Help

[siyanasaysrelax]

I would really appreciate all of your help and wisdom. I am attempting a low carb diet (<100g) in an attempt to lose around 5kg of weight. My husband successfully transitioned to a low carb diet about 18 months ago, and looks and feels fantastic.
On the other hand, I seem to be steadily gaining weight no matter what I do. Pre pandemic I needed to lose around 3 kg to achieve my goal weight. I am of asian background and have a history of type 2 diabetes in the family, so am aiming for a BMI of around 23. Unfortunately due to the stresses of the pandemic I gained another 3 kg, so am now 6kg from my goal weight.
I have recently hit my 40s and have definitely noticed I can no longer eat what I used to and stay slim. I do a fair amount of exercise (spin 2-3x, run approx 10 miles and 1-2 sessions of weight based pilates a week). My husband advised me to eat when I was hungry and just restrict carbs, but that isn't working for me and my weight hasn't budged. I also experience awful sugar cravings in the evenings.
Like I said I would massively appreciate advice, am getting a bit down in the dumps about it. Been trying lower carbs now for around 4 weeks (although 2 of those were on holiday where it slipped completely).

Track your calories and only eat complex carbs. So whole grain bread, lentils etc, rather than rice or white bread. But carbs are good gif you and it's ultimately the calories you eat. Cut booze if you drink.

Could you have a fibroid issue (can cause weight gain especially around the abdominal area)? Are you truly being honest with yourself about your eating habits and the amount of exercise that you do? (I ask this because you say that you are gaining weight rather than losing it)

Sorry meant under active thyroid

Thanks so much for the responses. I don't think it's an underactive thyroid, I was in one of the vaccine trials in 2020 and it was tested for then. I'm not putting on weight per se, just my weight has been static since mid 2020. I had been making some progress prior to the pandemic starting but managed to put on around 2.5-3kg at the start of the pandemic through alcohol and stress eating (I'm a frontline healthcare worker and things were very fraught at work, I turned to food for comfort).

Been trying to lose since then and weight has remained static - it fluctuates a couple of kg but hovers around 61-62kg which puts my BMI too high (I'm not tall!).

Started to try low carb after seeing my husband's results but he has to eat a lot more than me, he's very muscular and a bit of a giant (6ft 4''). He now doesn't appear to have any fat on him and is in wonderful shape. I'm just a bit disheartened that I 'm not seeing the same results.

With regards to calorie tracking/food logging, have tried on an off (mostly with my fitness pal). I tend to give up after a few days as I cook from scratch and it's really hard to put in homemade meals - have no idea if the portion size/calorie count is correct.

I'm running a half marathon in October again so will be upping my running miles, but find on my exercise days I'm so hungry I probably eat back all the calories I've burnt, hence no weight loss.

Also forgot to mention that have been virtually teetotal since mid 2020 so cutting out alcohol won't help!

Regardless of how many carbs you eat (or what diet you try bring it slimming world, low carb, low fat etc) you'll only lose weight if you're in a calorie deficit so if you're not losing over a period of a few weeks then you're consuming more calories than you're using. I don't find tracking with home made meals that hard, it doesn't need to be exact as no calorie counting will ever be, it just gives you an idea.

The is a brilliant thread on Mumsnet called 'low carb boot camp' which is one version of the low carb way of eating, it's very welcoming and supportive, with lots of very knowledgable people prepared to answer questions

22 Low Carb Bootcamp - the final weigh-in! www.mumsnet.com/Talk/lowcarbbootcamp/4504657-Jan-22-Low-Carb-Bootcamp-the-final-weigh-in

You can join anytime, though there is a new bootcamp for eight weeks starting 2nd May

The link I've provided above will take you to the current 'chat' thread. It includes a link to a spreadsheet which explains the approach and everything you need to know to join.

You would be very welcome

It's only fair to say that low carb, especially when you do not have all that much to loose can be unforgiving of lapses but very successful when you stick to it.

There are of course lots of ways to approach low carb, this one is tried and tested by many MUmsnetters. Hope to see you over there.