Why the f*** can’t I lose weight? I’m doing everything right

[Sorryagain]

Postmeno, 55, want to lose half a stone. I don’t like my weight. I’ve always worked out, done lots of heavy-ish weights and eaten healthily but in the last month I’ve really upped weights a lot. I’ve also

• kept to a low calorie count (20% off my TEE - track food most days. Try to keep to 3 meals but some days I do graze but not over cal limit
• upped protein most days to around 100-120g a day
• upped walking to try to do 7.5-10k a day
• added at least one HITT class onto 3 days weight training
• drink more water (my weakness)

i don’t drink, I eat v little sugar and almost no white stuff

the scales have moved by 1lb! I’m so fucked off.

I know post meno it’s hard but this is ridiculous.

I feel stronger, though, and I sense more muscle definition. But I don’t believe muscle will weigh more and keep me at this weight

thoughts? It’s v un motivating

You need to track every day. No exceptions. By the gram. And once you are sure it’s 100% accurate and if you’re still not losing, you need to drop it. CICO is the only way.

Please don't promote eating disordered behaviour

100% this.

Who are you to tell me that I have 'disordered eating'? Not sure what evidence you have for that at all.

I'm fit, healthy and have a healthy weight.

You said you eat half of what OP eats. You said she was eating too much at 1350 calories per day. That's disordered eating behaviour.

LOL

You clearly need to improve your reading.
If I had said I lived on 650 cals a day I'd agree.

But I didn't.

I responded to the OP again and said it wasn't half across the whole day, it was half what she has for lunch. BIG difference. And I also said I wasn't packing way protein like she is (with shakes etc.)

I did say in a previous post that I could eat 450 cals for 3 meals a day and feel reasonably satisfied. And that my total intake was around that and not much higher on some days. I'm older than OP and know what to do to keep my weight stable and healthy. I can assure you there is no 'disordered' going on.

You could live off around 450 cals some day?

She said 450 kcal each meal, not all combined.

My TDEE is 1200 - IS IT BOLLOCKS, WHAT A LIE
I can actually only eat 900-1000 for maintenance
to LOSE weight at one pound a week I need to eat only 700 calories
so I only eat 700 calories
I’m same age and a bit shorter than you

I was eating 20% less than my TDEE

Where does this idea come from that older women hardly need to eat anything?

Judging from MN, many older women can hardly eat anything without gaining weight because they’ve yo-yo dieted all their lives and buggered up their metabolism. Their hormones are out of whack and they end up only being able to eat 700-1000 calories a day.

I’m well into peri and I have no idea how many calories I eat a day but I reckon it’s around 1800. I’m 5’5 and weigh around 8st 5 (don’t often weigh myself) and am a toned size 6. I do resistance pilates for ten mins every day and go for a 40 min walk about 3 times a week but that’s it. I have a lot of muscle due to the Pilates.

If middle-aged women hardly need to eat anything, explain why I don’t put on weight like this?

True. Think people mean that It is ‘more dense’. So muscle mass in the body will weigh more than fat in the same amount of body - because there will be more of it!

If you've increased protein and you're pushing weights then you're building muscle.

Ignore weight entirely and focus on measurements, don't make it complicated

What's ludicrous really is that people say BuT PoUnD Is PoUnD without understanding there's a defined volume.

It's just a really stupid way to try and sound clever

Well everyone is different aren’t they? I didn’t even think about my weight or what I ate until I was mid thirties. Can’t speak for anyone else but as I age I definitely need to eat less. If I ate what I did at 24 I’d be the size of a house! Then I was a beautifully slim size 8 despite a daily diet of spaghetti carbonara white wine and marathon bars!

Yep exactly. Good post.

The people eating 700-1000 calories and barely losing weight need to wonder why. It’s because they’ve screwed up their metabolism and messed up their endocrine systems which is what chronic under eating and up yo yo dieting does. They probably also have low muscle mass which isn’t good. Because nobody has decent muscles and strength on that little calories.

@Sorryagain are you deliberately ignoring any questions around why you feel the need to lose weight despite being at a healthy weight already?

I see the competitive low eating UPF brigade are out in force now so I'm going to bow out.

What I would recommend though, if you are serious about improving your health, fitness and muscle mass, and can afford to do so, is invest in the skills, experience and knowledge of someone qualified to coach and support you.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to ignore. I don’t like how I look and feel - I’d like to lose half a stone. I would still be in healthy range

I don't know how people eating as little as is often recommended on Mumsnet can possibly be nourishing themselves. No one can maintain a healthy skeleton and muscle mass and get enough nutrients and balance on the tiny number of calories that gets suggested on these threads. And it's usually asserted with no acknowledgement of how difficult such extreme restriction is to maintain day in and day out. The only indicator of health accepted by people who advocate for very low calories seems to be BMI and nothing else. But physical and mental health depends on more than that single number. We need to eat a variety and balance of foods, support our bones and muscles, give ourselves the energy to work and exercise and socialise, and we need to feel satisfied. Weight is important, but prioritising thinness over strength, stability and wellbeing isn't going to lead to a healthy life in the long term.

Yes, it's difficult to exercise AFTER food because you're supposed to wait an hour and a half to two hours after a meal before something vigorous like running. Some experts say not to worry too much about this because it's already difficult to fit exercising into our lives.

I mean I ran a half marathon on half a bagel because the idea of eating anything more than that before running made me feel sick! ( And also runners runs 😂😂)

This is not true about waiting hours. You can actually train your stomach to be ok with food before running. In an ideal world you’d wait half an hour or so before going for a run. But you definitely don’t need to wait hours. A banana is enough to fuel a shortish run.

However, I get that people want to get up and get straight out of the door and feel better with zero food in their stomach. Just because you can do this and it feels ok doesn’t mean it’s ideal though. It still spikes cortisol.

I’ve trained my stomach to be ok with food before a run and if I’m running for more than an hour I would take more food on or a gel. I’ve felt much better and recover quickly if my runs are properly fuelled.

Anyway the OP is not running so would be fine to have something quick and easy before a weights session.

Same. Lose 1 to 2lbs a week on 1200 c a day

tdee was 1700 minus 500 to lose weight

https://coach.org.uk/tdee-calculator

@Sorryagain

b 2/300
l 3/400c
t 500
s 100

till you weigh food out you don’t reliese the size of stuff - cereal / jacket /pasta

you don’t need the suggested amount sometimes on packets

Muscle actually does weigh more, quite a lot more. So you might be comparing apples and pears here (my predictive txt wanted to write pasta for pears, which seems quite insightful 🙂).

Also for me, not eating after a certain time, like 6.30pm, makes all the difference. Even better if I can manage a 16 hour no eating window overnight but that's rather hopeful sometimes in the real world.

Good luck, don't give up. You're doing it right and results are about building habits for the long haul.

Hi - thanks. What are the figures you list?eg b 2/300