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 wasn't just oats...it's was a date and pecan porridge mix...not one of those pots. Obviously I'd expect it to contain more calories than plain oats and dates and nuts will be high....but honestly the portion I weighed out look shockingly small for such a high amount. But regardless, even plain oats don't fill me up at all...and I'm always hungry so soon after.

Blasted into a conversation, aka, leaving a comment on a discussion thread on a public forum😂😂😂.
Seriously, calm down. I don't think bread agrees with you.

Hi OP, well done getting started on being healthier, it really isnt easy!

As most others have said your meals are very very carb heavy and large portion sizes. For breakfast, its usually porridge or toast not both.
Again for lunch, pasta salad does not need a bread roll.

Download the My Fitness Pal app and track your calories, weigh all your food and make sure there is there no cheating or missing things out even oil, butter etc. You'll be surprised to find how many calories are in that example menu you've posted. Wishing you all the best 🙂

Dates are very high in sugar and nuts have a lot of calories.

There's nothing wrong with bread in moderation. Having tried diets which cut out particular foods, I've found they only lead to craving and bingeing. I've concluded it's better to allow all food types in my diet but make sure I'm not over-eating in total.

I think you can eat anything as long as you're in a calorie deficit. Two years ago I lost a couple of stone and was eating chocolate every day...I'd just have a mini bar for about 70cals rather than a huge one.

I agree. It seemed an extraordinary statement for the expert to say. I've never forgotten it ! (I don't eat that way either)

I think counting calories is a sheer waste of time and energy.

If you stick to protein, dairy, fruit and veg , with a small amount of wholegrains, perhaps at one or two meals, you will lose weight.

3 meals a day, no snacks, no biscuits, no crisps or other empty calories.

Just use your eyes to see what's on your plate.

Definitely. I'm a vegan and carb girlie so I'm never going to go low carb or cut bread. I now make my own sourdough with added pea protein powder and have that every morning for breakfast. I still eat rice, pasta, couscous, noodles but cut down the portions by 1/3 to 1/2 and added more protein at every meal. I've lost 3.5 stone eating bread every damn day, sometimes twice :)

The bread comments here and getting tedious.

Bread can be part of a healthy diet but not in large amounts ON TOP OF a complete meal.

That's absolutely not the same thing as saying 'you'll never lose weight while you keep eating bread' or whatever they said

Don't be too discouraged by all the people saying you still eat too much. You haven't mentioned how long you've been trying and what else you might be doing to help. Drinking lots of water? Eating too late at night? Not getting any exercise (what I'm mostly guilty of!!)

I'd say sub some of the carbs for veg - like those spiralised courgette instead of pasta etc. Try slowing your eating down - rushing through a meal doesn't give you time to register when you're full. Space out some of the snacks - maybe wait an hour after a meal before having some crisps if you're still feeling hungry, but have a big glass of water first?

Let time pass and let yourself lose weight slowly as it's more likely to stay off that way. I lost 3 stones in 7 weeks when I had a broken jaw and couldn't eat anything that wasn't clear liquid. I gained it all back and much more in the months after my jaw was better.

And remember...this is mumsnet. This is where people feed a family of 5 for 2 weeks with 1 chicken and a single lettuce leaf. Be nice to yourself.

Op, that’s three meals for breakfast. Either porridge, toast, or a banana and a yogurt are all stand alone breakfasts. The snacks between meals are unnecessary, and lunch and dinner are both pasta and bread without any veg.

Dieting is hard, and the realisation of how much food you’re really eating sucks, I’ve been there! But if you can up the veg and protein you’ll feel more satiated and not like you’re missing out on food. Best of luck

Eh??
1300 calories would create a deficit of 800 a day. Thats 1.5lbs minimum. Volume eating is very efffective for weight loss if you're eating high fibre low calorie bulk. She's also going to be starving hungry if she cuts to 1300, especially as a carb addict. She needs to cut a sustainable amount and change where her calories come from, and that doesn't mean cutting to 1300 from the off!

I couldn’t when I weighed 14 stone at 5,8” , I have Addisons disease so am steroid dependent , hypothyroidism, post menopause plus on steroid inhalers , losing weight is hard . I’ve got down to 11 stone 6 which is top end of healthy BMI but I reckon I’d have to go full no carb to lose anymore . My daily diet is usually 2 boiled eggs with coffee and a dash of semi skimmed milk , lunch is chicken with salad , dinner is something like salmon and veg . I drink gallons of water , walk a fair bit and don’t snack . On this diet I maintain but don’t lose anymore .

Which I didn't say.....

As has been said, you need to add in more fat and protein - you'll feel a lot more full and for longer.

Breakfast: try making overnight oats with 45g oats, almond milk, two teaspoons of peanut butter, a teaspoon of cocoa powder, half a mashed banana and some protein powder. Very filling.

For lunch, ditch the pasta - have avocado on toast or some leaves, a chicken breast, mixed seeds and other salad veg.

Dinner: steak and roast vegetables or something like marry me chicken and rice.

It's fine to have snacks, but make that yogurt greek and ditch the nasty weight watchers and fat free products. Cut up the apple and dip it in nut butter.

You'll feel much more full from that - carbs get processed very quickly and leave you hungry again.

Maybe stop saying it? We get your point, but it's not a rebuttal to the original statement so it's pointless. I eat bread every day and lost 3.5 stone doing that. If you understand where your calories are coming from you can happily lose weight whilst eating bread.

First of all, well done getting started - it’s hard. The changes you’ve made sound positive in terms of WHAT you’re eating being better than what you were eating before, but it does look very carb-heavy. As others have said, it’s very difficult to comment on how “much” it is in comparison without knowing portion sizes and how you cook, but for me (5’7, 10 stone, size 8/10, athletic and active) that sounds like a lot of food. Too much healthy food will keep the weight on just the same as too much poorer quality food!

I’m happy to chat with you about this offline, or share my MFP profile with you, but when I’m trying to lose some weight I have to track what I’m eating - both kcal and macros. That’s because carefully chosen calories (high protein and less carbs) are much better at keeping me fuller for longer because protein and fat are “high satiety”.

I know my resting energy requirement (i.e. how many calories I burn just being alive) is about 1550 (thank you Apple watch!). I WFH, and just moving around at home burns about 200 “active” calories. Plus exercise - I aim for 30 mins of “exercise” minutes a day, even if that’s just a brisk walk. That’s generally enough to give me a 500 kcal deficit a day - 7 x 500 = 3500 kcal deficit a week, so I lose about a pound a week.

There are lots of ways of fiddling round the edges with what you eat, when you eat, etc that will HELP with weight loss but fundamentally you must be consuming fewer calories than you expend (i.e. be in a deficit).

Consistency is key. Trust the process. Ask for help (as you’re doing). Don’t give up!

What you describe sounds like it could be quite high calorie still, depending on exact ingredients and portion size. Unless the portions are tiny I wouldn’t expect to lose weight on that. Pasta particularly adds up fast, sadly 😭

At least though you are making gradual changes and you won’t be gaining as fast or may be maintaining.

I think it’s true about protein, I am also prone to eating very carb heavy and it does keep us hungry, I will be scanning these replies for tips for myself for increasing protein.

Wow your diet food is so much food!

I often skip breakfast and just have two meals, but when I have breakfast I just have a small bit of greek yogurt or a single slice of toast.

I think maybe you've lost sight of portion sizes. Your "diet" day contains three breakfasts 😯 (porridge, toast, yogurt and fruit)

Or you could stop maybe replying if you don't like what I am saying.
Your diet is of no interest to me.
Eat bread, don't eat bread. 🤷

This sounds dangerously like intuitive eating and this doesn't work for people who binge eat or who have large appetites and/or insulin resistance. Someone who has got to 16 stone and can't see for themselves why their food consumption is causing weight gain/not leading to loss needs discipline and self education. The best way to do that is to weigh and track their food. Eyeballing it is never going to work for OP.

No, someone else did! You replied to my reply to someone else, arguing a point that nobody made. Give it a rest eh?

@Smallsalt good grief you're tedious.