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!

Honestly, it’ll come, same as you, been eating well for 4 months, doing weights 3 times a week. I’m now starting to see it. I’ve lost half a stone, but trousers feel better. It’s like stopping a supertanker, it takes a while.

and I’ve got 2 more stone to lose.

I think it’s my age, in my 50s it just takes longer.

don’t go on a fad diet, just do it sustainably. Cutting out the shit. But with enough nice stuff that you aren’t serving yourself.

also as much veg as you can.

Maybe cut your evening meal instead? I notice this is the one that help me reduced or put on weight; and eat better breakfast and lunch instead

Only thing that works for me is using Fitbit and logging all my food and drink and exercise. It’s tedious and, because I’m very close to my goal, slow, but it definitely works.

Branflakes with skimmed/semi skimmed milk..... one portion is much smaller than you may think. You'll need to weigh it. I wouldn't have both the ham and chicken. Ditch the coleslaw unless it has no mayo. No chips either...a few new potatoes . Nothing processed if possible as chemicals used can contribute to weight gain. Add lots of leafy salad, cucumbers , tomatoes, celery. Celery with a LITTLE peanut butter good snack .

Also, on the nights you ARE drinking are you have two bottles a night still ??

You need to look at your actual calorie intake. 6 bottles of wine a week can be around 3750kcal alone before food. I eat about 10,000kcal a week to loose weigh just now and would definitely be hungry and lethargic if 37.5% of my intake was Malbec.

What you describe as eating like a bird is what I'd eat in a day and consider normal. I am not overweight and have always been between 7.5 and 8st.

For example, you are having chicken AND ham in a salad.
I'd have one or the other. Why both?

Bran flakes aren't exactly nutritious. They are refined, ultra processed food.
I'd swap those for 2 eggs on wholemeal toast, or an omelette, or maybe full fat Greek yoghurt and berries.

You say you have a 'normal dinner' but without knowing what it is, we can't judge. You could be eating 1500 calories.

The steps- how are you managing to walk 17K steps? That's 8 miles. Do you walk to work or dog walk maybe?

I also think you need more variety in your diet. It looks -without the detail- that you aren't getting much fruit or veg, nuts, seeds, dairy, etc- and isn't very healthy.

Im similar but have lost a little , however cannot seem to get a good enough run away from social events etc to get under 12 properly. I keep getting to 11s12 then bouncing up to 12/12s2!

I have started walking daily and feel a lot more toned as a result but not lighter!

Could be you put on some muscle weight for the walking. You'll know if your clothes fit better.

Most important question though, we're you a stable weight before, or we're you gaining weight?

@CollagenQueen I know it’s extremely frustrating when you think you are doing everything right and you still don’t lose weight. I’ve been there myself so I get it.

You have upped your exercise so that’s a massive box ticked. The only thing it can be is your calorie intake is still far too high. Sauces can contain a lot of calories as does alcohol. Hidden calories are the killer. Sugar in tea etc. skimmed milk vs whole milk.

The best way is to make a list of all food consumed in the day. I would also suggest dropping carbs. That’s a great way to lose weight too. You don’t have to drop them completely but limit you weekly intake. Plenty of lean protein (no skin on chicken etc.) a bit of oily fish each week (mackerel) lots of salad and veg. Don’t go crazy with fruit. They contain lots of Natural sugars which ramp up the calories.

Try to limit your calories to under 1500 a day and you will see a weight loss. Ultimately if you don’t consume more calories than you use you will lose weight.

Sorry if someone has already said this, but also consider whether you were putting on weight (maybe slowly) before. In which case you've dropped enough calories over a week to maintain, and now you're going to need to drop further to lose fat. Unfortunately an increase in exercise doesn't have much effect on weight loss but it's great for health.

Same as others, I would recommend you track calories on MyFitnessPal. It can be a bit annoying at the start but gets easier as you add your "regular" foods.

Sadly hormones have a lot to answer for in many ways at our age 😫

I've been on Noom for a couple of months now and they talk a lot about plateaus being an inevitable part of weight loss (and explain why). From what you've posted I have a few thoughts-

1. If you've been eating significantly less calories than recommended then your body is actually more likely to hang onto fat and water. Noom's minimum is 1300 calories a day for women, so you may have to weigh food and calorie count again to get a real sense of how many you're eating.

2. Adjust salt and water intake (reduce the salt, increase the water).

3. I notice if I even have one glass of wine at the moment it can stall my progress on the scales for a couple of days, so then I was going to suggest this might be a factor for you. Then I saw your post about how much you were drinking, may I ask are you still drinking ~2 bottles on the 2-3 nights that you are drinking? If so then you'll be having a double whammy - firstly the general impact of alcohol on slowing weight loss and secondly the number of calories in 2 bottles of wine (it's about 600 calories per bottle give or take) will be totally undoing all the calorie deficit you've made from your food choices on the other days!

Although people are providing a lot of really excellent advice on diet, the simplest, most straightforward and healthiest step you could take to lower your calorie intake is to quite drinking altogether.

Portion control. It's your best friend when losing weight. I have also been on my weight loss journey for six weeks, gained weight when on my period due to water retention but lost every other week.

Keep going - don't give up!

I’ve lost 2.5 stone since June. You need to track your calories and be in a calorie deficit. I still have crisps and chocolate within my calories, I rarely drink so that helps.have a look at Sean Casey on social media for non bullshit diet advice.

And this too! Noom promotes the idea of not eliminating any particular foods (it doesn't bode well for when you stop trying to lose weight if you've not been exposing yourself to the foods you've craved and perhaps overindulgenced in!) so I'm definitely still having chocolate as part of my weekly food intake!

Agree with PP. Cut out alcohol altogether. You will honestly notice a big difference. I don't drink at all. I have an ice lolly instead. Fruit ones that are low in calories.

Apologies if it's been mentioned already, but gor results without feeling hungry, low carb is incredible. I lost a stone the first week with keto, and seeing the weight dissappear was great motivation to keep going. Personally I don't have thd patience for losing 1 to 2 lbs a week, although I recognise it might be healthier long term. It depends what your goals / priorities are.

I feel you! I'm about 12/13 weeks in now and have lost nothing! I'm calorie counting. Always about 500/600 down a day.

I'm putting it down to age. I'm 41

Based on your update, your diet in not healthy. It's nutrient poor.

You aren't reaching 5 portions of fruit and veg a day.
You aren't getting any calcium. No dairy at all.

Was your fish breaded, or fresh and grilled/baked?

I'd have 3 veg with a piece of fish- broccoli, peas, carrots, at least. No chips. If anything, a baked potato, or boiled potatoes.

Your salad should include loads of green salad leaves- watercress, rocket, dark leaved lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, olives, grated carrot, beetroot, celery, avocado. Use virgin olive oil and lemon as a dressing.

Have you looked at the ZOE website which is about eating healthily and avoiding processed foods?

The aim is to eat 30 different plants a week. You need to change your 'diet' and way of eating, not just cut out foods.

There is no calorie deficit if you’re still drinking heavily three nights a week. You need to address your alcohol consumption before you can move on to weight loss. It’s extremely hard to do but you’re halfway there with having 4 alcohol free nights a week. There’s the alcohol board on here that might help you quit drinking. Good luck

Firstly, accuracy! A small bowl, glass, fillet, portion; these mean nothing, objectively. Grammes and millilitres, always. Then work out the total calories.

I'm a similar age, and I realised the other day I eat about a third of the amount I did in my twenties. I am definitely not a third of the size! More like 10 kilos overweight. Peri/menopause and the changing requirements of the body as we age are a factor. You likely need far fewer calories than you used to, just to hold steady.

If you adjust the above, and still don't lose weight, then you may be eating not enough of the right kinds of foods. But start with accurate tracking first.

Could you reduce the walking and do an online exercise programme or join a gym. You may not lose much weight but your measurements will change. I took up circuit training around that age and in the first month lost 13 inches off my body..waist/hips/thighs/ arms. Haven't lost as much since but definitely feel more toned and more confident in jeans etc. Presume you are wanted to look good in a nice outfit for the wedding so tightening up all over will help and its a shock to your body when you start so worth doing.
. And quit the wine completely and you will be a new woman no matter what weight you are. As we age the bloody wine is a killer. Good time to start a whole new regime.

You're 53, i think this is a large part of your answer. Every woman i know who has tried to lose weight in their 50s made great efforts and struggled massively. Including me. It's not a popular choice, but I recently had to do a very low fat diet, so all fats below 3%, sat fats before 1.5%. It was tough. But a wonderful side effect was that I lost a stone really quickly.

Your changes will have had really positive effects on your health so that's great. But must be so disappointing to see no movement on the scales.

Weight loss is so so hard, I am struggling myself and regularly have the debate with myself, do I want to give up EVERYTHING, no alcohol, no meals out, no snacks etc etc, for ever, and be slim, cos that is what it takes for me. The only time I lost weight was during lockdown! I won't lose any more ever because I like my social life and my food too much!

If you really want this, track everything. You can have the wine but count the calories. Up the vegetables for filling but low cal meals. Drink plenty of water.

Good luck ☺️