Dieting for 6 weeks and guess how much I’ve lost?

[CollagenQueen]

I’ve been dieting for 6 weeks. I’ve been eating like a bird during the day, with a normal evening meal.

I’ve cut out crisps and chocolate (which I used to eat daily).

I’ve dropped my wine consumption massively, now having several tee total days a week (I used to drink every day!)

I’ve also upped my exercise enormously, I now usually walk about 15-20k steps a day, rather than my usual 7k.

After six weeks of this, I’ve just weighed myself and guess what I’ve lost?

Absolutely nothing.

What the hell? Can anyone explain this? I really don’t want to give up, but this just seems insane!

It can be upsetting when you're obviously trying hard and seeing very little results, but please don't give up. I've not read all of the comments so this has probably been said before. The wine really isn't helping you, even though you've cut right down, what you are drinking is still a lot of empty calories (from someone who likes a glass or 2 of wine also, I know your struggle). Also some of your food choices aren't the best.. chips for example. As for the rest make sure you weigh out what you're eating, if it's cereal then make sure you're sticking to the 40g serving which looks like next to nothing in the bowl, the same with rice and pasta. It's likely you're still not in a calorie deficit enough to lose weight. Good luck with the weight loss, and keep trying.

Are there any You Tube video's that are good for doing the muscle work out? My DH just bought me some hand weights from Aldi. I can't get to a gym or exercise class because of my job/my working hours. But I could easily do a workout following a You Tube video.

I like MadFit or Caroline Girvan for short, simple exercises with hand weights. Both free on Youtube.

Building muscle really does increase your metabolism

First of all - massive well done! You've made big changes. I would have thought you'd see some loss, even if menopausal so I wonder if you give it a bit longer you may see a sudden drop. I'd carry on and don't get disheartened, especially as you're feeling better in yourself. Maybe just make some tweaks and see how things go.

Some small tweaks to help you feel more satisfied, I'd look at:

Get some protein in at breakfast. Something like:
Scrambled eggs with a little smoked salmon
Boiled eggs with a small slice toast
lean sausage, mushrooms and tomatoes
Omelette
Lean bacon with tomatoes and mushrooms
Greek yoghurt and a mix of berries (frozen, slightly defrosted are good and cheaper than fresh) - add a little honey if needed. Sprinkle a few bran flakes over if you want some crunch.

Lunch:
Bulk it up with more veg and protein so you feel more satisfied and maybe ditch the coleslaw as they often contain sugar eg add rocket, tomatoes, cucumber and increase the chicken to a whole chicken breast. Dress with olive oil and some balsamic vinegar or olive oil, wine vinegar and mustard mixed together. I usually measure out my olive oil with a 1/2 tablespoon which is 60 cals but I think contributes to enjoying that meal and also general health so is worth it.

Light babybel are good for a snack and I think 50 cals.

On your nights when you do drink wine, can you reduce it a bit? or even start with a G&T with slimline tonic (about 112 cals for a double vs 226 calories for a large glass of wine). I sympathise though as am also trying to reduce alcohol consumption, both for health and calories consumed. I've been listening to the podcast "Over the Influence" when I'm driving which I've found really helpful and was recommended on another thread.

I calorie count intermittently but found Nutracheck app so much easier to use than MFP. It was about £23 for the year I think (you sign up for a free 7 day trial then they give you a special offer during that!).

Okay, I will look at those, thank you!

So, the plan is :

1. Ditch the cereal at breakfast and replace with a boiled egg and fish/chicken
2. More salad/veg with lunch.
3. Cut dinner carbs.
4. Drop another wine night, so only drink 1-2 nights.
5. Do a Youtube muscle workout every day
6. Drink more water (does it count if I add squash?)
7. Log everything on MFP

I cannot thank you all enough for your advice. I felt so demoralised this morning, but now I have a plan thanks to you!!

You seem to be eating a lot of calories

@CollagenQueen Exercise is really good for your overall health - but you can't rely on it for sustained, significant weight loss, unless you're doing A LOT of it every day. As the saying goes, 'you can't outrun your fork'.

I agree with your plan (especially more protein and veg, less wine and cereal) but I wouldn’t bother with logging everything personally. I think that bit is soul destroying and unsustainable and tips firmly into “diet” rather than “healthy lifestyle”. It would make me more likely to rebel and throw in the towel altogether. But you know whether this is you!

Protein with every meal, op. It keeps you full and our bodies expend more energy burning off protein. Carbs are fine but you need to reduce any refined carbs you're having. As others have said, calorie counting is essential (especially as you say you put butter on potatoes which can then turn out to be loads of calories pending on how much you're doing). And loads more water.

I used to have Weetabix and oat milk, and would be starving 2 hours later. I added protein powder, berries, and walnuts, and now I don't need anything until lunch. Keeps me full. Lunch I try to have a chicken breast everyday and I have protein rolls. Dinner I usually have a portion of protein anyway.

Before meals, eat your salad first. Stops insulin spikes and cravings later. Helps with your hormones too. Carrot salad is great for this. Grated carrots, some apple cider vinegar and olive oil (measuring it all). You can add honey for flavour if you like.

I would suggest that you keep a food and drink diary to see where you can make changes. Magnesium will help with sleep but it does sound as though it could be hormonal ( menopause) so I would suggest speaking to a doctor about HRT. It has worked so well for me.
Take a look at Keto and the fast800 for meal plans and measure yourself. I've found that drastically cutting my carb intake has helped with weight loss and I am never hungry. A typical day for me would be full fat Greek yogurt around 10 am , chicken/ fish with homemade coleslaw around 2pm and then an evening meal around 6.30 which would be a keto lasagne , fish, keto fajitas, steak or chicken with a salad. I drink around 3 litres a day which is mostly water. I don't always eat breakfast so then my first meal of the day would be at 1pm.

Haven't RTFT but I say just knock the booze on the head completely.

Your plan looks better.
Also to consider is hormone balancing. There is a lady I follow on instagram who talks a lot about simple tips to balance your hormones for menopausal-aged women, especially cortisol. Your walking will be helping that too.
It's simple stuff and it's really changed how I feel. I can't think of her name though, it's something like Holland Health.

I can't read all the posts, but I would urge you to try intermittent fasting (16:8) and understand the science behind it. It IS more complex than just calories in/ calories out: it may be that you're eating too many times a day/ over too many hours of the day - every time you eat you are stimulating insulin which is the hormone that instructs your body to store calories as fat. Certain foods like carbs and processed foods also overstimulate insulin, whereas eating filling plants and protein stimulate it less. There are podcasts which explain it much better than I can but it was the only thing that worked for me to lost my baby weight. I lost a stone in two months and felt unbelievable.

That diet sounds bloody delicious. I'll follow that!

I'm 62.

Two years ago I discovered I had high BP. I hate going to the doctors so decided to try and tackle it by healthy eating. which meant no calorie counting but LOTS of fruit and veg, Greek yoghurt, eggs, nuts, seeds pulses. Small amounts of meat and fish 4 or 5 times a week. Things like bread, butter, potatoes, pasta, cakes, pizza etc once or twice a week when eating out but in very small quantities. Alcohol in smaller quantities than before and only 3/4 days a week.

Having a close family member with a history of ED has made me resolutely against dieting or calorie counting. At age 60 I was resigned to being dumpy all my life but to my amazement not only did my BP reach a healthy level within 3 months but gradually, without even trying or thinking about it, my excess weight dropped off.

in less than a year I went from 11 stone to 8 stone and the weight has stayed off. I also feel much better in myself and have loads of energy. I'm in better shape than I was in my 40s and it's all down to healthy eating.

For sleep, try using a sleeping aid for 5 days and go to bed /get up at the same time, then drop sleep aid and hopefully your body clock will have adjusted. Nytol is good (they also have a herbal version but I haven’t tried that)
Beware of replacing one addiction with another..sleep meds shouldn’t be used for long periods and can’t be mixed with alcohol

Ah right, 👍

Measure everything (and I mean everything) portion size and find out what calories per portion, you will be surprised where the calories are hiding

https://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/calories/calorie_counter.htm

Popping back on to echo a few other posters.

Firstly well done for trying to further cut back your wine intake, from what you have written I can see this is a big change for you.

Secondly, I think it’s worth speaking to your Dr about HRT options. It took a good few months of HRT to aid my sleep but I can’t begin to tell you the difference it has made to my life overall.

@tiktokoclock I was going to mention cortisol - I think this is my issue, too. Sleep is SO important for cortisol levels.

Well done on cutting down on the wine, i've had a great summer of overindulging but it's showing on my belly now so this week i've had to have a serious word with myself so know exactly how you feel!

In your situation I base most of my meals and snacks around fruit and veg. Drink lots of water. Log everything you eat into MyFitnessPal, even your wine, it's empty calories and can make a good week turn into a bad week.

Can you vary your exercise? Are you doing enough walking to build up a sweat and get your heart rate going?

This is such a ridiculous response that I see trotted out everywhere. By your logic everything weighs the same because you're comparing the same weight of both.
Fat weighs less than muscle in the same way that I weight less than an elephant. Of course a kilo of elephant and a kilo of me are the same weight, but I weigh less.

You must have been (and be to some extent) so constipated OP!

Your “like a bird” sounds like normal eating to me, and I eat too much.

The wine - I often on drink one day a week (sometimes zero days or two days) but I think I drink too much weight loss wise.