Cannot lose weight. AIBU to not know where I’m going wrong?

[Firehouse1]

For the last two weeks I’ve eaten less than 1200 calories (tracked in my fitness pal). Food is weighed or in defined portions.

typical day:
-breakfast: low fat yogurt or cereal bar
-lunch: ryvita and extra light Philly x4 and a piece of fruit/yogurt
-dinner: ham salad or a weight watchers ready meal or pasta/veg/chopped tomatoes or steamed cod/broccoli and rice or salmon/mixed green salad/rice

no snacks/a banana if I feel really hungry/one square of chocolate a few times which I added to my food tracker

zero alcohol and no fizzy drinks. I’ve just been a couple of teas and water. I’m pretty bad at drinking water though and it’s one area I’m working on.

exercise; I’ve just hired a personal trainer so just getting started with that. Only find a few sessions. I also cycle. At the weekend I walked over 10k steps each day.

I’ve lost a grand total of 1.5lb. Honestly I’ve had more weight loss after a poo 🤣

what the hell? What am I doing wrong? Too much carbs? Not enough protein?

Im 39 and hate that I just cannot get out of the obese category. I’m very short and weigh 78kg.

Easy protein is to swap your low fat yoghurt for Greek/skyr or an Aldi or Lidl protein yoghurt or kvarg.

Have you spoken to your doctor? There are some insidious health conditions that mean that nothing works, eg underactive thyroid.
Your GP should be able to do some tests (if you can get an appointment that is), show them a food and activity diary.

Green Tea once or twice a day kicks start my weight loss x

you're doing fine. you should expect to see 1lb a week so you're not far off. I started in january and am 8lb down. It is frustrating but it's much better than losing loads at once. I'm seeing the benefits and slipping into clothes which were too tight so it does work and just think, if you manage a pound a week you'll have lost 4 stone by the end of the year

I only lose a pound a month if I eat 1200 cals and exercise- I have pcos and hashimoto so I have to work harder than others to lose weight, I suspect my maintain level is around the 1200 mark. I put weight on exceptionally easily also.

I now do exante on 800 cals a day and I do lose on that, but at a slower rate than others do on the same diet, but at least I am going in the right direction.

I was almost identical to you when I started!

5'3, 76.7kg, 2 young children, 40yrs and a size 12/14. I am now 52.6kg and a size 6/8.

I lost nearly 7lbs in the first week (keep in mind this was mostly water weight (carbs cause a lot of water retention). The loss slowed to an average of 1-2lbs a week although some were more and some were less. I often gained or stayed the same when I was on my period.

Ooh same as my start weight! And we are the same height! I'm down to 65kg now. I started January last year and got to this weight by September. I'd kind of like to lose another 5kg but I sort of plateaud and can't find the motivation to shift it!
So my day is:
Breakfast: eggs (sorry) in some form, with veg added and a slice of toast. I have it as late as I possibly can so it's more brunch.
Lunch: veg sticks and cottage cheese or Greek yoghurt and fruit or something salad-y.
Dinner: I can't deal with extra/different meals to the family so I just eat what we all have (standard family fare like spag bol, roasts, cottage pie, curry, chilli etc) and try to be mindful of portion sizes. I do swap out rice and pasta for veg as I find they really make me bloat / retain water.
Lots of water during the day and one 'cheat' meal a week where I have exactly what I fancy with zero guilt.
I try to fit in at least one good walk a day but I don't do the gym or anything.
I think to shift the extra I need to up my activity levels and also I've started sneaking in snacks more regularly so I think I could do it if I cut those out and with a bit of a push.
Good luck!

There is early evidence to suggest that eating lots of ultra processed foods (which you are) means your calories absorption is higher AND you are not getting nutrients.
id say:
breakfast: full fat Greek yog with nuts
lunch: non processed protein like salmon /chicken salad with at least 10?different veggies
dinner: hearty veggie soup with breads and some cheese!
no ready meals and no snacks and no booze!
my two pennies worth but as pp said you’ll get lots of ideas - see what works for you and makes you feel good, we’re only here once!

You are not eating enough calories or nutrition and will fuck up your metabolism eating that little and that kind of food (the low fat yoghurts and cereal bars, ready meals etc)

You need more protein and fibre - more fruit and veg and a little bit of fat. Carbs are not evil, per se, but choose the best you can.

BUT also - 2 weeks without booze, fizzy crap and moving more - AMAZING stuff!

Have you figured out your BMR which tells you how many calories you need per day based on height, weight, and how active you are? 1200 calories might not be enough, and this can prevent you from losing weight.

If you are new to exercise a very common thing is that your muscles will hold onto water to repair themselves for a bit. This gives a temporary bit of extra weight. Just keep on and you will get results.

@humpty74 i had a recent blood test and all seemed good. I have no other symptoms.

Im probably just perimenopausal. That won’t be helping me right now. Most women in my family start around 40. I’m due on and feel a little bloated this week.

im going to share my food diary with my PT this week yikes! I think he will say the same about carbs.

so on my shopping list this week I have:
protein yogurts
more vegetables (broccoli/cauliflower/carrots/green beans/spinach)
ham
chicken/turkey
beans/pulses
fish (tinned tuna and fresh fish)
more salad items(rocket/lettuce/tomato/spring onion/cucumber)

I agree with this!

When I was going through my big weight loss about 7 years ago, I was on a MN thread where we talked about the "whoosh" and the "lag" and it was a common phenomenon.

So you'd be eating in a way that meant you should be seeing a nice steady pattern of losses, but noting happens. That's the lag. Then bizarrely, out of nowhere, and on same eating pattern, you'd get a week when 4-5lbs just vanish. That's the whoosh.

Bodies are funny things - they're not like internal combustion engines that use fuel in a predictable way, yes it's about fuel in v fuel used, but it's more complex than a machine and there's much more variety in rates for a whole host of reasons.

They key part is sticking with it. Even in the really boring bits when nothing seems to be happening and target seems to be miles away.

You have lost weight just keep going.

Sounds brilliant I think.
Maybe lose the ham but otherwise I reckon you’ll feel better with more nutrients and still lose weight - good luck! Perimenopause is a bitch x

IT JUST TAKES TIME

People expect weight loss to be immediate but sometimes you just have to be patient. My body loses fat every 10-14 days.

1200 calories sounds far too low to be sustainable long term and you are likely to cave and give up on that amount.

Be patient, up your calories to a reasonable amount - probably your BMR number would be good and try to get a couple of hours of movement each day and be patient.

@TheSoapyFrog

i just worked out my BMR using an online calculator. 1495 was the answer.

I don't know anything about dieting, but I do know about being slim. And there's a lot of processed and/or unsatisfying junk in your diet.

Low fat yogurt, cereal bars, ryvita, extra light Philly, ham (if it's the crap kind) and weight watchers ready meals all fall into this category.

I would switch to full fat yoghurt and full fat cream cheese and cut out the junk. Good fats and protein are much better for you, and so much more satisfying so you need less of them and they keep you full for longer.

To me your current diet screams "faddy dieter who's going to go off the rails in....3, 2, 1".

@Firehouse1

I input your stats into the calculator I mentioned and according to that you should be consuming 1772cals with at least 117g protein. Limiting carbs to 20g and making up the rest of your macros with fats (from all sources including nuts, avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, and full fat dairy such as butter, cheese, double cream, as well as your meat / protein sources).

1200 calories won't prevent you from losing weight, that theory has been blown out of the water many times. Starvation mode does not exist.

But 1200 calories will be unsustainable in the long term, will leave you feeling unfulfilled and you are likely to cave at some point and then over eat or binge.

I'm struggling too, OP. I calorie counted the same as you for 6 weeks and lost nothing. I then started Slimming World, and 6 weeks in I've lost 7lbs. So it is moving now, but just feels so slow! People who started after me have lost far more, some can lose 7lbs in the first 2 weeks. It's so disheartening! I am happy with SW though, can eat loads and seems to be working better than restricting myself and feeling miserable all the time.

This right here!

I lost 3 stone on 1800-1900 calories a day with 2-3 hours of movement a day.

Thanks all! It’s 100% my crap diet. Just need to try to find some interesting ways to eat protein now.

Ive always been very drawn to carbs (obviously) but I realise that isn’t the best.

@Firehouse1 come over to the LOSE IT thread. I've dropped 10.5lbs in 2 months eating 1600-1700 calories. I'm 5'3" too and weight 58.2kg. My goal is 55kg. I was 68kg last summer. I walk a lot. 50 miles so far this week. I eat normal food. Greek yogurt, berries, chia seeds, porridge, pasta, chips, homemade veggie soup, homemade veggie lasagne and homemade chips done in the air fryer. Normal food, smaller portions, everything tracked on my fitness pal and keep moving.

I'm 46 so older than you and also had 3 children.