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!

Haven't read the full thread but make sure you're drinking lots of water. And take measurements. Keep going!

With that menu, I can imagine that a 30g portion of Bran flakes is smaller than you might imagine, and a big bowl of them could be easily twice that weight. Chicken, ham etc is fine but coleslaw can be packed with sugar and oil and could rack up calories if you eat a lot of it and fill up on it in place of carbs.

if you overeat by nature, which at 5'1" and 12 stone, you do (so do I!) what you think of as 'normal dinner' could easily be 1k calories, especially if you have a couple of glasses of wine a few times a week - even a tiny glass of sparkling is 100 cals.

on the bright side - you haven't gained any weight, so you are probably eating at maintenance.

I'd suggest weighing cereal, sticking with 25-30g of it and bulking that out with berries (I use frozen - they are cheaper and refreshing)

Replace coleslaw with undressed salad leaves and carrot sticks, and add a small portion of wholegrain carb - brown rice or a slice of sugar free wholewheat toast.

Rethink 'normal dinner'. Stick to grilled, poached or dry roasted meats or fish, served without oils and sauces, and add at least 3-5 veg, all steamed or poached. Measure one small (120ml) glass of wine and top it up with sparkling water and ice for a spritzer, then switch to water or fruit teas. I notice than when I drink even a tiny amount, my body does hold a lot more water.

Easier said than done, but losing weight does mean a really big change in eating habits, and what you describe is a normal breakfast, a normal dinner and a carb free lunch but nothing notably low in calories.That's not a big enough reset to make a difference.

Also OP you are not getting it right with the protien?
A quarter of a small chicken breast?
chicken is the one thing you can eat freely - it fills you up!
Bran flakes and chips not so much.

Im 45 and within a healthy BMI but If I’m not careful the weight stacks on.

Here is my typical days food:

Breakfast- 1 egg. Protien such as ham, bacon, fish, gammon. 1 veg such as asparagus, avacado, tomatoes mushroom.

Lunch- salad with leaves and all sorts of other veg plus protien/ prawns, chicken etc. Sometimes a little cheese. A few walnuts or seeds.
A little salad dressing.

Dinner: Meat with veg or salad. Seasoning for the meat or a tomato based sauce.

Snack- full fat Greek youghurt with berries.
Teas and coffee and water
Never drink alcohol.
Some days my cals are only 1000. Other days more like 1500 if I have gone out for lunch or something.

OP I have had the same experiences, I am the same height as you, that really works against us. Also on HRT. I just don't know anymore. Sick of being hungry and not losing. I drink 2 litres of water daily and zero alcohol.

Can anyone recommend a weights training routine that I can buy on DVD or is accessible online, you tube? Needs to be easy on the knee.

I do wish people would stop egging up counting calories.
It doesn't work long term.

There was a good article on this recently and how it doesn't work.

It's impossible for most people to do this accurately. And it's tedious.

It also creates a 'fearful' mindset and doesn't promote healthy eating.
eg Avocado and nuts are high in calories but very nutritious, compared to a muffin with the same number of calories.

If you focus on protein for every meal, with masses of veg, try to get up to 8 to 10 portions of fruit and veg a day, no refined carbs, no ready meals, and recognise what a portion of carbs looks like, you will lose weight.

Calories are essentially the only way to lose weight really. It's not rubbish.
Healthy eating for weightloss and for health look differently too.
People should eat healthy food, it's good for us, but you can't have unlimited amounts - calories.
You can eat healthily and put on weight, you can eat rubbish and lose. It's energy in and out at the end of the day.

Tbh it shouldn't even need a "healthy" label, it should just be called "normal". Normalise normal eating

Are you so black and white about everything in life @IsleofSkies ? Are you prone to dismiss people’s personal experiences?

These threads are always the same - good advice mixed with bad.

You need a calorie deficit to lose weight. Log absolutely everything you eat and drink for a week - you need to weigh and measure everything. That will show you how many calories you are having that are maintaining your current weight. You then need to cut a couple of hundred calories a day for a deficit. Easy ways to do this for you could be ditching the wine altogether and having boiled new potatoes instead of chips. Eat more veg and foods which have bulk to fill you up without being calorie dense. Eat more foods higher in protein as these take longer to digest so you feel fuller for longer.

There's no need to ditch whole food groups such as carbs, but eat complex carbs so wholegrain rice, etc. within your calorie limit. Wine isn't a food though so feel free to ditch that.

You won't be building muscle just by walking, but it has great heart health benefits. Over 40 we start losing muscle mass. For women especially, maintaining muscle mass is important for health and weight bearing exercise - it can be body weight and lifting weights - is good for bone density. There's no dairy in your diet from what you've posted. Calcium intake is important for women. I'd be worried about the risk of osteoporosis so look to make some changes.

If you're worried you'll look like a body builder from lifting weights, you won't as that takes a lot of work and discipline and very low body fat. Lifting weights three times a week for less than an hour a time can reap huge benefits.

I've really struggled to cut back the calories and I'm currently eating two meals a day - I sometimes have a snack mid morning - but otherwise I find it really difficult to stick to my calories. I'm eating far more than you in bulk OP, but I am losing weight at 50 and five foot four.

Measuring just Weight is too simplistic a measurement for weight loss. Because as you gain muscle you can remain the same weight but actually be shrinking. Especially if you’re already close to your goal weight. Fatter people and taller people tend to have an easier kick off with weight loss than slimmer people and shorter people if they’re in a deficit.

take waist, thigh, hip, arm and breast measurements too.

also double check your calorie intake. You’re tiny height wise so your calorie intake will be tiny.

short term though I’d recommend you work on cutting alcohol out completely.

continue with your current regime. Get the alcohol out completely as it can be high in calorie then when you’re teetotal to get ready for weight loss go back to calorie counting and focusing on getting enough servings of veg and protein first then add in your carbs.

Weight is definitely harder to lose as we get older but look at other signs, rather than the scales … do your clothes feel looser, are you feeling fitter, do you have more energy? These are all just as important … the increased energy will help you boost your walks. Cardio because lees useful for weight loss as we get older so maybe try weight based exercises, or something like reformer Pilates.

I agree with others about the coleslaw (sadly, it’s delicious). Maybe switch out the ham for a chicken breast & marinade it in garlic & lemon for flavour. What’s the normal dinner you’re having, and at what time?

Scales are awful for our confidence - ditch them and look at these other signs that will make you feel more positive. It takes a steely will power but you can do it! The fact you’ve gone from drinking 2 bottles of wine a night is epic - that’s not at all easy but you must be feeling better already - take that feeling & run win it!! Best of luck:.

@IsleofSkies I am sorry to disagree, but calories counting is rubbish!

no need to be “so sorry” to posters

rather just don’t dismiss their experiences

Well done on cutting out the wine. That level of drinking was dangerous. Because of that you have put your body through an awful lot in the last six weeks.

Don't give up yet. Even if you don't lose weight, your skin will improve, you'll tone up and your bloating will go down. You are asking it to get used to some pretty major changes.

Personally I'd ditch the scales for a few weeks. Measure yourself of find a pair of trousers or dress that you love but is too tight and see how it feels. If you can start to do it up or breathe while wearing it you are on the right track.

Really what the scales say matters less than how you feel. Getting your drinking under control is more important than dropping pounds to your health right now.

I have found since my late 30s that this happens and it’s very disheartening. I have also find using a tape measure is useful because some weeks I have lost a whole inch and nothing has shown on the scales, so this motivates me.

The main change I have had to make to lose weight is drastically increase my protein intake.

So for example low fat Greek yoghurt (eg total, which has high protein) with berries and a small spoonful of granola, snack 2x babybel lights, lunch: omelette & big salad, piece of toast if I’ve been very active , dinner: chicken breast & veg with a v small carb portion. Aim for 100g plus of protein (and around 1700 kcals, mostly aim to have this earlier in day).

I have steadily lost weight over 3 months and look much leaner.

I also walk & lift weights at gym.

Don’t give up! It can be done.

I'd suggest weighing cereal, sticking with 25-30g of it and bulking that out with berries (I use frozen - they are cheaper and refreshing)

Cereal is food of the devil but berries are great.

Ultra processed crap unless it's plain oats.

Why not have 150gms of full fat greek yoghurt? Add berries, seeds, sprinkle of cinnamon or a teaspoon of honey, or a spoonful of nut butter (sugar free).

I suggest you get some recommendations for a personal trainer and get some proper advice on how to lift, what to lift, etc or go to a gym. You can't just do the same thing over and over, you need to progress to make a real difference.

Okay, so breakfast has been cereal like bran flakes. Snack would be a hard boiled egg. Lunch has been some lean chicken, 2 slices of ham, cherry toms, coleslaw. Dinner is just a normal dinner, nothing outrageous.

That's a lot. What is a normal dinner? Normal could mean a huge takeaway for one person and a lean stir-fry for another.

I don't eat breakfast. Just a coffee. I'm having a packet sandwich at lunch so I know how many calories and I try to keep it under 400.

I try to eat healthy at dinner lean meat and vegetables. Or maybe eggs with smashed avocado.

I do snack on chocolate occasionally.

I'm struggling to lose weight and I'm 11 stone.

Also steps are absolute nonsense. I never found walking did anything for weight loss. You need to exercise harder. Swimming, or maybe a gym class.

Celebrate the wins, OP.
Cutting out 2 bottles of wine a night you have done a MASSIVE favour to your health. Honestly, future you will be hugely grateful.
And the walking is brilliant - you might not lose weight on 17k steps but your heart, your bones, your mental health will all have enormous benefits from what you're doing right now.
You are laying the foundations of a slimmer, stronger, fitter you. And the weight loss will come, these are good habits and they will breed more good habits. It's a compounding effect.
Some people on here are being ridiculous, you are not eating a lot of food. Don't be discouraged!!! In your 50s, it gets harder to lose weight but you are doing so many great things now and by December you will defintely see an improvement. Drink some more water (your skin will glow) and lift some weights for your bones and muscles (very important in your 50s - I'm using a giant 5L bottle of laundry detergent as a kettle bell and do a 10 minute routine off YouTube and it has helped my arms, legs and core). Little changes make a big difference over time. You are going to look and feel amazing at the wedding!
You got this, OP!!!

I think maybe you’re in denial and posted a good day. You can fool your mind , fool us, but not your body.

for example there are 600 calories in a bottle of wine. How many do you drink on the days you drink? What kind of milk do you have, what portion size is the cereal? When you spread it out over the course of a week and average it you are eating enough to maintain.

so if you need say 2200 calories a day to maintain, that’s what you’re consuming.

if you decided to say have 1500 a day to loose weight, then it’s 1500 a day over the course of a week. So say consuming 5 bottles of wine in 3 days, that’s over 400 calories a day before you even eat or drink anything else.

I did exact the same and lost nothing,not one pound. I started SW and am on my way to 4 stone off now.

@lapsedbookworm That's great, well done.

But the reason it doesn't work most of the time for most people is that they focus on counting cals, often inaccurately, and still eat unhealthily (but within the calories limits.)

So they don't change their eating patterns, just the amount of the food they ate before.

Long term, they tend to revert to larger portions and gain weight.

Just a little, but REALLY important tip for anyone on diet.
Flavour. For the love of god, add spices and herbs and seasoning to things. I saw some diet foods online from people and I would not survive on steamed plain chicken with some barely seasoned veg and plain potato😶 Stocked spicw cupboard makws everything waaaaaaay more enjoyable

Wine (lovely as it is) is absolutely full of calories. On the days you have it, you need to get used to having a glass. Not a bottle, not 2. 2 bottles is the equivalent calories of 6 slices of Dominos pizza.

Best advice given so far.

Also OP I find it's better for me to lose/maintain weight if I eat more in the morning and less as the day goes on.

I agree with steps, I average about 20k a day and I'm still over 12 stone at 5'4. It really is all about the diet.

My advice as a thin person.
The food you are eating sounds quite grim, especially the lunch. Stop eating snacks, stop eating breakfast unless you're really hungry, add the evening glass of wine back in, and only eat delicious things. It's all about calories in and out and nothing more.
Eg a sandwich you really like for lunch, your favourite new season red pear, a few Maltesers, a flat white from the best place in town, whatever floats your boat. The same for dinner. Other than making sure you have lots of fruit and veg, just eat a small amount of what you want.

Then surf out the hunger pangs. You won't lose wait easily unless you feel seriously hungry quite a bit of the time. I think the trick is to change your mindset about that. Tell yourself that nothing is frightening or dangerous or painful about being hungry. It's a normal human state. Most animals are also hungry most of the time. It is not like having backache or a headache, it is just a normal state of being. And at any point (luckily enough for us) you can end it, if you don't like it, by eating something.

I've never had to do exactly this with food. But I had to learn to do it to give up smoking. Sit with the craving etc. It isn't automatic or simple (it took me three years!), but it will come. Then you wont have to worry so much about the details.

It is also possible that you will get less hungry as you get thinner, I'm not sure. When I gain wait I feel as if I get more hungry, and vice versa.