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.

Oh sorry I missed that.

Calorie counting works for me but obviously doesn't for everyone.

There are only two ways to lose weight: eat less and move more. Of the two, eating less is the most effective. I'd suggest intermittent fasting; pick a window of time to eat and don't eat the rest of the day? Or, whatever food strategy you think of that is easy to manage. The more complicated the diet plan, the less likely you'll stick to it. Fitbit doesn't like people; I mostly use mine to track my sleep! Don't go on a cabbage soup starvation diet - hangry people rarely make good choices. Aim for simpler things you can follow every day eg no cookies/chips, or no eating after 6 pm, etc. GL x

Eat less move more is not a sufficient strategy long term for most people

If you deprive your body of energy long term your body will start to stop putting energy into basic functions and you’ll end up with hair loss, brain fog, crappy nails and skin...that’s if it doesn’t crack you before that happens. Which it does for most people.

It’s not normal to feel hungry and deprived all the time.

You should feel satiated and ‘even’

That’s why WHAT you eat is so important. Fat satiates you, reduces hunger. But carbohydrate gives you a hit for a few hours then your body wants more. If you eat low calorie high carbohydrate, it’s a living hell of hunger, cravings, dipping energy....just not sustainable for most people long term

I eat toast for breakfast, always have and never get this energy slump people who demonize carbs say happens. I have two slices of wholemeal bread with butter and marmite or peanut butter and it keeps me full until lunch. Laying off white sugary carbs is a no brainer though.

Hoe do people manage to eat high carb on low cal diet? I found that it forces you off the carb quite a lit otherwise you would have no cal left for other food. I am now thinking if I am doing it wrong because I've read the high carb/low cal things quite few times here.

Intermittent fasting OP. Start with something quite simple like 16:8 and see how you go. Not eating for me is so much easier than eating diet food.

@itonyah

That is a relatively low carb breakfast - high fat in the butter and peanut butter, lower GI in wholemeal bread, especially if straight from the freezer.

Compared to a bowl of cereal or the dreaded granola, the GI is pretty low

Also, insulin resistance and the ability to deal with insulin varies by genetics and age. If you are young, and always eaten relatively wholesomely, you probably still have good insulin sensitivity.

I would surmise that OP isn't so lucky.

No I'm older. I do agree that cutting carbs is helpful. I struggle with high fat as too much butter and cream makes me nauseous.

I’ve honestly honestly tried everything!

In the end, it’s good old fashioned Weight Watchers that’s working for me. There’s loads of support especially at the moment and there are some good offers for signing up. You get zoom classes, the app is amazing, you get headspace and free fitness classes through it, 24/7 advice when needed, recipes, cook along sessions. It’s honestly fantastic. There are three different plans and you can pick what’s best for you. Can’t speak highly enough of it. And bottom line, if you follow it properly you WILL lose weight.

The first few weeks are so hard but you’ve done amazing to start.
You didn’t weigh so you don’t know that you haven’t lost anything! You only estimated your weight, anytime I’ve done that I’ve always been way off - at least half a stone heavier than I expected.

Another thing is sudden increase of cardio activity can increase your weight slightly in the beginning due to new blood creation (don’t know exactly what it is but it’s definitely a thing!) so there is every chance that given another week or two you’d start to see regular drops.

You have to track your calories though, estimating them is not enough really as most people underestimate - even missing off something like a banana can put you over your calorie deficit for the day.

If you reduce your calories you will lose weight but the most important element is consistency. You have to stick to it even when you don’t think you’re seeing results.

Calorie deficit
Decent protein intake
Water
Sleep
Patience

I struggle with high fat as too much butter and cream makes me nauseous.

It does for most people - that's why you literally can't overeat it! Imagine having to sit down and eat 1000 calories of fat - you just can't do it. Then imagine 1000 calories of cake....yep no problem! You naturally reduce your calorie intake with a high fat and without the desperate hunger.

@Cocacola12 what about Exante? I'm back on it. I admit I have done it a few times and I'm a terrible yo yo dieter but you lost weight very quickly and it's surprisingly easy.

People will say crash diets are not healthy, but neither is being overweight or obese, and it is nutritionally complete and works.

4 packs a day - 800 calories. You will lose maybe 12lb the first week.

I hope you're okay, I know how frustrating it is to try so hard and feel like it's not working, I feel like I've always been gaining or losing weight.

FYI - all methods rely on calorie deficit.
Whichever method you pick will depend on what suits you best. Fasting, keto, weightwatchers - all calorie deficit diets.
there is NO getting around it. You have to eat less calories.

Calorie deficit
Decent protein intake
Water
Sleep
Patience

so true @Grumpos and about guesstimating.

People shouldn't be recommending crash diets they yoyoed to and from number of times.

What needs to be changed to actually stay the healthy weight after is the attitude to food and knowledge about it. That lasts lifetime.

It's fine to have crisps sometimes. It's also fine to have a salad. Balance, don't overeat, be happy. That's what's needed. Not crash in and out of fad diets

FYI - all methods rely on calorie deficit

That is half true. You do reduce calories on keto/low carb but only because you don't want to eat more because you have resolved the insulin cycle and fixed your hunger hormones. Which is very unlike strict calorie control as you have to put in extreme willpower when you inevitably get hunger cravings from the blood sugar drops and that is just tiring and unsatisfying.

Your body is remarkably good at 'managing your calories' if you give it the right food.

The very simplest version of this is to just cut out the junk - literally everything that is processed and with more than 5 ingredients (this includes processed flour and pasta) space our your meals at least 4 hours apart, and you will start to feel better and lose weight

Have a look at the blood sugar diet - it's designed for people with diabetes or pre-diabetes - essentially low carb.

I followed it for about eight months four years ago and lost twenty kg, some had crept back on, so I started it again at the weekend; lost 3kg so far.

They recommend a really strict 8 weeks, and then have modified plans including 5:2 and Mediterranean Diet, but once you understand the principles, you can adjust it to suit yourself.

There's a book, Michael Moseley's 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet; I just had a look, it's £7 on Amazon, and more expensive to buy on Abe books - must be that no one is discarding their copies. There's also a free website thebloodsugardiet.com which explains it pretty well.

I've also joined Diabetes UK's low carb program - they have an offer on until the end of May, £21 for a full year. I think it has one of the best food logging databases I've used. Also a host of other support; exercise videos, mindfulness, Q&As. etc.

Good Luck

When I joined Slimming world, I didn't have any scales, hadn't weight myself in years and estimated I was probably about 14 and a half stone. Got on the scales at my first class and it showed 16 stone 1, so your guess can be miles off.

That diet is 800 calories a day. I don't understand how people can do that for 8 weeks!

Meh @OmgThereAreNoPlanesAboveMeNow the OP asked for advice. This is what works for me to lose weight.

I also would like to stabilise once I'm at a goal weight. Getting to goal is a different matter and there is science backing this diet as much as any other.

Well it obviously doesn't really work if you had to be on it few times... Many should realise that it's nit just about getting to the goal weight. You also need to keep yourself healthy and aim to stay at that weight.

I think you have done so well !
I agree with everyone that calorie cutting is key
I am sadly creeping back to my worst weight of 13 stone 😮

It’s quite scary how fast it creeps back
Also I used to cycle to work which clearly burnt calories more than I realised

So I plan to join you OP

My main tip was to mainly eat vegetables and pulses , I obviously balanced it out but that’s a diet I really enjoy

The amount of carbs I have been Consuming in lockdown is insane

@OmgThereAreNoPlanesAboveMeNow

I do realise that.

But you are guaranteed to lose weight on this. If someone is so unhappy and feel like they are going nowhere it gives them hope. Fast results are a massive boost. I totally stand by what I said. Plus it's nutritionally complete, which SW, WW, low carb and definitely most normal eating plans are not.

I like the Michael Mosely stuff

The BSD relies on you going very low carb during the 800 calorie period to get your body into ketosis and then once you are producing ketones your hunger goes down and so the 800 calories is very manageable. It definitely would be torture if you didn't low carb.

When you are in ketosis the body is literally using your stored fat for energy, so you don't get the energy slumps - and obviously you lose weight.

It is hard for the first few days though as you get your body into ketosis if you have been eating very high carb for years (i.e. over 40ish% of your calories)

Ops TDEE is correct for her weight and OP keep going I expect you have lost but because you didn't weigh you don't know. So go from now. If you can bring your cals down a bit to 1800 I think you'll notice more of a difference.