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.

@sandybval I have the same with exercise. Never really stuck to it and always had an excuse why I can't do that hour. I started Joe Wick's 15 min fat burner 5 weeks ago. There is no excuse now as it's just 15 min and it's fast with different moves. Somehow for the first time EVER I stuck with it! Maybe worth a try?

Good job on finding good meal strategy!

I agree with PPs saying to try Team RH OP. It's sensible and sustainable, restricting to 1200 calories a day given your TDEE would be much more likely to lead to falling off the wagon and binging. If you have a look on their Facebook page they have some videos on why these sorts of 800/1200 calorie crash diets don't work long term and how they work out your calorie intake limit based on your height/weight etc etc.

Good luck, you can do it

Reducing my carb intake, eating more healthy fats and protein, seems more sustainable for me.

That’s exactly what I’ve done on Weight Watchers. Healthy foods have a lower points value so you are more likely to choose them. And unlike what a previous poster said it is nutritionally complete. I don’t see it as a diet but a way of adopting healthy habits for life.

I tried Slimming World but it was too carb heavy and I didn’t like the encouragement to eat processed crap like Mullerlights, Flavoured Rice, Baked Beans etc. I actually gained weight on SW and developed terrible habits. Didn’t lose anything more than three pounds after a year of Team RH and found the endless shouty videos grating. I have Coeliac Disease and cutting out carbs almost entirely doesn’t work for me. I use some of Joe Wicks recipes on Weight Watchers. I don’t eat any of the branded foods as I cook from scratch anyway. It’s very doable and a plan for life with me.

Whatever you decide you must track accurately. You can get “fat” on even healthy foods if they aren’t eaten in a balanced way.

Reducing my carb intake and eating healthy fats and lots of lean protein is exactly how I’m doing SlimmingWorld. The accountability and weekly support has made all difference for me but I know it’s not for everyone.

You don't have to eat loads of carbs on SlimmingWorld. I don’t. muller lights are syns now whereas skyr Icelandic yoghurt and 0% Greek are free as they are high protein to encourage you to choose those.

I would be very surprised if you’re burning 4000 calories a day

Just ignore the exercise and work out your tdee as though you are sedentary.

I think all the exercise might actually be part of the problem. It's great for your health but when it comes to weight loss it's actually really difficult to work out how many calories you're burning though exercise.

You might find it easier to lose weight if you focus more on your diet. It's no good to estimate how many calories you're eating when you're trying to lose weight. You need to be reading your food labels, weighing out your ingredients and portions, and counting every calorie. Apps like MyFitnessPal are great for calculating how much you're actually eating.

I've currently stuck to a diet of 800 cals a day - apart from 3 days when I went up to 1100 cals a day. I've stuck to this diet now for 5 weeks and it's definitely worked! I also do at least half an hour's running a day and I make an effort to challenge and push myself on each run. It's definitely worked - I can feel myself slimmer and I've gone down from a BMI of over 30 - obese to around 29 - merely overweight. I'm guessing in 5 weeks I've lost best part of a stone - don't know exactly how much because I sadly didn't weigh at the beginning.

Cut your calories down to 1500 or 1200 OP and keep at it.

Sounds like you're doing incredibly well.

SlimmingWorld...... I don’t. muller lights are syns now
Muller Light withdrew their sponsorship then?

Having read through this thread, I decided to combine intermittent fasting with low carb/bsd. I didn't eat breakfast until midday, had lunch at about 4pm, and just eaten supper - about 750 calories all day and 8 portions of fruit & veg, but I don't ever remember feeling quite so stuffed!
I need to rethink my mealplan!

2000 cals sounds about right to me...I can’t believe people manage on 800!! I would collapse!!!

It depends on your metabolism. Most women’s metabolism slows down when they are approaching menopause and that’s when you need to go below 1000 to lose weight.

A diet of 2000 when your metabolism is slow, is likely to slowly increase your weight and make you overweight/obese.

No one needs to eat less than 1000 Cals to lose weight! OP - you sound sensible - continue with your exercise and a reasonable calorie deficit and just persevere. It will happen (but ignore all those exercise calorie calculations - they are often way off).

I am overweight, and over 40, the only times I have managed to loose weight after this age was when I went down to 800 calories a day and stay at around 1200 after loosing it.

Diet plans that I found excruciating difficult 15 years ago, look plentiful and useless these days.

Take that from the woman who would lose a kilo if she missed a meal. I just need to think of food these days to put weight on.

You can lose weight WITHOUT feeling hungry and WITHOUT cutting down on the foods you enjoy!
OK that intro was a total lie.

Eat a little bit less than you do now.
Cut down on the obviously fat-causing things like beer, wine, Danish pastries, chocolate biscuits, crisps.
Exercise a little more than you do now.
Keep this up for a year.
You will lose weight.
Thank you for reading my diet book. Please send the fee of £8.99 via PayPal.

Diet is for losing weight, exercise is for feeling good.

Try the low carb boot camp, I think it's just about to start again. It has it's own section.

I did it 18 months ago wanting to lose half a stone, I lost nearly 2 and had to dial it back as I got too skinny. It's not a diet, it's a way of eating.

There are lots of support and ideas on the thread, plus BIWI with her big stick.

I lost a stone perfectly happily on 1500/1600 cals a day plus mild exercise. It took 10 months though but was doable easily, even factoring in a few blow outs.

Diet is for losing weight, exercise is for feeling good.

In my case exercise seems to greatly aid the weight loss because it makes my belly.work properly Without it my digestive system behaves very... Not friendly😂

Hi OP, I couldn’t do 800/1000/1200 calories a day. I would feel deprived doing that and would then think F* it and fall off the wagon. I multiple my weight in pounds by 12 and aim to eat around that many calories a day, tracking using My Fitness Pal. I’m also active and run around 5 times a week. I’ve found this has lead to steady weight loss and I’d lost about 10 pounds from the beginning of the year to lockdown (I’m just trying to maintain in lockdown and am still the same). I prefer to go steady and not feel deprived, I eat full fat yoghurt, put dressing on my salad etc. I think it’s more sustainable to go steady. Good luck with whatever works for you x

Op, keep going because you’ll get there and well done on starting.

The sad truth is if you’re not loosing weight then you’re eating enough to maintain your current body weight based on your current activity levels. When you have quite a lot to loose it tends to drop off quite quickly in the first few days. The difficulty here is you don’t know your starting weight.

So start to track from here, but indications would be you’re overestimating how much you’re burning off and under estimating how much you’re eating.

Diet is for losing weight, exercise is for feeling good

Exercise can make up to twenty percent of weight loss, but more than that it tones you up, tightens everything up and builds lean muscle mass.

I’m genuinely unsure how in this day and age anyone doesn’t know that.

It does if you do enough of the right kind of exercise. Walking 2k a day won't make a blind bit if difference, our bodies think they are supposed to do that anyway. And then people have these absurd apps that say they've burnt 400 calories by walking to the shop, so they over eat.

Have you watched secret eaters?
Its specifically about people who are struggling with weight loss and/or can't understand how what they're doing isn't working.
It looks at their bad eating habits, habits they aren't aware are causing an issue. It's a real eye opener.