To think I’ll never be able to get my weight down?....

[OscarWildesCat]

I’m currently the heaviest I’ve ever been, I realised 4 weeks ago I needed to do something and downloaded MFP and have been religiously logging every single calorie, I started doing HIIT workouts and body pump and was feeling much better about myself. I lost weight and went from 13st13lbs to 13st6lbs in 4 weeks or so. I have had 4 days off for my birthday and wedding anniversary and have to say I’ve still been relatively conscious of what I’ve eaten as I don’t have a big appetite at the best of times, generally I have logged on MFP and done a workout 1 day. I’ve been drinking wine again over the 4 days, which didn’t get logged, I had cut right down.
This morning I thought it time to get back on it after my few days of relative freedom and decided to weigh in first, I’m 13st10lbs!!, 4 days of being a bit relaxed and I’m practically back where I started?!. I’m in tears, I feel like throwing in the towel and accepting I’m just fat, I’ve had enough, I simply cannot sustain the level of obsessive weighing and measuring food and calories to slip up for a few days and go right back to the bloody start again.
Please tell me I can do this 😞. I’m 5ft 5 and a UK16 for reference.

It's very hard to gain 4lb in 4 days. A pound is 3500 calories, so you would have had to have consumed 14,000 extra calories (i.e. not including the ones you naturally burn every day). And a glass of wine is around 160 calories. You may have gained a pound or so, but the rest of it is much more likely to be normal fluctuations - could be due to the time of month, time of day you weighed, having consumed a lot of salt and retained water, etc. Weigh yourself again in a couple of days - first thing in the morning.

It is very easy to gain 4 lbs gross weight within 4 days.
Most of it is food in your intestines, so not pure fat.

You have done so well just had a wobble for a few days.
Try to get back to your healthy eating, regular workouts and check your weight again in a few days’ time. 👍👍👍👍🥗🥗🥙🥕🥦🍒🍌🍇🍓🍎🍊🍐🥬🥒🌶

Thanks, I get obsessive about the scales, I know it’ll likely be less again tomorrow but I need to try not to be weighing in every day as it can make or break my mood. I am being ridiculous, I just can’t help thinking what a bloody slog it’s going to be to get my weight down 😞

What is an example of your daily diet? Would help us understand. I know you are logging everything but you could still be eating the wrong things! I say from experience

You can easily gain 4lbs in a few days of eating and drinking a lot. But another week of being good and it'll probably come off again quite quick.

It’s very hard to lose weight... apparently all it takes is motivation / determination. I am lacking of them both. So feel your pain. 😔

Find what works for you with the scales. I'm a daily weigher, because for me I find gaining a few lbs in a day reassuring that it's definitely not fat gain, whereas if I weighed weekly and happened to weigh on a 'heavy' day, I'd feel more disheartened. But for some people weighing less often gives a much better view of the downward trend.

It sounds like what you're doing is working, keep it up :)

Also, half a stone in 4 weeks is pretty good to lose so you are doing well. You will drop what you've gained quick - look at it as just a week's set back

You will it is early days. You'll never get it down if you don't motivate and start again so start again. You had a treat big deal.
The wine is a killer.
There is a new low cal alcohol white claw seems to be selling fast.

Keep going! You have done really well so far! You need to lose weight in a way that is sustainable ie. Being able to relax a bit on special occasions. It sounds like you are doing all the right things, just keep at it. I am the same height as you and I have been a size 12 now for a few years, after spending most of my 20s and 30s as a 16/18. It is so worth it

Keep going 😀.
I weigh myself all the time - I find it fascinating how it goes up and down for sometimes unknown reasons and at different times of my cycle. If I got on the scales less often I would probably panic more!
I find having that knowledge helps me be less panicked - if I weighed myself once a week I would miss a lot of valuable info.

@ErickBroch
Breakfast usually a couple of hard boiled eggs or raspberries and strawberries with some 0% fat yoghurt, sometimes I skip breakfast.
Lunch, salad or WW wrap with tuna or roast chicken, crisps are my downfall so I try to go for quavers or skips as a low fat alternative
Evening meal varies but typical whilst losing weight has been salmon and cous cous with salad or a spaghetti bolognaise (limited pasta), I sometimes do fajitas or chicken wraps, either way I’ve been well within 1200 calories each day.
Snacks I try to have fruit or I’ve had the odd low fat chocolate mousse if I’m craving sweet things.

@Cuddling57 I have recently read some research on daily weighing and wondered if this might be better for me but I worry because I let it affect my mood, eg a pound on from the previous day and I’d be down all day thinking it was a waste of time, does it get easier to accept?

In my experience the only exercise that has helped me keep my weight down is jogging. HIIT and pump make me feel great but if they’re my main form of exercise I have to be careful what I eat. Everyone is different though.

It sounds like your weight loss efforts are very early days, don’t get disheartened just keep going.

Would you consider low carb?

Do you log your workout calories on MFP? I found if I added them on I would eat the extra cals and it didn't help with weight loss at all. Now I stick to 1200cals and workout 4-5 times a week and don't log it on.
Also I would suggests weighing yourself once a week at the same time (so every Sunday first thing in the morning for instance) your weight can fluctuate throughout the day, I've been known to fluctuate up to 3-4lbs by the end of a day vs the morning so I would never count that as accurate.

4 weeks is very early days, my weight didn't start shifting until about week 5 of watching what I ate, running 3-4times a week and 2-3 HIIT workouts a week it was at a complete standstill until it just started coming off.

Don't beat yourself up and don't let a bad day or few days discourage you.

I know it's easier said than done but try not to get obsessed with scales and calories. My personal experience is if I think about food all the time, I eat all the time so try to relax and do things to keep your mind otherwise occupied. Go walking maybe where you are well away from the fridge etc. and if you lapse it isn't the end of the world - don't let it get you down and pick up where you left off. You can do this, just believe it

AIBU isn’t a good place to post these questions - loads of people will start telling you to eat barely anything, whilst boasting about their tiny size and appetites. It always happens.

Personally I think 1200 calories a day is far too few - it is completely unsustainable. You’d be much better off setting your calories at 1/2lb a week loss and taking it very slowly - it will much more sustainable and you will be less likely to put the weight back on when you stop dieting. Or have a look at intuitive eating.

My partner needed to lose four stone, and so use the new routine of lockdown to start to get on track, there is an app called my weight which has been really helpful. So far he has lost nearly 2 stone, but the app shows you the fluctuations in your weight as you move down the scales. It's really good for looking at and seeing the different patterns, So although the graph is going down overall, the line is quite jagged up and down as it goes down overall, as a previous poster said depending on what has been eaten, water retention, et cetera.

@OscarWildesCat come join the weight loss chat group. Were very friendly

Don't give up! It sounds like you are doing amazing, and the first bit is always the hardest bit!

I started Slimming World in January at the exact same weight as you and I have lost 2st 7lbs. No weighing. Nothing is off limits.
Classes are not for everyone but I need the accountability of getting weighed once a week. I've carried on with zoom classes throughout lockdown which had been a niv help.

Wine’s lethal. And once you’ve had it, it’s easy to pick at things you later forget you ever had.
If you don’t drink wine you’ll find it starts to drop off again quickly. Gin and slimline tonic is a better alternative but no alcohol at all is best.

It won’t be real weight gain it will be mainly water due to to eating more rubbish and alcohol. Plus heat won’t help. Back on it and lots of water. I lost 5 stone last year on SlimmingWorld. I weigh daily and have got to know my body - time of month up a few lb, eat crisps or drink up a few lb. soon back to normal. I also lose better on more protein and veg less carbs. Good luck. Also view the exercise as a bonus not licence to eat more.

I echo saying sometimes you just catch yourself on a day when you’re retaining water, hormones etc.

I weigh myself daily but just focus on the trend and (try to) ignore the individual number. The last two days have been higher than the day before but I know I’ve eaten less than I’ve burned off. I have, however, eaten more carbs so am likely retaining more in my intestines. I still weigh less than on my heaviest days last week so I trust that the numbers will still overall trend down.

To answer a couple of questions/points up thread. MFP recommended 1200 for a weight loss of 1-2lbs a week, it’s easily sustainable for me personally as I don’t have a huge appetite and haven’t really been eating much differently, I’ve just cut out the wine and snacks.
I can’t run although I used to, I suffer with plantar fasciitis and it’s just unbearable now if I run but I would love to get back to it.
I’ve done SW before but I’m not sure it’s for me, I don’t trust the whole “free” foods thing!