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 am still overweight but I do understand a few things about weight loss.

Being "starving" is usually not being empty of food, but is the result of a blood sugar crash. Simple carbs like bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, raise blood sugar and then it crashes, making you "starving". If you have been told you are in danger of diabetes then I would guess your blood sugar is running high.

It's a matter of changing what you eat, really. Add in fat for satiety (but not loads of fat). Buy nothing low fat at all. Avoid bread. Look at protein, fats and veggies as your main food, as natural as possible.

So breakfast, have your two eggs but use asparagus as dippers instead of toast. Or have full fat Greek yoghurt with berries and a few nuts and seeds. At lunch, Avoid tinned soup, make your own. Add in some lentils. Have it with a side salad instead of bread, but add a bit of avocado for fat. Put a spoon of mayo on your salmon salad. For puddings, stick to berries with a bit of cream, or a little bit of chocolate. Drink a great deal of water or flavoured water (but make sure it has no sugar in).

Control of your blood sugar should be the first goal before you worry about weight loss.
It's a revelation how the desperate hunger disappears, it really is.

That's too much bread per day.

There is a weightloss chat section here which is usually way more reasonable than AIBU.
Go have a look, lots of people losing, stalling on loss etc, good support

So breakfast, have your two eggs but use asparagus as dippers instead of toast
If I’m going to do that I might as well top myself, because there is literally no joy or normality left in my life. I’ve already cut out pretty much everything that gives me any pleasure.

It’s literally a piece of toast for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch? Hardly abnormal.

I’ve lost 2stone over 3 months. I’ rarely hungry as I eat a lot of protein. I use the nhs calorie counting app (free) and it really works. Look up Sean Casey on Facebook and instagram for food ideas. If you are in a calorie deficit you will lose weight.

First off congratulations on those first 2lbs, that's still a loss and shouldn't be ignored.

You shouldn't be starving. The point of a diet isn't to starve yourself, it's to eat enough good foods to both be satisfied and lose weight. Starving yourself is not a healthy long term way to lose weight and will not be sustainable even if successful.

I found my own weight loss incredibly slow until I found the "style" of eating that worked for me. I felt similarly to you before that, I was on sometimes less than 1000 calories a day, exercising, feeling hungry and weak and still no weight was falling, it was so disheartening.

I then tried low carb combined with HIIT and weight training instead of cardio and the difference was astonishing. My calorie intake increased to about 1400-1600, I was never hungry because I was eating a lot of protein and fats, and I lost 8lbs in the first two weeks, followed by a steady 1-2lbs a week after that. 4 stone down 1 to go!

It's all about finding what works for your body, and what you're doing now is definitely not working if you're hungry and weak and still not losing.

Bread = approx 120kc
Butter / spread could be another 50kc or more depending on how thick you have it.
So that's 200kc on just 1 piece of buttered bread, without even adding it any fillings etc.

It’s calories in vs calories out. Work out your tdee online (there are various weightloss calculators that will tell you how many calories to cut to lose weight based on your starting weight, height and activity level) aim for a small deficit there is no point starving yourself you will end up bingeing and this is why you don’t lose weight. Use my fitness pal to count your calories, count absolutely everything, oils , butter, sauce etc these all add up massively.

Try to up your protein and fibre these will keep you fuller for longer.

Excerise is great for the mind and body but won’t make much of a difference for fat loss, it counts for around 10% of your journey. Losing weight is 90% your diet. So while I’m not saying don’t do it I am saying it’s more helpful to work on getting your diet right first.

Sean is bloody awesome. No nonsense.

Yeah, when I was losing 1.5kg a week I was also not starving (after first few days which was just adjustment). Even fitted beer and takeaway or similar in once a week, eat carbs like a normal person, but slightly less to add more veg because in my case it's volume thing. Having just 1tbsp of rice would break me mentally.
I did HIIT every day for 20 min because unles you speed walk, walking is just... Not an exercise in my view...

You’re wrong

If you don't like asparagus could you have scrambled eggs and some grilled bacon and tomato? Mushrooms? You'll be more full then (I used to cut up some cheese and mix it in the scrambled eggs too when I was losing weight).

I don't like the weird stuff about food here, but I also know that if I had two different food plans with identical calories but one had bread/pasta and the other was eggs/cheese/meat, I would gain weight with the bread one and not with the egg one regardless of calories-in-calories-out.

That’s just a generic calculation. All bread and butter doesn’t contain the same calories, you have to check the brand and the weight to get an accurate calorie count, which could indeed be 200cal

You're right, being hungry all the time sounds absolutely miserable.
Like someone else said you could have issues with insulin resistance. This means that really your body is overproducing insulin (since your cells are 'resisting' so you need more of it to have the desired effect). And when there is too much insulin your body will not let go of stored fat.

You could try eating so that your blood sugar levels stay as constant as possible. When you do eat carbs then eat them last. Have the fiber first (vegetables) then protein and lastly carbs. And try a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water first. Counterintuitive but: eating fat makes most people less hungry. So while it's calorie dense it might also help you to not be super hungry.

I can imagine the way that you reduced your carbs to eg one tablespoon of rice will make your body properly rev on the hunger response .

Finally your microbiome can also send hunger signals. You can feed your gut bacteria with soluble fiber (eg teaspoon of psyllium husk, linseed flour, inulin, chia seeds with lots of water)

Try a breakfast with 2 tablespoons chia seeds soaked in coconut milk and water (for at least half an hour but can be overnight) . Add some chopped nuts/nut butter and a few berries. It's a pretty nice meal and should keep you full for a while.

Good luck finding what works for you personally. It does take experimentation. Don't give up. Don't accept feeling incredibly hungry for longer than maybe a week or two transition period. And try to find a way to eat that works for the long term not just for the duration of a diet. Otherwise you will keep on yoyoing.

@Express0 sorry didn’t tag in my last comment

MyFitnessPal is giving that at 184kc.
I wouldn't have 10g of spread myself, I spread v thinly and have 4 or 5g.
But even at 146kc then 3 slices a day is 450kc which is nearly 1/3rd of a 1,500kc limit.

I recommend Paul McKenna. In the App Store type Paul McKenna Thin (£7.99) or on Amazon Paul McKenna “I can make you thin”
Also Slimming World if you want to join a group.

Walking burns calories, several PT’s online suggest it. Sean Casey, Ben Carpenter, James Smith, Team RH etc. due to injury it’s the only exercise I do just now, averaging 15k steps a day.

Intermittent fasting. Start with 12 hour fasts then when you can do that easily build up gradually to 16 hour. Its counterintuitive but I'm less hungry when fasting! It's great for blood sugar levels too.

Having just 1tbsp of rice would break me mentally
It is breaking me. But I’m terrified from being told I’m close to diabetes. That’s why I’m doing it. I even feel guilty eating that 1tbsp of rice.

a hungry body will not give up weight as it’s worried about having nothing to call on. You need to eat to lose weight. But you need to eat the right things.

I lose my most weight on slimming world when I’m stuffing my face (with the rights foods). I’ve switched to an online subscription as it works with my current life but I lose best by going to group and staying.

I would try cutting down or cutting out bread for a bit and see how you get on. Try scrambled eggs or omelette with mushrooms, tomatoes etc for breakfast, soup or salad with plenty of protein for lunch and curry with cauliflower rice, stir fry with veg etc. for tea.

If you want to feel full on a lower amount of calories you need to eat the right things so that you're not starving all the time. Most processed bread is full of absolute rubbish and the glucose spike will give you those hunger pangs a couple of hours later. Make sure you're eating enough protein- 50-60g per day a day.

Fast 800 book

This book has some great, tasty, nutritious recipes including breakfast too.

No need to follow the Fast 800 regime just use the recipes for meals.

That doesn’t make sense. Your body has fat stores so it has something to use in times of famine. Why would it store fat then refuse to use it? That’s literally what fat stores are for.

If you are going to reduce carbs to help with diabetes anyway, have you considered going properly low carb or keto? Getting into ketosis will help with feeling hungry.