Why can’t I lose weight?!

[hereincornwall]

Hi,
I’ve been using My Fitness Pal for about 6 weeks - tracking what I eat and I’ve increased my exercise too. I do 1.5 miles jod a few times a week. 4 times this week actually. The odd swim in the sea, lots of walks and some surfing/paddling. I eat relatively healthy, drink alcohol a few times a week. I’ll eat a bacon sarnie sometimes, but then have salad lunch and a good cooked evening meal. I’ve lost half a stone, so I’m finally under 12 stone, but nothing else is shifting. I’m 5’4 so not that tall and would just like to be under 11 stone. 10.5 would be ideal. I’m fairly active and try to do 10k steps a day. The weight is just not shifting!!! Any ideas? Thanks.

A sensible weight loss is 1lb a week. So if you've lost 7lbs in 6 weeks then that's good!!

Nothing new to add, just agree with everyone above. If you're not losing weight then your calorie deficit isn't big enough. Increase your exercise or reduce your calories. And log everything. Even a cup of tea!!

I have to eat 1200 calories maximum for weight loss. Exercise really doesn't make much difference to be honest (for weight loss; it obviously is good for overall health). Reduce your intake: cut down on portion sizes, no snacks, no alcohol, lots of fruit and veg. I'm doing the same currently and the weight is shifting.

Drop the booze.

Do you weight train? Try adding weights. You won’t bulk up, women body builders spend all their time maintaining those muscles.

There’s a program on the iplayer called the truth about exercise or something similar, worth a watch.

Yes as others have said - don't log your exercise in MFP as it'll encourage you to eat more calories. Just stick to 1200 a day meticulously. Cut out any junk food (that includes bacon) and stick to water, and herbal teas, or black tea and coffee only.
You could always try slimming world recipes or intermittent fasting along side cal counting to boost your loss, but 7lbs in 6 weeks is a healthy and more sustainable loss anyway.

How old are you ?
Menopause, or even heading towards it, can make a big difference.

Do your clothes feel looser? Weighing yourself is better done over time due to fluctuations, and if you have upped your excercise, although you won't have increased muscle yet, your muscles can retain more water whilst they heal. I would carry on as you are, be wary of everything you eat, as a PP has pointed out, butter and condiments can actually add up pretty quickly, and see how you feel in a fortnight or so. If you still are not getting anywhere, maybe try something else. I found intermittent fasting worked well for me, I still add 1350 calories a day, but because it was in a shorter window I never felt hungry, didn't have cravings, and had more energy. But like anything, it's not for everyone.

Cut the alcohol. It’s crap but there are so many empty calories there it’s crazy, depending on what you’re drinking.

I'm 47, on HRT and beta blockers and the only way I have lost anything at all is by going VLC - I'm eating 800 cals a day in meal replacements (it's alright, my BMI is 36 so it won't kill me).

My basic metabolic rate is only 1400 as I'm short and sedentary (an hours walk with the dog only gives me 120 cals so I don't bother eating those - for the distance I can run, even if I ran every day I'd barely earn enough extra for an apple and a banana).

It's coming off but very very slowly and it's a miserable existence on powders and paste represented as "food", and so much water I'm sloshing around like a water bed.

So all the threads about the obese needing to lose weight to avoid dying of covid19 and "take responsibility for yourselves" and "eat less move more you thick fat idiots" is supremely irritating.

I preferred fasting but DH complains it makes my breath smell bad enough to clear a room. So that was nice.

You do need to be very accurate with calorie counting. For example, with the bacon sandwich you could have two medium slices of Kingsmill 50/50 or one thick slice of some malty whole grain loaf for the same calories because the thick sliced is twice the size. Don't estimate. Weigh everything.

Thanks everyone. I think I need to be more honest on the calories going in each day - I’m probably massively under estimating.
I’m 45. Had considered menopause slowing me down, but haven’t got any other symptoms yet.

Am aiming for slow and steady weightloss and then keeping it off.

I am trying to lose the extra weight I put on during the early part of lockdown. What has struck me the most is the disproportion between gaining weigh and losing weight.

I only have to eat a little bit more to gain weight but a lot less to lose it. I have been surprised at how little I have to eat if I want to lose. In the last 5 weeks I have lost 7lbs and fortunately I have not been hungry.

I have tried to eat mostly protein and salads which are filling. I replace lunch with a large glass of full fat milk and drink plenty of water. I have upped my exercise but just by a little.

What has helped me the most is keeping a weight graph. Because I did not have a massive amount to lose I marked the graph in quarter pounds. I weighed myself first thing every morning. That way I could easily remember what I had eaten the day before.

At first the graph would have big drops then big highs then gradually settle down to gentler peaks and troughs. Quite often my weight would plateau for 3 or 4 days. I never went back to my original starting weight. The loss at first was slow and erratic but after three weeks it started to steadily fall. In the last week it has fallen every day. I think because I have been able to educate myself about my body. I really feel that once I reach my goal, just 6lb to go, I will be able to maintain it.

It is so much harder to lose weight after 40. What I'vee found to really work for me is to trade some aerobic training for strength. I used to run quite a bit and cycle. I now do more hiit training. I really don't like it much but it makes such a difference.

I also pay less attention to actual weight as I do fat content. My aim is to always be under 30 and ideally go down to 27-28. I still walk a lot, about 100k a week, so that balances out the weight training.

I burn about 2000 calories day so some to eat about 1600 a day. Slow weight loss but much more manageable longer term.

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Don't drink your calories. Up your protein intake. Grenade carb kills shakes and bars are the best tasting ones. Usually on offer at super drug too.

Have you had your thyriod checked ? I have hashimotos thyroiditis and cant lose weight have been trying for 6mo ths and it goes down 5lbs and back up. Worth a check

Indid observational nutrition research for years, i.e. observed people and compared what we saw with their food diaries. Almost everybody radically underestimates calories:

• not measuring /weighing condiments. Most salads have a ton of fat and calories in them thanks to the dressing,
• not weighing food. 100g are a lot less than most people tgink
• thinking a portion is what they usually eat. Again, if an adequate portion was what this person usually eats, they wouldn’t be overweight.
• not counting “small things”. My favourite example is a lady that just ate “tiny bits” of chocolade. Each piece was indeed tiny, but they summed up to 200g per day. The same applies to cheese, sausages, bread, ....
• eating “light” stuff without looking at calories. Light mayonnaise is Often still high in calories , just not as high as regular

Quit the alcohol.

I know it sounds awful but you won't miss it after a bit.

Are you weighing everything to make sure your portion sizes are correct for MFP?

Also - don't eat your exercise calories.

It's the alcohol ditch it for a while and you will lose the rest .

Just going from what you said:

• bacon sandwich : easily 400kc, potentially a lot more
• Salad: easily 400kc with dressing
• cooked dinner: depending what it is, but 600 kc isn’t a lot
• alcohol: again 200 kc isn’t a lot.

That makes 1600 kc without snacks...

I vary doing fast 800, mfp at 1200, slim fast. They all work for the first couple of weeks but then I have a night 'off' and lose the momentum. I also really really dislike not having tea. I use skimmed milk and no sugar so tend to think it can't make much difference but at 44, I'm finding it harder than ever to shift any weight.

I used to scoff at the idea that losing weight is harder when you get older, but it is so true! I've been on my diet now for 12 weeks and lost 13lbs so far, I run 4 times a week I'm tracking every blinking mouthful, If I had done the same thing 15 years ago I would have lost loads more by now, at least it's coming off I suppose, stick at it OP, you'll get there!

If you're not being honest about the calories you're eating, and you're eating back your exercise calories then it doesn't sound like there's a deficit.

That's your issue, by the sounds of it.

Try 5:2 for a month, and then move on to fitnesspal

I've changed WHEN I eat, rather than what/ how much, following the 16:8 idea. I have a big lunch at 12/1pm, then a much lighter dinner around 6/7pm. By not having a heavy evening meal, and by doing some gentle exercises before bed, I have lost 5lbs in 2 weeks. Already my body has got used to the change and one evening I tried to have a bigger dinner but couldn't manage it. I am less bloated and am sleeping better too

You have to weight and measure everything you eat. Even the oil you use to cook with.
Look a the balance of your diet on my fitness pal , are you eating more fat/carbs than you should? Are you overestimating your exercise? Saying you've ran for an hour but rested every 10mins?

I put on weight just before my period no matter what I eat no idea how, which can be infuriating, so it could also be an affect of your menstrual cycle.

@katie43210 post is the best one on here for you @hereincornwall

Alcohol is such junky empty calories and yet it's a bermuda triangle for so many people - it's not counted, it's not included as a factor.

Do more exercise, drink a bit less. I don't think you need to try special diets, just eat well and only when hungry.