Getting nowhere with diet!

[Gloworm1974]

Hi everyone, I started my healthy eating/intermittent fasting New Year’s Day.
im nearly 7 weeks in of eating 1200 calories a day, sometimes 1000 calories a day. I stick to high protein food with a slice of bread (as toast to go with my boiled eggs) a day. I stop eating at 5pm then don’t eat again till lunchtime. Today I decided to weigh myself and I have only lost one sodding pound! I could cry! I could go on a mad takeaway Chinese binge! I’m 49 and post menopause (menopause is when I piled on 5 stone) so I’m thinking what is the point?!! In my late 30’s I lost 5 stone so easily, at a rate of 2 to 3 pound a week. I feel so so disheartened. I don’t really exercise but honestly thought that cutting out crap, processed food, takeaways and stopping my huge overeating by 1000 calories would make a huge difference. But nothing. My clothes feel no looser whatsoever either. There’s nothing wrong with me medically either as I had tests done when I piled on five stone, I was hoping something would be wrong to explain this weight gain. My lower tummy is like a tire round my waist; it’s disgusting. I hate being size 18, I’m so uncomfortable and get so hot. I can only wear tops that are long enough to hide my tummy. I’m just so so miserable about this. Has anyone else found this happened to them?
I realise I will have to start an exercise program of some kind, gentle to start with due to being so unfit. But honestly, I hate exercising 🥲

[NoImRightYoureWrong]

Are you weighing food and logging calories accurately?
Do you need new kitchen or bathroom scales?

[Gloworm1974]

@NoImRightYoureWrong my scales to weigh me are brand new. I don’t really have to weigh anything as I’m using my fitness app and can check the weight of what I’m eating on the packet eg. Smoked salmon 200 calories for the packet, I eat half so know I’ve eaten 100 calories and if I have a teaspoon of butter I level off a flat teaspoon of butter. I’m eating as many whole, natural foods that I can (with the exception of two slices of granary bread) I’ve cut out pasta, potatoes, carrots, rice (all the things that are full of sugar) I’m just baffled by it. Just goes to show my metabolism has ground to a halt so seems logical I’m going to have to start some form of exercise plan. I will start with daily walks and lifting light weights. I read weights are great for fat burning.

[NoImRightYoureWrong]

If you are not weighing and logging everything you eat and drink then you might seriously be eating many more calories than you think.

I once happily logged something on MFP, sometimes eating two in one go, as the 120 calories or whatever it was logged as, it actually had 369 calories!
Whole foods still have calories, if you are guesstimating portion sizes then I guarantee you are eating way more than 1200 calories, just because something is healthy it doesn’t mean you don’t have to watch portion sizes.

MFP has been a real eye opener for me, seeing where hidden calories lie as they tot up throughout the day has been an education. It’s helped me make healthier choices and see what a portion size should be.

[newbeliever]

@Gloworm1974 Well done for making healthy changes to your diet, it is totally worth it. I can emphasise a bit, I’ve put on almost 2 and a half stone since going on HRT last year and in new year decided enough was enough. I have found the weight loss very slow, and I have realised that actually I’ve done a great job to halt any more weight going on!

Unfortunately, we need to accept that due to our age we now need fewer calories to maintain our weight, let alone lose weight. If you’re not able to exercise it’s goIng to take some time.

I’m now losing about a llb a week, having Skyr for breakfast, green salad with protein (tuna/chicken or egg) for lunch, and dinner with family, tiny portion of carbs plus lots of veg and protein. I might snack on a piece of fruit during the day plus sometimes a yogurt or something less than 100cals in the evening. Running 3 times a week and walking 1hour a day too.

its hard work but I’m just starting to feel the benefits, more energy, clothes aren’t as tight. Totally determined to not go through this again!

Like you I was a bit baffled the first couple of weeks not to lose anything and then realised I was maintaining and needed to do something extra.

Good luck and keep going, it is worth it and you have made progress.

[BIWI]

Can you list out what you've been eating/drinking over the last few days? That might help people identify where things might be going wrong/where you might be able to make some changes

[BuffaloCauliflower]

You need to properly weigh and log your food. If you’re out by even a bit per food item it will quickly rack up. I prefer Cronometer to MFP for logging as I think it’s more accurate. If you were genuinely eating only 1000-1200 calories a day you’d have lost more than a pound in 6+ weeks I can say that with absolute certainty.

[soupfiend]

You have to be incredibly careful when logging food, Weigh everything, dont count things by the packet size, they can often be out. Dont use spoons or cups, they are also inaccurate

When entering, if using MFP (which is what I use), double, triple and check again what the amount is, and that it matches the packet. I dont know what people are doing with some of the entries I see. Check the protein and fat matches

Never use 'per serving', you have no idea what that is, or 'home made' entries.

Theres no way you're a size 18 and eating 1k calories and not losing weight so the only thing that must be wrong is the calorie intake number.