Really, really struggling to lose weight. Seeing my GP.

[eirrah]

Hi. I have struggled with my weight most of my life. The lowest I’ve weighed being 9 stone and the highest being 17 stone.

EIrrah,

It sounds a good idea to get your thyroid tested by your GP.
Also, are you getting enough sleep?
Are you very stressed?

Your GP may not know about nutrition though.

It might be worth buying Dr (qualified doctor) Michael Mosley's "8 Week Blood Sugar Diet".
I do eat rice or pasta then it’s brown anyway rice and pasta,

Even brown versions raise blood sugar levels which gets stored as fat. There are some other grains a little less like this. Instead concentrate on pulses, and non root vegetables to get carbohydrates and have some protein and healthy oils.

You have not said how old you are, but post menopause women seem to need fewer calories.

Could this be partially because you went veggie?

Vegetarians have to replace meat with something and it is often carbs. this could explain the difference between you and your OH as if he is not insulin resistant and you are, he would cope better with a high carb diet and it may make you worse.

This is coming from a carb addict who lost weight using low carb when nothing else worked.

I have very similar stats to you (before i got pregnant anyway) but plan to go back to low carb following our son's birth. I was 12.7 before getting pregnant and would like to get down to 10.7

Assuming you want to remain veggie. try replacing carbs with protein/good fat so eggs, beans, cheese, dairy, avocado etc.

I know this isn't going to sound friendly- sorry- but when I read posts like this and then posters sometimes post what they eat in a typical day, it's always far more than I eat! Then they wonder why they can't lose weight. It's not just about calories. It's about what you eat. You can still retain weight by eating too much of what you think are 'healthy' foods (grapes for example are very high in sugar but people think they are ok 'cos they are fruit) .

For example OP if you have carbs at every meal, you don't necessarily need them. I try to have carbs only once a day and my other meals are all protein, fruit and veg.

As I said, I am a very small build, I am older so don't need so much food. I think you need to take the calorie allowances of online sites. apps, etc with a big pinch of salt because they only go by height and weight (and age) and not build.

I don’t eat carbs at every meal. Albeit I do eat some during the day but nothing excessive! If I have pasta then I’ll have 50g brown pasta and that’s once a week. I never have it more than once a week.

I have porridge for breakfast, quorn chicken salad or falafel salad for lunch with some fruit, tea is usually quorn and vegetables. Tonight I’m having stuffed portobello mushrooms. I don’t snack during the day. My calories average out at 1200-1300 a day which surely, along with an hour gym session every night, should be contributing to some weight loss?

I understand people to assume I aren’t admitting to everything I eat and I worry my doctor will think this too and assume I’m finding excuses for my weight. It’s geting me unbelievably upset. Thanks for everyone’s advice. I will try cut carbs.

I believe you OP, and I can see why it gets you down trying so hard and achieving so little.

It could be a medical issue and I would expect your gP to be checking your thyroid etc. However if all comes back normal, please give yourself a break. You are not fat if you are a size 12 though maybe not as slim as you’d like. Eat healthy, be healthy and like yourself more-wobbly bits and all.

Are you a UK size 12 or US? Only asking because I'm a similar weight but much taller and a UK 14 (apart from 12 in some shops where sizes are big). From all the height weight threads on here I know this doesn't necessarily mean anything though! Very much a sideline but thought people might understand your post more.

Sounds very dispiriting and I can't offer advice as I am rubbish at dieting (although will definitely have to go on another in earnest soon as my weight creeping up!). Hopefully your gp can test for underlying medical conditions like thyroid problems. If you have a mfp log you have all the evidence to present to them.

I’m a UK size 12 and wear topshop size 12 (waist 30) jeans. I used to be Size 8 when I weighed 9 stone. It’s just very demoralising! Thanks for kind words.

Have you put your activity levels in correctly in MFP? That makes a huge difference to how many cals you’re allocated daily.

Are you logging the correct weights of all the foods on MFP too?

Have you been measuring yourself OP? Could you be losing fat and gaining muscle?

Yep - log everything and weigh everything!

My MFP is synced to my Fitbit. X

I could have written your post OP
I've been basically same weight for almost 4 years. Six months ago I joined RH Fitness & it really opened my eyes. I wasn't eating enough calories at all. I now eat 1600 calories a day & the focus is on protein fibre & lots of water. I had lost 9.5lbs before Christmas & am slowly starting to lose again now, have been ill so this halted it.

Please don't listen to the posters who are trying to tell you you are 'okay and not to worry'. Putting your height and weight into the NHS BMI chart and guessing you are around 30 yrs old, you are coming out as obese.

If you are wearing size 12 and weighing 12 st 7 at the same time, maybe you have very big thighs or boobs? I am a size 10 and weight 7 7.
Where is all the weight?
Have you measured your fat and muscle proportions?
Your fat should ideally be no more than 25% but could be 30% .

I think I'd want to know more about your gym workout. How much energy are you using? Are you doing aerobics or weights or both?

Haha I wish I had big boobs! I have chunky legs and a wobbly tummy and big hips but quite proportional. I am a size 12 in all my clothes, maybe I just carry it well :/ I am 28 years old and yes, I am just borderline obese which terrifies me :( although when I weighed 9 stone I looked very thin and was told I looked too thin and friends said I shouldn’t aim to be back that weight, though I felt so confident and 9 stone was a healthy weight for my height.

I do 30 mins running (I run and do 10ks) then I spend time on the cross trainer and bike and steps and I do arm and leg weights too.

What is RH Fitness?

Can I just point out that carbs are not just pasta/rice/bread! Vegetables and fruit are key sources of carbohydrate as well.

So if you're a veggie, you may be eating a fair amount of carbohydrate.

Good luck with your GP - I hope he's sympathetic! But please be prepared for not much real advice and/or help about diet - GPs get very little training in nutrition. But I hope, with the help of your BF, that he will agree to give you the appropriate medical tests.

It's Richie Howey Fitness check it out on Facebook.

What height are you?

I can’t seem to find happiness in anything as this is playing such a big part of my life and it’s upsetting me.

I think you need to deal with your relationship with your body and not focus on losing weight.

Deffo go to GP and get any concerns checked out as left alone they will cause you worse problems than not shifting pounds.

I know the person who set this up-our paths crossed some years ago and he is genuine, highly intelligent and doing a great job.

I have no commercial connection at all!

But it's highly recommended and another poster here mentioned it to you.

rebelfit.co.uk/

TBH I doubt your gym session counts as any more than maybe a 300 cals deficit. What does MFP say?
I was amazed at how my uphill 3 mile walk only burns off around 250 cals.

Are you really weighing all food, including oils for cooking, and everything you eat?

Yep. Every single thing. Ever scrape of butter/spreads, every spray of fry light. Everything. It’s so demoralising. I even put my coffee into the app.

porridge for breakfast,
I don't know how many people I've seen saying this..."but I don't lose weight." As another poster said some people are very sensitive to carbohydrates,

A serving of Sainsbury's porridge without milk is 24 grams of carbohydrate (without8 any form of sweetening including artificial). That is more than a whole day's ration on the 8 Week Blood Sugar diet, and 1/2 a days ration on the maintenance version. Ready Brek, Oat so Simple would make for a bigger sugar spike. In that ration of porridge there is also little protein if it is made without milk. Protein balances out sugar spikes.

You need Protein incl pulses, vegetables, (fibre), lots of water to drink, and some healthy oils.

Fruit - what fruit was this? If it was a high sugar fruit that may add too many carbohydrates, (grapes, bananas, pineapple especially) Was there any prepared fatty sugary dressing on your falafel salad? How much protein was in the falafels.

1200 calories may be a lot for you height, if you want to lose weight. 1200 for you may be more of a maintenance amount.

Try tracking your food carefully over the last few days and adding up the carbohydrates you have had per day. For your body, you may be eating too many,

You also need to be sure to avoid too much caffeine. It is not a matter of calories always but what can happen with your metabolism.

All this though being aside from any medical condition you may have.

PollyPerky - Rebelfit is good for some but whilst I know he is passionate his methods can put people off. It's very much his way or the highway. He deletes people if they question him - even from his paid programmes. I tried it - at one point he deleted an entire group and everyone had to reapply to join. I agree with his points about it the diet industry but I'm a bit wary of his methods.

re Rebel Fit, he can be a bit sweary

as for deleting people who argue on and on and on in support of SW etc - they shouldn't really be there in the first place. Some people aren't open to new ideas & that is fine - but Rebel Fit is not the group for those absolutely committed to maintaining a diet mentality. Its a group for positive lifelong change.

Interesting re Rebelfit being a bit sweary as RH Fitness is very sweary

Swearing doesn't bother me - I'm Irish - we swear all the time!