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.

Cut down the carbs and increase the protein.
More protein, real food and less carbs is key.
Calorie counting alone is fine for short term weight loss but it's not sustainable or healthy long term. Calorie counting whilst being aware of the effects on your body of the type of calories is far more effective if you are going to go with calorie counting. Cutting fats without cutting sugars for example. Why?

You’ve cut down which great and will have excellent benefits for your health. I’m 5’8 and currently weigh 15 1/2 stone. I’ve lost nearly 4 1/2 st since Oct 2024 and I’m currently eating/ aiming for 1204 calories a day.
Google a TDEE calculator. It tells you how many calories you need to maintain or lose. My current is 1800 to maintain my weight (nb, I’m 48 and not active at all). Take off 400-500 calories and that’s your aim for losing 2lb per week. Then invest in a tracker App. I use Nutracheck and it’s so easy to use.
I think you’ll be surprised with the outcome once you start tracking. Good luck

I don’t really feel like scrolling through 24 pages of similar advice to see if anyone has said what I’m gonna hit I’ll just put this out there.

firstly- wow- well done and what a cracking start! Learning about good nutrition is a steep learning curve for anyone after what is usually
a a lifetime of misleading advice and exposure to odd diets. You’ve obviously come a hell of a long way and looking to take the next step.

whey I was looking to lose weight the single biggest thing that helped me was actually physically weighing my food honestly- including all these licks of the spoon and scrapes of the knife. It’s amazing how quickly it adds up especially if you have small kids and you finish their scraps ‘so it doesn’t go to waste.’ The weighing is a pain in the arse but even if you do it for a week you get a good idea of how easy it is to turn a deficit into a surplus with mindless eating.

the second thing that helped was getting a macro check from a site like macros inc which breaks down how much of each nutrient you should aim to eat for your goal, be it weight loss or bulking. Just by trying to hit the daily protein weight assigned to me is usually enough to keep me so full I struggle to eat all of my calories. By altering what nutrients you prioritise in your diet suddenly everything changes.

there are lots of places and people who can help you with this, not in least a registered dietician who is someone who is far better to get nutrition advice off than some randoms on a message board. You sound like the sort of person who would really benefit from their help as you’ve already shown a gear will to change and make it last.

good luck!

You’re eating three meals for breakfast, two for lunch, dinner, dessert and a snack at dinner and then a snack. Your calories will be high, or the same as before. A better day would be:

Breakfast
Porridge with banana or Two slices of toast with yoghurt or Egg on Toast

Lunch
Pasta Salad

Afternoon snack
Apple, nuts, Yoghurt or Crisps and apple (though probably not crisps every day)

Dinner
Spaghetti Bol & Mousse

You also need to be moving. Losing weight is really hard and honestly, you probably will be a bit hungry initially with smaller portions, but portion control is what will help you lose weight.

Nuts despite being very healthy are very high in calories. Pasta is also quite calorific and fattening. As I understand it too, it’s good for the body to have one ‘cheat’ day or high calorie day. I would suggest drinking more water and maybe exercising more?

You are mostly eating sugar in the form of carbs. Eat this alternative,

Breakfast – 2 eggs scrambled with spinach and mushrooms, black beans on the side, a spoon of Greek yogurt.
Lunch – Lentil and chickpea salad with grilled chicken, mixed greens, tomato, cucumber, olive oil & lemon dressing.
Afternoon snack – a small handful of almonds or roasted chickpeas.
Dinner – Beef and veg bolognese served over lentils or beans, with roasted broccoli and courgette on the side.
Evening snack – Hummus with cucumber sticks or a couple of squares of 90% dark chocolate. A glass of red wine.

That's the slow carb diet (Google it, it's effective). You don't have to count any calories so long as you follow the rules about what foods to eat.

This has got to be a joke post surely? My diet is mainly carbs but this is quite something! Carbs are not the enemy but having so many meals a day is not conducive to losing weight. I see the OP hasn’t come back.

Poor mice.

Way too many carbs and too many calories. I would only have the porridge for breakfast and maybe some low calorie fruit (berries), certainly not the rest of it.

I’m slightly shorter than you but similar weight. I’m sticking to 1200 calories per day, low carbs, and losing 2lbs per week.

OP posted in 'Calorie Counting' and there has been plenty of advice based around cutting calories, rather than eliminating carbs and 'low fat' foods.

It's hard to see what OP was expecting - she asked posters to 'critique her diet' because she wasn't losing weight and critique is what's been offered. Despite some debates around carbs vs protein, everyone has agreed she is basically eating too much, but she's only come back to disagree.

Validating her diet wouldn't help her lose weight. Nutritionally, there is nothing much wrong with her diet - it's reasonably balanced and varied - if she is happy to maintain at her current weight, she should carry on - but that wasn't what she said in her OP.

Lots of suggestions have been offered, whether OP wants to go down the calorie counting route or the low carb route. She's made a great start by introducing healthy foods into her daily routine. Eating the same basic diet but cutting out or swapping a few things would make all the difference. Hopefully OP has taken the advice on board even if not coming back.

If you're still reading, wishing you luck and willpower, OP!

@Morgun you need to get your head around portion control. You are making better food choices which is a great start but the amount you are eating per meal is too much.

If you are a volume eater, you need to look at swapping those carbs to things like cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes, berries etc.

That is far too much food to loose weight . I think I would put weight on with that daily amount. I lost 2 stones recently by sticking to 1000 -1200 calories a day and now just concentrate on maintaining. Work out how many calories you are consuming and then work out what you need to cut out . My hunger subsided after a week of sticking to the diet but it was hard for that week . Good luck .

Sad to assume that OP isn't coming back.

Even if she felt a bit hurt by the comments, engaging and asking for more menu ideas etc would be helpful.

I’m not sure of the point you’re making, the op asked specifically where she was going wrong as she’s not losing weight, people can’t lie or say it’s fine, she’s had really good advice, it’s her choice if she takes it, but saying you don’t blame her for not coming back is an unusual view point. If she’s financially constrained she can say that, but looking at she ate before I’m not sure that’s true.

Yes - I gain on anything over 1400 and have to stick to 1000 to see a loss - and not even a huge loss, sometimes I only lose 1/2 lb a week on that, which is demoralising after feeling hungry for most of the week. I'm post menopause and not as tall as the OP. I think she's lucky to be able to maintain on what even conservative estimates have put at nudging over 2100 calories a day. I'd be ecstatic if my metabolism was that good.

You are doing well by comparison to what you used to eat and I assume you are not putting more weight on?

Can you up your exercise? More fast walking maybe?

@Kay00

If you’re a PCOS sufferer, and also not losing weight, then it would be helpful to reduce the amount of carbs you’re eating, as the example you gave is also pretty carb-heavy:

Breakfast: Bowl of fiber bran and semi skimmed milk
Snack: apple and some grapes
Lunch: tin of veg and beef soup*
Snack: full fat greek yogurt
Extra snack: gherkins and a bit of cheddar cheese
Tea: small portion of a homemade butternut squash, leek and butter bean gratin (which has some cream on it).
Treat: 2 x biscuits and milk.

*obviously don’t know what brand you’re buying, but this could be anything between 18 or 30g carbs

All those things in bold are adding too many carbs into your day - which means you’re feeling hungry, hence the need for 4 snacks. It’s also feeding into insulin resistance, which is not great for PCOS sufferers. You might find this helpful:

https://www.royalberkshire.nhs.uk/media/afta2biw/pcos-dietary-advice_nov22.pdf

I should add @Kay00 that in and of themselves, the foods you’re eating are perfectly fine - but if you’re not losing weight (which is harder for PCOS sufferers), then it’s the total amount of carbohydrate that you should look to reduce.

Have to agree with this. Far too many servings of bread and pasta. One of each per day is sufficient when trying to lose weight. Good luck!

I agree with most of the comments here. I’m not sure if anyone else has mentioned that free yoghurts usually have lots of other additives. A small bowl of full fat Greek yoghurt with a bit of honey or maple syrup, and a lot of fruit is a really satisfying breakfast or dessert and leaves you feeling fuller for much longer than a little pot of no fat mousse!

@Morgun I’m guessing that you can’t face coming back to this thread! But just in case you do, here’s my suggestion for how you can reduce the carbs in your day.

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

Instead:

• a bowl of full fat yoghurt* with some berries and/or almonds
• or, boiled eggs/cheese omelette
• or 2 sausages (high meat content) and fried mushrooms

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

Instead:

• Tuna or chicken or ham or boiled egg with salad (e.g. leaves, cucumber, celery, tomato, sliced raw pepper etc) with an oil-based vinaigrette - home-made not shop-bought, as all the latter tend to have sugar added
• add a (small)sprinkle of nuts/seeds if you like, for extra texture

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

Once you get used to a lower carb diet (which really won’t take long) you should find that you’re not hungry between meals. If you are, especially in the early days, snack on things like cheese, olives, cucumber/celery with full fat cream cheese/pâté, hard boiled eggs. But you also need to ask yourself if you’re snacking out of habit - only add the snacks if you’re genuinely hungry

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

Instead:

• homemade bolognese sauce, with some finely shredded, pan-fried green cabbage. Hispi (or sweetheart) cabbage works really well here. Top with lots of freshly grated Parmesan or mature cheddar
• add a side salad (with vinaigrette) as well if still hungry
• if you still want/need a dessert, have some more full-fat yoghurt

evening snack - a couple of biscuits

Hopefully you will not be hungry so won’t need these!

You also haven’t said what you’re drinking. It’s a good idea to drink plenty of water, and also to keep an eye on how much tea/coffee with milk you’re drinking - the amount of milk can add a significant amount of carbs, quite quickly.

Don’t fear fat. Fat (along with protein) will keep you fuller for longer, and it’s more satiating when you’re eating it.

I wish you all the good luck. You’ve made some changes for the better already, and I know (been there, got the t-shirt!) that when the scales are not your friend just how dispiriting it can be.

*people have talked on the thread about Fage’s 5% fat yoghurt, but IMVHO supermarket OL brands are a better option. All of the supermarket premium ranges will carry a variant that is 10% fat, which is better. Aldi and Lidl have one in their ranges.

Brilliant 🤩

You can eat as many carbs as you like so long as the number of calories you are eating is less than the amount you burn. You do not have to eat protein to lose weight, but you can because the body takes the longest to use protein so it can help keep you fuller longer. You also don't need to eat fruit and veg to lose weight, but it's low in calories so you can eat more of it and feel fuller for less calories.

If you have switched your diet for a good long time, think a few weeks, not a few days, and you haven't lost any weight then you are eating too many calories, regardless of where they come from. You should consider taking what you eat in a day and actually weighing it and writing the calories down, at least once, to give you an idea of the amount you are eating.

Either toast OR porridge oats, not both. Either pasta salad OR roll, not both. It reads like you are doubling up on carbs at all meals. If you increase protein and remove a carb portion from each meal, you might see the results you are looking for. I imagine you'd quickly feel hungry if you just dropped eg the toast or the oats from your breakfast but if you add an egg you should feel fuller for longer. Nuts have a healthy reputation but they are calorie dense. Also we can't see the amount of nuts you are having. Carrotvsticks are lower in sugar thsn an apple. In your op you haven't mentioned the flip side - using up calories via physical activity. That will be an important part of the overall picture. Could you add some walking? I'm probably repeating what others are saying but I'm short on time to read the thread and didn't want to scroll on without trying to help. Good luck!

Try an app called Nutracheck. It's £27.99 annually but totally worth it. Was a game changer for me, and I originally needed to lose 10 stones. Also, if your BMI is high, your GP can refer you to a tier 3 weight loss program.