Not losing anymore weight

[CosyToes33]

My body seems to have adapted to far far fewer calories, no carbs/low carbs and I've stopped losing any weight - but am still overweight.

If my metabolism keeps shifting to accommodate fewer calories and my body settles itself to that new level, how do I continue to lose more weight, without this getting silly?

Currently, a typical day's food goes like this:

Bkfast: 2 soft boiled eggs and 2 marmite rice cakes (my only carbs of the day) with no fat cottage cheese.

Lunch: one banana, one apple, one slice of cheese (slice equals 70 cals)

Supper: one raw carrot, 2 spring onions, 5 cherry tomatoes, 3 sticks of celery, scattering of pine nuts, half an avocado, dash of soya sauce, 3 teaspoons of hoummous or no fat cottage cheese.

No alcohol, no snacks. Do have 3 cups of tea throughout day with dash of milk. Occasionally the cheese eaten in the day may be substituted with a tin of sardines/mackerel in mineral water. I was a vegetarian for 25 yrs but in the bid to eat low carb/lose weight, I've tried reintroducing some fish to increase protein intake.

Well, after about 4 weeks eating like this, I lost roughly 4 pounds in weight. Went down from 12 stone 4lbs to 12 stone. I'm 5 ft 7ins and would like to weigh around 11 st 7lbs.

No further weight is shifting and in fact I think I may have now put back on a pound in weight - but made no changes to food intake or level of exercise. Short of stopping all dairy products too - which I fear wouldn't get me all the nutrients/vitamins/minerals I need - or reducing my calorie intake again to a level where I feel dizzy and ill - what else can I do to lose more weight - yet stay healthy?

sounds like you need to increase your cal burning - so do more walking or skipping or what ever you can manage - I am for about 1200 cals a day intake and try and burn at least 1900cals . I'm similar height to you and 165lbs. I bought a fitbit zip that links with my scales and my phone so I can log what I eat and it logs how many steps I take - I am recovering from ankle injury's - but am now up to 10,000 steps a day !! it's worth getting something like the zip to keep you on track ! good luck !!!

Cosy you're not eating much but you are eating quite a few carbs for a low carb diet. Most low carb people would stay away from Rice cakes, bananas, apples, carrots and humous. Not sure what plan you are following - are you calorie counting?

I didn't realise that banabas, apples, carrots and humous counted as carbs. I cut out all bread, potato, pasta and rice and the only carbs i thought I was having were the 2 rice cakes a day.

So if I don't eat carrots, apples or bananas etiher, then that sounds like a v v restricted diet.

I have no idea how many calories per day my typical day (above) would be? Anyone else know?

All I know is that it's about 40% of what I previously ate in a day, as I used to eat bread, rice, pasta, biscuits, crisps, choc etc. Effectively, I feel as if I'm eating nothing at all now for pleasure and am amazed that even this looks like it's too many calories or carbs. Amazed that on what feels already to be a v v restrained and restricted diet, my bosy has now acclimatised and is slowly stabilising or putting back on weight!

Don't have a smart phone so can't download apps and don't have time for proper exercise but in any one week, may spend say 3 hrs mowing lawn and gardening a week, 1 to 2 hrs a day doing rushed domestic chores and the rest of the time I do a sedentary job that gives no time left over for formal exercise.

You are barely eating a thing! Your body has gone into starvation mode and behaving as though there is an emergency.

You see this is where I find the whole dieting thing so confusing! There are some people who say - it's simple - eat fewer calories and use more energy than you eat and you'll then lose weight. Then there are those who say, be careful not to eat too little as your metabolism will slow down. Then of course there are all these sections on MN for different types of diet.

I'm not somebody who wants to have a faddy diet but yet I'm somebody who isn't losing any weight at all, even on a restricted diet and was gradually putting ON more and more weight on my previous diet (similar to above but included treats and carbs and less fish and was more vegetarian based).

But the facts are clear - I'm gradually putting on more and more weight if I eat what was my 'normal' diet that maintained my weight for yrs and yrs (except when PG). Only by severely restricting what I eat, have I lost any weight at all - ie about 3 to 4lbs.

Now that weight is stabilising and, depending on my time of the month, increasing with what seems like constant water retention, now I'm perimenopausal (I'm 51 and still having periods - just a bit shorter ones and one missed one).

When I eat anything - and I mean anything at all - eg a plate of celery, I can literally feel my stomach bloating and as if it's like water filling a balloon. I'd never stop eating at all but I have this sense that even if I ate nothing at all whatsoever for a several days, I'd not lose weight. I seem to be able to 'live on air' and have humungously sized boobs these days and an expanding waist line!

I tried NOT restricting what I ate - just eating sensibly and healthily (haven't drunk alcohol for about 20 yrs) - and all that happened was that I put more and more weight on.

I'm pretty certain I don't have a thyroid problem as I'm full of energy - at least some of the time - and pretty happy and with no other symptoms. I just seem to be slowly turning into a plumper and plumper version of me, no matter how little I eat! So do I eat less....or more....or cut out bananas, carrots, apples and humous (I thought all those were healthy?)....or return to my original diet and accept that I'm just going to be fat?

rainy is right. You're eating too many carbs, but not enough food! Have you read the rules of low carb? And do you eat meat or just fish? Get rid of the rice cakes, fruit and hummus. Switch to full fat everything, eat lots of fat and protein, green veg/salad, drink gallons of water. Above all, don't go hungry! Trust me - give it a week, and you will be pleasantly surprised...

Where are the rules of low carb? Seems there's lots I don't know about this approach.

I don't eat meat and didn't eat fish until recently, having been a vegetarian for years and years. I'd prefer not to eat fish even if I could get enough protein in other ways.

So I thought low carbing was a kind of 'natural' paleo way to eat but if there are basic fruits and vegetables that you 'shouldn't' eat, but would have been available to our ancestors (or would they?), why are they considered not OK?

Is it possible to 'low carb' and stick to a vegetarian diet? Pulses, beans. cheese, eggs, nuts - these are foods I've always eaten as they felt healthy and gave me protein but it sounds like certain beans/pulses are a no-no?

How does this approach fit with research that seems to indicate the 'Mediterranean diet' makes for healthy people?

Starvation mode is a myth, unless you are actually underweight and at the point of starvation and it doesn't sound like Cosy is in that position.

No weight loss does not necessarily mean no fat loss. My weight can remain constant for 3 weeks and then the scales will register a massive dip of 4-6lbs almost over night, there are many reasons given as to why this may happen while low carbing ....water retention in muscles caused by increased exercise, fat cells temporarily fill with water, water retention due to ovulation/period...whatever the reason it's not necessarily true that you haven't lost fat.
Low carb and veggie is possible but it's challenging, I think you could achieve it but you will need to work out your calories just to make sure you aren't over eating and then stick with it, the scales will catch up.

you are eating around 950 calories a day
1220 will only loose you a pound a week
which is about what you've done

you are also eating over 120g of carbs a day so you are not getting the benefits of a low carb diet - you are currently going low fat - no sugar - low carb

I bet you are permanently starving
You either properly low carb and start eating LOTS of - fatty meat, proteins and non starchy vegetables
or you go low fat - and start calorie counting

Either way you need to stop being sedentary - or you will loose muscle mass and so when you try to plateau / stop dieting you will just put weight back on

So am I not losing anymore weight because of too many carbs or too little exercise or water retention or a combination of all three?

I don't feel permanenently hungry and feel full after meals. Just had small bowl of fried mushrooms and red pepper and onion with a small sprinkling of cheese and ate that, although the DCs also wanted some of it despite already having eaten their meal, so probably ended up with only half a dessert bowl!

The biggest difference for me at the moment is cutting out all bread, rice and pasta and potatoes - my four favourite foods! That's been the hard bit but I had no idea there were carbs of any significant level in some of the foods I'm still eating.

No way would I eat fatty meat or meat at all. The idea makes me feel vaguely ill and it's been hard enough to add some fish to my diet occasionally. I may have had a bit of chicken breast too if the DCs are eating this for a meal but just bits from the precooked sliced that you get at supermarkets.

Re. exercise, I'm either stuck in a chair working or I then have bursts of frantic, sweat inducing rushing around domestic or DIY stuff and am particularly strong/muscular in my upper body, for a woman, just by the tasks needed to be done in ordinary life (single mum). To get any time for 'proper' exercise, I'd have to sleep even less.

At present, I'm working at my business admin from around 4.45am each day, prior to morning rush with DCs to school and then straight to work (no breaks) till school run at other side of day, prep. supper for DCs and attend to their various needs and then back working till around 7.30pm when I rush round doing more domestic or child stuff and admin for work and then crash into bed around same time as DCs around 9.15pm, read for 20 mins and sleep by 10pm.

There is never time on a regular basis to do anything like running or anything at all really. Not sure what to do about that - unless I just sleep less!

So basically, can you NOT low carb unless you eat meat and if your life doesn't allow for the luxury of formal exercise, is that it then, in terms of healthy weight loss?

You can eat tofu on a low carb diet, cheese, eggs and nuts. Rose Elliot has a low carb vegetarian cookbook which is very popular.

Cauliflower is a great substitute for carbs - roasted slices of cauliflower are one if my favourite foods now. I think when you choose a method, you need to find info out about it - low carbing is quite specific if you want to get the benefits such as not feeling hungry.

the Mediterranean diet is very similar to low carb "light" but less restrictions.
In fact I really think its very much the the best way to "maintain" once you have lost the weight you don’t want.

I'm sorry I misread your first post as you having a sedentary lifestyle, where as, on re-reading - you would seem to be so busy that you are possibly not looking after yourself very well !

eg. If you are only getting 6 hrs sleep you will have a lot of difficulty loosing weight as your body will be under stress - your hormone balance will be slightly out and its also possible you might have a monster of a four o'clock low - just when you need to be on the ball for the kids and dinner cooking.

You can, as Parsnipcake says, go low carb vegetarian - and the book shes suggested is really a very good one.. its quite complicated and restrictive though, as many of the high protein non meat based things are very high carb too.

The exercise thing is important and is the difference between weight loss and yoyo dieting- but it dosnt have to be at the gym - or formal in any way and unless you are going for rapid weight loss where the loss of muscle is most notable and problematic a busy lifestyle as a single parent should be loads.

A low carb diet is pretty restrictive as it is. and if your super busy then the restrictions and the planning may just be too much. But you are right something is not working if you are being honest with your facts.

you are eating only half the calories you should be
you have an active lifestyle
no fat no sugar low(ish) carb - so no energy foods - yet you are not hungry
????? odd
Perhaps you should join live strong/my plate (online so no smart phone needed) and log your calories weight and activities for a week - give yourself chance to see whats going on and if you're not seeing something obvious ?
best of luck

Your diet is way too high in carbs and too low in fat for it to work for you.

Bkfast: 2 soft boiled eggs and 2 marmite rice cakes (my only carbs of the day) with no fat cottage cheese.

The eggs are perfect! Cottage cheese would be fine, but only if it were high in fat. And ditch the rice cakes - way too many carbs in those.

Lunch: one banana, one apple, one slice of cheese (slice equals 70 cals)

Fruit is high in carbs, and banana especially. You would be much better having more cheese!

Supper: one raw carrot, 2 spring onions, 5 cherry tomatoes, 3 sticks of celery, scattering of pine nuts, half an avocado, dash of soya sauce, 3 teaspoons of hoummous or no fat cottage cheese.

Again, too low in fat, although the carbs probably aren't too bad - just keep an eye on the carrots and tomatoes, as they can get very carby very quickly.

Have you done any reading about low carbing? It isn't just a matter of dropping pasta, rice, bread and potatoes! Rose Elliot has written a vegetarian low carb book see here I haven't read her book, but can recommend that you read something like "The New Diet Revolution" by Dr Atkins or "The New High Protein Diet" by Dr Charles Clark - they're both good explanations of low carbing, and are easy to read.