To think there’s no point being hungry if the weight isn’t coming off?

[Flaribeau]

The doctor has told me to lose weight because I’m at risk of diabetes. I’m absolutely starving but virtually no weight is coming off! I haven’t had a single biscuit or packet of crisps, no takeaways or alcohol at all, I’ve cut right down on carbs, I’ve started walking for an hour a day, and I’ve still only lost 2lb in an entire month.

AIBU to think being hungry is absolutely pointless if I’m not losing weight? Everyone says you lose loads in the first few weeks but I haven’t. I was expecting to have lost half a stone by now. I’m suffering for no reason because the weight isn’t coming off 😭

I think you need some proper guidance and support. Could the GP arrange for you to go on something like Weight Watchers? If not, I'd suggest doing it yourself. I joined WW online a few years ago and joined a Facebook support group. It's great to have other people in the same boat and you get some good tips.
Tbh I don't think you are literally starving. You are used to eating a lot more food and it takes a while to get used to it.

Hang on a minute, you need to loose half a stone?!

Well that’s your explanation for loosing half a pound a week. If you only need to loose it a bit it comes off slowly.

Add more protein and fibre to fill you up and you’ll be fine.

But OP - THE DRAMA. Over nothing. Are you normally like this?

OP if you’re only 7lbs above the upper limit of “healthy” weight, then it’s not surprising the weight loss is slower. I’m about 2lbs below the upper limit of healthy, and I have to eat virtually nothing to lose weight. Whereas someone who is super morbidly obese will lose a couple of lbs from a very modest reduction.

I think you just need to really reduce your calorie intake for a few months to get that half a stone off, then you can ease up a bit and enjoy life again, whilst taking care not to re-gain the weight.

It seems as though you're doing everything for you husband. What's he doing for you?
Paying the mortgage and bills.

But that's just practical.

What does he do for you in terms of care?

You're only 7lbs overweight? Has your Dr mentioned pursuing any more tests? There are more sophisticated thyroid tests, I'd be wondering about PCOS, insulin resistance. It's not normal not to lose weight despite cutting your diet and upping your exercise so dramatically.

My DD is autistic and never feels hunger or thirst because of how her body processes things. I wonder if your literal feeling of being starving is caused more by your autism and processing sensations with the change of routine than what you are/are not eating.

1. we all lose weight differently. I find nothing happens for weeks then I have a drop.
2. make sure you are drinking plenty. I find being thirsty messes with weight loss, but also appetite.
3. Ask for a fullblood work/ MOT from your GP. See if there is something else happening. Is your thyroid working properly, for example?

Totally agree with this.
If you are pre diabetic then it's likely you are insulin resistant.
Essentially in response to carbs your pancreas in pouring out more and more insulin to try to deal with the carbs but it doesn't work so you get high bms and feel awful.
It's not about eating less,it's about changing what you eat.

Look at 16:8
It's excellent for reversing IR

Seriously knock the bread on the head.

Instead of rice, use cauliflower rice.
Have more protein and fish
Make courgetti and use instead of pasta

and dippy eggs with asparagus sounds delicious and I want that right now! 😆

If you are only 7lb overweight, it’s takes along time to lose that, it’s not easy. Sounds like you are doing well.

I am much more overweight than you but I’ve had some success recently with weightwatchers. It pushes you towards good choices but also nothing is off the table so mentally it’s easier for me to deal with. I would recommend it to anyone but particularly anyone like me who mentally struggles with dieting.

Most foods contain carbs.
What we should avoid in order to not be diabetic is excess, useless, empty carbs and sugar, including sweeteners. So, avoid potatoes, bread, cereal, cakes, biscuits, sweets, except a tiny bit of very dark chocolate. Skimmed and semi skimmed milk is not advisable, semi contains almost the same carbs as full cream.

Egg yolks are good. Lethicin is in yolks.

We need fat and calcium from dairy but not palm oil and other 'bad' fats and oils. Olive oil is good.

Mediterranean diet is also good.

Count the calories for a while - weigh everything and know the calories per ounce of everything you eat. If the calories in outweigh the calories out you won’t lose weight and something like cream cheese can add a lot of calories if you just estimate it by eye. 1000 a day diet was recommended and monitored by my GP and it worked. Starving yourself won’t help - if you’re pre diabetic and have to limit carbs you need to load up on free foods like veg, salad and fruit, and bread needs to be treated with respect.

And I have just seen that you have 7lb’s to lose… you are eating too much. Get rid of the peanut butter - a tablespoon is far too much.

Calorie counting is not the best way to control blood glucose, ie: avoid diabetes. It's OK as a weight loss diet if you don't have pre-diabetes or actual diabetes. For that you need no sugar, low carb.

Looking at your diet I think you need to significantly up your protein. Then hopefully you wont feel so hungry. Maybe look into couting macros. I'd also recommend using an online BMR calculator to work out your maintenance calories and then work out a calorie deficit that works for you. Also remember the more carbs you eat the more water your body will hold. Simple changes could be swapping rice for cauliflower rice and regular yogurt for protein ones or quark.

I know I’m not the first to say it here, but cut down on the bread - preferably to zero. Try a low carb breakfast like poached eggs and half an avocado, omelette and tomatoes, or plain Greek yoghurt with mixed seeds on top.

This doesn’t mean you won’t ever be able to eat bread again. Your metabolism is out of whack and you need to kick it back in to normal action.

Fill up the carb space with salad and green veg, extra protein and some healthy fats. You can still have nice food, just choose wisely while you’re getting the weight off. You might also find the extreme hunger reduces because that could well be a symptom of your messed up metabolism.

Even diabetics still need carbs and the point of limiting them is so that the unused carbs are not stored in the body as sugar. It’s not good to avoid them altogether.

Not RTFT.
For breakfast I eat two slices of toast with Philadelphia, or maybe one toast with a couple of eggs. Lunch is a tin of soup, or salmon salad, or a sandwich. Dinner last night was curry with chicken and veg, one tablespoon of rice and two tablespoons of yogurt. Other evenings I’ve had roast chicken with veg and only one new potato, or chilli with one tablespoon of rice and a tablespoon of sour cream, etc. Maybe an apple or a tablespoon of peanut butter for a snack, or a cheese string.

Your diet looks pretty bad nutritionally. It doesn't look filling or particularly low calorie. Try eating healthily, things like fruits, berries, nuts and seeds, lots of green veg, lots of veg and salad.

My mind boggles at a dr suggesting someone barely overweight is heading for diabetes, I’m assuming that if your hb1ac is so elevated ,you are eating way too much sugar in the form of starches. If you are not vegetarian I would seriously look at the keto diet. After a couple of days when you are in ketosis the hunger drastically reduces if not disappears entirely. I was type two diabetic and within 2 months I reversed this as well as lowering my high blood pressure and halving my cholesterol.
I recommend getting a book so you can understand the science behind it and not feel worried about eating fat,incidentally Atkins was a cardiologist and before him and the keto was the “ Canadian Airforce diet”.
Ive been on the keto since early January and lost 4 stone so far, I’ve had some time off it when on hols but it’s easy to pick back up again. Last night tea was fried ribeye steak with leeks and mushrooms fried in butter and olive oil in a whisky and cream sauce, and a lot of carb free wine. Lunch today,avocado,prawns,radishes,tomato,red onion,walnuts in extra virgin olive oil and apple cider vinegar,and very tasty was too. Good luck.

Weight loss is hard and takes time. I think you need proper nutritional and exercise advice rather than responses here especially if you are at risk of diabetes. Could you not make an appointment with your GP practise and go from there?

There is some good and bad advice on here but I also agree that you could eat more if you ate differently.

Change your breakfast completely. Porridge or uncooked oats with seeds and milk will fill you up for longer and is also high fibre.
For lunch have as many salad items as you can fit on a plate. Not just lettuce and tomato but radish, carrot, sauerkraut, sweetcorn, leaves, seeds, peppers, nuts and add something protein and tasty like grilled chicken or tinned tuna.
Save the bread for just occasional treat.

Then for dinner eat whatever you like but make sure the meal is 50% veg.

Can all the EDs here stop and read properly OPs updates? 🙄

Excellent advice