To be so pissed off i have not lost a single lb or inch

[Tattooedmama]

Morning all
I have been doing calorie counting for a little over a week now, 1200 calories a day and doing 15/20 mins a day workouts as well as being fairly active with a toddler. I dont have loads to lose im 10st 6 and goal is 9st but nothing is working.
Ive gone from drinking 2-3 cans pepsi max, few cups of tea and zero water, biscuits, chocolate bars, crisps, 2-4 slices white bread a day and unhealthy dinners - to eating healthy dinners, cutting out the white bread, no excessive snacking.
Has anyone else had this problem? I feel like giving up, the whole time i was eating shit i stayed at 10 st 6.
Also took measurements and no change there, Its disheartening.

1200cals is not too low to sustain. I did it for 6 months and lost 5 stone. But I did weigh EVERYTHING I consumed. Please believe me, I learned a lot about portion size!

CICO is a load of rubbish as it presumes a certain basal metabolic rate (a guess or a stab in the dark essentially). Newsflash! Everybody has different metabolic rates, hence some people struggle to put on weight and others can’t lose anything even when trying really hard to.

Moreover, basal metabolic rate can and does change depending on various factors. Hormones - pregnant, new baby, breastfeeding. Lack of sleep. Your muscle mass. Level of day to day physical activity. Stress levels. Composition of your diet etc etc etc

It’s a load of bull to say oh, the basal metabolic rate for your height is such and such. You do not know, unless measured in a lab setting. And lab research consistently tells that calorie restriction diets permanently lower said metabolic rate. It is fact, scientifically measured and documented.

I urge you to do some research into metabolism and weight loss as it is really, really not all size fits all. We have had CICO dogma for over 30 years and the obesity crisis is getting worse year on year, not better.

I agree with previous posters that getting healthier is the objective. Feeling better, fitter, sleeping more soundly, having more energy are the real rewards, not some arbitrary figure.

You are doing well, keep going. Once you have experienced the improved well-bring, you wouldn’t want to go back to eating junk. It is not worth it, truly.

I've recently lost a stone & a half but it literally took about 6-8 weeks of being super good to start shifting. Seriously, I ate like a saint and nothing! Stuck with it... Suddenly down 2lbs... Then another a week later.. then half.. slow and steady!

It’s only been a week.

Not to mention, wanting “quick results” is part of the problem. It’s not about easy wins. It’s about long-term lifestyle change.

Lots more water. Start the day with a couple of pints and keep chugging.

A week is nothing, OP. Take into consideration things like water retention (it's not time of the month, is it?). Its important to look at the big picture, and not think of immediate gratification by seeing fast results. You're doing it for your health, and it needs to be sustainable for you. I lost a pound every couple of weeks to begin with, and I lost a stone and a half over the course of 10 months, and it's staying off cos im maintaining now.

Totally agree with this. I've lost 18lbs over 6 months. Another 10lbs to go, this will take me from my original 11 stone to 9 stone.

I think you have to make long term, sustainable changes. It took me a few weeks for the weight loss to kick in, some weeks I lose nothing, some weeks I gain a bit, some weeks I lose more than expected.

I have had to cut back a lot on things like evening snacking on chocolate, takeaways, buying muffins and donuts on the weekend. But I still have all those things just not as much. I've cut out snacking unless I'm starving, I used to have mid morning snacks for the sake of it, but now I don't unless I'm due on and ravenous.

P.s. I don't count calories or composition, I just substited healthier stuff (e.g. less white bread,more veg,no snacking, drink water if I'm tempted, usually it passes in a few mins). I checked on mfp and seems I'm averaging about 1300 Cal's a day which is fine as that's ok for my body & exercise levels. So I did sense check it.

Also, it might be prudent to depart from ‘weight’ measure and use other indicators, such as fitness, tone, posture, energy.

Fans of CICO conveniently ‘forget’ that crash calorie restriction diets attack muscle mass before any fat. There was a poster on here not long ago who has achieved great weight loss and BMI only to discover that she still looked flabby and it hurt sitting down as she could feel every bone. She severely damaged her muscle mass by such dieting and probably lowered her metabolic rate too into the bargain.

Yes CICO is outdated because there is not a single piece of research that confirms any lasting weight loss effect from it, that includes large longitudinal studies. Literally, you might as well not bother, as you will end up back at square one, and likely heavier!

We have had CICO dogma for over 30 years and the obesity crisis is getting worse year on year, not better.

That's because more people are consuming more calories than they burn off.

Keep going OP. You'll see results if you stick at it, a week isn't long although it feels like it!

I'm the same size as you and have also cut back without much result! V annoying.

Just one thing - some people ime find it hard to lose the last bit of weight while they are still breast feeding. Like your body wants to hang on to that bit of extra just in case its needed. You might find it easier to lose once you have completely stopped.

I really think your calories are too low. If you're on FB this group is brilliant for calorie counting and support.
Calories, Macros, Fatloss, Recipes & more

Are you actually weighing what you eat? People vastly overestimate their portions.

Just checked, you aren’t weighing and measuring. You have no idea how many cals you’re eating and I’d suggest that’s your issue. You can’t beat calorie in vs calorie out.

I really think your calories are too low.

Experiments on mice have shown that a group who only ate in a restricted 8hr period in the day lost weight while another group that ate whenever they liked gained weight, even though both groups were eating the same number of calories and the same sorts of food.

If it works for mice, it might work for you!

www.salk.edu/news-release/salk-study-may-offer-drug-free-intervention-to-prevent-obesity-and-diabetes/

Re calories being too low - have you ever seen an overweight anorexic?

a week

There’s your problem.

If you’ve just started exercising you’ll be retaining water. Drinking more water and taking a magnesium supplement can help, but it’ll sort itself out in a couple of weeks regardless (possibly a bit longer if you’re doing something intense like HIIT).

A good rule of thumb is to give every new lifestyle change six weeks to start showing real results.

It's been a week. Calm yourself down.

I'm in a similar position. For almost a month I've been using MFP and walking for over an hour every day. And I'm just playing with the same 4lb that I've been playing with all year (I've lost over two stone with Slimming World but I became stuck so switched to MFP). I'm just less than 11 stone. I want to be 9.5-10. It's so disheartening!

I only ever manage to lose weight by cutting down on carbs. No bread, pasta, rice, potatoes. The weight tends to come off during week 4 of doing this, I notice. Before then I don't lose anything. & I don't exercise a lot with it yet still lose, partly I guess as low carving somehow gets rid of my tendency to snack.

I think if you hang in there another month or so you will see differences OP. I hear of people who drop weight immediately upon starting diet but I've never personally met anyone who has.

^*Fans of CICO conveniently ‘forget’ that crash calorie restriction diets attack muscle mass before any fat. There was a poster on here not long ago who has achieved great weight loss and BMI only to discover that she still looked flabby and it hurt sitting down as she could feel every bone. She severely damaged her muscle mass by such dieting and probably lowered her metabolic rate too into the bargain.

Yes CICO is outdated because there is not a single piece of research that confirms any lasting weight loss effect from it, that includes large longitudinal studies. Literally, you might as well not bother, as you will end up back at square one, and likely heavier!*^

What do you suggest then? Genuine question. You can exercise and so on but how can you lose weight without restricting calories in some way?

I don't understand when people say CICO doesn't work, literally every time I've dropped calories I've dropped weight (maybe not straight away but after aaaa few weeks).

Very mixed opinions on calorie counting 😁 i did try keto/restricting carbs but i felt so deprived and unhappy on it, and the cost as well because i was cooking different to the rest of the house.

I am daft for getting down about no results in a week and a half, guess i focussed far too much on people that did have a significant weight loss in their first week.

I do measure alot, and the stuff i dont measure i try over estimate so i dont go over on my calories.
If i have bread which isnt often i will have wholemeal, ive swapped rice for cauli rice and i use the black bean spaghetti from aldi which is a fraction of the carbs in normal spaghetti.
Anything else i could be doing to give myself a boost?