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!

You need to knock the wine on the head. It's horrendous for calories.

Your before diet was making you gain weight. The calories you're on now may be maintenance for the weight you're at.

Use mfp, input everything. Sadly I don't think the barcode works on new accounts anymore unless you pay though.

It's not consistent enough. Might sound weird but you need to eat more and regularly to fire your metabolism. Your body doesn't know when it's meal is coming so it's holding onto the calories. Balance 3 meals across the day with maybe a few more calories in the morning. 600 breakfast, 500 dinner, 400 tea and nothing 7pm to 7am. Count every calorie with Myfitnesspal

And drop the wine for a month or two. You don't have height on your side and a bottle of wine here and there is going to rack up your averages. Good luck.

You need loads more water and to swap some of that food for veg, fruit and nuts. It's not very nutritious.

I'd barely make it to 9am on two glasses of water.

Muscle weighs more than fat so you could be building shape and strength.
Have your measurements decreased?
Do you feel fitter and more healthy?

Muscle burns more fat too.
You are doing great.
Keep it up and keep track of calories.
Think of how much you would have weighed had you been drinking two bottles every day still!

Did you measure yourself on the same scales with exactly the same clothes and at the same time of the day?

Two bottles a night! For that alone OP you’re doing amazing! Well done, keep it up. I’m glad you’re feeling better and less bloated. Focus on that. That’s a real positive ❤️

Echoing what others have said about calorie tracking, there’s also a good chance you’ve lost inches that isn’t showing on the scales. And you never know where the inches have been lost to be honest 🤷‍♀️. But anywho, good on ya! Might seem futile now physically, but mentally to drop two bottles, make healthier choices and up your exercise AND stick to it for such a length of time is a massive achievement ❤️

Walking is a good start, It’s better than nothing, but it’s not really enough to see results. Add in some weight training with heavy weights (better to do less lifts with something you find heavy than lots and lots of reps with a weight you find easy).

honestly do that for 20 mins 3 times a week you’ll see a huge improvement.

also yesterday I walked 15k steps and it amounted to a 3.6 mile walk through the woods, plus all my usual running about after a couple of kids. Not “miles and mikes”. If you want to lose weight with walking being you’re only exercise you need to walk way more, but add in some weight training and walking the 15k steps and it will really help

See it as a really great start because cutting out the wine and increasing your exercise is huge.

But start tracking your calories because you can't possibly be in a deficit. Either you're forgetting things, often coffees for me, or you're underestimating calories/portion sizes.

You can still eat chips on diet... And crisps and chocolate... You just fit them into the calories of the week.

OP please don’t get disheartened. Tracking on MFP feel like a complete faff but you get used to it really quickly. Track to the gram what you’re eating.

no booze. None.

youre doing something wrong because you should have lost something: don’t fall into the trap of thinking weigh loss is impossible once you’re middle aged. I’ve lost four stone in six months by tracking everything I eat and probably only have a glass of wine once a fortnight or so. I did it by doing keto and no not some Atkins fest, just the mindset that I can have what I want as long as it’s meat fish vegetables salad or eggs. That’s a pretty wide and healthy diet done properly. I think you’re a champ going for six weeks without any weight loss. I would have thrown the towel in by now. First of all track what you eat today and tomorrow on your current diet. Guarantee you’re going over somewhere. Good luck 💪💪

Hey @CollagenQueen i think you should first of all congratulate yourself on your lifestyle change!

It’s a big change, so well done! (What are you drinking when you don’t drink wine?)

Next, probably look at calorie counting, I’ve been doing it recently and always thought I was pretty good with knowing the right food, and wine and snacks were my weakness, but I’ve slipped overall! You’ll get there x

Well done on cutting your wine consumption. It does make a huge difference.

I found the other big differences were cutting out the snacks, ditching cereal and accounting for everything - including the coating on the chicken, recognising that a "coffee" could be 1200 calories if I got a large cafe latte or the 15 tastes of the dinner I was cooking.

You need to count calories. The only way to lose weight is to be in a calorie deficit. Many "healthy" things, like nuts and avocado are incredible high in calories and absolutely should be eaten, but in moderation. You can gain weight eating nothing but fruit if you're not in a calorie deficit (I wouldn't recommend it, you'll be on the toilet a lot...)

I’ve lost a stone in 6 weeks. First time it’s ever worked for me and im thrilled. I have a meal in the evening; eat whatever I like but go steady on the carbs( no alcohol). Then i fast until midday next day. Snack on fresh fruit and salad after midday until it’s mealtime again. Decaffeinated black coffee has been a big help . Good luck

i am late 40s, 5'10 and reasonably active. I would put on with what you eat.
I think we just need a lot less. I am baffled you didn't pile on the pounds on your high calorie/2 bottles a night diet. But not that you are not losing weight.

The only other thing to add that I've not seen anyone mention is that you were almost certainly still gaining weight with your previous choices. So even if you're not losing yet, despite a massive lifestyle change, take a look at what you're doing daily now and realise that this is probably your norm for weight maintenance at your age and size. And that what you were doing before will have been causing your weight to continue increasing.

I’m 5 inches taller than you. To lose weight I need to eat 1200 calories and not drink any alcohol at all. You may be eating more than you think on your “cheat” days, you need to log your calories in MyFitnessPal.

You are also eating a lot of simple carbs. Ditch the cereal, try eggs for breakfast, or yogurt with fruit and nuts, or porridge with a spoonful of protein powder. Measure your portions of carbs, I try to stick to a maximum of 50g in each meal.

The third possibility is that you’ve lost some fat but gained some muscle which weighs more. Get a tape measure.

Look more at your alcohol consumption and eat more normally, not like a bired. I stopped drinking after being a daily drinker (I was also 2-3 bottles a night, honestly 2 bottles a night is seriously heavy alcohol consumption).

And doing absolutely nothing else other than giving up the alcohol (but eating a lot of cake!), I lost a stone in 2 months. I was not trying to lose anything as I'm not dieter, but I just wanted to be healthier and quit drinking. The weight loss is very noticeable. If you are still drinking 3 nights a week, you are making up the calories and probably eating rubbish then.

Yes! Lots of people confuse healthy eating and wating for weightloss.
I got fat on healthy-ish food🤷
You can put weight on on healthy and lose on nothing but Maccies.

Op if you’re looking at weekly calories how much is the alcohol contributing? I know you say you’ve cut back but that could mean anything.

Have you read Midlife Method? It says that in midlife you have to drastically cut calories to lose weight...

www.midlifemethod.co.uk

I've read the book. Full of good recipes and ideas. There's a blog too. Might be worth a try?

Cutting right back on the alcohol and chocolate is amazing. Well done. And while the steps may not contribute to much weight loss they will massively benefit your health mentally and physically.

Try not to be too disappointed. Measure yourself now, and weigh maybe weekly.

It's possible you aren't eating enough. And not enough of the right things. I've never calorie counted , eat generous portions, and lost four and a half stones. I'm fitter at 57 than I was at 37, and my cholesterol levels are great. May I suggest

Up your protein and full fat dairy.
Eat tons of veg, and as wide a range as you possibly can
Cook everything from scratch, and use extra virgin olive oil not veg oil. Absolutely no processed foods.
Add in fermented foods to help your gut health. We are just beginning to understand more about the importance of this in weight loss and overall good health. Plain full fat yoghurt, blue cheese, kimchi, sauerkraut, diluted apple cider vinegar. Read up about the gut micro biome.
Consider cutting even further back on the booze. If you do nothing else, try this and see what happens.
Join us on thé why we eat too much thread in weight loss chat

Ps also look into intermittent fasting- eating within a six or eight hour window. That's really good for you also, and can help avoid evening snacking. I use thé free Fastic app,

If you drink 2 bottles of wine a night and you have cut that down to by 4 nights then you must still be drinking 6 bottles of wine a week?

On top of your food….

Add in fermented foods to help your gut health. We are just beginning to understand more about the importance of this in weight loss and overall good health. Plain full fat yoghurt, blue cheese, kimchi, sauerkraut, diluted apple cider vinegar.

Just a point on this. Buying pasteurised kimchi oe sauerkraut does nothing. We are just regaining the knowledge of probiotics. Gens far before us- grand grand parents - knew to eat these things, drink kefir etc. Some cultures still hevaily do.

Half the things we eat today are dead (including jars of sauerkraut in shops). If it's in a jar outside of fridge, it has 0 life cultures.

if You’ve been in a calorie deficit then you will have lost, if you’ve not been in one then you won’t have.

as for scales meh, just a number. How do your clothes feel? Your energy levels? Your measurements? Your progress photos?

if You must use scales use them daily, same time, se circumstances I.e. first thing in the morning after a wee no clothes.

Muscle does not weigh more than fat. A pound is a pound.