To ask about weight loss

[keepcalmanddance]

I’m trying to lose weight. Last Friday I weighed 11s 4lb. I’ve totally cut out all chocs biscuits sweets etc and have been very healthy following the slimming world diet (loosely following), but generally just being very very healthy and walking

however I weighed myself in boots this morning and I’m now up by 1lb which I don’t understand apart from I drank a bottle of wine last night but surely that wouldn’t have made a massive difference? It was rose barefoot white Zinfandel

@keepcalmanddancewhat proper exercise are you doing? Cardio / weights / proper getting your heart rate going? Walking will help but is in no way enough

Not being mean, but SW is a load of crap. The ready meals they churn out, are big, they're stodgy and you're not going to lose weight eating those and drinking a bottle of wine. Have you worked out how many calories a day you are having. The trouble with SW is they go on about free food, but on what planet could you eat shit loads of rice, pasta and potatos and lose weight.

You need to eat clean, no booze and shit loads of water. I know it seems boring but it's not forever, and once you get to where you want to be you can tweak and have the ocassional treat. I've lost 6 stone with WLI's (after following SW for a few years) and when I was getting to my target I was focused and for me that was key. Now I'm where I want to be, I can have the odd treat if I want, but am still very mindful. There's no point doing it if you're not going to put your all into it, so cut out the wine (which is very calorific) and start logging your food and working out realistically how many calories you are consuming every day.

Can I ask what water does that is good for weight loss? I drink 3/4 litres a day as I just love it - but I also drink wine etc. I know it’s good for body but not totally clear on how it helps weight loss as it never makes me feel full up the way they say

Well talking about 'syns' and bad foods opens people up to a whole world of psychological issues around food. There's nothing 'back to basics' about considering everything you put in your mouth around numbers of 'syns'. I see that as complicated and pretty unhealthy at a psychological level. Also there's nothing fresh and unprocessed about their ready meals.

@babasaclover it's great for a few reasons. It can keep you fuller, as sometimes we are thirsty when we think we're hungry but more so it flushes the shit out of our sytem and enables us to burn fat easier. I liken the body to a car, mine runs better when I'm putting supreme petrol in rather than low grade. I don't know the exact science behind the water thing but for me personally, I feel better and look better when I'm drinking the right amount of water.

I see "treat" in a similar way tbh.
I split my food into "everyday food" and "sometimes food". Proper neutral I think. Stops the "i had shite day I deserve a treat" thing I had.

That's a bit like saying "But I’ve put on rather than lost which is ridiculous after all the work I’ve put in (apart from totally breaking the diet)"

I don't think Slimming World is great TBH. It tends to get huge losses at the start in people who are massively overweight, but if you're only a stone or two overweight, it's not particularly helpful. It's also not very sustainable or the healthiest of approaches. Their ready meals are not better than many others on the shelves, and they're only "free" because they can make more money out of you that way.

Try and drink 3 litres of water a day, cut down on carbs and eat more proteins.

I eat chicken, tuna, 0% fat greek yoghurt, i swapped normal cheese for mozzarella, eggs but I use normal eggs and add egg whites to bulk it up. With the yoghurt I add fruit but to get the sweetness I add a meringue broken up, really hits the spot. Protein powders are good, I add a chocolate one to yogurt. Lots of veg and salad.

There are lots of influencers on facebook which show you free recipes of high protein low calorie meals.

I rarely eat pasta or bread now but if i do its wholeweat.

Wine, go for a lower alcohol content, something about 9.5/10 % makes a difference

It could just be water weight or the weight of your outdoor clothes.

Just weigh yourself naked, in the morning before any food or drink and after a BM. And only do it once a week.

Not necessarily. As I said, I’ve lost 3 stone without changing my drinking habits (regular wine drinker). Weight loss is about the sum of all your habits, not just one. Which isn’t to say we wouldn’t be healthier drinking less - we just wouldn’t necessarily be lighter.

If it’s lower in alcohol less of the fruit sugar will have been turned to alcohol, so I’m not sure the science backs this up(again with the caveat that I’m not talking about health, just weight loss).

I find for me, the trouble with alochol is it lowers my resistance to eating crap so if I've had a few drinks I'm more likely to say fuck it, wheres the chocolate. I haven't had one drop this year and funny enough, this is the year I've achieved my goal.

Also, I think if you still have a fait amount to go then you can probably get away with drinking more, but the nearer you get to target, the weight loss gets stubborn and difficult. But then, we're all different and just have to find what suits our bodies.

harsh post warning

Posts like this remind me why we have an obesity crisis. Six days of not eating biscuits but still drank a bottle of wine in one night and expecting to be lighter? After six DAYS? I’m guessing the weight you’re trying to lose didn’t just appear in a week.

It generally takes a deficit of 3,500 calories to lose one pound of fat. You might burn 100 cals walking one mile at a brisk pace. Cutting out two chocolate hobnobs will save around
200 cals. A bottle of rose has around 600 cals. Rough example but you get the idea.

Did you weigh yourself in exactly the same clothes, on the same scales at the same time of day?

Have you been counting calories? Foods that you think are healthy may not be and unless calories in are less than calories used you won’t lose weight no matter which diet you follow

What point of your cycle are you in?

So many things impact weight loss, it is not linear, it takes time to show up as real & consistent.

I know it’s not the best for some people, but weighing daily and taking a weekly average has worked for me and prevented me catastrophising when the scales go up one day. In doing it this way I know I’m 10lb down since August and it’s keeping me on track and accountable for the first time ever. That plus calorie counting and aiming for at least 5 days a week of being under calories and maybe a couple at maintenance has kept me not feeling deprived and meant I’ve not spiralled and binged because the scales say I’ve gained a lb or two!

Read It's not a diet by Davinia Taylor. You will never look back. I have followed that way of eating for over a year and have lost one and a half stone, I'm now 8 stone 8 and I'm 56. It turns dieting on its head. I have full fat everything now and I do not have any UPFs whatsoever. I eat carbs but not excessively and I have some sugar but again not excessively. I also drink but only at weekends and I drink white wine or Vodka and soda.

Oh op this really made me chuckle bless you.

keep up the good work and trust the process. A bottle of wine will typically cause your weight to spike the next day. It’s water retention.

weigh yourself every day and track it on a chart and only look at the trend.

You can eat what you want if you are in a calorie deficit and you will lose weight, Ive cut out wine completely its just way to many calories and makes me eat shit when I'm drinking it, if I want a drink I buy the gin and tonic in the cans from Aldi ( only 74 calories ) already I've lost 1/2 a stone in 2 weeks and gone from a 12 to a 10

You just have to stick at it for longer and be patient I’m afraid. I’ve lost 61 pounds in the last 13 months. Some weeks I don’t lose anything in spite of doing the same thing as the week before, it’s just how it goes. Make sure you are in a calorie deficit. A bottle of wine is about 600 calories so could make that difficult.

WLIs are weight loss injections.
if you had a bottle of wine last night, you are not following the SW plan. Having done SW numerous times over the years, I have switched to calorie counting. Since the end of March, I have lost 4 stone by increasing my exercise and eating 1400 calories a day and gone from a size 20 to a 14/16. Diets don’t have to be about salads! I still cook roasts, stews, chilli, bolognese etc and have the odd takeaway but I record every calorie I eat. You are expecting too much for your first week but you also need to decide if you are going to change your eating habits or carry on as you are

Back in the summer I realised I needed to lose some weight. I cut out all chocolate, cake, biscuits during the week, worked out my calorie deficit, counted all my calories and logged everything. Week 1 I gained 1kg! Was so annoyed but decided to stick with it and have had very gradual weight loss each week since then, with occasional small gain, but then continuing on with loss. Over all I feel great. I still have a treat and alcohol on the weekend. Its a marathon, not a sprint.

Stick with it and you'll get there. Definitely avoid ready meals. They may be low in calories but they'll be nutritionally poor and full of additives. Find easy recipes instead, ones from supermarket websites are good are good and simple.

Yes a bottle of wine is a lot of calories

You might have built up some muscle with exercising and it takes up to 12 weeks to really notice a positive difference in your appearance.

Bloody frustrating isn't it?

Scales differ. Use the same scale, in the same clothes at the same time of day.

You need to make long term changes that are sustainable. Change one thing at a time. Find stuff you like to eat. It takes a long time to get new habits.