breakfast. Ok for a snack. One of my favourite snacks is a bowl of high protein granola, banana and peanut butter. Tastes amazing.

You honestly won't believe the difference if you full up on protein more than anything else.

It does seem very carb heavy and low in protein? I know people get a bit obsessed with protein in everything these days but you don't seem to bet getting a lot. What does the wheel look like on MyFitnessPal ? Is it an even split between protein fat and carbs?

That sounds better OP.
Wish I could follow my own advice!!
Come onnnn..... motivation!

FYI, you are not fat and ugly. Losing weight is often a mental battle as well as a physical one and beating yourself up because you have ‘failed’ to lose weight won’t help you in the long run.

I know it’s easier said than done, but try to relax around food and not restrict what you eat too much. This will stop the diet mentality and hopefully prevent a ‘fuck it’ binge when you don’t see any success from your severely restricted diet. Try to make healthy choices and focus on that rather than just losing weight. Weightloss will eventually follow and you won’t feel deprived or upset.

In addition to the sources suggested by other users, can I suggest taking a look at Rebelfit on Facebook? Lots of sensible advice about changing how you view weightloss and lifestyle.

I’ve taken note of everything you lovely helpers have said and I’ll report back next week

You need more protein if that's your usual daily diet. I've lost 20lbs recently doing the fitness guy programme and I can't recommend it enough. Never hungry, actual real support, exercise plans, and accountability to keep you on plan - I tried and failed at so many different programmes before including the likes of slimming world which never got to the root cause of the problem

Just try to think of this as a marathon and not a race. You are taking steps to a healthier lifestyle which is far more important than obsessing over scales to measure either your weight or food and calories. And this is coming from someone who obsessed over the same so much that it turned into a 13 year eating disorder.

My doc used to say to me that I didn't put weight on in a few weeks so I wouldn't lose it that fast either.

You can do it! Just eat well, dont restrict too much ALL of the time and don't beat yourself up over the odd indulgence. Steady and slow is the way to go and in time you will feel fantastic.

I’m coming ncerend you say you are vile OP. Why do you think this? Even if you were massively obese that in itself wouldn’t make you vile (and you aren’t). If you were having no will power and doing nothing with diet or exercise it would t make you vile.
Making food and weight a oral issue like this is counterproductive.

Moral not oral!

Eat a bit more, I stalled with weight loss so upped my calories to 1450 and it started coming off again.

I have found SW just doesnt work for me.
I do 1200 calls combined with eating only between 12 midday and 8pm. This seems to give my body enough time to actually burn some calories. I make sure that i dont have more than 150 g of carbs a day.

@cardibach thank you for your concern.
My issue is I have always been slim (and can I say attractive without sounding like I’m blowing my own trumpet?)
I’ve always been used to feeling pretty and I really don’t at the moment. I feel like I don’t look nice or feel nice in my clothes. The extra weight I’m carrying has diminished my confidence and I just feel ugly and fat

Have you only just started working out, or are you doing a lot more/different workouts than usual?

If so that may be it. The first few weeks of working out/working out in a new way are hard on muscles and joints, and the body retains fluid to help recovery. It generally takes 3-4 weeks for the body to get over the shock and adjust.

There's no way that that is 1200 calories though if that's a typical day surely.
And I have yet to see any actual evidence for starvation mode and yet it is described on here as scientific fact.

Another vote for Team RH Fitness here. Check them out on Facebook. If you follow what they say you’re guaranteed to see results. And will be eating far more than 1200 calories.