Why have I lost so little?

[Bumbadum]

I'm 4 stones over healthy bmi. I stayed within syns. I filled 1/3 of every meal with speed veg or fruit. I can eat so much and I didn't restrict portions..walked 30 mins a day.

Typical day
Hex ss milk
Hex 2 weetabix
1 banana
Snack apple, satsuma, cup of tea, 2 finger kitkat
Lunch
Huge pasta or huge baked potato, tuna and synned mayo or mackerel in tomato sauce with side salad
Snack
Snack a jack or wotsits, fat free cottage cheese and tomatoes or fat free yogurt and frozen berries
Dinner
Rice and chicken diet cola (sw recipe) or a sw curry and rice or sw skewered chicken and oven wedges and salad or lentils dhal and rice.
If i have any syns left id have a highlight 40cals hot choc.

4 weeks like that only lost 3lb. My period is regular and had dc with no fertility issues, dont take any meds, drink 1.5 litres water.

I feel pissed off because if its a portion issue at the end of the day id rather then track calories and eat whatever. Fat free is only bareable because of the carbs and when im keto i lose fast but i feel empty and life becomes so dull and boring. Low carb subs stall me, dont taste the same or end up giving me the shakes from insulin spikes (maltitol im looking at you!).

Im just fed up. The only time i lost weight properly is when i was bulimic. I ate very little and when i binged threw it all up.

Im so tired of this. At my wright i should have dropped 7lb at least by now. Im 30, my metabolism is fine when i do keto or fast 800 i lose quickly. On sw it seems sooooo slow. Id be happy with 2lb a week loss.

I think people who lose on sw must be eating less because evidently my eat til you are full does not work.

[Furball]

10 years ago I lost a stone in 6 weeks on SW. Now I 'm lucky if I could lose 1/2 lb a week which is really slow and painful.

I've decided after christmas to to go back to Red days so limit my carbs and eat more protein. There are a few Facebook pages for it with the old red/green plans.

My body just can't take the carbs these days which is a real shame. So it might be similar with you?

[12frogsincoats]

@Malin52

Hells bells. That is a LOT of food. Drop the Kitkats and Wotsits. No one ever lost weight eating choc bars and crisps.

You could lose weight eating nothing but chocolate and crisps, as long as you're in a calorie deficit.

You'd probably get scurvy and die though. So I wouldn't recommend it.

[Bumbadum]

Of course it's a lot of food how do you think i got so fat 😭 i feel so embarrassed but the truth is that hells bells huge amount is a far healthiet version than what i used to eat and even less food.

I dont weigh pasta thats what appealed to me on sw.

See its confusing because some people do eat kitkat everyday and lose weight, some wouldnt even that much fruit due to sugar and carbs. Some eat nothing but fruits and smoothies and lose weight.

Really the bottom line is caloroe deficit, isnt it?

I need to stop with this magical diet thinking. It seems whatever you eat you need to restrict how much goes into your gob and to just find whatever it is that gets you to be able to do that be it time restriction, food grouo restruction, insulin control, fiber, whatever just eat less in the end.

I hope my tone doesnt come defensive or poopooing your replies i am just really frustrated with myself and angry that at 30 i am still going in rounds about this.

So the advive broadly is track what you eat, measuring and recording everything, eat and move so there is a calorie deficit. I know this worked as i did fast 800 and every single day i would wake up and find I lost 1 to 2lb in the first 2 weeks. I ended up binging and then gave it up and regained.

[CodenameVillanelle]

I've spent years - YEARS trying to find the magic bullet to lose weight and steadily got fatter every year
Last year I accepted that it's just calories. Skimming world doesn't work for me, nor does low carb or intermittent fasting or slimming pills or low fat or any of the other things I've tried.
I lost weight this year counting calories. I've only lost half what I need to and stalled since October but I'm trying very hard to stay mindful of what I eat so I don't fall back into mindless over eating. Counting calories is the only solution for me and I suggest for you as well. My rough 'rules' are no morning snack, one afternoon snack and dessert but planning it all within my calorie allowance. I need to be able to eat bread and snacks and have dessert, which I can if I plan.
New year, get on my fitness pal and start planning your days.

[sandwiches77]

I have just started SW and maintained for my first two weeks. My typical day:

B - overnight oats - made with weighed oats, mullerlight, frozen mango or berries as I am (I know mango not the best choice but I am trying to finish the packet in the freezer before I buy any more fruit)

L - homemade vegetables soup, mullerlight and banana

D - no/low syn meal from SW app or Pinch of Nom eg spag bog

My only thoughts so far why I am not losing is I am eating too many Mullerlights. I ate my last one today and have made overnight oats using fat-free Greek yoghurt instead. Also using frozen mango, I will switch to frozen berries once I have used up the packet in the freezer (nearly there)

Lastly I do weigh my cereal but don't measure how much milk I am using throughout the day in my cups of tea, I drink about 4 or 5 cups a day..

[JorisBonson]

A huge bowl of pasta every day + all those snacks = weight gain.

[FatGirlShrinking]

@Bumbadum the carb craving goes away if you manage 1 week very low carb.

I say that as someone who had carbs with every meal, usually 2 or 3 chocolate bars and cake/danish and crisps every day. I considered 2 whispa golds a portion and would just eat them one after the other, crisp packets came in pairs too.

Back at the beginning of August I went as close to no carb as possible for 2 weeks, first week was horrible, I was starving hungry, my mouth watering even though I was eating lots of protein, some fat and lots and lots of green veg so my body had plenty of food. I also craved it and was grotty and miserable. Then it was like a switch, I was suddenly not hungry and not craving and I had loads more energy.

I then started to add back some carbs and logged everything in MyFitnessPal. I eat the calories it tells me to eat and I've lost 48 lb in just under 5 months.

I've given myself a couple of weeks relaxed eating over Xmas and will then be back on it as have another 30-40 lb to lose to hit my ideal weight.

[Perpetuallytiredzzz]

Hi @Bumbadum I know a lot of people have said you won’t lost weight eating the carbs, snacks etc. But I just wanted to give a different perspective, I have been doing SW for about 18months now and lost just over 5 stone, it has been much more difficult this year due to Covid and the effects of it on my life but I am still losing. I eat carbs every day, use my healthy extras and syns (15 for me). I agree portion size is important but I don’t weigh the carbs, I would flip your thinking to making sure that at least a third or up
To a half of your plate is the speed foods, then protein next and then the carbs. I have reduced my bread intake and that has helped, as has some exercise to support it (remember that can temporarily slow weight loss as well). You can still have the treats but may want to use some syns in your meals to get more satisfaction from them and also have one or two pieces of fruit or veg snacks as a first option in between meals. It is working for me but I genuinely see it as a long term health kick more than just a diet.
Good luck whatever you decide to do

[samanthajames86]

Hi there,

I've heard common stories about this myself and its safe to say that slimming world doesn't work and it's just to make the lazy buggers feel better about themselves rather than working hard to actually lose the weight. Try eating in a calorie deficit and actually exercising, should see better results then.

Hope this helps,

Samantha James

[Friedbanana]

Hi Op, some of these comments have frustrated me so I wanted to chip in!
A calorie is definitely just a calorie (you need to be in a deficit of about 500 cals on average a day to lose a pound a week) and of course people lose weight while still eating chocolate and crisps- if you cut out stuff you enjoy like that completely, more than likely one day you will just have a huge binge as you’ve felt so restricted, and you will put all the weight back on. I think your food sounds good and balanced and healthy, and actually 3lb in 4 weeks is sustainable weight loss but I realise it’s frustrating when you see others lose 5lb in first week (just water weight!)
If you just reduce your calorie intake to 1750-2000, made up of around 80%healthy stuff and 20% non healthy stuff, then you will lose at a sustainable pace and keep the weight off :) if you stick to that for like 2 weeks and the weight still hasn’t come off (but i’m sure it will!) you could reduce a little bit/ move more (an hours walk burns around 300-400 cals!)

[alex1889]

Christ. That's a lot of food.

Unless you're starving, do you really need to snack between meals? Wheetabix with milk and a whole banana for breakfast would see me through to lunch, and such a huge carby lunch, I'd have a really light dinner after that.

Good luck OP and keep going!

[firstimemamma]

I'm just under 9 stone and slim, here is what I ate today.

Hot lemon water

Weetabix x 2 full fat milk and banana.
2 slices whole meal toast and peanut butter. Coffee.

Cheese sandwich and grapes. Fruit tea.

1/2 satsuma. Tea.

2 hard boiled eggs. New potatoes with butter and full fat Mayo. Tomato, onion, asparagus and broccoli.

Tea.

Peppermint tea.

Loads of water throughout day.

I binge eat crap on the early days of my period so I don't feel deprived and have a once a week treat from the bakery but apart from that no rubbish. No temptation to pick at wotsits because they are not in the house & im very active which I also believe is key. Good luck op.

[SendHelp30]

You need to create a calorie deficit of 1000 cals per day to loose 2lb per week.

So to justify how much you’re eating, you’ll need to burn 3500 per day which is a lot.
I would recommend tracking your calories on my fitness pal. Do you have a Fitbit? Even the cheaper ones tel you how many cals you’re burning.
Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water and eating plenty of protein. Try a few online HIIT classes. These things will increase your metabolic rate so you still burn calories at rest.

[MumOfPsuedoAdult]

OP have you ever tried intermittent fasting? It takes a while to get into, but you learn fairly quickly that hunger isn't something to fear. And, most importantly, it doesn't escalate, it passes.

[justasking111]

Slimming World worked for me, but I was mostly red days, so protein, no carbs until the evening. My syns being a glass of wine. That did shift the weight but only a 1lb most weeks.

Breakfast an omelette with two eggs.

Lunch, a fishy meal so as much smoked salmon, smoked mackerel, roll mop herrings with a huge salad. I did dollop salad cream on the salad.

Dinner, any meat I wanted, vegetables, carbs were potato, rice or pasta depending on the dish.

Then supper fruit, cheese. I did like a muller light mixed up with frozen berries as a treat.

[Friedbanana]

Sorry it’s me again, i just feel some of these comments are really insensitive towards someone who has recovered from an ED? No one can tell you it’s a lot of food because we are all completely unique and have different activity levels and different nutritional needs. I lose weight consuming 2000-2200 cals a day because I’m burning more calories than that, and I’m at the lower end of the healthy BMI scale. Some people on here would prob look the food I eat and say that’s a ridiculous amount, but it’s the right amount for me due to my activity levels. We are all different. I said before, I think what you’ve described sounds like a really healthy and balanced diet, a 2 finger kit kat is only like 100 cals and really not the end of the world?! Tbh recovering from bulimia is a really hard thing to do and you should be happy you’ve conquered that and have managed to stay binge free, just carry on like you are but maybe weigh the pasta or whatever.

[Friedbanana]

Sorry as i was writing this you got a load of useful comments from people 😅

[MarmiteMushroom]

I did slimming world & lost 3st 6lbs but put it all back on after my 2nd son, managed to loose most of it again by doing slimming world on my own but I'd like to loose another stone at least so I decided to give calorie counting ago. I was so surprised at how many calories are in something that is 'free' on slimming world, especially things like pasta, rice & potatoes. On slimming world I would usually have a full bowl of pasta or rice or a huge jacket potato, now calorie counting its more like half a bowl or a smaller potato & even things like peas seem to have a fair amount of calories in, I dread to think how many calories i was eating on slimming world I really didn't need.

[Musmerian]

The new Slimming World doesn’t work if you have an appetite. It’s not possible to eat large helpings of pasta, rice etc and lose weight. Try Lose It.

[shallbe]

I didn't get on with SW I overcompensated with carbs, all in plan but it was too much food. Switched to calorie counting and the weight started coming off steadily straight away. I know the diet industry is huge with lots of myths and different experiences, but for me it really is just making sure I eat less than I burn, it's no more complicated than that so I calorie count when needing to drop weight.

[Cecily42]

Holy cupcake that is a lot of food. You are eating two dinners a day as well as snacking. I would be massive if I ate like that. Is that really slimming world programme?

[BIWI]

That's way, way, way too much carbohydrate! No wonder you're not losing weight.

when im keto i lose fast but i feel empty and life becomes so dull and boring. Low carb subs stall me, dont taste the same or end up giving me the shakes from insulin spikes (maltitol im looking at you!)

Low carbohydrate diets shouldn't be boring - you can eat plenty of lovely and satiating food. Nor should it mean eating substitutes - a good low carb diet should only be natural, fresh and unprocessed goods, which won't have this impact.

And @Friedbanana A calorie is definitely just a calorie this is really not true. A calorie of carbohydrate will have much more of an impact (negatively) on your blood sugar than will a calorie of fat.

[SendHelp30]

@Cecily42 not a very helpful comment! OP has said herself she knows this is why she is overweight and has posted for helpful advice on how she can change her habits to help her loose weight.

[PurpleFlower1983]

Far too many carbs. I would cut out the pasta and rice almost altogether to be honest. If I need a carb fix I tend to have a small jacket potato with either cottage cheese or hex a cheddar with my meal of fish/meat and veg.

[SomewhatBored]

On the positive side, you have lost weight, albeit slowly. This might be more sustainable for you than a very restrictive diet that gives a faster loss (but because it's so restrictive, you can't stick to it in the long term so you end up regaining the weight).

Looking at what you've eaten, it seems quite healthy to me overall - could you carry on with it but perhaps cut out the Kitkat, Wotsits, hot chocolate and fat free yoghurt, because they're all quite sugary and have little nutritional value?

On Mumsnet you are bound to get some people saying 'that's tons of food' 'too many carbs' etc.

But I would focus on the fact your weight is moving in the right direction and just keep going.