To think “healthy eating” isn’t the best way for lose weight?!

[dontchasewaterfalls]

I did Slimming World for a number of years and I managed to lose 3 stone and keep it off.

Since having my baby at the start of the year, I’ve gained 2 stone.
Since Slimming World classes were shut, and I wanted to try something different, I decided to just try and eat healthily rather than actually following the Slimming World plan.

I’ve been doing this a few months now and I’ve only lost 5lb, which I could easily lose in a week following Slimming World!!

So what exactly am I doing wrong??

Here’s what I’ve eaten today -

Breakfast
Two weetabix, topped with a handful of raspberries and a small banana. (Semi skimmed milk)
Cup of tea.

Lunch
Tuna (1tin made with light mayo) 80g Wholemeal pasta(dried weight) lettuce, tomato, pickled beetroot. Light Mayo.

Dinner
Fajitas.
Chicken breast, peppers, onions, mushrooms (dry fried) 2 x small wholemeal wraps.
Handful grated cheese.

Snacks
Pomegranate seeds
Large orange
Chocolate fudge Alpen light cereal bar

That’s a typical day for me. I do occasionally have some chocolate or a pack of crisps.

Once a week, usually on a Saturday night, we will have a takeaway. Hubby and I will share a pizza and chips, or I will get chicken tikka pieces in a pitta with salad.

I don’t drink any alcohol. I have at most 3 cups of tea a day and the rest of the time I drink water.

I don’t do any organised exercise, but I do go for a walk every day which is usually 45-60 minutes.

I’m not counting any calories, just trying to eat sensibly. But it’s not working well.

What do you think I’m doing wrong?
Should I just go back to Slimming World?

Agree, intermittent fasting will make it much easier for you to lose without being hungry, for what it’s worth I don’t think you’re eating that much really, it certainly doesn’t sound a lot to me.

I’ve been following the 18/6 fasting pattern since summer and have lost around 1.5 stones without feeling hungry (I just skip breakfast) The rest of the time I try to eat healthily but I do have a terrible sweet tooth and so manage at least a few junk items within that 8 hour timeframe.

It’s hard the first few days until your stomach stops expecting food in the morning but that will pass.

I can't recommend weightlifting enough. It allows me to eat an amount that would 100% make me fat otherwise. Raises your metabolism by something like 25% for a day or two after. It's a myth that it makes women bulky. I'm definitely curvy but a solid curvy as opposed to being a euphemism for chubby (don't mean that nastily).

With a soup brown up the veg with butter or olive oil before making it into a soup, it can be much more tasty then.

I think that changing shape and losing weight can be different things too, and both are relevant in the quest to 'look good'. Hard to explain but some people lose loads of weight and still end up 'skinny fat'. Two male friends have lost a fair amount of weight recently and the one who goes to the gym looks much better IMO than the one who just runs.

Swap out breakfast for a smoothie.
Exercise more
I eat 1450 calories a day, 1750 on a gym day (go 4 days a week), lose on average 1lb a week

I think you’ll just have to get used to smaller portions and far fewer carbs. It’ll take a while, and lots of low-cal drinks. It does become ‘normal’ soon enough. Often only a couple of weeks in.

I found cutting out entire categories of carbs was far easier than trying for smaller portions. It’s sad to not eat pasta, potatoes or bread (except very special occasions) but it’s sadder to have a spoonful in your mouth and crave 17 more! Better to go cold turkey (in every sense!).

Strangely, I found rice the hardest to give up. I’m now used to eating pasta sauce (no pasta) and sandwich fillings (no bread), alongside the family (big lovers of carb!) but curry without rice was very upsetting!

And watch that fruit intake too, lots of them are more sugar and water than anything else. A switch to very dark choc might be more fun anyway.

Last note on the carbs. My personal trainer (got 25kg off me, with lots of physical limits on exercise) explained it to me in this way: imagine that you have a ‘carb tank’ inside you. Your body uses anything in that tank first, to convert to energy (for all your bodily functions). If that tank is empty, it goes on to used stored fat. Your fat ‘reserves’. So leaving out carbs forces your body into using your fat, and the other calories from that day (protein, etc). Also consider having any (few) carbs early in the day, so your carb tank is run dry by nighttime. Take advantage of the energy your body needs at night too, and where it can get it.

It’s a neat analogy, if a bit bizarre!

All this might not be appropriate until you finish breastfeeding, by the way. Previous suggestions of Mosely’s fasting regimes ditto.

Good luck!

I'd cut the mayo. Even the light one is loaded with calories. (Mayo is my downfall).And that's two main meals if you're having pasta at lunch. Tuna & a v small baked potato maybe instead? Weetabix doesn't fill me up like porridge does which I think is a lot less calories.

You’re losing weight and you’re full up, so sounds alright to me. Yes, you could replace bananas with berries and weetabix with eggs but really, is life not a bit short for not eating healthy wholegrains just so you can squeeze out an extra pound in a week?

But you are losing weight! Plus, it sounds as if you have found a good system that works for you. Losing weight while breastfeeding is difficult, as you need to ensure you have enough calories to feed the baby. I think it sounds as if you have cracked it, to be honest, and I wouldn't mess with that.

If you can factor in exercise, I agree with @kattyboomboom on weights. I weigh about ten pounds more than I did at my slimmest eons ago, but I fit into the clothes I kept from then now. Since January I've been doing three weights sessions a week, including at home during lockdown. I'm a slimmer shape with muscle definition now.

It’s all in the calories, but there are some things which you can also change.

Carbs are fine but they burn quicker so if you eat 250g of carbs you will be hungrier quicker than if you eat a 250g chicken breast.

Also, cut out “light” everything. “Light” alternatives, while containing e.g. less fat, are loaded with sugar.

And work out what gives you the greater time between meals. E.g. 100g of dairy milk contains around 500 calories, whereas you could have a whole meal for that amount and be full, but if you eat the 100g of chocolate you will still be hungry for your dinner and 500 calories up.

If you install an app such as MyFitnessPal you can put in everything you eat into a Calory tracker and see just how much every meal contains.

And along with calory counting you have to change your lifestyles. There’s no point cutting down to 1500 calories a day if once you’ve lost the weight you go back to eating whatever you want. While you’re calory counting you also need to take into account that calory counting is allowing you to learn to moderate, and once you’ve lost the amount you want you will retain that ability and should continue to apply it with some concessions allowing for the fact you no longer have to limit so strictly.

I actually think you should carry on as you are. If you want to lose 28 pounds and you have lost 5 pounds already, what you are doing is both healthy and sustainable.

You could reduce your portions slightly, which would make sense as you lose weight as well, but that's about it.

TDEE is your total daily energy expenditure - in other words, the amount of calories you burn to stay alive. If you have a desk job and don't exercise, your TDEE will be a lot less that a professional athlete.

So once you estimate how many calories you need, a TDEE calculator can give you a calorie 'target' to lose weight. You use that in conjunction with tracking calories to work out what you're eating and where to cut back.

Cutting back is the only way to lose weight - you take in fewer calories than you want to, creating a deficit.

Again though, you're BF - you're going to be hungrier than normal and some forms of eating (like intermittent fasting which I am a big fan of) just won't work for you. And if you're stuck at home with a 9 month old then yeah, have the takeaway on a Saturday night... As I said before, you are going in the right direction so making a few small changes will get you there quicker. My fitness pal will help you see the changes you want to make as you'll understand what's 'worth the calories' as Prue Leith says.

Swap out breakfast for a smoothie.

Healthy high protein breakfast, like poached eggs will be much better than a smoothie.

@PurpleDaisies

Swap out breakfast for a smoothie.

Healthy high protein breakfast, like poached eggs will be much better than a smoothie.

I agree with that. Smoothies can pack more calories than my egg on rye toast ..

Tbh there is nothing wrong with op's breakfast anyway if it works for her so she doesn't get hungry quickly. I would maybe just swap milk for yogurt, but that's because I am big yogurt lover😁

Okay so this morning I’ve had 40g porridge oats made up with semi skimmed milk and I topped it with frozen berries.

For lunch I have a piece of salmon and I’m going to have it with mixed leaves, tomatoes, cucumber and spring onions.

For dinner we’re having a Spag Bol.
I always make my own sauce using tinned tomatoes.
I am going to have pasta but will have my usual 80g and it’s wholemeal.

Snacks today I’ve planned to have an orange and a pear.
Evening snack is a hob nob biscuit with a cup of tea.

All sound ok?

Sounds great. To keep you fuller add 15g peanut butter or nuts to your porridge/20g feta to your salmon salad.
Try for extra veg with your evening meal... salad or spinach?

Just skip breakfast and stick to your 10 000 steps a day..

I KNOW that skipping breakfast is 'bad' but it's the easiest way to create a calorie deficit while still eating relatively normally, I KNOW that 10 000 steps a day isn't 'based on science' but it's easily doable..

I would say it’s the weekend takeaway and your portion sizes which are the problem. Your lunch is huge - I have a big appetite and would only have 60g pasta for an evening meal, for lunchtime I would have less than that. Also a whole tin of tuna is a lot, try half. Then bulk up the rest of your plate with veg/ salad to fill you up. I noticed you’re breastfeeding so snacking makes sense, but otherwise I wouldn’t have the snacks. Weetabix isn’t terrible but I would prob switch to porridge as a healthier choice. Try and switch out some of your food for less processed options, think whole foods instead... less processed carbs.

Calorie deficit is the only way to lose weight. You can eat absolutely anything and still you will lose weight if you're in a calorie deficit.

Simples.

Also a whole tin of tuna is a lot, try half. Then bulk up the rest of your plate with veg/ salad to fill you up

The protein in the tuna will fill up the op and keep her full, not the salad. I’d definitely stick with the full tin.

Use My fitness pal and find a calorie needs calculator. Weigh and input every single thing you consume into MFP and make sure you eat/drink less than your required calories. You'll definitely lose weight that way.

I'm a bit worried that some of the advice OP is getting here isn't taking full account of the fact that she's breastfeeding (and an under-one, since her baby was born 'at the start of the year'). It's really important that she doesn't have too large a calorie deficit and that she's eating a diet that gives her all her essential nutrients (which can be hard if it's too low calorie) - more important, I'd say, than swift weight loss at this exact point in her life.

Cut yourself some slack and stop worrying about weight for a while.

Stop and think about it for a minute, you've just had a baby. It takes 9 months for your baby to grow and your body has to make some seriously major changes (additional fat stores) to nourish & grow new life. That's not going to change back over night. For most people it takes 9-12 months.
Now you're breastfeeding so you need to be well nourished to provide food for your baby. Calorie counting/restricting should not be part of your plan at the moment despite everybody telling you to cut carbs, do this do that.

You need to give yourself time. Eat healthily, good fats, proteins, complex carbs (not white bread etc) and lots of veg & fruit. Don't do Slimming World or anything similar, it will mess with your metabolism. Trust your body. Honestly, nobody wants to count calories forever!

Once your baby is one, up the exercise and cut back a bit maybe. The weight will fall away if you don't overly restrict now.
I follow Rebelfit on Facebook and he talks a lot of sense on this issue.

@Lockdownhairdontcare

Try for extra veg with your evening meal... salad or spinach?

In place of say the pasta?