Where am I going wrong in my diet?

[PrettyHungry]

I’ve been dieting since Jan 1st and have only lost 4lbs. I know to some that would seem loads but I would have expected a little more by now.

Ive been really strict. This is my average daily food:

Breakfast - sugar free latte from Starbucks (medium) - 150cals.

Lunch - slice of Jason’s sourdough, topped with smoked salmon and 2 eggs - 400 ish cals. No butter!

Dinner - M&S count on us range ready meal or home cooked dinner with salad. I always make sure half the plate is salad with no dressing - 500 ish cals.

I only have sugar free, zero calorie drinks like Pepsi Max. I only ever snack on berries and not every day, maybe 3-4 days a week if I’m a little peckish in between meetings or in the evening.

That’s just over 1,000 calories a day. Even with a little wiggle room to account for errors in weighing or underestimating, I’m still way under. Any ideas for how I can speed up my weight loss? I don’t like exercising so would rather diet related suggestions.

I’m 5’6 and 11st 4lbs.

You can't force your body to lose weight more quickly, just as can't spot reduce fat. It's not a linear equation where you lose lb a week for a 500 calorie deficit and you lose 2lb for 1000. Bodies are more complicated than that.

I mean, the alternative is you could chop a limb off and that would cause you to lose weight, or you could get norovirus and lose lots of water weight, but in terms of losing fat you can't force your body to speed up the process. That's just the impression we get given from weight loss marketing, it isn't real.

OP I mean this with kindness (I promise!) but how the thread reads a little is:

OP title: What am I doing wrong?

Lots of people: The calories are so low you're in starvation mode / drop the UPF / ditch diet drinks

OP Response: I want to keep the calories as low as they are to keep my chosen deficit / I need to keep both the diet drinks and the UPF right now.

I'm wondering what you were expecting or hoping people's advice would be if you're also not wanting to change what you're doing? Genuine question 😊 X

I have a stone to loose and have lost the same as you 4lbs in the same time. Which I'm very happy about .I don't think you are eating enough really and what you eat sounds a bit dull. Have you tried Noom, it's really good

Agree with this. OP you've asked where you are going wrong and people have given you advice tellingvyou that the weightloss is in the expected range. You have dismissed any advice that could actually help you. I'm not too sure what you want people to say. You've had some pretty solid advice so far.

No breakfast, not enough veggies

For context: I am 54, 5ft 7 and weigh 10st 12 ish at the moment (and have done for a few years). If I eat less than 2,000 calories a day I don't lose weight. (I have weighed 13st 8 + so am not a skinny minnie and this has been true for me always it just took me a few decades to accept it). Eat more, but eat better as PP have suggested. I am maintaining easily at the moment and eat between 1,800 and 2,500 calories a day (I'm not really monitoring but I do check sometimes). I could focus a bit and tidy up around the edges and lose some weight if I wanted to but don't have the drive right now, and am healthy so see no need to. You have been hoodwinked into thinking that the only way / best way to lose weight is low calorie diet. It's just not true. I have done low calorie diets too and I never lost weight and went loony tunes on them and nearly into eating disorder land. There are better ways to be healthy.

My BMR is 1,500, so I should be losing a lot as my deficit is approximately 400 calories a day.

you should be working from your TDEE not your BMR. 1000 is way too low.

Cut out the Pepsi Max.

That lunch is.over 400 calories

Thats good weight loss.

How active are you? Nobody wants to hear me say this and this is just about me but to maintain a size 12 figure at 5"7 & 9.5 stone my diet is healthy food but not interesting and I don't eat breakfast. I have big portions and I really can't emphasise how little movement I do so take it with a pinch of salt as it goes against the grain of what everyone else is saying but I've recently had bloods done and they are fine, I never feel tired and I rarely get ill. Obviously I eat more if I'm being active.

Yesterday was 3x rice cakes, 3x bread and 1x soup.

Today is 3x rice cakes 1x soup with 2 bread for lunch, veggie ratatouille (with beans for protein) for dinner.

Tomorrow will be porridge at lunchtime (stuffed with seeds and fruit) and dinner is chilli with a handful of nacho chips, cheese and avocado.

Saturday will be a midmorning brunch, probably omelette, beans and mushrooms and dinner will be salad with tofu.

Sunday tea will be curry without rice. Not chosen lunch yet.

Cut out the Ready meal, pepsi max and Starbucks

You’re not consuming enough calories so your body is probably latching on to what ever you’re feeding it for reserves. Hence the slow loss.

a coffee for breakfast isn’t enough. Try a bowl of porridge with nuts/seeds/berries or eggs in some form with things like avocado, tomatoes, spinach etc. Think omelettes, breakfast wraps.

Cut of the fizzy drinks altogether. The sugar free or zero options are just filled with artificial crap.

Despite consuming few calories your drinks are highly processed.
The Starbucks latte, Pepsi max, any sugar free drinks - read the ingredients on the back, they are full of chemicals that interfere with the bacteria that lives in your tummy.
Read the book “ultra processed people” or have a search for Zoe nutrition.
weight loss is complicated, but focusing on eating healthy foods and improving the bacteria in your tummy will help you loose weight and stay healthy

To lose a lb a week your daily deficit should be 500cal (not an exact science and varies between people).

You say your deficit is 400cal, therefore you should expect to lose a little less than one pound per week. So if you've lost 2lb a week you obviously have a bigger deficit than you think or it's water weight. But you should be very happy with it anyway!

Your body is in starvation mode! Our bodies have learnt that when we go into starvation mode, (= for our ancestors no food available) it holds on to our calories. Whereas when you eat healthy and "enough" your body doesn't. I'm your height and weigh around 9 stone but I eat way more than you do. I don't count because I eat healthy meals (OK dark chocolate 50 g per day as well) and I am never hungry. Ever. But you want to lose weight fast in a non sustainable way which is not healthy nor optimal in the long run. So think about your diet as something you should be eating for the rest of your life : meaning it has to be healthy and tasty. Stop counting calories and focus on the quality of your food instead. And I do drink beer at least once a week and enjoy a pizza every now and then. Let sustainable be your guide and not Quick fix crash diets.

Starvation mode is NOT a thing. It's a myth.

No, it isn't. There is no such thing.

That's very unhealthy, that's the daily calories a toddler would need.

Wow. I would be so miserable with that. And hungry!!😄

What are you referring to?

The experts do not agree with you. Just tap google and you will find plenty of articles:
What people refer to as “starvation mode” is the body's natural response to long-term calorie restriction. It involves a reduction in the number of calories your body burns, which can slow weight loss.

Your example of a days good is pretty poor.
A high calorie drink for breakfast is a waste of calories. Have something nutritious instead.
Ditch the fizzy drinks and bread.
You need to educate yourself on nutrition so you can make better choices.

Increase your protein for starters.
4lb is a decent start so don't beat yourself up if be happy with that

Echo what everyone else has said.
Especially about exercise - you need to burn calories too!
To answer your actual question - two of your 3 meals are processed shit, to be blunt. I always used to think all calories were equal, but from personal experience, my weight loss on a largely UPF free diet has been dramatically different to my weight loss on a UPF heavy diet several years. I visually look slimmer at the same weight, I think partially because my skin is better? Plus, weightlifting! If you hate getting hot and sweaty and flinging yourself about, weightlifting is for you!

400 won't be far off.
150 - 180 for the eggs depending on size
120 for the slice of sourdough
Leaving around 100 for the smoked salmon which assuming around half a 100g pack would be about right

You need to ensure you are including protein in your diet or unfortunately you’ll be loosing lean muscle mass and not body fat, which means you’ll be lighter on the scales but flabbier. Also you are avoiding fats which are essential for hormone production and general health.

1000cals a day is likely unsustainable. Remember that whatever you do to lose weight you have to do forever to maintain it! That’s why SW didn’t work and you’re back to dieting! Find a way of eating you can manage forever, reduce some portions or make some swaps of high calorie foods for lower calorie alternatives and stop the dieting cycle!!