To be surprised am I not losing weight?

[Fatflump]

I am very overweight.

A few weeks ago I decided to cut out all the awful food I'd been eating (chocolate, carbs like White bread, rice pasta potatoes and so on).

Week 1I lost half a stone, Great. I was really pleased.

Last week I lost a pound.

I'm halfway through the week now and I've lost nothing.

I'm eating fairly well I think - yesterday I had boiled eggs and salad, fruit during the day, and chilli with steamed veg in the evening.

Today I've had 2 ryvitas with low fat hummus and a couple of light babybels, fruit, and steak/salad for dinner.

I'm not sure why I'm not losing, if I only had a stone to lose I wouldn't be so concerned, but I have over 5st to shift and was expecting to lose 3-4lb a week at least, certainly at first.

I don't know what to do. I've done nothing different than in the first week really.

Intermittent fasting plus low carb (and no calorie counting) has worked for me. In essence it's cutting out breakfast plus low/no carbs. In terms of the fasting I do actually drink loads of tea with milk (which in theory breaks the fast) between waking up and lunch. I also eat loads of 'healthy fats' such as avocado, oily fish and eggs (with roasted veg and rocket).

@Fatflump have a look at the low carb bootcamp threads on here. They have loads of great tips and advice. I think week 3 and 4 are often weeks where you lose less and then it picks up again.

@Crunchiedelight

You aren’t in starvation mode, no such thing. Are you tracking calories?

If you are consistently in a deficit, you will continue to lose fat, though it is rarely linear. It is very normal to lose some, plateau, spike, lose some more. As long as over the weeks your trajectory is going down you are doing great.

This.

Starvation mode making you retain fat?? Tell that to the people actually starving all over the world. It's absolute bullshit that eating too little will make you not lose weight

I used to run 20k or more a week, I lost 7st a few years ago but regained due to Covid -my whole life was geared around going yo work every day, gym after and when that was taken away (I've been wfh since March 2020, and that's now permanent) I really struggled.

I have a lot of issues around food, clearly given the size I am, and its very hard not to reach for food when things don't go well. I was expecting to lose more, every week, and thats not happened except for week 1.

I do understand weight loss isn't linear, when I was nearing my goal weight previously I found I didn't lose every week but over a month might still be 2lb down, however then I only had 10-14lb to lose, I'm have a lot more to lose now.

I normally only weigh weekly but after last week only losing 1lb I'm panicking and so even though I'm halfway through the week wanted to see if I'd made any progress.

@Crunchiedelight

And you don’t need to cut carbs at all

And also this. You don't need to cut out any food groups. Calorie deficit, be consistent and track your food, minimum 10-12k steps a day. Nutrition for fat loss, exercise for muscle gain.

In my experience you get a big hit week 1 and good hit week 2, then it's basically a pound or 2 a week l, with some ups and downs, and then static for a while before another 3-4lb loss then 1-2lb a week. No matter how big. Hang in there!!

Focus on the fact that you have lost 8lbs in 2.5 weeks, which is very good. Keep going. Maybe walk a bit more if you’re not ready for the gym.

I bet you're not too heavy to exercise at 5 stone to loose. You could walk at least?

I started running at 16 stone and it helped me get down to 11!

Having lost 7st I know that avoiding carbs like pasta rice and potatoes works for me. I do eat them occasionally but once a week at most. I feel better not eating them more often than that.

I am not going to give up, but the lack of results is hard. I hate being the size I am and was hoping to have dropped a dress size by Xmas so I'd feel like I was making progress

Starvation mode making you retain fat?? Tell that to the people actually starving all over the world. It's absolute bullshit that eating too little will make you not lose weight

Actually starving people don't have fat stores in the first place so it's not a good comparison.

I'll stand by what I said, I am qualified in this area, no need to be rude.

There is no such bloody thing as starvation mode.

Weight can fluctuate massively depending on hormones, exercise, sodium intake etc, so you might weigh 5lbs less tomorrow than you do today. First week weight loss is water from the loss of your glycogen stores, you won't have any of those left so anything coming off is fat.

I am 16.5 stone, I wanted to get to under 16 before i start running. I do walk, and am trying to find time to do more of that.

I would just keep doing what you are doing, you will lose weight. Avoiding simple carbs is only sensible if you want to lose weight. Just keep on, don’t give up.

When will people stop bringing up starvation mode? It is totally ridiculous.

If you do want to track your progress via the scales as opposed to fit of clothes etc, try using a weekly average weight. So weigh yourself every day using lbs or kgs and write it down. At the end of the week add up all your week's daily weights then divide the total by 7. This will give you your average weight over the week which is much less disheartening because even if you fluctuate up on your "official" weigh day the anomaly will pretty much be absorbed by the rest of your week. Gives a much more accurate picture of your progress.

Wait for the "whoosh". It'll suddenly drop another lb or two.

I also recommend weighing every morning, naked, scales in the same spot. Then track each days weight in an app called Libra (it's free). It gives you an average line in a graph. Some days weight will be up as it does fluctuate, but seeing the average lines helps you see what track you're on. I bet if you put in all weight changes from the start you'd be on a good average line. Don't forget you've lost 8lbs in two and a half weeks. That's amazing!

I go up a dress size almost about a week in the run up to AF showing up. Like a PP, I don't weigh myself as it's too depressing that week.

Stick to eating well and you could try a walking exercise video.

You're not too heavy to exercise. I'm one stone heavier than you and I swim and go to the gym.
Definitely get some exercise in.

I remember dieting and you’d lose a lot and at some point plateau and then start losing again. Keep up the good work. Keep doing what you’re doing and it’ll shift in no time.

I know it’s not what you (or anyone) wants to hear, but if you’re going to get the weight off and KEEP it off then it will take time. A year to lose a large amount of weight is less time than 5 years losing and regaining it over and over. I lost around 2.5 stone 10 years ago slowly over 6 months, it took ages but it just became my normal which was manageable because I was eating 1400kcal per day (more when I exercised) so I didn’t feel hungry. And it’s stayed off ever since, give or take a few lb that I’m totally comfortable with.

I’d start with counting calories and making sure you’re eating enough. There are websites to calculate how much someone with your BMI and activity level needs, and how many you’d need to lose 1-1.5lb per week. If you start off dieting by completely starving yourself you will never keep it up, and your metabolism will crash which will make it hard to keep losing weight beyond the really amazing amount you’ve already lost. Try to be kind to yourself, this is a big thing to do and sadly it can’t be rushed. Wishing you lots of luck.

There’s no reason to think you won’t have lost a dress size by Christmas. Keep at it.

It always takes me a couple of weeks to start losing and then it suddenly drops. Try and limit how much you’re weighing if it’s making you feel down.

How many eggs did you have and what was in your salad?

Ignore the starvation mode stuff.
You lose a lot in the first week and that’s normally water weight. It’s perfectly normal. Weight loss should then slow to a steady rate of 0.5 - 2 lb depending on how much you have to lose. If you are concerned try something like my fitness pal app (free) to track what you are eating. If you eat less calories than your body burns in a day then you lose weight. However if you eat at a calorie deficit for 5 days then have a blow out every weekend you won’t make an overall deficit and will lose nothing.
Do not underestimate the calories in some “healthy” food. You’d be amazed how small the recommended portion is (weigh stuff). Don’t forget the calories in drinks (latte, wine, fruit juices, etc..).

The other option is to stop weighing yourself so often and focus on healthy habits. Reducing snacking, replacing some of the fat and carbs with veg, reducing take outs, exercising more. It’s slower but possibly more sustainable.

It might help if you can also fast for 12 hours per day (ie 7pm - 7am) if you're not already.

May I suggest that you address the morale and how you feel about yourself.
You have been fitter and weighed less and been happy in your skin. You already know about exercise and dietary requirements.
You could change negative items like your username. Referring to yourself with the words 'Fat' and 'lump' run together is not helping you feel positive.
Written achievement record of distance walked or number of staircases climbed will reassure you that you are working on it.
Targets for exercise come later.
I started a thread reminding people that it takes about 30 days to set up a new habit (well a good one) so you can still work away at this ready for a more formal resolution before Jan 1.

@Horseshoe5

How many eggs did you have and what was in your salad?

2 eggs, salad was lettuce, cucumber, tomato, onion and grated carrot, no dressing.