Why am I not losing weight ?

[specialk9]

Hi

I've always calorie counted to previously lose and maintain weight but it doesn't seem to be working this time ! Any ideas?!

I'm short (5ft) , 9st 9lb
My goal is between 8st 10lb and 9st.
I'm 40 with 3 children (one under 1).

I'd say I'm fairly active, naturally do over 10k steps a day with school runs and general life. 3x cardio sessions per week and some hand weight workouts at home.

I eat between 1000-1200 calories during the week and increase slightly at the weekend to allow an extra treat plus I have a gin and slimline tonic with dinner on a Friday and Saturday. I always ensure the average daily consumption is 1200 calories.

An example of what I eat

Yesterday 1150 calories

3x Tea with semi skimmed milk+ 1 sugar
1-2l of water
Breakfast- 30g porridge with semi skimmed milk + 1 teaspoon peanut butter
Lunch - 100g roast chicken breast (no skin) + salad + 1 tablespoon light salad dressing
Dinner - Fishcake + rice/veg
Treat - 2 low calorie biscuits

Today 1020 calories

3x Tea with semi skimmed milk+ 1 sugar
1-2l of water
Breakfast- 30g low sugar muesli with protein yoghurt
Lunch - 30g mature cheese + 1 boiled egg + salad + 1 tablespoon light salad dressing
Dinner - Grilled cod + light dressing + broccoli/peas
Treat - 2 low calorie biscuits

I'm getting a bit desperate now and really trying hard not to turn to a 'fad' diet.

Surely I don't have to eat less calories than that?!

Muscle gain is impossible at anything like the rate of loss of fat on any standard diet. So, unless you are losing weight incredibly slowly, muscle gain will only shave off a hair's breadth of your weight loss. And that's on a massive weight training regime too. You'd have to be really trying to gain muscle fast for it to show in this way.

So what are the weekend calories because I know that something like a crossiant is ridiculous calories for such an airy little thing extra?

If I want to loose there are no breaks, no cheat days, no drinking and it's hard, but once you get there then you can add a bit more calories back in slowly and see if you can maintain.

I personally think you need some fruit not low calorie biscuits.

I also find that if I drink alcohol I hold more water so my weight spikes a bit. I'm not a regular alcohol drinker as it's empty calories.

I did do Noom for a bit and they suggest daily weigh ins. I find it a bit obsessive and I forgot this morning but I try to stick to it.

Thanks all so much for your replies. I really appreciate it.

Some interesting debates going on !

I've always been the of the belief that's it's simply calories in vs calories out. I've lost weight previously eating a similar amount of calories that I do now. But a lot less healthy! Skipping proper meals and having a chocolate bar instead. 2 sugars in tea. 4 digestives a day etc. But stayed under 1200 calories. That's why I'm so frustrated !

I think my height is obviously a real stumbling block as I don't get to eat that many calories even when maintaining!

I think I need to get stricter. I could definitely up my water. Cut out the weekend treats for the time being. I will be keeping my 2x Gin & slimline tonics for the time being (140c)
Cut out the sugar in my tea. Perhaps keep the biscuits if I manage to do that?

I have been losing weight but it's slow. Probably 0.3lb a week in average 🤦🏻‍♀️
I've had some random weeks where I've lost 1lb but Im not sure I've done anything differently that week.

@SwimmingOnEggshells I would love to join the thread. Would you be able to link please ?

@fallfallfall I do use MFP but I measure the calories from the packaging so I'm sure it's right ? I weigh most things. I don't weigh out the salad but what I buy lasts me 4 meals at a time so I just divide the totally equally, if that makes sense !

Look on the Fitness Chef Facebook group and people will help you there, sensible advice, not the lunacy you get on here a lot on weight loss threads. Calculate your calories and protein needs on there or the free James Smith Academy calculator and log religiously for a bit. Calorie counting will work!

And if you calorie count you can factor in a croissant, a McDonald’s, or whatever you fancy

@mackthepony definitely not a takeaway which is hard to track. But for example this last weekend I took my daughter for a meal. I picked from the menu within the calories I had left over for that day + what I had stored over the week.

This is wrong.

If I ate 1200 calories of mcDonalds / day v 1200 calories of salad, I would lose the same amount of weight. Granted not healthy but CI v CO is simple science.

I don't calorie count as personally I find it too restrictive. I've been steadily losing weight by eating as much meat, fish, eggs, potatoes, veg and fruit as I like.
I have a measured amount of milk every day, no bread at all. Very rarely I will drink alcohol, but only if it's a social occasion, I don't drink at home.
Snacks and things like sauces are limited to approx 300 calories a day.

Typical day for me is a cooked breakfast of lean bacon, scrambled eggs, baked beans, tinned or fresh tomatoes.
Lunch is vegetable soup.
Mid afternoon snack is fruit or a cereal bar.
Evening meal might be steak and chips, with a homemade sauce, or some sort of one-pot casserole. Tonight it's slow-cooked Texan beef roast, tomorrow it's sweet and sour chicken with rice, Friday it's ham and chips.
If I'm snacking later it's a small bag of popcorn or crisps, fruit, a low cal ice-cream, protein yogurt.

I used to be obese and now I'm well within a healthy BMI.
I've found it easy to stick to because I've never actually felt hungry and there's so much choice.

I know this isn’t what you are asking but I think you need to be kinder to yourself. You sound healthy with an active lifestyle and though you may be half a stone heavier than you used to be this is normal at your age. You may also we carrying more muscle than previously which is no bad thing. I think as long you are not gaining weight you should be happy.

Yes, @Yodaisawally , it's too simple.

If you eat a calorie of protein, it's harder work for your body to turn it into energy than it would be if you ate a calorie of carbohydrate. So the gross calorie is the same, but the net calorie (ie the proportion you can use for energy or storage, once it's been processed) is different. Essentially, if you love on carbohydrates, the surplus you have to deal with (and potentially store as fat) is greater than the surplus you'd be dealing with from protein. It's roughly 70% v 90%

That's why we like to eat carbs and sugar: they're easy for our body to process, and our bodies are evolved to be lazy and to save as much energy as possible.

CI v CO is too simple. You've also got the comparison between the calorie that you use immediately, the calorie you store as glycogen, and the calorie you store as fat. Do you think that using these calories expends the same amount of energy for each? It isn't. It's much more work for the body to put the calorie into fat storage and then pull it back out again. So what's the calorie worth?

I have been losing weight but it's slow. Probably 0.3lb a week in average 🤦🏻‍♀️

but that's about what you can expect to lose on a 200 ish calorie deficit per day??

Sounds like you're on the right track op. It's tough being shorter, we can't hide our weight as easily!

Calorie counting has indeed made me grateful that I’m big and tall!

@specialk9 , oh yes it makes sense. I just found mfp had several entries that were suspect. Entered by other members wrong.
the one I mentioned boasts the entries have been verified.
how much of your food choices are in packets, vs veggies and home made?
any movement on the scale yet? Are you drinking lots of water?