To ask for your advise on how to lose weight

[Cocacola12]

Throughout my teens/20’s I always weighed around 11 stone (I’m 5ft 8) and worked out around 4/5 days a week (mainly running/les Mills classes)
Since having children I’m almost ashamed at how much weight I’ve put on. My scales weren’t working but I had guessed around (gulp) 18stone as I was hovering around that about Christmas time. I always walk 10000 steps a day but didn’t do other exercise. My diet was terrible. My Fitbit estimated I burned around 3000 calories per day. Things came to a head a few weeks ago when I felt almost suicidal, I knew I had to change and my diet and exercise was one thing I could change.

For the past 3 weeks I’ve been doing a les Mills at home class every day (attack or combat) and I generally (according to Fitbit) burn around 600/700 per 45min session. I give it my all. I’ve been walking also, on average doing around 15k steps. According to Fitbit I’ve been burning around 4000 calories a day.
I have been eating around 2000 calories a day.
I would presume eating this much of a deficit would result in weight loss, given how heavy I am. My clothes feel In no way looser. I weighed myself this morning and I was 18st12lbs, much heavier than I had anticipated (obv I didn’t weight 3 weeks ago but really don’t feel like I have lost any weight)
I’m feeling so disheartened. Am I eating too much? Surely cutting my calories by so much compared to what I did eat and exercising intensely every day would after 3 weeks result in some changes.

I recently started working towards getting healthy after giving birth 6 months ago. I am 5ft4 and weighed 167 pounds when i started. I have just finished my third week and haven't measured or weighed as only doing it every 2 weeks, but after 2 weeks I had lost 5.5 pounds and I had lost 5.5cms off my stomach measurement.

I am breastfeeding so a little limited with what I could do, so I am carb cycling and I am having 1900 calories a day. The aim is to be able to lose weight while still consuming a large amount of calories to keep my metabolism running at an efficient rate.

Forget about calories for the moment. Eat a nutritious and balanced diet but cut out carbs. You will be amazed that the weight falls off and it is not difficult, especially if you start now - early summer. Go for fresh things, salads, all, sorts of vegetables and protein foods, cut cut out all grains and sugars, and potatoes, Avoid very sweet fruits too. Its easier thanyou think its going to be. Michael Moseley (TV doc) has written a book about this as a way of avoiding type 2 diabetes.

I was around 18st 8 at the start of lockdown and now down to 16st 13 with intermittent fasting. I'm doing 22:2 hours weekdays with a longer eating window at weekends. I'd advise anyone struggling with weight to read the obesity code by Jason Fung. It was completely eye opening to me and explained the whole yo-yo thing whereby I've calorie counted myself miserable and then rebounded bigger and bigger each time.

I'm in my early 30s, 5 ft 11 and weigh 11 stone (ideal and usual weight is 10 stone 10, but lockdown!)

I used to be 17 1/2 stone. Lost 3 St on SW because it taught me to choose good food.

Lost next stones eating smaller portions and moving more.

Lost final stones eating 1400-1800 in small meals throughout day.

My BMR is 1500. I don't eat below 2100-2300 a day as a general active person (this is lowered for lockdown, usually when I'm doing all my training and replacing fat with muscle will eat 2500).

2000 is nonsense standard government figure not from scientists. It's individual to you. 2000 is what I eat to diet and lose weight.

Sounds like you have already lost weight. Keep going, do TDEE calculator for help.

Also if you are happy doing the exercise please don't give it up - it has so many health benefits for your heart and bones, will make you look more toned and firm instead of just smaller, and help you develop lean muscle that raises your metabolism permanently, which is important if you don't want to be stuck on a restrictive diet forever.

Fitbit is very inaccurate. There is no way you are burning that many calories a day. I currently run for and hour (10km) 3x a week, do weight training 2x a week and yoga/pilates session 1-2x a week. I eat 1400-1500 calories/day and i maintain this way (healthy weight).
To lose weight i need to eat around 1200 calories.

I don’t have any advice, only my own experience - I am pretty slim and always have been. My diet isn’t great, but one thing I do differently is I pretty much only drink water (and wine some evenings). I don’t have sodas or juice, or tea coffee and their accompanying milk and sugar.

I will have a smoothie or juice occasionally but it’s pretty infrequent.

I think most people would struggle or be unwilling to give up tea or coffee for weight loss, and I’m not really sure how much of an impact it really has (genetics must surely play a part) but it is the only thing i do differently really.

Agree with @Pukkatea and @12mealsaday. Keep doing what you're doing and don't drop calories any more. You need calories to fuel any kind of exercise never mind day to day living. I'm 5ft 5, weigh 9st 5 and train 5 days a week (HIIT, running and strength) and I can maintain on 2300 calories a day. It's different for everyone depending on current circumstances. Your BMR might change as you lose weight but for now it should absolutely be working if you're burning what you say you are. Stick with it and keep tracking. The best and most sustainable diets are the ones where you lose slowly. Lots of luck.

I started eating 16:8 last year. I lost over 2:at really quite quickly and easily. I don't really exercise and I didn't give up drinking. I cut back on carbs a bit and didn't gorge. I was heavier than you.
Since being on lockdown I've eaten shit but still stuck to 16:8 clean fasting and I haven't put an ounce on. Honestly 16:8 is no hardship and I should know, I love food and have tried many, many diets. This is the first time I've lost weight and not put it back on.
Checkout 16:8 Facebook groups, really supportive and loads of info.

I bet you have lost a few pounds op, it just takes a while for you to feel it in your clothes. Don’t listen to anyone telling you 2000 calories is too much; it absolutely isn’t when you’re starting at 18 stone. I weigh around 16 stone and I can lose a couple of pounds a week on 2000 calories, and that’s just with walking as my exercise.

2,000 calories is a lot a day for a woman, although it will depend on your starting size. Calorie counting is a good way to go. My fitness pal is good for that but you must weigh your food, rather than guess.

According to Fitbit I’ve been burning around 4000 calories a day
Unlikely that that figure is accurate.

I have been eating around 2000 calories a day
Are you accurately weighing and tracking? If not then it’s easy to guesstimate around 2000 but be eating a LOT more.

Work out your tdee, the amount of calories you need to eat to stay exactly the same weight you are now. You need to reduce that amount by 20% in order to lose weight. The realisation that 2000 was for a young, fit active woman has been a revelation.

tdeecalculator.net

Pre children when I was a healthy weight I used to eat around 1800 to maintain
Pre children you were younger.

Log everything accurately on My Fitness Pal. It’s been an eye opener.
Weight loss is calories in V calories out. I have finally lost, and kept off, 2 stone now I realise how many calories are in things. I still have wine, chocolate, crisps but I don’t go over my calories. Weigh everything, even gravy & log every cup of tea, every spread of butter etc. It all adds up.

Hi OP, I just wanted to say - don’t beat yourself up too much. Try and keep positive and focused and you’ll lose the weight - you have a fair bit to lose so important to take your time and find a sustainable way to drop weight as opposed to quick diets that you can’t keep up.
Doctors is probably a good idea. I think it’s probably a case of exercising regularly and eating well but not focusing too much on calories. I find limiting carbs really useful. I LOVE bread potatoes and pasta and I’d be miserable without them so I just limit them- example, if I know I’m having pasta for dinner, I’ll have a light lunch, maybe salad, and something like an omelette for breakfast.
Apart from that - cut out the rubbish, try not to eat after 7pm (6pm if you can) limit snacks and honestly, you’ll feel the difference in no time!
Good luck :)

I’ve worked out my tdee based on my current weight and moderate activity levels

That seems a huge amount of calories?

I do at least 12k steps every day and its nowhere near 4000 calories??!

Are you still working and doing your general daily movement? If not any exercise you are doing is not going to have the impact you think it is, it wouldn't be labelled as "moderate" anyway.

As an example, pre lockdown, I averaged 21k steps a day at work. On top of this I walk an additional 8k, cycle 22k and do intermittent Les Mills classes. That would be moderate exercise.

Now, the exercise has taken the place of my usual movement. I've redone my tdee with a sedentary lifestyle as it's far more realistic for current circumstances.

Also, check your Fitbit. My phone is really accurate with steps, but dds Apple Watch is ridiculous. My 3000 steps would be 8000 on her watch!

@Itonya TDEE varies massively with stature, the OP is around 18st so BMR and calories expended even for light exercise such as walking will be much higher then if she were 10st, imagine doing everything you usually do but carrying around any extra weight in a rucksack, it ups your exertion significantly.
Good advice from @Pukkatea, please don’t go starving yourself, but do try to track as accurately as you can and keep going with the extra activity, you’ll get there if you keep going.

Honest to god, the amount of women on here "advising" other women to eat basically nothing is absolutely ridiculous.
The OP is 5'8 and 18 stone 12. 800 bloody calories a day is not even in the ball park of enough!

I'm 5'9. Joined Slimming world in July with a starting weight of 16 stone 1lb. Got down to 14 stone 2.5lbs with them up until March, but the SW culture is awful. There's no such thing as "free food". Everything has a calorific value.

Started following the Team RH facebook a week or so ago. They've got me on 1900 calories a day, doing 10,000 steps and I'm 2.5lbs down so far. It's all progress.

That sounds really high for moderate level imo.

Agree with pp, don't starve yourself! I am currently on 1500 cal. Not the easiest, bit it's actually surprisingly ok with few twists there and there. I am few years older than you and 23 stone Well, -14 pounds at least (I haven't weight myself for a week, this was 4 week loss). But I have sedentary job, but work out now 4 times a week on short HIIT session. That's it.

As pps said, log everything, including that little bit of oil in a pan, the bite of that and that. So many things go undetected. And these are usually the culprits ime! I got myself measuring spoons for oils, dressings and other sauces. Work wonders!
Remember that often the watch and calculators overestimate the exercise values. As disappointing as that is...

Agree with Meggie. 800 cal is not enough for anyone

The OP is 5'8 and 18 stone 12. 800 bloody calories a day is not even in the ball park of enough

I agree but 3000 plus seems really high. Surely 2000 would be doable?

As you are finding out, calorie counting doesn’t work, especially if you count in ‘calories’ from exercise.

You need to understand how our bodies work. And we are not a straightforward combustion engine where calories in and calories out need to exactly match. Our bodies are much cleverer than that.

The terrible awful criminal thing about the incessant narrative around calories is that the conversation is never about the kind of calories that we eat and how they stimulate different chemical reactions. A calorie is not a calorie.

A calorie from sugar has a very very different biological path to a calorie from fat or protein.

I would guess you are probably somewhere high up the scale of insulin resistance and this means you won’t lose weight unless you lower your insulin. As you are proving.

You lower insulin by cutting out sugar and starch

The body of scientific evidence for this is huge and extensive. I’d really suggest you get to know the basic biology. You will be surprised to learn that fat doesn’t make you fat, that it isn’t your willpower failing you when you crave and cave for a snack...and it isn’t actually a mystery why you aren’t losing weight.

What you eat is important, and WHEN you eat it.

As pp have recommended, start with Jason Fung and the obesity code.

Or Gary Taubes for a good intro into the problem with insulin.

YouTube, bookshops, google will set you off!

@ITonyah the OP stated in a previous post they're eating 2000 cals a day.