To want to do something about my weight, before I gain anymore

[JJ213]

Hi

So basically during 2020 I lost 4 stone. I went from 13st something and got down to 9st. I'm 5'6/7 ish. I did this through 16:8 intermittent fasting, reducing sugar etc and exercising.

I managed to stay around 9st until the last few months. I'd say over the last 4-5 months I've gone up to 10st 11. I'm still doing 16:8 and the exercise. But I'm gaining weight.

I've been thinking about doing something different such as joining slimming world or doing a vlcd to get the weight off asap.

I'm not sure how I'm gaining as my diet and everyday routine is the same.

I had a shock when I tried to get into my size 8 jeans a few months back.

So I'm now thinking whether to stay at the heavier weight or do something about it and get back down to 9 stone.

Any ideas?

Are you sticking with a reduced sugar diet? That’s quite a lot of carb-banana, sandwich, rice, naan bread-that all gets converted to sugar in the body.

Why did you stop weighing?

Because I knew I was gaining weight and didn’t want to see it on the weighing scales 🤣

Oh no!!

I dreaded weighing myself a few days ago. Glad I did though!!

Reduced sugar yes. I don't eat anything sweet. So no sugar in tea/coffee. Or adding any sugar to food.

Weighing myself every day helps keep motivation going. You can see if you’ve had a bad day or not.

as an aside, naan is ridiculously and surprisingly high in calories! Even supermarket naan! Discovered that myself recently….

Have you exercised today?

Also get good digi scales that link to your phone - it estimates based on your weight and fat % etc how many calories you actually need per day. It’s a lot less than you think!

Yes. I do a mixture of walking and jogging 10,000 steps every morning, before work and in a fasted state.

Do you find it becomes obsessive though? I know if I weighed myself everyday, I'd be paranoid about that 1 pound gain (or loss).

No. Either I’ve maintained which is fine, lost which is great or I have gained and it’s reflected in what I’ve eaten. I’m losing baby weight and I’ve lost 2.5 stone in 6 months with another 0.5 stone to go. It’s very clear to me when I’ve had a few days of no weight loss that I’m eating more than I think I am, calorie wise. It’s very helpful to reflect

We are due to get a flight to Europe tomorrow morning. It's now showing a 2 hour delay as the in. Kind flight is delayed 2 hours.

We have carry in only and have already checked in. Would you still arrive at the usual time ?

I guess it's a good way to monitor. But surely if you weigh yourself after eating, it'll show a gain? Or am I overthinking it?

I guess if you like a "number" goal then weighing is good.

I prefer to go by how my clothes fit. However, I do weigh occasionally.

I might try your method and see if it helps.

@thekingfisher please could I ask what do you mean?

Has something in your regular lifestyle changed op? It's probably going to be something that's a systematic change. A new habit of a chocolate bar with coffee every day. Or a changing of one of your exercises from cardio to weights (which will lose less weight).
Can you pinpoint a habit that's changed?
Also don't ignore drinks - fancy coffees with lots of extras, sugary soft drinks and booze. A new habit for any of these could be the cause.

I weigh myself every single morning before eating. Diet apps like Noom recommend this method too

@Legrandetraitor is that so if you don't like the number you see, it makes you eat less?

Sorry ! Was reading your OP got distracted by flight delay and thought I'd started a new thread !

@thekingfisher I did wonder if it was an analogy?

Well I've noticed I've been having a biscuit.... or two when having a cup of tea...

I’m the same height and at around 9.2 at the moment, I’ve been as low as 8.10 too.

I put on earlier this year, not exactly sure how much, but I’d say I hit 10 stone and was no longer a size 8. I’m back down and here’s my reflections…

• HRT - not relevant for you but def was for me - stopped it now
• too much fasting. I am a total fan of fasting but I found it too easy over time to go 22-24 hours without eating. I don’t think this is good for your thyroid. I have had to only use targeted fasting, once or twice a week, maybe a big one once every couple of months
• classic calorie creep. Just taking my eye off the ball and falling into the ‘yolo’ approach and snacking on shit, usually when in company
• I’ve also cut out seed oils. I used to have them in things like Mayo etc. but I don’t let that one slide anymore, obviously there are times when out when it’s literally impossible, but for 90% of the time, no seed oils. The science on how they destroy your metabolism and mitochondria is very convincing

Its worth investigating the impact of long term fasting and the thyroid function

www.marksdailyapple.com/is-intermittent-fasting-bad-for-people-with-thyroid-issues/ just one write up here. I personally think I fasted too much, and I’m doing better on a more targeted approach ( I’d been fasting for maybe 4 ish years until I suspected I’d impacted my thyroid function)

Each time you diet and lose weight, you are biologically setting your body up to regain it all plus an extra chunk as security. Diets and weight loss simply don’t work long term - statistically over 95% of dieters regain all the weight within a few years. That isn’t a moral failing or because people are simply greedy or weak willed - it’s biological and hormonal, you cannot exert willpower over a biological function which happens every second of the day.

I was in a similar situation to you OP, and repeated that cycle a few times, beating myself up and restarting the weight loss, telling myself that I just didn’t have the willpower and just needed to stick to it properly this time. After the last time this happened, I made it my mission to understand what was actually going on in my body and why the same thing kept happening.

these are a few of the books I read which taught me a great deal about why diets simply don’t work and the human body will nearly always fight to regain weight (lowering metabolism, changing hormones, increasing appetite etc) until it reaches its previous size, then a few extra kg for good measure.

‘The diet delusion’, ‘Fat chance’, ‘Why we get fat’, ‘The obesity code’, ‘why we eat too much’.

the only way to actually change your weight long term is by changing your bodies programmed ‘set point’ of weight, which isn’t done through calorie restriction and is a really gradual process. Changing your bodies set point means that you won’t deal with weight regain, because your body will protect its new set point if you fluctuate up or down.

@hamstersarse how did you notice you'd gained?

Also, how long did it take you to get the weight off again?

I've heard that fasting is good for cell repair and a few other things.

I've been thinking of switching to 5:2, but 16:8 is like second nature to me now. Given that I have been doing it everyday since March 2020.