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.

Hey OP. It's really not easy to make changes I know, so I think you've done very well with the improvements you've made (pack of biscuits down to a couple of individual ones for example - that takes real self-control so you should be proud!). I'm in a similar situation to you and really trying get on a healthier path now. I've made some changes and am officially going to start counting calories tomorrow. Have you actually tried totting up the calories to see what they come to? It might be a reality check.

As others have said it's probably a good idea to swap out some of your current carbs for protein instead. Omelette for breakfast? You can add spinach, tomatoes and mushrooms to bulk it out for very few calories and the added bonus of '5-a-days', and I reckon you could keep one of your slices of toast with that. Houmous with cucumber sticks is a nice lunch, maybe a couple of rice cakes and a piece of fruit and yoghurt for afters, and a 'FibreOne' bar (I keep mine in the freezer, a they take longer to eat and feel 'treat'ier that way? Popcorn (just pop the kernels yourself in the microwave, so no butter or additives) for a snack rather than crisps or biscuits? Soup is great for dinner. You can make a really hearty one that's so solid it's basically a stew! Add a thin slice of bread and butter and a portion of cheese (I like Babybels for this as you know exactly how many calories) to keep you satiated.

It sounds like you're a 'dessert'y sort of person. Me too! One of my recommendations is Activia yoghurt (I think they're about 50cals) with fine ground oats mixed in and frozen cherries or raspberries on top. It feels like a really decadent dessert, around 200 calories, so similar to your evening biscuits, but a bit healthier and more filling.

What's your exercise routine like? I'm very sedentary at the moment (depressed from being out of work and missing my dog who dies a few months back) but I'm forcing myself out for a walk every day. If you like audiobooks you could listen to one while walking, or music of course. It's an extra reason to get motivated to walk out of the door.

Lots of luck OP, I reckon you can do it!

This is nonsense. I've lost two stone in the past few months and I eat bread.

Too much carbohydrate, not enough protein. You have cut down a lot but you’re not eating the right things. I wouldn't lose weight on what you eat, in fact I think I’d put weight on.

Eat more eggs, fish, fresh fruit, fresh veg. Cottage cheese. Cut out crisps, biscuits, or just have them once a week as a treat. If you’re eating spaghetti bol you really don't need a roll as well.

Lots of carbs on eat. Also 3 full meals plus snacks; we don’t beed that much food in adulthood, unless you are doing lots of exercise.

I don’t have carbs for breakfast and this helps a lot. I eat: 2 eggs, a bit cottage cheese ir feta, half avocado, 2 cherry tomatoes, spinach sometimes.

mid morning snack: fruit, one hour before lunch

lunch: either a sardine, or salad or a small toasted sandwich. Try to keep it light too, but it depends on how I feel.

dinner: normal, but try not too much carbs.

I only loose weight if I keep breakfast and lunch light with min to not carb.

We don’t need 3 big meals

Why do people say stupid things like this? What do you think bread does to the body that prevents weight loss? Please explain

I would suggest you download a free calorie counter and track for 1-2 weeks. You will easily see how much you eat and where you can start cutting down.
Lots of the food you mention is actually high in calories, it also will show that you most likely underestimate your portion size. That's so easy to do but also easy to change.

I agree with PP, you need to add protein, ideally around 0.75-1g per kg you weight to start and increase on the long run to ensure you aren't loosing muscle mass.

My diet is as follows:

Breakfast - Full fat greek yoghurt with oats and fruit
Lunch - some form of protein, chicken, fish (grilled or smoked), as a baguette or with rice, veggies or fruit
Dinner - stir fry, meat and two veg, grilled lean meat with a salad, pasta with some form of protein

There may be the odd biscuit (one) or a piece of chocolate but only if it fits in my daily calorie count.

I am not hungry due to the protein, the lower carb intake also means my blood sugar is not spiking and "I need to eat something now" feeling has basically vanished.

Find an online TDEE calculator online op, and then a good calorie counter app. It takes a deficit/excess of 3500 calories to lose or gain a pound. It’s really boring but you soon get the hang of it!
From your food list you must be eating well over what you need and its really easy to underestimate what calories you're consuming without weighing things. Nuts, although good for you are really high cal, so a handful could easily be 100’s of calories.
The best thing you can do is take it really slowly, dont think of it as a diet more as how you have to eat forever so it needs to be sustainable so you can stick at it. Good luck.

Jesus Christ, are you eating for two?

Seriously though, you only need about half of that and you need to replace the carbs with vegetables and protein.

Bread is amazing. These protein obsessed types don’t get enough fibre. They may get skinny but they may also get bowel cancer

You're eating a lot of bread (2 slices for breakfast, a roll at lunch and 2 garlic breads for dinner). Remove all the bread and you will see a difference

this is a very very rough estimate but the calories your comsuming may well be too high.
this diet is very high carb, low protein and lacking in fuits and veg, from this id estimate your calories to be around

porridge with semi skimmed milk 250
2 slices of medium warburtons wholemeal 206
spread without measuring it 30
low fat yog 75
banana 90
breakfast total 646

pasta salad 500
roll 163
crisps 90
lunch total 753

apple 90
nuts 200
yog 75
total 365

homemade dinner (bolonaise) 400
spagetti 247
2 peices of garlic baguette 160
mousse ?? no idea i couldnt find a refernce lets say 100
fruit 90
dinner total 997

biscuits 250

daily total 3011

like i said this is a very rough guess without knowing brands and if you are measuring your portions but as you can see if can easily be a very large amount of calories

best bet would be to drop the snacks, and the double carbs from each meal

You’ve cut down @Morgun which is great (& hopefully mans you won’t continu to gain) buts it’s far too much and the wrong stuff to lose weight. I am 5’4, 46 years old, until July I was 13 stone 9 when I said enough was enough. I’m now just under 12 stone. I walk circa 5 miles a day, weights a couple of times a week and my diet is circa 1300cals and 100g protein per day. As I’ve reached peri I’ve come up to understand that I personally have to eat really low carb, which sucks as they are the best thing ever- I dream of that, pasta and roast potatoes.

Youve had some good advice here but I suspect give your situation you’ll have the same carbs issue as me, so you need to weigh everything and calorie count based on you daily maintenance minus 2/300 calories to create a deficit. And cut the carbs right back and add in loads more protein and veg.

Sorry, it’s rubbish, but it’s what you need to do to lose, plus lift heavy things!

I wonder what you were eating before.

Although What you are eating now probably won’t lead to weight loss I would recommend that you stick with this - as long as you are not gaining on it. Then reduce your carbs gradually. For example, just one slice of toast at breakfast and half the quantity of garlic bread with your pasta dish. Reduce again until you start losing. If you reduce too quickly you will end up bingeing because you may feel deprived.

What is wrong with you? Why do people have to be so gratuitously nasty?

Hi OP,
I think calories wise your new diet is probably just maintaining your weight, while you were probably slowly gaining with your old diet.

I noticed you said that you feel you can't cut down much more as you are struggling as it is. I heard some interesting information the other day (I think I was listening to an episode of diary of a CEO). The person said when a group of people some overweight and some not overweight ate fat and protein (in a study) their bodies produced a similar GLP1 reaction - this would help them to feel satisfied. When the same group ate carbohydrates the slender people released GLP1 but the overweight people not so much - so the carbs were less satisfying to the overweight people.

A simple illustration of protein v carb eaten was given as - imagine that there are 70 calories in both an oreo cookie and a boiled egg. What is going to be more challenging to eat - eating 30 oreo cookies or 30 boiled eggs? Protein and fat are what will fill you up.

You don't need to give up carbs but you do need to be in a calorie defecit - and it is protein (and to a lesser extent fat) that will satiate you and help you to be in that calorie defecit.

I would suggest a diet something like:
2 slices toast/olive spread with 2/3 scrambled eggs or
2 slices toast/olive spread with 1 medium 1avocado mashed
(thats 500 calories odd)

Lunch
Shop bought pasta salad e.g. chicken/prawn/tuna (400 cals)
Add a full tin of tuna or packet of chicken (100cal)
(500 cal)

Dinner
Small portion of your ordinary dinner with more protein less carb
e.g. spag bol, small portion spaghetti
(600 cal)
100 cals for a treat such as yogurt or small choc portion.

100 cals for 250ml of skimmed milk to drink or put in tea each day (for calcium)

= 1800 cals

Taking a good multivitamin would be wise.
Going for a brisk walk in the evening if this is possible for you will give your weight loss a boost.

Why do people make stupid comments like this? Many people, me included have a ridiculously slow metabolism and have to restrict calories and/or carbs to stay slim, it's not through choice. I've always been able to survive on less than 1000 calories a day even with exercise.

The keto breath is enough to tell me the body ain't happy!

That said, carbs can be a good place to cut back, just not too severely. And heavily processed (ie; white) carbs are doing very little for anyone.

You don’t need the bread, cookie and crisp every day.

garlic bread is really fattening too

Your poor bowels

Too much sugar, too many carbs, and not much of a calorie deficit.
Go to the library and borrow a Michael Mosley book - you don't have to go the whole hog with an ultra low calorie diet, but there are useful recipes for really nice meals with very low carb counts, and he has good advice about time -restricted eating. Carbs like white bread and pasta turn to glucose in the body nearly immediately and are turned to fat if not used, so I'm not surprised you aren't losing weight.

You’re not losing weight because you are still eating a lot. It’s much healthier food than before, but way too much food if you actually want to lose weight. It’s more than I eat and I’ve never been on a diet.

You need to work out your tdee - there is a calculator on Google which works this out for you and what calories you need to be in a deficit.

you need prioritise protein at each meal to help you feel full and maintain muscle mass during weight loss.

you need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight and aim for one carb a meal.

I think you have to cut back even more.
I have been dieting for months and I am gradually losing weight but have to eat a lot less than that.
A typical day for me is
No snacks between meals other than fruit
Typical brunch/lunch sometime between 11;and 1 Granola , plain Greek yoghurt/fruit and nuts,
Then a normal dinner at about 7 but smaller portions than I normally would have .
And that's it apart from the occasional treat but no more than once a week.
Anything more and I don't lose anything. I haven't felt hungry though and I feel so much more healthy.

You have cut down & that's brilliant, but its unfortunately still more than you need.

How old are you, what is your job like (eg. sedentary or active) and how much exercise fo you do every day / week? Again, have you calculated your TDEE for a guide.

I'm 5ft 8 & 53kg - I used to be 3st heavier. I struggle to keep weight on because a) I exercise most days, including lifting weights, cardio, swimming & pilates etc - or long walks at the weekend; b) I prioritise protein, minimise carbs and have loads of fruit & veg - I am vegetarian so this is hard work (more leeway on the weekend), and c) I take HRT as I'm well into my 50s.

You'll get there. What is your reason for doing this now?

I wouldn’t lose on that, I’d probably gain; far too much carbs and not enough protein.

suggestion of more balanced day

Breakfast 20g soaked porridge oats with 5g chia seeds, mashed banana and 25g protein powder

Lunch: salad - lettuce tomato cucumber pepper and tin tuna, small wholemeal roll if needed

Afternoon snack apple, 20g nuts and 170g Fage 0%

Dinner bolognaise sauce, skip the pasta and use frozen cauliflower as the “base”. Fruit for dessert if needed.