To think my body just wants to hold on to weight !

[cushioncovere]

I've been eating so well and exercising so much over the last week- ten days.

I have a good amount of weight to lose, so it should start working reasonably quickly.

I've also done a lot of exercise and I've had a stomach bug. Would you believe it I still have lost no weight ? It's ridiculous !

I've also been exercising most days. I play tennis around 4 times a week and lift weights / gym cardio once a week or so.

Why can't I shift weight !! I've been eating a lot of chicken breast and broccoli and salads, these are my go to foods when trying to lose weight as they're super filling and really filling. Trying to avoid any sweet / starchy / processed foods as they just make me more hungry.

I weight all my food, except vegetables.

I do think there is an element of your body getting used to being the weight it is and resisting change. I used to easily stay 11.5stone and now 20years of weight gain and kids and I seem to get stuck at 13stone despite doing everything I used to and more.

Could you give us an idea of your daily food and drinks? Are you veggies carby ones? Carrot/potato?

Are you eating and drinking more fruit/juice? Or alcohol? All of these might be slowing things down.

It sounds like you are attempting low carb/keto. If so you have to be really strict for the first two weeks to properly get yourself under 20g carbs a day and into fat burning. Otherwise you find yourself I a kind of keto limbo. Headaches, feeling a bit fluey?

Also: add protein shake and a few more health carbs earlier in the day. If you’re very active, slightly more carbohydrate can actually help in order to get your body metabolising the fat stores and decrease cortisol. Female athletes can be in a state of low energy availability, and struggle to produce the hormones you need. Google Stacey Sims.

Low carb tends to work much better on inactive people.

Have you had your bloods checked? It could be something like an under active thyroid.
Your food intake sounds good. I think it’s possible to overestimate the calories burnt with a game like tennis because it’s depends on the level you play.

Check your BMR.
I have to eat less than 1400 to lose anything

At 100kg her TDEE will be at least 2000

This is my weigh loss graph, I've been calorie counting since 1st Jan

As you can see I have good runs where I lose weight steadily and then irritating plateaus where it stays the same for days on end or goes up for no good reason.

Try some ACV - a report in the Times said how it can really boost weight loss in two groups eating the same diet. Also think about gut health generally.

Also, your weight isn’t shameful. It’s just a number. There’s no moral element to it and it sounds a bit like there’s some punishment element in the way you are living and you’re motivated by self loathing. That won’t work! Treat yourself kindly and with love like you would a friend. Good nutritious food, fresh air, exercise you enjoy to challenge your body gently, time with loved ones, skin care, time to do hobbies, and your body will over time achieve a state of health and balance.

@MiltonNorthern I don't think it does include base calories. OP said her apple watch says she burns 3000-3500 a day. Mine says I burn approx 500-800 a day (depending on activity). So that's what I'd use in a post to explain my calorie burn, not the full daily calories (including base). Maybe I've misunderstood 🤷‍♀️
It's a moot point though I guess as OP isn't eating those calories back anyway from the sounds of it.
I agree with your later post regarding her TDEE, and I think OP is probably not eating enough if the exercise has been upped.

@cushioncovere Your weight isn't shameful. And it sounds like you're doing the right things for your health

I think it’s your age.
I remember being younger than 37 or so, and being able to diet and lose several pounds in a week. By “diet” I mean 1,500 calories.

At 38+, I could probably only eat 1,200 or less a day to lose any weight, and even then it’s slow. A lot of us have said the same on the weight loss board here.
And it goes back on so easily.

Btw, exercise has usually made very little difference to me. It’s all about food. The exercise does help with the toning, and is obviously good for your health anyway, though

Honestly, it was also hard when I was like 31-32. It just takes forever for me !

A young 100 kg woman working hard at tennis or the gym could easily burn 400 kcal/hour. I know someone exactly like this & she also insists the watch is wrong when it says she burnt 3000 kcal/day on a day she did a 2-3 hour walk & was on her feet most rest of the time. She also drinks large glasses of milk at meals & then blames "carbs" for her size, but that's by the by.

38yo 100kg female has BMR 1775 kcal.

@MallorcaNights I don't think it's the OP's age. I think she's not in a calorie deficit because she isn't counting everything she consumes. Plus she's had a stomach bug so her body will be recovering from that.

Ignore the devices telling you how many calories you've burned. They are not accurate. Weight loss is 80-90% calorie deficit. Treat physical exercise as something you do for health and actually don't go hell for leather in the early stages of a diet. You can use another calorie cut and increased exercise to counteract your body trying to hold onto fat reserves as you progress. Do not eat back exercise calories "burned".

Lifting weights is really beneficial for women and building muscle means you burn more calories when you're not doing anything.

You sound similar to me, I've struggled over the years despite eating well and exercising regularly. Since June last year I've lost 1 1/2 stone but still about 10 pounds off a healthy BMI. I have weighed myself every day and if I don't record everything I eat accurately or have a slightly excessive weekend my weight goes up.

The last few months I have only lost about a pound a month which is really demoralising, however when I look at my daily weight the numbers are lower than the previous month so it is still going in the right direction just very slowly. I'm determined to get to a healthy BMI by the end of the year where I have a big birthday. It was my aim for my last big birthday, so 10 years ago and I didn't get there so this time I want to get there!!

Good luck, hopefully your hard work will start laying off and the numbers start to shift for you!

Apple Watch overestimates additional calories burnt (not your base calories) by between 40-60% so your 3000 is actually more like 2300z

Keep going. I was wondering the same thing 7 weeks into 2023, id lost a kilo quickly and immediately in the new year, but then it stalled. I was frustrated but kept going kinda as an experiment, to see what the reality was. How much does my body require. Let me discover for real.

Consider it practicing maintenance. That's what I did in 2023, that mindset helped. Also, when doing weight comparisons, compare yourself to three weeks ago. I found that helpedme see progress. There was almost always a loss if I looked back on my weight 3 weeks ago so that method worked for me.

I lost 9 kilos, but o m g - I- l o s t - I t - s o - s l o w l y.

Now my weight has settled at 61 kilos and I can't go below that. Stuck here (for now).

Those tdee calls over estimate the calories required imo. I'm 53 and only 156cm but my body is surviving just fine on 1400 cals per day ( average). The consensus on mumsnet is that I must be measuring wrong but I was and am obsessively scientific in my approach. So it's not that I'm eating food I've forgotten to log. No. It's that a small 50 something who works in an office can get by on about 1400 cals per day JUST FINE so im not losing anything now, not even slowly.

Yeah maybe to an extent. But I did use it before to lose weight successfully.

I did a 1000 a day deficit then.

Literally ate barely anything. It was hard !

But I was a lot lot lot smaller than I am now.

I was trying to get from 70kg to around 65kg. That was hard but I did it.

I just assumed as the numbers are different now, it would happen quicker. No chance clearly. You always see big people able to lose a lot of weight fast, because they have a lot to lose. Also the reason they're big ( and me ) is because they had a bad life style and therefore making these changes should move the needle. Clearly not for me!

Yes,the closer you get to true health, the harder it is. I'm doing pilates, walking, avoiding, sugar, processed foods, alcohol 95% of the time, so health is it's own reward. My body is healthy but I have a bit of a tummy. It is frustrating as if I were eating buttered toast on a whim I'd feel like ok, that's the trade! But when you're doing your absolute best and still have a bit of a tummy😑 😭

It's almost always portion sizes, sauces, drinks, snacks, etc.

Have you tried getting a Lympathic massage? They are incredible for getting rid of toxins, decreasing water retention, and increasing the blood circulation.

And to echo what other posters have said, getting lots of fluids (water) is really beneficial for weight loss. Try to only weigh yourself once a month, usually after your period as you can gain anything up to 7lb leading up to your period.

If you’re not getting much sleep either your body could be in survival mode and holding on to weight to protect you. I remember when my DS wasn’t sleeping well for months and i just couldn’t budge the weight.

Yes you've misunderstood. The calories given by an apple watch always include base calories.

I do think the calories seem high. But I'm a lot heavier than I was when I last used it.

It worked for me last time. So I guess it's probably more or less ok now. I'll be using a lot more energy doing things than I used to.

This is correct (according to a PT I know). Things you do now, you will see the benefit in two weeks time.

I replaced my Fitbit with an Apple Watch and found it was giving me 10-20% higher than the Fitbit was in calorie usage. I sold it after a while and replaced with a Fitbit again. The Apple Watch app is so much less user friendly than the Fitbit one too.

I am doing something called 30HD which I heard about from a PT podcast I listen to. You set a calorie allowance and exercise etc but you don’t weigh yourself for 30 days and just focus on sticking to the plan (the HD stands for Head Down). Then after 30 days you can weigh and by then you will have already formed healthy habits and there will definitely be some loss if you have stuck to the plan, so you won’t then lose motivation and throw in the towel. I find weighing myself depressing if I haven’t done as well as I hoped.