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 😭

Well it is a 'normal diet' because it's what I've always eaten without too much thought.

I do eat very seasonally, because I bloody love food, I guess that seasonal eating is based around produce that's available. That tends to be seasonal proteins and vegetables. Jersey Royals are seasonal, but there aren't really any seasonal carbs.

I eat a very normal diet for me.

I don't like cakes or puddings, I'm very much a savoury person and will always go for cheese rather than a pudding.

That's my normal way of eating.

Have cauliflower rice. You can either buy it or if you’ve got a processor pulverise cauliflower florets or even grate it. Cook it in a little olive oil, season and it’s every bit as good as rice. I love it and will continue to have it instead of rice once I’ve reached my target (I’ll save the real rice for when eating out).

Good point. Would also recommend some digital scales. My came from Amazon and cost about £35. They utilise an app on your smartphone and tracks BMI and visceral fat as well. I started off wanting to lose weight, but once I opened the app for the first time, I suddenly became more bothered about my visceral fat readings 😱 than my actual weight.

Up your protein and veg. Omelettes and lots of veg. Homemade soup with lots of veg. Work out your protein target. You won’t be hungry if you eat enough protein. I love kvarg flavoured quark under 100 cals but 18g protein.

If you are hungry all the time but barely losing weight, it's probably because you're eating too many high volume foods and not enough low volume foods, and also probably not hitting your protein intake needs. By eating a lot more low volume foods, like fruits and vegetables, and increasing your protein then you could be a lot more full for the same number of calories

She doesn’t need to.

She just needs to eat a bit less so she can fit in more protein and more low calorie fibre-y veg

It never ceases to amaze me how many nutters come out the second weight loss is mentioned

Which is all true but if she's eating around 150g carbohydrates a day then that is not going to help her prevent diabetes.
I know it's hard op but eating the diet you're used to and 'what normal people eat' is why you're at risk.
Don't change = develop T2 if you're at risk.
I'm T1 so have to have insulin for every g of carb so I know it's hard ( I was diagnosed t1 aged 45)
You need to get your brain in gear around carbs.
Eat full fat (I eat full fat yog the proper 10% stuff with 5 strawberries& a few nuts. Keeps me full all morning/ day if I cba to make lunch.
Honestly.
Drop the carbs/up the protein
Good quality chocolate as a treat/full fat icecream

@Flaribeau If you use an app for example my fitness pal to document everything that you are eating and drinking - they may be hidden calories you are not taking into account

Are you eating enough calories - you want to be in a deficit but if you go too low you can mess with your metabolism and its a vicious cycle ..!!

Instead of having toast and philedelphia for breakfast - try two eggs scrambled with low fat turkey sausage - this will keep you full till lunch time as it is full of protein..... measure everything and track - If you use myfitness pal it will tell you at the end of the day what calories you have had, your nutrients and your macros..... How much protein are you eating a day ?

I found I was only losing two pounds a month - I change to adding weights to my exercise regime - I increased my daily allowance from 1200 up to 1450 and make sure I have 100g protein a day. Stopped drinking sugar free drinks and stopped using sweeteners in my tea/coffee. Also try to not eat / reduce processed foods and try to eat foods as unprocessed as possible

Also - how old are you - how much we lose and how we diet flucuates as you get over 40 ?

Is the bread white or wholemeal? Either way I’d cut the bread out of your diet completely.

Your breakfast is too big, I would have one slice of toast rather than two and then leave your bread at that for the day. Bread is one of the worst things you can eat if you want to lose weight and I say that as a person who has never agreed with cutting out carbs while dieting (have lost 3.5
stone this year and I still eat pasta, rice and potatoes.

I would also have only one piece of fruit (it’s full of natural sugar) and more vegetables. You could also use these as snacks when you are hungry - crudités like carrot sticks, cucumber etc.

Up your water as well as that will make a big difference.

Good luck, you are moving in the right direction. I know how hard it is as I’ve been fat for the best part of the last decade and also decided to do something about it this year to avoid getting diabetes, heart problems etc. I feel like a different person now, mentally as well as physically.

I wouldn't eat cauliflower rice. I think it's just madness.if I was low-carbing, I just wouldn't make a dish that required rice.

I think this is one of the reasons people's diets are bonkers.

Mad subs, not really understanding or enjoying food. It always seems like a battle.

It sounds really hard and also quite scary. Could you go back to your gp and ask to be referred to the weight management service given the anxiety it is causing you? From the sound of it, some support with understanding what you should be taking in the way of sustainable calories and types of food would be helpful - tinned soup and white bread, for example, are rammed with sugar. Carbohydrate as well is not all equal - fibre is carbohydrate, but the body doesn’t access it in the same way.

If your bmi is too low for the weight management service, try two weeks where you log exactly what you eat and count calories like crazy. Work out how many you are eating, weigh everything, don’t eyeball anything. The use the nhs calculator to work out what you need for a deficit based on height and weight, but don’t take it for gospel- all bodies are slightly different.

Exercise doesn’t really help as much as the theoretical numbers say the calories are burned, especially just walking. If you can get some resistance training in there. Not only does it help with insulin sensitivity, which is part of the diabetes issue, Additional muscle also helps burn calories.

Bodies also lose weight differently. It’s never linear, and if you are pre-diabetic you may not lose as fast as you think you “should”.

Good luck.

And yet you’re eating a lot of bread and insisting you should be able to. If you aren’t losing weight you’re still eating too many calories. You’re hungry so the calories you’re eating aren’t satisfying your body nutritionally. You sound as though your relationship with food is unhealthy. The fast 800 is excellent for reversing diabetes and losing weight effectively. It’s based on lean protein, vegetables and healthy fats, and there are loads of really delicious recipes readily available. It’s pointless saying boiled eggs and toast is normal, it might be fine for someone who’s a healthy weight and not pre diabetic. It’s not ok for you. You are overweight and your health is at risk. The question is do you actually want to change that. If you do, educate yourself and make the change.

For breakfast could you have porridge or overnight oats? with a high protein greek yogurt and some fruit? Something that will keep you fuller for longer.

Lunch, up your protein and lots of salad/veg? Tuna salad or turkey salad and low fat/vingarette dressings. May one of the thins sandwich breads with it if you feel you are missing the bread.

Dinners dont sound too bad, but bulk them up with more vegetables. I love roasted veg with a bit of spice, low calorie but loads of flavour, can be a side to virtually anything.

Dont deprive yourself fully small occasional sweet treats are fine

Nothing wrong with it at all. I have it with chill or curry.

You need to get a set of electronic food scales with a note pad and a calorie counting app because you are underestimating your intake no doubt about it.

HNTWT- are you drinking enough water? 2 to 3 litres a day? Drink 1 litre during all after your walk or thereabouts. Then you can drink the rest throughout the day and early evening easily. Keep at it.

@Lucienandjean
That's more or less exactly what I wrote. We'll get accused of sockpuppeting!

Low cal doesn't work for me because, as an increasingly insulin resistant middle aged obese woman, carbs led to blood sugar spikes and crashes that left me really starving.

I am not suggesting that no dieter should eat carbs or that it doesn't all boil down to calories in Vs out. All I am saying is I recognise the description the OP gives as my experience of 'low fat, low sugar' dieting, which I did many many times over the years. I always failed because I was so hungry it was not sustainable.

Eating lower carb was a revelation. I am just suggesting to OP, try it for a week. You might find that ravenous hunger disappears.

You really dont sound like you understand food, philadephia soft cheese is a higher carb cheese, it doesn't even fill you up. 1 spoon of rice is ridiculous. You need to spend some time reading websites like dietdoctor or myfitness pal articles.

Another one chiming in to say drop the bread.
I did SlimmingWorld to lose weight and despite being a greedy person I found it very easy to stick to because I genuinely never felt hungry.
The one thing I didn't eat was bread and it actually made me realise how much our daily food revolves around it, eg toast for breakfast then sandwich/ panini/ toasties for lunch.

Without the bread you could have omelette for breakfast, or large bowl of berries with Greek yogurt.
Lunch, a pasta or ham salad or vegetable soup, no bread products.
Dinner, try and fill half your plate with vegetables then big portion of meat or fish, smaller portion of rice or potatoes.
This would still allow room for about 300 calories of snacks a day.

Something is not adding up here. You are not eating rice because you are afraid of diabetes? Have you completed stopped eating everything you used to eat really suddenly?

what weight are you? Sorry if I missed this info.

my advice is to join Unislim or Slimming world and take the responsibility off yourself for figuring it all out. It does work, I think the problem is that you are freaking out, not the calories.

all the best

'Starvation mode' is pretty much a myth btw so don't listen to what they call 'broscience'.

The real term is 'adaptive thermogenesis' and it's a real thing but generally won't stop you losing weight from a consistent calorie deficit.

It’s difficult to eat a bigger meal for lunch and a smaller meal in the evening. I have to cook for DH and DC, and DH especially wants a large evening meal. It’s hard not to eat when he’s constantly eating large amounts of lovely food and having dessert every night.

I do think about food too much. It’s literally the only pleasure in my life, and that’s been the case for many years. I wake up looking forward to breakfast, I look forward to everything I eat. Because I have nothing else. I’m trapped at home with kids, no friends or job because I’m autistic, and nobody except my kids has ever loved me. The only joy in my life for many years has been chocolate biscuits and wine and carbs.

Track your calories properly. It's the best way.

This is excellent advice and the way you reacted to it @Flaribeau suggests to me that the real problem is your mindset.

I will just say quickly that if you took @IndiganDop's advice, I think you would be surprised at not only how quickly you'd start losing weight, but also how great you would feel. I know you feel that clinging on to the last "normal" foods in your diet is all that's keeping you going, but it's also what's keeping you feeling rubbish. Once you experience the improved feeling of wellbeing without all the carby crap, the desire to maintain that feeling will become a weapon in your armoury - and you need a full armoury because weightloss is hard.

However, what I think you need to do meantime is get some help with this. I think you need to go back to your GP, tell them what you've told us, have them check whether there's any medical reason preventing your weightloss (thyroid function, insulin resistance etc) but, crucially, have them refer you for weight loss support. Most areas have tier 2 and tier 3 weightloss support programmes, depending on how much you need to lose. You would get the discipline of weigh-ins, nutritional advice, psychological help, and the support of a coach and a group of others in the same situation.

Your palpable attitude of self-pity may be linked to the original weight gain as well as your inability to make progress at the moment. It's not a criticism. Many, many people struggle to lose weight, or having lost it struggle to keep it off, because most of us have mental baggage that sabotages us and makes us run back to the food cupboard under stress. Attitude adjustment is crucial, and most of us need help and support through that process. For most of us, the nutritional facts are not the hard bit.

The health scare might be a motivator, but as you're finding, it's not enough to see you through the toughness on a daily basis. Get some help, OP.