Not losing weight despite massively cutting back

[Morgun]

Can anyone analyse what I’m eating and tell me where I’m going wrong? I’ve cut back so much yet the scales are not shifting. I’m 5ft 8 and 16st

breakfast - porridge oats, 2 slices of wholemeal toast with low fat spread, a fat free yogurt and a banana

lunch - pasta salad with a wholemeal roll and a packet of low calorie crisps.

Aftetnoon snack - apple, nuts and sometimes a fat free yogurt but not always

dinner - homemade spaghetti bolognese (wholemeal spaghetti), 2 small slices of garlic baguette, a weight watchers mouse and a piece of fruit

evening snack - a couple of biscuits

this is far less than I used to eat yet the scales are not budging. I’m being told to cut down further but I can’t see what else I can do, I’m struggling as it is.

It’s probably because what you’re eating now is very, very carb heavy.

That’s a very carb heavy day. Up the protein and reduce the carbs.

Things branded at far free are usually high in sugar.

What's the calorie total for that? You need to know your TDEE and work out if you are consistently under that by a decent amount each day. You may be eating less, and so not gaining any weight, but you may not have cut back enough to be in a big enough deficit to lose weight.

It's impossible for anyone else to judge the calorie total there, without more detail of portion size/weight and brands for each item.

That’s a lot of food op, the reason you’re maintaining is you’re eating enough cals to maintain, you need to be in a deficit. Why such a big breakfast for example, just have one breakfast, like the porridge with some fruit,

I think not calorie counting will be a big contributing factor.

That’s a lot processed, high carb food.

And yes, it's very carb heavy. You could look to reduce carbs and prioritise lean protein and leafy veg, which would also reduce the calories probably too.

Sorry but I still think you're eating an awful lot more than a normal person would:

breakfast - porridge oats, 2 slices of wholemeal toast with low fat spread, a fat free yogurt and a banana

I would say have porridge OR toast OR yoghurt. With a banana.

lunch - pasta salad with a wholemeal roll and a packet of low calorie crisps.

Get rid of the roll and crisps. A pasta salad is a meal in itself.

Aftetnoon snack - apple, nuts and sometimes a fat free yogurt but not always

Ideally you should cut snacking completely, but if you must then forget the nuts and stick to the apple. Nuts are lovely but very calorie dense.

dinner - homemade spaghetti bolognese (wholemeal spaghetti), 2 small slices of garlic baguette, a weight watchers mouse and a piece of fruit

Cut out the garlic bread and if you must have a pudding then choose either the fruit OR the mousse. You don't need two things for dessert.

evening snack - a couple of biscuits

As above, I'd try to cut out the snacking completely.

Your calories will be massively adding up throughout the day with all these add-ons.

Without wanting to start the competitive under eating posts, that is a lot of food, especially if the goal is weight loss. You’ve listed two meals for breakfast (porridge and toast), and two meals for lunch (pasta and a sandwich with crisps) - I would suggest you start by choosing only one of those options per meal. And ditch the snacks

You need to up your protein, there is hardly any protein and a lot of carbs in your diet

Depends on portion size, I guess. Porridge, two slices of toast, a yoghurt and a banana could be quite a big breakfast, for instance, especially if you live quite a sedentary lifestyle.

Too much volume - you don't need porridge AND toast AND yogurt AND banana for breakfast. Your portion sizes need to be planned, weighed and controlled. Also far too many carbs. You need more protein and healthy fat and fewer carbs.

You are double carbing at each meal op.

You may be eating less than before but it does sound like quite a lot to me. I wouldn't lose weight eating that.

Same here. It’s a lot of food for a day. I don’t think it’s competitive under eating to say two breakfast options and two lunch options every day is too much.

I have been on a diet since February and what you are describing would be a cheat day for me. You don’t need to eat fat free stuff, you need to cut out on carbs and biscuits. Eg I try and eat no carbs or nothing for dinner (IF) and have a very protein heavy lunch.

Lots of processed, high carb food.

But also, no measurements make this impossible to judge. Have you worked out your calories for a deficit, are you weighing absolutely everything, tracking it & ensuring you stick below your calories?

As an example:

”Porridge oats” could easily be 120cals or 450cals, so easy to guess a portion and be massively over- you need to be weighing,

Pasta salad- how many grams of pasta? Could be 150cals or 500cals. Why do you need bread with pasta, and crisps? Your lunch is essentially carbs, with a side of carbs, finished off with more carbs. Swap the bread roll for some chicken breast and your crisps for a cheese string.

“nuts” really is one where unless you weigh, the calories could be crazy. They are VERY high calorie.

Spag bol- as above- how many grams?

Up protein, go lower carb.
also thats still a lot of carbs, you need to be inna deficit. Example cut the breakfast to just porridge with fruit. No need for porridge, fruit, yogurt and two slices of toast. Its to much food.
Im in a deficit and only eat one slice of toast, then have lunch & dinner. Dont have snacks, i just have a protein shake or a protein juice that has no cals.

It seems fairly obvious to me why you're struggling. Try sticking to ONE source of carbs per meal, plus a lean protein, and your fruit and veg.

Where are the veg? !

Wow! That is SO MUCH food, too many calories, way too many carbs and very little protein.

Also how much exercise do you do?

I’m far and I think that is a huge amount of food. Surely just the toast Or the pasta is enough for breakfast for example? And don’t snack - it really isn’t necessary.

Switch to something like

2 egg omelette plus spinach for breakfast

chicken, salad, half avocado for lunch

snack - 25g 80% + dark chocolate and 8 almonds

salmon and salad for dinner

you should be aiming for 1g protein per lb ideal body weight and macros should be protein, healthy fats, carbs in that order

https://www.myfitnesspal.com/

You probably need to calory count - use something like above - and weigh ingredients and watch portion sizes.

You may well feel more full if like PP mention you switch what you are eating - more protein and fruit and veg.

It's not easy though - I find fasting days easier - you can also look at fast 800 stuff so you get the big encouraging weight loss.

Also garlic baguette has a lot of fat! Have the spag bol without the extras.

Changes I’ve already made -

For breakfast I used to have chocolate granola, white bread toast with butter, a normal yogurt and a cereal bar

For lunch I used to eat a big white roll with bacon, a sausage roll, a flapjack and a packet of crisps

For dinner I would have a ready meal, cheese cake and then a whole packet of chocolate biscuits as evening snack

So as you can see I’ve cut down a hell of a lot